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

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Mishka Jenkins | 12 Comments

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.

–

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

–

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

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Mishka Jenkins | 24 Comments

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.

–

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

–

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.

Why not check out some new blogs?

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Mishka Jenkins | 50 Comments

Still struggling today to get everything together, along with my computer now having some technical difficulties as well! As such, I won’t be able to comment or email much again today 😦

Whilst I’m in limbo, I thought I would direct you to some other awesome blogs. Why not check them out and see if you find a great new blog?

My Train of Thoughts on…

Rachel Carrera

Melissa Barker-Simpson

Books & Writing at Middlemay Farm

Barbara Pyett