First World by Jaymin Eve

Synopsis 

A paranormal romance series.
An epic journey.
If the Seventine are released, will anyone survive?

Abigail Swish might not love her life, living in gang-ridden New York in 2035 and training to fight and survive with Compound 23. But she is grateful for a few things, especially her no-filter-between-brain-and-mouth best friend Lucy and her escape each night into a dream world far different from her own.

In fact, sometimes she lives for the fleeting moments she spends at night with the man who fuels every romantic fantasy she’s ever had. But each morning reality returns. She could just cry. But she won’t of course; tears don’t change a damn thing.

Then without any warning, a month before her eighteenth birthday, everything does change. A guardian finds her. He explains, in a strangely familiar accent, that she was stashed on Earth for safekeeping and has been lost to her family ever since. And it is time to return home. To the First World; a land of unimagined beauty.

Abigail and Lucy find themselves escaping New York, ending up on another planet and traversing through an unforgiving wilderness. Yeah, because that sort of thing just happens every day. Luckily an unexpected saviour arrives; the man from her dream-world. Brace is six-and-a-half feet of gorgeous perfectness, wrapped in an arrogance like no other. Unable to trust his assistance, and unsure which of her instincts to follow - kiss him or punch him in the mouth - Abigail eventually accepts his help to find her family.

And what a family. Enter Josian, her father; larger than life and apparently not even human. He is Walker, a planet-less race revered as gods, causing mischief and mayhem through-out this star-system. Unfortunately, there is no time for a cosy reunion, since no one explained that by returning to First World her half-Walker genetics would act as a catalyst setting forth a chain of events which could spell disaster for not only her existence but that of all worlds.

First World is book one in the Walker Saga, a seven-book paranormal fantasy series.

Spurn - A Walker Saga Book Two release date set for September 23rd, 2013.

My Review

I was able to have the opportunity of reading 'First World' as an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) on Goodreads.

I really, really, really enjoyed this novel. As a YA sci-fi, dystopian and utopian novel, First World is an original, interesting and fantastic novel that consisted of romance, magic, beauty and reunion.

I was impressed how the settings of the two worlds in comparison were completely different from each other. Earth is a dark, horrible place, controlled by wars and gangs, whereas First World is filled with beauty, magic and life.

The main character Abigail Swish, grows up in a compound for girls growing up in war torn New York. She goes out into the centre of Manhattan, facing the gangs and meets her guardian. The action begins to pick up as Abby and Lucy travel to First World. In First World, Abby begins to unveil her past, her family, but also her future.

From the moment she sees Brace, tall, dark-haired, handsome guy, she falls for him, even though how much she doesn’t want to. There is tension between Abby and Brace but they were well written because their romance was not over the top and lots of the scenes hold sexual tension and wonder.

I will say that I loved the cover. It may look ordinary if you haven’t read the book, but that is exactly how I picture Abby. I rated First World 4.5 because I not only loved it but it was well written. I cannot wait to get Spurn (the second novel) and read about how they’re going to save all the worlds.

I recommend anyone who enjoys reading sci-fi, dystopian, utopian, romance novels. It was well written, the characters were relatable and different to me at the same time and the story was mysterious and left me wanting more. Definitely a book to read!

A Shimmer Of Angels by Lisa M. Bassa

Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

My Review



A Shimmer of Angels by Lisa M. Basso, is an addictive, mysterious angelic novel about Devinne angels, Devils and the Fallen. As the first book of The Angel Sight Series, Basso pulls you into the middle of a love triangle and forces you to continue reading deeper into the book.

Rayna (Ray) Evans can see angels, winged creatures. After telling her family of her sights, her father and sister think she's lost her mind. Through three hard, painful years of living in a mental institute, as a ‘paranoid schizophrenic’, Ray is released with the realisation that the wings were just an illusion. Ray returns to her home with her father and sister Laylah, with unwelcoming arms. Ray takes the turn for the worst when she returns to her school it starts happening again. The new guy in school, Cam, who appears to have wings!

The book is told from the point of view of the main character Rayna in first person. Throughout the book Ray struggles to keep herself together from loosing grasp on reality. She is always on the edge of loosing control when she starts to see angels after being locked up in the mental institution.

With Rayna's ability to see angels, she is caught between two angels Cam and Kade, completely different, one Devinne and one a Fallen. These two angels both thrive for Rayna's attention, although they both have different affects on her.
Cam is a angel of heaven, gorgeous, understanding, sensitive and Rayna feels safe and conferable next to him.
Kade is a Fallen angel, dark, rebellious and unnerving. He appears mean, cruel and heartless but he does change for the better.

At first it took me a while to get into the story. The first few chapters were a bit slow since the adoption of the characters and plot was still gaining its momentum. But I really enjoyed this book. It was something different from the normal angelic books I read and trust me I have read a lot. Lately it is difficult to find a angel story with a but of originality to it.

I personally felt like I was drawn to this love triangle between Cam, Kade and Rayna. However, I thought it needed something added to make the book more addictive and intoxicating. I would have liked to have seen maybe same signs of jealousy and passion between the three. I really enjoyed reading about Cam and Kade. I thought they were two interesting characters who drew me into the story. I didn't so much like Rayna as a character, she was too confused and she questioned herself too much. I also disliked Rayna's sister Laylah. She was a rude, bitter, disrespectful person who treats Rayna horribly.

Overall I rate this story a 4 out of 5. The story line I thought was very well planned, but it needed a bit more "wow", unexpected moments. I really did like the book even though it wasn't brilliant. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading paranormal or angelic stories or just simply wants to read something different. A Shimmer of Angels, manages to steer away from typical angel novels. I say give the book a try you never know if you will like it until you read it.

I cannot wait to read book two of the Angel Sight series, A Slither Of Hope. I also want more of Kade.

The House of Rose by T. T Esscurel

Synopsis

The roses will wither on the branch,
The cups will run dry
And the stars will fall from the sky in the age of the crow...

An army marches on Dawnfell and the Age of the Crow is near. The king and queen of the House of Star are slain and their only daughter, Princess Astra, is forced to flee.

Corvus of the House of Crow, dreamwalker and dark magic manipulator, is the last person in the world she should trust. Murdered at the age of eight, he endures a half-life as both victim and executor of the dark queen Malexia’s machinations. He has no future - especially not one suited for a princess.

But love, like magic, doesn’t always work out as planned.

From the hidden plateau of Windgarden, the home of the fairies, to the deserted plains of Mistfirth, where a crazed queen has outlawed her own subjects, Astra soon finds that friends are hard to come by when facing the Crows.

Through death and betrayal, dreams and nightmares, fairy tales and fairy truths, she soon discovers that all it takes is the friendship of a few to save her kingdom…

…and the true love of one to save her life.

My Review

I was able to have the opportunity of reading 'The House of Rose' as an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) on Goodreads.

Out of all of the ARCs I have had the opportunity of reading I found this the most creative, well written and to read. The House of Rose is a fractured Fairytale which was what I most liked about the book. Normally in any fairytale there is a Prince who breaks the evil spell for the Princess and they live happily ever after. I loved how T.T Esscurel made the Princess as the hero and saves the Prince and the Kingdoms.

I liked how there were 4 Kingdoms known as Houses, the House of Rose, the House of Crow, the House of Star and the House of Chalice. 

As I am one for Romantic, magical, tragic, true love stories, I loved the relationship between Princess Astra and Corvin. They were so different but the same at the same time. Corvin was evil (or convinced he was) and manipulated and Astra was a warrior and a fighter. They both dreamed, which I thought was interesting. They dreamed in each others dreams to understand each other. Such an unlikely relationship but grow into true love.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars since I loved the characters, new and old ideas and the writing style. I also liked how there were magical creatures in the book like, Pegasuses, Fairies, talking birds and witches I would suggest anyone who likes reading fairytale and true love, romance novels, read The House of Rose.

Callis Rose by Mark Tufo

Synopsis
Callis Rose is a girl blessed with a gift from above or cursed with a ruthless power she barely understands; it's really just a matter of degrees. As her family life is turned asunder she is thrown into an indifferent social services program where she defends herself the only way she knows how.Callis is moved from home to home until she finally settles at the Lowries'. As she starts her first day of high school she meets both her favorite and least favorite person. Both happen to be part of the same household. Mindy Denton makes it her single mission in life to destroy Callis, even as her brother Kevin falls deeper into love with the mysterious and beautiful girl who is hiding something from them all.

My Review 

I was able to have the opportunity of listening to an Audio book of 'Callis Rose' as an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) on Goodreads.com.

Wow. I have no clue what to say about this book. I will say it took me a while to get used to the Audio (this was my first audio book). In the beginning, I wasn't entirely roped into the story. I thought the book was just about a spoiled girl, but boy was I wrong. When Callis was transported between different Foster homes, I felt a large amount of sympathy for her. A girl at such a young age nearly experienced rape twice and abuse. I hated how awful everyone was in these homes, only Joshua (the baby) and her second Foster Mother were good.

I thought her powers were interesting. They were weird but it worked in the story.

Kevin. He was the only genuine person in this whole novel. His compassion and love toward Callis was beautiful. For once I thought that Callis finally had something in her life worth something. Their relationship was the ONLY thing I liked about the book. Even through the worst of times they were still together in love. 

Then Kevin's B***H of a sister, Mindy ruined everything. From then on I thought Mindy deserved whatever came to her. Thanks to Mindy, Callis lost everything dear to her, so much pain was inflicted upon her. I started to dislike the book when things got out of hand and became dark, murderous and wrong.

The writing was good. A bit too descriptive in some areas but I highly disliked the amount of swearing that came from all the characters, I would have been fine if there was a small amount but there was a swear word nearly every sentence.

I was speechless at the end. I had no idea what to personally take out of the book. It was ok but not one of my favourite books. I know I gave it a 2 Star but I really would have put 2.5 Stars. Even though I didn't really like Callis Rose, I would suggest you read it for yourself and make your own views.

The Ruby Rose by Christine Evans (Short story/Fairytale)

For a German assignment I had to write a short Fairy tale similar to the Grimm's Tales. This is pretty bad but I thought I would post the English version for you to read.

The Ruby Rose

Once upon a time, there was King and Queen who had a beautiful girl with the beauty of a Rose, alas they called her Rose. As she grew, Rose was blessed with long dark red hair, bright green eyes and perfect, red lips. No one in the land had such beauty. The King and Queen wished for their daughter to have anything she desired, gold, silver and jewels. Although, desire caused Rose to have a selfish, greedy heart. 

One day, Rose went for a walk in the Woods and came upon a small house. In the house was an old woman. 
           “You must be Rose.” said the woman. 
           “How did you know?”
           “Well my dear, who would have such lovely red hair like you, the color of rose petals or the bright green eyes you have, the color of leaves. No person in the land has such beauty.”           
           Around the woman’s neck Rose saw a golden necklace with a Ruby Rose charm. Rose had never seen such a jewel.
           “I want your jewellery. Give it to me.” Rose demanded.
           “You shall not have this jewel it belongs to me.”
           “I want it now. I get whatever I want when I want it. Give it now!”
           “No. You have a heart of such greed for a girl blessed with beauty. You will never be loved by any person with such a heart. If you steal my Ruby Rose you will live a life of ugliness and loneliness until your one true love sees your true heart.” 

That night Rose crept into the small house and stole the Ruby Rose as the woman slept. As Rose place the Ruby around her neck, she felt odd. Suddenly, her red hair began to fall out, her voice became croaky and she began to shrink into an old woman, only left with her bright green eyes and the Ruby around her neck. Ashamed of her looks, she ran through the dark forest wanting a place to hide her ugliness. Then as the sun rose she ran into a field, a field of flowers. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen, so much colour, life and purity. She decided this would be her place until a true love could break her free of this spell.

Days, Months, Seasons and years past and she sat in the field waiting. As hundreds of men came and ignored her, she realized she didn’t care. She kept to herself in the field of flowers and begun to see the beauty of life around her. All she wanted to do was live in her field of flowers forever and nothing else mattered.

Ten years pasted and on her 18th birthday, Rose was sitting in among the flowers when a handsome Prince walked up to her through the flowers.           “Hello I am in searching of a lost Princess have you any places I can look for her?” he asked.
           “The Princess is no longer a Princess. She is in the open but invisible. She wishes to be found but not to be found. Her beauty lost among other beauties.”
           “You spoke of her in riddles, as if you know her being.”
           “Only one person will ever free her from her dungeon, which is also a place a beauty.” She said not looking at him.
           “More riddles. Well you appear to be the oddly placed piece in this field. Do you live here?”
           “Yes, this is where I live, among the flowers, among what beauty the sun, sky, earth and wind provide me.” 
           The Prince stared at her with curiosity and wonder.
           “You are an oddly beautiful creature, without hair but with the brightest green eyes. They say the Princess had bright green eyes and long red hair, the most beautiful in the Land.”
           “Yes. Hair as red as rose petals, eyes the color of leaves and blessed with the name Rose.” 
           The Prince continued to stare into her eyes and looked down upon the Ruby Rose around her neck.
           “That is a nice jewel. Although your eyes are radiant and leave me lost in them. That rose is ugly compared to you. ”
           A burst of light blazed blinded the Prince as the most beautiful Princess appeared before him with her red hair, stunning green dress and bright green eyes.
           She opened her mouth and the most divine voice filled the air, “Until your one true love sees your true heart.”

The End...

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Synopsis

A father and his young son walk alone through burned America, heading slowly for the coast. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. They have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves against the men who stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food and each other.

My Review

To a point I really liked Cormac McCarthy’s the Road. I wouldn't rate it as the best piece of Literature I have ever read although it’s worth a 3/5. Many have different opinions on the plot, on the punctuation, the repetition and the characters.

The plot had potential although really wasn't that original. Even though this idea of a Dystopian, post-apocalyptic world was good, although it was very hard to even catch onto what was in the plot. Nearly the whole time you sit there thinking what’s happened in the past present and the future. McCarthy doesn’t write anything at all about what happened prier or at the time of the big event (which we don’t know what it was) that changed the world. Overall the plot was ok but I hated the repetition of the character’s day. I ate…. We walked… we slept. I get it was because that was all they could do in this world but you need to have something interesting in the plot to get readers not to put the book down.

At first the punctuation was so annoying that I slowly imagined that there were comers and quotation marks. I felt as if McCarthy didn't care at all about the punctuation. I found that that changed for me. Later on in the book I found that I though the lack of punctuation suited the blandness and emptiness that the story has. It made me feel as if the world they were in had forgotten about punctuation and literature.

I liked the characters so much; they were my favourite piece of the Road. I connected with the father and the son and felt empathy and sorry for the way they need to live. But they had a kind of hope they carried. Their love for each other was very strong. The only thing about the characters that was disappointing was that there was no background story to either of them apart from that their father and son and about the boy’s mother.

I would recommend The Road but not strongly.

Captured By Erica Stevens

Synopsis

Blood Slave.

Captured, taken from her beloved family and woods, Aria’s biggest fear is not the imminent death facing her, but that she will be chosen as a blood slave for a member of the ruling vampire race. No matter what becomes of her though, Aria knows that she must keep her identity hidden from the monsters imprisoning her. She has already been branded a member of the rebellion, but the vampires do not know the true depth of her involvement with it, and they must never know.

Though hoping for death, Aria’s world is turned upside down when a vampire named Braith steps forward to claim her. He delays her execution, but Aria knows it’s only a matter of time before he drains her, and destroys her. Especially once she learns his true identity as a prince within the royal family; the same royal family that started the war that ultimately brought down humankind, reducing them to nothing more than servants and slaves.

Aria is determined to hate the prince, determined not to give into him in anyway, but his strange kindness, and surprising gentleness astonish her. Torn between her loyalties to the rebellion, and her growing love for her greatest enemy, Aria struggles to decide between everything she has ever known, and a love she never dreamed of finding.

My Review

I truly loved this book. It is that best book i have EVER read. After reading it a first time, I re-read it over and over again. The cover of Captured was intriguing to me (Since I love roses), until I started to read the novel I had no clue what it was about. 

I really liked the story line and the idea of Blood Slave. In traditional books, humans are the ones who have the power over the Vampires not the other way around, for one I liked the change.

I was kept on the edge of my seat, reacting to every moment in the book. The characters made the book irresistible. Aria I liked because she was strong minded, smart and strong willed. I can tell you there is no silly 'love triangle’, but I can simply say Braith is my reason for loving this book. Usually I say "Oh I LOVE this guy and I want him to myself." But seriously, this time I can say OMG I F*****G LOVE YOU AND I WISH YOU WERE REAL AND I COULD HAVE YOU. Braith is seen in the beginning as a cold, ruthless vamp that is out to drink you dry, but he is sweet, kind and has a beautiful soul. He is the only vampire in the book who doesn't buy Blood Slaves. I won’t tell you why he buys Aria, you'll need to find that out for yourself.  

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of Romance and Vampires like I am. You will feel as if are or even want to be Aria. 

Wow and not to mention the other 3 books. I'm in love.

The Captive Series

Book 1: Captured

Book 2: Renegade

Book 3: Refugee

Book 4: Salvation

Fallen By Lauren Kate

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 Review


This book is amazing! I couldn't put it down! This book, by far, is one of my all-time favorites! I have always had an obsession with reading, but for some time I lost interest. Fallen by Lauren Kate sparked up my obsession once again. Fallen was dark, seductive, captivating, mysterious novel of romance and the supernatural.

I really liked Luce, she was a compassionate, strong and interesting character. The two love interests Cam and Daniel were fascinating, mysterious and sexy. Cam an easy out-going guy, from the beginning he was nice to Lucy, always going out of his way to make her happy, but he seem to hide the truth about him. Daniel. This guy really gets to Luce, she thinks she’s seen him better, but can’t she be sure? She can't stop thinking of him, dreams about him, but the guy is really rude to her. (I still can’ decide who I like more. Probably Cam <3 ). Her kissing scenes were damn good, too. Lauren Kate is an amazing writer who makes you so enticed you need to read continuously for hours.

Fallen is the kick start novel of an amazing four book series. If you read this series wait until the MIND BLOWING finally in the final book, Rapture. I was literally screaming at the end because I was so excited and shocked at the same time. So you need the read Fallen or you will be missing out on the Young Adult book series of the decade.

The Tears Of Iris By James Dorr

Synopsis

What is art? To a sculptor it may be the formation of beauty from stone, or some other material; to a writer the forming of words into poetry or prose. The creation or retelling of myths and wonders, bringing to them a new understanding — but beauty as well. To the Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney, in his Defense of Poesy, “lifted up with the vigor of his own invention, [the poet -- or, indeed, the artist in general] doth grow, in effect, into another nature, in making things either better than nature bringeth forth, or, quite anew, forms such as never were in nature, as the heroes, demi-gods, cyclops, chimeras, furies, and such like.” And so it may be proper that the book we have here, The Tears of Isis, begins with a poem about a sculptor, a modern Medusa, and concludes with the title story of another sculptor who travels a continent for inspiration, in search of the goddess, “the Weeping Isis,” and ends with discovery of her own self.

But The Tears of Isis, the book, is a journey too, encompassing, yes, “forms such as never were in nature,” as not just “La Méduse,” but also a man’s soul absorbed by an octopus, vampires both physical and metaphorical, music and retellings of Cinderella, an Ancient World caper involving the Golden Fleece of legend, a far-future recasting of Sleeping Beauty — one of three stories in The Tears of Isis set in the author’s world of the “Tombs,” another “Tombs” tale of the origin of ghouls, cockroaches spawned by war, insects by UFOs, Lovecraftian monsters called forth by candles, a woman who takes in a rat as a pet, the “death planet” Saturn and women who buy birds, the life-cycle of dragons, another “Tombs” story of love and a zombie-like form of revenge, and at last to Isis — her search to create but destroying as well, as is part of her nature, and back full circle to sculptress Medusa who “spoke to her hair at times” and “in her dreams . . . her hair hissed its/ answers.”

Are these tales, then, her doing, the fever dreams of one who both creates and dismantles, who transmutes life itself into stone? And are Medusa and Isis the same, the goddess who, with her consort Osiris, rules over death and life at the same time, taking the form of both nurturing mother and flesh-eating vulture?

My Review


I was able to have the opportunity of reading 'The Tears Of Iris' as an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) on Goodreads.

It was unfortunate that I found the book disappointing. I had hopes that it would be pretty good, but originally had expectations for it. The cover may look unappealing to some but somehow it intrigued me into reading the collection of short stories. I found the blurb misleading. When I first read it I thought it had potential since I like twisted fairy tales and adventure. Unfortunately, I thought that the blurb had no relation with the stories. I thought the stories would be a twisted version of classics, but not in this case.

It personally too me a while to get through the collection of stories since I would read one, then put it down and not pick it up for a while. I thought the stories were too short and didn't have any connections or relevance between stories. Although the ideas of the stories were good, I found them really confusing and was annoyed that there was no background to the story and its characters. Out of the 19 stories only one caught my liking, 'Bottles', I like my Vampire tales.
I was overall disappointed but glad to have read something a little different, even though the writing could have been improved a tad.