Review of Little Orphan Anvil by Joseph Beekman

The story follows a little robot named Anvil, partially destroyed in a storm caused by an evil witch who believes any kind of iron and metal machines are an abomination and should be destroyed.  Will, an old man and Anvil’s creator, is on a mission to help the orphaned children who reside in the mansion with the witch and have to do her every wish.  When the Land of Iron and Anvil is partially destroyed by her evil magic, Will sets off towards the Land of Shadows along with another orphan named Sonny and his dog Ranger to set things right and free the land from the oppressive witch.  The story follows them through treacherous landscapes and haunts that bring chills to your bones as these three journey along.  They meet Kelsey, a brave and strong orphaned girl who has escaped the mansion seeking help for her peers.  All together they face the treacherous old witch and test their strength and bonds together against the ultimate plan to overtake the world.

The story flows seamlessly; the action immediately sucks you in.  Highly imaginative!  I found that the easy flow words brought me into the dark foreboding places of this imaginative world easily and kept me on the edge of my seat many times.   The author makes you care about the characters and want to see them win, and hope they make it through all their hardships in one piece!  I love the history of the lands and the little snippets of information that indulge you of the workings of this treacherous place.   It’s a story to be enjoyed by all ages for sure! 

5 stars!!!!

Available at:  Amazon.com 

Review of The Marked Son by Shea Berkley

Originally posted to The Book Faery Reviews 10/25/11:
http://tbfreviews.net/2011/10/25/the-marked-son-book-review/

      The Marked Son is the story of Dylan and Kera.  Both from two different worlds but magnetized to each other by unseen forces and destiny.  Dylan is your average recluse teenager, coping with a life that is less than stable.  His mother constantly moves them around the country, running from ex lovers without any real direction or reason.  Dylan has been adjusting as best he can to his neglectful mother and the constant moving when his mother unexpectedly dumps him into the laps off his grandparents, whom he has never met before, and abandons him there. 

Here in a farmhouse near the woods, he discovers that the woods are full of magic, a girl in white whom he has dreamt about since he was really young is actually very real.  Kera, a girl from another dimension is seeking help for her home of Teag, a land across a barrier wall that separates the two worlds.  When he follows her into this world, he discovers bloodthirsty creatures and a cold ruthless ruler named Navar who is bent on wiping out any half-blood beings, like Dylan.  Only him and Kera can save this world which nothing is what it seems and the would-be ruler Navar has set his sights on killing them both.

I enjoyed reading this story, the point of view starts by bouncing back and forth between the main characters Dylan and Kera.  It was a bit confusing at first, things took a while to be explained in the first half of the book, leaving me feeling a bit clueless and lost with all the world building on each side of the wall and vague backgrounds.  The second half of the book more than made up for it.  The point of view was laced together tight at this point and the story smoothed out to give you answers to the many questions that have built up to this point.  The town of Teag seems stuck in a sort of medieval time where men have more power and woman are betrothed to men.  They also have to wear big beautiful dresses and behave a certain way.  It seemed to clash with the modern world that Dylan lived in.  I do love his Grandparents, probably two of the most colorful characters in the story.  His grandmother especially seems to know a lot more of what is going on than she lets on.  His human friends Jason and Leo are great additions to the story but I would have liked to get into their heads a little more.  Overall the ending was amazing and kept me on the edge of my seat.  It left me wanting more and I definitely want to see where these characters will be going, see what kind of trouble they can get into in the future.  I highly recommend it and will be reading more by this author.

4 out of 5 stars!!!!

Okay, just cuz I love to torture you people, here is another teaser excerpt from my upcoming novel: Ash and Embers (The Teleen Trilogy #2) Enjoy!

Vange stopped abruptly, watching her witch light suddenly bounce off an invisible wall. Tilting her head she looked around until she spotted what she was looking for. Crouching down she lit the ground around her with the witch light and frowned, noting the specks of still drying blood and salt trail. Standing again she reached out to touch the invisible shield before her.

Damn! Jade already knows.
The shield rippled under her hand and sent a vibration of pain up her arm. Pulling her hand away, she winced from the slight shock. She had no choice now but to call her sister out of the house and speak with her. The protection shield was strong, even she could not penetrate it. She concentrated on the shield, feeling not one, but three powerful essences embracing the spell. If Jade had found two other witches to perform the spell with, they were now as safe as anyone could ever be in their own home, lest hiding in an oubliette. No one could enter without their permission. No one and nothing could penetrate its magic.

Vange paced back and forth for a moment, thinking hard on what she would say to her sister. Maybe she could enter if given permission. She ran her power along the barrier again and found it laced with a disabling spell. Jade had foreseen something, maybe she had known Vange would come back here for Shade. If she was allowed to enter the grounds, she would be stripped of her powers within the shield.

Clever, Jade. Very clever.

This is not a typical vampire story. It is full of new twists, new takes on supernatural beings and an interesting storyline. Vampires, angels, dark angels, witches, warlocks and let’s not forget, a baby! Love all those! The author wove these characters together beautifully.

It starts with Alex, a telepathic vampire who believes himself cursed but has a strong faith in God. Cliché I know. He asks for something to live for in his damned existence and ever haunting past. He is given the baby Jaiden, a baby abandoned like trash, to care for and protect at all costs. Jaiden is important to the future and is a powerful witch but needs him for love and safety. Who better than Alex? Along with Isabella, Jaiden’s nanny (also a powerful witch) and the help of the other members of the Great Council charged with keeping the balance of powers on earth, they fight Malcom and Levine, conniving and evil vampires bent on using Jaiden for their own advantages.

The story was interesting, a bit drawn out in the first half with introductions to the characters and tangent story lines that seemed unneeded, like Isabella’s tragic family. The chorus of characters seemed quite interesting but their roles did not seem important until later. Alex’s struggle to accept his responsibility for Jaiden, his constant distaste of his own existence and his immediate attraction to Isabella took a large portion of the first half. All which cause him great conflict along with the ghosts of his past constantly haunting him. The second half more than hooked me right back in. The action, suspense and blood pounding fight scenes were enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. Definitely a must read with an ending that keeps you wanting more. My type of read. Highly recommended!
4 stars!!

Get a copy today:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Birth-of-Jaiden-ebook/dp/B004VNLTNO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318575756&sr=8-2

Ash & Embers (The Teleen Trilogy #2)

The crack of a wooden sword filled the air as Soap swung hard against her shield. She had to back up with each blow as she felt the hits vibrate through her arm. Shielding her face, she attempted to swing her sword at him, searching for his weak spots in her limited vision. She found one and swung as hard as she could, slamming it into his left thigh. He winced but did not retreat at all. She flung herself down to the ground and with her shield, slammed him behind his knees, sending him crashing down to ground, almost right on her as she rolled away.

Shade hopped to her feet and pointed the sword to his throat before he could regain his position. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking up at her with a grin spreading across his face.

“Winner is Shade! Great job!” Than jumped and clapped from the sidelines, hollering out his praise. Shade smiled down at Soap, her face flushed pink and sweat beading down her face.

“Hey, you got me, how about that? That’s a first. You’re on your way to becoming the next Amazon queen, heh?” Shade smiled as she tossed her shield and sword to the side and held her hand out to Soap.

“Queen? Not quite. Warrior of some sort, probably.” She gave him a toothy smile and laughed as he started to pulled himself up on her arm but instead pulled her down onto him, hugging her tight.

“Hey not fair! I’m not heavy enough to pull your heavy butt up!” They wrestled around, letting the dirt flew up around them in bellowing cloud. There laughs rang through the air until Dylan’s angry haughty voice rang through the air as he grabbed Soap, pulling him up and shoving him to the side with a thump.

“What the, hey, watch it man!” Soap had rolled along the dirt and now stood slapping clouds of dust off his leather armor. He glared at Dylan, his green eyes flaring like jewels on fire.

Dylan returned the stare with his even colder steel-grey eyes. “Don’t touch her. You might inadvertently hurt her, you dumb ox.” His face was blanketed like stone, hard and still. He dared Soap to return rebutt as the changeling pressed his lips together, wrangling in his fury.

Soap turned towards Shade, who had positioned herself between them in hopes they wouldn’t start a brawl with her in between to take a hit.

“Shade, I’m thinking we are done for the day. You did want to see Ilarial, right? She would definitely be better company than some people we know.” He snickered at Dylan but the former Teleen guard remained planted with arms crossed, narrowing his eyes at the brown haired warrior.

“Ya, I think that’s a good idea. Ilarial is probably waiting for me.” Shade glared at both warriors before she headed to grab her backpack lying on the ground nearby. She wiped the dirt and sweat on her face with her towel and shoved it into her pack. She sighed as she stood, turning back to Soap who waited patiently as he gathered the wooden weapons strewed across the training yard. He smiled and nodded at Shade, hugging the swords to his chest.

“I can take you there, Shade. Looks like someone has some junk to put away.” Dylan hissed as he motioned to her, stepping between her and Soap. Glancing over his shoulder, she could see Soap rolling his eyes at him.

“Go ahead, Shade, you don’t need my permission anyways. Looks like someone is getting a bit jealous and needs some of your precious time.” Soap’s smirked at Dylan’s back but Dylan didn’t turn to acknowledge him at all. Instead, he waited as Shade shook her head and headed towards the Guildrin mound. Walking briskly, she hoped she’d lose both of them, she didn’t feel like putting up with their bickering today.

Check out my guest blog! Giveaways in progress, lots of author interviews and other stuff! Thanks to The Fairy Tale Nerd! Click link below and enjoy!
http://www.thefairytalenerd.com/2011/10/day-seven-of-31-days-paperback-giveaway.html

Check it out!  Synopsis available there!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12791367-ash-and-embers