What’s on the eReader: Burn the Dark.

Cover for Burn The Dark

Robin is a YouTube celebrity gone-viral with her intensely-realistic witch hunter series. But even her millions of followers don’t know the truth: her series isn’t fiction.

Her ultimate goal is to seek revenge against the coven of witches who wronged her mother long ago. Returning home to the rural town of Blackfield, Robin meets friends new and old on her quest for justice. But then, a mysterious threat known as the Red Lord interferes with her plans . . .

DISCLAIMER: I did not receive this book as a gift or in exchange for a review.

Review:

Burn the Dark is the first book in the Malus Domestica trilogy, and I was excited to read this, as I like to read books written by people I know. The main character Robin’s journey is a hard one. Her backstory is tragic, and serves as a strong motivation for her actions; specifically hunting down and killing witches. She also videos this and puts them on YouTube, monetizing her videos for income.

After many years, she returns to her hometown with one goal in mind; to kill the coven that murdered her mother. Along with happier memories, the horror of her mother’s death comes back and she begins to remember things that she thought were hallucinations.

The story is told through the eyes of a myriad of characters, each of which have, or will have, a connection to the evils that still lies in the town of Blackfield. As she gathers herself to attack the witches, she learns that a more deadly enemy is waiting for her; the one her mother warned her about with her last breath. One that has haunted her for all of her life.

The story starts out with a bang and soon dissolves into a drawn out setup of backstory. The array of characters sometimes makes the plot hard to follow, but once the reader is past the excess scenes, the story takes on a frightening atmosphere as all those involved come face to face with the evil that not only haunts Robin’s old home, but the witches who use their powers in some very gruesome and intimidating manor.

Ms. Hunt’s grasp for description is beautifully detailed and enough to make the reader feel like Blackfield is their home town. The characters are engaging, colourful and witty, and keeps you routing for them when things become desperate.        

There was only one drawback that I found; the book ends just as it starts to delve into the heart of the story. I understand that this is a trilogy, but it felt as though Burn The Dark was just a long set up of world building and character introductions with a few, minor altercations between said characters and the coven. First novels in a series can be a daunting task to write, unless the world created by the author draws you in and make you care for the character’s well-being, and I believe that Ms. Hunt does accomplish this with her book with the wit and caring. It will be interesting to see how these characters interact with each other to help Robin fulfil her revenge.

4 out of 5

What’s on the eReader: Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse

Blurb: While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

Publisher & Date: Saga Press, June 2018

Book Link: Trail Of Lightning; Rebecca Roanhorse

*****

Review:

This book was recommended to me by a friend in my writing group. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it; my taste in novels is very different from others in the group, but the Native American storyline really interested me.

I was grabbed by the first line of the novel, and by the end of the first chapter, I KNEW this story was not going to let me down. I was right. Just the viewpoint alone kept me reading; a story with so many Native references, by only disappointment was that I couldn’t pronounce the Native words. I’d love to hear what they sound like so I’ll be ready when I purchase the second book of the series (I so am).

I’m not going to go into detail about this story, that’s not my thing and the book blurb I put at the top pretty much sums it up. If you’re looking for something in UF that is definitely different, then I suggest you give this a try.

5 out of 5 stars.

What’s on the eReader: Z Risen: Outbreak

Since I’m writing a plague novel, I’m reading more zombie novels to get a better understanding of the genre.

This book seems to be your typical zombie novel. It starts sometime after the infection has swept across the world.   Done in a diary/journal format the two protagonists survive among a city inhabited by zombies, occasionally coming across other survivors. Some they stick with, others well, you’ll have to read for yourself.

As the cover and blurb suggests, the book is filled with military terms and slang. The whole zombie apocalypse seen through the eyes of a military man. Written in first-person gives you a very limited view of the world and there were a few places where the characters bravado got to me. If the characters were scared, it didn’t come across very well. There’s no real plot other than just surviving, and no real motivation to do anything. I understand it’s a zombie novel, but I wasn’t seeing anything other than the characters just going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book with lots of action, just not the kind of zombie story I was looking for.

If you enjoy military-style zombie novels, you will enjoy this story.

 

What’s on the eReader: Bypass Gemini, written by Joseph R Lallo [Sci-Fi]

~ In a distant future, Trevor “Lex” Alexander was shaping up to be the next great race pilot until a fixed race got him banned from the sport. Reduced to making freelance deliveries, he thinks his life can’t get any worse. That’s when a package manages to get him mixed up with mobsters, a megacorp, and a mad scientist. Now his life depends on learning what their plans are, and how he can stop them.~

 

It’s been a while since I read any science fiction. Seems I’ve been in a dark and scary mood these last few years, so I was a little hesitant about reading this free ebook. Not because it was free, but as my taste has been leaning more toward the paranormal, I wondered if a Sci-Fi book could still interest me.

I’m glad I picked it up. This is a really good book. The characters are a little on the quirky side, but nothing wrong with that and just the right amount of techno babble too. I think that’s one of the best things about Sci-Fi novels, the exploration of futuristic technology.

The story is fast-paced, but nothing that lost me, and while at times the light-heartedness of the plot was a little hard to take, it didn’t really ruin the overall feel of the story. I think it could have been a little less quirky, but either way works.

4 stars

Book Review; Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1)

First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

~~~~~

One of the first things I noticed when reading was the style of writing. I assumed the author wrote her book in the same way of other books written during the Victorian era. I’ve read several classics, including Dracula, several Jane Austen, and Anne Radcliff, so I am familiar with the overly descriptive prose. It gives the book an overall Victorian tone. What I wasn’t expecting was the constant POV shift between characters, and right in the middle of a scene. Very confusing.

My second observation was that for it being a Steampunk novel, there wasn’t much in the way of technology. This was not a problem to me. Each writer has a different idea of what is required, technology-wise, and I was glad to see a bit more towards the end. There are a few ‘steamy’ scenes in the book, but nothing that could be considered erotic.

This book was recommended to me by several friends when they heard I was interested in reading Steampunk. I felt it dragged a bit, and there were a few places that I skimmed through, but overall it was an enjoyable read. There are more books in the series, but I’m not sure if I’ll read them or not.

 

3 out of 5

Book Review; Undeniable Rogue, (The Rogues Club: Book One)

Widow Sabrina Whitcomb needs a husband and knows that romance and matrimony aren’t always compatible. While providing for her children is paramount, wedding a stranger—even a wealthy one like Gideon St. Goddard, Duke of Stanthorpe—is no light matter. So why did the shockingly handsome rogue agree to marry her? When Gideon flashes his wicked, seductive smile, the reason hardly matters.

When I saw this book, it reminded me of the romance novels I devoured when I was in my twenties. This book was just like them. Handsome, devilish rake who can only think as far ahead as the next woman he’s going to bed, falls for a woman no-one would think he could care for. It’s never love at first sight, but rather lust. Love comes later as the two become more acquainted with each other, and survive some horrible occurrence that seems to put everything into perspective for the couple. It’s a well-used formula that works, and works well in this book.

 

 

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Undeniable-Rogue-The-Rogues-Club/book-XFoDPoqaH0e_hNnvOwI2Cg/page1.html

4 out of 5

Book Review: Carmilla

Written by J. Sheridan LeFanu

I found this book while researching the origins of vampire stories. Carmilla is different from other vampire stories for several reasons, the main one being the possible lesbian undertones. I had always thought the homosexual characteristic was a more modern trait.  Whether or not the author intended this, I don’t know, but it’s clear from the prose that this creature of the night was very attracted to her victim.

The story is told in hindsight essay from the main character, Laura,  as she writes down her account of what happened from several years later. When Carmilla’s carriage is involved in an accident outside of their home, Carmilla’s mother is distraught and at the insistence of Laura’s father, the young girl is left behind to get better while her travelling companions continue on, reassuring them that they will be back for her in three months’ time.

Shortly after the young girl arrives, odd things begin to happen. Mostly through Laura’s dreams. Apart from Carmilla’s strange behaviour (here is where the overtones appear), nothing is out of the ordinary. Not even when people begin to die in the local village. It isn’t until a dear friend arrives that they begin to see their house guest for what she truly is.

I found this book to be one of the more easier reads. The link below gives you more information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmilla

I think, if you’re going to read vampire books, this is another one that must be in your collection.

 

5 out of 5

An English Baron: A Gothic Story, Clara Reeve

In my quest to read more classic novels, I came across this book on Kobo under their public domain section.

First published in 1778, it is not an original piece, but rather a re-write of another book; The Castle of Otranto which was written twenty years prior. I found this very interesting, as now a days, such an undertaking would be nothing short of plagiarism. Curious, I looked up and downloaded the original book as well.

An English Baron is the tale of a young man, a peasant by birth (or so we are led to believe), friended by the Lord of the land and given opportunities alongside his Master’s children. After spending a night in the ‘haunted’ part of the castle, young Edmund begins a journey to discover who he really is.

It is a story of jealousy and envy, and how keeping your enemies in your heart, despite their transgressions, will make you the better person.

Book Review; Bram Stoker’s Dracula

If you love vampires, you must have this book in your collection.

Written during the last years of the 19^th century, it’s considered by many to be a gothic novel due to the ominous and dark prose.

 

The first thing that caught my eye is that the entire book it told not in one POV, but rather, in several and all through letters, journal entries and business correspondence. Having seen the movie, I can understand why the director would chose to take Mina POV through the movie.

 

Another thing that caught my eye was the prose. It was an awkward read. Flowery prose that often goes into great detail and descriptions. The dialogue left me shaking my head and wondering if Victorian England really spoke that way, and I had to constantly remind myself that this was the way they wrote novels back then. Anyone who has read a Jane Austin novel can understand.

 

Despite the awkwardness, I did enjoy it!