Books and Reading… Not Thursday! :D

I’m a day late, sorry!

Still, here’s my first book review of the year! Yay, I’m finally getting somewhere on my to-do and to-read list 😀

Thyme in a Flask by Glen Quarry

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.*

Goodreads Summary: Jon Chandler is a seventeen-year-old youngster presented with a difficult quest-to find a magical flask, destroy it, and then somehow find his way back home.
As Jon reluctantly accepts his responsibility, he is accompanied by the haughty yet beautiful Dorthea, who constantly challenges him. At least his best friend, Samuel, a gentle giant-all eight feet in stature and 480 pounds of him-doesn’t get under his skin like Dorthea does.
But there’s a fine line between love and hate, and Jon and Dorthea hover on it constantly!
Samuel is left behind as the quest leads Jon and Dorthea into a parallel world, where few living people have ever gone before. How can they locate a flask that has been missing for sixteen years?
Along the way, they encounter demons and wizards who will test their strength and ability, and they find they must solve several riddles before they can return home. What they learn about themselves and about life is far more priceless than the magical flask.

From the start this book had a very old-time, classic, fairytale feel about it. I think that kind of writing, which I haven’t read in quite some time, felt almost like being sucked in as though it were a bedtime story.

The writing was engaging, and the story was filled with great settings, a variety of sub-plots, and interesting characters.

I have to admit Samuel was probably my favourite character of the lot 😀 He had a sort of down-to-earth personality which I hooked onto immediately.

But the writing throughout this and the feel of that classic fantasy just held my interest until the end.

It is one of those stories that I enjoyed but can’t really talk about for fear of giving away spoilers as there was so much packed into this book! You can be certain of plenty of fantastical creatures and memorable moments throughout though.

I will admit I found it a bit overwhelming to keep up with so much to begin with, but the further I got pulled into the book, the easier my mind just flowed with the story and I found my imagination going into overdrive there was just so much to think of.

It is a more in-depth book, one you probably would have to give a bit of time to (at least for me anyway), but the flow and writing were easy to read, which certainly helped to keep me going and wanting to find out more about the array of characters and plots within this novel.

Overall, it’s a great read with a real fairytale, class fantasy feel about it. Anyone who enjoys this genre should definitely give this book a look!

Smashwords
Goodreads

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 37,524 (+2832 since last check-in).

Books read towards challenge: 3/50
Currently reading: Snow Hill by Mark Sanderson

Books and Reading… Thursday?

Thursdays are my new day for my books and reading related posts, part of my new and improved blogging schedule 😀

But seeing as I am still trying to catch up and get myself back on track, I haven’t got a post from my Books on my Bookshelf series or even a review.

In the spirit of getting myself more organised, I am trying a different approach to reading this year.

Last year I forgot or missed so many books I wanted to read! This year, I am determined not to let that happen.

So, I have decided to make myself a reading list. It’s not just going to be a to-be-read (TBR) list, where I note down all the books I want to read, but I am actually going to list the books in the order I am going to read them.

It will also mean I can get more organised with reviewing books as well, but also not forget to enjoy books I want to re-read and new releases from author friends.

The books will be listed in a particular order too, to ensure I really don’t forget anything.

For example, every third book on my list will likely be a book for review.

And one of my goals for 2015 is to improve my writing, and part of this will be through writing craft books, especially ones with practical exercises. My best friend bought me a book like this for Christmas, which I am very excited about starting. So every fourth book in my list will be a writing craft book.

I am also planning on going back to choosing a random book from the local library. Before I go I will pick two numbers- One will be the shelf number, the other will be the book number (so if I pick 12 and 7, I will choose the 7th book along the 12th shelf). I’m hoping this will really help to broaden my reading, and also let me find new authors.

This year I will also be participating (or attempting) the 2015 Reading Challenge List. It looks like great fun, and again, will open me up to trying some really different types of reading. I’m not going to freak out too much if I can’t get all the goals done, but will be using it more as a guide.

I’m not giving myself too steep a goal, so my goal for this year is to read at least 50 books. A lot less than some people, but I’m not as fast a reader as some!

So, there you go, my plans for reading in 2015! 😀 It should be an exciting year for it. Also, if you haven’t already, why not follow my book and reading related Tumblr- turningthosepages?

What are your reading goals for this year? Are you participating in any reading challenges?

The Magic Spark- A light, enjoyable read, full of fun and romance.

The Magic Spark

The Magic Spark
Contemporary romance with a dash of magic.

What people have said:

‘This is a sweet, fantastical, quirky, CLEAN romantic comedy where the author’s British humor shines. What happens when a charmingly, irritating fairy godmother decides to play matchmaker with a castle owning Scotsman and a reluctantly regimented woman who has given up on love? Well, what you get is The Magic Spark. *Suitable for all ages.’ – Jennifer

‘I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy a sweet, fun romance with a bit of a magic spark in it.’ – Elaine Jeremiah

To Buy:

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Createspace (Paperback)
Barnes and Noble

((Sorry for the marketing post, but I haven’t had much time to write proper posts lately. Will probably do these on a weekend, just to have some activity on the blog 🙂 ))

Yay for Friday!

Hey everyone, this week has felt like it has dragged really badly, so I’m thankful we finally reached Friday! 😀

Just a quick post today.

I had an awesome interview over Lit World Interviews, by RonovanWrites, why not go check it out? 🙂

http://litworldinterviews.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/mishka-jenkins-interview-prophecy-of-stones/

Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will try to be around more next week! 😀

Books and Reading Wednesday: End of October Indie Review

Hands of Evil by Melissa Barker-Simpson

Goodreads synopsis:
Jonathan Jukes is accustomed to working alongside the police within his role as close protection officer at Morgan and Fairchild. But when Detective Sergeant Charles Macavoy requests the team’s help, JJ finds it’s his toughest case yet.

A serial killer, whose calling card is to remove the hands of his victims, is targeting interpreters. When lines begin to blur and JJ’s past comes back to haunt him, he soon discovers the biggest threat comes from a woman who stands at the centre of it all

Review:

This is the second book I’ve read by Melissa Barker-Simpson and it most certainly will not be the last!

The author’s ability to draw the reader into the story and characters is incredible. Each time I sat down to read I planned on only doing it for an hour, but every time it ended up much longer. I would glance up at the clock and not even realise two hours had flown by.

The characters throughout were brilliantly written, and I loved how Melissa wrote the character of Grace. The interactions between the characters flowed really well and the dialogue was engaging and realistic.

Throughout the book the romance and action is balanced perfectly. The plot is well paced and I never once found myself skipping through sections, in fact, it was almost the opposite as there were some scenes I read over twice because they were so good!

I highly recommend this book. Melissa Barker-Simpson creates a engaging story filled with great moments, along with high quality writing and enjoyable characters.

Links:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads

Books and Reading Wednesday: Books on my Bookshelf

I struggled to write my mid-October review this month, though I will try again and maybe put it up middle of next month. But for now, have another post from my new series, Books on my Bookshelf 😀

(Books on my Bookshelf is not a review, just my personal memories and feelings on the books I own).

The book this time is Odalisque by Fiona McIntosh.

I wasn’t given this book and I didn’t buy it, it was a book that was in one of the bookcases in the house and I was looking for something different so picked it up, now it sits in my bookcase 😀

I have to be honest and say it’s not a book I remember fondly. I didn’t really enjoy it and what I most definitely remember is that it was a slog to get through!

It’s a book I read a few years ago, when I was trying to better my reading habits. Mostly I think I lay in bed, glancing at the clock and hoping my one hour reading slot was nearly over as I read it. I did finish it, but only because I forced myself to.

There is one scene particularly that I remember from the book, and is the main memory I have of it (SPOILERS for those who plan to read it or are reading it).

It was a scene where the mother of the new king (emperor, tsar? I can’t remember), takes the sons of the other women in the harem and lures them outside saying they are going to play. She makes them all crawl into red velvet bags and then has elephants trample all over them.

Now, I’m sure this wasn’t all that uncommon in reality in ancient times (killing of rivals, etc), but still, it’s a scene that stuck out to me and not for good reasons.

There was also another very detailed, gruesome scene about a man becoming a eunuch. Not so nice.

Though I have to say, I didn’t realise there were different types of eunuchs, so it taught me something! 😀

Overall, it’s not a book that has me remembering much, I actually don’t even remember what the story was about.

This is just my opinion! I’m sure there are loads of people who loved it and that’s great too!

Random quote: ‘Seeing his friend so broken had sickened him sufficiently that when he had strode from the balcony he had actually lost his morning’s meal into the bushes not far from his chambers.’ (Hm, lovely!)

Favourite thing about the book: The setting. I did love the setting, the deserts and the kind of Persian/Arabian feel it had to it.

Least favourite thing: Unnecessary detail. Felt like a lot of it was in there just to gross people out.

Something I took away from the book: Not every story suits everyone, even if you enjoy the genre!

So there you have it, another book from my bookshelf!

Do you have a book that you don’t remember fondly? Have you ever forced yourself to finish a book you weren’t enjoying?

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 2503 (Total word count: 26,006).

Books read: 2/4.

End of October Indie Review: Reading.

Normal Service Will Resume Shortly!

Thank you to everyone who commented on my posts over the weekend 🙂

I am trying to add a change to my routine which started today, and has left me completely out of whack! So, I haven’t had time to write a blog post and I haven’t been able to manage commenting on many blogs yet!

So instead, enjoy this awesome vlog review of Prophecy of Stones by Sierra of Permashift!

I always love her vlogs, she’s hilarious and always makes me smile 🙂

The Queen’s Jester also got an awesome review from Teri Lloyd! 🙂

Sorry for the all about my stuff post! Will hopefully get a hang of this new routine soon.

Tomorrow won’t be a Romance Weekly post as (again) still shuffling my work around. I will have a normal post instead tomorrow though! 😀

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 2830 (Total word count: 20,710).

Books read: 2/4.

Mid-October Book Review: Yeah, not going so well!

Books and Reading Wednesday- Mid-September Book Review!

The Scandal of the Season

Very pretty cover!

Goodreads blurb:

London, 1711. As the rich, young offspring of the city’s most fashionable families ll their days with masquerade balls and clandestine court-ships, Arabella Fermor and Robert, Lord Petre, lead the pursuit of pleasure. Beautiful and vain, Arabella is a clever coquette with a large circle of beaus. Lord Petre, seventh Baron of Ingatestone, is a man-about-town with his choice of mistresses. Drawn together by an overpowering attraction, the two begin an illicit affair.Alexander Pope, sickly and nearly penniless, is peripheral by birth, yet his uncommon wit and ambition gain him unlikely entrance into high society. Once there, privy to every nuance and drama, he is a ruthless observer. He longs for the success that will cement his place in society; all he needs is one poem grand enough to make his reputation.

As the forbidden passion between Arabella and Lord Petre deepens, an intrigue of a darker nature threatens to overtake them. Fortunes change and reputations — even lives — are imperiled. In the aftermath, Pope discovers the idea for a daring poem that will catapult him to fame and fortune

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This book is a fictionalised version of an actual historical event. A soon-to-be baron, Lord Robert Petre, seduces London’s beauty, Arabella Fermor, whilst he is also involved in a Jacobite plot to assassinate the Queen and put the exiled prince on the throne.

Sounds exciting, right?

It was supposed to be a sexy, thrilling story of a scandalous affair whilst being dangerous with all the Jacobite intrigue.

But when I got to the end I was just kind of like, ‘What actually happened in this book?’.

Don’t get me wrong, it was alright. It was a book I was happy to read, it’s just not much actually happened. It wasn’t all that exciting, the characters weren’t overly compelling, and the main romance wasn’t the romance I was interested in. I didn’t really care if Arabella and Lord Petre got together, I was much more interested in the blossoming relationship between Alexander and Martha, which was sweet and lovely and didn’t get as much attention as it deserved.

There were an abundance of characters and viewpoints throughout and sometimes, especially at the beginning, I struggled to keep up with the amount of characters being thrown at me. But I got there in the end and started recognising who was who.

The writing suited the time period the story was set for, and I did enjoy the fact that it was about real historical events. But again, not the most exciting event to write a book about, in my opinion.

I dunno, it was just not a book that I could get excited over or really involved in. The ending left me disappointed, as it just kind of ended without really wrapping things up.

What I did like most about the book was the Afterword, where the author detailed what happened to the people in real life after the events in the book, that was really interesting.

Overall, it was an OK read, I don’t regret reading it, but it certainly didn’t get me excited to find out what came next or really care about what happened to the characters throughout.

I would recommend it to those interested in this particular event and time in history, as you’d already have an interest in the subject.

Books and Reading Wednesday- Review: Sins of the Father by Melissa Barker-Simpson

End of August Indie Book Review: Sins of the Father by Melissa Barker-Simpson

Goodreads synopsis:

As a former Royal Marine Commando, Brad Morgan is among the best of the best. Now heading up his own unit in the private security world, he lives by the same mottos he served by.

When Alicia Gladstone, a star in the entertainment industry, is put under threat, Brad and his team at Morgan and Fairchild must step in to find a killer before it’s too late.

At the peak of physical and mental fitness, all his years of training are put to the test when he is forced into a world artificial by nature, and too distracting for his own good. But it isn’t the environment that poses the biggest threat. It is the past he ran away from, one he thought he had overcome.

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I’ve read some of Melissa Barker-Simpson’s work on her blog, where she posts short fiction, which is always of amazing quality and incredibly gripping. Her book was no different! The opening was amazing, and I was instantly pulled in from the very first sentence.

The characters were all written in such a way that they felt truly real, not like characters on a page, with their dialogue flowing like a real conversation that I could hear in my head rather than written on the page.

There are some great action moments written into the book, and although it is described so that you feel thrown into the scene yourself, it was the glimpses into how the character’s felt that made those moments even more intense and exciting.

The romance was amazingly written and gave me butterflies at some points.

Throughout Sins of the Father, you are thrown into an exciting story of mystery and romance that I couldn’t wait to find out what happened, but then didn’t want to reach the end because it was such a great story!

It was a brilliant ending, where I felt satisfied with how the book finished and no cliff-hanger, but I grew to know the characters and loved them so that I can’t wait for the next book from this author.

This book has high quality writing, well-developed characters, and a good flowing story. I would definitely recommend reading it.

Links:

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Goodreads

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 2393 (Total word count: 42091).

Books read: 5/4

Mid- September Book Review: Currently reading.

Books and Reading Wednesday- Mid-August Review

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Blurb:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

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I picked up this book because I had seen it reviewed and praised on quite a few book blogs, and it eventually pushed me into buying it.

The opening instantly seduced me into this world of magic and mysticism. As I was reading, I was lost in the book and the incredible dream-like state it evoked. The author’s way with words are almost poetic and really created a smooth feel to the story.

The story began straight away, which I was pleased with, but I have to say the story did drag after that. There were parts that seemed unnecessary filler. Beautifully written filler, but filler nonetheless. I’m not a great fan of books where a lot of it is just fluff, rather than moving the plot along.

But when the plot did move along, I thought it was a brilliantly crafted piece of story-telling that I could completely lose myself in and forget about the things around me.

The descriptions were practically edible they were so good! And I strongly suggest having some kind of yummy food next to you for the dinner scenes, because the way the author describes those moments I could taste the desserts! But again, a lot of the writing was bulked out with beautiful description rather than pressing forwards with action and plot.

The story jumps back and forth between different years and months, which I found a bit awkward to keep up with at first. But, as I got to know the characters and read about the events of the story, I could keep up well and remember easily what had happened and what was to come.

I loved all of the characters, especially Bailey, Poppet and Widget. Each character was unique and distinct, and I found myself connecting to each one in different way.

The love story throughout was beautiful, but again, it took some time to get into. It was worth reading through to get to the end of it though.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Night Circus and am very glad I read it. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a story they can get lost in, who wants to find a magical world of awe-inspiring descriptions and intriguing characters.

But, be warned, it is a long story where a lot of it is just well crafted fluff with stunning descriptions. That is worth reading too though, just for writer’s talent at crafting words.

Make sure you’re in for a slow-burning read.

Links:

Goodreads

Amazon.com

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Daily word count: 2573 (Total word count: 15757)

Books read: 3/4

End of August Indie Review: Written and ready.