Aranya by Marc Secchia

Aranya by Marc Secchia(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Chained to a rock and tossed off a cliff by her boyfriend, Aranya is executed for high treason against the Sylakian Empire. Falling a league into the deadly Cloudlands is not a fate she ever envisaged. But what if she did not die? What if she could spread her wings and fly?

Long ago, Dragons ruled the Island-World above the Cloudlands. But their Human slaves cast off the chains of Dragonish tyranny. Humans spread across the Islands in their flying Dragonships, colonising, building and warring. Now, the all-conquering Sylakians have defeated the last bastion of freedom–the Island-Kingdom of Immadia.

Evil has a new enemy. Aranya, Princess of Immadia. Dragon Shapeshifter.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]

As with a lot of books I seem to read, I was a little skeptical about this one from the blurb.  It had the potential to be either a totally awesome book or really suck.  Good thing for me it was the former and not the latter, right?

I am just blown away by Aranya.  The plot, the world-building, Marc Secchia’s incomparable writing and the vivid characters all come together to make this book one of the best I’ve read in quite literally years.  Considering the fact that I read around 200 books per year, that’s no small feat either.  Sometimes books take the words quite literally out of my mouth and this is one of those instances (which is why I had to write this review hours after finishing the book, just to process it).

I’ll start off with the world-building, which was fabulous.  Here we have a complex geo-political situation within an epic fantasy world!  There are various alliances and rivalries and each little island on this world has its own distinct culture and history.  Its ruling families are all different, as are their customs and languages.  At the same time, for those of you worrying that this just becomes a political thriller, don’t worry.  Marc Secchia walks the fine line between political thriller and awesome world that has complicated politics (but ones that are not the main focus of the story).  So while his world is excellently built, we never get the backstory dump that sometimes happens in similar works.

And the dragons?  Wow.  I like that despite the impossibility of somehow having more matter when you shapeshift from human to dragon, the overall concept is very well thought out.  There are limitations for people like Aranya in both forms and her dragon form is far from invincible like it is in so many other stories.  She actually has to work at developing her powers, with the help of an incurable old letch, Nak.  And her limitations as a new dragon do significantly hinder her as she goes about her journey to save Immadia and her friends/family.  It’s very well done in my opinion.

As I said, Marc Secchia’s writing is incomparable.  He can not only describe action sequences with the ease of a writer with 50+ years of experience, but can also slow down and write heartbreakingly tender moments.  At the same time, the plot never really slows down.  There’s always something going on, a hint of background tension that forces you to keep reading in order to find out what happens next.  I was sucked into the world of Aranya, feeling everything from the humidity in the jungles of the Pygmy and the cool volcanic climate where Aranya gets kidnapped inadvertently.

Last but certainly not least are the characters.  Aranya and Zip are certainly some of the more memorable characters I’ve ever read about and they defy gender stereotypes left, right and centre.  How many female characters have a serious duel nearly to the death and then become the best of friends?  Not as many as male characters, I can tell you that much.  Both of them are well-rounded and three dimensional characters, but Aranya will always hold a special place in my heart.  She’s willing to leave her family and Immadia behind in order to secure the future of her country, even if it means living in obscure exile for the rest of her natural life.  And she does it with minimal whining as well, accepting her duty to her country.  Does that mean she’ll go down without a fight?  Certainly not!  But she also doesn’t spend all her time pining after every attractive guy who crosses her path and whining about how awful her lot in life is.  It’s quite a novel concept after the many, many YA novels I’ve read with similar concepts that were far less well carried out.

I just can’t recommend Aranya enough.  Even if you’re not big into epic fantasy, I think you can still enjoy this book.  Not only are the characters some of the most memorable I’ve ever encountered, the plot was amazing and Marc Secchia’s writing is always superb.  I just don’t have anything to say but this: buy the book already!

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads

Sempre Libera

For those of you who are new to the blog, today is my birthday.  Normally that wouldn’t be relevant except for the fact that every year on my birthday I write an off-topic essay on things that I’m passionate about.  Here’s a little sampler:

2012: Bullying: An Issue Near and Dear to my Heart

2013: I am More Than Just a Chronic Pain Statistic

So if today you don’t want to read an off-topic post, just proceed to my review of Aranya by Marc Secchia.  If you do, stay tuned because I’m going to talk about change, small town hatred and what it’s like to taste freedom.

Continue reading →

Discussion: Keeping Things Fresh

My three year blog anniversary is just a couple of months off and over my nearly three years of blogging I’ve noticed something: sometimes it feels like your blog is going stale.  Your writing isn’t as good as it seemed to be before, you’re doing the same features over and over again, etc.  You really do lose your motivation and doubt yourself every once in a while; I think every blogger experiences that.

What’s different is how everyone deals with that funk and how they keep their blog fresh.  When I get in a funk, sometimes I’ll just take a day off from writing altogether (usually a Sunday).  Or, I’ll start researching for an article I want to write instead of my usual four reviews in a week.  That’s actually what I’m doing right now since I was just in a funk: I’m researching for an article about how history seems to be at odds with so many dystopias.

My question for you guys is this: How do you keep your blog fresh when you feel it’s getting stale?  What’s the best way that works for you to get out of a writing rut?  And how do you personally stay motivated to keep going?

Book Blast: Guitar Face by Sasha Marshall

 

 

Will the pressures of the rich and famous be too much for her?
 
Publication Date: June 25, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance (18+)

Henley Hendrix has been a guitar prodigy since the age of 12, and has grown up in rock-n-roll her entire life. By the age of 22 she was the Queen of rock-n-roll, and lead singer/guitarist in her band Abandoned Shadow. Women wanted to be her, and men simply wanted her. Tragedy strikes and she walks away from music for four years. She spends four years attempting to pick up the pieces of her life, then she is slowly pulled back to the only things she has ever loved, music and Jagger Carlyle.Jagger is People’s Sexiest Man Alive, and rock’s biggest bad boy, and every woman wants to bed him, while every man wants to be him. Jagger presses her to tour with his and her brother’s band, Broken Access, and sparks fly. Her eyes are opened back up to music, and to the boy she fell in love with in the sixth grade.

The journey is marked by Henley’s fears of her past, and how to proceed with her music career. She is surrounded by comic relief, and most of all love, but will the pressures of the rich and famous be too much after her sabbatical? Will the cameras and the women be too much for her?

If you are looking for a story of redemption with comic relief and a heavy sexual mind, you’ve found it. If you are offended by hot, tattooed rock stars who are vulgar then this is not the book for you. Please be warned, this book is not for anyone below the age of 18. The book contains sex, death, violence, and harsh language.

 

 

 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

 

I am a Georgia native, who loves bad boys, tattoos, rock-n-roll, and sexy books. I toured during the 2009 reunion tour with The Allman Brothers as their photographer. I had the time of my life, and through those experiences, I gained an insight into the world of the rich and famous.


The “Guitar Face” story has lived in my crazy mind for many years. I did nothing but eat, sleep, and write “Guitar Face” for a solid week in April, 2014. I laughed and cried with each of these characters,  and immensely enjoy reading this story the many times I have. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I did writing it.


I love music, dogs, children, family, friends, and tattoos. I combined all of these into this story, & what better way to incorporate some of my favorite things than gorgeous, tatted rock stars.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads | Pinterest | Medium

Charming by Krystal Wade

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.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads