Tag: #fantasy

Review: Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter

Goodreads Blurb

Zombies stalk the night.

Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls.

Sadly, they’ve got mine…

Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.

After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.

She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her…from everyone. Now, with her best friend, Kat, at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole’s secret and learn to fight the darkness.

But the clock is ticking…and if she fails at a single task, they’re all doomed.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Wow, this book was even better than the first. I just couldn’t put it down. Ali was such a strong person. She got dibilated by Z.A, but she wouldn’t let her take over her life and others. Cole never gave up on her and was really in love with Ali. He stayed with her through good times and bad. I was glad that the traitor wasn’t one of the zombies slayers. I would have been upset. They are all family. The doctor got what he deserved. He killed so many innocent people in hopes of saving his daughter. Ali was put through so much pain, and poor Jaclyn was malnutrition and tortured. I was really hoping for the zombies that he was controlling, which should have been the ones to kill him. I was so happy to see all slayers help Ali release that evil zombie Alice away from her body. Now they saw that they are able to cure themselves and be able to kill more zombies. This book had me at edge between all the fighting, torturing, escaping, and starvation. I’m going to be reading the next book in this series and can’t wait to see what will happen next.

Author Biography

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs and cats.

Review: The Dark Realm: Feyland Book 1 by Anthea Sharp

Goodreads Blurb

What if a high-tech computer game was a gateway to the dangerous Realm of Faerie?

When a game…

Feyland is the most immersive computer game ever designed, and Jennet Carter is the first to play the prototype. But she doesn’t suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch — or that she’ll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries.

Turns real…

Tam Linn is the perfect hero — in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich-girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he’s the only one who can help her.

Winning is everything…

Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen… before it’s too late.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 Stars

Received this book from the author in exchange for a review. I must say this book was out of this world. I loved it. It was the first book I have ever read that involved a video game or should I say a secret world. It grabbed my attention from the very beginning, with the Queen taking away Jennet’s soul. It was scary since video games have become a big part of our society, and who knows if a video game that feels real and appears in true life can happen? I was so hurt when Tam was taken into the game and spared Jennets life. I was so happy that the real true hero was Jennet, who gave all she had to save Tam from ending up like Thomas. This book really put fear in me. Having to go through the Goblins and hounds trying to rip them apart. I felt like I was living there fears too.The lyrics to the ballad were invigorating. I really loved how Anthea used the lyrics and the story plot into her book. The book was very easy to read and understand. I was at the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next in the world of Feyland. Thanks for writing such an amazing book. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. All the books in the series have beautiful covers.

Author Biography

Growing up, Anthea Sharp spent her summers raiding the library shelves and reading, especially fantasy. She now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, where she writes, plays the fiddle, hangs out in virtual worlds, and spends time with her small-but-good family. Contact her at antheasharp@hotmail.com, follow her on twitter, find her on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/AntheaSharp), and visit her website.

Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Goodreads Blurb

If anyone had told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real.

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I am speechless after reading this amazing book. Can’t wait to see if they make this book into a movie. I loved that Gena thought out of the box and didn’t give us the same book like all those zombies movies that have been made. I loved the concept of zombies being in spirit form, and they eat your spirit while killing you in human form. I was at the edge of my seat reading this book. Action all the way through. Can’t wait to start the next book on this series. I got caught off guard and didn’t expect her dad to have turned into a zombie, let alone try to defend her. The cast for this book is perfect. They all know each other from school, and the enemy used to be best friends with Cole and used to fight to kill the zombies. It was such a great opportunity that I got to meet Gena at a panel and got all three books signed. Thanks for writing such an amazing book. Don’t forget to pick this one up, you won’t be disappointed.

Author Biography

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs and cats.

Review: The Doppler Affect by Dr. Shawn Phillips

Goodreads Blurb

Shapeshifters Control Our Lives!

The frightening power of vampires, werewolves, and lycanthropes has lived within our nightmares for centuries, failing to be reasoned out by the rapid advances in science and technology. The truth is that they are very much a part of our reality. However, they are merely the genetically inferior offspring of a more powerful race, known as doppelgangers, who evolved alongside humankind. These shapeshifters adopted a secretive yet manipulative approach when dealing with us, feeding off the sexual desires of men to sustain their society…until desperate times forced a new order.

Christopher Sands, a rising investment banker, was just another victim in a long list of doppelganger schemes. Framed for a crime he wouldn’t commit and watching his family fade farther and farther from his prison bars, Chris makes an unbelievable discovery; shapeshifters aren’t the only race with supernatural abilities. Can he find the strength to accept an even worse fate than prison to not only save his son, but all humankind? Will Michael Sands be able to control the spirits that haunt him to finish what his father cannot?

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Received this book directly from the author, and I am glad I was able to read this book. This was the first book I have read about doppelgangers/shapeshifters. I loved that the book was broken up by day and went from the Doppelgangers then to the real world. After reading this book, I freaked out and wondered if Doppelgangers really exist? It would be very scary to see someone who looks just like me, and more odd is when people say I saw a person that looked just like you. As I read, I started to get confused with who the real human character was. The shapeshifters seem to be everywhere in places, at least expected. They want to take over the world and have the vampires and lycans as slaves. I would have loved it if all the other supernatural creatures would have grouped up and attacked the Doppelgangers. If you love paranormal books, then you definitely want to pick this book up. Thanks for broadening my knowledge with a new paranormal group, the Doppelgangers.

Author Biography

Shawn Phillips wrote his first book, a young-adult fantasy novel titled Dillon’s Dream: Water in Earth (definitely not successul), in 2009 before following it up with his adult paranormal fiction novel, The Doppler Affect (wow, really did great). He will be publishing a new novel Darkened Demigod: Weapon of War on 31 January of 2018.
He spent his younger years living in southern Michigan farming communities before running away to Holland, Michigan to pursue a chemistry degree at Hope College, which he completed in 1992. After migrating to California, he continued his chemistry studies and obtained his doctorate degree in 1997. After a brief yet enjoyable stint at DuPont, he signed on as a civil servant for the United States Air Force. He is currenlty the site director of the AFRL Rocket Lab, having spent nearly twenty years conducting and directing propulsion research for Air Force needs.

Book Tour: Geri Halliwell Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen

Meeting Geri, my favorite Spice Girl, was a dream come true. The event took place at Books & Greetings in Northvale, NJ.

I dressed in London theme.

Goodreads Blurb

A sweeping adventure filled with a hidden island, family secrets, shocking betrayals, amazing music, and girl power, by iconic Spice Girl, songwriter and author Geri Halliwell-Horner.

It’s time to find your power.

Suddenly orphaned and alone, Rosie Frost is sent to the mysterious Bloodstone Island—home not only to a school for extraordinary teens, but also a sanctuary for endangered species. There, Rosie confronts a menacing deputy headmaster, a group of mean girls intent on destroying her, and shocking family secrets. She also discovers that history can come to life in ways she never could have imagined. 

When the island itself comes under threat, Rosie knows she must enter and win the Falcon Queen Games in a desperate bid to save it. 

But Rosie can’t do it alone. She finds that believing in herself—and her friends—is the first step to finding the power she never knew she had.

Cover Reveal: Cannetella by Elodie Rowan

BOOK DETAILS:

Cannetella
by Elodie Rowan
Publication date: March 2023
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

A lush and dark fairytale retelling steeped in Italian folklore, Canetella is sure to please fans of Elise Kova, Sarah J. Maas, and K.F. Breene.

Cannetella is doomed to marry. As the only child of the bankrupted King of High-Hill, her twentieth birthday spells the end of life as she knows it. Cannetella dreams of adventure, not refilling the kingdom’s coffers. Determined to keep her freedom, she hatches a plan: Cannetella announces she will only marry a man with a face of pure gold. Pleased with her impossible standards, she prepares for a life unburdened by a husband.

But on the night of her birthday, a mysterious man appears. On his face is a mask made of the finest gold. The relieved King declares Cannetella will marry the man with enough wealth to save the heirless and penniless Kingdom of High-Hill. Cannetella is forced to wed and whisked away from the only home she has ever known. But the gilded gentleman is none other than her father’s most bitter nemesis, Enzo Fioravante, an infamous and feared Stregone, a dark Sorceror.

Tied to Enzo with no way of returning home, Cannetella learns she is a pawn in a game of revenge between the two families, and that Fioravante will do anything to gain what was stolen from him five years ago. But as Cannetella delves into her captor’s past, she uncovers a devious plot burrowed in both of their kingdoms, one of magic, murder, and lust. And worst of all, she learns Fioravante is not the villain he appears to be.

Together with her greatest enemy, Canetella and Enzo must break a curse that has claimed the lives of six others, or become the next victims. And as the unlikely pair grows closer, a dark and undeniable attraction blooms. But when magic is involved, no one’s heart will remain unscathed.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92807227-cannetella

Review: ChupaCarter by George Lopez and Ryan Calejo

Goodreads Blurb

With his signature laugh-out-loud humor, world-famous comedian George Lopez launches a fantastical middle grade series inspired by his own colorful childhood and Latinx folklore.

In this illustrated contemporary fantasy, twelve-year-old Jorge is lonely and resentful after being sent to live with his grandparents. His first day at his new school doesn’t go well after catching the attention of his belligerent principal and the school bullies, so Jorge might be a little desperate for a friend.

But the only kid who shares his interest in junk food and games turns out to be a young chupacabra–a legendary monster whose kind is known for being bloodthirsty livestock killers. The truth is, Carter is anything but savage–he’s kind, a good listener, and has great taste in sneakers. Being friends with a mythical creature should be amazing, but when local cattle turn up dead and his principal suspects the truth, Jorge is torn. Should he trust that his friend is innocent and protect him from exposure, or reveal his dangerous existence and change the world forever?

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

It is a humorous middle-grade novel filled with Spanish words. If you are of Hispanic descent, you would have heard about the bloodsucker, the Chupacabra. A boy name Jorge is not having the best time after his mother sent him to New Mexico to stay with his grandparents. In school, he was bullied and had no friends he could count on. When he saw Carter the Chupacabra hanging out by a tree next to his grandparent’s house, he creates a strong friendship with this monster. Their friendship is so strong that they will risk their lives to help each other. The illustrations are fantastic, and the Latin moments remind me of my family, especially the flying chancletta. I had a great time reading this funny book. The book was filled with George’s hilarious jokes and his heritage. Children will enjoy this hilarious book.

Cover Reveal: Defy The Stars by Cathrina Constantine

BOOK DETAILS:

Defy the Stars
by Cathrina Constantine
Publication date: January 13, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Circus grunt. Charmer. Fire wrangler.
Growing up within the grind of the enchanted Circus Faire, Crew’s unique talents have blossomed. Though, he’s been warned that the King of Hawkswing is determined to eradicate a certain species, and for his own sake Crew must keep his formidable gifts under wraps.

Relations between interspecies caused an imbalance of power and now are strictly forbidden. Dolorans, like Sage and her sister, are being hunted and persecuted because of their intense powers, leaving them no choice but to run to escape the genocide of their kind.

She possesses a forceful energy for good and evil.
His untapped powers are growing stronger by the day.
Survival will demand they rely on each other.

When Crew learns a dark wizard is holding his brother captive, he enters into a deal with him in hopes of getting close enough to free those he has imprisoned. Yet, what he uncovers is far more sinister than Crew could ever imagine. Can Crew harness the strength within him to save his brother and Sage and all those in the wizard’s clutches? Or will he be trapped by the wizard’s wicked plan?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63888813-defy-the-stars

AUTHOR BIO:

I am blessed with a loving family and forever friends. My world revolves around them.

I grew up in the small village of Lancaster, NY, where I married my sweetheart. I’m devoted to raising 5 cherished children, and now my grandchildren.

I love to immerse myself in great books of every kind of genre, which helps me to write purely for entertainment, and hopefully to inspire readers. When not stationed at my computer you can find me in the woods taking long walks with my dog.

Author links:
https://twitter.com/cathconstantine
https://www.facebook.com/wickedly333/
http://cathrinaconstantine.blogspot.com/
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cathrina-constantine
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7179953.Cathrina_Constantine
https://www.instagram.com/cathrinaconstantine6004/

Cover Reveal: The Magi Manifesto by Kale Lawrence

BOOK DETAILS:

The Magi Manifesto
by Kale Lawrence
(The Magi Menagerie, #2)
Publication date: December 13, 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, New Adult, Young Adult

Synopsis:

After the true power of the Tablet of Destinies is revealed, Ezra grapples with the horrors of the night that changed everything. Haunted by the monster who claimed his father’s life, Ezra is determined to see his promise through and become a Magus. But when the Third Order of the Magi has him arrested for crimes he has yet to commit, Ezra is willing to do whatever it takes to prove himself, even if it means going after the very force that terrorizes his dreams.

But there’s more at stake than the Magi realize and major risks must be taken to settle the score. Desperate to stop the Legerdemain Brotherhood from claiming infinite power, Jonas must lead a team into the heart of enemy territory and dismantle the Brotherhood from the inside. Can Ezra and Jonas successfully stop the Legerdemain from ushering in a new era of terror? Or will yet another unlikely foe rise from the deep?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59350794-the-magi-manifesto

AUTHOR BIO:

From the early age of 6, Kale Lawrence knew she either wanted to be an astronaut or an author. Obviously, the astronaut gig didn’t work out, so instead, Kale turned to fantastic fictional worlds. When Kale is not writing creatively, she works as a Marketing Manager at a pet product company and pretends she’s an Olympic swimmer at the gym. She has also served as a board member for the South Dakota Writes organization.

In addition to books, Kale has lent her writing prowess to television, and her writing has been featured on nationwide PBS television programming, NBC newscasts, ABC newscasts, and the Travel Channel.

Kale currently lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with her feisty tortoiseshell calico cat, Emma Bug, and sassy Siamese, Seattle Bean.

Author links:

Home

https://www.instagram.com/kalelawrence

https://www.tiktok.com/@authorkalelawrence

https://www.facebook.com/authorkalelawrence/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5241807.Kale_Lawrence

Cover Reveal: Beneath The Starlit Sea by Nicole Bea

BOOK DETAILS:
Beneath the Starlit Sea
by Nicole Bea
Publication date: June 14, 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, New Adult


Synopsis:

Sorceress Illyse prefers to isolate herself from the age-old conflict between her coven and the humans of Sjökanten, but not at the expense of her own life. Captured by the king’s men, she is threatened with the ultimate demise for sorceresses—being forever imprisoned in ore—unless she manages to put an end to the gruesome murders of human citizens at the hands of a mysterious sea creature.

Bound by an iron band that limits her power, Illyse, and her fox familiar, join with Garit Darling, a medical practitioner and an enigma unto himself. Together, they delve deep into forgotten lore and forbidden romantic entanglements, despite a ban on relationships between sorceresses and humans. However, when it is discovered that Garit’s past is more closely tied to their investigation than either initially realizes, soon their passion and distraction from the crimes may just be at the cost of Illyse’s potential freedom… and Garit’s life.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57532894-beneath-the-starlit-sea
Pre-order:Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Ey1Kst

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beneath-the-starlit-sea-nicole-bea/1140571361?ean=2940165194405

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/beneath-the-starlit-sea

AUTHOR BIO:

NICOLE BEA is a technical writer and author who focuses on deep stories to dig into: books that include romance, honesty, hope, and self-discovery. An avid storyteller since childhood, she has honed her skills through a variety of educational programs including management, sociology, legal studies, and cultural diversity in the workplace, most recently engaging in coursework about communication for technologists. She loves books of all shapes and sizes, but has a soft spot for short reads, protagonists with pets, and anything featuring ghosts or cats.
When Nicole isn’t busy updating her manuscript portfolio or catching up on her To Be Read pile, she can usually be found gardening, horseback riding, or perusing the shelves of a used bookstore. She and her husband share their home in Eastern Canada with a collection of multi-colored cats and a lifetime’s worth of books.
Author links: 

https://twitter.com/nicolebeawrites

https://www.facebook.com/nicolebeawrites/

https://www.nicolebea.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17103561.Nicole_Bea