Deconstructing Infatuation Review

Rating: 3/5

 

Title: Deconstructing Infatuation

 

Author: Merce Cardus

 

Page Count (ebook): 74

 

Official Description

Sometimes, whether you're single or with a significant one,

somebody appears in your life unexpectedly.

We feel the need to know who this person is,

the need to know exactly who this person is.

A story may offer different interpretations, even with several irreconcilable and contradictory meanings. As in Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta's story in Dante's Divine Comedy, this story is not about unfaithfulness either. This story is about infatuation: what burns inside of oneself when we let ourselves fall madly for someone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Thoughts

    The way in which Merce Cardus approached infatuation and its role in relationships was uniquely interesting. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of infatuation and its effect on the infatuated person. I would have appreciated far more description of the characters, I believe that deeper development of the characters would have certainly made the main character's emotions more understandable and easier to grasp. One thing which confused me deeply was the sudden change in perspectives. The entire novel is written in third person and then suddenly in the last the chapter the main character begins speaking from first person. I understand that this was used to enhance the reader's understanding of what had taken place in the story but it personally threw me off. Overall, I think that this story offers a unique look at infatuation and is certainly worth a read.

Buy Links

Amazon

 

What do you look for in a review?

        Todat I'm participating in a blog hop organized by Reading Romances. The question the bloggers participating in this blog hop were asked was:

What do you look for in a review?

      As a blogger who reviews quite a few books a month I think this is a very poignant question. When I write a review for this blog, or read a review form on eof the many book blogs I follow I think the key feature is honesty. I never ever write a dishonest review or accept money to post a good review, not only is this bad taste in my opinion but it ruins your reputation as a book blogger. Who wants to read a book review that's biased, because money was offered as an incentive?! You read a review to find out what other people thought of the book and if you should buy it, and when someone writes a dishonest review for money you'll never really know if the book was actually good or not.

      In addition to honesty, I want to know why the reviewer thought what they did and inturn I try to explain my ratings in my own reviews. Now, this does not mean I look for the exact sentence Why I rated this book..... if everyone wrote that, I think book blogs would be extremely boring. However, I think its important to mention the reasoning behind a rating, for example, was it a low rating because of typos? you didn't like the genre? the writing style wasn't your personal favourite? When an explanation is provided in a review it gives the review a level of credibility because their thoughts are supported with some sort of evidence.

 

     So now I'm asking you; what do you look for in a review?

A Heart Without Words Review

Rating: 4/5

Title: A Heart Without Words

Author: David F. McDonald

Page Count (ebook): 48

Page Count (print): 96

Official Amazon Description

This is the first of two books which deal with the one thing the Military can’t train, THE HEART, and the emotions a Soldier may encounter.This poetry deals with the emotions Soldiers and their loved ones must deal with in a myriad of situations.

This poetry is much softer in nature to my previous work and is, I hope, easier on the reader for that.

My Thoughts

      I have to say this is definitley one of the better collections of poetry I have read. First of all, at 96 pages in print it is a good length for a collection of poetry. Though it may seem insignificant, the page count in poetry collections is very important, if there are too few poems then the reader never truly discovers the author's writing style and if there are too many poems the reader can get bored. Trust me, I've read published poetry collections 6 pages in length, hardly a sufficient length for a poetry collection. So what I'm saying here is right from the start A Heart Without Words was on top of its game.

      Despite the occasional typo, which didn't bother me but may bother some readers, the poetry within the pages of this book is very good. I found it a very unique read as many of the poems were written in the form of dialogue, something that I haven't seen very often in poetry. The verse itself is mainly written in terms of rhyme, there was very little free verse included in this collection. The majority of the poems seemed to focus upon the various ways soldiers die and their thoughts during death. These morbid poems were if profoundly sad, beautifully written. I would recommend this collection of poetry to all those who are prepared to contemplate the final thoughts of dieing men and women.

   If you are interested in reading a sample of the poetry included in this book, I featured one of McDonald's poems titled A Soul during my Highlight Poetry segment, you can check that out here.

Buy Links:

Amazon (kindle)

 

Train Station Bride Review

Rating: 4/5

Title: Train Station Bride

Author: Holly Bush

Page Count (ebook): 147

Official Description

      1887 Debutante, Julia Crawford endures a lifetime of subtle ridicule as the plump, silly daughter of a premiere Bostonfamily. Julia strikes out on her own to gain independence, traveling to theMidwest to marry an aging shopkeeper and care for his mother. Julia finds hernew home rough and uncivilized after the sophistication of a big city, while closely held secrets threaten to ruin Julia’s one chance at love.

    Jake Shelling was sixteen and grew up quick when his parents died from influenza on the North Dakota prairie. Left with a half-cleared farm and two young sisters, he spent little time on his own needs... till now. At thirty-five, he figured it was high time to have some sons and a mail order bride would suit him just fine. Noexpectations of love, just a helpmate from sturdy stock, ready for farmlife.Will fate and chance play a trick on Julia and Jake?

My Thoughts

     From the girlish Julia Crawford, unconfident and unsure of herself to the handsome and obstinate Jake Shelling, Train Station Bride is in every sense, a romance novel. The plot is split between the perspectives of Julia and Jake as they both embark on a journey to meet their 'mail-order' spouses and is filled with the playfulness of true love mixed with the sharper truths of being female in a strict society. Unlike some straight forward romances, Train Station Bride is filled with a slew of twists which I whole heartedly commend; I just love an unpredictable story! The artful way Bush wove the twists into the novel, added dimension to both the romance and the subplots within the book, creating wonderfully suspenseful scenes. Aside from the fact that I thought some of the love scenes could have been a bit more...steamy and polished, the romance between Julia and Jake was nevertheless well written and 100% believable.

I'm interviewing Holly Bush tomorrow so be sure to check back then!

Links:

Amazon

Author's Page

The Sound and The Echoes Review

Rating: 3/5

Title: The Sound & The Echoes

Author: Dew Pellucid

Page Count (ebook): 279

Official Amazon Description

The Sound and the Echoes is a high-concept, fantasy adventure for young adults, with 27 magical illustrations.

Imagine that everyone around you has a mirror image living somewhere else. Your world is like a sound, which produced that other world of echoes. And in this land men are governed by a terrible law—no Echo is allowed to live after his Sound dies.

One Sound especially must die. The Prince’s Sound. The Fate Sealers and Fortune Tellers will make sure of that! Because after this Sound dies, the Echo Prince will have to die too.

Now, twelve-year-old Will Cleary is about to discover that he is the Sound the Echoes are hunting. And so begins his perilous adventure into a see-through, sparkling world, filled with spying crystal balls, an eerie fortress of castaway children, a hunt for clues in an ancient book of riddles, and a last-chance escape through a frozen gem-studded lake into a secret land that holds the key to placing the Prince on the throne and returning freedom to the Echoes.

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My Thoughts

      Though the description of The Sound & The Echoes states that this is a Young Adult novel, at several points in the book I found myself wondering exactly how it could be defined as belonging to the YA genre. Most of the YA novels I have read feature characters between the ages of 15-19 who are teenagers in every sense of the word. However, The Sound & The Echoes' main character was twelve years old for the majority of the book and it seemed to be written for an audience of the same age, which left me feeling more than a bit confused as to how this could be classified as a YA book.

        I did enjoy the story, it was extremely creative and unique, something I appreciate in a literary world where there are far too many cookie cutter books around. And at points, I even felt like I was reading some alterior version of the Harry Potter series, with the main character being a male twelve years in age who arrives at an orphanage of sorts with a Dumbledore-esque headmaster and proceeds to become aquaintances with an equally outcast boy and girl.

    I think this is an excellent book for a younger age range, simply because it seems to revolve around the sort of interests a younger audience would appreciate; I believe my twelve year old self would have loved this book. Overall, I found that The Sound & The Echoes was a good read, with an excellent plot line, though I would say it belongs more to an age range of 9-13 than the typical YA genre.

     In your opinion what makes a novel, a YA book?

Book Links:

Amazon

Book site

Interview with Kea Noli Author of Pearl Lover

      Today I am fortunate to be able to welcome Kea Noli, the author of Pearl Lover to my blog for an interview.

LL: Me (Lace & Lavender)

Kea: Kea Noli (Author of Pearl Lover)

Kea Noli

The Interview

LL: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Kea: Sarah, I am Australian by birth but American by choice.  Pearl Lover reveals a lot about me.

LL:Why did you decide to become a writer?

Kea: When I was a designer in the building industry, I was frustrated because of the bureaucracy, permits, licenses, and inspections. I quit my job, and said: “to hell with all that” and I started writing.

LL:How long did it take you to write Pearl Lover?

Kea: Seven months, after about 4 years of shredding manuscripts.

LL:What was your main inspiration to write Pearl Lover?

Kea: To challenge the status quo on the traditional ideas of jealousy.

I’d had enough of romances with hysterical females venting negative emotions. 

Another inspiration—the famous Rudolph Nureyev and the Ballets Russes inspired me.  Kolya Kosov is modeled after Nureyev.  The Ballets Russes (Ballets Russia) was a 20^th Century Company.  Most of the ballets produced in the west can be traced back to the Company’s influence.  Pearl Lover is a contemporary story with the rebirth of Ballets Russes (images of some dancers on the wall behind me).

LL:If you could sum Nixie Veidt into one word, what would it be?  

Kea: Imp

LL:What is your all-time favourite book and why?

Kea: Atlas Shrugged.  Because after I discovered it, I ran away from home.

LL:What were your main challenges when writing Pearl Lover?

Kea: To be dramatic in all scenes. 

LL:What is your advice to new authors and aspiring writers?

Kea: If you do not know the answer to a problem, look beyond yourself.  Do not think that there is something wrong with you, just because you cannot work it out.  Find the answer.  I found that comment in Fiction Writing by Ayn Rand. 

LL:What do you do in your spare-time when you’re not writing?

Kea:  Seriously, I have been writing for about 5 years, living frugally, on breadcrumbs, so to speak, but I have one purpose—to succeed as a writer—that means to write

LL:Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans and readers?

Kea:I enjoy emails from my readers.   

Read Kea Noli's Pearl Lover for yourself:











Pearl Lover (Amazon Kindle)
Goodreads

To read my review of Pearl Lover Click Here

This Dark Endeavour

Rating: 5/5

Title: This Dark Endeavor

Series: Book One of The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein

Author: Kenneth Oppel

Page Count (paperback): 298

Official Amazon Description

   
     Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother, Konrad, and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one.

     The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life.

     The elixir needs only three ingredients. But impossible odds, dangerous alchemy and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.

      Victor knows he must not fail. Yet his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science and love?and how much he is willing to sacrifice.

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My Thoughts

      This Dark Endeavor is a work of literary art. From the cover, to the plot, to the characters; Oppel was spot on! One of a book's most important assets is its cover, and in this case, This Dark Endeavor certainly has bragging rights! Between the handsome character sketch of Victor on the front, to the haunting buildings eclipsed by unsettle clouds and the blurred edges; I do believe I was completely enthralled with this book before I even read the first page. Having read Kenneth Oppel's previous series; Silver Wing, as a child, I was already familiar with the depth of Oppel's writing and This Dark Endeavor was no exception. Written in the first person perspective of Victor Frankenstein, This Dark Endeavor is truly captivating, allowing you to witness the story first hand through Victor's rebellious mind. There was never a single moment while reading the novel in which I felt bored of the story, with brilliant cliffhangers at the end of chapters and an excellently paced plot (not to fast and not to slow), which was filled with completely unexpected twists ensured that I couldn't stop turning the pages. If you're in search of a wickedly good, well-written YA book with a hint of romance, I urge you to pick up This Dark Endeavor; you won't regret it!

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Döckálfar

Rating: 3/5

Title: Döckálfar

Series: Book Three of Nordic Fairies

Author: Saga Berg

Page Count (ebook): 53

Official Goodreads Description

     The third part of Nordic Fairies, Döckálfar, continues where the second part, Freja, left off. Alrik comes to visit Svala and warns her about the dangerous path Viggo is on, infiltrating himself with the Döckálfar. We learn what happened to Viggo during World War II and get more information about his relationship with Amanda Jones. Viggo also contacts Svala with some unexpected news and insist they meet up. Svala then receives some more unexpected information about Amanda and Viggo, leaving her unsure about who she can trust.

My Thoughts

    I think perhaps that my opinion and rating of Döckálfar would have been higher had Freja and Döckálfar both been one book. I think that the main problem with Döckálfar was that, if it was torn apart from the series, the reader would be entirely lost. Though all books in a series will inevitably have very close ties between them and they usually make far more sense when read together, they also need to be able to stand on their own because whether they are novella or novel length each book in a series is just that, its own story.

     Though I don't think Döckálfar is capable of being a stand alone novella as it reads more like the next chapter of Freja it was nevertheless, a good read. When you pick up Döckálfar expect a well-written novella that goes much deeper into Viggo's past, even switching to his perspective at times (rather than continuing from Svala's perspective which is more prominent in the first two novellas). Being a huge stickler for character development, something which I never seem to stop talking about, I tuly appreciated how Berg placed a lot of emphasis on Viggo in this novella. Overall, I
think Döckálfar is definitley worth a read, though to fully appreciate it you really have to read the first two novellas in the series first.

Click Below to Read it Yourself

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My Previous Reviews of This Series

 

 Nordic Fairies (the first novella) 

Freja (the second novella)


 

Pearl Lover- A Peek at the Cover

Author: Kea Noli

A Comment on The Cover

    Recently I received a request to review Pearl Lover by Kea Noli, I have to confess I haven't started it just yet but with a cover like this I can hardly wait! I always find it so refreshing when I self-published book has a good cover. There are just too many good, self-published books out there with horrendous covers that don't get nearly enough attention because the cover isn't enticing. Just looking at this cover and her mysterious eyes, I feel like I want to know more about her, who is she? what is she thinking?

    I know your not supposed to judge a book by its cover but for some reason everybody does anyways. So I'm curious, what do you think makes a good cover?

If this cover makes you want to read the book as much as me click on the link below; Pearl Lover is going to be free this weekend on Amazon!

Amazon

Highlight Poetry (#1)

 

A Bit of an Introduction to Highlight Poetry

     For a little while now I've been itching to start a meme but everytime I set about thinking up a theme or a name for it, I'd inevitably end up with an idea that somebody else had already come up with. Eventually I decided that I wanted to focus on something that is important to me and not recognized nearly enough; poetry. And bingo! Highlight Poetry crossed my mind as a good self-explanatory name for a meme that focused on highlighting (acknowledging) poetry. So when I searched "Highligh Poetry" in both the regular google search engine and google's blog search engine and could not find any results for a meme name "Highlight Poetry" I knew I had found the name for my meme!

The First Poem of Highlight Poetry

Embarking at Night

F. Scott Fitzgerald

1920

"We leave to-night...

  Silent, we filled the still, deserted street,

    A column of dim gray,

  And ghosts rose startled at the muffled beat

    Along the moonless way;

  The shadowy shipyards echoed to the feet

    That turned from night and day.

  And so we linger on the windless decks,

    See on the spectre shore

  Shades of a thousand days, poor gray-ribbed wrecks...

    Oh, shall we then deplore

  Those futile years!

              See how the sea is white!

  The clouds have broken and the heavens burn

    To hollow highways, paved with gravelled light

  The churning of the waves about the stern

    Rises to one voluminous nocturne,

                  ...We leave to-night."

 

A Brief Commentary Providing a Bit of Context

    I discovered this poem a couple of days ago while reading  F. Scott Fitgerald's This Side of Paradise. For those of you who are not familiar with Fitzgerald's works, This Side of Paradise is a ficitonal novel about a rather egotistical young man named Amory. Though the novel itself is not a book of poetry, through the character Amory, Fitzgerald writes several poems of which Embarking at Night was one . At the point in the novel when this poem is included, Amory is heading off to fight in the first world war and is presumably writing the poem about his emotions while he waits to embark in the night on the journey of a soldier.

    I absolutley love this poem, I think it is beautifully written, providing haunting imagery of a soldier's restless wait before he heads off to war. Through this poem Fitzgerald allows the reader to feel as if they themselves are mourning the futile years ahead and the "poor gray-ribbed wrecks" that will fall during the war. I felt as if I was truly transported to another time, while reading this poem, like I could hear the waves breaking upon far off shores and the feel the soldier's fear as he prepared to embark.

What are your thoughts? What struck you most about Emarking at Night?

To learn more about how you can get involved in Highlight Poetry click here.

Freja

Rating: 4/5

Title: Freja

Series: Book Two of the Nordic Fairies

Author: Saga Berg

Page Count (ebook/novella): 43

Official Amazon Description

     Four months have passed since Svala met Viggo in New York, and she hasn’t heard from him since. When Viggo appears in a popular interview on TV, Svala and her friends gather in Svala’s and Trym’s living room to watch. Svala with the hope Viggo will give her a sign, and let her know how he is doing. He doesn’t. Instead, something happens during the interview that takes Svala completely off guard. On national television, she is reminded of a painful memory from their past.

     In the second part of Nordic Fairies, the public display of Viggo and Svala’s most painful secret from their past forces Svala to remember her past. Driven by guilt, Viggo breaks the rules and tries to contact her, but his attempt leaves Svala with more questions than answers.

     What is he up to? And what exactly is going on between Viggo and his co-star actress, Amanda Jones?

My Thoughts

     I had a few minor concerns about Berg being able to live up to the promising start that was the first nordic fairies novella. But after finishing Freja, the second installment in the series, all of my doubts were banished, and I am now hopelessly addicted to the series! In my opinion Freja was even better than the first novella in the series. Not only is the transition from the first novella to Freja seemless but the plot develops wonderfully. This novella goes into greater depth as to what it means to be a Nordic Fairy and places a larger emphasis on character development (a.k.a. you get to learn more about the intriguing romance between Viggo and Svala!!). In total Freja is a must read for any fans and sceptics of the first novella, and anyone who is looking for a way to break out of reading the vampire/werewolf young adult trend.

Click Below to Read it Yourself

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My Previous Reviews of this Series

Nordic Fairies (the first novella)

Nordic Fairies

Rating: 3/5

Title: Nordic Fairies

Series: Book One of Nordic Fairies

Author: Saga Berg

Page Count (ebook/novella): 43

 

Official Amazon Description

What would you do if your lover since a thousand years back in time reappeared after two years apart as a famous movie star, and you couldn't get to him?

Svala and Viggo have spent a hundred lives together over the last thousand years. As Liosálfar, Nordic light fairies, their job is to do good and to uphold a balance in the mortal world. A balance, often compromised by the Döckálfar, Nordic dark fairies.

In this life, Svala turns on her TV and learns that Viggo has become a popular movie star. This is not only highly unexpected, it indicates something is wrong and that Viggo is attempting to contact Svala before their assignments are carried out, an action which is strictly forbidden.

Svala seeks him out, but not without breaking a few rules of her own, and learning that things are not always as they seem.

My Thoughts

      I think the only truly appropriate way to describe saga Berg's first novella is, short and sweet. The first installment in the Nordic Fairies series of novellas is certainly intriguing. It gives you just enough of glimpse into what the rest of the series holds that you want to keep reading; it nearly drove me mad with curiosity when it ended just when I was getting into the story. The hint of romance between Viggo and Svala, as well as the original plot offered a taste of what I am hoping will develop to be a truly satisfying read. Overall I simply can't wait to see if Berg follows through after reading such a promising start!

Click Below to Read it Yourself!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Goodreads