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Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My 1st review of 2016: Wings of Shadow: Book 2 of the Immortal Sorrows by Sherri A. WIngler

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Wings

I started this book with trepidation. I loved book one in the series, and there is always the fear that book two won’t live up to your expectations or that it will be more of the same and even though you enjoyed it before doesn’t mean you want to read the same thing over again.

Let me say my fears were groundless. This book exceeded my expectations. The author took Asher and Izzy to a whole new level. Book one introduced you to the characters while telling the story; book two took them to a place of darkness and adventures that had me on the edge of my seat.

This book showed the extremes that people will go to, to achieve their desires whether they be for good or evil.

The characters stayed consistent the whole way through so much so that I believe they really exist 😉 I never really expected to find myself with a crush on the Angel of Death but there you have it and quite possibly Grim too.

The descriptions given were phenomenal; this author has one hell of an imagination, and she also has the writing ability to back it up.

I can say that I am relieved to have finished this book because now I actually may get some sleep. On a number of occasions, I went to bed tired with every intention of reading for 10-15 minutes later only to find myself awake and engrossed over an hour later.

I am now about to start reading the short Prequel that has been released in the last week or so by the same author that explores what made Fate the way she is.

It isn’t that often that I miss characters when I finish reading a book, but I think I will this time. Please write faster, I need more.

 

 

 

Books · Life · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

Champions Award

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Champions-Awards

I am overcome, speechless. I rehearsed this so many times in front of the mirror, but I am still in no way prepared for this honour. What can I say this has blown me away. Thank you to Jo Roderick who kindly presented me with this prestigious award. I would also like to thank my family and friends who have supported me.

This is the best start to 2016, starting it with this award.

I, in turn, would like to nominate these fantastic authors for their own awards should they wish to accept it.

 

Rose English https://www.facebook.com/suechofalls.sari?fref=ts

Sherri A Wingler https://www.facebook.com/authorsherri.wingler?fref=ts

Elaine Chissick https://www.facebook.com/elaine.chissick?fref=ts

Tanya Jones https://www.facebook.com/tjonesauthor/?fref=ts

DM Miller https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010077872324&fref=ts

Recipients, if you choose to accept and wish to propagate the CHAMPIONS AWARDS, please do the following:

  1. Post this Award Sticker on your blog, with the hashtag #CHAMPIONSAWARDS
  2. Acknowledge the sponsor of your Awards.
  3. Choose at least five of your own nominees and advise them accordingly, attaching these 5 guidelines.
  4. Keep it simple… no need for explanations for the Awards… we know how great these folks are.
  5. You are free to give out these Awards as frequently as you wish.
Books · Life · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

Hello 2016, Goodbye 2015

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As the year nears its end, we all take a little bit of time to reflect on our year and make plans or resolutions for the year ahead.

For those who have enjoyed a good 2015, their hopes are that 2016 will be just as kind and for those who have suffered through 2015 the hope is that 2016 will be a better one for them.

Earlier today I saw a friend on Facebook mention that it is in reality only passing from one day to another as it does every other day of the year. She mentioned that she set goals or resolutions throughout the year. She is correct, and I think we should all do that, but there is something about the idea of an ending and a beginning that we as a species tend to like. It feels as though you can package the previous year up in a box, gift wrap it, tie it with ribbon and consign it to the dusty realms marked as the past. As the clock chimes midnight signalling the beginning of a new year we take out a new box, all neatly wrapped up and inside is a blank journal that we will write our new experiences, joys and sorrows on. It seems exciting because we feel as though we can do anything, fill it with adventure. It lets us know that we still have hope and while we have hope we can achieve so much.

I have been blessed with a good year. In January, I self-published a short story and followed up with another short story in February. Since then I have been working on a number of projects all in various stages of completion. I have learnt to do things that I wouldn’t have dreamt possible, faced things that scared the bejeebers out of me. I have made some amazing friends that I have never met and may never meet. I have read books that have transported me to other worlds. I have been lucky enough to have gone on two holidays this year: Malta and Maldives. I have also experienced some personal sadnesses this year that I won’t dwell on. I also achieved a half-marathon and a whole day sponsored silence. I also am now the proud owner of a Honda CG125 motorbike which I love.

I would like to thank everyone who has been part of this year with me, those who have bought my books and kindly left me reviews. More than anything I would like to thank my family and friends who are always there when I need them.

2016 for me will be about pursuing my writing further, publishing my WIPs and hopefully getting some more sales.

So I will bid a fond farewell to 2015 and greet 2016 with open arms and a bottle of Prosecco 😉

Both of my books are on sale until the end of Friday 1st January 2016. If you are interested in making me smile on New Years Day then click & buy

🙂

As Dreams are Made on: myBook.to/Adamo

A Lifetime or a Season: myBook.to/ALifetime

New Year Sale.001.jpeg

 

 

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My Review of Wings of Darkness: Book 1 of the Immortal Sorrows by Sherri A. Wingler

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Wings of Darkness.jpg

 

Over the last year I have read some phenomenal books by Indie Authors, books that made me laugh till my sides hurt, cry real tears & books that were addictive.

A friend of mine recommended this book to me a long time ago and I picked it up on my kindle in March where it has sat with so many others on my TBR list.

I finally decided it was time to read it. It isn’t generally a genre I read but I am open to all genres. The cover appealed and I liked the sound of it. The moment I opened this book I was dragged in minus the kicking and screaming.

The prologue pulls you in from the first word. I can’t really put an example on here otherwise I would have to copy and paste the whole prologue.

Izzy is a young American girl who is involved in an accident and although she meets the Angel of Death it is not her time to die. What Asher (Angel of Death) does is unheard of and it changes her life forever as it does his existence.

I loved this book from the beginning to the end, if I could give it more than 5 stars I would. The flow was strong throughout. There was excitement and edge of your seat drama and quieter moments as the author allowed you to really get to know the characters. Not only was Izzy and Asher extremely well developed by the other characters, Gwen & Grim and all the other bit players.

It is fantasy but I believed it. I lived it and I can only say thank God I have book two to start straight away.

There is nothing about this book that I think didn’t work or could be improved on. I can’t wait to finish leaving this review and getting a few tedious chores out of the way so I can read Book Two: Wings of Shadow.

Note to author: Please have book three finished within the week I can’t wait any longer.

Books

My Review of The Lake of Lilies by Julia Sutton

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Lake of Lilies

 

A thoroughly enjoyable read. The main character, Lisa Reynolds, is a likeable and believable woman who is a witness to a scene that ends in a murder which changes Lisa’s life.

There is a lot of description which keeps you on the edge of your seat as you wonder what might happen. It is a beautiful story of love and loss.

I wanted to keep reading, picking it up each day was a pleasure.

My only real issues were that there were too many speech tags that became distracting and slightly annoying but not enough to put me off reading. I think removing some of these could make the book stronger.

Without wanting to give anything away, I also felt that the resolution was a packaged a little too neatly. It was reminiscent of a 70’s or 80’s crime shows. I think it could have benefitted from a little more grit at this point.

Overall I loved immersing myself in this book and the lives of the characters. I look forward to seeing what this talented author writes next.

Books

My review of Retail Therapy – Colette Kebell

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This is a lovely, easy to read book which I devoured in almost one sitting. I loved the premise of the story, the overall flow of the story.

The characters from the start were likeable and believable. The friendship between Gigi & Ritchie is lovely “He’s also my sponsor. I’m on the path to recovery from spending too much on clothes.”

This book contains humour sprinkled throughout the book.

My only quibbles would be that the ending seemed rushed and I felt as though more development was needed around the character Johnny to justify what happened.  That was the only thing stopping me from giving this book 5 stars.

I am looking forward to moving onto Miss Kebell’s next book which luckily for me has already been written so I don’t have to wait long. I just need to remove a few from my TBR list already on my kindle.

Books

My review of Cross Stitch- Amanda James

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Cross Stitch.jpg

So this is the second book I have read by this author and it did not disappoint. This book leads on from A Stitch in Time.

We enter Sarah Yates’ world again in this book. I did wonder how this book could be different from the first one, would it be more of Sarah’s adventures which would have been fine as I thoroughly enjoyed them in the first book. Ms. James introduced an unexpected complication into this book when Sarah meets a woman in 1930’s London who makes her life and her time travelling more complex. Their destiny’s are entwined and woven beautifully together.

Another fantastic read. Hope you are writing Ms. James I want more.

Books

My review of A Stitch in Time – Amanda James

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A stitch in Time

http://amzn.to/1OgZ1r8

I love a good time slip novel and this book ticks that box with spades. The author utilises an intelligent use of common saying and “stitches” them into the fabric of the book in such a way that you can believe that these were the origins for them.

This is a story of love, of past hurts, compassion and humour all rolled into one. Sarah Yates is an ordinary woman who has been been betrayed. She meets an unusual man and embarks on some scary adventures.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes this genre. I would go onto say that I would read another book by this author but I already have. The review for the sequel Cross Stitch will follow soon.

Books · Uncategorized

My Review of Missing Gretyl by Simon Page

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This is a lovely story that contains some lively and interesting characters. The book is a comedy and while maybe the humour wasn’t fully to my taste and didn’t make me LOL but I did smile a lot. I enjoyed this book that explores the flaws in people’s characters and teaches you not to judge a book by the cover (i.e the characters). Sometimes you have to come close to losing what you value most so that you can remember why you love someone – this book does this well. The author has a great imagination and I look forward to seeing where it goes in his next book.

Books · Uncategorized

My Review: The Religion of the Heart by D.M Miller

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Religion-Heart-D-M-Miller-ebook/dp/B015RYHZ8S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1449165737&sr=1-1&keywords=the+religion+of+the+heart

 

This book is a story of love that spans over a decade for a boy and a girl who are instantly attracted to each other despite the hurdles they face such as religion, culture and miles of separation they hold true to the dream.

When Abdul tries to talk to Catherine in English when he realises that she doesn’t speak Arabic he can’t remember a word that he has learned. I loved that little touch, I could picture the poor boy’s discomfort.

A beautiful phrase in the book that I loved: Time forgot to hurry, creeping by at the pace of a blustery Alaskan winter.

I would have likes to have seen a little bit more of this kind of description.

Abdul is a young man who is weighed down and browbeaten by his family to bend to their will – I kind of thought that Catherine did the same to him. It felt as though the majority of compromises were made by him. Both characters were highly emotional and if I’m honest maybe too much for my personal taste, but that’s just me. It was a lovely tale and it was easy to read.