Janell Rhiannon
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Brethren Beginnings Volume 1  by deena remiel

9/21/2014

5 Comments

 
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Here is a book with edgy angels, intrigue and basic bad-assery. In Remiel's world, angels come to earth to help and protect humans from themselves. The archangel Gabriel swoops to earth as a suave and sophisticated human. He sets up a private investigation business, Seeker Investigations, and within hours has his first clients. He has to free a dozen young prostitutes from their scumbag pimp. 

He guards those in need of protection with a furious determination. Wielding a lethal sword, Gabriel dispenses a quick and heavenly justice. His Brethren companion, Nathanael, provides a similar service, but his heart is tormented because he actually enjoys killing the bad guys. He has a difficult choice to make...continue or turn.
I enjoyed this book for the sheer fun of the characters and the good/bad angels :)

andy whitfield as gabriel

If you want to get an idea about the gritty level of Remiel's world building, I've included a clip montage of my favorite late actor, Andy Whitfield of Spartacus fame. He played Gabriel in the movie titled Gabriel... 

deena remiel

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Find Deena at her blog Deena Remiel's Place
Twitter @deenaremiel
Facebook
Amazon Author Page
BUY her books at:
Amazon and B & N
She responds to your messages and tweets:) 



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Hot topic...reluctant to be angelic...

6/21/2014

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Reluctant Angel has been sitting in my TBR Kindle stack for a while (too long in fact!) and I decided it was time to start devouring all those downloads. I clicked on the book cover and off I went. In two days, I read this scintillating novella by Chastity Bush (writing as Anna Snow). Holy cow this was a "hot topic" to say the least.  

Killian Sams is a fire-cracker of an angel. She fights. She curses. She is a force to be reckoned with. She's just landed on Earth to face off with the Destroyer, a monster-demon with shape-shifting abilities and a voracious appetite for human souls which he consumes for power. And, she must save a lost soul along the way. She agrees to the angelic mission for one reason: to get a second chance at being human. If she fails? She'll be obliterated for all time...no soul, no angelic form, nothing.
Chase Crawford lost the love of his life. He finds solace in his mercenary work...saving others...but not himself. Chase doesn't even recognize that he's in need of saving, until he meets Killian in the wildness of the jungle. At first he thinks this petite woman needs him to rescue her, but soon discovers she can defend herself quite well, all on her own.

What Killian and Chase are unprepared for is the battle of their passions. She is forbidden to love a human and he thought his heart was dead. Try as they might, they are drawn closer together by circumstance and lust...or love? They steamed up the screen on my iPhone Kindle app...

This is a novella length read. Fast paced. Lots of witty conversation. Steamy love scenes. Perfect for a summer day by the pool or beach retreat. Download with a quick click @Amazon.com. 

Find ANNA SNOW at these links:
WEB http://www.annasnow.info/
TWEETS https://twitter.com/annasnow_author

When I think of Killian...

When I think of Chase...

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Beneath the beautiful...

8/6/2013

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....this really was a fun book to read....I read this eNovella in two days. Kassandra Kush did a great job snagging my attention with the opening scene. In The Things We Can’t Change, we are introduced to Zeke and Evie. Ezekiel, nice Biblical name, is a tough, trying to stay on the straight and narrow, almost reformed graffiti artist. Evie is a country club prep, daughter of a doctor trying to strike a balance a between her sanity, safety and her abusive boyfriend. Both of these characters struggle with their inner demons, while trying to navigate high school and family life.

Short version: Evie is abused emotionally and then raped by her popular boyfriend. We are witness, as readers, to Evie’s pain and confusion. (It’s rather intense, but not inappropriate for upper teen readers.) Zeke discovers the truth, encourages Evie to be brave for her own self, but when she is unable to or unwilling to, Zeke doesn’t understand. He thinks she should be able to just walk away from the abuser, like he did from graffiti. But in the end, it all comes crashing down around them both.

I really liked the character of Zeke. There was something about the way Kush caught the essence of a misunderstood young man.” I loved how he looked after his little sister. I thought Zeke’s layers as the protagonist were well written, and there was honesty about his character that came through the story. So much so, that I can image Zeke hanging out around any corner on a high school campus. Evie, although the “maiden in distress in need of rescue”, was not as likable in my opinion, but her story was central to helping Zeke manifest bravery he didn’t know he had. Kush did a bang up job presenting a story based on tough real life situations.

After I read this, I thought about who Evie and Zeke are in the real world...he is the bad boy, tatted, troubled, and afraid he is unlovable. Evie is the spoiled little rich girl, who should have had it all, and lives with the fact she doesn't believe she's lovable either. Classic. We all run around shielding ourselves from our fears, hiding truths we can't face, refuse to face. So, I found a little music video that reminded me of this story. I will definitely be watching for part two. Bring it on Miss Kush!

And then, Kassandra Kush just applied the brakes on her keyboard and left us HANGING! And I mean hanging, literally...so...don’t expect any resolutions in book one. Curses!!! Part two is due out    

You can find Kassandra on Facebook (I did) 
https://www.facebook.com/KassandraKushAuthor?filter=2

and in my fav place Twitter world (because you know I can't tweet just one):
https://twitter.com/KassandraKush

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here's her teaser for part two...and yes..YOU ARE TEASING US! No fair. There. I said it. 

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Walking Wolf Road by Brandon Herbert

12/26/2011

1 Comment

 
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I had the pleasure of reading Brandon Herbert's Walking Wolf Road this week. There are several things that struck me as I read, and the first was Herbert's ability to create a strong, compelling teen boy voice in his hero, Jimmy Walker.  Through this character, Herbert explored the realm of family relationships, high  school drama, and the paranormal world of Native American shapeshifters. These  are heavy, complex issues that Herbert dealt with satisfactorily and sometimes  with surprisely unexpected twists. **No Spoilers** here!!!!

Jimmy Walker  is being raised by his mother and stepfather, who seems at times overly critical  and demanding of Jimmy. This perceived rejection by his stepfather is part of  the fuel that feeds the fire with Jimmy, the dark fire that consumes, which  Jimmy calls his "dragon." To make matters worse, Jimmy's stepfather moves the  family around quite a bit. Jimmy has just landed, in chapter 1 in a new town at  the beginning of his senior year in high school. He hates the fake high school  culture that drives most of the drama and
encourages a group of jocks to be  bullies. Herbert's hero is the unlikely type: over-weight, depressed and totally  unaware of his talents, or dormant courage. The story unfolds and we get the  pleasure of watching Jimmy discover new aspects of himelf develop with a new  found group of friends, The Pack.

The premise: loner boy, Jimmy Walker,  meets strange new friends, Fen, Loki, and Geri, and finds a place he belongs.  They are werewolves who bring Jimmy into the Pack. When a dead boy speaks to  Jimmy and a dark shadow haunts his dreams, he is propelled on a mission of self  discovery as well as a mission of truth. With his Pack mates at his back, he  begins the journey. But life is rarely what you expect and loss changes  everything.

Jimmy's best friend is the beautiful, but creepy Fen, who  opens Jimmy's eyes to the world of the paranormal and WOLVES, or werewolves that  is! In the "Pack" is a dark-haired beauty named Loki and the quiet Geri. They  play like wolves, order their relationships like wolves and explore the world  like wolves. The relationship between Jimmy, new Pack pup, and Fen, the Alpha  dog, is perhaps where Herbert does some of his best teen relationship  exploration and it has intense momemts...you'll have to read to find out what  happens and why. The romantic triangulations will make your eyebrows  raise...

I appreciated his take on the "werewolf" concept. Herbert  incorporated just enough Native
American culture as to create a believable  "otherworld" complete with rules of engagement and mystical characters. His  descriptions were vivid and beautiful. As the hero, Jimmy, explores his  connection to his personal, inner wolf, he discovers that much of what he  thought was true about life, his family and his friends was actually  ...different, not wrong, but different. Herbert takes on the teen world with  great confidence. He creates a world where werewolves live among humans. A world  where you never know if someone is a wolf in sheep's clothing or a Wolf in a  man's body. I loved it. This is a great, fast-paced read you can really sink  your teeth into, no pun intended:)
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    Janell Rhiannon
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  • Homeric Chronicles
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