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Continue reading “Review: ‘The Wolves Of Winter’, by Tyrell Johnson”
Category Archives: Reviews
Review: ‘Misfortunes of Vision’, by Christy Nicholas
Misfortune of Vision by Christy Nicholas,
Book #4 in The Druid’s Brooch Series
Historical fantasy set in 12th century Ireland
~ Prophecy can be dangerous ~
In 12th century Ireland, Orlagh has been Seer to her king for forty years. He doesn’t want to hear her prophecies of war and destruction, and dismisses her efforts to warn him. Therefore, she is determined to fulfill her own quest: to find a worthy heir for her magical brooch.
In the course of events, she must pass judgment on a thief, escape a Norman war camp, and battle wits with a Fae lord. She receives some prophecy of her own and enlists the help of a grizzled old warrior, who happens to be a long–time friend.
Links:
Publisher link: http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Nicholas_Christy/index.htm
Website: http://www.greendragonartist.com
Blog: http://www.greendragonartist.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/greendragonauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/greendragon9
Author Bio:
Celtic Fairies, Fables, and Folklore! Bestselling author (top #100 Amazon Canada, #1 in Paranormal Fantasy, Amazon Canada)
Christy Nicholas, also known as Green Dragon, is an author, artist and accountant. After she failed to become an airline pilot, she quit her ceaseless pursuit of careers that begin with ‘A’, and decided to concentrate on her writing. Since she has Project Completion Disorder, she is one of the few authors with NO unfinished novels.
Christy has her hands in many crafts, including digital art, beaded jewelry, writing, and photography. In real life, she’s a CPA, but having grown up with art all around her (her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother are/were all artists), it sort of infected her, as it were.
She wants to expose the incredible beauty in this world, hidden beneath the everyday grime of familiarity and habit, and share it with others. She uses characters out of time and places infused with magic and myth.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Misfortunes of Vision’, by Christy Nicholas”
Bonus Review #2: ‘Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race and the Gothic South’, by Karen L. Cox
Published By: University of North Carolina Press
Publication Date: 9th October 2017
I.S.B.N.: 978146963503
Price: $26.00
Format: Hardcover
Blurb
In 1932, the city of Natchez, Mississippi, reckoned with an unexpected influx of journalists and tourists as the lurid story of a local murder was splashed across headlines nationwide. Two eccentrics, Richard Dana and Octavia Dockery—known in the press as the “Wild Man” and the “Goat Woman”—enlisted an African American man named George Pearls to rob their reclusive neighbor, Jennie Merrill, at her estate. During the attempted robbery, Merrill was shot and killed. The crime drew national coverage when it came to light that Dana and Dockery, the alleged murderers, shared their huge, decaying antebellum mansion with their goats and other livestock, which prompted journalists to call the estate “Goat Castle.” Pearls was killed by an Arkansas policeman in an unrelated incident before he could face trial. However, as was all too typical in the Jim Crow South, the white community demanded “justice,” and an innocent black woman named Emily Burns was ultimately sent to prison for the murder of Merrill. Dana and Dockery not only avoided punishment but also lived to profit from the notoriety of the murder. In telling this strange, fascinating story, Karen Cox highlights the larger ideas that made the tale so irresistible to the popular press and provides a unique lens through which to view the transformation of the plantation South into the fallen, gothic South.
Bonus Review #1: ‘The Biophilia Effect’, by, Arvey G. Clemens
Happy New Year!
Let’s start the year off with an unscheduled book review
Published By: Sounds True Publishing
Publication Date: 1st February 2018
I.S.B.N.: 9781683640424
Format: Paperback
Price: $17.95
Blurb
Discover why being in nature may be the best thing you can do for your health. Did you know that spending time in a forest activates the vagus nerve, which is responsible for inducing calm and regeneration? Or that spending just one single day in a wooded area increases the number of natural killer cells in the blood by almost 40 percent on average? Most of us have experienced an intuitive sense of the healing power of nature. Clemens G. Arvay’s new book brings us the science to verify this power, sharing fascinating research along with teachings and tools for accessing the therapeutic properties of the forest and natural world. Already a bestseller in Germany, The Biophilia Effect is a book that transforms our understanding of our interconnection with nature — and shows us how to engage the natural world wherever we live for greater health, inspiration, rejuvenation, and spiritual sustenance.
Continue reading “Bonus Review #1: ‘The Biophilia Effect’, by, Arvey G. Clemens”
January Review Schedule
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
One review a week this month, because I start back at university soon. There will of course, be the bonus reviews when I get a chance, but these are the scheduled reviews, and blog tours. Enjoy!
- 7th
- Misfortune of Vision
Christy Nicholas
- Misfortune of Vision
- 10th
- The Wolves of Winter
Tyrell Johnson - Blog tour
- The Wolves of Winter
- 17th
- Choose to rise
MN Mekaelian
- Choose to rise
- 30th
- Veronica’s Bird
Veronica Bird - Blog tour
- Veronica’s Bird
Bonus Review #5: ‘Shadow Man’, by, Alan Drew
Published by: Corvus
Publication Date: 4th January 2018
ISBN: 9781786493316
Format: Paperback
Price: £12.99
Blurb
Southern California, 1986. Detective Ben Wade has returned to his hometown in search of a quieter life and to try to save his marriage. Suddenly the community, with its peaceful streets and neighbourly concerns, finds itself at the mercy of a serial killer who slips through windows and screen doors at night, shattering illusions of safety.
As Ben and forensic specialist Natasha Betencourt struggle to stay one step ahead of the killer – and deal with painful episodes in the past – Ben’s own world is rocked again by violence. He must decide how far he is willing to go, and Natasha how much she is willing to risk, to rescue the town from a psychotic murderer and a long-buried secret.
With eerie, chilling prose, Alan Drew brings us into the treacherous underbelly of a suburban California town in this brilliant novel of suspense; the story of a man, and a community, confronted with the heart of human darkness.
Continue reading “Bonus Review #5: ‘Shadow Man’, by, Alan Drew”
No Review This Week
I had planned to review Pangaea: The End of Days, Revelations, by, Bolivar Beato tomorrow. Unfortunately, I started reading the book and realised it wasn’t for me. Since I try to be fair I won’t review a book that I realise doesn’t fit with my tastes. It wouldn’t be fair to give a bad review because I’ve realised it’s not aimed at my demographic and it doesn’t meet my preconceived ideas and expectations (there’s a person who reviewed one of my novels that could do to learn that lesson).
I’m also feeling more than a bit rough, I came down with a cold a few weeks ago and I still can’t get rid of it.
Bonus Review #4. Also, Merry Christmas, and all that.
Women and the Gallows 1797 – 1837: Unfortunate Wretches
By Naomi Clifford
Published by: Pen and Sword History
Publication Date: 2nd November 2017
I.S.B.N.: 9781473863347
Price: £15.99
Format: Hardback
Blurb
131 women were hanged in England and Wales between 1797 and 1837, executed for crimes including murder, baby-killing, theft, arson, sheep-stealing and passing forged bank notes. Most of them were extremely poor and living in desperate situations. Some were mentally ill. A few were innocent. And almost all are now forgotten, their voices unheard for generations.
Mary Morgan – a teenager hanged as an example to others.
Eliza Fenning – accused of adding arsenic to the dumplings.
Mary Bateman – a ‘witch’ who duped her neighbours out of their savings.
Harriet Skelton – hanged for passing counterfeit pound notes in spite of efforts by Elizabeth Fry and the Duke of Gloucester to save her.Naomi Clifford has unearthed the events that brought these ‘unfortunates’ to the gallows and has used contemporary newspaper accounts and documents to tell their stories.
Continue reading “Bonus Review #4. Also, Merry Christmas, and all that.”
Review: ‘Fidget Spinners Destroyed My Family’, By George Billions
Published By: Kindle
Publication Date: 11th July 2017
Format: Kindle e-book
Price: Free with KindleUnlimited/£2.32
Blurb
Karen and Kevin have a happy home, with two loving kids and a cat. It’s an idyllic setting, full of laughter and hope, until one Christmas when Kevin gives fidget spinners to each member of the family. He has no idea what destructive consequences this will have.
Getting kicked out of church is just the beginning. Within a year their daughter is in foster care, their son is in jail, and the cat is missing. An even more terrible fate is about to befall Kevin. Karen struggles just to keep it together as fidget spinners crumble the very foundations of her life.
Full of uncomfortable situations and sordid details, Fidget Spinners Destroyed My Family is a suspenseful dark comedy of paranoia, obsession, and this year’s hottest new toy.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Fidget Spinners Destroyed My Family’, By George Billions”
Substitute Review #1
I had planned to review Snow by Mikayla Elliot, but I had a couple of mental health days and couldn’t cope with anything much beyond crochet. I’ve also injured my hand with excessive cross-stitch on Sunday. My writing and typing, never exceptionally tidy, is currently an absolute mess, and it hurts to type. You’ll have to excuse any messy spelling. However, I have scheduled a book review today, so a book review you shall have. In the last bundle of books Pen & Sword I received Queens Of Georgian Britain by Catherine Curzon,
Published By: Pen & Sword History
Publication Date: 9th October 2017
I.S.B.N.: 9781473858527
Format: Hardback
Price: £15.99
Blurb
Once upon a time there were four kings called George who, thanks to a quirk of fate, ruled Great Britain for over a century. Hailing from Germany, these occasionally mad, bad and infamous sovereigns presided over a land in turmoil. Yet what of the remarkable women who were crowned alongside them?
From the forgotten princess locked in a tower to an illustrious regent, a devoted consort and a notorious party girl, the queens of Georgian Britain lived lives of scandal, romance and turbulent drama. Whether dipping into politics or carousing on the shores of Italy, Caroline of Ansbach, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Caroline of Brunswick refused to fade into the background.
Queens of Georgian Britain offers a chance to step back in time and meet the women who ruled alongside the Georgian monarchs, not forgetting Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the passionate princess who never made it as far as the throne. From lonely childhoods to glittering palaces, via family feuds, smallpox, strapping soldiers and plenty of scheming, these are the queens who shaped an era.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 