Review - Prolusio (Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon #0) by Kris Austen Radcliffe @KrisRadcliffe

  

Prolusio: Three Stories

of Fates Fire Shifters & Dragons

(Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon #0)

by Kris Austen Radcliffe

Goodreads blurb:  Contains some violent imagery.

Three prelude short stories set in the Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon universe, Prolusio sets the stage for Games of Fate and Rysa and Ladon’s fight against a burning world.

Pop Rocks, a Texas tale of horror: Billy Bare attempts his rock star comeback. Fire, though, has other ideas.

Welcome to the Dells, a Wisconsin tale of mercurial deceit and bad manners: Shifters fights and do what they do best—piss off Ladon.

Cinder to Dust, the prologue to Games of Fate: Rysa’s mother, Mira, battles the one truth she cannot escape: No one is as bound by fate as the Fates themselves.

Prolusio extends the Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon universe introduced in Games of Fate, a New Adult Urban Fantasy series with Strong Romantic Elements by Kris Austen Radcliffe. Set in the open spaces of America, the series takes Rysa and Ladon—and Ladon’s companion beast, Dragon—through a landscape punctuated by unfamiliar creatures: Fates with the ability to see past, present, and future. Ghouls called Burners who devour with fire and acid. Shifters who shape much more than their bodies. And two dragons who speak with color and pattern.

About the Author:  As a child, Kris took down a pack of hungry wolves with only a hardcover copy of The Dragonriders of Pern and a sharpened toothbrush. That fateful day set her on a path traversing many storytelling worlds—dabbles in film and comic books, time as a talent agent and a textbook photo coordinator, and a foray into nonfiction. After co-authoring Mind Shapes: Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication, Kris returned to academia. But she craved narrative and a richly-textured world of Fates, Shifters, and Dragons—and unexpected, true love.

Kris lives in Minnesota with her husband, two daughters, Handsome Cat, and an entire menagerie of suburban wildlife bent on destroying her house. That battered-but-true copy of “Dragonriders”? She found it yesterday. It’s time to pay a visit to the woodpeckers.

- See more at: http://www.sixtalonsign.com/sample-page/#sthash.7L106nM5.dpuf

Connect with Kris:

~ Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~

My Thoughts - 3 out of 5 unicorns - I liked it!!

Okay I went out and bought the first 3 ebooks in this series because I need to review the newest one coming out September for ARC.  I didn’t think it was fair to review book 2 when I haven’t read this series yet, and I have wanted to read it... so great time to buy them. 

Okay so I don’t know my Latin and wanted to know what prolusio meant, so I looked it up.  This would totally floor my students….actually working to better understand something….the horror of it all.  Okay so I don’t have a dictionary, so in my Google search I did type  :) and found it means preliminary exercise or prelude.  Well that makes sense since this is supposed to be a prequel for the series.

Okay the cover is very intriguing.  The buttons or medallion looking circles make me think that they may represent the 4 elements of the series name (just a guess on my part though).  I like the dragon on the cover too.

Okay even though it is a prequel, I think I might have made a judgment call error.  I’m thinking I should have read book 1 first, and then read this.  The stories are very short & quick read, but I felt like I was getting snap shots of some place but had no idea where I was is that makes sense.  Don’t get me wrong, they are good stories I might have liked them more if I had read book 1 first, so I may come back and add comments about this after I have read book 1. 

This is my first time reading Kris’ work and her descriptions are awesome so you can really see everything that going on.  I just felt like I was getting glimpses into something that may be awesome, but had no clue on how everything in this world she was creating works.

There are previews to all the other books in the series after the very short stories which may confuse people who are unaware.

I recommend this to anyone who has already read book 1 and liked it.

Interested in reading??

~ Amazon ~ AmazonUK ~ B&N ~ Smashwords ~

No giveaway, but you can see the ones that are currently running below :)

Other giveaways run by me:

Signed copy of Saving Grace/swag

Ebook of The Magic Warble

Tour run giveaways run by someone else:

$25 Giftcard/ebook Shrouded in Darkness

The Underlighters book/ebook/necklace

Awesome giveaway from my favorite publisher :) Clean Teen Publishing @CleanTeenPub

Reblogged by Rebecca-CourtneyAuthors at 9:53 PM  at Clean Teen Blog

Oh Snap! It's Giveaway Time... Again! Huge Awesome Sauce Clean Teen Publishing Prize Pack!

It's that time of year again! You don't have to be headed back to school to take advantage of this huge giveaway from Clean Teen Publishing! 

Enter for your chance to win this amazing contest for a mega huge prize pack that includes the following awesome sauce prizes:

PRINT COPIES OF:

Wonderstruck (A Clean Teen Publishing Anthology)

Double Star by Cindy Saunders

Concealed in the Shadows by Gabrielle Arrowsmith

Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger

Heartkeeper by B.T. Lyons

CLEAN TEEN PUBLISHING BOOKMARK PRIZE PACK

DIGITAL COPIES OF: 

The Woodlands by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

Rising by Holly Kelly

The ELE Series by Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels 

*INTERNATIONAL WINNERS will receive an alternate prize of a $25 Amazon Gift Card 

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Giveaway & Review - The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox @VictoriaSimcox

The Magic Warble

by Victoria Simcox

Goodreads blurb:  Twelve-year-old Kristina Kingsly feels like the most unpopular girl in her school. The kids all tease her, and she never seems to fit in. But when Kristina receives an unusual Christmas gift, she suddenly finds herself magically transported to the land of Bernovem, home of dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals and the evil Queen Sentiz. In Bernovem, Kristina not only fits in, she's honored as "the chosen one," the only one who can release the land from Queen Sentiz's control. But it's not as simple as it seems. To save Bernovem, she must place the gift she was given, the famous "Magic Warble," in its final resting place. She must travel through the deep forest, climb a treacherous mountain, and risk capture by the queen's "zelbocks" before she reaches her destination. Guided by her new fairy friends, Clover and Looper and by Prince Werrien, a teenage boy, and an assortment of other characters, Kristina sets off on a perilous journey that not only tests her strength but her heart.

About the Author:  Victoria, known as Vicki, was born in 1966, in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She has one older sister, Jeannette. When Vicki was 7, she moved with her family to British Columbia. In her early twenties Vicki moved to Western Washington and now resides in Marysville WA. She has been married to her husband Russ, for nineteen years and they have three children; Toby, who is fifteen, Kristina, thirteen, and William, eight. She has home schooled her children for the past nine years, and she also teaches elementary school art. Vicki’s other family members are, a Chihuahua, named Pipsy, two cats, Frodo, and Fritz, and two parakeets, Charlie, and Paulie. She did have a pet rat named Raymond when she started writing The Magic Warble, but sad to say, he has since passed away of old age. Vicki enjoys writing, painting watercolors, watching movies, hanging out with her family, and chauffeuring her kids around to their many activities. Her favorite author is C.S. Lewis, and one of her fondest memories is when she was twelve. She would sit at the kitchen table and read The Chronicles of Narnia to her mother while she cooked dinner. These magical stories were very dear to Vicki and she remembers wishing, If only I could go to Narnia like Lucy and Susan. Vicki hopes that maybe, she can touch someone with her story in a similar way. 

Connect with Victoria:

~ Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Blog ~

My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 unicorns - I really liked it!!

I won The Black Shard in a giveaway from Krystal’s Enchanting Reads blog giveaway, but Victoria gave me the option to start with book 1 since I hadn’t read it yet which I thought was very cool.

The cover is adorable, and I think it will attract kids like my son in middle school into checking it out.

The story is cute and engaging.  I think the author did a great job with the writing because kids can get into the story and understand what is going on.  I think the characters are life like because kids can be so mean to each other and cruel.  I think this story brings that to light which is cool because kids don’t think about how what they do and say can really affect others.  Kristina must push herself on her quest to save Bernovem & so she can get home. It is difficult to represent perseverance, but Victoria did fabulously through Kristina & Werrien.  Poor Kristina & Werrien have so many personal and actual battles while trying to get to and climb the mountain.  I love all the magical creatures and elements that were a part of this story, but it was very real life related as lessons go.

Another cool thing I noticed was a couple of the names were mixed up real words, but I’m not sure if that was on purpose or an accident.  For example, Bernovem is November with the last 3 letters moved to the front.  There is also a character’s name Lisheng which is English with the first 3 letters moved to the end.  It totally possible that there are more, and I missed it, but I just thought it was cool too.

I think this story could inspire kids, so you really should read it with your kids.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway & get your own ebook copy!!

Want it now???

~ Amazon ~ AmazonUK ~ B&N ~

Enter the giveaway to win one of the 3 ebook copies of The Magic Warble to read with your favorite kids!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other giveaways by me:

Signed copy of Saving Grace/swag

Tour run giveaways:

$25 Giftcard/ebook Shrouded in Darkness

The Underlighters book/ebook/necklace

Giveaway & New Release coming Aug 30th - The Underlighters by Michelle Browne @SciFiMagpie

The Underlighters

 by Michelle Browne

Nightmares are bleeding into her waking world. Children are going missing. To save them, she must overcome her wreck of a personal life and a closet full of skeletons. She doesn’t know if the horrors in the shadows are real...or if she is going mad. 

18-year-old Janelle Cohen is an electrician in an underground city. The world above has been swal-lowed by mind-destroying Dust. Her small life changes forever when a dragon attacks her on the way home from work. 

Her friends worry that she has the Fever, Dust-induced insanity. As more monsters strike down citizens, they change their minds. A terrifying trip to the surface of the world, the ancient and abandoned Up, deepens the nightmare. With no world left above, she and the other Crows cannot afford to fail… 

About the Author:  I'm a published science fiction author with a love for talking about the end of the world, silver jewellery, nightmares, and chocolate. 

I came from a smallish town in Southern Alberta, and I now live in Calgary with my partner. When we're not saving the world from hipsters or riding our bear cavalry to work, we can be found on the internet or with our friends.

I'm also an editor! My rate is 3.00/1000 words; I will take fiction of any genre except metaphysical or religious. 

5 stars: “…You will be rewarded with a dive into the depths of imagination that may leave you questioning, breathless and inspired.” –www.TracingTheStars.com

5 stars: “… Engaging, ground breaking prose that is not afraid to test the reader’s boundaries. “—Sara Celi

5 stars: “…A wonderful read that is full of life, nightmares, fear, and dreams.” –Casey Peeler

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Janelle’s world is about to get very, very dark. Are you ready? On August 30^th, nightmares are going to become a little too real for comfort.

Art by Bonnie Patton, © 2013. used with permission of the artist. http://bpwordeater.com/

*****

Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Don't miss any of the phuquerie. Find Michelle on Twitter, Facebook, and on Tumblr. More interviews and witty commentaries are coming. Keep checking back to see those surprise posts, too. This is your darling SciFiMagpie, over and out! 

New Release Review (ARC) - Never Deal with Dragons (DRACIM #1) by Lorenda Christensen @LorendaC

Never Deal with Dragons

DRACIM #1

by Lorenda Christensen

Goodreads blurb:  Consoling a sobbing dragon and serving pig buffets are just part of the job for Myrna Banks. Working for a mediation firm, it’s her job to get humans compensated for damages caused by the dragons who now rule. But her “typical” day is interrupted by Trian Chobardan, an old flame who sneaked out of her bed two years ago, taking her heart and a handful of classified documents with him.

Myrna would love to show Trian the door, but he’s been sent by North America’s reigning dragon lord for help negotiating a truce with a powerful rival to avert war. Myrna agrees to help, even though she’ll be stuck with Trian as a partner.

As the two work together, Myrna finds Trian to be surprisingly supportive—and still irresistibly attractive. Though her brain tells her not to forget his betrayal, her body feels differently. When they learn the enemy dragon lord is planning something no one could have imagined, Myrna has to learn who she can trust before she loses not only her heart, but her life. (84,000 words)

About the Author:  A native of Eastern Oklahoma, Lorenda lives with her husband and two sons in a house that feels far too small during the stay-inside winter months. Lorenda loves chocolate, hates snakes, and despite living two years in Bangalore next-door to a native preparer of Indian cuisine, cannot cook anything but ground beef. She is a recovering nail biter, and is currently celebrating five years bite-free.

Connect with Lorenda:

~ Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~

~ Pinterest ~ Goodreads ~

My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 unicorns - I really liked it!

**Received ARC ebook from Carina Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

First, yes the cover is awesome and isn’t he just WOW and loving his tat :)

Okay, I really liked this book and think it sets up this new world fabulously.  There were a few slow pieces, but I usually expect it in the first book in a series.  The author’s writing style makes it easy to love the characters.  She also has a twist on dragons that I have never read before in their creation which is cool.  I think Myrna rocks because she is this five foot nothing woman who stands up to dragons what is not to love.  She is kind & caring, but will not be pushed around, and I love her integrity.  Then there is her ex-boyfriend Trian who brings all sorts of tension to the story.  There are all sorts of secrets, plots, drama, attacks, and so much more.  There are some things that I could see coming in this book, but there were also some things that came to light that I was holding my breath saying NO it can’t be!!  I love when authors surprise even if I don’t like the surprise (sigh), but you have to read it because I refuse to ruin this journey for you.  I can’t wait for the next book to see what happens next, and I secretly hope that Myrna & Trian continue to be the main characters because I love them.

I recommend this book to all my dragon lovers & paranormal fans because it was a great read, and you will enjoy it!

Interested in reading??

~ Amazon ~ AmazonUK ~ B&N ~ Sony ~

Review - Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms #1) by Danielle Monsch @Danielle_Monsch

Stone Guardian

Entwined Realms #1

by Danielle Monsch

Goodreads blurb:  Gryphons flying past skyscrapers? Wizards battling it out in coffeehouses? Women riding motorcycles with large swords strapped to their backs? All normal sights since the Great Collision happened twenty-six years ago.

Well, not normal for everyone. Larissa Miller may have been born after the Great Collision, but as a history teacher who lives in the human-only city, she has never come into contact with any other race or species, nor has she wanted to. Her life is as ordinary as it gets - that is, until one day she walks out of her apartment and is attacked by a mob of Zombies, only to be saved by a Gargoyle.

Gargoyles trust no one outside their Clan, but due to a cryptic prophecy, Terak, Leader of the Gargoyles, has been watching over the human woman for months. While he can find no reason why the woman has been singled out, something about her stirs every protective instinct within him. When the attack confirms that the threats against her exist and are real, he convinces Larissa that though their races have never been allies, the best chance of discovering why she has been brought into his world is by working together.

In the course of their investigation Terak becomes entranced by his little human. But when he discovers why Necromancers want her and the great reward that awaits him if he betrays her, he must choose between the welfare of his Clan and not only Larissa’s life, but the fate of this New Realm as well.

About the Author:  Born to the pothole ridden streets of Pittsburgh, PA, Danielle started writing in a time long ago, a time when there were not enough vampire stories to read and she had to write her own to fill the void. Yes, such a time of darkness did indeed exist.

Danielle writes stories full of fantastical goodness and plenty of action, but always with lots of romance (and a bit of woo-hoo!) mixed in. Vampires and Werewolves and Demons and Angels, Sword & Sorcery, Fairy Tales, Updated Mythologies and the like - if it's out of the ordinary, it's fair game for her stories.

When not writing, Danielle reads comic books and watches cartoons (though she says she reads manga and watches anime, because saying it in a different language makes all the difference.) She listens to music, plays D&D, follows XKCD, watches movies with the Rifftrax on, and is mom to two amazing little girls and wife to her favorite guy in the world.

She is also the host of Romantic Geek Girl, a Podcast & Blog dedicated to those two great tastes that taste great together - Geekness and Romance.

Connect with Danielle:

~ Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~

My Thoughts - 5 out of 5 unicorns - I loved it!!

**Received ebook for free from CrushStar Multimedia LLC via NetGalley for an honest review

Cover is absolutely beautiful and attracted me to this book.  I think I want a Gargoyle of my own :)  Also my dad always called my sisters and I his gargoyles (silly yes, but in my mind when I read the blurb)!

Okay the book, I can’t even put into words how much I loved it.  This book even though it is the first in the series was attention grabbing from the get go.  There was no trying to get into this book because I was sucked in from the start.  It started with awesome action immediately with the Great Collision and with Larissa’s birth.  This is my first experience reading Danielle’s work, and I loved it and will have to read more.  This adventure was awesome.  Larissa is an outstanding heroine because she has strength and never gives up.  I don’t want someone who sits around waiting to be saved.  Yes, she makes mistakes, but she owns them and won’t take lip from anyone trying to tell her what to do.  If it isn’t what she wants, she makes sure you know it.  Terak is just as awesome with his resolve that no one takes what is his.  He is a strong take charge kind of guy, but he thinks and doesn’t bulldoze Larissa by forcing his will which I find sexy.  The world created by Danielle is fabulous, and I can’t wait to take my next book vacation there.  There are a few typos here and there, but I definitely didn’t care because it didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of this fabulous world.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves paranormal action packed books with romance.  I can’t wait for the next book.

Interested in reading??

~ Amazon ~ AmazonUK ~ B&N ~ Smashwords ~

IO Book Tour Stop - Fire (The Hand of Kali #1) by T.G. Ayer @TGAyerAuthor

Fire

The Hand of Kali #1

by T.G. Ayer

Book Blurb:
Normal people sneak out to a party and have fun. Maya Rao ends the evening by incinerating the guy who attacks her.
Nik Lucas, sexy, new in town and totally forbidden, happens to walk in on her. Normal guys would run for the hills. Nik knows a whole lot more than he's telling.
Maya doesn't believe the gods are real, doesn't waste her time with mere mythology. But when gods, demons and hellhound's become the new normal and wielding fire becomes her new skill, she must decide what it is she really believes.
Can Maya accept that normal is something she will never be because it isn't normal to be
...the Hand of Kali.

Excerpt:  Fear spun Maya around on stricken feet. To defend her back perhaps. She just felt less vulnerable facing her attacker, where she could see his next move. He barreled straight at her. And for all her training in martial arts, she did the one thing her dad always said never to do. She ducked her head and hid her face with her hands. Hands out, as if she could fend off this vicious attacker merely with the soft skin of her palms.
Maya felt the heat before she saw it.
Byron was on fire. A living column of shimmering orange flames. She couldn't breathe. Was afraid to breathe. How did that happen? She glanced around the bathroom as panic filled her veins, her fear taking on a whole new level of hysteria. She had to put the fire out.
She turned to the faucet to fill her hands with water. And froze. In the mirror she saw the burning reflection of Byron disappear. Byron was there one moment and gone the next. Only a few burnt shards of fabric left to say he was ever there. But she remembered the last thing she'd seen before Byron became nothing: brilliant blue eyes turning a frighteningly blood-red.

And Nik, holding the doorknob, staring at the empty space on the floor behind her.

About the Author:
I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognise that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practise given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes… I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It’s a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each other's loves – it works wonderfully…

My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands – I shall forever remain cross-eyed.

ONLINE LINKS:

Website:  http://www.tgayer.com/

Blog:  http://tgayer.wordpress.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TGAyerAuthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TGAyerAuthor

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5726831.T_G_Ayer

Shelfari:  http://www.shelfari.com/tgayerauthor

My Thoughts - 3 out of 5 unicorns - I liked it!

**Received an ARC of the ebook for free as part of the book tour in exchange for an honest opinion.

Okay I totally love the book cover.  It is beautiful and intriguing. 

This book is beautiful written, and the author did a fabulous job.  I love this world she created with mystical powers, Gods/Goddesses, & reincarnation.  This was new for me because I have not read about the gods of India before.  This is a great start to a series.  There is a lot of education built into this book, so you understand the culture of India and their Gods.  I think this is why there were parts that were really slow, but it was definitely needed.  Initially, I didn’t think much of Maya, but I can’t imagine having people lie to you all your life.  I really admired her selflessness, courage, and tenaciousness in the end.  I’m curious to see where her relationship with Nik goes too.  I liked Maya’s friend Joss, and I’m not sure what I think of Ria or her family.  I can’t wait to see how Goddesses Chayya, Kali, and Varuni fit into Maya’s future as well as Yama.  I absolutely think this series is going to get better and better, and I will definitely be continue reading this series.

If you like stories of Gods/Goddesses from other cultures with mystically given powers & reincarnation, I think you will enjoy this story and series.

BUY NOW LINK:

·      Amazon

·      AmazonUK

·      Smashwords