WitchBorn

Title:  Witch Born
Author: Nicholas Bowing
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Library Hardback
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws

Alyce's mother is brutually burned at the stake when she was a young girl.  Witchhunters return to her home in search of Alyce, in a fit of self defense, Alyce manages to kill the hunter.  But she is captured and taken to an asylum, which she manages to escape after sometime and befriends an actor and innkeeper.  She knows she needs to find a Mr. John Dee, but she doesn't know what to expect when she finds him.  While she searches, witchhunters continue to hunt for her and Alyce manages to find herself in the company of actors who happen to be living in Queen Elizabeth I's palace.  Throughout her trials Alyce continues to wonder why her, why is she so important.  Caught in the battle between two Queens Alyce now has the fate of England on her shoulders.  Can she manage it?

I wonder why so many authors use Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary as witches in stories, granted I have only read two that utilize this, but I am sure there are more.  Let me just say this novel was nothing like what I was expecting it to be.  I expected a suspenseful novel of a young girl coming into her powers (yes there was that, but I don't think enough) trying to hide from a group of neredowells.  What we get is a young girl who sort of stumbles onto her powers I don't even remember when or how they began to manifest, but nothing extravagant.  We also have villains looking for her, but it seems all to easy that they find her basically in the second place they look.

I love love fantasy novels with witches and such, but this one seemed like a little bit of a let down for me and that makes me sad.  I was so excited to read this because it felt like a fantastic book.  I was able to predict almost everything that happened, the big "twist" towards the end was very predictable though I told myself it would be what I thought it was.  Overall it was kind of meh for me while reading.  I didn't find it super exciting or super dull.  It held pace, held my attention and had characters that could be more than what they were.  I enjoy Solomon a lot and wanted to see more from him, even maybe a little bit of magic from him too.  Like an opps kind of thing for him.

Young adult fantasy lovers I think would find this book enjoyable.  I would recommend it because even if it was the end all books for me, someone else might find it the best book they read this year.  I find myself more of a Deborah Harkness kind of witch lover.  Check it out for yourself see what you think. 

Dead Fish

Title: Dead Fish
Author: Ruth Carrington
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Source; Ebook via Netgalley
Rating: 2 out of 5 paws




Upon arriving home, Geoffrey Quinn is immediately arrested on the murder of his wife and children  His wife was found burned in the boiler, the children remain missing.  Alison Hope is a young defender assigned to the case, she is skeptical about his innocence as the evidence is compelling.  As she continues to investigate the crime, she discovers a darker world within the wealthy in the community.  Time is running out fast and Alison must unravel the mystery before it is too late and Quinn is convicted of a crime he didn't commit.

I had such high hopes for this novel, and sadly was disappointed.  Not only does the story come off as cliché, it isn't compelling enough to keep me engaged.  I found it difficult to finish the novel and almost didn't on several occasions.  There are some interesting ideas throughout the novel, but they were not portrayed in a good manner.


The flow of the story was rather choppy, it would be fast paced and exciting one minute then sluggish and slow the next.  I struggled to stay interested in the characters as they seem too ordinary, there was nothing that made me relate to them or feel any emotion towards them.  I think if Carrington went back through and added more depth to the characters this would be a different story.  It honestly does start off well, but then slowly drops off and declines.  There was a lot of different vices used throughout such as alcohol, drugs, sex etc, I understand that was the point, but it came to feel like it was a bit too much, too difficult to keep track and interested.  There were WAAY to many red herrings, and I began to wonder when we were going to get to the point of the tale.


Overall it was an interesting idea, granted one done before but I had hoped Carrington would do it differently, add a unique twist to it that made me go "WOW" unfortunately that did not happen.  While I think there are people who would enjoy this novel and would recommend other readers to give it a shot and see it fairs with them.  It just was not my cup of tea.




** I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review**

Books I'm looking forward to in 2018

Every year new books constantly come out making it hard for a reader to dwindle their too read list because we are constantly adding new books that we want to read.  I believe my too read list has reached into the 2,000 mark making the possibilities endless.  2018 is filled with releases of so many interesting and great novels from authors we know and love as well as break-out authors.  I have gone through and added at least 20 new books to my too read list and find myself realizing I have fallen behind on some reading, specifically from some of my favorite authors like Gena Showalter.  Here are some novels I am looking forward to getting and reading in the upcoming year.  Will I get able to get them...we shall see.

"The Traitor's Game" is about a young woman who has spent year in exile, but she is still drawn to the palace politics of her father as he is the right hand to King Endrick.  Because of this position, Kestra is the perfect bargaining chip.  Rebels kidnap Kestra on her way home and try to use her to obtain a mystical object that can destroy the king.  Kestra does not go willing and fights back against her captors.  She will destroy their plans by any means necessary.  But as secrets begin to emerge and be known, she will have to decide who and what she is fighting for, and is it worth fighting?


I love the premise of the story, the cover is gorgeous and it seems like it would be a good afternoon read.  I am looking forward to checking this novel out when it is release.









A theater festival is putting on a production of "The Hound of the Baskerville,s a production Gemma is excited to be a part of .  During a tea party Gemma meets with Sir Nigel Bellingham who will play the lead role of Holmes, then he goes missing!  Gemma finds him...at the bottom of a cliff.....dead. (GASP). Gemma decides to do some investigating and finds out that there is another actor who was given the role first.  Many people are suspect due to Nigel's attitude and behavior to them, but Leslie Wilson becomes the prime suspect because a part of her apron is found at the scene.  Now Gemma has to clear her friend's mother's name.


Cozy mysteries are a guilty pleasure of mine, they are so easy to read and don't have a lot of gore and stuff that typical mysteries have.  This book involves a great story, so I am excited to see what will become of it.

In this re-telling of Aladdin, he grows up alone an orphan.  He meets a woman named Kirstyn who's parents are both in positions of power, her father a duke; her mother the patroness of Aladdin's orphanage.  Aladdin becomes Kirstyn favorite companion, best friend even.  Aladdin rises in the ranks to obtain a position in the duke's house, but in order win Kirstyn's hand he must leave their kingdom is search of more.  Thus leaving Kirstyn vulnerable to thirsty men who want nothing more than to take her father's power.  Aladdin must now fight to win her hand and rescue her along the way.


I have always been a fan of Melanie Dickerson.  Her novels are romance in genre, but it is a pure romance.  This means no sex scenes (GASP the horror I know).  This is a great series and I am looking forward to more from this remarkable author.

Popular girls in a local high school are being murdered and arranged in a particular way.  The look almost perfect, except for the line of blood across their necks.  Penelope Malone is afraid that she will be next as all the other girls have been linked to her...and the boy from physics...the loner type.  The two pair up to try and figure this mystery out and try to stay one step ahead of the killer who wants all the pretty girls dead, including Penelope.


I find myself interested in this novel, it sounds like it will be a thrilling suspenseful read. I have high hopes for this novel and look forward to picking it up in the next year.


There are so many books coming out in the next year that it is hard to keep track of all of them or to even mention them within this post.  But you can be sure that I will be reading many new books throughout the year.    What are some of the books that you are looking forward to this coming year?  Let me know in the comments! 


Happy Reading!

Where The Lost Girls Go

Laura is a rookie cop trying to show she is capable of doing her job despite her small stature and meek manner.  She obtains her first investigation when a car crashes into a tree and goes up in flames.  Clues point to a homicide, possibly involving the daughter of a famous local author.  As Laura digs for clues and interviews the family she is convinced she knows who the killer is.  But then the identity of the Jane Doe is revealed to be a missing girl, the investigation takes a different path.  How did the missing girl find her way into the Jameson estate and eventually one of their cars?  How did she meet her end and why?  Admist this investigation is another bigger one into the corruption of the police force and how deep does it go.  Why are some officers given special duty, while others are hung out to dry?  Get ready for an action packed novel that will keep you guessing until the very end.


I had the honor of receiving this book from the publisher/author via NetGallery.  I could not have been more excited for the opportunity to read this book.


It starts out with excitement with the fiery car accident and the mysterious driver, but as the story goes on it deeper into a homicide and keeps you guessing at what will happen next.  There seemed to be a lot of premature theories and jumping to conclusions, but I guess that would come from the main character being new to the force, just off her training.  There was another sub-plot about corruption in the force that I think was unnecessary, the story stood well on its own without that added tidbit.  It almost feels a little too overdone - corruption in the force, but the main character and a few secondary ones are working to expose it as they are the only good ones.  I hope there is a bigger story that come from that, but at this point it is still a mystery why that was included. 




There are still a few questions within this story as I got to the end that leaves the book feeling almost unfinished. The moments of Laura expressing feelings for her neighbor felt more like fluff than anything else especially after he "sort of is seeing someone,"  that left me with a let down as there was a build up of possibly them getting together or a huge surprise twist him being the mastermind behind it all, but no.  Again something else that could have been left completely out of the story and it would not have made much of a difference.  I highly enjoyed the story and liked the added touch of "squatters" in the woods that was something different added to the story. 


It was a mixture of predictable and unpredictable, if that makes any sense.  There were parts I was able to figure out while others were a complete surprise.  It held my attention throughout the story, I couldn't wait to find out who was the mastermind behind the murders.  There were a few things that I was surprised wasn't revealed earlier such as the gravesite, I think having someone find it earlier and finding the girls already in it would have added to the story and suspense of who was killing these girls.  I could almost see this plot reflected in a crime drama or movie.


I would highly recommend this book to mystery lovers of all sorts, as well as general fiction, suspense fans.  I think there is a little of something everyone can enjoy in this book.  I give this a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.