Welcome to My Monday Minis Reviews where I share short reviews of books I’ve read. For today I’ll be sharing two books with the same titles but different authors and story lines.
Ink and Bone
by Lisa Unger
Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Horror
My Review
After reading the synopsis for this book, no way was I not reading it.
A father and son shot, left wounded in the Hollows while the daughter, Abbey, is dragged away by her abductor.
A young woman, haunted by dreams and ghosts, paints her body with tattoos, slowly losing control of her gifts.
The Hollows, buried in winter snow, not giving up it’s secrets.
A mother struggling to stay sane, makes a last desperate attempt to find her daughter.
I enjoy it when a story pulls me in right from the beginning and the author did just that. I lost track of things going on around me and kept reading …. kept reading, until I was done.
The character’s are strongly developed and drive the story, and the plot is busy and exhilarating, reminding me of a dangerous winding road. You race around each bend, never knowing what waits in the road to send the story out of control.
A real page turner for anyone looking for a thriller with some suspense and horror, plus a bit of the paranormal thrown in.
4 Stars
Synopsis
An instant page-turner (Lisa Gardner) that straddles the line between thriller and horror…sure to appeal to a wide range of readers, including Stephen King fans. (Booklist, starred) A young woman’s mysterious gift forces her into the middle of a dangerous investigation of a little girl’s disappearance.
Twenty-year-old Finley Montgomery is rarely alone. Visited by people whom others can’t see and haunted by prophetic dreams, she has never been able to control or understand the things that happen to her. When Finley’s abilities start to become too strong for her to handle – and even the roar of her motorcycle or another dazzling tattoo can’t drown out the voices – she turns to the only person she knows who can help her: her grandmother Eloise Montgomery, a renowned psychic living in The Hollows, New York.
Merri Gleason is a woman at the end of her tether after a ten-month-long search for her missing daughter, Abbey. With almost every hope exhausted, she resorts to hiring Jones Cooper, a detective who sometimes works with psychic Eloise Montgomery. Merri’s not a believer, but she’s just desperate enough to go down that road, praying that she’s not too late. Time, she knows, is running out.
As a harsh white winter moves into The Hollows, Finley and Eloise are drawn into the investigation, which proves to have much more at stake than even the fate of a missing girl. As Finley digs deeper into the town and its endless layers, she is forced to examine the past, even as she tries to look into the future. Only one thing is clear: The Hollows gets what it wants, no matter what.
A book about the Great Library of Alexandria, and a fantasy to boot. I was sold and knew it would be a good fit for me.
Owning books is forbidden in this world. You can view and read books through the use of alchemy, but can’t actually own a book.
I don’t know about you but I love my physical books. I just know I’d break the rules and something terrible would happen. And so it goes with this story. Jess breaks the rules with his illegal cache of books. How interesting as he’s assigned to spy on those who break those very rules. When something wondrous and potentially dangerous is created it could change the world. Chaos ensues and it’s not just books that will be burned.
Ooh, now how does that grab ya? Once I got familiar with this world I was quickly swept away. Lots of intrigue and suspense kept me enthralled right to the finale.
This is an exciting beginning to a promising fantasy series. I’ll be visiting it again.
4 Stars
Synopsis
In an exhilarating new series, “New York Times” bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.
Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family. Jess has been sent to be his family spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library s service.
When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe knowledge is more valuable than any human life and soon both heretics and books will burn.”
Revelations T. Marie Alexander
Publication date: January 27th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Have you ever craved something so badly that all reason was just an excuse getting in your way?
Have you needed something so desperately that you didn’t care how you got it or who you hurt in the process?
I have—and not that long ago.
Acceptance.
Acceptance… from family and friends…
Acceptance of the person I am inside and not outright rejection.
It didn’t come easily for me, and now I believe the world needs to know just how ruthless life can be. How that overwhelming yearning for acceptance can mold you into someone you don’t recognize when you look in the mirror. I’m through hiding behind one façade after another—it’s time for the world to meet the real me.
T. Marie Alexander lives in Arkansas. She can be found sitting at a computer on any given day, usually writing or looking up something to do with fashion. When she is not doing either of those things, she’s reading on her Kindle or binge watching Roswell on Netflix time and time again. She shares her apartment with her husband and some annoying ghost that like to take her belongings. Her dream of becoming an author started around the age of seven when she would glue small pages together and write about her favorite thing at the time, boy band crushes. T. Marie writes Young Adult Science Fiction and Paranormal Fiction.
Crossroads
When Claudia, a seventeen-year-old girl, mysteriously wanders through her dreams, she encounters an ethereal place where nephilims reside. There, she unexpectedly meets Michael and the group of half-human angels at the Crossroads—their home and a place she never imagined existed. However, Claudia has unknowingly changed the course of her life when fallen and demons come after her, all suspecting that she is special. It is up to Michael and the other nephilim to protect her. Claudia’s once simple dreams become nightmares, when more secrets are revealed about who she really is and the true identities of the people she loves most. Will Michael and the nephilims be able to protect Claudia or will she fall prey to the fallen?
Between
As the Alkins head back to Crossroads, Claudia leads her normal life, but not for long. Having a special soul, she attracts danger. The Twelve, known as Divine Elders on Earth, are very much involved when they find out evil is lurking in the shadows and Claudia is no longer safe. As more secrets are revealed, Claudia learns about the Venators—demon hunters—on Earth.
When two opposing angelic forces come together to protect Claudia, trust becomes a big issue. Will love be enough to keep Claudia and Michael together? Who will make the ultimate sacrifice? Who will betray them all?
Beyond
Torn between the past she can’t remember and a future she isn’t ready for, Claudia feels at a loss. With unanswered questions, she is certain there is more to her past than just being a Venator. Finding the missing pieces in her life won’t be easy because duty calls. When mysterious dark shadows get released, an apocalypse sets in motion.
The Venators and the Alkins must work together once again. Knowing Claudia would be the key to destroying the demons that were released, a familiar stranger appears to protect her. Who is the angel assisting her and can he unravel the mysteries of the past in order to help save the world.
Eternity
Having happily ever after is never easy when evil lurks nearby. Now that Claudia has her memories back and her life seems to have settled down, the Fallen have come out of hiding. The Fallen coming out of hiding is not a concern, there are those who want to be left alone. However, one particular one, Dantanian, is hungry for revenge. Being one of God’s first fallen angels, he is the evilest of his kind. He will do anything to get his way and he will stop at nothing to get Michael on his side. Dantanian will torture, kill for pleasure, and concoct evil schemes to get Michael’s attention; and once in his hands, he will try to destroy all the happiness Michael fought so hard to gain. The Venators and the Alkins must work together once again to save their friends. As death draws near to those captured by Dantanian, will the gang reach them in time? Or will Michael return to the dark angel he once was and destroy everyone he loves?
TODAY ONLY – Get the entire Boxed Set for just 99 cents!!
Author Mary Ting
International Bestselling, Award-Winning, Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.
Blast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 12/31/16
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
***2013 InD’Tale RONE Award Finalist for YA****
Did you just see a flash of lightning across the sky on a clear sunny day?
Don’t blame Mother Nature.
Skylar Rome can’t wait to spend her last summer before college with her cousin, Kayla. Everything changes when they meet the Grand brothers. Skylar is sure she should stay away from Mason Grand, but their attraction is undeniable. Then Skylar’s life erupts into turmoil. She steps into a world where descendants of ancient gods have super powers, evil beings chase her, and questions arise about her own identity. She is running out of time and running for her life, while trying to unravel the mystery of what they want from her.
Forced into a battle set into motion long before she was born, will Skylar find the answers she seeks, or will she die trying?
Praise for the Series
“From Gods takes mythology to a whole new level of imagination with its incredible plot and amazing characters. It’s full of hotness that you never want to end!” Michele, Insane About Books
“From Gods by the AMAZING AUTHOR Mary Ting is OMGods good!! If you even LIKE Greek Mythology, set aside some time because you will DEVOUR Mary Ting’s Demi Gods and Vultures!!!” Mindy, Books Complete Me
Author Mary Ting
International Bestselling, Award-Winning, Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.
Blast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 12/18/16
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
Scarred Beauty (A Wylder Tale, #2) by Jennifer Silverwood
YA Dark Fantasy
ebook, 209 Pages
December 1st 2016
Vynasha has become prisoner with the other wyld beasts of the castle, but she is not alone. In the howling darkness her majikal bond with the Dungeon Master, Grendall grows, awakening the dormant power in her blood.
Yet as she discovers the true nature of the other beasts, she learns she must embrace madness in order to free them all. Vynasha is willing to do anything to end the curse, even if that means transforming into a monster.
Burried secrets come to light in this seductive sequel to Craving Beauty, the Gothic retelling of the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, where nothing is exactly as it seems and the heroine must be her own hero.
Jennifer is offering extra entries on her tour giveaway and a special giveaway
during the Twitter Chat to one lucky artist! Post your fanart and share with
Jennifer on social media (@JennSilverwood on Twitter and Tumblr and
silverwoodj on Facebook). Look for inspiration and see her posts on Tumblr.
.
Enjoy the excerpt
Deep in the enchanted forest by the Silver River which flows through the Wylder Mountains, is a village of the Forgotten. Before Soraya the Enchantress cursed the land, the King declared war against all majikal peoples. Clans and villages scattered throughout the Wylderlands banded together to fight a losing battle against the King’s superior forces. Until only a single village was left, a remnant of the Forgotten and displaced. The King’s former wolfmen warriors chose to abandon their liege and named themselves the Forgotten Protectors of the land.
Soraya cast her curse, a final effort to rid them of her husband’s evil. Her majik succeeded in protecting the people so long oppressed, but then twisted as time passed. Young women were lured to the Lost City by Soraya’s majik, women of the old bloodlines, but none were the foreseen curse breaker.
An age later, the Forgotten Village survives. The leader of the pack of Protectors is Baalor Iceveins and while he tracks the last humans in the mountains, the curse breaker draws near. Little does he know his daughter, Erythea will be the one to meet her first.
~***~
Some were born with ice in their veins, so it had been told to her, so she knew it be true. Father would never lie to her. Anything he thought her too young to know, he simply refused to speak of. Instead he would smile, ruffle her curls and absently say, “Let it lie, little love.”
Grandmother whispered the secrets Father refused to tell, on nights he was away. Like how her mother was a truly wyld witch, of human kind rather than Wolv or one of the forgotten peoples.
“Aren’t humans evil, Grandmother? Is this why the pack hunts them?”
Grandmother’s black eyes sparkled in the candlelight. “The villagers will tell you that majik is evil, but what do you believe, lass?”
Erythea held up her fingers and watched the shadows cast on the wall beside her bed as she considered. “Everyone says they are cruel and evil. But in the old stories you told me, majik wasn’t always bad, was it?”
Grandmother hummed in the back of her throat and returned to her knitting. The click of her wooden needles filled the silence and Erythea knew she was waiting for the thought to turn.
“I think,” Erythea said, “maybe majik wasn’t always bad, like the humans weren’t always evil.”
“Why must the pack hunt the last humans, then, do you suppose?”
She scrunched her nose, amused by Grandmother’s question. “You already know…”
The clacking of needles paused, so only the tapering flame filled her ears, and then after a pause, “Of course, little one, but I am asking you.”
Erythea huffed and dropped her hands onto her fur covers. She ran her fingers over the soft surface and wondered if Father’s wolf coat was this soft, wondered for the umpteenth time what his other shape looked like.
Grandmother cleared her throat, resuming the click of her needles as though to say, well?
“I think the humans must have done something very bad once. Like how Mother did something bad to Father and that is why he never speaks of her.”
Grandmother cackled with delight. “Trust the candor of a child. Yes, my love, the humans were bad, just as the curse is bad. Fear can turn people into monsters. And something that was not meant to be evil can be twisted by fear.”
Though Erythea longed to understand her grandmother’s words, the full meaning of them slipped to the back of her mind, a package to be opened another day.
~***~
The following morning, she raced downstairs, hoping to find a head full of silver hair hung over broad shoulders beside the hearth fire. Instead Grandmother’s long white braid greeted her, followed by her black sparkling eyes as she turned her head to greet her.
“Good morning dearie. Come eat your porridge while it is hot.”
Erythea tried to swallow her disappointment. “Where is Father?”
Grandmother sniffed. “Chasing humans, no doubt. But you never mind that. I want you to do your chores as soon as you finish breaking fast. No mooning about today, little pup.”
“Yes, Grandmother.” Erythea swallowed another mouthful and then sighed. “Why is Father so worried?”
“He thinks he has need to worry so you don’t need to worry, and there’s an end to it.”
Erythea recognized the hard set of Grandmother’s shoulders and knew better than to push further. Better to snoop about the village later and see if she could hear anything. Maybe she could ask Liir later. He always told her things. The other kind were a lot more talkative than Wolvs, she had learned.
With this in mind, she rushed through cleaning house and was on her way to checking her traps in the nearby thicket. She tried not to worry after Father and failed, as usual. Why he hunted humans when her mother had been human was a mystery to her. Humans were a cruel and evil race, everyone claimed. So many times she begged her father to forget the humans and stay close to the village, but he only ever ruffled her hair and kissed her brow till it smoothed.
Erythea felt a frown furrowing her brow now as she checked her second empty trap and sighed as she walked further from the Iceveins cottage and deeper into the forest. She wished her nose was as sharp as Father’s. The familial Wolv traits had yet to manifest after her eleventh birthday, however. Which is why she didn’t hear the approach of the other children until they appeared suddenly across from her in the clearing.
Dread coiled in the pit of her stomach. Wolv children, and not just any but the three who liked her least.
“What do you want, Aelon?” She eyed the tallest and took a cautious step back, slipping her hand behind her cloak to grasp her knife by its hilt. She didn’t have claws like them yet, but she did have steel.
Aelon sneered down at her and took a prowling step forward. “You know what we want.” He lifted his hands to the Ironteeth siblings at his sides and flashed her a sharp toothed grin. “Show us your claws.”
Erythea squashed her rising fear, knowing they could smell it on her. “I don’t have to show you anything.”
He snarled at her. “That’s because you don’t have any claws, isn’t it? You’re a witch, not a Wolv and everyone knows it!”
Despite her best efforts, fear covered her like a second skin with his words. This wasn’t the first time the children teased her for being half human. But she had always clung to the hope she would take after her father’s Wolv side. Maybe then they would accept her. Deep down she knew better.
Aelon sniffed and stalked around her, the Ironteeth siblings at his heels. “I can smell your fear, witch. Why don’t you show us what you really are?”
Erythea pulled out her small dagger and slashed air. “Stay away!”
Aelon grinned. “Say please.” Before she could stop him, Aelon knocked her steel aside. She gasped as he pounced, forcing her into the snow and his fist collided with her cheek. “Show us!”
Erythea tried to throw her hands up but the Ironteeth siblings grabbed her hands. Her fear grew and with it the majik she tried so hard to keep hidden.
Please…oh please…
And then the snow began to tremble around them. A blue light filled the air and Aelon opened his mouth only for a ball of snow to fly into it. The children stumbled back as the snow around them rose from the earth and pounded their flesh. Erythea laughed as the light faded around them.
Some were born with ice in their veins, she thought with glee.
Aelon growled his fury at her as he rushed forward.
Erythea shrieked as his fist came down again.
“You are a freak, just like your mother! You think ’cause your father is pack master you can get away with it?”
This time she could see he meant it. He would kill her if she didn’t move. Pack matters like this meant no adults could interfere. It was how they learned who would run with the alpha once they grew up. No one suspected Erythea took after her human mother, at least not in public. But the children knew because their parents told them, whispering of their pack master’s treacherous human wife.
Please…
She feared the pressure building inside, growing as the Ironteeth twins tried to pull Aelon away in vain. And then a growl ripped through the small clearing, unlike anything they knew, more wyldcat than wolf. The children barely had time to look up for the source of such a monstrous sound, when Aelon was thrown up into the air by a fur garbed figure with long curling hair.
After the strange creature crouched over Erythea and snarled at the other children until they scrambled off in fear. Once they were alone, the creature twisted around to look over her with the fierce golden eyes of a wyldcat set in a strange, but beautiful foreign face.
It was the woman from the other night…Wanderer’s sister…the stranger the village elders were so frightened of. The woman had tackled Erythea’s father to the ground the night before. Yet here she was, this stranger willing to protect her when no one else would.
Maybe she could be the one… she thought with growing hope. Aloud, she said, “Aelon’s mother won’t forget what you did.”
The woman grimaced, her golden eyes glinting in the winter light. “He should be punished for what he did to you.”
“I won’t forget what you did, either,” Erythea was quick to say.
“I’m the one who threatened your village this morning.”
“I know. You are Wanderer’s sister. They say you’re a witch.”
A strange look crossed the woman’s face as she replied, “I guess I am.”
“My mother was a witch, too. That is why they hate me so much. My name is Erythea of the Iceveins clan.”
“Vynasha.”
Other Books in the Series
Craving Beauty (A Wylder Tale, #1) by Jennifer Silverwood
YA Dark Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 239 pages
October 31st 2015
Vynasha has spent the last four years tending her mother’s roses and looking after her nephew. The fire that killed their family has left her scarred and put Wyll on the brink of death. Soon the first frost will come down from the mountains and she knows this winter will be his last.
Until a strange beggar appears on the road, telling her of the majikal Source that can heal her Wyll. With nothing left to lose, Vynasha braves the forbidden Wylder Mountains to seek out a cure and her fate.
A lost kingdom is uncovered by an equally lost girl, but the castle is not abandoned as she believes. Shadows cloaking unseen eyes watch. Tapestries whisper from the hidden corners, wondering if the one to break their curse has come. And a hungry beast waits, ready to devour her soul.
Wolfsbane’s Daughter (A Wylder Tale Novella) by Jennifer Silverwood
YA Dark Fantasy
ebook, 52 Pages
February 25th 2016
Wolfsbane and his daughter Resha are on a never ending quest in the Wylder Mountains, to wipe out the wolves who destroyed their village. Before their enemies stole everything she loved, Resha cared for little beyond learning how to be a hunter. After, she learned a hunter must be prepared to fight as well as flee. Now she cares for nothing but revenge.
Until she discovers two majikal humans half frozen in the forest. Resha has a choice, to follow her instincts and leave the strangers to the wolves, or save them. Yet the enemy is on the prowl and there is little time for Wolfsbane’s daughter to find safe haven before they are discovered.
Jennifer Silverwoodwas raised deep in the heart of Texas and has been spinning yarns a mile high since childhood. In her spare time she reads and writes and tries to sustain her wanderlust, whether it’s the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, the highlands of Ecuador or a road trip to the next town. Always on the lookout for her next adventure, in print or reality, she dreams of one day proving to the masses that everything really is better in Texas. She is the author of the Heaven’s Edge series, Stay and Silver Hollow.
3 winners to receive ebooks of all three books in A Wylder Tales:Craving Beauty,Wolfsbane’s Daughter, andScarred Beauty (extra swag to US winners)
Open internationally
Ends December 12th
The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!
My 56 for this week is from:
Gemina
The Illuminae Files #2
by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: YA Science Fiction
From Page 56 in the hardcover.
If nothing was ever going to happen with us – and I know in what passes for reality for you that’s obviously not true, but just pretend – if nothing was ever going to happen, would you want to be my friend?
Would you even be talking to me?
~~~~~
Read on if you want to know more.
Synopsis
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.
The saga that began with Illuminae continues on board the space station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of BeiTech’s assault. Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter, Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.
When an elite BeiTech team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum may be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival. The fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.
From Gods by Mary Ting
