Seven Stones

Title: Seven Stones

Author: James Rozoff

Genre: Fantasy

Source: Kindle Ebook

Rating: 3 out of 5

Doug is a young magician who is determined to become greater than the great Houdini.  When an older magician named Ashavan offers to share his secrets in exchange for Doug's help, he jumps at the opportunity.  Little does Doug know that each item he must hind has deep dark secrets to them.  Now things have grown bigger than either Doug or Ashavan can handle, but it is too late to turn back.  Doug must finish what he started and race against time to find all seven stones.  Will Doug succeed in finding all the stones? Or will he give up and abandon his search?

There are a lot of things happening in this novel it's a book about treasure hunting adventure, a metaphysical journey, magic, historical fiction, mystery, but oddly enough it works well for the story.  One aspect of the tale does not overshadow the other. It starts off very compelling with an older magician dangling new and exciting tricks in front of a younger magician.  In order to get what he craves, the younger enters a world of séances, real magic, even death and zombies.  What zombies? Really?  It's not what you think, the way Rozoff presents these creatures of lore is very interesting and unique rather than the traditional zombie we see in other stories.

There are small hints of inconsistency throughout the novel, such as the main character Doug sometimes being referred to as Dave.  It took a moment or two to realize these were not two separate people.  The story is interesting enough of being a treasure hunt for seven mystical stones, but it tries to be so much more and includes a lot of different politics and things which ends up making the story slow moving.  Once Doug leaves Mississippi (or is it Louisiana), the story slows down dramatically, and it's hard to get back into the story after this.  I liked the idea of the seven stones being related to Pangaea, but it was hard to follow the idea that Rozoff was going with it and the stones because the explanation is broken up throughout the story.


Overall it was a decently written story, that had it's interesting moments.  It wasn't the thrill ride I was hoping it would be when I started reading it, but it was interesting enough to finish.  It was difficult to continue to feel connected to the story.  The multiple things happening throughout the novel made for a large feel of disconnection for the reader.  It takes too long to get to the good parts, we are pulled in with Doug finding three of the stones and dealing with their effects quickly, but then there are chapter after chapter of nothingness, which honestly felt like a let down. 


Will I read this book again?  Probably not.  Will I recommend it? eh I'm on the fence because I always feel like there is an audience for a book even if it wasn't my cup of tea.  I will recommend it for those who like books with mystical or philosophical aspects too them, or with a hint of history interspersed.  It just happens that I felt like the characters wondered around like lost puppies after a while.

The Rogue Mountain

A creature hidden in the mountains, lurking, watching, waiting.  Down below a town living to survive with hellish beings living in their backyard, learning to protect themselves from the creatures of the mountains.  Three teenagers long for a life away from wood devils and hell cats.  A woman doing everything she can do to survive while another lives in a perpetual nightmare.  A monster hunter comes on a mission to cleanse the area of the beasts, only to bring unwanted attention from the witch on the mountain.  Secrets rise to the surface and a town finds out the truth behind their fears.  Welcome to the Rogue Mountains where nothing is ever what it seems.


I will start the disclaimer that this book is not available yet, it is set to release in October, October 3rd I believe.  But I had the honor of sort of beta reading this book for an author dear to me.  This is the debut novel for Joshua Tarquinio.  The book is a mix of supernatural/post-apocalyptic thriller, horror, fantasy, self-realization, with a touch of questioning theology.  The story centers around a small town outside of Pittsburgh after an apocalyptic event that opens the doors to the supernatural.   Now this town learns to survive with various beings attacking them, and the knowledge that there is a witch hidden in the mountains that no one has ever been able to go near. Three teens are the only entertainment in town, but long for something more.  Everyone basically lives their lives one day at a time hoping to survive, hoping to one day be free of the beings that prowl their woods and mountains.  Then a monster hunter, Del Ballatine rolls into town with the intent of ridding them of these creatures.  He and naïve Nigel venture out to the woods and happen upon a hell hound, which they take down.  But this gains the attention of the witch in the mountain and all hell breaks lose, literally.  Secrets are revealed and the state of the village changes forever.


The novel does start out a little slow with a great deal of background on the characters, and takes a little bit of time to build up to the climax.  But those details are necessary in understanding the characters and why they act and react the way the do in situations that arise further into the book, also this gives you an understanding of the town functions together, how they arise to the mob mentality so to speak.  Through this part you form a connection with the characters and town in general.  It helps with the wow factor and the twists that's happen throughout the novel.  Tarquinio does a fantastic job dragging his readers into his world, and holds them under a spell, much like the cave worm in his story.  One of my favorite elements in the story was a being known as a nightmare, one that attaches itself to a person and causes them to live in a state of a living nightmare.  It preys on the happy memories and changes them into nightmares.  It is literally the stuff of nightmares and almost makes your skin crawl.  The creatures he creates in this book are not only characters, but become apart of the atmosphere as they lurk in the shadows.


There are times in the novel when some of the characters question the existence of God in that the book takes place 20 years after the Biblical apocalypse takes place and well the world didn't end.  So characters wonder where is God, did he ever exist, is there such as thing as intrinsically evil or can a supposed evil being redeem itself.  A couple points in the story I found myself audibly whispering "no" when something happen.

I am excited to see what else Tarquinio has in store for readers with sequels, prequels or other stories unrelated to this one.  He has a knack for bringing the thrill of the unknown to the surface and his readers.  I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy supernatural thrillers, horror, fantasy, adventure.  Because I am a little bias for the fact the Josh is a dear friend of mine and my opinion of the book reflects my friendship, I will not rate the book the way I normally do.  But will simply say definitely keep your eyes out in October for when the book is release.

Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham

David Bennet's fiance was brutually murdered and positioned to resemble a thousand year old murder.  After the murder case was closed, David leaves town trying to leave all the rumors behind.  Katie O'Hara hopes to reopen the Bennet family museum after the death of the patriarch.  But there is a wrench in her plans, David Bennet who returns home to settle his grandfather's estates.  But he is not the only person with his sites on Katie.  Someone else is following Katie, and killing throughout the city.  While Katie takes on the cold case on her own, she has help from a spiritual friend only she may see.  All of these things mixed together make for a great story.

I have recently discovered Heather Graham's writing.  This book was the second of her's that I have read and I highly enjoyed it.  I like the idea of a ghost helping someone find a killer or try to protect the person who see him.  In this book Bartholomew, was highly concerned about Katie's safety, not just her physical safety but the safety of her heart.  He warned her against falling for David for various reasons, almost like a big brother would.  Bartholomew quickly became one of my favorite characters in the book for this reason and because he was a prankster and one who enjoys having fun.

Overall the story was interesting and I enjoyed the historical aspect included into the story, but there were some points that didn't seem to flow right or seemed to drag on rather than keep pace with the rest of the novel.  Katie and David's characters were well developed, and somewhat complex, but all the other characters fell into the background.  Some characters are introduced in the very end that would have made sense to introduce earlier on including the killer.  We didn't see much of the killer character in the book aside from when the story told from his viewpoint (when readers didn't know who it was).  If there was a little more interaction happened with the killer and Katie/David the ending may have made a little bit more sense. 

Graham does a good job setting up the story and building suspense throughout it, but some points seemed to have fallen short of expectation. It almost felt like there was more that Graham could have done with the story.  But even with dull moments the book still held my attention and pulled me into the story line.  I would recommend this novel to mystery fans who don't want something gory and over the top.  There is some romance, but I don't think there is enough for the novel to be considered a romance novel.  I would give this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5.  I have three more Heather Graham novels on my to read list (I am sure I will end up buying more) and I cannot wait to begin one of them.

The Curse of Crow Hollow

Title: Curse of Crow Hollow by Billy Coffey
Media Source: Nook
Rating: 4 out of 5

Recommendation:  I would recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys a mystery, thriller or supernatural stories.

"People think they are free in life.  Maybe they are for a while.  But sooner or later all the choices you make narrow down to a single end, and that's the only end you can meet."

 A group of teenagers decide to have a small party in the mines that are closed off, considering how dangerous they are as well as the stories about a witch living among the woods.  The teens discover a set of footprints seared into the ground.  They decide to follow these tracks which lead to Alvaretta Grave's cabin, the fabled witch.  The witch curses the girls that occurs the very next day.  It slowly begins to effect not only Cordelia, Scarlett and Naomi, but takes hold of every teenage girl in the town.  The town becomes a frenzy as fear strikes the hearts of every resident.  Neighbors turn on neighbor, family on family.  Every small town has a secret and Crow Holler is no different, but could that secret be what is causing the ailments of the town's daughters?

This novel was one of those books that really told a story.  It was as if I was sitting beside the narrator listening to the story of someone who witnessed all the events.  I loved the theory Hays came up about the curse being the girls' worst fears, that added a new level to the story.  I would have liked to see other theories from people in the town.  The story revolved around the town trying to figure out how to stop the curse and who's fault it was and how to erase the sins that caused the curse.  There is little back story to Alvaretta, which I would have liked a little more.  To know why she was considered a witch other than the fact that she lives alone up in the woods.

The other characters were well developed.  I especially enjoyed John David and Bucky.  Bucky starts out as a weak, fearful character, but by the end he becomes probably the strongest character.  John David contains an air of mystery about him, something unknown and eerie, almost making you think he is working with the witch.  Out of the three girls originally cursed, I say I enjoyed Scarlett the most.  While she felt invisible and not worthy, she was the strongest of the three.  She acted when others didn't, she began to stand up for herself to others even to the point of pushing past her curse. She made herself be seen, therefore in my eyes started to break through her curse.  Angela was probably my least favorite.  Even through the curses and trials of the town, all she cared about was herself.  I almost wasnted a curse to hit her. I could sit here forever talking about what I liked or disliked about a character, but I won't do that.  I'll let you find characters you enjoyed the most, and tell me about it.

Overall, the novel was well written and interesting.  It held my attention throughout the story.  There were elements that I wish were used more such as The Circle and even Alvaretta herself.  Again, it was a well rounded book with a lot of information building up the suspense until you find out what Alvaretta is hiding and who has been aiding her.  When I read the part of who helped her I honestly uttered "no way," the same with what was hidden within her cabin.  Check it out, it is worth the read.

**Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program.  **