Lonely Souls Review

 Description: 
 

It’s two weeks before Triss turns 18, and her world is about to change into the most magical one imaginable as she readies herself to enter The Witch Avenue Order… that is until her mother’s disappearance.  Instead of celebrating her transformation, she finds herself spreading rose petals into her mother’s empty grave.

When Logan, her best friend from junior high, moves back to town for college, he vows to help her find the answers she so desperately seeks surrounding her mother’s disappearance.  As they begin uncovering clues, it becomes apparent that the life of white magic they both grew up loving, is not what the majority practices, and their lives are in danger.

With a haunting feeling that her mother may still be alive, she begins to hear a call to the wilderness.  Triss realizes that in order to find the answers she needs, she must learn the ways of her ancestors and become the hunter, not the hunted before it’s too late, and she becomes part of the lonely souls.

My Thoughts:

I've always liked stories about witches and Lonely Souls was an interesting addition to the ones I've already read. I really enjoyed the way that magic was portrayed in Lonely Souls and the portrayal of spells and covens and the like. Triss was a decent heroine, although I occasionally got annoyed with her constant feeling of guilt (which in turn makes me feel like a terrible person considering what she's gone through). But I feel she made the right decision in the end.

I also liked Logan, Triss's childhood friend and love interest. In fact, I know I have much more in common with Logan than with Triss. I'm still a bit mad at Logan about something that happened at the end though.

My biggest turn-off with this one was the dialogue. It felt a little forced and unnatural to me.

On the Cover:

I absolutely love this cover. I was lucky enough to be part oif the cover reveal and was dying to read it ever since!

Where to find it: Goodreads

Karice Boulton: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Check out the rest of the tour and don't forget to enter the giveaway!!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Final Life Blog Tour

I'm super excited to be taking part in the Final Life blog tour. Today author Rose Garcia is sharing six words that play a major part in her novel Final Life. Plus there's even a giveaway at the end!

Eight lives. You’d think Dominique would get it right, but she’s failed every time. Now on her final life, Dominique must discover the secrets of her past before confronting the Transhuman hunter who wants to kill her for the last time. Farrell, a mysterious Transhuman protector, and Trent, a hot guy from her school, want to help her. But it’s up to her to get it right this time—or she’ll be dead. For real.

Six Words for Final Life by Rose Garcia

1.      Transhuman is defined in the 1966 Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedia as “surpassing; transcending; beyond.” In the 1983 Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, transhuman is defined as “superhuman.” The main characters in Final Life are Transhumans—humans that are able to control the energy in and around them. This ability gives them superpowers, and allows them to do things ordinary people are unable to do.

2.      Numerology is the study of numbers, more particularly one’s birth date, and the supposed influence the numbers have on a person’s life. I once had a neighbor use numerology to determine my soul life. According to my neighbor and her interpretation of numerology, every person has one soul but nine lives. (Like a cat, but not a cat!) In Final Life, a neighbor does the same reading for Dominique and tells her that she is living her final life, life number nine. And, as it turns out, this is true. She is indeed living her final life and has only one last chance to find her killer before she ends up dead… again.

3.      Amnesia is the partial or total loss of memory. In Final Life, Dominique has no memory of her past lives. All she has are sparks of recognition from time to time, but she isn’t sure if she can trust those glimmers of her past.

4.      Hopelessness is having no expectation of success.  And because Dominique has been killed in each of her past lives, she has no reason to feel anything but hopeless. Her feeling of despair magnifies throughout the book and completely alters her as a person, but also propels her into action.

5.      Death is the end of life. And since this is Dominique’s final life, there’s a finality that goes beyond her existence because her death will also affect the Transhumans that are protecting her and the feud between the good Transhumans (the Pure) and the evil Transhumans (the Tainted.)

6.      Love is the strong affection for another. Sometimes it’s so strong that it can lead one to sacrifice for another. In Final Life, love is the one thing that Dominique can count on. 

About the Author:

Rose Garcia is a lawyer turned writer who’s always been fascinated by science fiction and fantasy. From a very young age, she often had her nose buried in books about other-worlds, fantastical creatures, and life and death situations. More recently she’s been intrigued by a blend of science fiction and reality, and the idea that some supernatural events are, indeed, very real. Fueled by her imagination, she created The Transhuman Chronicles—a series of books about people who have overcome human limitations. Rose lives in Houston with her husband and two kids. You can visit Rose at www.rosegarciabooks.com. Check her out on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads!

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Theme Thursday - The Last Bastion of the Living Edition

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event hosted by Reading Between the Pages. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

• A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

The theme for this week is

TREES Plant; Shrub 

It's been a while since I did a Theme Thursday, but this week's comes from The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater.

 

"Okay, we keep along the dam until we can get to those trees over there." He pointed to a thin line of pines growing up against a steep incline. "We need to get into the foothills."

The Watcher's Trilogy Blog Tour - Excerpt and Giveaway

I'm very excited to be taking part in the blog tour for The Watcher's Trilogy by Karice Bolton. Don't these books look beautiful? I think the covers are amazing and I'm very excited to try out this series. Today I'm lucky enough to be able to share an excerpt from Awakening.

***

To my disgust, the brown tinged nails intertwined around my sweater.  My spirit became full of despair once the creature’s fingers wrapped themselves around me.  I looked down, filling up inside with fear like never before.  My family was already supposed to be here.  He must have gotten to Arie.  I was never supposed to be alone.  Cyril should’ve been in the trees right above me on the hill, and Arie near the garage.  I didn’t see any of this happening.  Then my worst nightmare flashed in my mind.  I had to shake it, but it kept coming back.  What if the demon got to all of them first?  What would my fate be?  Would I even care to go on?  I might just rather go back to the numbness of before.  Not knowing what you’re missing was better than the alternative.
 
I heard no voice coming from the demon, rather a raspy breath speaking to me.  “You are alone my angel.  Isn’t that what Athen likes to call you?” he asked, as he touched my cheek.  “Looks like you’re going away for a long time again.”
 
I grabbed his hand and threw it back at him.  I began to let my mind wander off to the nightmares.  Could they have been real?  Could I have lost my family?  I knew I needed to fight regardless.
 


“Get your filth off of me,” I howled at him. “Your presence does nothing to me.  I have no feeling or regard for you one way or the other.  You don’t scare me.  You make me laugh at your pathetic self.”

***

Awesome, right? For more goodies, you can check out the rest of the tour here.

More linky goodness:

Karice Bolton: website | Facebook | Twitter

 |Goodreads: Awakening | Legions | Cataclysm










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The Last Bastion of the Living Blog Tour: Midway Review and Giveaway

So I'm trying something new for the Last Bastion of the Living blog tour, a midway review! That means that I'll be sharing my thoughts from where I am, pretty close to the midpoint of the book. Stay tuned for my final review in about a week or so!

Synopsis:

The Bastion was humanity’s last hope against the fearsome undead creatures known as the Inferi Scourge. A fortified city with a high wall, surrounded by lush land rich with all the resources needed to survive, protected by high mountain summits, and a massive gate to secure the only pass into the valley, the Bastion became the last stronghold of the living on earth. But one fateful day, the gate failed and the Inferi Scourge destroyed the human settlements outside the walls and trapped the survivors inside the city. Now decades later, the last remaining humans are struggling to survive in a dying city as resources and hope dwindle.

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her whole life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls. Her only refuge from the daily grind is in the arms of her lover, Dwayne Reichardt, an officer in the Bastion Constabulary. Both are highly-decorated veterans of the last disastrous push against the Inferi Scourge. Their secret affair is her only happiness.

Then one day Maria is summoned to meet with a mysterious representative from the Science Warfare Division and is offered the opportunity to finally destroy the Inferi Scourge in the valley and close the gate. The rewards of success are great, but she will have to sacrifice everything, possibly even her life, to accomplish the ultimate goal of securing the future of humanity and saving it from extinction.

My Thoughts:

So far, I am in love with this book! I really enjoyed another of Rhiannon's books, The First Days, but I actually prefer The Last Bastion of the Living! Maria is a great character, likeable, fiery and imperfect, my favourite combination! I also really love the world Frater created. I can easily picture what life in the Bastion must be like for the survivors and I really like the concept that some survivors have never known a world without the Inferi Scourge. This great setting really clarifies Maria's desperation to destroy the Inferi threat through any means necessary!

At halfway through this book, I want to highly recommend this book to everyone! Unless things take a turn for the worst in the second half, this book is on track to be one of my favourites for the year!

About the Author:

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the AS THE WORLD DIES zombie trilogy and the author of several other books: the vampire novels PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES and THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. The first two books in her zombie trilogy, THE FIRST DAYS and FIGHTING TO SURVIVE, are available now in bookstores. SIEGE will be in bookstores on April 24, 2012.
Website 

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Giveaway: 

Rhiannon has been kind enough to offer one lucky reader a chance to win a ebook of The Last Bastion of the Living. You NEED to enter this giveaway!

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Thorn Blog Tour: Review

Info:
Thorn
Author: Intisar  Khanani
Published: May 30, 2012
Publisher: Create Space

Blurb:

Princess Alyrra’s strength lies in silence. Scorned by her family, she avoids the court, spending her time with servants. When her marriage is unexpectedly arranged with the prince of a powerful neighboring kingdom, Alyrra feels trapped. As the court celebrates her match, dark rumors spread about the unexplained deaths of the women of her new family. Alyrra begins her journey with mounting trepidation; betrayed while traveling, she seizes an opportunity to start a life away from court.

Walking away from a prince whom she doesn’t know should have been easy. But from the moment she sets eyes on him, Alyrra realizes that her freedom could cost him his life. Without any magical defense of her own, she is plunged into a lethal game of sorcery and deceit. Now Alyrra must decide whom she can trust and what she’s willing to fight for—before her silence proves fatal.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I started it, but I'm sure glad I picked it up! I immediately connect with the main character Alyrra and I couldn't wait to find out what happened to her next! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy!

Alyrra is an awesome heroine. I really appreciate how Intisar showcased her imperfection and how she must deal with the consequences of these flaws and work to overcome them. No one is perfect, so I always enjoy imperfect main characters. On the flip side, she has a lot of redeeming qualities that make her likeable and easy to relate to.

One of the major themes for me was human cruelty. Through the book, Alyrra witnesses a lot of cruelty. For this reason, I would not recommend this book for younger readers (perhaps 14+). This one also comes with a mild 'tear-warning' (as in, I got pretty teary-eyed at a couple points). As well, because it is set in a time where social classes were more distinct, it also makes an interesting argument on social inequalities.

The only thing I would change is that I wish Intisar had given a bit more explanation about magic in her story. While it wasn't a hugely important part for most of the story, there were definitely parts when I was curious about how spells could be cast and that sort of thing.

On the Cover:

I wasn't super thrilled by this cover. I like the eyes at the top, but the rest feels a little bland to me.

Rating: 5 hearts

Where to Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle

Stalk the Author: Goodreads | Website | Facebook

Interview with MJ Fletcher, author of the Doorknob Society

I'm very excited today to have MJ Fletcher, author of the Doorknob Society and the Impossible Engineers, on the blog today for an interview.

Hi MJ and welcome to Megan Likes Books!

Thanks Megan, glad to be here.

First, can you tell us a little more about the Doorknob Society?

The Doorknob Society Saga is the story of Chloe Masters. She’s a bit of a loner but that has to change as she comes to learn about her new abilities and her family is put in danger. It has mystery, intrigue, action, adventure and even a bit of romance. I mean who doesn’t want those things in life?

Describe yourself in 5 words.

Hmmmmm, let me see. I guess I would have to say; calm, passionate, friendly, happy and crazy. The last one is probably my favorite. People underestimate a good amount of crazy making life more enjoyable.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer?

Never stop writing, even if what you’re writing is horrible. Just keep going and it will get better. I can’t even begin to tell you how many pages of my own writing I dumped after rereading it. But the more you write the better you get, plus you can always edit.

Can you describe your writing style?

Fast…one person described my writing as breakneck speed. I always liked that. I enjoy when things are happening and the story is moving along.

Who are your biggest literary inspirations?

I doubt I could name all of them, but a few are; Edgar Rice Burroughs, JK Rowling, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe. I’d say the writer who had the biggest effect on me would be my mother, Donna Fletcher. She’s been a writer since I was young and I seeing her do it made me believe it was possible.

What’s next on your writing agenda?

I am writing the last book of the Doorknob Society Saga, as we speak. Which is fun and a little tough since I’ve enjoyed it so much. Book three, The Mapmakers Union will be out in July.

I’m also writing a web comic Adam Zero, with some great guys Evan Quiring and Donovan Yaciuk, doing the art chores on it. We’re having a blast doing that.

After that I have a few options of what to work on next. A new YA series I have planned or a thriller. There is also a chance I could return to the Doorknob Society at some point. But that will depends on if the fans want it.

Any words of wisdom for aspiring writers?

Write! But other than that live as much as possible, all the best writing comes from having rich experiences. You might not need to travel to outer space or fight vampires. But going out and having fun with your friends can certainly help recharge the writing batteries.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thank you Megan, it was a lot of fun. :)

The Doorknob Society sounds like a really great series and I can't wait to start it. Watch for my reviews of the first two books coming soon! You check out the other stops on the blog tour here. Also, enter an awesome giveaway!

The Impossible Engineers Links:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Trailer

The Doorknob Society Links:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Trailer