Tagged: a. star
Cover Reveal: Tome by A. Star
I knew Tome was going to ruin my life the second I laid eyes on him.
A. Star is a fan of dirty passion. She loves to read it, and she damn sure loves to write it. She is the author of the Mythos: Gods & Lovers series, the Djinn Order series, and the Knights of the Joust series. She is a night-owl and a coffee junkie, and the only sneaker she would be caught dead wearing are Converses.
Wish for Me by A. Star
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Three wishes. Two lovers. One destiny.
When the snarky Glory St. Pierre discovers the gold mechanical vase in her deceased grandmother’s basement, she has no idea that she has uncovered a priceless treasure: a genie lamp. With a real genie inside. A very sexy genie with a not-so-sexy grudge against the entire human race.
Irving Amir hates being called a genie. He’s a Djinn, and he is none too happy to be in the service of Glory, who is as intolerable, and beautiful, as humans come. Now he owes her his gratitude for freeing him and three wishes. Damn his luck.
But an arrow through the shoulder alerts Irving to the fact that he is being hunted, and after a truce dinner with Glory ends with them both almost being killed, hating each other goes right out the window. As feelings change and love starts to develop, they must dig through the secrets and lies to find the truth…a truth neither of them will ever see coming.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Wish for Me is a really hard book to describe. On one hand, you’ve got a fantasy element: a djinn. On the other hand, the djinn in question, Irving, leaves in a steampunk world where he tinkers with gadgets like a steam-powered motorcycle and an adorable mechanical bat with artificial intelligence. So I guess the best way to describe this book is genie steampunk. How you describe it doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things, but it does explain why I was so thrown for a little bit when the different elements were introduced.
Glory is not your typical heroine, believe me. She’s covered in tattoos, is independent, knows her mind and isn’t really afraid to speak up unless it comes to feelings. And she’s got curves! That’s a really far cry from a lot of heroines and it was a really, really refreshing change to read about someone who was reasonably self-assured. Glory certainly has her vulnerabilities and flaws but it’s not like she’s one of those annoying shrinking violets. Irving on the other hand, is very mysterious and sometimes mischievous but once he cares for someone, he’s not afraid to show it. Even though humankind has done so many horrible things to djinns like him, he still learns to see Glory as one person rather than hold her responsible for what’s happened in the past with other humans. They’re both very different people and personalities so when they realize they’re becoming attracted to each other, things get complicated pretty quickly. I could go on and on about their attraction but I don’t want to spoil too much here.
The plot was actually quite fast paced, which I was not really expecting at the beginning. In the beginning there’s a lot of set up and interpersonal tension but not really much in the way of physical action. But that changes pretty quickly as Glory learns that Irving is hiding things from her and may be endangering her because of that. When she makes a wish accidentally at dinner and they’re both hunted by a completely new enemy that isn’t the usual djinn hunters, things get exciting pretty quickly. While the book is not all action there are lots of action scenes like that and they’re so well written. They give you an excellent balance of dialogue, description and action and so the scenes are all the more intense.
The world-building was amazing. I haven’t actually read many genie/djinn stories but the ones I have generally have been quite similar. That’s not true with Wish for Me. You have a hierarchy within djinns, a royal family, different nations of djinns, etc. It’s all very complicated but A. Star introduces the different elements slowly so you can catch up pretty easily. It’s clear from the start that she put a lot of thought into building her world and it shows through in the quality of the writing. The strong world-building makes an excellent backdrop for all of the action and the amazing characters. It also allows for quite a few plot twists when things get going.
So overall, I absolutely loved Wish for Me. It has great characters, lots of action and romance and is set in a wonderfully well thought out fantasy world. Not only that, it solves a lot of questions raised at the beginning of the book while still managing to end on one powerful cliffhanger. I’m very excited to see what happens in the next book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Lover, Divine by A. Star
(Cover picture courtesy of A Book-a-licious Story.)
Born into one of the wealthiest families in Ireland, Siobhan Law has status, privilege, and a secret: The Greek gods of Olympus and their kingdom in the clouds are real, and her family acts as one of their agents on Earth.
When the beautiful immortal celeste Liam Argyros shows up claiming to have come to Earth to deal in the affairs of the divine, Siobhan finds herself unable to resist his charms. New to the game of passion and seduction, she quickly ends up in over her head, sinking deeper with every attempt Liam makes to win her over.
But Liam’s divine mission is far more complex than she ever imagined and nothing is truly as it seems. Because Liam has a secret of his own: He is Apollo, Olympian god of the Sun, and his mission will never be complete until he has claimed Siobhan’s heart forever.
WARNING: For readers 18+ only. Contains adult language and sexual situations.
[Full disclosure: I was provided a free ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review.]
This one is a bit of a genre leap from my usual YA fare but I was more than willing to give it a try. A. Star is actually Diantha Jones (she uses the name to write all her more ‘adult’ books) but it connects with the Oracle of Delphi series that I so love. Basically, I figured why not?
I was actually quite satisfied with the results. This isn’t just an erotic novel (although it is that). There’s actually a decent story here with fully developed characters and a very real, interesting character-driven plot. The story was wonderful and I found myself laughing out loud at the charming rake that is Apollo. He’s really not my type, but I loved how he and Siobhan had this push-pull relationship dynamic. Siobhan didn’t give in easily and when she did it actually felt like the two of them were in love, not just lusting after each other.
I like how Lover, Divine connects to the Oracle of Delphi series but that reading this isn’t necessary for understanding the series. There are a few interesting new pieces of information thrown in (like how a woman became the heir to the Law family) but nothing really all that shocking if you’ve read the main series. And if you’re totally new to the world of Mythos you’ll still be able to read this book and enjoy it. You’ll probably get just as hooked on Mythos as I am.
The best part of the whole book was that it was completely character-driven. Any plot twists were because of characters’ actions rather than the magical unseen hand of the author. When characters argued there were real-life consequences; things went wrong and people got hurt. Apollo and Siobhan’s semi-forbidden relationship had consequences, certainly. It was nice to see how Siobhan became the woman we meet in the Oracle of Delphi and I wish this book had been longer because there are still interesting events coming up in her future. Still, the ending was satisfying and the teaser for King, Desired was intriguing.
Definitely another hit by Diantha Jones/A. Star!
I give this book 5/5 stars.