Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Review: Bloodline

Bloodline Bloodline by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those adventures that sets up an obvious series of sorts. With Princess Leah as the central character, you get a better grasp on her overall. This is set a couple of decades after the Battle of Endor and it is clear that the Alliance has not fared as well as we'd hoped. The governmental turmoil is actually quite realistic. Once the big threat is gone, there is a tendency to start think with single-mindedness. The Galactic Senate has become useless and Leah is considering walking away...then STUFF happens. Secrets have a way of finding daylight and such. No spoilers here folks.

Overall, it is pretty good. Decent action. The strength was in the realness of the political side of things.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Review: Z Children: Awakening

Z Children: Awakening Z Children: Awakening by Eli Constant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this from the author. I am always ready for something new, but just reading the title had me wondering what sort of horrors were waiting. The wait is short.

Eli has a way about her when it comes to pulling real people into a horrific situation and making the reader see the world through the eyes of her characters. There can be nothing more terrifying that zombie children. It was one of those things that is as heartrending as it is terrifying. What really has me floored is that Constant co-wrote this with her dad. The pair work together to cobble together a seamless story that transitions smoothly as key characters are introduced in what has the potential to be a very engrossing series (after I reached the ending, I knew the ride was not over).

This book might be cruising under your radar, and let me tell you now that you will want to put it square in the cross-hairs. I don't do spoilers, I will just tell you that you need to be prepared to have your heart broken more than once.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Review: Bitten By The Bad Boy: A Bad Boy Vampire Romance

Bitten By The Bad Boy: A Bad Boy Vampire Romance Bitten By The Bad Boy: A Bad Boy Vampire Romance by Jasmine White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I started doing some research as I continue to try and improve on my That Ghoul Ava series. With a romance thread on the horizon, I felt it wise to grab a few of the better selling paranormal romances out there for some study material.

That said, the story is okay. The vampire angle seems a tad underutilized. However, I was impressed with the realism of the characters in reacting to the "vampire bite" sequence. I did believe that the ending was a teeny bit rushed and I had a hard time with how easy the female lead (Kyra) flip-flopped back into a romance with the vampire (Patton) who had treated her so poorly early on in the story.

On the technical side, Ms. White needs an editor. There are numerous mechanical errors in the dialog sequences. Very basic rules are being ignored, and if an "editor" is being paid to clean up this title and others in her library, then she is being robbed. I could point out a number of errors in just a single page that (as an editor) I would expect to be fired over if they were allowed in the final draft that went to print.

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