Flora Reviews... "Cupcakes, Trinkets and Other Deadly Magic (The Dowser #1) by Meghan Ciana Doidge

Read from 8th - 13th June, 2015 on my Kindle.

What a great book!! I really enjoyed it; witches, vampires, shape shifters and zombies - what more could a fan of Urban Fantasy wish for! ;-)

 

So what's the story about? The Official blurb says:

 

If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have told you that the best cupcakes were dark chocolate with chocolate cream cheese icing, that dancing in a crowd of magic wielders — the Adept — was better than sex, and that my life was peaceful and uneventful. Just the way I liked it. That’s what twenty-three years in the magical backwater of Vancouver will get you — a completely skewed sense of reality. Because when the dead werewolves started showing up, it all unravelled … except for the cupcake part. That’s a universal truth.

 

This story is written in the first person from the viewpoint of our main character, Jade, I found it well written and easy to follow. The balance of world building, character development and plot progression felt just right to me.  The journey of self discovery that our main character Jade experienced was exciting, scary, traumatic and at times also very funny even though the big bad in this story came as no surprise to me. A lot of loose ends were tied up to complete this tale but enough remains a mystery to allow for exploration in future books.
 

It was lovely to see Jade grow in confidence as this tale progressed and although this book is cliffhanger free (woo!hoo!) I became so involved in her story that I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series "Trinkets, Treasures and Other Bloody Magic" to find out what Jade gets up to next!!

 

 

Flora Reviews.... Raven (The Raven Saga #1) by Suzy Turner

   

Darlings Of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology

By Trina M Lee, Chrissy Peebles, Kristen L Middleton, W.J. May, Suzy Turner, K.C. Blake, Claire Farrell, Dale Mayer, Ally Thomas and S.J. Wright.

...So what’s this book about?

This book is a collection of ten “bestselling” full length urban fantasy and paranormal romance stories with the common theme of all the tales being about vampires. I downloaded this Kindle version for free from Amazon UK in the hope of finding some “new to me” authors. 

I haven't finished the whole book yet but I had to let you know about the story that I've just finished.

Book 3 - "Raven" by Suzy Turner.

This is the first book of a Teen/Young Adult series called “The Raven Saga”. As you all may remember me saying before, teen/YA books are not my choice of reading material, I almost ALWAYS find them tedious, frustrating and it becomes increasingly challenging to care about the characters. 

...but boy, was I pleasantly surprised by this book! I loved everything about it; very easy to read and beautifully written from the viewpoint of our thirteen year old main character, Lilly Taylor, but without being juvenile in plot. This story is about family relationships, dealing with tragedy, experiencing first love and heartache, with a paranormal twist that includes werewolves, shifters, witches, vampires and, of course, magic. 

This book made me laugh as well as shed a few tears, I really got involved with Lilly and all of the supporting characters. I liked that some of the story’s mysteries were solved by the end of this book with some happy endings while letting others mysteries remain elusive.

I am duly impressed & will put book 2 “December Moon” and Book 3 “The Lost Soul” on my Goodreads.com “want to read” list. 

A February Reading Challenge!

A challenge to read more…

Since joining Goodreads.com I have found many “new to me” authors and series. I took the site’s general “2014 Reading Challenge” and have signed up again this year. In addition to that I decided to sign up for a few reading challenges that the groups I belong to set. This post is all about the monthly reading challenge that the “Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy” Group have set…

PNR & UF Group - February 2015 Challenge

1. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. In the story of the Trojan War, the Trojan Paris awarded Aphrodite the Apple of Discord after judging her to be the most beautiful of the goddesses. She then sided with the Trojans throughout the war: Read a book where a war or battle takes place or a book where main characters fight over a love interest.

“Heart of Darkness” by Felicity Heaton in Eternal Love: Vampire Romance Box set

2. Ishtar is the Babylonian goddess of love, procreation, and war. When the love of her life, the farm god Tammuz, died, she followed him to the Underworld: Read a book involving demons or a book where at least part of the story takes place in an underground realm.

“Darkness Reborn – Order of the Blade #5” by Stephanie Rowe

3. Inanna was the oldest of the love goddess of the Mesopotamian region. She was a Sumerian goddess of love and war. Although she is regarded as a virgin, Inanna is a goddess responsible for sexual love, procreation, and fertility: Read a book where a wedding takes place, or where someone is having a baby, or a book where one of the characters is a virgin.

“To Hell and Back (Lily Harper Series #3)” by H.P. Mallory

4. Ashtart/Astarte is a Semitic goddess of sexual love, maternity and fertility. She is also a war goddess and is associated with leopards or lions. Sometimes she is two-horned: Read a book about shifters.

“Hunted By A Jaguar (Eternal Mates #4)” by Felicity Heaton

5. Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. She was originally an Italic goddess of vegetation and patron of gardens: Read a book involving any woodland creatures, Fairies, Elves, Fae, Dryads, Satyrs, Gnomes, Nymphs, etc.

“Claiming The Vampire (Blood and Absinthe #3)” by Chloe Hart

6. Hathor is an Egyptian goddess who sometimes wears a sun disk with horns on her head: Read a book where a main character has powers similar to the sun, some sort of fire power or pyrokinetics, dragon shifter, fire demon, etc.

“Whisper Cape (Whisper Cape #1)” by Regan Walsh

7. Isis is the Egyptian goddess of magic: Read a book where a main character is some kind of magic user, spellcaster, sorcerer, or mage.

“Of Swine and Roses” by Ilona Andrews

8. Freya was a beautiful Vanir Norse goddess of love, magic, and divination, who was called upon for help in matters of love: Read a book where a character has the power of divination or foretelling the future or a book where at least part of the story involves time travelling to another time or place.

“Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians #1)” by Dianne Duvall

9. Nügua was primarily a Chinese creator goddess, but after she populated the earth, she taught mankind how to procreate, so she wouldn't have to do it for them: Read a book where at least one character is of Asian descent, or a book where there’s some sort of Asian martial arts fighting, or a book where part of the story takes place in an Asian named place or city.

“Shadows and Gold (Elemental Legacy #0.5)” by Elizabeth Hunter

10. Tlazolteotl is the Aztec goddess of fertility, sex, childbirth and love. She appears in four forms that correspond to the phases of the moon: Read a book where at least one main character is a werewolf.

“Huntress & Stunner (Alexa O’Brien Huntress Series #0.5 & #0.75)” by Trina M Lee

Flora Reviews... "Witchy Business (The Witch Detectives #1)" by Eve Paludan and Stuart Sharp

 

Read from October 06 to 10, 2014

Authors  Eve Paludan and  Stuart Sharp
 
...So, what’s this book about?
Elle Chambers is a respected freelance insurance investigator working in Edinburgh, Scotland who goes above and beyond to solve her cases while trying to keep everyone happy. Elle’s life is about to get completely turned upside-down when she accepts a job to find a missing piece of art.
The blurb is a bit misleading though “Elle is a witch – and a damn good one, too” well Elle Chambers is an Enchantress (she can feel people’s emotions and project emotions onto others) and a “weak” one at that because her mother raised to believe that she must control her ability and protect herself completely from the onslaught of other people’s emotions or she’s go insane or die and all her life she’s been told by The Coven (the big organisation that governs all supernatural beings and makes sure that humans are kept in the dark about their existence) that enchanters are not as powerful as a witches.
“Elle must first find a missing bad boy who might or might not be a werewolf” is also misleading as she’s already found the bad-boy werewolf, Ferguson Black, on the first page and he's a beleaguered lawyer who worries about his aging Mum, not very bad boy to me. Lol!
This book is the first of “The Witch Detectives” series. There are 3 books in the series at this time; “Witchy Business” (#1), “Witch and Famous” (#2) and “Witch Way Out” (#3).

...So, what did I like about it?
I really like the premise for this book, an enchantress/witch who investigated insurance claims; a young Miss Marple with added super natural abilities perhaps? Brilliant!
I liked the main character and the fact that we got to experience the tale from her (1st person) perspective. Elle is an innately good person who doesn’t mind bending the rules slightly to ensure fairness. We get hints of all the skills (picking locks, computer hacking, etc) that she’s picked up over the years being an investigator and the good contacts that she’d made.
I thought that the fight scene, near the end of the story was well written and kept me turning the pages, wondering how it would all end.
What I also like is that although this is a beginning of a series, this book doesn’t have a big cliffhanger ending, which is fantastic for me (I hate that).

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
I don’t think the authors have been writing for long, as I felt the writing style lacked “polish” and at times the turn of phrases used and story progression felt child-like/amateur, however, I do feel that this is something that usually improves over time with experience.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...
This is a nice story. It is a journey of self discovery for the MC. It has romance, mystery, action and drama and it could work as a standalone novel as the ending isn’t a major cliffhanger.

Flora Reviews... "The Stroke of Midnight: A Supernatural New Year's Anthology"

The Stroke of Midnight: A Supernatural New Year’s Anthology

By J.M. Gregoire, Amy Miles, Bella Roccaforte, Beth Dolgner, Brandy Dorsch, Connie Suttle, Danielle Bannister, Lola Rayne, Faith McKay, K.L. Brown, Kyra Dunst, F.F. McCulligan, Susan Illene and Michael Siemsen.

...So what’s this book about?

This book is a collection of fourteen urban fantasy and paranormal short stories/novellas with the common theme of the stories being set around “New Year’s Eve/Day”. I downloaded this Kindle version for free from Amazon UK.

Chapter 1“A stray in the night” by Lola Rayne

I enjoyed this short story. Strong but funny handsome lead character, strong female love interest, fast paced story, bit of mystery, hot lust/romance scenes left me wanting the story to go on...

Chapter 2 "Obsidian Flames" by Amy Miles.

Salem, evil witch, innocent girl sent to the stake - a well written story that had my 21st century values/characteristics forgotten & immersed in Mary Albright's world.

Chapter 3 "Suffering - A Demon Legacy Short Story" by J.M. Gregoire. Cleverly setting up a background story spanning hundreds of years without slowing the pace of this very short story takes a skilled author - I am duly impressed & will hunt out more stories about Vegas & Dez's saga...

Chapter 4 "Eternal Beginnings - A Hunger Mate Novella" by Brandy Dorsch.

I found this a bit of a struggle. The writing style isn't as smooth as the other stories so far (although new authors often have to find their feet as their experience grows) but I felt lost with the story too. I'm assuming that the timeframe of this Novella is well into an established series that has seen major storylines.

Chapter 5 “The Lurkers” by Danielle Bannister

This is a very short ghost story that plunges you right in the middle of the action; a team of U.S. Federal “Retrieval” Agents undercover in a house to remove the rebel ghosts. I found it easy to read and understand the concept behind the plot. Great story with an unexpected twist that left me thinking and coming up with my own “what happened next” scenarios.

Chapter 6 “Ghost of a Girl – A Betty Boo, Ghost Hunter Story by Beth Dolgner

This short ghost story is set at a séance in an old haunted house. The writing style was easy to read and I enjoyed the building tension of waiting for the ghost to appear but I didn't feel engaged with the characters enough to want to find out what happens in their lives next after this story. I am happy & satisfied leaving this as a quick standalone ghost story.

Chapter 7 – “GSW, or How I Met My Mother” by Connie Suttle

Not what I was expecting, in a good way! I completely fell in love with Conner Francis and think Shane Taylor is a great supporting character. I loved the story and would definitely buy a paranormal series if they were the main characters! It made me laugh and I actually shed a tear at the end which I think is impressive for a short story!

Chapter 8 – “More Glitter” by Faith McKay

This is a Teen/YA short story, relationship/life angst is not my choice of reading even in a paranormal setting, however the writing style is good and it was a nice change to read this very short story about magical adolescents

Chapter 9 – “The Smiths” by Michael Siemsen

I really loved this story. The writing style was easy to read and the world building was believable. I felt a connection to the main character, Kyle Smith and enjoyed being plunged feet first into his life. Although this story is in the paranormal genre, the dynamics and complexities of living as part of a huge family are brilliant captured and will resonate with many readers and could have easily taken place in many a family home at Christmas (or Thanksgiving). Lol! I loved the ending, it left me wanting find other stories about Kyle Smith and his usually talented family ;-)

Chapter 10 – “’Til Death Do Us Part” by K.L. Brown

I didn't get involved in this story. It left me feeling "meh". The writing style didn't flow for me, the build-up felt complicated & I couldn't connect to the characters. It’s a shame really because the concept was good. I suppose sometimes as a reader you click with a story and sometimes you don’t.

Chapter 11 – “What Lurks Within” by Bella Roccaforte

Absolutely brilliant!! I loved this story with a passion. Very easy to read writing style, believable characters with depth & great plot twists! The creative world building had me right there in Mortimer & Heidi’s life, they quickly became characters that I cared about. This story made me laugh and cry. Perfect!

Chapter 12 – “Fifteen Minutes until Midnight – An Annwn Unveiled Short Story” by Kyra Dunst

Although, this tale is obviously a short story centred on a supporting character from within a well established series, the character building and “Annwn Unveiled” background story was interweaved beautifully within this story. I found the writing style easy to read and quickly found myself engaging with Teagan’s tale. I loved her rather unique quandary; I haven’t read about a newly turned vampire who was vegan in human life before! What a conundrum!    

Chapter 13 – “Maltese Cross My Heart” by F.F. McCulligan

I feel that this short tale is more sci-fi or urban fantasy than paranormal but I enjoyed reading it. I did find the story a bit confusing at the beginning; who was this main character, what was he - is he a schizophrenic, is the story set in a future time or a different planet? But once I stopped trying to work it out and let it wash over me, I felt captivated by Glen’s journey of self discovery; it became one of those stories that gets you thinking... wow – what if? I love it when I’m still thinking about a short story days after reading it, don’t you?!

Chapter 14 – “Tempting the Moon” by Susan Illene

I loved this short story; the writing style was easy to read, the pace was good, I engaged with the main character, Mel, and I loved the complexities of her relationships with the supporting. I have since found out that this tale is from a series called “The Sensor”, I haven’t read any of the 6 books in the series and can say that you don’t need to to enjoy this story; it works well as a stand-alone story, the character building is great and we’re given all the background story we need to be able to follow what’s happening. I loved this short story so much that I think I’ve found myself a new paranormal series to read!  

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

I have enjoyed having this book as an ongoing back-up, to be able to pick up and read when I’ve had a bit of free time. I’ve enjoyed reading 11 out of the 14 tales; I think it’s got a nice collection of different paranormal creatures, settings and sub-genres under the paranormal umbrella to suit most tastes.

~ Happy Reading ~