Deb E Reads (& writes)

First up, a disclosure: I am not traditionally a Romance reader, so I'm coming at this from a different angle than the target market may do. My experience with Romance, to date, has been a dabble in the Mills & Boon type, which hasn't appealed, or Diana Gabaldon's epic historic fantasy THE OUTLANDER Series, of which I really enjoyed the first few books. IN YOUR ARMS falls somewhere between the two.

One thing I must say is that the last chapter was worth the whole read. Satisfying in the extreme.

I liked that the tale explored the relationship between white folk and people of colour (particularly "Injuns") in the late 19th century US. This exploration, laced with the double standard for pre-marital sex faced by women, leant the tale a real depth that made the romance (and the sex... yep, herein lies sex) a necessary part of the theme.

Here, you'll find your favourite romance tropes: a couple who rub each other the wrong way, which eventually helps ignite the sparks that are smoldering under the surface, and the outside/social influences both for and against the couple getting together.

Christian had some great lines that had me giggling. He had a certain boyish charm that, while I didn't fall head over heels for him myself, had me finding him quite loveable.

Lily had worked hard for her reputation as a good teacher and it was frustrating (in a good way) having to watch her deal with the possibility of giving that up for the sake of following her romantic heart.

Overall, nicely written with some particularly neat narrative turns of phrase and dialogue thrown in.

I received a pre-release review copy as part of the Release Blog Tour.

Generally really enjoyed this. It continues the story of Ghost Hand and delves into some deeper, darker secrets of the characters and groups involved.

So, Ghost Hold continues the tale of the kids with PSS (Psyche Sans Soma). These kids have "missing" body parts that are replaced with a glowing blue version of said body part... And, under certain conditions, these glowing blue body parts can develop special powers - like the MC Olivia's PSS hand's ability to reach into people and pull items out... A very interesting ability indeed, since these things she pulls out of people can have a power of their own.

So, if you haven't read Ghost Hand (Book 1 of the PSS Chronicles), I suggest you do. It's a great premise.

And Ghost Hold continues on pretty much seamlessly.

I'm starting to have a little trouble with the fact Olivia can't trust anyone (and I mean ANYONE... everyone's spinning her tales or telling her incomplete truths...), because that means I can't either.

Strangely, the swearing didn't bother me in the first book. I read reviews where stars were dropped because of the swearing and, while I understand people's opinions, I hadn't found it a bother.

This time round, though... 'S***' or 'F***' appear as their own little sentences on almost every page. I found it disrupted the flow of the text for me. Plus, because of the way I choose to use such words (so, this is my own personal stand point colouring my reading) I tend to get all excited when someone uses them, thinking something huge is happening... if they're overused, you keep going "What? What?! Oh, is that all?" and they lose their impact... There were many instances that I went back and read again, skipping over the swear word and found the situation had more impact (for me) without. I understand why Ms Patton chose to use the words - many teens do like to bandy the "forbidden" words around, but I don't think it was necessary. The characters behaved enough like teens to not need it... my opinion. Just sharing.

Other than that, the concept still has me pretty well gripped. Still interested in where this PSS stuff can take us, and what the ultimate conclusion might be... if there is one. It may be better to leave us guessing...

Still a highly recommended read.

I was confused a lot of the time. I tend to assume it's me, not the book. Regardless, I prefer more action, that's just my taste. It was OK.

I'll say a good 4.5 stars.

Stunning writing. Just stunning.
Right from the first I was drawn in to Iminique's world and magic.
This is an epic tale, with a large cast introduced over many chapters. Yet, I never felt bogged down by too many new names. They were introduced with just enough depth to get to know them before others came into the picture.
It's a tale of political intrigue, with a back-bone of love, desire and trust (or not). It heads down some pretty dark paths, so is not for the easily offended.
I think all of the characters had a struggle with morality at some level. Is saving one life worth all the others that may be lost because of this one survival? Does one refuse to pay a debt in order to be with their lover? Can one face the (relatively) short-term torture of a few in order to carry out a bigger plan of attack against dark forces? Compromise, compromise, compromise. The characters were faced with many. The author didn't. She delved into these lives to really make the characters pop off the page, and even get the reader thinking now and again.
Ms. Lano is a talent to watch.

My only real 'con' was that I couldn't find my footing as far as placing my faith in any of the male characters. I really, really, really want to like, and trust, Quentyn... but I'm just not 100% sure. So, I ended up feeling (by the end) that there were no good male role models here... I'm not going to dig into this, because I'm not even sure it's an issue. It was just a feeling I got by the end... I couldn't pick one guy I liked for certain... "Wanted to like", yes. "Liked for sure", no.

You know... I didn't love the opening. Just because the first book got us well attached to a certain suite of characters and then this one focused on one I was pre-programmed to dislike... so I wasn't interested... I didn't want to like him. And I still don't. Sure, I can empathise with Jadair and all but, meh.
And the ending... that last paragraph was also a bit meh.
But the rest... The rest had me thinking "This is the kind of story I'd like to write one day". The characters are multi-dimensional, I enjoyed hanging out with them, they react when circumstances change, and, well... it's been fun watching them grow and seeing what directions they take (I think I basically repeated myself there... I'm full up with a fever, sue me).
On the whole, though: well crafted, well written and enjoyable.
I'll be continuing on with these characters.

I've read various other reviews on this one - people who loved it, people who didn't.

I liked the idea of this book, which is why I decided to give it a go. It's a good tale that gives a ton of warning signs for girls to look out for from guys they might be totally infatuated with. It lets them know it's not actually OK for him to treat you like this, and you can expect and do deserve better.

That being said, I did find Jake a little too good to be true... but I don't doubt there are men that empathetic out there, so I'm gonna roll with it.

The one thought I kept having through the book was that I kind of wish I could have gone through the journey WITH Grace. But the book opened at a point that SHOULD have signified the end of her relationship with Noah and then jumped about here there and every where in the timeline of their relationship. It meant that I saw all the early interactions between then through jade-tinted specs. Yeah, I was pretty well over it already. What I would have loved would be to meet Noah as an innocent reader, be swept off my feet, have a few doubts planted by his odd behaviour and then slowly come to loathe him, as I think Grace would have experienced it... then it would have been the rollercoaster ride I think it was aiming for.

Regarding the jumping around in time thing... it left me confused a couple of times. I'm not sure if it was me or the book (I usually assume me). Can someone correct me... Grace breaks up with Joel the morning after "the Jack Johnson serenade", but the bit where Noah plays the Jack Johnson song to her starts with "It had been two weeks since I broke up with Joel." I may have missed something in all this, though?

All the references to the 90s Seattle bands had me thinking this was a book written by a 30-something woman recalling a relationship she had back in the 90s. A little research could have brought it into the here and now, but I'm guessing that wasn't the point. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Pearl Jam and Candlebox and the rest... but I am a 30-something woman. It wouldn't have been a problem, except that it made the jadedness of the MC feel a little like it wasn't just the MC's jadedness, if you get my meaning.

On the whole, I think this is a great book for teenage girls to read (that being said, I don't know any teenagers closely, so don't take my word as the be all and end all). It clearly states from the outset it's for girls suffering from emotional abuse - or it could be to help those who haven't experienced it avoid it... For that, I commend the effort.

I love going on an emotional journey when I read. I felt this was missing here, just because it was a "look back", which immediately took me out of the moment. But, what I look for may not be the healthy choice for the target audience here, so I won't bag it.

I did "Like it", hence the 3 stars. Overall, it is well-written and manages to be both educational and entertaining.

So... I'm not traditionally a YA reader, and I feel a little bit sad about that, because I know there are some wonderful aspects to the YA "genre"... tales dedicated to that age-range, anyway. It's a wonderful age to write about and for, with so many life lessons and issues to learn and navigate through.

That being said, I'm not traditionally a YA reader because, so far, there has always been "something missing" when I've read them. Can I put my finger on it? No... no I can't. It's just not there.

And continuing on with the "That being said..." theme... The "Hidden" series has a lot going for it.

It is an original concept. People being convinced to harm themselves by a magic that manifests through music; an angel-like being that I'm not sure actually is an angel; a hint of romance... or is it?

I really enjoyed the read, and read it quickly (I'm not usually one to read a book in a single day... but there you go). And I enjoyed the second book slightly more (I think it was the greater progress of the romance in book 2 that had me going... yes, yes, I am a sucker for a little romance in my stories).

As I am now reading the immensely popular "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" by Laini Taylor, I'm beginning to feel that readers who have enjoyed that series might enjoy this one... It's hard to say for sure, but I sense enough similarities (but with that, I believe the "Hidden" series is truly original... probably even more so that DoS&B is) to be able to whisper with some hesitation (and I don't make "If you liked this, you'll like that" recommendations lightly), "Yes, yes you will."

"Hidden" is a YA series that I, as a not-typically-a-YA-reader, will continue on with.

I’m borrowing the blurb from Amazon, because it also gives you a taste of the author’s voice:
“Winter is not exactly the 'season of the witch.' It's cold in Washington: everything is covered in snow; EVERYTHING. But it doesn't bother Lucilla Sinclair, the Witch-Warden for Washington state. She's perfectly happy performing minor enchantments at her little arcane shop in Redhaven, an old fishing town turned tourist attraction. She has Mishal, her tall, dark-skinned elemental guardian to keep her warm; and Irwin, her raven familiar to pass the time. Magickal mischief in the cold, quiet state is slow for the most part, but when a freak winter storm lands a half-transformed Siren on her front porch, Lucy’s life becomes increasingly strange. Her dreams are suddenly assaulted with visions of a beautiful demon man, and her waking hours are spent warding off a cadre of mysterious shadow creatures. With the life of the Siren in her hands, Lucy must trek through the snows of Canada in a race against time. Her mission: to find the one person with enough knowledge of forbidden black magick to fix the broken Siren Melusine before her seven days on land are up. This is gonna be a rough week.”


Plot: As described in the blurb, this story is about a Witch. And not just a Witch. A Witch-Warden – someone tasked with protecting us lowly humans from the things that go bump in the night... and day... all the time, really. They’re busy people. I liked this idea of a Witch whose job it was to protect us all. She wasn’t the only one. Each US State has its own Warden... and I presume other places around the world do, too...
Humans have an innate distrust of magick (different from regular magic – card tricks and the like) folk... I can see that, too. We like to think we’re pretty awesome... can’t be having some folks with magick protecting us... what if they decided to turn on us? Yep, we’d be screwed... so it’s a tenuous relationship.

So, there was a storm, and a big slimey monster, and a Siren washed up with a nasty cut to her leg. Not just any old cut,

For the sake of full disclosure, I will state that this book is published by my own publisher.

That being said, I really enjoyed it, in a slightly uncomfortable way.

I have often said that when I read a book, I seek to fall in love with at least one of the characters. Well, I don't think that's meant to happen with this book. Seriously. If you fall in love with anyone, well... hmmm... I'll look at you funny. Maybe Morty, or Vince... they're OK. But of the main characters, there is no one here worthy of your love. And that's fine. I think that's the point.

I thought the concept of these two contestants was really interesting. As for a battle of the sexes, well, that made me a little uncomfortable from the get-go. There's no doubting that, everything being equal, a man is physically superior to a woman (just going by muscle strength here), so the idea of them competing fairly was difficult to accept. However, I think it was dealt with really well. Robin sure is feisty, so it was believable when she did manage to come out on top (that may or may not be a pun at some points in the story... my lips are sealed).

I admit I spent a good chunk of the book trying to like both Robin and Joe... but they're both pretty dispicable in their own way. I managed to find some semblance of sympathy for Joe along the way, but there are some things that are simply unforgivable -- especially when they're premeditated!

I loved all the detail that went into describing the low-gravity (zero gravity, as was often the case) setting -- it was really neat and had me pondering just how much research Dean Lombardo had done when (or before) writing this thing. Really nice little bits and pieces here and there that even had me wondering if he had first-hand experience!

Pulp doesn't usually feature in my chosen genres, but this was without a doubt a good read, if not always fun (although, fun for much of it!). A great way to look back on ourselves and "our" love of cheap entertainment (I'm going to exclude myself, as I have a tendency to avoid reality TV since the very first Big Brother - just doesn't interest me). Greed has a lot to answer for.

Happy reading!

For the sake of full disclosure, I will state that this book is published by my own publisher.That being said, I really enjoyed it, in a slightly uncomfortable way.I have often said that when I read a book, I seek to fall in love with at least one of the characters. Well, I don't think that's meant to happen with this book. Seriously. If you fall in love with anyone, well... hmmm... I'll look at you funny. Maybe Morty, or Vince... they're OK. But of the main characters, there is no one here worthy of your love. And that's fine. I think that's the point.I thought the concept of these two contestants was really interesting. As for a battle of the sexes, well, that made me a little uncomfortable from the get-go. There's no doubting that, everything being equal, a man is physically superior to a woman (just going by muscle strength here), so the idea of them competing fairly was difficult to accept. However, I think it was dealt with really well. Robin sure is feisty, so it was believable when she did manage to come out on top (that may or may not be a pun at some points in the story... my lips are sealed).I admit I spent a good chunk of the book trying to like both Robin and Joe... but they're both pretty dispicable in their own way. I managed to find some semblance of sympathy for Joe along the way, but there are some things that are simply unforgivable -- especially when they're premeditated!I loved all the detail that went into describing the low-gravity (zero gravity, as was often the case) setting -- it was really neat and had me pondering just how much research Dean Lombardo had done when (or before) writing this thing. Really nice little bits and pieces here and there that even had me wondering if he had first-hand experience! Pulp doesn't usually feature in my chosen genres, but this was without a doubt a good read, if not always fun (although, fun for much of it!). A great way to look back on ourselves and "our" love of cheap entertainment (I'm going to exclude myself, as I have a tendency to avoid reality TV since the very first Big Brother - just doesn't interest me). Greed has a lot to answer for.Happy reading!

Description:I’m borrowing the blurb from Amazon, because it also gives you a taste of the author’s voice:“Winter is not exactly the 'season of the witch.' It's cold in Washington: everything is covered in snow; EVERYTHING. But it doesn't bother Lucilla Sinclair, the Witch-Warden for Washington state. She's perfectly happy performing minor enchantments at her little arcane shop in Redhaven, an old fishing town turned tourist attraction. She has Mishal, her tall, dark-skinned elemental guardian to keep her warm; and Irwin, her raven familiar to pass the time. Magickal mischief in the cold, quiet state is slow for the most part, but when a freak winter storm lands a half-transformed Siren on her front porch, Lucy’s life becomes increasingly strange. Her dreams are suddenly assaulted with visions of a beautiful demon man, and her waking hours are spent warding off a cadre of mysterious shadow creatures. With the life of the Siren in her hands, Lucy must trek through the snows of Canada in a race against time. Her mission: to find the one person with enough knowledge of forbidden black magick to fix the broken Siren Melusine before her seven days on land are up. This is gonna be a rough week.”Plot: As described in the blurb, this story is about a Witch. And not just a Witch. A Witch-Warden – someone tasked with protecting us lowly humans from the things that go bump in the night... and day... all the time, really. They’re busy people. I liked this idea of a Witch whose job it was to protect us all. She wasn’t the only one. Each US State has its own Warden... and I presume other places around the world do, too...Humans have an innate distrust of magick (different from regular magic – card tricks and the like) folk... I can see that, too. We like to think we’re pretty awesome... can’t be having some folks with magick protecting us... what if they decided to turn on us? Yep, we’d be screwed... so it’s a tenuous relationship.So, there was a storm, and a big slimey monster, and a Siren washed up with a nasty cut to her leg. Not just any old cut, a cut inflicted by something nasty, making it bleed black. Not good. And so Lucy embarks on a trip to get the Siren all fixed-up.On the whole, the plot is a decent one. There’s a quest, and we get to see how the characters perform during the fulfilment of that quest – and meet a couple of other interesting ones along the way.I found it a touch slow at times – some things just don’t need to be described in quite so much detail... for me. But others will approve, I’m sure.As the story progressed, I found my sense of drama waning. I think it was that several times we were forewarned about what could go wrong... but it didn’t really. Or, if it did, it felt as though it was sorted pretty easily, IMO. Anyway, eventually, I just wasn’t worried any more.Characters: Several of the characters had very strong voices, which was great.Lucy (Lucilla) is pretty cool. She’s rough and ready to tackle what the world has to throw at her... I think you would call her pragmatic. She doesn’t react emotionally to much. And even when she does, she analyses herself doing it... This may have kept me from getting too close to her.I rather loved Irwin, her crow familiar. Right from the get-go we get a great picture of who he is, as he lands of Lucy’s shoulder and requests pancakes for breakfast.Mishal, Mishal, Mishal... I get the feeling we’re supposed to fall in love with him, because he clearly loves Lucy more than she thinks he does. And he’s tall. And black. Oh, and he’s got super pale eyes, like, startlingly, white-blue eyes. But I don’t know. Apart from the overdone description of him in those early pages, I didn’t really get a feel for him. At times I got a good picture of his protectiveness, but at other times I didn’t know why he was just standing there letting Lucy do all the dangerous stuff... For a big, black, fiery man, he felt a little bit like a tool for the plot, and when he wasn’t needed he just stood there, frozen. And then he’d lament over how he’d failed to help out, and I’d be yelling (in my head) “But you didn’t even try!”. But perhaps there was more going on than I understood. The demon: I wish he’d played a bigger role. He interested me a great deal. I take it he’s going to make another appearance in future tales... here’s hoping. Once he turned up I was like “Move over, Mishal, let this one in.” But, then, I do have a thing for the bad boys, so Mishal and I got off on the wrong foot right from the get-go. Whereas, Mister Demon-man... hello.Melusine, the Siren... Yeah, I never really cared about her. Not all that much. Sure, I wanted Lucy to save her for Lucy’s sake, but I just didn’t really get into Melusine herself.The Tank was cool... no, not a big military vehicle, I’m talking about a fish tank... a communication device... with feelings... And Aunt Rissa. She was cool, too. She had the whole Tardis-like house thing going on, and I liked how she talked to Lucy – no beating around the bush. Overall Appraisal:I gotta say – I loved the opening... very cheeky.And then I got this: “..blinking pale blue eyes at me.”, “..his startling white-blue eyes..”, “The most startling of his features were his eyes, though.” and “It was not his abnormal height, or the pale eyes...” within the first two pages... TWO pages. Enough with the eyes already! I got it! Luckily it stopped after that, because the story in and of itself is quite good.What I love most is the author’s imagination – she sure has one! From a Witch with helpers in several forms (a guardian, an animal familiar, imps, a fish Tank with its very own personality), to a beautifully described demon and strange sea monster, this book has a lot going for it.When these leaps of imagination turned up, I settled more deeply in my chair, or pulled my blankets up, and said to myself “Ah, here we go...” and let myself be wowed. At times I felt that a substantive edit wouldn’t have gone amiss to really bring out Ms. Barrow’s talent and not let it get lost amongst some of the less interesting detail. But I am well aware of how expensive those are.Format/Typo Issues:Yes, there were some. Format was fine. There were very occasional typos, and more commonly remnants of an incomplete edit (where words had been rearranged, but one of the words from the original phrase remained).Rating:A well-earned “I liked it” 3-stars. I can’t bring myself to rate it up with some of my favourite well-structured, well-edited jobbies, but it is nonetheless an entertaining tale and I wish Ms. Barrow every blessing in continuing her writing career. There is a formidably talented imagination at work here.Disclosure: The author provided a free digital edition for my honest review.

First things first: Mystery isn't my preferred genre. That being said, I do like a little mystery in what I read, so it's not a totally new genre for me.Oh, and note, 3 starts on Goodreads still means I liked it... so, yeah...The opening chapters were AMAZING! I was totally drawn into those battlefield scenes... I do kind of wish the rest of the book had been like that.As for the mystery... well... When it finally played out, if felt a bit like an episode of "Castle"... you know, when they finally pick the bad guy and then they give the audience a run down of how it all worked. The main difference is that in "Castle" (or similar shows), the good guys don't know the answers till the end, either... The run down they give is what they've just worked out, too... I felt that in this case, Shaw had kept some of his conclusions from me, and I'm not a fan of that.Of course, I kept trying to figure out the truth as I read... I certainly had my ideas. They didn't play out. (My ideas were probably too cliched, anyway)I think this one is a debut novel, though? Shows huge promise. As I said, those opening chapters... wow. They were really good. I'll be interested to see what kind of stories Mr. Chamberlain has gone on to write since.

Well-written & great story-telling. Sure, there were times that characters behaved in ways that didn't make total sense to me, but overall I really enjoyed this. Great work!

Started off promising. I liked R. Never really got attached to Julie. I felt like Julie was her problems... I didn't get a good sense of character past the fact that she is a totured soul kinda thing...I guess the stakes were high... I mean, it was a matter of R and the other zombies getting their lives back. Except that R getting his back was kind of inevitable as soon as he met Julie. Yes, I think that's it... it was a "this is a big deal because we're saving the WORLD!" kind of plot, whereas I want to be worried for the MC's. I wasn't. Very rarely did I feel I had anything to worry about with them. They didn't get involved in the fighting. Lives, loves and general well-being never really felt like they were on the brink of being lost. Sometimes we were told there was a risk of something bad happening. But it didn't and people just carried on.The general feel I get from the story is that it's a commentary on where we could end up (figuratively). It's saying that our world is sick and we need to fix it. A noble thought I don't doubt.I laughed out loud when Julie was on the balconey proclaiming that "zombie" is just a name we apply to something we don't understand... LOL. How much more "Romeo and Juliet" could you get? Mind you... the zombie is "R" and the girl is "Julie" and the whole tale was very Romeo and Juliet, without the tragic lesson at the end.I'm still looking forward to the movie. I think the movie will be good, because I suspect we're going to be taken deeper into the action and caring will be easier.On the whole: enjoyable enough. Light reading. But I'll keep looking for my next favourite.

I liked it.If more of the book had been written like the last few chapters, I might have loved it. There were some good bits. But for a LOT of the book, I was bored. I knew stuff was going to happen. But the writing style left this gaping chasm between me and Penryn for most of it, so I was rarely drawn into any of it. When there was action, though, the writing was tight, and that's when it had me. So far, that seems to be my main problem with YA - the opinionated narrators. I'd rather just be shown what's going on and form my own opinions.At the moment, though, I am tempted to check out the next one... That being said, I might forget by the time October rolls around...

Probably more of a 3.5. I did like it. It's an enjoyable read with a lot going for it. It's a little more plot-driven, where I prefer character-driven. A few typos did slip through, but I try not to let these bother me - as someone who has investigated the cost of outsourcing editing services... Yes, it's worth it, but who can afford it? That being said, most of the writing was fine, and there were some neat pieces of writing in here.I can only imagine the rest of the series gets better...