This is so exciting. I was so thrilled to be a part of the cover reveal for H.D. Gordon’s newest release, Shooting Stars. Not really knowing what the story was about, I was happy dancing when I saw the cover!
Now I’ve read the book and I’m here to tell ya, you get excellent writing, characterization and world building in Shooting Stars. I wouldn’t expect anything less from H.D.
Make sure you enter the awesome giveaway following my review!
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Title: Shooting Stars (A Surah Stormsong Novel #1)
Author: H.D. Gordon
Publisher: ShareAread
Release Date: March 15th, 2013
Formats: E-book
Cover Artist: Regina Wamba
Shooting Stars Synopsis
Once upon a time, a common boy fell in love with a princess. It was a hopeless, forbidden love, grown in a world where sorcery and magic rule over all. Now, dark times are brewing, and destiny will bring them together, while fate works to keep them apart. Extraordinary battles will be fought, and extraordinary choices made. Join the author of The Alexa Montgomery Saga for the beginning of a tale of star-crossed lovers and magic, of hope and love and loss, of desperate wishes made on stars.
Enjoy this excerpt
He spoke first, and Surah found herself listening carefully to the way a slight twang rode his words, she had never heard such an accent before. “You plannin on skewerin sumthin with those?” he asked, eyeing the silver sais still clutched in her hands.
Surah watched him closely, wishing she had mastered teleportation for what seemed like the billionth time, so that she could just take herself out of here. She didn’t think that the boy meant her any harm, he was obviously just a common Sorcerer, not a spy for the Vampires or Fairies or any of the other races currently feuding over the Territories, but in the past two days the young princess had learned a very important lesson, one that she would carry with her for hundreds and hundreds of years.
You couldn’t really trust anyone.
She gave a slight shrug, held his gaze, which was somehow very penetrating. “I was thinking about it,” she said, hastily brushing the tears from her face that she just remembered were there.
The boy approached the lake slowly, giving Surah a wide berth, his dirty hands raised at his sides, dark hair falling into his face. Then he plopped down on the shore of the lake and stared out over it. He settled his arms on his knees and put a hand over his chest were his heart was. “Alright,” he said, “right here, then. Put er right here.” He looked at her now, his eyes burning with the same amount of grief Surah felt burning in her own soul. A piece of her broken heart went out to him then, even though she tried with all her might to call it back. She felt broken, but he looked broken.
“And don’t miss,” he added.
My Review
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’ve never read a book By H.D. that I didn’t love.
I first met Surah Stormsong in Redemption, an Alexa Montgomery Saga novel. She was much more impetuous and looking for a fight. Now she has matured and has been forced to take on a heavy mantle in being the Keeper for her kingdom.
Surah acts like a princess, looks like a princess, and fulfills her duties to her people. But she’s tired of the pomp. Tired of people never saying what they mean, only what they think she wants to hear. Tired of the rigid behavior expected of her. She has a desire. A desire to be free from it all, from the cold walls of the castle, to breathe the fresh air, to be ordinary. Just be…
“Someday I will shed the mask, she thought. Someday.’
Until then, she will do whatever she must to serve and protect her people in a world torn asunder.
I didn’t know what to expect when I received this ARC. I was surprised to learn it was about sorcerers, witches, and supernatural creatures. How exciting. And there is romance, a gentle romance that starts as a flicker and becomes a beautiful flame.
I really like Surah. She’s stuck, but she doesn’t whine. And her partially shaved purple haircut and the combat boots she wears makes her normal, gives her attitude. I like my protagonists to have some quirks.
Charles. Now there’s someone I could fall in love with. He’s quite, introspective, slow to rile, and still carries a torch for the young girl he met for only a brief moment a thousand years ago. That’s what I call a love that endures, that lasts a lifetime! You’re gonna love him.
Samson is Surah’s best friend. She saved him when he was but a cub. That’s right, he’s a tiger. I like when an animal gets a major role in a story. I feel a bond. I imagine that’s how man felt when a wolf came in to share his fire. Samson won me over instantly and made me wish we could all have a friend like him. Who wouldn’t love a giant tiger of their very own.
There are some bad guys too. There’s no way H.D. wouldn’t give us some characters to loathe and where would we be without some action. One character was a mystery to me right from the beginning and I’m sure he was intended to be. All through the book, I wondered what his story was and whether he would turn out to be the villain or the good guy. Definitely kept my curiosity ramped up.
Shooting Stars is something different from H.D. Gordon. It’s romance, adventure, and magic with a lighter touch. Not quite as kick-ass as The Alexa Montgomery Series. They were more violent, darker, and while that’s the stuff that gets my endorphins pumping, I really loved Surah’s story.
Five Stars for the beginning of a new, addictive series!
Giveaway
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
Prizes include:
$50.00 Adopt a Tiger package from WWF
Baby Samson Plush
5 e-copies of Shooting Stars.
Ends April 15th.
Click on rafflecopter link below to enter.
A Rafflecopter Giveaway
About the Author
H. D. Gordon is the author of The Alexa Montgomery Saga. Blood Warrior, the first book of the Alexa series was her debut novel and has held a spot in the top 100 fantasy bestsellers for over a month. Half Black Soul is the second book in this series and H. D. plans to complete Alexa’s tales by the end of 2012. In June of 2012, Joe, a fantasy novel about a young clairvoyant, was released as well. H. D. is a lifelong reader and writer, a true lover of words. When she is not reading or writing she is raising her two daughters, playing a little guitar, and spending time with her family. She is twenty three years old and lives in the northeastern United States.
You can follow H.D. Gordon at:
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H.D. Gordon’s Books
The Surah Stormsong Series
The Alexa Montgomery Saga
JOE
