Blog Tour: Book Review: Hedge Witch by Simon Kewin

Hi All!  This is my stop on the Blog tour for Hedge Witch by Simon Kewin.  I want to thank the author as well as Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this fun event!  And don't forget to click on the banner to go to the list of tour stops along the way!  Have fun!

Title: Hedge Witch
Series: The Cloven Land Trilogy {Book 1}
Author: Simon Kewin
 Date of Publication: April 2014
Source: received from author, Xpresso Book Tours 
Genre: fantasy, young adult


Book Synopsis:

Fifteen year-old Cait Weerd has no idea she’s being sought by the undain: sorcerous creatures of necromancy that feed off the spirit of the living. She doesn’t know the undain need her blood to survive. She doesn’t even know she’s a witch, descended from a long line of witches. Cait Weerd doesn’t know a lot, really, but all that’s about to change.
At Manchester Central Library she’s caught up in sudden, horrific violence. In the chaos she’s handed an old book that’s been hidden there and told to run, hide the book or destroy it. It contains all the secrets of the undains’ existence. They and their human servants want to find that as much as they want Cait.
What’s more, she learns that the fate of two worlds is at stake here. Just what she needs. Along with definitely-not-a-boyfriend Danny, she has to decide what the hell to do. Run, fight or just hope it all goes away.
It’s only then she learns who she really is, along with the terrible truth of what the undain have been doing in our world all this time …

My Thoughts:
The cover alone is pretty darn amazing!  I love the abstract piercings and the blue hair/eyebrows!  I think the cover really does the story justice and hooks you in with the beautiful artwork on it.  I also love that the main character thrives with individuality.  I really enjoyed the story line, especially with the parallel world that is there to help our main character, Cait, as well as hinder her too.
Who doesn't want a basement of old and rare books?  Yes, please!  That is a pretty cool scene and the action literally starts up in just the first few pages, grabbing our attention and not letting go.
I liked Cait but I wished she believed in herself more at the beginning of the story, as well as toward the middle.  I would have liked for a little bit more confidence from her.
I also loved the Old World tone to it.  As I read it, I felt like it was written as a classic, instead of this day and age.  I think it was the authentic British slang used throughout it.  I really felt like I was a part of the English culture, and loved having that feeling.  This story just had this cozy feel to it as I read it.  But that isn't to say it read slowly.  On the contrary, there were fast paced scenes in it with lots of action and other scenes that really captured my imagination.  The plot line flowed easily for me and was really easy to get caught up in the story threads.
I have always been a fan of witches and the lore that surrounds them.  I love that Hedge Witch built upon that and also bringing in its own magical essence too.

All in all, Hedge Witch is a great book with some very interesting characters that will make you laugh and groan all at the same time!  The Grandmother is pretty cool and I love the witches from the other world as well.  I can't wait to see how everything plays out in this series!  And way to go on such a cliffhanger ending!! How can you leave us like that??? How???

 Purchase your copy at:
| Amazon |


Connect with Simon Kewin at:
Website| Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

A little about our Author:

Simon was born on the misty Isle of Man but now lives deep in the English countryside with his wife and two daughters.
He writes science fiction and fantasy as well as some stories that can’t make their minds up.
Find out more on his website at simonkewin.co.uk.

Book Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate {Book 1: Fallen Series}

Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Series: Book 1 in Fallen Series
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Date of Publication: Dec. 8, 2009
Source: bought, 452 pages


Goodreads Synopsis:

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.
Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.
Even Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce – he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.
Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story

My Thoughts:

This is one of those books that I really liked and really didn't.  
Yeah...I was torn.

So just imagine how hard this reveiw was to write when a part of me wants to gush about the book; and another part of me just wants to moan about its shortcomings.  

Well, let me just jump into it then shall we?

First, I loved that it was set in Georgia.  I am a huge lover of backgrounds in Georgia.  There is just something very special about the feeling while in the swamplands of the GA.  Okay, so I am little biased being that I am from GA born and raised but there is something magical about Savannah and the area around it.  
So I was totally stoked to know it took place in my beloved homeland.  

I also fell in love with the fact that it had this major "good vs. evil" scenario running through the course of the entire book.  And some of the characters screamed evil while others took a lot more figuring out.  
I also thought that the twists and turns in it was done rather superbly and I loved the foreshadowing in all its glory.  

But.....

I found myself inwardly groaning at some of the decisions Luce, our main protagonist, made during the book.  I guess I just found myself groaning at Luce.  She did have some positive features but for the most part, she really just grated on my nerves.  
Especially, when it came to letting one guy she wasn't interested in him.  I mean come on!!! If you don't like someone, you do not get into a strange car to go tell them you don't like them!!! Okay I wouldn't but maybe that isn't how girls in this age do that?  I mean if I really don't like someone, I tend to stay the hell away from them.  Its better for both parties involved.  

And so when Luce insists on following him around just to let him know she wasn't interested it just really pissed me off.  Sorry.. but it did.

I don't know; maybe I'm just not giving her enough credit.  Maybe I just didn't like here to start with and I am grabbing at straws but in the end I found Luce extremely hard to swallow.  

There was also another area that I felt was really forced.  In some of the chapters it felt like the writing was drawn out, striving to make a word count.  I just felt like took a lot of energy to read when I felt some things could have been shortened. 

Now, although it seems like I hated the book I swear I didn't.  
I actually liked it due to some really awesome supporting characters like Arriane, Penn, and others at the Sword and Cross school.  
The descriptive ways the author shared her vision of the ancient cemetary and the school really made me  yearn to be there sharing in the visionary bliss that she was able to portray in her writing.  
It also took me a while to figure out the entire plot until the very end.  I had grasped bits and pieces but there were some areas that totally had my mind blown.  I love that Kate could keep me guessing for that long and still be intrigued with the story, even after I wasn't too fond of the main character.    That is some really good writing to have me invested in the story, even when I can't love the main protagonist.  


Overall, I found myself torn between loving Fallen, and at the same time, disliking it.  Perhaps, that in and of itself, is a reason to have respect for the book that it can illicit such strong polar opposite emotions in me it leaves me confused and intrigued all at the same time?  I may not have been completely in love with Luce,  I did appreciate the other characters around her that made her seem less annoying and more just lost.  

I have to give Fallen 3 hearts but I do look forward to reading the second book in hopes for some redemption.   

Connect with the author:
Goodreads | Twitter | Website |
Get your own Copy:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 

Book Review: The Immortal Circus by A.R. Kahler

Title: The Immortal Circus
Author: A.R. Kahler
Publisher: 47North
Date of Publication: Dec. 4, 2012
Source: bought, Kindle, 236 pages
Genre: Fantasy, New Adult, Romance, Paranormal
Fall In Love with Your Own:  Amazon | 



Goodreads Summary:

Murdered contortionists aren’t exactly what Vivienne signed up for when she ran away to join the circus. But like most things under the big top, nothing is what it seems. With a past she can't quite remember, Vivienne finds that running away forever might not be as appealing as it once sounded—especially not when she realizes the devilishly attractive ringleader Mab is the Faerie Queen of legend…and that she and the rest of the troupe are locked in an age-old rivalry between the otherworldly Courts.Aided by her friends Kingston—a feisty stage magician whose magic is quickly stealing her heart—and his smart-ass assistant Melody, Vivienne finds herself racing against the clock to discover the culprit behind a series of deaths that should be impossible. However, the answer she seeks might reveal more about her own bloody past—and future—than she bargains for.
The show's just beginning.

Step right up…

My Thoughts:
This is a fast paced, sexy as hell, romantic supernatural mystery that combines so many magical elements it creates this thrill ride that you hope will never end!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the circuses we grew up on had this type of allure to them?  Magicians that capture our minds with spells, while the fey like performers capture our eyes with their graceful moves.  Oh what a wonderful world indeed that would be!

Lucky for us, Mr. Kahler created a world with these very powerful beings who can transform everything around us with just a blink of the eyelid.   From the very first page, we are thrust right into the dark world of the Cirques de Immortales where a performer has been murdered.  Right away, we get a glimpse of the dangerous side to this profound group of circus performers.  
It is told from Vivienne's standpoint, so we are kept in the dark, only learning things as she learns them.  There are a few times we are privy to certain conversations between other characters that help us see a little bit more into everyone's parts that they are destined to play.
I liked Vivienne for the most part.  There were times she seemed a little naive concerning the background info on the other members of the circus, but in her defense she had a lot on her plate so I guess that could be understandable.  
Besides our main character, the others are an interesting lot too.  Kingston is a heartthrob indeed!  Every time I hear his name, I imagine this tall gorgeous man wearing a top hat (magicians have to have  their top hats) and an overcoat with no shirt open.  Oh goodness me!
I, personally, love our leader of the Immortal Circus, Mab of the Winter Court.  She is sexy incarnate.  She is dark, deceptive, and yet I feel drawn to her like a magnet.  Mab has this pull which is probably why everyone found their way to her; she knew their weakness and this is how she is able to get the "contracts" from them.  

The plot threads in the story are addictive.  Everyone knows that The Winter Court despises the Summer Court and yet things are not as they seem.  I wouldn't label Mab as good in the book; but I could not give the Summer Court Fey this title either.  Both courts are devious and only interested in their own means.    After reading the book, though, I found it hard to root for the Summer court.  The winter court had some very amazing creatures helping them, even though they could have been terrifying, it still was enjoyable to see them working together helping the circus.  

There is so much more to come in these books I am going to be biting my nails waiting on the next book to come out.  Mab has many dark secrets up her sleeves and I am terrified for what Vivienne  has to play in the future of the Immortal Circus.  

I highly suggest you come to the circus, where your inhibitions can be released as you experience a magically induced sensual journey into one of the most secretive and dark fantasies to come to the pages of a book.  

I wholeheartedly give The Immortal Circus five hearts!  

Connect with A.R. Kahler:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | 

Review: Dark Seraphine by KaSonndra Leigh

Title: Dark Seraphine
Series: Seraphine Trilogy # 1
Author: KaSonndra Leigh
Publisher: Createspace
Date of Publication: October 21, 2012
Source: received copy for my honest review of it

Goodreads Synopsis:"Mom always says the angels walk among us. She forgot to tell me that sometimes they're not all fluffy and nice."
Seventeen-year-old Caleb Wood has seen people he calls the walkers since he was a baby. It didn't take long for him to realize something…no one can see these strangers but him. They never stuck around or tried to touch him. And they never said a word. That was until one day on the first day of class in his senior year when an incredibly gorgeous girl strolls into his life…and things are never the same again.
Soon Caleb realizes he has stepped into the middle of a growing conflict between two ancient groups. And his ability to see the invisible ones, the half-breeds that want to modify the human race, just might be the only hope both he and the mysterious, but infuriating, Gia, have of making it out alive

My Thoughts:
 I really really am crazy about this author, KaSonndra Leigh, and her adult novel, Haceinda Moon.  I loved that book so much and it was a ghost story too *(not usually my thing but lately it fits).  She is a great writer and can really spin a tale of torture, suspense, and love.
With that being said, Dark Seraphine, just wasn't for me.  I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.  It was just blah for me.  Nothing really stood out for me.  I like Caleb but he wasn't a spectacular character that I immediately fell in love with, but instead he was just likable.  It is typical high school drama with the slew of characters: you have the nerds, the cheerleaders, the outsiders, and then, in this case the Walkers.
The plot is a interesting one and especially coming from a guy's point of view too.
There is action in it to keep guys occupied.  I actually liked that Caleb taught self defense; this makes him even more lovable to the reader.
I think the story line is a great idea but I just couldn't get into the story try as I might.  A lot of the characters fell a little flat for me and half the time I was confused as to what was going on.
I did think our author did a great job of keeping us in the dark along with Caleb as far as who Gia really is and what she is really doing there.
There is a love triangle in this story but I felt like it was forced because so many other YA novels have it there too.  Erica was complicated.  We were able to see she was different than what the school believed her to be but then she just ticked me off when she acted so nonchalant about Caleb.   And then of course there is Gia.  She is our mysterious girl that is always there when Caleb gets his temper going but can never give us a straight answer.  I did wholeheartedly love the fact that Gia is this awesome girl skateboarder who the school is totally crushing on.

This story wasn't for me but I wouldn't pass it up totally. The author is a wonderful writer and has some great stories out there right now.  I just wasn't feeling this one but if you are really into a male's pov, love triangles, mysterious girls, and many magical moments then you should definitely give it a shot!
I gave it 2 hearts.

Get your own copy at:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | 

Connect with KaSonndra Leigh at : Goodreads | Website | Twitter | 

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor {Book # 1}

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Audio: Hachette Audio
Date of Publication: Sept. 27, 2011
Format: audiobook, hardcover, paperback
Source:  free download from Sync
Get Your Own Copy: Amazon | The Book Depository |         

Goodreads Blurb: 
Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.


When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?                              

My Thoughts:
As I sit here, deciding how to start this review, I find myself having a hard time getting my feelings out.
Why? (I am sure you are asking..)
Most people would think it is because I couldn't relate to the book or the characters, right?  But I am here to tell you that is completely the opposite here.

I FREAKING FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS STORY!! I MEAN HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE!

The reason I am having such a hard time is because I feel like there isn't really words to describe this wonderful piece of literature.  I wish I could pluck millions of shiny stars from the sky to bestow upon this book, instead of just a few five.  So forgive me if I sound like a fangirl swooning over some hot number, but I have to say this is has made my list of one of my favorite books of all times.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone takes this doomed love situation and puts a heart wrenching unexpected twist upon it, creating an amazing fairy tale for young and old to enjoy.  It really has the most basic and simple plot line: a "Romeo and Juliet" type scenario of forbidden love, but then Ms. Taylor tells it from such a unique perspective that you find yourself immersed in a rich and complex story that is anything but simple.

The characters are strong proud beings, some having to work through their faults and broken past, while others are so evil you can just feel the darkness lurking inside of them.  No matter what you will have some very strong emotions towards all the characters in this book.
Karou is such an interesting female heroine.  I adore her so much!  Not once does she irritate me and I feel like we learn so much with her (and from her) as she learns more about her history.  She is a strong persona, even though she feels like there is something missing from inside her life, and accepts the strangeness of her family with a wholeness that is something to admire.  I love that one of her passions is sketching; I feel like this adds even more to her already artistic surroundings.  She seems like she would be  a wonderful friend, loyal and true, fun yet serious, and did I mention she has blue hair?  Yeah she is that great!
Akiva is our male counterpart to Karou and has many of the same strong traits as she does.  He is brave, loyal, and yet has this terrible grief that keeps him a broken mess of a man. Or angel.  Just as the reader is drawn to Karou's mesmerizing personality, Akiva finds he cannot stop thinking about the strange girl with blue hair.  It is an obvious tear jerker to see how Akiva tries to cope with these emotions he has toward Karou and seeing the turmoil in him because he doesn't want to feel anything anymore.
Besides watching the dynamics between these two powerful lead characters, Taylor gives us some very unusual and personable supporting characters, like Brimstone and Zuzana, that add even more heart to this already heartfelt story.

Then we move on to the world building in Daughter of Smoke and Bone that helps create this magically exceptional place where humans coincide with supernatural beings without even realizing it.  Prague, in itself, sounds mysterious just by the name, but then we get to explore some of the maze like streets there with Karou and we find ourselves being swept away to a dreamland place.  A place where people feel comfortable searching for ghosts, where the architectural designs are based off ancient civilizations beautifully restored, and where people are content to appreciate the beauty that surrounds such a magical place.
The descriptions of the real and unreal areas are so well maintained, even now I can close my eyes and bring each and every detail to mind, like I am being transported there right now.  It is like a world within a world within a world...so forth and so on.
Taylor uses such descriptive and powerful imagery it feels like the Chimera and the Seraphim could just jump right off the page (or in my case through the headphones) into my living room.  When she describes Brimstone's dusty old shop, it isn't hard to picture him at his desk, counting teeth, the silence hanging in the air like an old friend, as Karou sits with him enthralled at his detailed work.
I also love how every little detail and plot thread comes back to the bigger idea or main plot. Basically everything ties in and you don't have any nonsense threads leading to nowhere.  There are no fillers but everything is there that should be there.
There is a lot of flashbacks in this story, which normally gets on my nerves, but for Daughter of Smoke and Bone , it seems like the flashbacks help us learn just what we need to instead of overloading us with too much information too soon.  We also get the story told from Akiva and Karou's perspectives so that helps us see it from two different sides: angel and Chimera / human.
It is a metaphorical fairy tale that forces us to take a long hard look at what we consider good and evil and then realize that there is always exceptions to this rule.  Especially when true love is involved.  Speaking of the love aspect, I found it not to be the "insta-love" sensation but instead we get to see the relationship build along with the nerves, and the butterflies that new lovebirds experience.

Audiobook Review:
The narrator, Kristine Hvam, is the most amazing storyteller I have ever heard! The feeling she puts behind the different character voices makes an already thrilling story that more creative.  The way Hvam disguises her voice, from an angel solider to a young woman, to a Czech art student to a hulking beast of a Chimera, she has this quality to make you get lost in her voice and disappear into the prose.    I honestly felt like an old friend, listening in to Karou's conversations, laughing with her, grieving with her, and more importantly, falling in love too.

All in all.....this was the most amazingly crafted work of art I have ever read.  It was magical, entertaining, and had me spellbound from the minute I heard Hvam's interpretation of Karou's voice.  I highly recommend listening the audiobook version of it.  Even if you are not a fan of audiobooks (I wasn't at first either) Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the one audio book that will make you a fan of them.  It literally took my breath away!

My Review of Spellbound by Kodilynn Calhoun

Spellbound

Kodilynn Calhoun

Published: March 12, 2012

I received Spellbound as a complimentary book in exchange for my honest review of it.  

I have read another of Kodilynn Calhoun's works before and I had my breath took away with such descriptive words that painted beautiful worlds, I didn't know if she could pull it off again.  But she did and even better!  

Spellbound is a strong story about love, fate, and redemption.  Our main characters, Wylde and Kascien, are as different as the moon and sun, and yet as we always learn opposites will attract.  

The story begins with Wylde's father, King of the Wyverns(dragon people) decreeing that she must pick a suitor or he will pick one for her.  She is furious and shifts into a beautiful dragon and roams the sky in an attempt to release her heartbreak at this news.  

Flying too close to the Shining Cities( like the modern cities of our world) she senses another of Dragon blood.  This is where Wylde comes in contact with a drakehound mutated with dragon blood inside it dying in the forest.  Wylde reads it's mind and realizes that the drakehound has been forced to fight it's entire life; she swears vengeance on the one that has did this.

Sneaking upon Kascien, the slave bound human in charge of the drakehounds, Wylde discovers she cannot kill him because he is as much as a slave as the drakehounds are.  She promises him salvation if he will help her release the animals into freedom.  

Kascien knows his decision will put his life in danger but he cannot say no to the princess.  As they make their way to the Kennels, everything they believe and know will be put to a test.   

It is an epic journey that they have to go through find what they want most in this world.  

There aren't many young adult stories about dragon shifters so this was a welcoming change.  

Calhoun creates beautiful pictures with her words, painting intense images inside your head as you read her stories.  I felt like I was really there in the Shining Cities with the magi, or walking in the red desert near Vanla.  

Another interesting factor in this story is how Calhoun took our modern devices and worked it into this story when speaking of the Shining Cities, and  combining it with a very medieval type feel with the dragons.  

There is so much going on with this story it was hard for me to put it down.  Yes, it has romance, but the romance isn't overpowering in the story to take away from anything else.  There is also mystery, magic, and some very serious fight scenes that any action hero could sit up and take note of.  

This is a story that both guys and girls could read and truly enjoy.  I actually came away learning something from Spellbound; you should always stand up for what you believe in, even when the odds are against you.  Wylde definitely does this and doesn't run away when things get scary.  She is a powerful, strong, and courageous female.  

Spellbound is an easy read that moves very quickly.  It has complex characters and writing that will blow your mind away with creativeness.  

I cannot wait to see what Kodilynn Calhoun has in store for us next.  

If you are interested in Spellbound to read on the Kindle, please click below:

You can also find it at Barnes and Nobles and Smashwords