Book Review: Mark of the Princess (The Kingdom Chronicles)

The feisty and determined fearie Princess Alannah is many things, but she never thought she would be the key to her people's destruction.

Kidnapped for a power she does not yet possess, Alannah finds herself in the clutches of the most malevolent sorserer of her time, Maligo. Alannah escapes her prison with help from the handsome and stalwart warrior fearie, Brennus.

Now she must cross mountains and forests fraught with rogue fearies, vicious Fea-hating trolls, dangerous shape-shifters, and more to reach the only ones that can help her control her incoming powers. The Elder Fearies.
With Brennus by her side, Alannah is determined to reach the Elder Fearies and save her people. Maligo is just determined she never makes it that far....

Mark Of The Princess
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 204 (ebook)
Part of Series: The Kingdom Chronicles #1
Purchased: For Review by the author
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Buy:  Amazon (US) || Amazon (UK)

REVIEW:

When I first saw the book, I knew I had to have it, or at least read it. I fall in love with the cover and I have to admit, I've never read a fea story before. So when I asked Boss, aka Yiota, she was kind enough to provide a copy for me.

Good things: The story flows. It has rich vocabulary, almost poetic but not difficult at all, it actually reminded me of all the synomys I was learning last year, most of which I've already forgot. The book was balanced. Kissing scenes are passionate, fighting scenes are anxious. The author doesn't stay long in scenes, they are small and with meaning. I liked that there were scenes with concern parents, they looked more real. And I liked all the characters. They weren't spoiled or selfish, even though most of them were royalty. Even the parents, who were supposed to be Kings and Queens were kind and natural.

Bad things: There weren't many bad things. Firstly, there is a love triangle. I think that it was meaningless and that it only adds another problem in Alannah's life. I guess it's understandable, since Alannah's character changes after her abduction comparing to the one she had before. My second problem was that there were not a clear view of the fearies. True, the author gives a very good picture of how the Five Kingdoms rule and what kind of powers each has and she's giving you a historical event at the end of the book that explains a lot, but untill this moment, I have no idea if the fearies' wings look like the ones of a butterfly, a dragon fly, or just a fly.

The end was surprising and it leaves you with many questions, some of which you had at the beggining of the book. I wasn't expecting of Brennus origin at all, and you don't learn much about Alannah's powers or Evyette's past. Actually, the end seemed like the end of an episode in a TV series, and all you have to do is keep patient untill the next week's episode, only here we have a book.

Bottom line, I liked it and enjoyed it. It was easy to read, I mean, I knew who the apprentice was long before it's been told in the book. But I recommend it to you. It loses half point, because of the love triangle, but you don't have to care too much, because there are other more important problems to care about in the book.

Guestpost: Mary Pauline Lowry

Mary Pauline Lowry has worked as a forest firefighter, construction worker, open water lifeguard, and advocate in the movement to end violence against women.
She currently works as a novelist, screenwriter, and regular contributor to the Huffington Post.

GUESTPOST

How was your journey from when you started writing the book until the book was published?

I started writing THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE on a trip to London to go to my friend Jenny’s wedding. I knew there was going to be a river raft trip in the book, so I thought when I returned to the U.S. from England I would drive from my hometown of Austin, TX to Colorado and get a job as a river raft guide. I’m naturally very adventurous, so I thought it would be fun to learn about river rafting by actually doing it.

Once I was back in Texas I threw my tent and my sleeping bag in my car and drove to Southwest Colorado. But because there was a bad drought, the rivers were really low and I couldn’t get a job as a river raft guide. Instead I found work as an apprentice carpenter. My boss was a giant Viking of a man named David, who believes women should have a chance to learn construction.

I rented a basement room at the Desert Rose Horse Ranch. Every day I would wake up at dawn to write for a couple of hours and then I would drive into Durango to do carpentry work all day. David and I usually worked outside in the cold; it was hard work, but fun and we always talked a lot about books and movies and art.

About the time I finished the first draft of THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE, I started working at a domestic violence shelter where women and children who had been abused could go to stay safe and get back on their feet. Over the next few years I spent time on and off revising THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE, and I eventually moved back to Austin.

The first novel I ever wrote is called THE GODS OF FIRE. It’s based on my experiences as a forest firefighter. It still hasn’t been released, but when I was revising THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE, THE GODS OF FIRE was optioned for film and I wrote the screenplay. The movie is now in pre-production.

And now THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE is finally being published. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a novelist, but during my journey along the way I’ve done all these other things to support myself while I was writing.

I really believe that women and girls should have a chance to make art, have adventures and really live life fully. I hope that both my novel THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE and my own experiences will inspire other people to take risks themselves.

The Earthquake Machine

The book every girl should read,
and every girl’s parents hope she’ll never read.

 The Earthquake Machine, a fun, fantastical and exhilarating tale, explodes the distinction between Young Adult and adult coming-of-age novels, even as it explores the borders between the United States and Mexico, adolescence and adulthood, male and female, English and Spanish.

The Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14 year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda’s world, but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in Rhonda’s life is her family’s Mexican yardman, Jesús. But when the INS deports Jesús back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her increasingly painful family situation.

Determined to find her friend Jésus, Rhonda seizes an opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends to Big Bend National Park. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the border town of Milagros, Mexico. There a peyote- addled bartender convinces her she won’t be safe traveling alone into the country’s interior. So with the bartender’s help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for Jesús. Thus begins a wild adventure that fulfills the longing of readers eager for a brave and brazen female protagonist.

Goodreads  || Giveaway

Book Review: The Guardian's Wildchild

Caught in a reckless attempt to stop Dark forces, Sidney Davenport, a young, rule breaking, spirited member of the secret paranormal community of Guardians, finds herself imprisoned on a naval ship and slated for execution. Her struggle with the unfamiliar emotions of fear and anger becomes even more complicated when she can no longer fight her attraction to the very man who has orders to perform her execution.

Captain Sam Waterhouse, a meticulous naval captain who’s suspected of treason, teeters on a precipice between Darkness and Light. When he receives an unusual prisoner, a paranormal journey begins to unravel his disciplined life. All the while, humanity is unknowingly at great risk when two Dark forces team up to acquire control of an elusive power. Sidney and Sam attempt to quiet their powerful feelings for each other, only to discover they can save each other, and in doing so, they might even save the world.

Through stunning imagery, an intricate and adventurous plot, and a strong cast of characters, Feather Stone gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the future—a future that is chilling, yet full of hope.

The Guardian's Wildchild
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 288 (ebook)
Part of Series: -
Purchased: For Review by the author
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Buy:  Amazon (US) || Amazon (UK)

REVIEW: 
Oh my god!! No way i was expecting the book to be that good!  I loved it!

The book is written mainly with two first person POVs, of Sam and Sidney. It starts with a small introduction for both the characters and the stories, by showing you some important things in their past. While i usually i'm not fan of this method, it was written nicely and it actually fitted with the rest later. Another thing, that i really liked was how good the author had understand her ideas and what she wanted to say. Even though i did not agree in general with how the Guardian's weren't doing much and i usually i should have been mad, their ideas and beliefs were so perfectly described that actually convinced me that they were doing the right thing indeed. When you see, a world so well created and an author who knows exactly what's is going on, there is no doubt you will not love the story. Plus, who says no to some action, magic and romance eh?

As for the characters, both Sam and Sidney were loveable. Maybe you couldn't see yourself in them but you could understand them and respect them. Sidney is such a strong female character. And i don't see that because she is kind of awesome with her powers, but because of how is letting herself be killed for the higher good. She is kind but not naive. And while she over react sometimes, she will say no, understand her mistakes and learn from them.
As for Sam, even though he starts as a dark character for his reasons, i liked that even then he was a man of honor and justice. I could understand why his people respected him and like him. He was also the character who grown the most as a person. 


And is it bad that i like the stories, with the not perfect ending? 6-7 pages before it ended, i could see how it will finish. It made me sad, but it made sense. It only loses half star because, i just wanted to see more of Danik (Sidney's sister) who seemed like an amazing character and because it was predictable at times.


A great book, which is something adult and young adult. The only thing i want to add now is that i'm a really sad is a stand alone and that it doesn't exists at Am.co.uk(lucky Americans!) printed to buy it for my bookcase.

Book Review: The New Death and others

Death gets a roommate...

An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question...

A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain...

44 stories. 19 poems. No whiny vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it - but from which direction?

The New Death and others
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 102 (ebook)
Part of Series: -
Purchased: For Review by the author
Rating: 3/5 stars
Buy:  Amazon (US) || Amazon (UK)

REVIEW:
Want a book entirely different than the latest trends? The New Death is exactly that.

Small stories and poems regarding various things are part of the book. There are 2 paragraph stories to 2-3 pages stories. There is not a skeleton on the stories subject. They just appear. But most importantly the book is fun, ironic and sarcastic. From serious matters like death, to things we do every day, like our relationship with our phones, you can say there are stories for everything. There are also poems based on famous books or what about a poem on a cat?

As you see, the book is just so different than anything else.  My favorites ones were the small stories (which weren't more than one page). They were really fast, funny and thoughtful (My favorite one was "The End". I still laugh when i think of it). Then were some poems and then the stories. The stories with the gods(Death, Love, War,etc) were so great and so true!! My reactions to most of the book were like "hahahaa" and then "ohh...so true though..clever".


 I won't say i liked all of the stories or poems, but definitely had an entertaining evening. And the book cost only $0.99, so why not? As for Mr. James Hutchings...i think he has gone a little over the insanity line :p