Birth of the Nyxian by Amanda R Browning

Birth of the Nyxian by Amanda R. Browning

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aiden is a young Irish Knight living in the 1200's, who one night tries to help a young woman only to find himself being turned into a creature of the night. Luckily for him he was turned by force and with help from the Goddess Nyx he is able to retain some of his humanity, and no longer suffers from the blood lust that has caused him to kill so many innocents.
Skip forward about 800 years and we find Harlow, a young single woman with no real family. Thanks to a rather large insurance settlement she doesnt really need to work so spends her time learning and reading, her favourite subjects being the 1200's and vampires. When she meets a real life vampire how does she react? flabbergasted? Scared? Ready to run and scream for her life? Does she beg to be turned? Nope. She accepts that he will have to kill her because she discovered his secret but asks that he answer her questions first..
By the end of the night they have developed feelings for each other and make plans to meet again. Soon they are in love and running from Lilith the daughter of Hades who is hoping to draw Aiden to the dark side, when they discover his heart lies with Harlow they plan to turn her to entice him to the dark side. Soon the new couple find themselves on the run.

I started reading them grow attached to each other and discover they were in love, i was actually surprised when i looked at my kindle and discovered i was around 40% of the way through the book and there wasnt any action with the love story. But i didnt at any point find it lacking. The last 50% of the book is mostly action, with some love and sex thrown in for good measure and at no point did it feel like it had been 'rushed'.

I got to a point in the book when i actually started to panic, i wasnt sure where this was going to go and i was dreading the ending, but i really liked the ending. We get answers and promise of another story to come. Hopefully.

Fall from Grace by KJ Dahlen

Fall From Grace by KJ Dahlen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review. I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this book, I didn't even know which Genre it would fit into.

The first page I read I struggled to stay focused, I actually contemplated putting the book away and reading something else, but it was just the first page.. I mean Judson hadn't even reached his destination yet, was a I really prepared to walk away without finding out why he needed to see Lincoln? No I wasn't. I figured I'd stick around for a few more pages and see where this was headed and if it didn't pique my curiosity by the end of the first chapter I might leave it for another day or two. Well before I knew it I was 50% of the way through the book and my husband was shoo-ing me to bed at 1am. I woke up in the morning and after ensuring the children were fed and dressed I picked up my kindle because I just HAD to know what was going to happen.

I don't usually read books about acts of terrorism, national security etc. I usually escape into the world of vampires and witches, this book has reminded me that there are other genre's out there that deserve to be read. If you are looking for a break from your usual books then I would definitely recommend this one.

Thanks for reading.

Ever Shade by Alexia Purdy

Ever Shade by Alexia Purdy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has taken a while for me to read this, due mostly to that pesky little thing called life getting in the way.

The book starts out slowly, easing you into it, then before you know it your hooked and there's no escape. And i guess that's pretty much how Shade feels.

Shade is just a normal girl who hears voices in her head, voices that go quiet when she does as they say. It's these voices that lead her into a building where she finds Jack, who Shade soon discovers is not human. Jack leads her into the woods to find someone who might help her with the voices, before she knows it Shade has discovered that is in fact part Fey, and is soon recruited into a quest for the good of the Seelie faerie court.

I have read a few Faerie books before and while they all seem to stick fairly close to the same rules, they are essentially different. One can argue that there are only so many ways to tell a Fairy story, but Alexia Purdy has managed to pull off something unique.

Thanks for reading.

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once I started reading this book there was no stepping away from it... I gave up sleep to finish reading this book and I would do it again!

Chloe and friends find themselves safe with Andrew, a friend of Derek and Simon's dad. He introduces them to a group of supernaturals who wish to stop the Edison Group, and manages to bring in people who have the same powers as the kids. Finally someone who might be able to help them with their growing powers instead of trying to medicate them. But the adults soon find out their powers are far stronger than they originally feared. Now the group find themselves again betrayed by someone they thought they could trust.

When I finished this book I realised there are still questions that need answering, still people to find and obstacles to overcome. I knew going into this book it was a trilogy, but we can hope that Kelley Armstrong will continue their story. At the very least provide us with short stories. As this is set in the same 'world' as the Otherworld series, I'm now very keen to see what would happen if Clayton was to meet Derek, or see how Jamie would help Chloe understand her powers. I would love to see how Savannah and Tori get on.. will they recognise the fact they are both witch/sorcerer children?

You don't have to have read the Otherworld series to read this trilogy. It is a standalone trilogy, but it also fills some of the gaps in the Otherworld series.


Thank you for reading.

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book starts up where the Summoning leaves off with Chloe imprisoned by the Edison Group. Derek and Simon are still on the run and the Edison group try to get Chloe to help locate them, she uses this as an attempt to escape and finds her self with an unlikely accomplice, Tori.

Her plan is somewhat successful and she manages to escape and find the boys. They then begin their journey to locate Andrew, a friend of the boy's dad.

During the story Chloe tries to come to terms with her powers and even offers support to Derek as he goes through his second failed attempt at changing.

I haven't yet read a story written by Kelley Armstrong that I haven't loved and this series is proving to be no different. I can't put these books down.

Thanks for reading.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been a fan of Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series for a while, and whilst I have enjoyed it I have often wondered what it must be like for the young supernaturals growing up and coming into their powers. And this shows me just that.

The book centres around Chloe, who one day at school is chased by the ghost of a school janitor whose face just happens to be melting off. Naturally Chloe is freaked and tries to run away. This ends up in a struggle with some teachers who obviously think she's gone crazy and a trip to the hospital. When Chloe wakes up she is told she needs to go to a group home for observation before she will be allowed back in school due to her violent outburst. So off to Lyle House she goes.

Once there Chloe finds out from another teen with 'mental issues' that she is in fact a necromancer, and that other supernaturals exist. Soon they discover things are not what they seem at Lyle house.

This book has it all in the way of supernaturals, a necromancer, werewolf, sorcery and a possible fire demon.. and along with that you have those who would want to stop them. After all, Supernaturals are always in danger.

I have put off reading this series for a while now, and I had in fact forgotten I had it until a friend reminded me. Having finished the first book I honestly can't believe I waited so long to read it. Logging off now to go read the second instalment The Awakening

Thanks for reading.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell by TR Stoddard

Don't Ask, Don't Tell by T.R. Stoddard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Apparently the title is a huge give away as to the content of the book, but I was completely in the dark as I have never heard of this policy before, is this a policy only heard of in America? Anyway for those who don't know, the policy is designed to infringe on the rights of gay students, by issuing warnings and reprimands for any student who even "acts" gay, or shows predilection for the same-sex in any way.

The main character Rachael goes undercover in high school as Cassie to find out more about the policy and to try to bring it to an end. She makes some great friends in 'Reformation hall' and succeeds in bringing together a large group of well represented LGBTQ to stand up for their rights.
When Vinny commits suicide because of the bullying and discrimination he suffers from simply by being black and gay, it's the kick that Rachael needs to blow her investigation open.

Problems with the editing of this book meant that simple mistakes go unnoticed: words missing from sentences, wrong homophones are used on more than one occasion and a couple of times the wrong character names were used. The writing feels stilted, the conversations doesn't flow and for me it was an uncomfortable read. The over use of the "super-secret spy journal" really irritated me.

Overall the story was good and the premise behind it was brilliant but for me, the writing needs some work to make this a truly enjoyable story.

Thanks for reading.

Within the Shadows by Julieanne Lynch

Within The Shadows by Julieanne Lynch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the beginning of this story we find Giselle discovering her boyfriend of 4 years has recently cheated on her when she finds a dvd of his indiscretion in her school locker, reeling from the shock she calls Alex (who she refers to as her knight in shining armour), who quickly promises she will feel better once she gets her revenge at Prom. It's at prom that things really start to go wrong for Giselle. After showing the home movie to everyone, she runs out into the night, only to find a strange man watching her, as she runs away from him she bumps into Alex, who is suddenly acting strange. He then gives her the choice of going with him willingly, or being destroyed. With no choice really Giselle chooses to live.

From here on in its one plot twist after another and I worried I would get whiplash, but it was incredibly easy to follow and I couldn't put it down.

As Giselle says "In such a short period of time I had been turned into some new breed of vampire, been married, knocked up, found out my mother was seriously ill, been kidnapped by creatures of the shadow world, slept with my father-in-law, and just when I thought I had fallen in love with him, he was taken from me."

The book ends with Giselle running for her life and that of her unborn child. Running from her husband, running from shadow creatures who want her to be their Queen (not as nice as it sounds), running from people who want to take her child and use it for evil. Unsure of whom to trust she is relying only on Antoine to keep them safe.

Within the Shadows feels like the prequel to the real story yet to come, but its a story I'm glad I have read and I look forward to the next instalment.

The Scene by RM Gilmore

The Scene by R.M. Gilmore

Goodreads synopsis

"It did seem a little ridiculous that two female reporters were headed off to solve
a crime that no detective could. The entire thing began to sound like a cheesy
made for TV movie, where good defeats evil, and all is well.
I still wasn't one-hundred percent sure what the evil was in this story.
If I am supposed to be the good, how the hell am I supposed to defeat the evil?
A stake and hammer might do the trick." - Dylan Hart


In the opening novel of R.M. Gilmore's 'Odyssey of the Occult' series, we find
Dylan Hart, journalist and self-proclaimed cynical bitch, in her hometown of Hollywood, California. The bodies of seven exsanguinated prostitutes have been found naked and covered in puncture wounds in towns from the Central Valley to Southern California.
The media has dubbed them the "Vampire Massacres".
Dylan has decided to cash in on the tragedy and write a true crime novel.
She begins her odyssey with research into the underground vampire scene.
All seemed to be going as planned, and as long as fiction can keep its ass away from fact,she should be alright.

But let's face it, someone is draining women of all their blood.
There is no way in hell it's going to end pretty

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Where to begin?
I really struggled to stay focused in the first few chapters but once i settled into a good reading pace I was hooked.

In the beginning I remember thinking "this chick spends too much time dissing herself" and then I realised "this chick's real". Dylan Hart is not your usual heroine, she is not super confident, oozing sex appeal and she doesn't have super human powers. She is sassy with a filthy mouth, prone to sarcasm and has the funniest lines. I actually laughed out loud several times whilst reading.

This book was nothing like I expected and its most definitely not your typical 'vampire' book. It kept me second guessing ALL the characters until the very end. And now I'm left waiting for the next instalment.