One of my goals for 2015 is to read and review the books I’ve won in giveaways and books I’ve picked up for free from Amazon. So I’m starting now.
Today I’m sharing two books.
I won Ice Massacre in a giveaway some time ago.
The other book, Evil Beach, was a free book from Amazon.
You can click on the covers to buy them.
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Ice Massacre
by Tiana Warner
My Review
How could I resist a book about mermaids, especially some deadly ones.
This isn’t a whimsical, romantic tale of beautiful mermaids. Yes, they can be beautiful, but when they change to feed, their true nature is unmasked and they become monsters with red eyes, scaly skin, and teeth like pointed daggers.
No one knows why the mermaids came to the island of Eriana Kwai or why they started to attack the sailors. For many years now, the islanders have sent out ships filled with warriors to try to destroy the mermaids. Year after year the ships don’t return and the mermaids continue to rule the seas, cutting them off from the bounties of the deep, forcing them into poverty and desperation.
No matter what they tried, even training the men to fight blind to resist the hypnotic eyes of the sirens, fails. Then, what was tossed out as a futile suggestion was implemented and a new ship set sail, armed with twenty young girls, maiden warriors that will not fall to the sirens call of the mermaids.
All hope rests on these maidens. Hope they will succeed. Hope the fishermen can return to the seas. Hope for freedom once again.
I read this book in one evening, completely captured by the characters and action.
A young girl, defying the edicts of her people, ventures to the beach and rescues a young female mermaid. The two become secret friends until a betrayal brings Meela back to earth. These creatures killed her brother, killed so many brave young men. They are a parasite that must be destroyed.
Meela is wise for her years and becomes a fierce warrior. When they maidens set sail to the the mermaids nest, I was confident they would succeed. Until the first encounter.
These mermaids are smart, working together and using the seas resources to battle the humans, and they are relentless.
Some of the descriptions of their change from alluring to lethal really chilled me and the battles were bloody and cold-hearted on both sides, the seas red with blood There’s no room for mercy or humanity against them.
There’s emotional conflict too. Meela isn’t heartless and is torn between protecting her people and what she can do to change things.
As the girls battle the mermaids, they also battle each other. Being trapped on a ship together in the vast ocean, they are bound to clash and leaderships will be challenged.
Girls become women become warriors in a bloody battle for survival.
The war is ongoing and I’m looking forward to more high seas action.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
A mermaid’s supernatural beauty serves one purpose: to lure a sailor to his death.
The Massacre is supposed to bring peace to Eriana Kwai. Every year, the island sends its warriors to battle these hostile sea demons. Every year, the warriors fail to return. Desperate for survival, the island must decide on a new strategy. Now, the fate of Eriana Kwai lies in the hands of twenty battle-trained girls and their resistance to a mermaid’s allure.
Eighteen-year-old Meela has already lost her brother to the Massacre, and she has lived with a secret that’s haunted her since childhood. For any hope of survival, she must overcome the demons of her past and become a ruthless mermaid killer.
For the first time, Eriana Kwai’s Massacre warriors are female, and Meela must fight for her people’s freedom on the Pacific Ocean’s deadliest battleground.
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Evil Beach
by Anthony Renfro
My Review
This is written as a story in a story.
The author opens with an old man sitting in his rocking chair sharing a story with his two grandsons. A story about two young boys and an evil beach.
Seth and Junior stumble upon a cave, and being boys, they dare each other to enter. Inside, it is dark and creepy, but as they continue further into the cave they see light and step through to an isolated strip of pristine beach.
At first, they are thrilled to have their own secret beach but when they turn around, something written on the rocks invites and warns them. It’s almost like a dare, so of course the boys attempt to do what it says, building something in the sand.
What seemed like a lark became their worst nightmare and and soon they had to return to the cave and the beach, pursued by something out of their nightmares.
I’m very much into character driven stories and am amazed at how well the author developed his in so few words. The old man and grandsons didn’t even have names, yet I could see them sitting on that porch, the boys rapt as their grandfather spun his tale.
And Seth and Junior, the two boys in the tale, reacted just like you’d expect them too. They believe they are invincible and grow up fast when they discover they aren’t.
A well written short story that captured me from beginning, to middle, to end.
The author ‘pulled my leg’ with his twist at the end, tying the two tales together.
4 Stars
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Synopsis
A short story about two boys who discover a hidden beach and the evil deadly secrets that lie within its soft white grains of sand.
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Scary is as scary does!
Happy New year and thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew.