Cynically Sweet (Booklikes)

Harvest Moon is the first in the Night Hunters series by Helena Shaw. Dawn Garrett is a young woman, formerly known as Jennifer Waters, who had run away from home at eighteen. Now she lives in the small Appalachian town of Goosemont, which is located within the mountains. When a few suspicious deaths bring newcomers to town, she finds herself in the company of Jase Byrnes, an FBI agent who might just not be who he claims to be either.

The characters aren't very interesting. They're alright, but quite bland and without much personality. I'll start off with Jennifer/ Dawn. In the beginning of the book, we find that her step father had been abusing her which is her reason for running away. However, I felt that that whole first portion ended up as a huge waste of time; it never really provided much importance on the book. We never see or meet the rest of her family later and they're barely ever mentioned again. Furthermore, it just seems weird because she's hiding herself from these people- her mother and stepfather- but she never really seems like she's hiding. She makes basic mistakes such as taking as supposed FBI agent home- who could have (if he were FBI) denied her claims and poke holes in her story. Jase Byrnes, our "FBI agent" seemed just kind of bland as well. To me, it seemed like a copy & paste character; he also has hidden his identity and assumed a new name to come to this town. He has different reasons for being here, obviously, but it just seems odd that two people with hidden identities might find themselves in the same town... Not to mention finding themselves in the same bed. The background characters don't really stand out much. I appreciate that they were mostly kind people and many have been good to her. However, we just don't get enough information about them or spend enough time with them to get a good grasp on who they are. In a sense, it's pretty much just about Dawn and Jase (or Jessica and Kevin, if you choose to consider them in that way).

I'll be blunt about my first thoughts on the plot; it's cliché. There are very few unique aspects to it. It's your usual small town, with animal attacks or people dying in suspicious circumstances. We then have hunters turn up to try and get this beast/ the perpetrator. It's a somewhat overdone plot. Having said that, I reckon that the author has a great writing style. They use the scenes well and give personality to the places described. Many of the scenes need a bit more in the way of personal touches, but I think they're a good author (from what I've read so far) and they're on the right path.

Overall, the characters and plot aren't really unique, but it's well written and there are some good scenes. It's worth a read.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. Though, I did later find that I already have a purchased copy from Amazon.com.au.

Howling Passion by Renee Jordan is the first book in the Passion Moon series. The main character, Kotie, is like a magnet for bad men. At the beginning of the story, we find her on a bus while she's trying to escape an ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately, she meets a man who is just as bad, Christian. Soon enough she finds a saviour, someone to help her from the unlucky attention. Forrest is the Sheriff of Moonrise, alpha of a wolf shifter pack.

Christian's supposed attraction to Kotie is definitely over the top. It's not properly explained why he's so in love with her so it just makes him seem creepy and stalkery, for no real reason. It just makes her seem a little bit like a Mary-Sue character. All sorts are attracted to her in Moonrise and she gets varying levels of sexuality from them. It's even odder because she doesn't have anything that really seems special about her. To me, she just seems lacklustre and so far she doesn't have any qualities which would make her stand out.
Forrest seems kind of bland as well. He's a stereotypical character. He's strong, powerful and always comes out on top. He falls ridiculously in love with Kotie as soon as he meets her and has no qualms about starting up such a relationship so soon after meeting her. Usually, I'm actually okay with these types of characters, within reason. However, this whole relationship between Kotie and Forrest is forced and I just don't feel that they really go together.

The story is very reminiscent of many other shifter books, like a "paint by numbers" creation. Having said that, it does have a reasonable writing quality. The author knows how to use their words and they describe things well. However, a lot of other aspects need a lot of work. For example, the not-relationship between Christian and Kotie. To be honest, I liked the meeting of Christian and Kotie; it was kind of refreshing to meet someone whilst travelling in such a manner. They were both headed to the same town and, in the beginning, it was kind of like they're learning and going to experience something new together. It's too bad that the author chose to go in a different path. Especially considering that Forrest and Kotie don't really have that spark, plus Christian's motives don't really make sense. It's like he's meant to be some tacky bad guy from a movie. One of the characters even calls them out on it. Another point is that it's a little bit awkward in some portions. For example, the sex scenes. Kotie doesn't want to do certain things, yet Forrest does them anyway with the request that she trusts him. Sure, she finds pleasure in it. However, if a girl says she doesn't want to have sex like that (“You can't. Not there.” / “You can't stick your c*** back there.”), than that's rape. She told him that she didn't consent to it.

Overall, it was an alright story. It was a generic plot with stereotypical characters. None of the relationships have any kind of real or natural feeling. However, the author writes reasonably well. I think they do have the skills to be a good writer, but I think they need to work a lot more on their characters and plot. I might consider reading the next story in the series just to see whether it gets better.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Return of the Pack is the second volume in the Sierra Moon series by Claire Ryann. In the first book, Quest of the Alpha, we were introduced to several of the important characters of the series. Lane and Diego are brothers who need a new breeding pair for their wolf pack. That is, until Lane came across Tara, a hiker in the woods. They developed feelings for each other and soon Lane tries to break the news to her about his predicament and his true intentions. In Return of the Pack, we follow Lane and Tara as they join the pack. Though she's not immediately accepted, Tara does her best to mingle with the pack and acquaint herself with the other members.

I think the thing I appreciate most about Tara is that she's fairly upbeat. Though she's afraid in some portions and confused as well, I think it's great that she still has some level of happiness throughout it. She looks at a scary situation and finds herself grateful for it and the opportunities it gives her, which I like because it really does show some level of character development. I also liked the small back stories of the pack. For the new characters we're introduced to, I enjoy that many of them have varying personalities. In between the little exchanges, they all balance each other out, for example; Geordin's patience with Prinn and Reylinn. I think the thing I appreciated most was the author writing in ties that many of the wolves still hold to human community and culture. I think it's an important part because it does make many of their characters seem just so much more relatable. I still like Tara and Lane as a couple. I can see that she's uneasy about the things he needs from her and the level of commitment, but I think it's kind of the same as any normal relationship and what might be expected from any young woman.

The development of this part of the series is fairly interesting. There's a lot going on, but I think it's all very well paced. I appreciate that not too much of the plot is revealed at once and there are still some mysteries to the book. I felt that the end of this part was somewhat appropriate; that Lane was willing to change for a life with Tara.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this part of the series. The characters are all fairly well developed with various personalities and reactions to the situations presented. I felt that the plot was steady and built up the story well.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Grizzlies & Glaciers by Zoe Dakota begins the story in 1989 with our main character, Delilah, returning home to Fjords, Alaska. She soon comes across a car accident and, having recently become a doctor, does her best to help out. Miles, an ex-boyfriend from high school shows up to help as well and they find themselves wanting to hang out together again. However, unfortunately for the pair of them, the town's bear shifter pack is involved in something and it might just need Delilah's help.

Delilah is an interesting main character. I think that she's fairly relatable and seems fairly genuine. Up until the phone call memory of her father, who mentioned that she only cares about herself, I didn't really consider her to be selfish. Afterward, there were one or two instances of her being a tad self-involved, but I thought her to be reasonably practical. She was doing the best to ensure her own survival or what she considered to be the optimal solution for situations. In the same way, I think that her personality was fairly developed; she seemed fairly mature and she showed some practical decision making. Miles seems like a fairly nice guy and I really appreciate that he was doing his best to help the situation in the beginning. Furthermore, I think he showed himself to be a fairly mature character as well. Not only did he try to do the best for himself, but he tried to do the best for other people as well. I think that the relationship, both prior and current, between Delilah and Miles was kind of sweet. I didn't quite like the way Delilah tried pushing him away; it didn't really make sense to me. I know she was intending on leaving town, but something about the "will they/ won't they" aspect seemed a tad awkward. However, I appreciated the way the relationship turned out for them. I think the epilogue was sweet and felt they were right for each other. Many of the other characters are interesting as well. For many of them, I would have appreciated a little bit more information and events about them. Such as Roy and Nathan; they both had portions in the plot, but I kind of feel like their stories remain unfinished.

I really quite liked the beginning of this book. Delilah's return home to the town seemed somewhat pleasant. The explanation of events was well written and I got a good grasp of what was going on. I think that the earlier events of the book were a practical decision by the author. Though it's a little bit coincidental that she's just come to town at the right time and is in the right place, I think it was the best way for the author to give us an example of Delilah's abilities and for her and Miles to re-meet. To move on with that same point, in some ways, the plot is just a little bit cliché; a townsperson returning home and feeling like an outsider. However, I think the way it's been written, the author has presented a fairly unique story with some interesting events. To talk about the supernatural and fantastical elements, I think that they were mostly well input to the story. The bear shifting and pack explanations were introduced a little bit weirdly in the beginning, but it's fairly easy to follow. The shifter aspects of the book were well used. I think that the author used them well.

Overall, I liked the story a lot. The characters are fairly well developed and the plot is well built.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Evil Abounds by Vivian Wood is a prequel to the Alpha Guardians series. We begin the series with Mere Marie, she collects three people from points in history; Rhys Macaulay, Gabriel Thorne and Aeric Drekkon. She presents them each with some sort of ultimatum to their situation and has them brought into present time.

I found the characters to be somewhat interesting. Though it's only a prologue, I found the portions of their original lives to be fascinating. So far, I have no problems with any of the characters. They seem to be reasonably well developed and each has acted reasonably to the situations presented to them. I appreciated their wonder to the new version of their world in 2015 and their amazement with our life, though at the same time I also appreciate that it didn't overtake the story and we simply moved on with the story.

The book begins by presenting us with a scene of wonder, introducing us into a new world with all sorts of forms of magic. I felt that the author wrote well and worked with a beautiful use of language to present the scenery and situations. I also appreciated, later on, that when the characters would use an alternate language, much of it was semi-translated for the reader, the same way that several of the magical terms were sort of translated for the reader in the case they mightn't know of it. I liked the varying supernatural and fantasy aspects. The best thing is that it all works together very well. For example, using various aspects of witchcraft and demon summoning, meanwhile mixing it with things such as time travel and shifting.

Overall, I liked the story and will certainly continue the series in future.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

We begin Twin Dragons in Seattle, the introductory character inspired to visit the city because of the Donovan series by Elizabeth Lowell. Our narrator, Gail, is sight seeing at the Space Needle and soon something bad happens. Eli, her saviour, is a good looking guy and they soon agree to spend more time together, along with his twin brother, Tyler.

The characters are all kind of awkward. Both twins, though the writing makes it as if they're trying to hide their importance, brag about their lives more than necessary and don't seem modest in the way that the authors try and make it seem. If anything, they sort of make comments about their wealth and pretend to be nonchalant about it, like passing it off as if it's nothing despite the fact that they were bragging about it. They also flash around their money, leaving a generous tip when paying for food and later try and show off multiple apartments and a jet. The pair of them just ends up being really nasty and very dislikeable. Gail is somewhat of an awkward character as well, right from her meeting the pair, she sort of acts as if she's taking advantage of them. For example, when they've gotten to the elevator to leave the site, she notices two other girls and tries to show off that she's with the twins by putting her arm around one. A lot happens to her, which I'll touch on in a bit, but it just seems like she lacks basic emotions. She doesn't seem afraid when scary stuff happens. She seems to lack happiness, even later on in the book when she's known the pair for a while. She's just completely unrealistic. The sex scenes were awkward and completely strange. As soon as the twins get the girl back to their penthouse, they rip her pants off. There was no real build up to it and it just came out of no-where. This just makes it awkward. Seriously; what kind of whacko person raises their son to rip off a woman's pants as soon as they get her home? It just felt creepy. Not to mention, it seemed that Gail was not willing in some portions. It mentions that one of the men has to "force" her mouth open for oral sex, that he gets "resistance" from her when he tries to penetrate her. In the next scene, she makes a run for the door but is sort of captured by the pair and forced onto the ground, furthering the sexual session with her as a sort of hostage. It is just not sexy. It gets creepier and creepier, in fact. They're raping her.

The story begins by presenting a nice scene and giving us the impression of some sort of tourist view, one which many of us have or will experience. I actually thought that the beginning of the book was quite promising. However, my mind was soon changed by later events. I find it kind of annoying that after the incident where Gail is put in danger by the failing railing, nobody bothers reporting it. None of the characters bother complaining about or reporting it to someone who can do something to fix it. It seems like it's a very serious incident, yet no-one seems bothered by it. The same with many other dangers within the plot. No-one seems to be taking many of these dangerous events seriously. I can sort of understand the twins not being very afraid because they might be used to those situations, but our narrator Gail doesn't seemed freaked out at all. Even during the portions where the twins were forcing themselves on her, she didn't have any emotions whatsoever. She wasn't freaked out or even enjoying it. This is completely ridiculous because she mentions them forcing her to do things and even her trying to struggle against them while they’re doing it, but she doesn’t seem scared at all. Even afterward, the strangest thing is that she doesn't try to escape their capture of her. Her behaviour just baffles me. She has no common sense and just seems completely unrealistic. Then there's the fact that, after the first apartment was destroyed, she wasn't allowed out of the second apartment (by Eli) for nine months. So, she's essentially been kidnapped. The supernatural and fantasy aspects aren't very well presented. They happen suddenly seem to be the cause of convenience (to the plot) rather than presenting them out of reasonable thought. It just seems like the authors add things which they think are cool, for example, saving Gail by having her teleported away from danger. It just seems silly because the events aren't explained properly. Also, the dangerous aspects that happen within the plot (such as the burning of the apartment) are poorly explained. They have little set up, most of the time the excuse being that Gail was asleep so there's no narration to give us a proper explanation. Later on, it seems as if she's kidnapped and it just seems completely out of the blue because we didn't experience the kidnapping with her.

The plot was poorly developed and, despite having some sort of bad guy trying to attack the twins & co, it just seems like the twins are far more evil to Gail than anything the enemy did; they raped and kept her hostage. I know it's written as if it's meant to seem like they're doing her some sort of favour and that she doesn't mind, but that's just completely not what it seems like. She mentions (during the sexual encounter) about being forced and even trying to escape. Then later, when they took her to a secondary apartment (for safety, because the first got destroyed), she mentions wanting to leave but Eli hadn't let her leave. In addition to the poor plot elements, the characters were poorly written as well; none of them seem genuine and they all lack emotion. At many points, they flash around cash and none of them seem to have much common sense. I just don't really know how to summarise this book. It just wasn't good and I'm really disappointed by it.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Artist Mandarin Duck by Limpid Kenneth is the story of a duck that can draw. One day, when it is soon to be eaten by an eagle, the duck announces its secret. It can draw! In exchange for not eating the duck, the eagle wants to be drawn. Though, the duck tries and can't get it right. After several attempts, the eagle starts getting other creatures for the duck to draw and the practice helps the duck improve.

It's a very interesting story. I enjoyed the moral of it. I think all of the pictures are very beautiful. During the sketching phases of the duck's work, I think the illustrations really capture the duck's artistic attempts well. They're sure to give a child a good visualisation of some of the steps of drawing a picture and improving it. I also enjoyed that the duck's drawings helped bring many animals of the forest together and made the eagle somewhat nicer to them.

At first, I admittedly didn't realise what the eagle was trying to do when he brought all of the animals; I just sort of thought that it was trying to gauge whether the duck was better at drawing other animals. Though, I thought it sweet that it was essentially practice for the duck and he was then able to present the eagle with a completed drawing. Some of the word usage doesn't seem proper, for example when the eagle will grab an animal, it will say: “Do my model.” Another example is when a deer approaches the duck to see what he's drawing; the narration mentions the duck being "ashamed". I think the term "embarrassed" might be more appropriate as he oughtn't be ashamed by his work.

Overall, it's a lovely book which children might find very useful!

The Haunted Sanitary Towel by Vivid Mind is described as "an extreme horror novelette" about sanitary towels. We begin the story with Sally Bennington, a woman who has just begun her period before leaving for work. Using a different brand of sanitary towel than usual, there are horrible consequences and we delve into the tale of a serial killer who uses the feminine product as his weapon.

The theme and plot are interesting and it seemed like an amusing plot line. However, the story goes a little too quickly and we don't get enough time spent on many important portions. I think this is part of the reason why it doesn't really fulfil the "extreme horror" portion I mentioned prior; I admit that there's a lot of icky things going on and it's kind of disgusting, but it's not really scary to me at all... I'll attempt to explain that a bit further. Many of the portions present scenes which might seem a bit freaky. However, a lot of those bits seem kind of generic and I just don't think that they're explained well enough to be horrific. For example, Dave's kidnapping women. We know why he does such a thing, but it just seems like things have escalated so quickly between scenes and it doesn't really feel that scary because it looks almost thrown into the story (without a proper set up). To me, it also seems a little bit lacking in other portions, for example how easy it seems that Dave managed to distribute these horrific items. They're, quite simply, stocked in pharmacies. Surely in production phases (he can't possibly have manufactured so many of these himself), people would have noticed the problem with the objects. Also, at another point, we find that he filled one of his mother's pillows with asbestos, but surely he would have felt some of the consequences of this as well. As much as he hates women, he doesn't really need to put much effort into harming them. I think it also takes away some of the horror factor because of that.

Overall, it's a decent story and presents an interesting idea. Though, it's not executed as well as it could be and feels like it lacks that scary quality that the author might have been aiming for.

I "purchased" a copy of The Haunted Sanitary Towel by Vivid Mind from Smashwords today with a coupon code, allowing me to get it for free. This is just my honest opinion of it.

In Little Bear's Cookie Day by Limpid Kenneth we visit a forest where Little Bear lives with his parents. Upon reading a story book, Little Bear decides that he wants to eat cookies. With the help of his mother, he learns how to make cookies. First they get out the ingredients. Then she shows him how to properly mix together the ingredients. Once they're shaped (into fish!), they're baked and Mother Bear explains the way the heat affects them in the oven.

It's fairly interesting and I enjoy that the author tries to teach the children something within the book. Not only does the story teach them about cooking, but Mother Bear's explanation of the cooking process gives children a very basic view of the science of it as well. The story is fairly sweet; essentially Little Bear takes inspiration from reading a book and it encourages him to take on an activity in real life. Hopefully such a story might inspire children who read this book to take on some sort of new hobby of their own.

Overall, the book has plenty of adorable images and aims to give kids a bit of insight to learning something new. I imagine that many children will find this book to be a great read!

Tiger Has a Garden by Limpid Kenneth is a book about two tigers, Burton and Caroline. Burton has a garden and he one day receives Caroline as a visitor. She joins him for tea and a trip around the garden that Burton is so proud of.

I quite like both tigers. They show kindness to each other and their friendship is very adorable. I very much appreciate that their continued time together isn't hindered by conflict. The end result is that we have a very warm, uplifting story about two tigers enjoying a few cups of tea together in a beautiful garden.

I also enjoyed that the story even aims to teach the skill of making mint lavender iced tea, like they drink in the book. Though just as a note for parents, I think it would be best if adults supervised children making it and, even without supervision, some children might need a bit of help getting it right if they don't know how to make tea.

Overall, it's a beautifully illustrated book. The story is charming and both tigers are a pleasure to spend time with. Any child is sure to enjoy this book!

Most people would be thankful to win the lottery. Not Cassandra Wakefield, however. A few months shy of her twenty second birthday, she is the unlucky winner of a town lottery. The prize is her surrender to a pack of wolf shifters in return for their word that they'll leave the town alone.

I didn't like any of the characters; none of them felt very real or natural. All of their personalities were lacking some sort of unique quality. Cassandra, in particular; her history seems to be kind of generic her narration- the way she tells her story- seems quite rehearsed. She doesn't seem like a very genuine character and her feelings lack any real quality; her fear and worries just seem lacklustre. Another thing is that her personality can kind of turn juvenile at the most inappropriate moments; she finds herself giggling every now and then. It's just somewhat awkward to read. The three main alpha wolves seemed very generic as well. Each had slightly different personalities from each other, but overall they were the same build and we just don't get to see enough of them to determine much of a difference or any kind of special aspect.

The plot is kind of interesting. Essentially, it sort of reminds me of some type of old story where Cassandra is a sacrifice (to the pack, in this case) in order to keep peace in the town. Though, I did have problems with the way the story was presented. Essentially, we only experience one night, where she's handed over and the wolves are meant to have their way with her. Though, the story halts, changes direction and then starts back up every now and then. Not to mention, there are some portions are repetitive; Cassandra thinks things and then those points get voiced or the events then happen. A lot of it is unnecessary. It's difficult for me to explain, but essentially there's a lot of unnecessary dialogue or scenes and I kind of feel like at least 70-80% of the novella is stalling for time. At the end of the story, we get introduced to the rest of the pack with a new interesting point. However, seeing as it's a cliff-hanger, the story gets cut short and we don't get to find out (just yet) the most interesting thing within the book.

Overall, I like the idea of the plot, but it just wasn't well executed. The characters are generic and lack any special qualities. The majority of the novella seemed forced and it kind of felt like the author was trying to stretch something (that was originally only one or two scenes) into an entire story. It was decent, though, and I do want to read more just based on the ending of it.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Quest of the Alpha is the first in the Sierra Moon series by Claire Ryann. We begin the book with a pair of brothers, Lane and Diego. They have a problem; they need a breeding pair for their shifter pack of wolves. Tara, a lone hiker, has come camping and is unaware that the new partner, Lane, she's been hiking with is a wolf shifter. They develop strong feelings for each other and soon Lane needs to find the right way to explain to his situation to her.

For a female alpha, I think the author has done well with Tara. From her internal narration in the beginning of her portions, Tara has a strong personality. She strives to do what she feels is best for her. She kind of lacks confidence when it comes to her weight, but I feel like the author can develop her well in that area in future, if she gets the right kind of encouragement from Lane or other characters. She's fairly strong willed and I think that she could do well as a female leader of a pack. For Lane, I think that his character is reasonably well developed considering the past we've been presented. I wouldn't call him a true alpha (in anything but the eldest of the pack) as we haven't seen enough of his strong personality. However, from the past we've seen, it seems that he didn't come to the position out of strength in the first place. Regardless, I think that he's a fairly interesting character. I appreciate the past with his wife and the potential of his relationship with Tara. I think that the relationship between Lane and Tara is fairly innocent and very sweet. It's obvious that, right from the beginning, they have feelings for and are reasonably attracted to each other. I also think that they feel quite natural together. To me, I certainly don't feel like their relationship is forced. It's very pleasant to have such a warm relationship. As for the other characters, I don't think we've seen enough of them yet, but I think there are some interesting characters to look into for the future of the series.

I think that the plot is interesting and their problem- lack of a female alpha- presents a sort of realistic crisis for that sort of situation. In a way, the problem was solved a little bit too easily and gives the title a misleading aspect; there isn't a "quest" for the alpha female as one of the pack just goes for a walk and happens upon her. However, on that point, I appreciate that getting her back to the pack proves to be a bit harder. I also liked that near the end, we got a sort of glimpse into the potential problems for the future of the series, introducing the mountain lion and possibly some rivalry / enemy. I know that not everyone appreciates a cliff hanger, but I think the author has presented it well in this situation. The supernatural aspects with the shifting seemed fairly well integrated to the book and I thought it interesting to present the idea of some of the other women in the pack to be "more wolf than woman" and that they weren't good options as a mate because of such a thing. It certainly gives me curiousity as to the past of some of these other characters Though Lane and Tara are the primary people, I would like to see a bit more about the others and what led them to this pack.

Overall, I liked the story. It was fairly well developed, kept me interested and I am certainly looking forward to reading more of the series.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth, and final, book of the Loving Two Dragons series by James D Horton. Following soon after the first three parts, we're led into the new world of the Gold Kingdom where Archer has recently been dethroned. Jennifer is doing her best to aid her people, meanwhile her husband Archer and his second in command Logan are doing their best to regain control of their clan.

I felt like this book kind of lacked some of the character elements that made the prior volumes work so well. For example, we receive little mention of Elise; I don't remember her even being mentioned until the eleventh chapter. She receives a greater role after that, but it still felt like she was forgotten about. Remy played a much greater role in this portion, but his character was pretty much the exact same as he has been in the prior portions and his addition to this book didn't really give him much development. I did like the arguing and fighting between Archer and Logan; their jealousy of each other was interesting and I enjoyed that they both have enough love for Jennifer to voice their opinions to each other. I do still like Jennifer as a character, though, and I appreciate her compassion and patience throughout the series. She's very likeable and has a really hopeful outlook. Archer and Logan have also been fairly strong characters and I think they've served the series well.

I do like how we get a bit more information about the dragon shifting in general and how it all began, as well as more information on the culture. However, I feel like it's not a complete work. There are a lot of things that are rushed through so fast that they don't have a proper explanation. For example, the portions about Jennifer having her own magic and the shifting abilities of the women in their culture; it was presented quickly and they were able to gain this ability fairly fast, without much explanation to the readers about how they managed to find it.
Another thing I felt was rushed was the birth of the child, which skipped soon after finding out about her pregnancy (with a few scenes in between) to eight months later. After the Gold clan has recovered their territory, we don't get any explanation as to how well they accomplished rebuilding any portion of their society if needed (which I reckon it would be).

With the overall series in consideration, I think the author has done well. There have been some interesting characters and situations presented. However, I just don't feel like the series is complete. I still have many questions about it, though. I still don't really understand how Jennifer has this ability to reincarnate every now and then. Also, after so many regenerations, why has she only had two children? Surely there'd be the opening to have had so many more, even with the dying every now and then. Though I did like the story portions with the main evil pair, Marathe and her son Mateas, I still don't feel like we got a complete history on either of them and how they came to be antagonists (we do have a basic understanding, yes, but I feel like there's a lot of the story we're missing there). Forgetting my unanswered questions for a moment, there are portions of character development I don't feel are complete either. Obviously Marathe and Mateas don't have finished storylines, but I feel like Remy, Elise, and Jennifer's storylines also lack a complete feeling.

Overall, I enjoyed the series very much. However, this finale to it feels kind of lackluster in comparison. It's still a good book, but I'm kind of disappointed that everything went by so quickly and not everything got a proper explanation. That's just my opinion, though.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Bone Box by Jay Amberg is about the major archaeological discovery of an ossuary, a box of human remains and a few scrolls. With the suspicion that these remains belong to Jesus of Nazareth and that the scrolls pertain to his teachings, a lot of people are willing to do questionable things to get their hands on the contents. The book revolves around two main characters, Sophia Altay and Joseph Travers. Sophia is the primary archaeologist and the one responsible for the dig site where the bone box was uncovered. Joseph has come to Turkey to evaluate the dig site. Together they do their best to save the artefacts from those who would kill to get their hands on them.

I felt that both main characters, Sophia and Joseph, were fairly realistic. The thing I like most about them is that they have very relatable worries and concerns; they both have interests in the bone box and I feel like their obsessions really drive them to do the best they can for its benefit. I think that they also have very interesting back stories as well. Sophia's past with her parents and fascination for archaeology has led her to become a very intelligent woman. The best thing about that is that the author can really back that (intelligence) up with the writing; she uses common sense and makes smart choices. Joseph's back-story is also somewhat important for the plot; the tale of his children leads him throughout the plot and, to me, it also seems like his character is fairly well developed. My favourite character, by far, is Abrahim; he has an amazing depth to him and I really appreciated his loyalty throughout the plot. His emotional investment, as well as his devotion, is quite apparent. For the background characters, I think all are well developed and I appreciated that we got a good look into their motivations.

As for the plot, I think it was somewhat unique. I enjoyed the theme of the bone box; I've heard of them before, but admittedly I don't know much about them. I felt that it set up the events well and worked great for the book. The events and scenes were fairly well paced. Some of the portions are slow, but in those bits there's a lot of information to be revealed so it's not a problem. I really appreciated the descriptions of the scenery and surroundings; there were some beautiful scenes presented and the author gave us a good look into the surroundings of each scene.

Overall, it was a book that kept me completely enthralled from beginning to end. The characters work well and they each have unique storylines and special parts to play in the book. The theme of the book was relatively new to me and I felt it was certainly very interesting.

I received a free eCopy of this in return for an honest review.

Unraveled is a prequel to the Soul Shifters series by Sennah Tate. It begins with the story of Preston Waters, a man who is madly in love with a woman named Elena. He would do anything for her and, when the time comes, he fights to get her back. In this world, there is darkness and shadows. The people doing their best to fight it are The Soul Shifters, men and women who have paranormal abilities.

First off, I'll be blunt: I was very impressed with this book. I think that it's brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked the characters; they were quite original. Even better than that, I think that they all worked well within the events of the novel. For example, I can really feel that Preston Waters has a lot of passion for Elena and his obsession with her is well founded. I really liked Elena as well, though she only had minor appearances; I think the author used her well and she didn't need to be in it more than necessary. I actually liked her personality as well; I could really see her side of the situation and point of view. I feel like, though Alina is in a tough situation, she has a great personality and I really do want to read more about her and her problems. So far, she seems like an impressive young woman and I'd like to see her character and powers strengthen. I liked the plot of the book as well. Though there isn't a lot of information about these shifters yet, I think that the author presented a decent amount, enough for me to have a basic knowledge of what was going on within the universe. I think that the author has presented an interesting scenario so far with the paranormal people fighting some sort of darkness; I would like to read more into it. The same with the continuation of the Preston plot line; I'm intrigued by what the author has to offer on that matter.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with such a short novella; the author has presented some important storylines to set up the universe and the rest of the series. I enjoyed all of the characters and felt that there roles were all important within the book. I definitely will continue reading the series.

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Gingerbread Castle is a book for children by D.M. Yates with beautiful poetry and lovely illustrations. It speaks the story of a trip to Dreamland. Together, we travel through the landscape and see many animals. Soon enough, we come to the aforementioned Gingerbread Castle. Made of thick gingerbread and adorned with candies, the castle is guarded by teddy bears and eagerly greet you as you arrive. The book is a wonderful experience for people of any age. The story is adventurous and upbeat. The illustrations are colourful and accompany the story well. It's a good book and would be great to read to any child.

I grabbed a free copy of this from Smashwords today.