Wednesday 31 October 2012

Book Review: Exiled (The Protector #1) by M.R. Merrick


Goodreads Summary: Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. 
Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. 
In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Title:  Exiled
Series:  The Protector #1
Author:  M.R. Merrick
Publisher:  Self Published
Release Date:  First published June 2011
Source: Author for an honest review - for tour of third book Release


This is a fantastic fantasy covering demons, warlocks, witches and their hunters. It was a fantastic first book in the series, a great introduction into the lives of Chase and Rayna.

Chase is a seventeen year old boy that has only known the life of a hunter. Hunters have special abilities and allow them to heal faster, be quicker and stronger than an ordinary human. Chase is the son of parents that both have hunters blood. Three years ago, Chase was to go through the hunter’s ritual to bring on his elemental powers. The only problem is that Chase didn't get his and his father was so disgusted that he exiled Chase with his mother.

Three years go by and Chase does his bit by killing demons, which is all he knows. But now something has changed and demons are following him everywhere and attacking him. Living with his Mother they are working constantly to make ends meet and to look out for each other. Then one night on his way home from work, Chase is attacked. While trying to get the upper hand somebody comes by and kills the demon before Chase can finish the job. Rayna is part witch, part hunter and has become a hunter like Chase. Marcus has taken her under his wing and together they go hunting. They have asked Chase to join their cause.

Chase doesn't know what to think, Marcus was meant to be dead and why is he working with a half-breed? Demons start to get kidnapped and Marcus, Chase and Rayna are not sure what is going on. They begin investigating the disappearances and find themselves in more trouble.

Who are kidnapping the demons? Why are they kidnapping demons? How much trouble can Chase and Rayna find? Will Chase ever receive his elemental power?

This book is full to the brim of awesomeness. Chase’s character has so much potential to evolve into the man that every reader wants him to become. He realises life isn't just about killing demons and that maybe some of them aren't that bad after all. And maybe, just maybe there may be some loving for him and Rayna (I hope so, I will have to read Shift to find out). This book has inter-dimensional travel, magic beyond your imaginations and demons of all descriptions. The world that Mr Merrick has written is unique with red and green grass, purple water; just amazing.

One of my favourite parts is the fight that Chase has to take against the troll and the old children’s story about crossing the bridge and having to pay a toll, hilarious. I certainly can’t wait to read Shift and I recommend you all read Exiled to begin the journey.

5 STARS - AWESOME

About the Author: M.R. Merrick is a Canadian writer, and author of Exiled, the first instalment in The Protector Series. Having never travelled  he adventures to far off lands through his imagination and in between cups of coffee. As a music lover and proud breakfast enthusiast, he's usually found at the computer, between a pair of headphones and in front of a large bowl of cereal. 

You can find more on M.R. Merrick's books on Amazon, Goodreads, Kobo and Matt himself on Twitter, Facebook and his blog.



Graphic Novel Review: Personal Demons: Hopeless Maine #1 by Tom and Nimue Brown


Personal Demons (Hopeless, Maine, #1)Personal Demons by Nimue Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a quite enjoyable read. The illustrations were awesome and very fitting for the Halloween period.

Hopeless, Maine - Personal Demons - says it all. Salamandra is a little girl that seems orphaned. She is taken in and then it's discovered she has these unusual powers. So off to the Orphanage with her. All alone and friendless, Salamandra feels awful and takes off. She sees a little girl, beautiful with blonde hair and ribbons everywhere. Salamandra is excited but sceptical about this little girl wanting to become her friend.

The little girl wants Salamandra to do bad things and she won't do it. Other children in the Orphanage seem to be talking to themselves and Salamandra worked out that they are speaking with the little blonde girl.

Salamandra chooses to help get rid of the naughty little blonde girl and find some real friends.

This is a great graphic novel, with fantastically dark illustrations fitting to the story. Can't wait to read the next one.

Thank you NetGalley and Archaia for providing this copy for review.


View all my reviews

WWW Wednesdays #4 - 31st October 2012

Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions....
* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you'll read next?

My Answers:

What are you currently reading?  Exiled (The Protector #1) by M.R. Merrick - I should finish this one today. It is fantastic, just a great fantasy read. Full of demons, magic and the chase of good vs evil.



What did you recently finish?  A Vampire's Daughter: Of Light and Darkness #1 by Shayne Leighton - this was fantastic, such an original vampire story and I can't wait for book 2, A Vampire's Reflection.



What do you think you'll read next? How Beauty Met the Beast (Tales of the Underlight #1) by Jax Garren and then Shift (The Protector #2) by M.R. Merrick - can't wait to read both of these next. Exciting!!







PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!


The Winner of Tug of War by Ross Collier is:


Giveaway is now closed and the winner has been drawn by Rafflecopter. Thank you to all those that did enter. The winner is: Nat.

Congratulations and I know you'll enjoy Ross Collier's latest book, Tug of War.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tuesday 30 October 2012

Teaser Tuesdays #7 - 30th October 2012


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

'I don't know what to expect," Rayna said. I could hear the nervousness in her soft voice. At least I wasn't alone in that emotion.
~  56% Exiled (The Protector #1) by M.R. Merrick 

Goodreads Summary: Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. 
Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. 
In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!



Sunday 28 October 2012

In My Mailbox #11 - 28th October 2012


In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at TheStory Siren.  Sharing books that have been received for review, purchased or given as a gift.  The hope is that you will share in the comment section what you received this week.

For Review via NetGalley



Scent of Magic (Healer #2) by Maria V Snyder
Personal Demons: Hopeless Maine Volume 1 by Nimue Brown
The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1) by Julie Kagawa
Undeadly (The Reaper Diaries #1) by Michele Vail

For Review via The Reading Room



Children of Liberty by Paullina Simons
The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1) by Julie Kagawa

Thank you Anna from TRR for sending these two awesome books.

For Review - Blog Tour


Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks (Nightmare #1) by Robert Gray
Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows (Nightmare #2) by Robert Gray

Purchased



Word and Breath (Wordless Chronicles #1) by Susannah Noel - FREE
The Pearl Savage (Savage #1) by Tamara Rose Blodgett - FREE
Witchy, Witchy by Penelope King - FREE


Ladybird Ladybird by Abra Ebner - FREE
Everneath by Brodi Ashton - AUDIO



Dearly, Departed (Gone with Respiration #1) by Lia Habel
Dearly, Beloved (Gone With Respiration #2) by Lia Habel
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin
The Faerie Ring (The Faerie Ring #1) by Kiki Hamilton

Lovely hardcover additions to my shelf!

Won


Iridescent (Ember #2) by Carol Oates - Thank you Omnific Publishing and Julie from AToMRs
Blink by Lloyd Poast - Thank you Lloyd Poast and 909 Reviews


What did you receive in your mailbox this week?


Saturday 27 October 2012

Review: Of Light and Darkness: A Vampire's Daughter by Shayne Leighton

Goodreads Summary:  When one human stands before an army of impossible obstacles, the likelihood of overcoming them in this coming-of-age modern fairytale may result in war between light and darkness.
Abandoned as an infant in Prague, naive and strong-willed Charlotte Ruzikova was raised by one of the last Vampires left alive. As a human, she knows no other home than the one nestled deep in the woods of Eastern Europe, where Witches drew spells of enchantment, Phasers threw tea parties, and Elves are the closest in kin. Charlotte has lived her life in the dark with her Guardian, content to having him to herself and reveling in his attention, until she's realizes she wants more...
Resident medical doctor and Vampire, Valek Ruzik fears the day his ward would come of age and blossom into a fine woman, and he is forced to confront his own motives as time is of the essence once his past catches up to him, and their lives become endangered...
As genocide and war threatens their secret society, the dictator in power is ready to wipe out Valek's race, but Charlotte will not allow that to happen. Fighting for the only one she's ever loved and truly believed in, she will do whatever it takes to save their love...before the sun comes up and light takes over.


Title:  A Vampire's Daughter

Series:  Of Light and Darkness #1
Author:  Shayne Leighton
Publisher:  Decadent Publishing
Release Date:  June 2011
Source:  NetGalley

This is a very unusual Vampire story and I loved it. The story was non-stop from beginning to end and I am really excited for book 2.

Valek Ruzik is a vampire. He is wondering around Prague and goes along a park when he hears noises behind a bush. Upon investigating the noise, he finds a baby girl that has been abandoned. He is worried she has been forgotten, but there is nobody around. The beautiful girl has drawn him in and he cannot leave her there and so he takes her home.

Skip forward 17 years and Charlotte is grown. They have been living happily together in a routine. Charlotte would go hunting for Valek, as he is not allowed to leave the boundaries of his Occult or City. The laws of the Regime forbid anybody with magical blood to leave the boundaries. As Charlotte is not of magical blood, she is the hunter. The past couple of times she went hunting, she has been attacked by a Lycan. What has changed that she is now in so much danger?

Charlotte sees one of her childhood friends, an Elf named Aiden. She has had a crush on him for a while and he seems to have feelings for her also. Evangeline is a Witch and likes Valek, Charlotte comes home from hunting to find them in a compromising position. Charlotte is devastated and the way she thinks of Valek is changing from father figure to lover.

The Regime has declared war on all Vampires and is out to capture and destroy them all. They claim they are darkness and therefore evil. Valek and Charlotte are on the run and find a long-time friend of Valek’s to stay with in hiding.

Can Valek and Charlotte’s love last and what type of love is it? Aiden isn’t what he seems and wants Charlotte for himself. What will happen with the Regime?  Are the Vampire’s able to live in peace? What is Charlotte’s fate?

This is a Vampire story like no other. The magical components as well as vampires and lycan’s all contribute into an awesome story. Human girl falls for Vampire, but it is a very different story from Twilight. It is very well written and has such an easy flow that you cannot put it down. The characters are beautifully created and have their own little attitudes, that they could all really become main characters. There is so much potential for them all in future books. I can’t wait for number 2 and highly recommend this to all that enjoys a vampire story.

5 STARS - BEST BOOK EVER!



You can find Shayn Leighton's books on Amazon, Goodreads and Shayne on her website.





Friday 26 October 2012

Book Review: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Goodreads Summary: 1959 England. Laurel Nicolson is sixteen years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, Green Acres Farm. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime.
Fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress, living in London. She returns to Green Acres for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday and finds herself overwhelmed by memories and questions she has not thought about for decades. She decides to find out the truth about the events of that summer day and lay to rest her own feelings of guilt. One photograph, of her mother and a woman Laurel has never met, called Vivian, is her first clue.
The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams, the lengths some people go to fulfill them, and the strange consequences they sometimes have. It is a story of lovers, friends, dreamers and schemers, play-acting and deception told against a backdrop of events that changed the world.

Title:  The Secret Keeper
Author:  Kate Morton
Publisher:  Allen and Unwin Australia
Release Date:  1st November 2012
Source:  Allen and Unwin via The Reading Room (Thank you for sending me this book, I loved it)

Wow, I don’t even know where to begin. This book is amazing to say the least! It took me a little while to get through the almost 600 pages, but they were needed to unravel the mystery that is Dorothy Nicholson. If this review seems a little vague, it is because I don’t want to give away any spoilers; there are just so many events along the way.

We start in 1961; Laurel is a 16 year old teenager hiding in the childhood tree house to escape from her sisters. Her Mother, Dorothy comes looking for the cake knife with her baby brother Gerry. Laurel is frozen in shock when she witnesses the most horrific crime. Laurel and her mother are the only people that know what truly happened on that day.

Dorothy Nicholson is the best Mother any child could have; she is so creative and full of fun. The children are never without a story. Now in the present and Dorothy is in hospital, she is frail, old and dying. Laurel is visiting with Dorothy and the mystery of the crime is still fresh in her mind. Her Mother is muttering about mistakes and regrets. Laurel cannot forget what happened on that fateful day back in 1961 and decides to find out why it happened and how. Laurel takes it upon herself to investigate her Mother’s past. Her brother decides to help and they both go on the hunt.

Going back to 1941; WW2 is in full swing and Dorothy has left her parents and brother behind to find her destiny in London. Dorothy has a boyfriend, a job and then meets the Lady across the road, Vivien. Vivien is the friend that can help Dorothy go places in society. Horrible things start to happen to Dorothy, sad news and betrayal. Dorothy seeks revenge. This revenge is a plan; things don’t go right and Dorothy has to flee.

What happened to Dorothy’s boyfriend Jimmy? What is the betrayal that makes Dorothy want revenge? What makes Dorothy commit the crime that ruined Laurel’s childhood? Who is Dorothy from 1941? Can Laurel unravel the mystery that is her Mother?

The whole story flows along beautifully, travelling from 1941 to 1961 to 2011 finding all the clues to Dorothy’s past. This is such a beautiful story and the twists along the way are so shocking you are left speechless. The historical part of the book is amazing and in such detail, right down to the clothes and attitudes of the day. Full of action, suspense, romance, fun and the tissues are needed (well for me anyway). This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I am stunned. I will certainly be picking up her others.

5 STARS - BEST BOOK EVER


You can find Kate Morton's books on Amazon, Kobo, Goodreads, The Reading Room and Kate on Facebook and her website.