Category: Action/Thriller
Charming by Krystal Wade
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and that’s great . . . as long as you don’t die.
Sixteen-year-old Haley Tremaine had it all: top-notch school, fantastic family, and a bright future, but all of that changed when an accident tore her family apart. Now, an alcoholic father, a bitter younger sister, and a cold headstone bearing her mother’s name are all she has left.
Chris Charming has it all: a powerful CEO for a father, a prestigious school, and a fortune at his fingertips, but none of that matters when he lands a reputation as a troublemaker. Struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps, he reaches out to the one person he believes truly sees him, the one person he wants: Haley.
Little do they know someone’s determined to bring the two together, even if it means murder.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
I’ve read all of Krystal Wade’s books since she debuted a few years ago, but I think Charming is pretty much my favourite out of them all.
Yes, it’s a Cinderella retelling, but it’s not like you’re thinking. There’s certainly a Prince Charming (named, of course, Chris Charming) but there’s far more depth to their relationship than in the original. Haley is a very put-upon Cinderella, what with her alcoholic father and her perfect sister who doesn’t see him for what he really is: an abuser who beats his own daughter because she looks like her dead mother. And there’s plenty of romance and even a ball, but it’s not so simple as that because not only is this a Cinderella retelling, it’s a mash-up of Saw as well. (So yes, it does get a little gory at the end.)
Haley was an awesome character for me. Her little sister hates her, thinking that Haley is always deliberately trying to annoy their dad and that she only thinks of herself. In truth, Haley is the one who takes her dad’s beatings and his verbal abuse so that Jocelyn herself doesn’t turn into a target. She pretends not to care at school, works late on school nights and then goes home to do several hours of chores caused by their alcoholic father’s natural messiness. It’s a pretty bad scenario but I was still pleasantly surprised that when Chris Charming turned his sights on Haley, she didn’t immediately fall head-over-heels for him. No, she didn’t even trust him to be a decent human being because that’s how bad her father’s abuse has shattered her trust. Their relationship takes a while to develop and it’s not all smooth, which is far more realistic considering both of their backgrounds.
For a book that’s largely character-driven in the beginning, Charming sure has a fast-paced plot. Just when you think things are winding down, we get a wildcard thrown into the mix and then Haley has to fight for the lives of her ungrateful family. The mysterious third man who wants to bring Haley and Chris together is around every corner watching, listening and waiting. He’s just the sort of character to bring a little zip back into the Cinderella story, so it sort of retains its original dark overtones.
To sum up, I just really loved Charming. After the sort of disappointment that was Shattered Secrets, I love to see that Krystal Wade is back to her classic style of writing (only improved!). This book is a great retelling of Cinderella and if you’re into very nontraditional retellings of your favourite fairytales, you’ll particularly enjoy it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Stolen Skye by Nina Loard
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
It’s been years since the car accident, but with every disappointment Evelyn finds herself wondering about her forgotten days in London. After being dismissed from her job, she unknowingly wanders past an old friend who reintroduces himself by breaking into her home. Armed with a photograph and a handful of gems, he convinces her that after dropping out of her study abroad program, she befriended a group of accomplished thieves. Drawn to the handsome stranger in her living room and seduced by the idea of finally knowing the truth, Evelyn travels to London to face her past and understand what could’ve caused her to make such uncharacteristic life choices.
As conflicting memories surface, Evelyn fights her attraction to the Irish rogue, Finn, while sparring with the intimidating group leader, Ari. There’s the added problem of forgetting where she’s stashed a small fortune. Realizing too late that darker forces are closing in on her, Evelyn fights to save herself and the lives of those she’s grown to care for.
I hate to admit it, but the only reason I even considered reading this book is that it was free on Amazon at the time. Normally something like this would scare me off because I’d think “Oh, just another action movie wannabe”. You could say that I’m a little judgmental with these things, but I still did go into Stolen Skye with an open mind. You never know, right? It might actually be good.
The truth is, it’s better than good. It’s great!
I know it sounds like Evelyn has Hollywood Amnesia and she sort of does, but at least Nina Loard justifies it as the rare fugue amnesia (where victims can get their past memories back and don’t lose the memory of how to do basic things like tie their shoes). The main reason why I didn’t throw this book at the wall despite the amnesia cliche is that it wasn’t actually a cliche in this book. Evelyn is significantly hindered by her lack of past memories and she knows it. Sometimes memories come back to her if she’s in a setting from that memory, but it’s not a great big rush just when the plot finds it convenient.
Evelyn was a great character, to be honest. She’s smart and determined when she has a goal, but at the same time she’s still a little unsure of herself. I know I would be too if I was in the place where I lost my memories with these people who knew my former self. The whole art theft ring wouldn’t help either. Ari and Finn are two very different men and no, it’s not a typical love triangle in this case. Evelyn naturally grows attracted to Finn, but then something happens to sort of spoil their relationship. I can’t say anything without giving away a major spoiler, but let’s just say that it both did and didn’t surprise me.
For a character-driven novel, Stolen Skye is quite fast-paced. Of course there’s Evelyn rediscovering her past, but then a lot of the plot consists of her re-training as a thief and helping to plan a theft at one of the most famous museums in the world. (This particular theft not being illegal as they were hired for a publicity stunt.) We also see Evelyn try to learn what led to her accident and subsequent amnesia. Trust me when I say that where there’s lots of money involved, there’s a lot of criminal activity and the people with said money become targets.
What really stood out for me in Nina Loard’s book were her vivid descriptions of the locations. I’ve never been to London (something I plan to remedy in the future) but through her writing I felt like I was right there along with Evelyn. Her descriptive style appeals to me and although it’s not typically what you’d see in an action thriller, it somehow works because she has a good sense of timing. Few authors can both describe the characters’ surroundings adequately and still have lots of action going on. It’s an important skill and Nina Loard certainly has it.
This was definitely one of the best books I’ve stumbled across, paid or free. I’m so glad that I gave it a chance and went into it with an open mind because I’ve found a great new series that I’m dying to read the next book of. So check out the Skye Trilogy, people! It’s hard not to love it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Aegis Rising by S. S. Segran
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Over a remote northern forest, a small plane carrying five teenage friends flies into a freak storm. Struck by lightning, the aircraft crashes and the passengers find themselves cast into a life-changing adventure.
In a hidden valley, a mysterious people gaze at the stormy sky as a glowing object with fiery wings disappears behind a mountain ridge. The astonishing sight reignites an ancient prophecy foretelling the arrival of five chosen ones destined to become bearers of light against a dark storm gathering on humanity’s horizon.
In a distant city, a secretive organization led by a shadowy figure initiates a sequence of cataclysmic events designed to wreak havoc across the planet, beginning with a remote mining site in a northern Canada.
As the three worlds collide, unlikely heroes arise. Armed with powers entrusted to them by the ancient prophecy and the resilience of their life-long bond, the five teens take a stand against a malevolent foe.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
One word I would use to describe Aegis Rising is ‘solid’. Not ‘great’ or ‘amazing’, but solid. Why? Simply because it was a solid novel: good characters, a decent enough plot and fairly good world-building. However, it never had that wow factor.
As I said, the characters were okay. The five teenagers who crash in the plane are named Aari, Jag, Kody, Mariah and Tegan and they react about as well as you’d expect to suddenly being surrounded by a strange culture in the middle of nowhere. Especially since Kody doesn’t know where his dad (who was flying the plane) is. Still, they at least realize that they can’t do a thing about their situation until they’ve got their strength back up so they hunker down and make the best of things. My only real problem with the teens is that they’re just a little too perfect. They never whine, complain or angst at any point (even when an adult would be) and they’re all described as drop dead gorgeous. I like to have teen characters that don’t constantly angst, don’t get me wrong here, but you have to be just a little more realistic.
The plot was decent enough. It sort of combines elements that both fantasy and science fiction fans will be familiar with. There’s a prophecy set to come about and the teens must train to use their powers in order to save the world. Only, the water supply of the valley is being poisoned and they must stop the Big Bad from doing that. I think you can guess who the Big Bad is, especially if you watched Avatar or Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest. There’s a little bit more depth to it than that, but I really would have liked for some plot twists toward the end instead of having Segran play the tropes straight.
The world-building was actually pretty good, but as I’ve said it never crossed into amazing territory. At first it seems ridiculous that people in the valley have stayed hidden for so long, but the explanations provided by Segran are reasonable enough. They build their huts for camouflage up in the Canadian wilderness, they have the Guardians protecting them (who are enormous bear-spirits) and they truly are self-sufficient. Heck, they even have their resident scientist to think up new innovations to make life in the Dema-ki quite modern. The magical powers portion of Aegis Rising is pretty typical, with no magical powers you probably haven’t seen in fantasy before. However, it was reasonably well done and I wasn’t left asking “What’s going on here?” by the end of the novel.
All of these elements (characters, plot and world-building) are good enough, but they never really crossed into ‘amazing’ territory for me. Segran’s writing was a little too simplistic for that, to be honest. I would have appreciated more in-depth descriptions of the beautiful world around them as well as how they practiced their powers, rather than their banal conversations with each other. Still, I honestly can’t think of anything that went ‘wrong’ with this novel so it is a solid book. Not good, but pretty solid for me. I think that most people out there would call it ‘good’ or ‘enjoyable’ but my problem is that I’ve read too many novels similar to this. If you haven’t, then I can’t recommend Aegis Rising enough.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Atlas by Becca C. Smith
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Kala Hicks is part of a covert elite military team that answers directly to the President of the United States. But during an emergency mission aboard Air Force One, Kala is shocked to discover that the real threat is none other than the President himself. Defying her commanding officer, Jack Norbin, Kala takes the shot, and her life changes forever.
The moment the President is killed, a supernatural force speaks to Kala, telling her that she has to commit one act of atrocity every four days… or the world will end. Thrown into a reality she never could have imagined, Kala faces off with creatures of legend; from demons determined to make her fail and plunge the Earth into chaos, to angels who don’t trust her to do the job and are willing to kill her to claim it for themselves.
Pitted against the forces of good and evil, Kala must choose whether to save the world by doing the unthinkable, or sit back and let it burn. And four days later, she’ll have to do it again.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback copy in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
I’ll admit that with this one I was a little skeptical once I actually read the blurb. To be honest, it sounded a little dumb and I thought that I’d accidentally signed up to read a total lemon. Thankfully, that was far from the case. This one is a diamond in the rough, so to speak.
The real strength of Smith’s writing is the fact that she can pace things so well. I felt the tension ratchet up right from the beginning until it was at almost unbearable levels during the climax. There were twists and turns in the plot, with plenty of “didn’t see that coming moments”. I didn’t even see the end coming when Kala did something so unexpected that she shocked angels, demons and those in-betweeners that are desperate to keep up the balance of the world through an Atlas. Some are determined to stop her and others are still more determined that she should succeed, so in the end who will win? You just really don’t know.
Kala is a good character and she is quite memorable. Having grown up largely in foster care until her teen years, she understandably has some trust issues, particularly in her relationships. Her backstory is fascinating but just when you think you know everything about her, we learn something very interesting about her foster parents and who/what they really are. What I really liked was her determination in the beginning to find a way out of becoming the next Atlas. She doesn’t want to commit the atrocity that’s been assigned to her, but she doesn’t want literally billions of people to die. It’s a fascinating inner struggle, believe me.
I really appreciated Becca Smith’s world-building. She clearly knows a lot about Greek mythology (which you would expect) but she goes deeper into Christian theology in order to create some of her other creatures like the Grigori and Malaks. I would have liked a little more time devoted to the creation and working of magic, but then that would have slowed down the plot and thrown the pacing off. We still have good working knowledge of the whole different world Becca Smith created, but it’s more of a personal preference for me that I would have liked a little more.
All in all, this is actually a pretty good book and I’m glad that I went into it with an open mind, rather than judging it entirely on the blurb.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Point by G. Nykanen
(Cover picture courtesy of e-bookbuilders.)
Befuddled by her current relationship woes, Nora Reynolds leaves college at semester’s end to drive north of nowhere to her hometown of Iron Bay. Vulnerable and on the rebound, she is the perfect prey for fledgling felon Dane Buchman. Dane takes advantage of the unaware young woman, feeding his appetite for mischief until a rather violent shift in their relationship reveals to him what he’s really been craving. Driven by his new found hunger, Dane feels unstoppable, until former high school rival and town deputy, Doug Sanders, navigates the trail of Dane’s destruction.
The Point is a dark thriller that will allow you to witness a truly dangerous sociopath wander through madness guided by a treasured family heirloom, and a pensive young woman find her way after discovering, that which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. With echoes of the Coen brothers’ Fargo, the folksy town of Iron Bay and the nearby north-woods community of Deer Lake are the destinations for Mr. Buchman’s many misdeeds.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
When the blurb says that The Point is a dark thriller, it’s not kidding. It is quite dark and it is quite a thriller, particularly from a psychological standpoint so I’ll talk about that first.
The plot is really the main focus of the novel whereas the characters are sort of secondary. They’re well developed, but secondary to the plot. The plot itself is far from unique, however; it follows pretty much your typical psychopath on the loose scenario and brings it to its logical conclusion as Dane’s mind deteriorates further. You’ll be able to guess how it ends like I did but at the same time, Nykanen’s writing will absolutely grip you and you won’t be able to put The Point down. So what this book lacks in originality it sure makes up for in thrills.
The characters were nothing special, but they were all quite well-developed. Dane is your typical psychopath: has mother issues, no empathy for anyone, a sexual deviant. Pretty much your textbook case, especially as the thrills of raping women wear thing and he desires other, darker things. Nora is an interesting but sad character, I must admit. She’s left in doubt at her relationship status when summer begins and it’s her lack of self-confidence that leads her into the charming Dane’s grasp.
Nora changes more than any other character over the course of the story but I can’t really tell you what changed her because that would be giving away some major spoilers. In essence, things happen to her both good and bad (mostly bad) and she reacts in a realistic, believable and sympathetic way. Nykanen is good at this sort of character development so being in Nora’s head for most of the story is pretty good. The funny thing is that of all the characters, I hated Jake the most because his uncertainty and unwillingness to tell Nora what he was about to do is partly responsible for everything that happened to her. Of course Dane bears full responsibility for his actions, but Jake drove Nora away into the arms of that psychopath.
As you can guess, there are some pretty heavy themes of guilt and betrayal. They give The Point that truly emotional quality that makes you really connect with both the characters and the circumstances they fall into. Other than the pretty cliche plot I rather enjoyed The Point and if you’re into thrillers I’d definitely recommend it.
I give this book 4/5 stars.