Posts Tagged ‘Author A.W. Exley’

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I’ve read A.W. Exley’s Artifact Hunters Series and really enjoyed them so I had to read this fairy tale retelling, Ella, The Slayer.

Hey, there’s zombies in it!

Feast your eyes on the magnificent cover art.

Enjoy my review.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Ella, The Slayer

by A. W. Exley

ELLA ebook

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My Review

I don’t read a lot of fairy tale retellings, so I figured it was time to do just that. And how could I resist a retelling of Cinderella, taking place after World War I, with zombies! Yep, zombies.

Now, the zombies don’t dominate the story. They are there, lurking in the background, threatening to burst onto the scene at any given time. Sometimes, they do. And that’s where Ella opens up a can of whoop ass.

Ella didn’t ask to be the town’s protector, executioner. She was kind of forced into it. Her and that katana she wielded so well. And that’s just one role she’d been forced into.

She didn’t blame her father for getting married again. She wanted him happy. She didn’t blame him when he came home from war catatonic. She hoped for and watched for him to recover.

She did blame her evil step-mother and two spoiled step-sisters. They relegated her to maid service, whipping her when she didn’t do something right or fast enough. Ella almost relished having to go slay a zombie or two.

Her world changes when she runs into tall, dark, and handsome. Seth, the Duke, is so far out of her league, but her heart wants what it wants. And that’s Seth.

Can Ella have a happy ever after? Or will her evil step family spoil her plans? Will Seth want a lowly maid ? Or will he want one of the snotty step-sisters? And can he see her as a protector, not a killer?

All of my questions are answered, and in such fun and delightful ways. Ella is no lightweight and she has some awesome friends who love and support her.

Seth, weighed down by responsibility, by proper appearances, steps into the shoes assigned to him with strength and fortitude.

And then there’s the zombie thing. The author offered a fresh take on them. I didn’t quite see where she was heading until the end. Very interesting.

I stayed up late and then got up early so I could finish this book and find out what happened. Such a fun retelling.

And did I mention zombies?

4 Stars

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Synopsis

The flu pandemic of 1918 took millions of souls within a few short weeks.
Except it wasn’t flu and death gave them back.

Seventeen-year-old Ella copes the best she can; caring for her war-injured father, scrubbing the floors, and slaying the undead that attack the locals. ‘Vermin’ they’re called, like rats they spread pestilence with their bite. Ella’s world collides with another when she nearly decapitates a handsome stranger, who is very much alive

Seth deMage, the new Duke of Leithfield, has returned to his ancestral home with a mission from the War Office — to control the plague of vermin in rural Somerset. He needs help; he just didn’t expect to find it in a katana-wielding scullery maid.

Working alongside Seth blurs the line between their positions, and Ella glimpses a future she never dreamed was possible. But in overstepping society’s boundaries, Ella could lose everything – home, head and her heart…

 

Goodreads | Amazon | iTunes | Kobo | B&N | Scribd 

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About Author A. W. Exley

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Books and writing have always been an enormous part of A.W. Exley’s life.
She survived school by hiding out in the library, with several thousand fictional characters for company. At university, she overcame the boredom of studying accountancy by squeezing in Egyptology papers and learning to read hieroglyphics.
Today, Anita writes steampunk novels with a sexy edge and an Egyptian twist. She lives in rural New Zealand surrounded by an assortment of weird and wonderful equines, felines, canine and homicidal chickens.

 

AUTHOR ONLINE: Website | Twitter @AWExley | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Welcome to my tour stop for Nero’s Fiddle by A.W.Exley. This is the third book in the Artifact Hunters series.
This is a New Adult Mystery Steampunk series with a good dose of adventure and romance.  The tour runs Dec. 15-19. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.
I truly enjoyed this series and will be reviewing Nero’s Fiddle today. I’ve also included links to my reviews of Nefertiti’s Heart and Hatshepsut’s Collar.
Enjoy!
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
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Artifact Hunters 3: Nero’s Fiddle


One death by spontaneous human combustion is a rare act of God.
Two… is surely a freakish coincidence.
Three… well, that’s starting to look deliberate.

Cara has a new role as Queen Victoria’s artifact hunter, she’s adapting to married life and living in a country manor that more closely resembles a mausoleum.

In London, Inspector Fraser investigates a series of strange deaths by divine fire – except he doesn’t believe in coincidences. Despite himself, he enlists Cara’s help to identify what artifact could cause such a hideous death while his desire to bring her husband to justice burns unabated.Someone’s intent on making sure a decades old secret stays hidden and Cara must figure out who is responsible before this case consumes her family and rocks the entire realm to its foundations.
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MY REVIEW
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More steam punk fun with Nero’s Fiddle.
Just a warning that this is the third book in the series so there may be some small spoilers.
Cara and Nate are settling in as newlyweds and doing what they love, hunting for more artifacts.
The enigmatic and Inspector Frasier is also back and the bizarre deaths by spontaneous combustion bring these characters together again.
The fiddle is being wielded to kill and these three must combine their skills to catch the killer and maintain a startling secret.
I enjoyed the mystery in the first book, Nefertiti’s Heart. It was the second book, Hatshepsut’s Collar the blew me away. It was more of a thriller.
And Nero’s Fiddle, while also more of a mystery, is very much character driven. Something I look for in my reads.
There are many returning characters and some new ones.
Cara’s body guard, Brick, is a hoot and how perfect is his name?
Then, enter the Curator. He gave me the creeps. The story leads me to believe we’ll be dealing with him again in Moseh’s Staff, which will conclude this series.
I’m sure the author will stun us with the finale. I’m hoping all of the character’s, good and bad, will return to thrill me one last time.
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4 Stars
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Click on the covers for my reviews of the first two books.
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Author-s-Foto-Anita-ExleyAnita Exley’s Biography: 
Books and writing have always been an enormous part of A.W. Exley’s life.
She survived school by hiding out in the library, with several thousand fictional characters for company. At university, she overcame the boredom of studying accountancy by squeezing in Egyptology papers and learning to read hieroglyphics.
Today, Anita writes steampunk novels with a sexy edge and an Egyptian twist. She lives in rural New Zealand surrounded by an assortment of weird and wonderful equines, felines, canine and homicidal chickens.

Author Links:

Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter 

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 Giveaway:
One winner gets a 3 ebook set of The Artifact Hunters series by A.W. Exley: Nefertiti’s Heart, Hatshepsut’s Collar and Nero’s Fiddle.
Open Worldwide
Ends 12/24
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This tour was organized by CBB Book Promotions.
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways click on the  Southern Christmas Charm below.

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