Review - From Man to Man by D.E.M. Emrys

‘I’ve traded my old enemies for just this one…’ The axe thundered home. ‘I miss the old ones.’

Every man has a past, none more so than Draven Reinhardt. Abandoning his old life to settle down as a villager, he struggles to fit in, let alone hold down a job. When opportunity offers the much needed coin, Draven is torn between a promise and a purpose.

But, what’s one last job if you’ve already got blood on your hands?

‘From Man to Man’ is the story of how one man can change – or not – for the best. Prequel to the upcoming novel ‘It Began With Ashes’, the short (6400 words) introduces the reader to a world of suspense, intrigue, and action.

From Man to Man is a short story by D.E.M. Emrys.

Draven is a man with a past it seems. Even in the first few sentences you can tell that. And apparently it's one he's trying to forget. A few of the villagers have other plans for him though. They've got a job that needs doing and Draven is just the man to do it.

But should he do it?

The beginning had me guessing at Draven's previous occupation. I'd figured it wasn't something savory because of the internal struggle he faced just walking out the door. But you've got to give him credit for putting it behind him for the people that he cared about.

Thanks to the blacksmith we soon find out exactly what Draven used to do and it becomes incredibly clear why he wants to leave it behind. And why he can't. Why it seems to follow him no matter what job he chooses (or loses).

It all seemed to be going just a little too smoothly for my liking. But you know what they say, sometimes it's just too good to be true.

I enjoyed this. It was an extremely quick read and very easy to get through. I love the descriptions and the atmosphere of the whole story. Despite Draven's employment issues, he's a very likeable character. Even the villagers will surprise you. This is an introduction to his Wroge Elements series and I definitely look forward to reading what's to come.

Review - Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

Finally was able to get on the Tiger Saga train. Finished Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck today. I've wanted to read them for a while but until they were on sale for next to nothing at a bargain outlet I couldn't justify the purchase at the time. I'm glad I bought this one though. And I'm also glad there are 3 other books in the series already out... because that means that I don't have to wait to read them.

On to my review.

I loved the story. I loved the legend and the mystery behind everything. I also appreciated that we got the story behind the whole ordeal before anything else. A lot of authors sometimes stick it in the middle or try and have one of the main characters explain the back story. And unortunately a lot of times, at least for me, that leads to confusion then irritation, because of the choppiness of going back and forth between past and present.

Kelsey was a decent main character. She adapted quickly to the situations handed to her and took them with the grace of someone much older. However, I thought a lot of her dialogue was unbelievable. I've never heard an 18 year old use the term "Wily rascal" ever. A lot of the time she spoke like a normal teenager, but then there were just words here and there thrown in that made her seem.... off.

Mr. Kadam was kind and cared a great deal for both Kelsey and Ren. He was like a substitute father  for Kelsey AND for Ren.

Ren, however, was my favorite character. Maybe it was because of the heartbreak of being betrayed by his own brother (however, even Kishan grew on me after a while) over something that wasn't even his fault.

He was strong and sure of himself. He was extremely grateful for what Kelsey was doing for him, not entitled like he could have been being royalty and being that he knew she'd help him no matter what. He paid her back by caring for her and keeping her safe. Always standing by her even when she was being difficult.

I was sad about the kind of person Kelsey turned in to. Just once I would like a confident main female character in a story like this. Not one who doubts herself and then tries to push away someone who obviously cares for her. It felt like the change in her was forced. Put there as a filler or because there really were no "conflicts" aside from the curse itself. It didn't need to be there and it made absolutely no sense.

I will read the next book in the series, definitely. Kelsey's turn at the end didn't turn me off to the rest of the books. The action and suspense, especially once they were on their way in to Kishkinda, is enough for me to want to find out what happens next. I only hope that this unnecessary tantrum she's throwing doesn't follow her through the rest of the series.

This book is a great fantasy novel. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for a good read... one that's not cookie cutter "love triangle" fantasy.

Library Score

I went to the library today just to fax some things for my sister and saw that it was BOOK SALE TIME again. WOO.

I scored 25 books for $12.50.

And I'm excited because I'd been trying to figure out how to get my oldest daughter started on The Babysitter's Club by Ann M. Martin. She had book 1, Kristy's Great Idea, already. But everywhere I looked the books were on sale for 4-5 dollars a piece. It would take forever to build up the series for her.

Until today.

TODAY.... 18 of the 25 books I got were Babysitter's Club! Included in the 18 are 3 of the BSC Mystery books, Logan's Story, and a Super Special that even I hadn't read. Everything is original cover too. Not the new ones. It was great.

I picked up a few books for my youngest and a few for myself, but I'll save mine for this weekend!

Missing Harry Potter

Today I kind of got the itch to watch Harry Potter again. Maybe it's seeing all the Harry Potter Halloween costumes and wishing there was one that I could buy (incidentally, I am taking my girls trick - or - treating this year as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games). Maybe it's realizing again and again that there are no more books. No more movies. Harry Potter is done.

I don't think any book or any series will impact my life as epically as this one. I wish I could get my girls into it the way that I was. Sadly, my little one is too little and my big one just doesn't want to read them.

But I figured I would leave you all with this. Found it online, hope you enjoy.

The Walking Dead Comic Trailer

So, in honor of the new season of The Walking Dead set to premier this coming Sunday, I found a trailer using pictures from the comic and audio from the series itself.

Enjoy!

Covers Around the World - Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr has such a beautiful cover I had to do this one next.

US edition

 

German edition

 

French edition

 

Indonesian edition

 

Spanish edition

 

another English language edition

 

Turkish edition

 

Romanian edition

 

Italian edition

 

Got a favorite?

Stacking the Shelves #3

Thanks to Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews for hosting Stacking the Shelves every week.

Now, last week I said that I hadn't gotten any books recently. Well... I needed some "retail therapy" in the form of bookstore purchasing (I'm not a clothes buyer). So I went to Books - a - Million and got some new reads.

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo.

Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.

When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul. 

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

The forest invites you in . . . but will never let you go.
As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear too.
Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.
Life seems idyllic, and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past -- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone -- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival each year, and looking to make Gretchen its next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet, the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.
Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end...

How was your book haul this week?