Friday 28 October 2016

Origins by S.E.Meyer

I really enjoyed this book, but I will have to contact the editor about some of the editing issues. If you are not put off by the odd typo and comma in the wrong place, dive straight in. Self-publishing is all well and good but sometimes we have just too many hats on. Writer, editor, designer, publisist; it is impossible to do them all well. My motto is to hire or bribe the best people you know for the job. The result can be a bad referrence because of poor editing or even worse, no one buys your book because the cover is shockingly bad. Anyway back to the book; I gave it five stars.
Origins by S.E.Meyer

Origins will appeal to the reader that is intrigued by some of the things created by the ancients; like the Nazca lines and the pyramids. The reader that doesn’t dismiss the idea that there might have been some alien influence. But even if you’re a sceptic like me you will still enjoy this book; it is a good action adventure. This is a good story due to two factors; Mr Meyer knows how to write and keep his reader on the edge of his/her seat. Secondly he knows his stuff; you can tell that he has done a lot of research into ancient cultures such as the Sumerians and this lets him blend fiction with fact in a believable way. (there is some very interesting further reading at the end of the book about the Sumerians)
The main character John, is a scientist who has an ordinary but happy life with the woman he loves. Events take over and we see John thrown into a world he had no knowledge off. As he grows into his new role we still recognise the man we had at the start. The love of his family drives him. He is a guy we like and feel comfortable with. This is quite an epic work, but one that keeps the reader engaged until the very end but to find out how things finish you’ll have to read the second part. In my case that won’t be a chore. Reading through some of the other reviews, I’m happy to report that the author has corrected the UK issues.

Monday 10 October 2016

Sucked In (The Series That Just Plain Sucks Book 1) by Charissa Dufour

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I think it will appeal to the fans of the Language in the Blood series and fans of John Hennessy's vampire books. Basically any one who doesn't take their vampires too seriously. I gave it 5 stars.
Sucked In (The Series That Just Plain Sucks Book 1) by Charissa Dufour on amazon.com


When Ashley Hawn is on date with Isaac; an attractive man she has been dating for a while. She innocently mentions that there were rumours of a wizard in her family’s past. He is suddenly a lot more interested in his date and she painfully finds out what he really is. The next few days see her struggling to hold on to her new vampire life. She is helped by her ‘vampire baby sitter’ Nik as the two struggle to find out who wants to capture and sacrifice her. Despite disliking Nik, Ashley recognises she needs him to stay alive. The banter between the reluctant protector and the hapless but stubborn new vampire is what makes this book so much fun to read. Ashley Hawn, the main character is a writer of vampire novels. The sort of novels I normally hate and in which all vampires are attractive, brooding and uber powerful. Thankfully Charissa Dufour isn’t that sort of writer. She takes the whole genre with a healthy dose of humour and a good pinch of salt. She has created in Ashley a heroine that is flawed but also highly entertaining.  I can’t wait to read more about this hapless new vampire.
 


Paradox - Bound By Blood (Paradox series Book 3) by Patti Roberts

I reviewed books 1 and 2 in the series quite a while ago, so I was glad the pace of the third book was a bit calmer. It allowed me to get back into this fairly complex story and get reacquainted with all the characters. Patti (who designed the Language in the Blood covers) continues strongly with this excellent series. And of course the cover of Bound by Blood is beautiful. 5 star read.
Paradox-Bound By Blood (Paradox series Book 3) by Patti Roberts on Amazon.com


Bound by Blood is the third book in the Paradox series and probably my favourite so far. We were introduced to a lot more characters in book two and I was pleased to learn more about their back stories in Bound by Blood. Especially Claire proves to have a few skeletons in her family’s closet. Now three books in I have a much clearer idea about Altair and what’s at stake. Patti has succeeded in knitting the events that took place in Altair together with the events taking place on earth and around Grace. The pace is a bit calmer initially as we switch between the present and historic events on Altair, but towards the end the tension rises, mainly due to the fact that both Abaddon and Pandora have arrived in the present. The book ends again on a heart stopping cliff-hanger so I’m off to Amazon for book 4 in the series.