Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.
After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents’ crimes of treason.
Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.
At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.
When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.
I added Moon Dwellers by David Estes to my TBR on 12.4.12 and I don’t know why it has taken me so long to read it. I do remember seeing it everywhere at one time and I do love apocalyptic/dystopian novels. Throw in some science fiction for good measure. Have you read any of the series?
Abandoned
at three—whose parents want a kid who sees ghosts?—I learned the world is quick
to punish misfits. I try my best to be a normal, boring human, but the call of
the supernatural just won’t be ignored.
When a stranger shows
up on my doorstep in the middle of the night, it’s no sexy tryst. Instead, I’m
off to the graveyard, digging up the corpse of a murder victim at the demand of
the local vampire coven—and that small felony is just the start.
The spirit of the woman
has gone missing, something that shouldn’t be possible, and everyone is looking
to me for answers. There’s Kase, a vampire who’s both terrifying and secretive.
Grant, a mage with a bad attitude and a lot of power. Troy, the possessive
werewolf-detective next door and Hunter, a mysterious bad boy who isn’t even
close to human.
It’s a race not just
against time but against everything to figure out where the spirits are going,
who’s behind it and if I can trust the men who now share my bed.
I took the stairs carefully, gripping the railing as I went,
trying to peer into the darkness of my living room.
Was it Kase? Had he decided he didn’t care for a human
telling him what to do or where to go? Or perhaps Troy figured waiting until
morning for something between an apology and a lecture was just too far.
Except, I knew it wasn’t them. I could feel it deep in my
bones, the way I knew when the sun rose without looking outside, the way I knew
when a predator was staring at me.
Whatever was here wasn’t anything as trivial as a vampire or
werewolf.
And what sort of screwed up world did I live in where
vampires and werewolves were trivial?
When I reached the ground floor, that chill worsened. I
struggled to breathe, and the darkness wasn’t run of the mill, as if someone
forgot to turn on a light. It was deeper, as though light wasn’t just absent
but devoured. Something was there inside it, shifting, staring back at me.
My wrists burned, as if fire licked along the edges of the
scars there. It crept up my arms, searing me, and when I would have screamed,
someone closed their hand over my mouth.
“Trust me, you don’t want it to hear you.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jayce Carter
lives in Southern California with her husband and two spawns. She originally
wanted to take over the world but realized that would require wearing pants.
This led her to choosing writing, a completely pants-free occupation. She has a
fear of heights yet rock climbs for fun and enjoys making up excuses for not
going out and socializing.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
Murder victim Bart Bagley is not content to merely roll over in his grave. He wants his murderer caught and he wants teenage ghost whisperer, Indigo Eady, to help him.
It becomes obvious that Bart’s temper led to more than one disagreement, but is it enough to want him dead? With nothing but a cold trail and a hot list of “friendly” suspects, Indigo and her friends race to find the killer before they become the next victims.
An Indigo Eady Paranormal Mystery
Indigo Eady is not clumsy. At least, that’s what she keeps telling everyone. Can she help that the overactive spirit community of Sabrina Shores causes her psychic abilities to short-circuit? It’s unfortunate that her cute new friend Badger is often on the receiving end of her mishaps. At times, she is positively hazardous to his health. Even so, sparks start to fly in more than one direction…
I added Givin’ Up The Ghost by Gwen Gardner to my TBR on 11.30.12. I love a good ghost story and I’m hoping I have one here. I couldn’t find this exact book, unless you want to pay $999.00 for a paperback. Amazon…I do have an ebook on my Kindle though, so I’m good with that.She does have a lot of other books available, so you may want to check those out.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
With tongue firmly in cheek and genuine Amish-made stakes at hand, Jael the vampire slayer is ready to kick some serious bloodsucker butt. Seriously. Move over Buffy – there’s a new slayer in town! Raised in the desert of Nevada, and destined for the Minnesota Loon Lake Amish Community, Jael Shetler is the Chosen One. Trained by her uncle and father in twenty-one different forms of hand-to-hand combat – she also throws a knife with the speed of a bullet, and is accurate to within two centimeters of a cold, dead heart with her crossbow – she is a bloodsucker’s worst nightmare. Her parents, forced to leave their plain and simple upbringing to escape the clutches of the new Bishop – an ancient and powerful vampire with plans to use the Amish Community as his own personal Jamba Juice – raise and train their daughter to continue the fight begun thousands of years earlier by another Jael, and to fulfill the prophecy in the Book of the Shunned. Soon Jael is turning sweet sixteen and then … all hell will break loose.
I added Chosen, Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy #1, to my TBR because…Vampires. I love ’em. Any kind. Any flavor. Whether I will read the entire trilogy or not, I cannot say at this time, but I will definitely get to this one! How about you? What’s your favorite supernatural creature.
Stephen Henning has been writing his Class Heroes novels since 2011 and I have been with him all the way. I have come to love these characters and am always eager to meet a new superhero and learn of his powers.
Stephen Henning has created some wonderful characters and scenarios in his Class Heroes series and I think that many teens and young adults, especially, would love meeting them….and I have too.
From life experiences, Deenpal Mander believes that life is governed by chance.
Deenpal hears of Sir Michael Rosebud, who is offering anyone with superpowers a $100,000 check and a home on Liberation Island, a safe haven from those who would want to exploit them. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I feel, if something is too good to be true, BEWARE. You’ll have to read the book to find out, but…
I feel so bad for Deepal. He is a young man, naive, homeless, no family left, with a superpower that puts him in danger…and, of course, he is going to run into someone that has that exact agenda and uses every wile he has to possess Deenpal, as if he is merchandise to be bought and sold.
He meets Richard Ratchett in Manchester and…I don’t feel real good about this.
I feel a sense of danger throughout the story, and, like Deenpal, am having a hard time figuring out who to trust. I worry for him and am eager to see what Stephen Henning has in store for him. Chantelle was a wonderful surprise. Sometimes we can all be too quick to judge.
I love the moments of paying it forward.
As I got closer to the end, I kept checking how many pages were left. I wondered how he was going to bring this story to a close. Would there be a cliffhanger? NO.
Each book has given me a wonderful glimpse into the fabulous characters and their superhero world, all the while drawing me in further. He does wrap each of his stories up,so I feel they could stand alone, but isn’t it always best to start a series from the beginning?
Stephen Henning ended Jesus of the North in a good place, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next story, How To Start You Own Country. Hmmmm…..
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Jesus of the North by Stephen Henning.
4 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
Deenpal Mander arrives in Manchester (UK), to attend some very special X-Factor-style auditions, which have been organised by Sir Michael Rosewood to try and find people with super powers. His special ability brings him to the attention of crooked construction boss Richard Ratchett, and puts him in danger from the world of organized crime. Can Deen find a way to escape an evil people-trafficking network? And if he does, is accepting Sir Michael’s friendship really the salvation that he thinks it is?
ABOUT STEPHEN HENNING
I
began writing the first Class Heroes book on my laptop in February
2011, but these stories have probably been continually playing in my
head since I was aged five or six, when I would act them out with toys
and with my friends. I then branched out into using pencils, colouring
pens and paper, moving on to writing pads and then my first computer.
So, as you’ve probably gathered, I have always enjoyed making up stories and the super-hero genre has been one of my favourites.
The CV-type stuff is that I went to Sheffield Hallam University to
study English. I then trained and briefly worked as a journalist in
Salford. After that, I moved into publishing – which was great. An
interesting and fun industry to be in and fascinating to see how books
are put together and sold.
After that I started doing technical writing, which led me to start
my own business with my friend and colleague Andrew Butters. My love of
writing, generally, led me back to writing fiction. Our company,
Elucidox Ltd, publishes the Class Heroes books.
If you want to know a bit more about me, what kind of super powers I
have and the kind of super villains I have to tangle with on a daily
basis, then feel free to watch Rage. This is a short film, that took a
long time to make. It’s a simple day in my life :-). Actually it’s just a
fun movie that I made with the very kind help of some of my best mates.
We had a laugh doing it, hope you like it too. And if you do, then why
not explore the super world of the Class Heroes books?
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
What would you do if a simple errand takes a deadly twist, turning you from cautious prey to dangerous predator?
Someone
is trying to send a deadly message to Mason, arranging the deaths of
those he loves and it puts the entire pack and Alpha on high alert.
Darcy understands the primal instincts driving her beloved Mason’s
commands. With the help of those he sets as protectors, she learns about
herself and the things she’ll need to help support her Alpha and pack.
When events turn dire however, one truth offers her strength – once
given, oaths are unbreakable…even if it means risking it all.
**This is the full length novel version of Without Mercy, Cherished, and Blood Oath*
I added The Mystic Wolves by Belinda Boring to my TBR on 11.26.12. I love anything supernatural, especially when we have shapeshifters and vampires. Who doesn’t love a little pet or a little bite. Do you have a favorite supernatural creature? How about a supernatural power? Would make life super….interesting. -:)
All Those Who Came Before is the sixth book in the Spookie Town Murder Mystery series by Kathryn Meyer Griffith. I don’t know how she keeps coming up with such amazing, fresh stories for the series, but she has been doing a smash up job.
Green skies…do you know what they mean? A storm is coming…
A short cut home…
An abandoned house…calling to her. Town folks thought it was haunted because of the family that was murdered there. In Spookie town, I have no doubt of it. BUT, Kathryn Meyer Griffith gives me more than I expect when I crack open one of her books and that makes me happy.
Along with getting updates on what’s been shaking in Spookie Town and the characters that live there, we have a couple of mysteries going on and lots of danger. We have soooo many people to worry about and I am very worried. I have grown to love and care for them and wish them only the best….but…well, you know, we gotta have action. I won’t say who I am most worried about, but I will recommend not putting things off when something doesn’t feel right.
I have a good idea of what the mystery is, but boy oh boy, Kathryn Meyer Griffith pulls out all the stops and gives me those twists, turns and book surprises that I look for to make a book stand out.
A past mystery will be solved, an injustice righted and a wedding celebration is in order.
There seemed to be some repetition, but the story kept flowing and my interest never waned. Good times, bad times, Kathryn Meyer Griffith left me with a smile on my face, hoping for more mysteries and laughter with these fun and quirky characters.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of What Lies Beneath by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
This sixth Spookie Town Murder Mystery belongs primarily to Abigail and Frank Lester, my two main characters in the six book series. It’s their turn. First off, it at long last solves the enigma of Abigail’s first husband Joel Sutton’s disappearance, and death, a decade before…the tragic event that sent Abigail to Spookie in the first place to begin a new life. The new life that would grow so big as to include a new love, a new family, quirky, but well-meaning friends, and the strange murder mysteries her new friends would drag her into over the years. As an unsolicited, and unwanted, envelope arrives from Abigail’s now dead detective she’d hired a decade before to find her missing first husband, its contents sends Frank searching for the truth. The envelope’s files are full of disturbing facts concerning the unsolved crime and it piques Frank’s interest. Soon, against Abby’s wishes, he’s on the cold trail of what actually happened to Joel Sutton–had he been a victim of just an accident, as some have always believed, or did someone murder him? In his search for the truth, Frank ends up in lethal danger when the investigation comes to a violent conclusion. This story is also about an infamous haunted house at 707 Suncrest, in the woods; about the cold blooded murders of a whole family that occurred there forty years before. Is the house on Suncrest truly haunted by the ghosts of the dead family? Is it dangerous? When Abby decides to paint a series of canvases of the spooky old house, she’ll find out. Then along with those two new mysteries to unravel, of course, all of Spookie’s quirky town characters have returned to irritate, amuse and sleuth with Abby and Frank. Will they get out of these new mysteries alive, too? Perhaps.
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
Kathryn Meyer Griffith has been a writer
for over forty-nine years now and has had twenty-nine novels and thirteen short
stories published since 1984. She began her writing career as a paperback
horror author in 1984 with Leisure and Zebra Publishing, but has since moved on
to write paranormal horror, romantic historical time-travel, suspense, romance,
thrillers, and murder mysteries. Her horror novel The Last Vampire, and her
thriller Dinosaur Lake (now a best-selling five book series), were both Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in 2012 and 2014. Kathryn Meyer Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
NOVELS: Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart
of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II:
Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic
horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie Town
Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery),
Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us
(4th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th
Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (6th Spookie
Town Murder Mystery); soon, a 7th, When the Fireflies
Retuned, out in December 2020, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice
Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman
in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection,
Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story,
Dinosaur Lake (2014 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their
Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising,
Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars,
Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood, and a biographical
short story Christmas Magic 1959.
I have been reading the Selkie Moon Series by Virginia King for a while now and loving it. Planting Pearls is taking us back to the beginning of Selkie’s journey. If you would like to meet her, pick up Planting Pearls for FREE.
I have read the first four books in the Selkie Moon Series, and Virginia King is taking us back to the beginning of Selkie Moon’s journey in Planting Pearls. If you are up for a ghostly mystery, this may be a book for you.
Sneaking away while her ex is out of town, Selkie Moon hops a plane and lands in Hawaii.
Through a series of coincidences, Selkie ends up at The Pearl and finds herself a roommate in Wanda, a friend in Derek, and a ghostly mystery to solve.
As she sits feeling a bit sorry for herself, she realizes after 20 years under Andrew’s thumb, things are falling into place with her. He is a nasty piece of work and dogs her every step, doing his best to ruin her life and drive her back into his arms.
I have grown to love the characters that Virginia King has created and by going back to the beginning and learning how they all came together, whether through Fate, Karma, or luck, I have only grown to care for them more.
In Planting Pearls, I have met Sage, a sweet, sophisticated, young girl who is very mature for her age…and I love her. She is not a character that continues in the series, but she sure stands out in Planting Pearls.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Planting Pearls by Virginia King.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
When Selkie Moon escapes her controlling husband to start a new life in Hawaii, she’s under pressure to support herself with her new business, stay hidden from her ex, and trust her new friends.
She doesn’t expect to get tangled in a so-called haunting!
What happened at the old Honolulu house back in 1961, when Elvis was shooting Blue Hawaii?
Do the weird experiences of the new owners and their five-year-old daughter mean they’ve interrupted a ghost?
Or could something else be going on?
As she helps to unravel the mystery, Selkie gets caught up in something that’s way beyond her skill-set. Will her amateur ghost-hunting put her and everyone else in danger?
ABOUT VIRGINIA KING
When a voice wakes you up in the middle of the night and tells you
to write a mystery series, what’s a writer to do? That’s how I came to
create Selkie Moon, after a massage from a strange woman with gifted
hands was followed by this nocturnal message. I sat down at the
keyboard until Selkie Moon turned up — a modern woman with a mythical
name. Soon I was hooked, exploring far-flung places full of secrets
where Selkie delves into psychological clues tangled up in the local
mythology.
Before Selkie Moon invaded my life, I’d been a
teacher, an unemployed ex-teacher, the author of over 50 children’s
books, an audio-book producer, a workshop presenter and a prize-winning
publisher. These days I live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney
with my husband, where I disappear each day into Selkie Moon’s latest
mystery. Bliss.
We have a new character, Evelyn, Myrtle’s grandniece. She is living in Evelyn’s home, fixing it up and collecting the homeless kitties, like Evelyn used to do. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Glinda is a psychic, and quickly makes many friends since her move to the small town of Spookie, where danger stalks the characters, like the ghosts in the fog. Is the fog your friend or is it out to get you?
Frank is a murder mystery writer since his retirement from the police department, but he needs more. He becomes a consultant for the Chicago Police Department, and it’s a good thing he did. He will need those resources when his daughter, Laura’s, safety becomes an issue.
There is so much more going on than just the mystery about the buried treasure. Kathryn Meyer Griffith manages to have multiple mysteries going on so there is never a dull moment.
What a fabulous cast of characters. I love their uniqueness and quirkiness. Their willingness to go above and beyond for those around them, whether two footed or four footed.
Myrtle still remains my favorite. I love this crusty old bird, eccentric, gruff, but, as we pull away the layers, like peeling an onion, her heart is exposed. And it is a big one!
We’ve had adventures in Spookie, with kidnappers, serial killers, missing people, ghosts, witches and now, treasure hunters. It amazes me that Kathryn Meyer Griffith is able to create so many different and wonderful scenarios. I can hardly wait to find out the next one:
All Those Who Came Before…
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of What Lies Beneath by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The 5th Spookie Town Murder Mystery is finally out. Who wouldn’t want to find a chest of buried treasure, ancient gold coins and exquisitely priceless jewelry, on their land? A treasure a sailor dead for over seventy years once found in the shallow waters of a distant island and later buried, hid, the remnants of at the end of his tragic life. The townspeople of Spookie have been searching, fighting and killing each other over it, for decades and no one has ever unearthed it. Abigail, Frank, Myrtle and her psychic grandniece, Glinda, are on the hunt for the treasure…and they might just find it with Glinda’s and the dead sailor’s help. For Frank, ex-Chicago homicide detective, there’s also a new and dangerous case that brings him temporarily out of retirement and back to Chicago because it threatens his adopted daughter Laura’s safety at the art college she is attending. There are three missing college students, young women, one a close friend of Laura’s, and the Chicago police force is feverishly searching for them before their abductors kill them. Can Frank, with a little help from Glinda’s visions, and his old partner Sam Cato, locate the abducted girls in time and save their lives? All the rest of the quirky characters are also back again to share in the adventures, the mysteries, and the small town life of foggy Spookie. Come join them.
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
Kathryn Meyer Griffith has been a writer
for over forty-nine years now and has had twenty-nine novels and thirteen short
stories published since 1984. She began her writing career as a paperback
horror author in 1984 with Leisure and Zebra Publishing, but has since moved on
to write paranormal horror, romantic historical time-travel, suspense, romance,
thrillers, and murder mysteries. Her horror novel The Last Vampire, and her
thriller Dinosaur Lake (now a best-selling five book series), were both Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in 2012 and 2014. Kathryn Meyer Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
NOVELS: Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart
of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II:
Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic
horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie Town
Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery),
Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us
(4th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th
Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (6th Spookie
Town Murder Mystery); soon, a 7th, When the Fireflies
Retuned, out in December 2020, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice
Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman
in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection,
Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story,
Dinosaur Lake (2014 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their
Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising,
Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars,
Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood, and a biographical
short story Christmas Magic 1959.
The Warrior King Abigail Owen (Inferno Rising #3) Published by: Entangled: Amara Publication date: March 9th 2021 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
MY REVIEW
The Warrior King by Abigail Owen is Book III in the Inferno Rising series. Even though the storyline is familiar, dragon meets phoenix and….Abigail Owen always adds those little bits that make an amazing story unputdownable and the characters to die for.
The Warrior King is Meira and Samael’s story and it is a HOT one.
Being an empath and a Phoenix, Meira enjoys the solitude of working with computers. She has chosen her mate, not for love, but to get her revenge for the death of her parents.
A glance in the mirror from Samael changed their lives. Meira uses mirrors as portals, but she couldn’t understand how he was able to see her. That had never happened before. What does it mean?
She must forget she ever saw Samael, .but he is her intended mate’s friend and protector. He thinks of King Gorgon as a father figure. He would be assigned as her protector and I foresee some problems. I wondered how this would work out and Abigail Owen never fails to surprise me. She takes me to places I can’t go on my own and makes me love every minute of it.
The torment that Meira and Samael go through trying to do the right thing and not betray a good man and friend like King Gorgon is torturous and agonizing. Her Phoenix “lights” up when he is near and his dragon fights to take control, to be free to claim her.
The Phoenix’s are desired by the Rotting King Pytheios. When a dragon is unmated, his body rots and a Phoenix can save him and declare him High King. He wants all of their powers and will do anything to obtain them.
Meira and her sisters are protected by more than dragons. We have werewolves and Carrick, a gargoyle, who play a role. We have Maul, a Hellhound and Vincent Van Goat.
Do dragons have pets? Meira has rescued a kitten and I wonder if it will become a dragon snack or a clan pet.
Meira’s comment…”release the Kraken”, had me cracking up, creating some wild visions dancing in my head.
Dragons flying, slashing, clawing, fighting to the death, going down in flames.
I have read each book as it has been published and Abigail Owen includes bits and pieces to update what’s happening in each book so you can follow along. It didn’t take me long to catch up. BUT, I would have loved to binge read the entire series, fully lost in this world.
While each book tells the story of a couple, a Phoenix and a dragon falling in love and mating, each story has unique events that keep adding to the book surprises, and twists and turns, that I love so much.
With tears in my eyes, some of the good guys fall. I love that Abigail Owen is not afraid to kill off a character if it improves the story and gets my emotions all riled up.
The mating is HOT! and the future, though filled with danger, is bright, hopeful. I love that it ends on a positive note, leaving me feeling good and wanting more.
The secret they have fought to keep has been exposed. There are four Phoenix sisters and Angelique’s story will be told. She may be a Phoenix and daughter of the past king of the White Clan, but she has no power…does she?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Warrior King by Abigail Owen.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Meira Amon is the most reserved of the phoenixes, finding computers easier to deal with than people and their messy emotions. But she wants revenge against the Rotting King Pytheios for the murder of her parents just as much as her sisters. Offering herself as a queen for their ally, dragon shifter King Gorgon of the Black Clan, only makes sense.
Just one problem…
Samael Veles worked his lowborn ass off to become the fiercest warrior of the Black Clan. He has pledged his life to protect his king at all costs. Yet somehow, in the middle of war, he took one look at a woman in a reflection and gave up his heart. When that woman turns out to be the phoenix promised to mate his king and help bring peace to their kind, he has no choice but to accept it.
Until her fire unexpectedly destroys the king after they’ve wed. Now Samael must choose between his loyalty to his clan and protecting the queen who might be his mate from his people’s wrath, one of which will unlock a destiny no one could have ever imagined…
Meira tried to get closer to Gorgon, tried to take it back, to pull her fire back into herself. Bile stung her throat, blending with the vomit-inducing stench of burning flesh. The king stared back with shocked, awful, horror-filled eyes as her flames consumed him. He fell to his knees, and she could see him fighting the flames, his own black fire flaring out like sunspots only to be devoured by the red gold of her own fire in an instant.
One kiss was all it had taken.
They hadn’t even gotten to the undressing part, let alone the sex part. She’d turned on her flames and he’d kissed her lightly, so sweet. Except then he jerked back, a silent howl of pain contorting his features.
Already his bronze skin had turned charred before cooling to gray. Other parts continued to burn, glowing bright embers, and parts of him were sifting to ash. Like her mother in that field all alone.
“No, no, no,” Meira cried, hardly aware of the words pouring from her mouth.
She fell to her knees beside him, reaching in past the flames, which didn’t hurt her, to take his hand, already ashy against hers. “I’m so sorry. I’m here. Look at me.”
His eyes, already solid gray, shifted in his face as if searching. Could he see her? “I won’t let you die alone.”
A thunderous thud rattled the door. Samael.
By this time, most of the body had turned to ash.
Another slam against the door, this one causing a crack to appear in the thick wood. “Let me in!” Samael shouted, his voice muffled.
Meira forced herself to her feet. Her hands were shaking so hard, it took three tries for her to manage to unlock the door. She jumped back in time to get out of the way as Samael slammed it open. The door hit the wall behind with such force it embedded in the rock, small fragments of wood and stone falling to the floor, the gritty sound loud in the sudden silence as the man on the floor finished disintegrating and the fire disappeared all at the same time.
Samael ran to the heap of burned flesh and knelt beside it, he ran his fingers through the dust and ash then made a fist, seeming to grasp for control.
He won’t hurt me.
Meira shouldn’t be sure of that. He was Gorgon’s captain and would believe what his eyes were telling him. That she’d killed his king, the man he was sworn to protect.
“What have you done?” Samael asked in a low voice.
Hands to her mouth, Meira could only shake her head in horror. Was he asking her? Or asking his king?
Samael turned his head to spear her with a dark gaze full of rage, his fire sparking, like looking into an abyss that was reaching out for her. “What. Have. You. Done?”
No mistaking those growled words were directed her way. “It’s—” She had to stop and swallow around a throat so dry it felt coated in dust. Coated in a nameless man’s ashes. “It’s not—”
Samael bolted to his feet, crossing the room in two long strides, backing Meira up against the rock wall of the cavern the suite was carved from. “Don’t you dare say it’s not your fault.”
She should be terrified. This man had every right to kill her here and now. She’d heard many of Ladon’s men speak in hushed tones of respect about Samael’s skills when it came to killing. A rational person would be cowering and begging for her life.
But part of her she didn’t know even existed refused to be that woman. Not in front of him.
Samael’s emotions, released from their bonds, swirled and eddied around her like a riptide—anger, grief, blame. And one other, above all others. Protectiveness.
For her? Or his clan?
Author Bio:
Multi-award-winning paranormal romance author, Abigail Owen, loves plots that move hot and fast, feisty heroines with sass, alpha heroes with heart, a dash of snark, and oodles of sexy shifters! Other titles include wife, mother, Star Wars geek, ex-competitive skydiver, spreadsheet lover, Dr. Seuss quoter, eMBA, organizational guru, Texan, Aggie, and chocoholic.
Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.
Abigail currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero (who she totally married!) and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.
