Warm wishes to all! I hope no matter what holiday you are celebrating this month, that it's filled with family, friends, love and joy.
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Monday, December 24, 2018
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Week in Review: 12/16-12/22
Books Received for Review
Nothing this week!!!
Books I've Read
Ever After by Kim Harrison (Re-Read)
A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison (Re-Read)
The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison (Re-Read)
The Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison (Re-Read)
Reviews Posted
Death Knell by Hailey Edwards (@HaileyEdwards, @PiatkusBooks)
Captive of Darkness by Debbie Cassidy (@amoscassidy)
The Dragon Tamer by Ava Richardson
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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?
* Wednesday- Deck the Halls w/ Books Holiday Extravaganza: The Dear Departed by Anne Roebuck (@RoxanneRhoads)
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* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?
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* I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.
Friday, December 21, 2018
Quick Thought Review: The Dragon Tamer by Ava Richardson
Sometimes I read a book where I just don't have a lot to say about it. Hence the name quick thought review. This will be short and sweet.
The Dragon Tamer
Author: Ava Richardson
Release Date: October 31, 2018
Publisher: Self-Published
Alveria Dragon Academy Book #1
ASIN: B07HSYHMFP
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Review Copy Source: NetGalley
A kingdom divided cannot stand. For those caught in the middle, it means death.
For centuries humans and dragons existed side by side in Alveria, bonded by their care of one another. But no longer. After decades with no viable eggs, humans far outnumber dragons, and the survival of the species appears bleak. The outlook for everyday humans is little better as rogue dragons raid and torment villages. Yet it’s far worse for the tamers, beaten and killed simply for serving the noble dragons.
But eking by at the bottom of Alverian society isn’t any easier for seventeen-year-old Kaelan Younger. Harder still when her loyalty to the dragon crown is no secret. But when her dying mother reveals a horrifying truth about her identity, Kaelan is thrust into a world for which she is ill prepared.
Faced with a new life at the proving grounds for humans and dragons alike, Kaelan must reconcile not just her past but embrace the future laid out before her. When her responsibilities as an Akademy tamer collide with her feelings for a powerful dragon shifter, it will take everything she has to prepare for the danger threatening them both. The fate of the dragons she has sworn to serve rests in her hands.
Now Kaelan is no longer an outsider.
She’s the enemy.
I really enjoyed the beginning of THE DRAGON TAMER and had no problem getting into the story, the middle was a bit slow and I found myself drifting, but it did pick up again towards the end.
The plot was very intriguing, the characters were interesting, but the romance was too YA for me and took up more of the book than I would have prefered.
I probably won't read more, but I enjoyed THE DRAGON TAMER.
I gave it 3/5 stars
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Review: Captive of Darkness by Debbie Cassidy (@amoscassidy)
Captive of Darkness
Author: Debbie Cassidy
Release Date: December 4, 2018
Publisher: Self-Published
Heart of Darkness Book #1
ASIN: B07JCXYK65
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: Author
A century old curse forgotten by time. A sleepy town cut off from the world by an ominous chasm. And a girl with the heart of a warrior.
The town of Justice Falls is slave to an annual tithe, but only those with the sight recall the true price of survival. As one of the gifted, Wynter Ashfall has made peace with the curse, for when the silver riders climb out of the chasm in the dead of winter, there is no force on earth that can stop them from claiming their cargo.
But when the man who holds her heart is marked, there is nothing she won’t do to get him back, even if it means climbing into the pit itself. With Death as her guide she must navigate a realm forbidden to the living, a place where every creature hungers for her soul and nothing is as it seems.
In a world where time has no meaning, time is running out, and Wynter must make a choice— finally claim her heart or find the courage to let it go.
Let the tale begin…
A dark fantasy with horns and teeth, Slavic gods and immortal fey.
While CAPTIVE OF DARKNESS started out strong, it lost my interest about 1/3rd of the way in and I had a hard time staying in the story.
I really wanted to love CAPTIVE OF DARKNESS. Wynter really caught my interest early on and the story pulled me in, but when she went into the 'forbidden realm' the storyline lost me. I found Wynter's constant lack of following directions a bit annoying at times and I didn't really connect with Veres' character. I'm not quite sure how I would feel about them really being together romantically. I liked Finn and could definitely relate with his and Wynter's relationship, but there wasn't enough of Finn in the story to really get a feel of how they would be together romantically even though they already love each other and they make sense.
I didn't HATE the story. In fact I found a lot about it interesting. I think I just didn't totally GET it. I was a little confused at times about what was happening and I don't think there was enough information given about Veres and the realm that they were traveling through. The pacing also seemed off to me. Some points dragged and other times felt rushed.
Going into my review I was going to give CAPTIVE OF DARKNESS a 2.5, but I realized that I kinda want to see what happens next and to find out more about Veres and his realm SO, I'm round up. There is potential here.
I gave it 3/5 stars
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Deck the Halls w/ Books Holiday Extravaganza: The Dear Departed by Anne Roebuck (@RoxanneRhoads)
The Dear Departed Amazon
Young widow Virginia Paley has no interest in attending the séances at The Society for Eternal Love, but the women of the society are dying mysteriously in their sleep, leaving their fortunes to Professor Arthur Chadwick, its charismatic medium. As her aunt might very well become the next victim, Virginia will do whatever she must to ensure that doesn’t happen. She will even join forces with the darkly mysterious Jonathan Bradshaw, a man who isn’t what he appears to be.
From the moment he spies her, Jonathan is smitten. But romance is impossible.
Mrs. Paley is a respectable woman, and he himself is outside of society, an orphan, an ex-thief and a true wizard, able to hypnotize with a word and even separate his spirit from his body. No, he must instead remain focused on his goal, avenging his mentor’s death. But, facing a foe with power over demonic forces and Virginia’s very life in the balance, love might indeed be the only salvation.
A Ghost for Christmas
Snow, like a pall of white crepe, smothered the trees and bushes. Belinda looked out of her window and sighed. It was Christmas eve again. In the distance, she heard carolers singing. “God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay.”
One year ago, her husband Chester lay dying, a fever wracking his withered frame. He had been twenty years her senior and had been sickly for nearly all of their marriage. As he slipped away, she had vowed she would never forget him. And she hadn't.
But a year had gone by. Her small millinery business had prospered. She was an independent woman now, no longer the innocent girl she had been when she had married Chester.
And there was Daniel.
She really shouldn't be thinking of Daniel on the anniversary of Chester's death. But Daniel had literally waltzed into her life last year at a New Year’s Eve ball. The ball was held in an old warehouse that someone had desperately tried to decorate so that it didn't look like what it was. She wasn't particularly a good dancer. But in Daniel's arms, she had transformed into a graceful nymph, whirling around and around as the tiny orchestra played Strauss's Gold and Silver waltz. She didn't care if they played out of tune or if the decorations were tattered and tawdry or the punch was watery and the cake stale.
All she saw was Daniel.
He was in his mid-thirties and handsome in a boyish way with twinkling eyes and a quirky smile. But he had recently come back from the Spanish war, and there was an expression in his eyes, when he thought nobody was looking, that told her he had seen unspeakable tragedy and horror. The first time she had seen it, it tugged so hard at her heartstrings that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. It hadn't taken much else for her to fall desperately in love with him.
The year had whirled by like a Strauss waltz. The seasons had changed, spring, summer and fall. Now here it was winter again. How she had changed in a year. Then, a month ago, Daniel had asked her to marry him. She had said yes before she even thought about it.
But there was still Chester.
She gazed out at the snow, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry, Chester," she said out loud. "I tried to be a good wife to you, but Daniel ... "
Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t finish her sentence. How could she explain to Chester what Daniel meant to her? Chester hadn't been a bad husband. He had treated her kindly and supported her in comfort. But his constant illness meant that she had been more of a nurse than a wife. It hadn't been his fault, but still ...
Chester hadn't been her true love, her twin flame, her soul mate. Daniel was.
She turned away from the window and sat down on her bed, her heart heavy with … what? Sadness? Grief? Guilt? She wasn't sure. Somehow, she had to leave the past behind and stop holding any more Christmas Eve vigils. Would she still do it when she was married to Daniel and had a blazing Christmas tree, presents, pastries, mulled wine and possibly even children?
She shut her eyes. “Chester,” she breathed. “Forgive me.”
The clock on the nearby church steeple began to strike midnight. A small gust of wind blew through the room, teasing the bed curtains. The candle flame sputtered and went out, leaving the room in darkness. Belinda froze in place, tendrils of terror crawling up her spine. A light that wasn't from the candle glowed in the corner of the room. A figure took form. The figure of a man.
Chester.
He stood before her surrounded by a nimbus of light. She knew deep within her that she was seeing his ghost, but he didn't look at all ghastly. He looked young and strong as though his spirit had shed a frail and never-quite-right physical body and was now free. She stopped being frightened and surprised herself by feeling happy for him.
He raised his hand and smiled. “Thank you.”
It was only a whisper. It could have been the breeze at the window. but something inside Belinda knew it wasn't. At last, she understood. She had done him a service by tending him during his final illness. But now he was free. And so was she.
She smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Then, he was gone. She blinked. The candle blazed again on the dresser. The clock had ceased chiming. Outside her window, she heard the voices of the carolers rising up from the street. She rubbed her eyes. Good Lord, what had just happened? Had it even been real?
She frowned in puzzlement. There was something on her dresser next to the candlestick, something that hadn't been there moments before. She rose to her feet, walked slowly to the dresser and picked it up.
It was a white rose.
"We wish you a merry Christmas,” the voices sang. “And a happy New year."
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Still, her first love is writing. It doesn’t matter whether the story is set in the Middle Ages, Victorian times, the present day or far in the future. If it has both love and magic, Anne will write about it. Anne also writes young adult historical fantasy under the name of Ann Finnin.
A native of Southern California, Anne lives in the hills above Los Angeles with her husband Dave, and a Dog of Indeterminate Breed named Rufus.
Find Anne and her books
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Tuesday, December 18, 2018
New Releases: 12/16-12/22
Tue. Dec. 18th
The Cursed Sea (The Glass Spare #2) by Lauren DeStefano
The Disasters by M.K. England
Happy Reading!!
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