Hyacinth by Abigail Owen

Hyacinth by Abigail Owen(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Book #2 of the Svatura Series

Selene sacrificed everything when she took her brother’s place as ruler of the Vyusher, including her secret love for her one-time adversary Griffin Aubrey. When nightmares that are just a little too real start, Selene fears she’s turned into a cold-blooded killer…the monster that Griffin thinks she is.

Griffin and Ellie Aubrey are finally safe for the first time in over a hundred years. But when an unknown menace drives Selene to leave her family and ask for help, Griffin must decide. Can he move past his hatred of everything she is? Or will the bond that could bring them both the greatest joy now be the source of their deepest despair?

The threat of the danger stalking Selene in her dreams might be too much even for this powerful group. And Griffin doesn’t want to easily forgive the woman he blames for killing his family…

[Full disclosure: I was provided a free ebook copy of this a couple of months during the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]

Ellie, the main character of the previous novel only barely features in this one.  Although I really did like her, that was fine by me as I got to see way more of Griffin and a whole bunch of Selene.  Both of them are fascinating characters in their own right but I’ll talk about Selene first.

She was enslaved by her brother for 150 years, which is long even for a Svatura.  More accurately, she had to do what he told her because of his mind control but unlike the rest of the Vyusher tribe she was fully aware of all of the horrible things Gideon had her do.  That really just makes it more awful when you think about it.  So now Gideon is dead and Selene is having a hard time accepting her role as Queen.  Not only that, now she has to cope with the crushing amount of guilt from 150 years of hunting other Svatura.

What I find interesting with the way she copes is that she really doesn’t magically get over everything on her own; for that, she needs more than a little bit of help from the original Svatura group of the first book.  One has the power to help heal emotions but even with Ellie’s help in amplifying it Selene will never be totally healed.  This is way more realistic than having her completely healed in time for the final showdown.  At the same time, even though I wanted to smack Griffin for being indecisive, I do believe it was far more realistic than him loving Selene despite all of their history together.  By the end of the novel you’re really in doubt as to whether these two are sure they love each other but I promise you that the ending is a satisfying one.

Just like with the previous book, the plot of Hyacinth is more character-driven than plot-driven.  The characters cause many of the events that happen in the end of the novel but this book is far from slow-paced.  Abigail Owen managed to balance character development with plot development and I really appreciated that balance.  It makes for a much more enjoyable, interesting read.  There weren’t really any truly enormous surprise twists for the plot but I did enjoy Hyacinth all the same.

Abigail Owen is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, as you can probably tell by this review.  I can’t wait to read the third book in the Svatura series!  In the meantime, I’d highly recommend it to pretty much all readers who like a little fantasy in their everyday life.  You really can’t go wrong with the Svatura series.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Introducing Tyrion

DSCN1757[1]Some of you may remember a little more than a month ago when I introduced this little guy as New Kitty and wasn’t quite sure of his gender yet.  Well, I’m absolutely certain it’s a boy and I’ve got a much better feel for his personality.  Therefore, he is now known as Tyrion and I’m taking him home with me on Friday.

Part of the fact I named him Tyrion is because I’m just a huge Game of Thrones fan and Tyrion is one of my favourite characters.  The other part was this little guy’s personality.  Although he wasn’t when I named him, now he’s the smallest of his litter of six and he’s pretty much always picked on by the dominant one I’ve nicknamed Cow (he’s white with black spots much like a cow).  Still, he always has lots to say and lately he’s been perfecting his strategy to attack Cow.  Rather than facing him directly he loves dropping in on him from a bit of a height where he has an advantage.  So, you could say that ‘Tyrion’ is the perfect name for my new cat.

Since today was a really, really awful, terribly sad day for both myself and my community, here are some bonus kitten pictures.  Cats are generally less terrible than human beings, after all:

DSCN1741[1]The entire litter in their sleeping spot.

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Book Blast: 3 NA Releases by Renee Novelle

 

Three Books, One Author.
 
Publication Date: June 6, 2014
Genre: New Adult Romances

Amazon: Crushed  |  Dance With Me  |  Latitudes

B&N: Crushed  |  Dance With Me  |  Latitudes

iTunes: Crushed  |  Dance With Me  |  Latitudes  

Formerly a freelance journalist, Novelle has found placement of her pieces in both online and print publications since 2008. Additionally, she has written multiple screenplays, and contributed her writing to many non-profit and for profit organizations. She has launched several blogs over the years, which garnered international attention.
In 2013, Novelle returned to her first love – fiction. Writing under the names Renee Novelle and R.S. Novelle, she has a publication schedule that includes Psychological Thrillers, Suspense, Paranormal Fiction, Contemporary Women’s fiction, Chick Lit, and New Adult.






Though she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Communication, summa cum laude, she considers herself a constant student of the written word. She’s an avid reader, an enthusiastic quote poster, and rarely takes “no” as a final answer. She has an unhealthy obsession for theater, dance, music and art, and strongly believes that wine is simultaneously the beginning of, and resolution to, all of life’s problems. She believes in following dreams, and that in the end, you always end up where you’re meant to be.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Pinterest | Instagram

Serenade by Emily Kiebel

Serenade by Emily Kiebel(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Suddenly the voice she prized is now dangerously seductive…

Lorelei Clark’s only concern was her future as a classically trained soprano, that is, until the day her father was tragically killed. Shattered by his death, she hesitantly accepts an invitation from a mysterious aunt to visit her lavish oceanside home in Cape Cod. She quickly discovers that her aunt and the two women who live with her are harboring a frightening secret they are sirens, terrifying mythical creatures responsible for singing doomed sailors to their deaths. Even more astounding, Lorelei is one of them. In this new world where water comes alive at her touch and an ancient power pulses beneath the tide, the most important rule Lorelei must learn is that a siren never interferes with fate. When she breaks this rule by rescuing a handsome sailor who should have died at sea, the sirens vow she must finish the job or face grave consequences. Finding herself inexplicably attracted to him, she must fight to keep him safe from the others, even if it means risking her own life, and her heart, in the process.

[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I’ve actually read quite a few books about sirens now since they seemed to be trending in YA for a while, but the thing that attracted me to Serenade especially was that the main character was a classically trained soprano.  I love opera and I decided to see if Emily Kiebel’s take on sirens was different from that of the other books in her niche.  Thankfully, it was.

The world-building in Serenade is actually much better than in most siren books.  In this version, sirens don’t lure people to their deaths, they just soothe them as they die because it’s the will of Fate.  They don’t really control their power but at the same time they can’t escape it because the sea will always call to them.  Of course this makes for some interesting moral dilemmas like “What if I don’t want to help people die for the rest of my life?” or “What if someone isn’t ready to die?”.  It’s that last question that gets Lorelei in some serious trouble, but it presents an interesting answer to the question of whether or not sirens really have free will.

Not only was the world-building pretty good, I liked Lorelei as a main character.  She absolutely loves singing and is willing to defy her own mother to pursue a career in opera.  When her father dies in an accident right before her eyes, you really do feel for Lorelei even though you’ve pretty much just met her.  It’s a rare author that can make you truly connect with a character so quickly, but Emily Kiebel managed to do it.  My only problem character-wise was the secondary characters.  None of them really stood out for me; they were more average in terms of being fleshed out and I didn’t really connect with any of them, even our handsome sailor that Lorelei rescues and falls in love with.

As for the plot, it takes a while for Lorelei to get her bearings as a siren so it’s not exactly fast-paced in the beginning and middle of the book.  There is a lot of tension, though, as she wrestles with many moral dilemmas surrounding her siren calling.  But the action really doesn’t get going until she saves someone who is supposed to die.  Then pretty much everything goes to the dogs in her family and Lorelei is faced with killing a man who isn’t ready to die or risking exile and knowing he’ll be killed anyway.  It’s really not a good situation and I like the little turn of events at the end.  Still, I think Serenade could have been a little faster paced without sacrificing the character development.

This book doesn’t release until July 15th, but I definitely urge you to pre-order it.  It’s one of the best books in the siren sub-genre of YA that I’ve read lately and I have to say that Emily Kiebel really knows her opera (although that’s just a bonus when paired with the world-building and main character).

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble*     Goodreads

*Not yet available for pre-order.

Promo: Lakebridge Autumn by Natasha Troop

Displaying Lakebridge Autumn Cover.jpg
Title: Lakebridge: Autumn
Series: The Lakebridge Cycle, Vol. 3
Author: Natasha Troop
Publication Date: March 17, 2014
Genre: Horror Fantasy
Synopsis

The town of Stansbury, Vermont has survived over four hundred years of tragic events. The town survived because the otherworldly beings and powerful humans that have always controlled the lives of the people willed them to forget each terrible event. As the bloody conflict between those forces has been raging, the people have stopped forgetting. Fear and grief have replaced peaceful ignorance and the powers that be no longer care. In Lakebridge: Autumn, Stansbury will fall.

 

Buy Links

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

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Author Bio

Natasha grew up in Southern California and currently lives in the Los Angeles area with her spouse, son, daughter and menagerie of pets, including a Basset named Moose and a very overprotective collie dog. What currently surprises her more than anything about her life is how much of it is just sitting there on Google, there for the taking. This scares her more than anything. The Internet never forgets.

Social Media Links
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

 

Giveaway: There is a giveaway for this tour. A $15 Amazon/B&N Giftcard or a Book Depository shopping spree of the same value, plus signed copies of the first two books in the series will be given away.
Open Internationally. Ends 7/18. Void where prohibited.