Review: The Prophecy of Shadows

**Review copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.**

The Prophecy of Shadows (Elementals, book 1) by Michelle Madow

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
Edition Reviewed: Ebook
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: The Prophecy of Shadows (1)

When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly … she’s apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers—and, to her dismay, by Blake—the school’s notorious bad-boy.

Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle’s wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.

When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect—it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it’s up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town … and possibly the world.

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Review:

Hmmmmm. Honestly the only reason I went back and finished this book was because I was so excited about it and requested the ARC. Nothing bums me out more than when a book I requested doesn't work out for me. About 17% of the way in I had to take a break. The reasons were that it was generic and boring. So upon picking it up after quite a bit of time has passed and I'm in a different frame of mind. Enough of a new frame of mind that I did finish the whole book, so that now I can elaborate as to why I found it generic and boring.

First off after you've read a certain amount of books you pick up on things. Plots and stories ideas, so on. At some point you just can't stand reading the same story again featuring (hopefully at least) new character names and a slight spin. Or no spin. The world of paranormal YA has been explored and The Prophecy of Shadows had nothing new to bring to it. Especially as everyone has done Greek mythology. When another YA PR book decides to “borrow” it either falls flat or at least makes its character stand out.

However, even the characters were borrowed. They were never developed enough to not be hallow shells. I feel like this book was a check list of things a title like this needs. The most exciting parts about it where some of the jokes made about Harry Potter.

Don't even get me started on the mysterious boy/love interest. I guess "Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt." from the synopsis. Not to mention this winner: "His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic."

I'm not sure if I really paid attention to the synopsis.

What is with YA titles where the girls land the hottest guy who happens to have a horrible girlfriend that she steals him from. First off, why are they dating that horrible girl. (Yeah there's always some lame excuse. Why can't they admit it's probably not for hand holding?) Secondly, don't covet and date him. Coveting another's man is bad, secondly um he's dating a horrible person. Whom you stole him from.

World building, plot, and characters weren't even really attempted. If anything this was just a lazy attempt to try and cash out on the genre. You know if you write it the fans will come. Yeah, there are plenty of readers who probably won't recognize or mind that isn't trying. Which works fine. I however have no interest in seeing where this uninspired series is going to go.

Content Warning: Wow, I can't remember. I think there may have been mild sexual humor. Pretty sure this is a safe read all around.

 

1/5- I couldn't finish it or wish I hadn't.

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Previous book(s) in series:
Reviewed on BW:	Amazon:	Goodreads:
The Prophecy of Shadows (1) The Blood of Hydra (2) The Head of Medusa (3) The Portal to Kerberos (4) The Hands of Time (5)	The Prophecy of Shadows (1) The Blood of Hydra (2) The Head of Medusa (3) The Portal to Kerberos (4) The Hands of Time (5)	The Prophecy of Shadows (1) The Blood of Hydra (2) The Head of Medusa (3) The Portal to Kerberos (4) The Hands of Time (5)

Cover Coveting (10)

 
Cover art is found from Goodreads, Wicked Scribes, ATUF, social networks, and other sources.
***All cover art may not be final.***

All right, my computer has gotten all the latest Windows 10 updates. Right now it's touch and go. Hopefully were in a go state.

Let's look at the lovely covers.

(Phew, I just got done and it looks like the updates my have fixed it! There were some issues, but now it's working! Thank you!)

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Buried Heart by Kate Elliott

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Court of Five, book 3 Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Young Adult High Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: My first thought was "they already did a red cover!" Than I immediately appreciated how well all of the covers fit together. Nothing makes me happier than matchy-matchy covers for a series.

Cold Reign by Faith Hunter

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Jane Yellowrock, book 11 Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Urban Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: A winter cover! Yeah! Honestly I'm waiting for all the long running Urban Fantasy series to do them now. I do love the covers for this series. It still irks me how uncomfortable her poses look. This one does not look like a fighting stance.

Crimson Death by Laurell K. Hamilton

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, book 25 Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Paranormal Romance Shera’s thoughts: I'm always curious what style of cover is going to be released. This one feels like the ones I have for the books I have hard copies of. I have to be honest the overlay pattern makes me think of a metal fence, and the way the tip ends on that blood dot is awkward.

Crystal Blade by Kathryn Purdie

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Burning Glass, book 2  Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: Ah. Inademanet object cover done right! Fits the series well and this is so pretty to look at. To me it looks like a crystal wand.

Dark Breaks the Dawn by Sara B. Larson

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Untitled Duology, book 2  Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Young Adult High Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: Swan crown, how cool. Though if I stare out it long enough it starts creeping me out. Love that the crown is on the title.

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: N/A  Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Science Fiction Shera’s thoughts: Simple and so petty to look at.  I love how subtle the girl in the boon is. Fits perfectly.

Flame the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Flame in the Mist, book 1 Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: This cover is everything! Absolute perfection. The flowers turning into throwing stars is sweet perfection. Be still my heart.

Foxheart by Claire Legrand

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: N/A  Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Middle Grade Shera’s thoughts: Sometimes I think that middle grade/independent covers are the best. Mainly because I really love drawn artwork for covers. Plus, they have this gorgeous quality  to them.

Frostblood by Elly Blake

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Frostblood Saga, book 1 Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Young Adult High Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: "The Reign of Cie Must End" Ooooooo, what a cool catch phrase. I love how simple and lethal this cover is! The blood dripping out of the design. The typography! Be still my heart. Sweet. Sweet perfection.

Fury's Magic by Yasmine Galenorn

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Fury Unbound, book 2 Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Urban Fantasy  Shera’s thoughts: Usually when an author goes self pub that means goodbye good looking covers. So than you Yasmine Galenorn for always giving us wonderful covers! I appreciate it and when I look at my bookcase her books are some of the prettiest to look at. I know this one will be an ebook release at first, but I still greatly appreciate it.

Review: Ghost Talkers

**Review copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.**

Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal

Genre: Alternate History
Edition Reviewed: Ebook
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Ghost Talkers

Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Harford, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force.

Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence.

Ginger and her fellow mediums contribute a great deal to the war efforts, so long as they pass the information through appropriate channels. While Ben is away at the front, Ginger discovers the presence of a traitor. Without the presence of her fiance to validate her findings, the top brass thinks she's just imagining things. Even worse, it is clear that the Spirit Corps is now being directly targeted by the German war effort. Left to her own devices, Ginger has to find out how the Germans are targeting the Spirit Corps and stop them. This is a difficult and dangerous task for a woman of that era, but this time both the spirit and the flesh are willing…

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Review:

Ghost Talkers captured my attention quite a while back and I was so happy when I was approved to read it! Instantly it was love. The writing was solid and I believed the setup that the author was creating. Ghost Talker is an alternate history on The Great War, AKA WWII. One of my biggest gripes with alternate histories is that they forget what the time may have been like. Or that it glorifies war instead of its realities.

Mary Robinette Kowal's writing immediately stole my heart. It's haunting and fits the story and time period well. It was just as haunting as the ghost story. Ghost Talker didn't just ride out the unique idea of using the ghosts of dead soldiers to report back in to help further the war efforts. (A totally awesome idea and I love the taste of the rules and logic behind the magic that is shown.) Kowal addresses the realities of war. From the waste of life, the horror, fear, and many realities. Not to mention that even such times and circumstances racism and sexism still held sway. Oh, don't forget the class system of the time. All of these subjects are not handled heavy handed. No it's practical and the situations support the ideas that the author is trying to get across fitting seamlessly into the story.

The structure of the Spirit Corps and how it functioned within the British military was brilliant! As someone who loves details and world building I was in heaven.

My biggest issue was that the plot was so OBVIOUS. It went and did exactly as I thought it would go. Normally this is a bad thing. Kowal's writing is so wonderful, the world and characters so rich that it was reduced to a minor annoyance. Though I have a feeling that some readers may not like the every day grind and work load to the book. Ginger does her job and while certain events do lead her on a journey it is not some wild ride.

Ginger is a fantastic lead and I like that she isn't some unrealistic idealistic lead. She admits when she's wrong and her own flaws. The cast of characters do feel quite obvious. Like queue male chauvinist boss/general, stereotypical friends and supporting characters. The traitor was so obvious from the get go—that minor annoyance part I was referring to. The dry British humor helped spice up some of the less original characters. Even if they really didn't have much life, at least they had witty humor. The characters that were fleshed out are amazing and I look forward to seeing them again.

Ghost Talkers reads like a standalone, but I have a feeling if things go well it will transition nicely into a series. Which I truly want. Ghost stories are the classics of the paranormal tale. When an author can take such a tired old concept and make it new and refreshing how can I not ask for more? Ghost Talkers captured my attention and kept me riveted to the story. While it was very predictable I think readers can easily enjoy it. Here's to a book 2 and a fantastic new adventure! Because while it all wrapped up nicely there's enough ideas left at the end to really go places.

Sexual Content: Pretty clean, it keeps to a very polite take on the sexual humor and such. Which suited the book well.

 
4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it. 

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Previous book(s) in series:
Reviewed on BW:	Amazon:	Goodreads:
N/A	N/A	N/A

Wednesday Wishes

Genre theme time! Normally I don't stick to one genre, but I feel inspired.

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Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

Get it: Amazon | Goodreads
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: The Expanse, book 1

Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

This book and series has been in the back of my brain and I decided I wanted it! It's supposed to be a genre blend of epic Space Opera and awesome mystery novel. There's other things in that blend too. it all sounds great.

So imagine my surprise when after this post I actually found a copy of this book at my local thrift store! It was meant to be.

Shades of Treason by Sandy Williams

Get it: Amazon | Goodreads
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Anomaly, book 1

Ash would have given her life to save her teammates.
Instead, they gave their lives to save hers.

Lieutenant Ramie Ashdyn is an anomaly, a person whose genetic makeup makes her stronger and smarter than the average human. She’s pledged her life to protect the Coalition, an alliance of thirteen planetary systems, but when a top secret operation turns bloody, she’s charged with treason and the brutal executions of her teammates.

The Coalition needs the information Ash’s team stole on their last mission, so they send in Commander Rhys “Rest in Peace” Rykus to get it. He’s the man who’s responsible for turning Ash into an elite soldier… and he’s a man who isn’t, never was, and never will be in love with the woman he trained. Or so he tells himself.

Ash wants nothing more than to clear her name and be the woman her former instructor wants her to be, but the enemy who killed her teammates did more than frame her for treason and murder: they telepathically silenced her mind, preventing her from saying anything that might point to the truth about what happened.

Now Ash is trapped and set to be executed, the truth dying with her. Unless she can prove her innocence. But taking that path could destroy the Coalition she’s sworn to preserve and protect…

So after I found Leviathan Wakes it hit me that I haven't really been reading science fiction lately. Heck, I think The Lunar Chronicles may have been the last ones! (At the time because now I've been tearing through some sci-fi erotica!)

So I thought and thought about what other titles I really wanted from the sci-fi genre. Shades of Treason immediately popped into my mind. It's one I keep thinking about, but just haven't bought yet.

Review: Moon Chosen

**Review copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.**

Moon Chosen  (Tales of a New World, book 1) by P.C. Cast

Genre: High Fantasy
Edition Reviewed: Ebook
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Moon Chosen (1)

#1 New York Times bestselling author, P.C. Cast, brings us a new epic fantasy set in a world where humans, their animal allies, and the earth itself has been drastically changed. A world filled with beauty and danger and cruelty…

Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan; but she has cast her duties aside, until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating clan strays across her path, that Mari experiences something she has never felt before…

Now, darkness is coming, and with it, a force, more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By forming a tumultuous alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready. Ready to save her people. Ready to save herself and Nik. Ready to embrace her true destiny…and obliterate the forces that threaten to destroy them all

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Review:

Moon Chosen quickly turned into an obsession for me. One of those reads that you can't put down and will try to read everywhere. No really. At one point I begged a charger off of some poor stranger so that I could just KEEP READING! When someone was talking to me in line while checking out I held up my Kindle and said, “Middle. Book. Reading.” (Not one of my finest moments.)

I will be the first to admit you have to really pay attention to the start of the book. There's three main leads and each represent a group of people. Earth Walker's, People, and Companions are the tribes here. What might be confusing is that three main leads for each group are part of the changing point of view, and some other characters. At the beginning you really have to take note of the names as the other tribes have different names for each other. Not to mention completely different ideas of what they're like. Pile that on top of learning this rich world it might be overwhelming.

I love how brave this book is! Touching on slavery, all kinds of murder/cruelty, asking questions about societies accepted ideas, and cannibalism. Moon Chase smoothly takes on many hot topic issues and deftly drops it into this rich world without feeling heavy handed. Or preachy. The ideas and actions of the characters will leave you thinking every time you have to put the book down.

Cast's writing has always been addicting. A lot of people asked me if this was like the writing in The House of Night series. No, this is like Cast's other books. The writing is stunning and the attention to detail is fabulous! Some of the characters I thought echoed a few from The House of Night, mainly the mean girl who eventually becomes a friend. Other than the lore of herbs and the magic of the Moon Mother's I thought it was pretty original from that series. Oh, and there is animal bonding. Companions bond with dogs, and apparently there's a branch of clan that bonds with cats. (Okay, so there are quite a few similarities. It still feels refreshing though!)

Thank you! Thank you Cast for creating Mari! What a wonderful lead. She's strong and opinionated. Watching her grow as a person was a pleasure. Even if I didn't always agree with her actions and ideas I understood her. Romance was not a driving force behind her actions. Yes, there is a romance. It is not the focus though and it actually REALISTICALLY builds up in the story. So that I bought the emotions. Another big thank you.

The other three main leads are just as well realized. Nik is a sweet and idealistic guy. It was wonderful watching him seek the truth. Following him as he started to question how righteous the Companions were is a reminder that one should always question the status quo. Many times he was the damsel and Mari got to save him. So there is that. Then there is Dead Eye, the lead representing the People. The People are known by the other tribes as Skin Stealers. Yeah, they're the cannibals. To be quite honest they're the bad guys. However, I was totally addicted to their story and what horrible plot Dead Eye was scheming up. So chilling.

Cast's attention to the world and the seamless way the POVs all connected took my breath away. Every page turn was accompanied by my frantic breathing as I tried to keep up my pace of consumption. The pictures where I nice touch too. I loved the plant stuff that accompanied the lore and the other drawings as well. The history of the world and the tribes was awesome. While at times Moon Chosen seemed to follow a set of steps for a High Fantasy books it didn't take away from the original ideas here. Quite a few times I found myself surprised!

This is an earth after the apocalypse, but it's pretty much High Fantasy. Not dystopian. Yeah, you could pop it into apocalyptic if you really wanted. The world is so rich I am not gonna even attempt to tarnish it by summarizing it.

Overall I am completely devoted to the series! It's cruel that the next one doesn't even have an expected publication date yet! I NEED MORE. Finally another fabulous lead to add to the latest releases of Young Adult High Fantasy. Not to mention that FINALLY the book isn't revolving around romance or the female lead's need to have a man(s). Thank you. The attention to the world building was exactly what I needed to wash away the disappointment of this years reads from my mind! So what I'm saying is: This is brilliant!

Content Warning: Some of the characters get raped or almost raped, it's not gone into detail. Characters have sex, again not gone into detail. Plenty of sexual humor. Also, homosexual relationships. Of course sexual humor.

I should also toss out that there is cannibalism, and the skinning alive of not only humans but animals. It's not super detailed, but it's there.

 
5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!

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Previous book(s) in series:
Reviewed on BW:	Amazon:	Goodreads:
Moon Chosen (1)	Moon Chosen (1)	Moon Chosen (1)

Cover Coveting (5)

 
Cover art is found from Goodreads, Wicked Scribes, ATUF, social networks, and other sources.
***All cover art may not be final.***

It's official, I'm back! Of course I have to come back with shiny covers.

I'm sure you've seen some of them around already, but I decided to impose my personal opinion of them anyway.

Ah, let's drool over some covers!

*Well it looks like Windows 10 is still pretty much not working with Open Live Writer, and it's not so great with Blogger which is what I tried to finish this post in. Sorry guys, I did my best. Hopefully things will shape up or I'll get the hang of one or the other.*

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A Dream of Spring by George R.R. Martin

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: A Song of Ice and Fire, book Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: High Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: Has anyone else been getting notifications to buy their boxset already? The cruel thing about this series is that there are soooooo many different covers and releases. It's way I got rid of all my print copies, except the first one I ever bought, and now only own Ebook copies. This one is nice and it fits well enough for whatever covers you've already got. Sot hat's nice.

Alien Nation by Gini Koch

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Katherine "Kitty" Kat, book 14 (AKA Alien series) Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Science Fiction Shera’s thoughts: There's still a lot going on in the cover, but it all feels so muted. Very dull and boring compared to the first covers of the series. Still pretty awesome though. I guess the office work feel of the woman is what kind of dulls it down.

Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: N/A  Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Shera’s thoughts: Normally I try not to post covers for contemporary reads unless it's an author I know. However, this cover totally  captivated me after I saw it. It's stunning! Hats of to whoever designed it. There's so much to look at, but it all fits beautifully. I love how the title is in incorporated.

Blade Bound by Chloe Neill

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Chicagoland Vampires, book 13  Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Urban Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: Wow. So the final book will finally feature Ethan. It fits the series well.

Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

Previous book(s) in series:

Goodreads | Amazon

Series: Kingmaker Chronicles, book 2 Add it: Goodreads | Amazon Genre: Romantic Fantasy Shera’s thoughts: It's so pretty! I love everything about it. Well, except her pose, that looks a little off. But I love the ice fire magic! Very cool.

Still here!

It's an unfortunrae truth that every year my new goal is not to let my poor Book Whispers have any down time. However, no matter how hard I try life gets in the way.

This time it's due to a busy personal life and unfortunate issues with of my internet service. Yeah.

I plan to be back online after the 15th, internet issues should be cleared up then. So expect the first post on the 17th!