Wishes and Sorrows (Myth and Magic) by Cindy Lynn Speer

Arc provided by Dragonwell Publishing through Netgalley

Release Date: October 30th

With more sorrows than wishes in it _ or maybe I just got more caught on all the darker aspects _ this is a wonderful anthology made of stories capable of breaking our hearts, and of making us _ okay, myself _ wish that each and every one of them had been turned into a full length book. Because if a story is good enough, I will always find myself wanting more!

Also I have to mention this: I had already read some of these stories in another anthology...the thing is, I didn't enjoyed them as much back then, as I did now. Surprise!  o_O

Apparently my taste _and its growth _ still has a long route ahead of it...*inserts awkward silence*

This being said, it does seem that these are the type of stories that just get better with a frequent re-reading.

The Bell Witch and The Queen Of Vines - 3.5 stars

With small traits of the famous Eurydice allegory  _ amongst many other influences.. _ this Bell Witch, is the story of Aziza who is very much alive _unlike the other Bell Witch poltergeist legend . (of which I had never heard previous to reading this story).

Aziza is the wise woman of her...let's say "village", and the one who has the task of keeping ghosts and all things "that lurk in the night" away, and properly behaving.

"She called herself Aziza, and as she walked she rang softly, bells in her hair, around her ankles and waist and wrists, which was appropriate, for she was a bell witch."

The writing, it invokes the magic Aziza possesses in her life.

This is a dark story of crossroads and of second chances, with a little dash of romance provided with the introduction of "shameless" naked werewolf..... :)

_________

You people are probably getting the wrong idea with this, but, oh well, lol, go read it, and you'll find out what I am talking about ;)

Every Word I speak- 4 stars

When what was given as a blessing turns into a curse, what will Queen Sarah do with her life?

Dark and gritty, this is the author's take on a supposed happy ending....only instead of living a dream, our main character ends up living a nightmare.

I really liked this story, and I would love to know what happens next in a full length book!

p.s. Okay, a novella will also suffice :)

 "I believe in devils, and sometimes in angels, but not in fairies."

One Hundred Eight Degrees - 3 Stars

A short that tells us the story of a time traveller, living with her head and heart in two different worlds.

"It was one hundred and eight quick steps to the bedroom.

She shut the door promising herself that tonight she'd dream of tomorrow."

I liked it, but I think it could have worked better with a little more information about her home country.

Remember - 4 Stars

A story made of missing pieces and unknown truths. The human mind and all it's secrets.

"Tears flowed again, but they were happy tears.

Perhaps it was her tears that drew him, the tall, slender shadow that separated itself from the wall and arched over her. He was all black except where the moon reflected in his gold eyes."

The Train - 4 Stars

“You have my heart,” Seagal says. He’s weeping now, his face red and angry. “I want it back.”

What if someone brought you back from the dead?
 For how long, would you, "the creation", comply with the rules given to you?

Frankenstein reinvented.

The Tower In The Desert - 4.5 Stars

 Finally, after quite a number of dark tales, here is one that doesn't end with people being killed, or insane or just plainly miserable!

Yay :)

Besides that _lol_ it was a pretty good story, and yes, the dragon fooled me as well.
Sneaky dragon....

 "She was… a princess of our lands, she was to marry our Sultan, but the… his pet monster… he kidnapped her.

“Pet monster?”

“A mage… a man of great power,” Dameer said softly. “Everyone was terrified of him. Everyone. Except her.”

 A Necklace of Rubies -4.5 Stars

He is handsome, he is mysterious....and people say that he killed his previous wife! o_O
How can Tessa resist?
"Bluebeard" meets "Beauty and the Beast"...meets "East of the Sun"?
Suffice to say there are ghosts, axes and blood!
A perfect Halloween treat.

"Such a tiny, harmless, innocent key. Such a plain door. Just take a peek, prove them all wrong, no one would ever, ever know…"

What Will I do When The Dream Is Over - 3.5 Stars

A short urban fantasy story about the balance of the world, and the role two people play in it.
A story of fate, duty and love.

I think it could have used a little more descriptions regarding some scenes...
 Sometimes I had a little bit of difficulty"seeing them" in my head, like for instance the scene in which both "girls" fall into a trap.
Also could have done without the whole "must be a virgin in order to use a unicorn as a means of transportation", lol, but besides that, it was an enjoyable tale.

 “It was all a dream, and beyond our control.”

The Fortunate Ones - 4.5 Stars

I am just going to cry now...

" She wrapped her fingers around the bar. Inside her stomach, the coin burned.

“You’re my fortune, now.” she informed it, and let go of the ledge.

This is a story about a woman who is the victim of her husband's violence,and all the "ifs" our mind can make up in order to survive..
TW's, for "domestic violence".

The Jester's Heart - 3.5 Stars

"There is a place in the woods, a tight knot of brambles and dead willow trees that the gardeners want to cut, but neither the Queen nor I will permit it. In the center of this knot, there is a marble bench that no longer magically opens, and in the compartment rests a Jester’s Staff."

Dark, dark, and darker...
I could have used a little more information about the Jester's staff, some basic background, but overall it was an extremely disturbing and creepy story.
I Am The Grey Lady - 4 Stars

I really hope that this edition that I am reading _a supposed arc _ will undergo some serious editing before being published.
As it was, the story is pretty compelling to read with ghosts and time travels, but the numerous typos did manage during numerous times, to break its fluidity.

“Oh, no. You don’t realize that you’re dead, do you?”

But Can You Let Him Go -4.5 Stars

A very  ambitious Cinderella retelling that manages to give its readers a number of different takes of the famous fairy tale, all of this while telling a single story.

"This is me. The caution in your tale, the one with the thousand guises."

The Taste Of Cherries - 3.5 Stars

As far as I am concerned, the story doesn't matter as much as the pure gorgeous prose of this one.

"I will sit in the sun and dream in the warmth. Dream of petals as soft as a baby’s cheek, as light as the laughter of love. They will be pink and sweet, drifting through my hands like grains of sand. I will shelve all regrets away, and concentrate on remembering the taste of cherries."

All in all, a wonderful anthology sure to make every "fairy tale addict" and "lover of fine prose" _please, please, let it all be properly edited by now with the typos removed, or people will have my head! _ a very happy reader!

Author's Official Site

Buy "Wishes And Sorrows"

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Now I am just going to bother BookDepository until they have the paperback edition! :)

Oh, and the cover is gorgeous!

The Burning Girl (The Hollows #2) by Lisa Unger

Arc provided by Pocket Books through Netgalley

Release date: November 25th

A good follow up to Whispers, "the burning girl" takes place ten years after the events of the first short story.

A thing that you won't find in these stories is any resemblance to the TV series "Ghost whisperer"...just in case someone is thinking about it ~which may...or may not, have happened to me~

There's no talking with ghosts in this series. No semblance of an HEA in the end of an episode.

In fact, this short, manages to be even darker and sadder than the first short.

Eloise still hasn't managed to let go of her pain, and the whole business of occasionally being able to help people through her visions, sits like a heavy burden on her shoulders.

She has a friend to whom she can turn to, and someone who likes her, but she has become estranged from her daughter, and all the visions she keeps having, just keep draining her.

And then a child appears. An angry girl, the burning girl...

I was really invested in this storyline!

It was creepy, and scary, and I was looking forward in seeing what was going to happen!

Which I guess was naive of me, because these stories are not that type....

You know...the type that gets solved with a pretty bow on top?

o_O

Despite that, I am still looking forward in reading the third short story ( The Three Sisters) that will be released in January.

Author's Official Site

Buy "The Burning Girl"

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The Whispers (The Hollows #1) by Lisa Unger

Arc provided by Pocket Books through Netgalley

Release Date: October 27th

This is the first of three short stories that follow the life of Eloise Montgomery after a tragedy strikes her life. After surviving a brutal accident, Eloise finds herself having visions of people in danger. 

People she never met.

But how can she help other people, when she's barely living herself?

What I liked:

The writing

 It's deep, sad and heartbreaking, and it pulls you right into the story.

The characters

They're well drawn despite the short number of pages, and after meeting them, I just wanted a full length book (or a full length series) about Eloise's and Amanda's lives.

The plot

With the introduction of the paranormal aspect, I think the story would have been stronger had there been a little more...something!  I don't know...maybe a little more development regarding Eloise's acceptance  of her gift.

Having already read the second short (The Burning Girl), I think Agatha could have made an early appearance in this book.

But globally it was good, especially for a story being told in such a short number of pages.

Also, not only did it leave me curious about the author's other works, it made me realize that I haven' read a full length Lisa Unger novel in awhile.  

"The Whispers is a prequel to the novel FRAGILE, in which Eloise is first introduced." (as written on the author's page)

Yessss, another book to my TBR pile o_O

Author's Official Site

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Honor Among Thieves (Honorables #1) by Elizabeth Boyce

                              

                             

Arc provided by Crimson Romance through Edelweiss

                                                      

Release Date: October 27 th

TW's: Attempted Rape

I'm thirty five years old, and I have been reading practically all my life.

This means that I've read quite a good number of books so far...and hopefully _ o_O _ I'll be able to read many more.

This said, I must start by saying that I have the inkling, that had I read this story a couple years ago, I would probably had loved it! The intensity, the drama of it, oh, I would have probably devoured it!

But as things are now, I am afraid that this rating is more due to the story's merit in some aspects, instead of my actual appreciation of it.

This story for all the information that it gives us about how medicine was seen, and everything it involved two centuries ago, doesn't deserve  a two star rating (a simple okay), but in the end I have to admit that I didn't like this.

It has some strong points:

_The originality of the plot;

_ The characters that start as originals...

_The "Honourables" concept.. 

_The fact that I learned more about the period in which the story takes places, than I have while  reading I don't know how many dozens of historical romances...

But then something happens: In some vital moments, that should have been seen _like the moment in which Lorna decides to join the grave robbing gang_, the narrative stops, leaving us to wonder what happened to the characters.

When the narrative once again starts, we are told what has happened!

Since the story develops itself around this "event", I really disliked that I didn't get to see it.

Unfortunately, it is not an isolated event.

The romance

For me, this ended up being the problem with the story: Honestly, I wanted more of the grave digging business,  _ o_O _ instead of the same old "speedy" romances in which the characters fall immediately in lust with one another, and can't start ripping each other clothes!

I am not saying that it didn't had some good or even funny moments, like the "rat throwing", and the "disaster with the dress" moments, but I really didn't understand why Lorna would become such an interesting figure in the town.

In fact, with the "dress incident" happening, I would think the inverse would happen....but I don't know practically nothing about the period. So...

But what really made impossible for me to enjoy this story, were the two attempted rapes that happen in a quick succession of time.

I really would appreciate _ as I think many other readers would _ of being warned about this type of thing before requesting arcs, or buying books.

 Honestly, had I known about it, I wouldn't have requested it.

Because in the end _for me _ the story ends up feeling like those historical romances in which the female characters were constantly in danger of being raped :/

For me this could (should ) have been skipped.

The story already had a pretty heavy dose of drama happening,_ how does one even mentions a dialogue involving a very pregnant woman and people telling her that she is probably going to die, and people are going to rob her body? _ it really didn't need those descriptions happening.

It was too much, and it ended up vulgarizing an original idea.

Bottom Line: A great concept and good writing. Unfortunately in the end _for me _ it ended up falling short of all its potential.

Author's Official Site

Buy "Honor Among Thieves"

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The Viscount's Christmas Temptation (The Dukes of War 0.5) by Erica Ridley

 

  

arc provided by Intrepid Reads through Netgalley 

In case my rating left someone in any doubt I'll just go ahead and say: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this novella!!!

I'm one of the stingiest reviewers out there, I'm not proud of this because it means I usually don't get to enjoy things to the fullest over sometimes trivial matters, but THIS BOOK!

Lady Amelia is a very straight-forward and practical kind of lady. She anticipates contretemps, unexpected guests, dire changes of menu at the very last minute. 

The thing is, as much as she enjoys managing her brother's estate, she can't help feeling as if she's holding him back from finding a wife - being completely devoted to his sister's happiness, he couldn't endure replacing her in the household - furthermore she's approaching her thirtieth birthday, so she should apply herself to finding a husband. Preferably before the New Year since it would be a waste of time to dawdle more than that. 

The problem is that the crush of the year, the Sheffield's Christmas Ball, during which she'd planned on making an appropriate match for herself, has been cancelled after lightning struck Viscount Sheffield's ball room.

There is only one thing to do: go to Lord Sheffield and offer to organise the whole thing herself at a new venue. 

Lord Sheffield is a rake with a schedule: from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. he is the most dutiful estate manager. From 8 p.m. onwards... it's time for debauchery in the demimonde.

Having come upon his title by chance, he's always very strict about managing everything for which he is now responsible, so the thought of having Lady Amelia try to take what should be his responsibility in the first place is understandably upsetting. 

But as he'll soon find out, once Lady Amelia has something on her mind you might as well let her manage it, and you along with it.

...That's not to say that Lord Sheffield is in anyway reluctant to do a bit of managing of Lady Amelia himself.

If you love lighthearted historical romances, where everyone is reasonable and there are no miscommunications to drag the whole thing into unnecessary drama, the protagonists are equal and likeable, and you spend the whole book with a silly smile on your face...

...Well, then this is the book for you!

Erica Ridley's official site  

Clariel ( The Lost Abhorsen, Book #4 Old Kingdom series) by Garth Nix

Arc provided by Harper Collins through Edelweiss

It was my intention to re-read the previous books of this "Old Kingdom" series, before picking this one up.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the necessary time to do it, and I only got to read about half of the first book, Sabriel, before starting on this one.

And although I do still like Sabriel, I am afraid that time seems to have diluted my love for this series. :/

The writing never seemed to "flow"...

I read Sabriel for the first time ever, almost twelve years ago, and I loved it!

But many reads have come and gone since then, and I am afraid that my memory was being kinder compared to the actual reality of what I read.

This is not to say that I don't like it anymore.

I do!

I like the world the author created, and this story helped make things a little clearer about the relationship between Abhorsen's Free Magic elements and Mogget.

But although I may like the world in which the stories take place, this one ended up being extremely hard to read! In fact the only reason I finished it was out of love for the series.

That, and because Mogget appears in all his sarcastic, interesting, glory!

That is not to say that this is a bad book... it definitely isn't!

 The problem is that I ended up having to force myself to finish it.

The beginning was awfully slow, and the main character has you "headdesking" and "face-palming" constantly!

Clariel is boring, uninteresting, basically a disaster waiting to happen, and she spends the majority of the story constantly saying how much she wants to go and live by herself in the Great Forest!

I am not exaggerating, she's constantly whining about it.

Look at the book cover: Do you see what is written there?

A passion thwarted will often go astray

Her passion is to live alone in the Great Forest... so when life leads her to another path, she manages to f**** up on a colossal scale! (sorry, but I can't remember another word to describe the level of idiotic moves she makes!)

In fact she could be nominated for the "most stupid character ever created" in the 2014 book awards.

So, it doesn't come as a surprise what her future turns out to be, does it?

Do I care than she turns out to be the big bad villain in the previously published books?

No.

Does it surprise me?

*snort*

A thing that I can't help but mention is that the author takes great pains in developing an asexual character.

We are told that Clariel has had sexual relations in the past, but that in the end she didn't find herself particularly interested in the thing, lol, and that she also isn't interested in women...

*sigh*

*deep breath*

Who cares?

 I am just reading this for the plot, and although these stories have what you can consider YA characters, I never found these stories YA per se... so comments like these just end up being superfluous to the story.

We all know that it is possible to read an interesting book without said book having to had a romance in it!

I don't know, this made me remember a comment that Sabriel makes in her own book, when she says that she's not interested in Touchstone in that way, and that sex is a complication and blah, blah... and I was like:  

But why would the author feel the need to say this?

I hadn't felt anything going on between them in the first place! She only kissed him because the guy was made out of wood _literally _ and she was trying to break the spell!!

Ah... long story... and back to Clariel...

Garth Nix should really skip these "out of the blue" romances: In this one there's a character that all of a sudden finds himself... I don't know... attracted, in love... in lust with Clariel?

Which ended up being pretty much pathetic, because once again it comes out of nowhere, and I just couldn't help feeling that it only existed so that Clariel could be all: Dude, I don't care about that sort of thing! I JUST WANT TO GO INTO THE GREAT FOREST ALL BY MYSELF!!

Fine girl, GO!! ~ I can't hear you anymore~

To finish this up, I also have to mention another aspect that I really found annoying:

 Clariel is just unbelievably clueless about everything!

Of course this just creates the perfect setting for all the disasters that she is about to commit!

Like I said: One perfect disaster just waiting to happen...

Bottom Line: Ignorance is not a blessing, and ends up being very annoying to read about!

___________

Oh, and did you know that there is going to be another Abhorsen book, this one following Nicholas and Lirael story?

Author's Official Site

Buy "Clariel"

@Bookdepository.com (With Free Worldwide Delivery!)

And because this is a blog about books...

....here are more book pictures!

Yes, this is my latest book haul :)

I am really behind on Kim Harrison's "The Hollows" series _ a series I was crazy about _ so I decided to finally order these...

Anna Sheehan's book has also been on my radar for a long time now, so I decided to make use of a promotion the online book-store was having: Bought 6 books, but two of them were for free :)

 Antecipation: A closed box full of books!!

(The green thing on top of the box? That's my edition of the book Sabriel...)

Unmade (Lynburn Legacy #3) by Sarah Rees Brennan

How to wreck an amazing series: A recipe for Disaster

Leave a love triangle simmering in a tasteless broth. When it looks as if the thing may not have a single reason to exist, turn the power up all over again!

Insert about 20% cringe worthy jokes so that it may help downplay all the emotional drama that is happening.

Add close to none character development, so that the characters don't have to... I don't know?

Grow up?

Kill characters at discretion... you will determine when enough is enough _apparently never :/ _ by the cries of former devoted readers...

Angst, angst, and more angst... when in doubt add more.

Let the characters behave as idiotically as possible, with no regard for logical reasoning...

Kill one of your favourite , FAVOURITE, characters, in a move completely illogical (according to his personality) and very faith oriented...

Leave the readers _who are reading fantasy _  upset with the somewhat preachy tone of the thing...

"There were marks of pain on his face, but no anger and no fear. He looked a little sad."

(...)

He stayed like a shadow in every corner of our home, stayed a stain on our hearts. I felt it. I can’t believe that good will leave us when evil remains. I will not. I do not.”

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Some people will probably say:

"Oh, she's mad because ______ _______ was killed, so she's taking it out on the author and on the story."

I am not.

And I am not mad... reading this left me somewhat empty of emotions... I may think about it once in awhile, and question what possessed  me to read this volume _ the fact that I loved the previous two volumes may have had something to do with it _ but I don't feel angry enough to be... screaming or ranting :/

I am just sad.

The beginning was good, and I was looking forward to seeing Jared being rescued.

Unfortunately after that, things went into a carousel of YA "love triangle mess" angst fest that was just _as other reviewers have mentioned it before _ prone to a lot of headdesking.

The angst!

The idiocy!

Yes, we all know that Jared is a special flower with whom we need to have a lot of patience dealing with, but c'mon!

No one's that stupid! And clueless!

And Ash?

Ash?

Who cares about Ash?

Between the number of things that I just couldn't understand are:

Jared is being held prisoner at Aurimere. His aunt who is a sorceress can cross the "magical" fire, and blend into the shadows...

SO WHY DIDN'T SHE TRY TO FIND THE POOR GUY??

Also, you're caught in a town controlled by raging lunatics.

People are being killed like flies.

You have no power with which to fight the bad guy... what do you do?

A) Try to leave the town as soon as possible

B) Make up another crazy plan that will probably end up with another person being killed..

Yes, Kami went with option B, which is only natural, because the story takes place in Sorry in The Vale.

BUT, I really think that the option A should at least have been mentioned as a possibility: maybe they were magically locked  in there. Fine. But at some point people, logical, sensible people, like I don't know... Rusty? Should have mentioned it... and at least tried to do something about it.

The statue scene... I found it too..."Disneylike" especially after what had happened with you know who...

There where characters who were brought into the story apparently for only sacrificial purposes...

Kids were being constantly kidnapped...

People kept crossing magical fires that no one should be able to cross...

Rescue attempts were done involving a great, great number of people: It was like seeing a bunch of tourists in a place where they shouldn't be.

Stealth, people!

The last part of the story, and all that happens _and not only that "specific killing" _ didn't work out for me.

The battle was... meh...

The relationship between Angela and Holly that was placed on hold for what felt like forever... and then dealt in a time and place in which most readers probably didn't care about anything else at all.

And the last pages were really too lame to talk about.

A sad, and bloodthirsty story... yes.

Creepy and romantic, not really. Unless you're considering the definition of new adult's romance.

Best characters in the book?

Jon, Lillian ( I KNOW!!) ...and Rusty.

Author's Official Site

Buy (o_O) Unmade:

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