Incite by Erica Crouch

March 15, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 6 Comments

Earth is in ruins, and the war of Heaven and Hell has spilled over into the mortal world. In the frozen wasteland of the apocalypse, Azael and his band of cohorts search for Pen and Michael with orders to kill. Little does he know that his sister has incited a rebel army of her own.

Angels and demons alike stand side by side, ready and willing to fight for a future they didn’t realize they could have. Change doesn’t come easy, though. Pen is wary of joining New Genesis’s revolution, but when Azael shows his hand and Pen learns all that he holds over them, she chooses to fight back, no matter the risk. She only has to survive, one hour at a time.

“Strength does not come from remaining untouched and unaffected. It comes from picking yourself up again and again, no matter how many times you’re thrown to the ground and shattered.” Micheal – I loved this quote in the book.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first. I was apprehensive going into it thinking that I was going to hate reading from Azael’s perspective, but I did enjoy it.

Nothing is accomplished in this book and we are left with a rather large cliffhanger. It’s really just a bridge from a good first book to what feels like it will be an epic finally (hopefully in the third book).

There is a lot of running/flying away from danger, which does lead to a fast paced story. We meet New Genesis a group of Angels and Demons banded together by the same beliefs that we saw bring Pen and Micheal together in the first book.

It was well worth the read and I am looking forward to the next installment, until then I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Pen’s heart will beat again :-).

My Review of Ignite >> http://sarahfairbairn.com/2015/02/04/1257/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21971646-incite

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ericacrouchbooks

Twitter – https://twitter.com/erica_crouch

YouTube – http://youtube.com/moreerica

Blog – http://ericacrouch.com/

BATGIRL: ‘The New 52’ DC Comic Book Series

March 13, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

The daughter of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, Barbara Gordon was raised in Gotham City, knowing firsthand the dangers inherent in living there. A classic overachiever and determined student, she struck out on her own as Batgirl in an attempt to help both Batman and her father in their mission to protect the citizens of Gotham. Quickly reined in by Batman and trained to be a more effective hero. Batgirl became a valued member of his team along with the first Robin, Dick Grayson. Tragically, Barbara’s life was forever altered when the joker shot her while she was in her civilian identity, while he was attacking her father. She was paralyzed from the waist down, and it seemed as if her time as Batgirl has been ended permanently. But Barbara did not give up. Working herself to the absolute limits of her physical and mental abilities, in time she regained the ability to walk. Taking things a step further, she made the daring choice to retrain herself and return to patrolling Gotham City as Batgirl.

I’d forgotten Batgirl was Commissioner Gordon’s Daughter, so that was a nice surprise.

I like Batgirl; she has a cool motorbike that can ride up walls then para-shoot back down, oh and she’s a strong, independent female kicking bad guys asses.

I started this whole thing backwards; the first Batgirl comic I read was #39, then going on to read #39’s story continuation in Secret Origins #10. I decided at this point that I really should stop and start at the beginning.

I’m still getting used to how short comic books feel – they end and I just want to keep reading.

So let’s start at the beginning:

Batgirl #0: in this Issue we get to see the First time Barbara puts on the cape and becomes Batgirl. We get a glimpse at her first year as a crime fighting vigilante. I really enjoyed this prequel issue setting up what I am sure to be an action packed and entertaining series. I’m looking forward to following Barbara Gordon through this series. I can definitely see myself becoming addicted to Batgirl’s world, which my husband is not too happy about lol.

Bob’s Burgers

March 5, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

Bob’s Burgers Volume 1 By Chad Brewster, Jeff Drake, Justin Hook, Rachel Hastings and Mike Olsen

Published Apr 7 2015 by Diamond Book Distributors / Dynamite Entertainment

I received a copy to read and review through Net Galley, so thank you to the Authors and Publisher for allowing me this opportunity.

Now you can read about the Belcher family (parents Bob and Linda, and their children Tina, Gene and Louise) with brand-new in-canon stories created by the TV show’s producers, writers, and animators!

That’s right, all-original stories that expand upon the fan-favorite animated series, including hilarious installments of “Louise’s Unsolved Mysteries”, “Tina’s Erotic Friend Fiction”, “A Gene Belcher Original Musical”, “Letters Written by Linda”, “Bob’s Burgers of the Day”, and much more!

I’ve only every managed to catch a few episodes of Bob’s Burgers the show and I liked what I saw. I decided to give the Comic book version a ago and I’m glad it did as it was a really fun and quick read.

‘Volume One’ contains the first Five issues. Each issue is set up with each Belcher getting their own sections to show off their quirky wonderful selves. My favourite throughout was Tina’s erotic friend fiction, it gave us everything thing from a Frankenstein Jimmy Jr with a perfect butt, to Tina as a super hero horse with some zombie apocalypse thrown in for good measure. I also really enjoyed Louise’s fort inspired shanty town and giggled out loud when it imploded on itself. Linda’s letters were amusing and Bob’s burgers of the day were delicious. I couldn’t really get into Gene’s Musicals, although the farting frog pied piper was a goofy bit of fun – I felt everything else transferred to the page from the screen really well.

I’ve gone and got myself some Bob’s Burgers DVDs now 🙂 time to give them a go.

Four Stars

If you like Bob’s Burgers and you like comic books then you’ll be in Belcher Burger heaven with this.

Bob Dahli

In Search of Lost Dragons

February 25, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black’Mor and Carine M

Published 3^rd Febuary 2015 by Diamond Book Distributors & Dynamite Entertainment

I received a copy to read and review through Net Galley, so thank you to the Authors and Publisher for allowing me this opportunity.

On the trail of dragons forgotten, an intrepid illustrator and reporter journeys from Europe through the Middle East and finally to Saigon in search of the dark caverns and mountaintop perches where the elusive winged serpents dwell.

With the gift of seeing the invisible, our explorer friend records each encounter in a journal of gorgeous, fully painted artwork, capturing every majestic and fearsome visual detail of the scaly behemoths, and accompanies his findings with snippets of local lore as evidence that these hidden beasts continue to shape the world in ways we may never expect!

Gorgeous full-color paintings, accompanied by a unique story of world-wide exploration and dragon encounters!

The book is written as a sort of personal journal/scrapbook. I loved the collaboration of photos, paintings, sketches, newspaper articles, scribbled notes and cut out mementos. I really enjoyed reading little bits about the different dragons and their habitats. There is an underling plot of the explorer searching for Dragons, but the writing is minimal.

The pictures are absolutely divine. I would suggest reading this book as the Hardcover visual delight it was intended to be. As I was reading a reviewer eBook I had to keep zooming in to read the words, then zooming out to fully appreciate the illustrations – but I enjoyed it never the less.

I do think I will buy a hardcover copy, as it think this is a book my son would appreciate when he’s a bit older. Four Stars.

Paranormal Keepers by Jen Naumann

February 23, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

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Paranormal Keepers (Paranormal Keepers #1) by Jen Naumann.

Published March 11 2014 by Phantom Owl Press (Patchwork Press Cooperative).

I received a copy to read and review through Net Galley, so thank you the Author and Publisher for allowing me this opportunity.

Everyone thinks Harper Young killed her boyfriend. No one will say it to her face, but the signs are everywhere.

It’s almost been a year since Gavin was torn from Harper’s arms and brutally murdered. The police wrote it off as a freak accident, deciding Harper’s strange testimony was given under duress. But she knows something unnatural was involved and refuses to stop looking until she finds his killer, even if it means her reputation as a senior is ruined. Even if it means there really are monsters living among us.

With the discovery of the mothmen, witches, vampires and all the creatures she always suspected were out there, Harper finds herself amidst a complex bundle of unseen heroes who call themselves “Keepers”, sworn to keep the secret of the paranormal creatures that walk this earth. As she tries to understand what’s so special about her that she’s able to break an old Keeper law, Harper has a baffling vision of kissing a mysterious guy before a blade is brought down on him. Before she can get a handle on her future, she becomes central to a battle between the questionable “heroes” and the evil she’s been training to fight, leaving her to wonder if there’s any way to change the fate that has been foretold before it’s too late.

I was drawn in from the start. I was drawn to Harper and Gavin even knowing that something bad was going to happen to them.

The drama starts with a Ouija board and sophomore party, that then leads to us witnessing Gavin’s Death, then following Harper’s struggle and search to find the truth. Harper’s search brings her to the attention of the Keepers; they abduct her and take her to Guardare Academy –Guardare Academy is a cross between Hogwarts and St. Vladimir’s Academy– where she goes on to meet Human Keepers, Paranormal Creatures and Human /Creature cross breeds. At Guardare Harper finds herself with many enemies, but she manages to find friendship in a Keeper named Dexter and later on love. After discovering dark secrets about Harper’s heritage, we are left at the end of the book with Dexter and Harper on the run.

This story was quite fast paced and especially action packed for a first book of a series. It laid the grounds for a new series and a new world, without feeling bogged down with information like some firsts can. The story was very easy to read and the writing flowed beautifully. I really enjoyed this book. It can’t really say much more without giving away the twists and turns, so I’ll stop and finish with “Four Stars”.

Naumann’s Twitter – https://twitter.com/naumannbooks

Naumann’s Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennaumannauthor

Naumann’s Instagram – https://instagram.com/jennaumann/

Naumann’s Website – http://www.jennaumann.net/

Naumann’s Book Blog – www.paranormalYA.blogspot.com

Naumann’s Goodreads – www.Goodreads.com/JenNaumannAuthor

Down The Wormhole by Ana Franco

February 10, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 1 Comment

Down The Wormhole by Ana Franco

Release date: March 17th, 2015

Publisher: French Press Book Works

The Pitch: “A young orphan girl bonds with four mythological gods while trying to find a true home for herself”.

I received an ARC from the author to read and review, so thank Ana Franco.

In a city there is a tiny lane that separates two orphanages – one for boys and one for girls. Inside live two very special groups of teenagers. These teenagers carry a secret and leave it tucked safely away in their mysterious lives.

Then one day, a girl named Kitty arrives. No last name, just Kitty.

Before Kitty has time to be astonished by the teenagers’ real identities, she is whisked into a magical realm that slowly unfolds her own. She must come to terms with her true place in the world while she can, because time is ticking and there are secrets in the wormhole.

Travel with Kitty and her new friends Down The Wormhole into a mysterious world of magic, mythology, and mayhem.

“Ana’s YA Novel weaves mythology with modern life and creates a magical tale that will attract readers from all genres.” – Pen Name Publishing.

“The narrative in this book was something else. I mean that in the best of ways. This: ‘She widened her eyes and opened her mouth, looking like an email emoticon’ was one of the best descriptions I’ve read in a book in forever. It had me laughing silly for the longest time.” – Blackbird’s Nest.

“Throw in a plot twisted with deceit, revenge, a magical bracelet, and a wormhole leading to the land of gods, and you have an enticing journey. Oh, and there is also the gratuitous love story many young readers seem to expect.” – Amazing Stories.

“Down the Wormhole is a good book. It’s barely 100 pages, so Franco does not waste pages with anything unnecessary to the story, which I am always appreciative of, especially if sequels are promised.” – Purple Owl Reviews.

To start off with we get a Lewis Carroll Alice in wonderland quote to set the mood:

“Alice laughed: ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said; ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’  

‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’”

Alice in Wonderland is one of my all times favourites, so I was very nervous here – Was this going to be a copycat sort of thing?

I realised very quickly that Ms Franco has her own strong voice and has created a unique story using a blend of Nordic, Celtic and Egyptian mythology with modern day teenagers in all their overreacting drama filled glory.

The beginning was so strong. The first chapter of Eris and Sif fighting in The Land Above All Clouds was fantastic; I would have loved to have read a whole story up there about those two.

Once we swapped from Sif’s to Kitty’s life it lost a little bit of it lustre for me. I had to keep reminding myself thought-out the story to stop being an adult and enjoy the impossible happening.

My favourite character was the villain of the story, the Goddess of Chaos, Eris. But I think the aim was for people to love Kitty, Oops my bad. My least favourite character was Anna. Anna’s treatment of Kitty during labour put her right up there with the likes of Dolores Umbridge in my hatred of book characters.

The writing was choppy with a furious pace and to her credit Ms Franco fitted a hell of a lot of story into very few pages. I really wanted to love this story. It had some of my favourite things in it – mythology, magic, love and revenge. The synopsis sounded interesting and it had gotten a few good reviews. But I just couldn’t get into it. I read an ARC so I can’t comment on what the finished product will be once it is buffed and polished, but this version had a lot of mistakes (sentences with words out of order, misspelled words). I’m normally not one to nit-pick at grammar and spelling as my skills are very poor – if it doesn’t affect the story then I really don’t care. But I found it very hard to read this at times and I really do think that is what lowered my enjoyment. Once it is published I will buy a copy and re-evaluate, because there was real potential for an awesome story under it all and Ms Franco has a wonderful vision of a fantastic new fantasy world.

Blog – https://anaisthebookworm.wordpress.com/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/anathebookworm

Twitter – https://twitter.com/anathebookworm

Publisher – http://www.frenchpressbookworks.com/

Ignite (Ignite, #1) by Erica Crouch

February 4, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 1 Comment

Ignite (Ignite, #1) by Erica Crouch

Publication Date: June 11^th, 2013

Pages: 346

Age: Listed as 12+

A BIG thank you to Net Gallery & Patchwork Press for allowing me a copy of this book to read and review.

Penemuel (Pen) fell from grace over a millennium ago, yet there are still times she questions her decision to follow her twin brother, Azael, to Hell. Now that the archangel Michael has returned, threatening Lucifer’s vie for the throne, she begins questioning everything she has always believed.

As Hell prepares for war – spreading a demonic virus and pilfering innocent souls to build an army – the lines separating the worlds blur. Fates erase and the future is left unwritten. Azael is determined that he and his sister will continue to serve as demons together, but for the first time in her life, Pen is not ruled by destiny. She has the freedom of choice.

With choice comes sacrifice, and Pen must decide which side she’s willing to risk everything fighting for: the light, or the dark.

This book is set in modern times with the POV character a the fallen angel named Penemuel (Pen) who now as a demon spends her time with her brother Azael (Az) killing and reaping the souls that they are assigned. We find Pen struggling with the demonic assassin life she leads and feeling that she doesn’t belong anywhere.

Enter Michael a newly born angel with an angelic past life set to hunt him down. So we end up with a demon that’s not pure evil and an angel that’s not pure goodness. Circumstances see them brought together and they awkwardly fall in love. For all Michael’s saying that he loves Pen and believes in her, he is quick to doubt her when it comes to the crunch – that annoyed me. But she never loses faith in him. And he wakes up to himself in the end.

We find out that the reason that Pen fell from Heaven was so she could stay with her brother who was always destined for Hell. We find out that Pen had always being alone in Heaven with a Az as her only friend. We see her struggle to cut the ties with her brother even though she knows she no longer belongs in Hell.

Oh and there is the drama with the half demons who can turn humans by biting them. Demi-Demons with werewolf abilities and vampirey desires. And then there is the small matter of Hell’s war on Heaven and the Apocalypse.

The story ends with the lines between the worlds erased; there is no Heaven or Hell, just an impending war on Earth.

It took me about the first 30% of the book to get into it. Nothing is black and white, just various shades of grey, various shades of right and wrong. There was one section near the end that frustrated the bajesus out of me, Michael and Pen are having a deep and meaningful when they’re about to get attacked. I was screaming in my head at them to “SHUT UP AND FLY AWAY NOW talk lovey dovey later”. So yeah I got into the story in the end.

I give it 4 stars. This novel is available now.

I’ve gone out and pre-purchased the 2^nd book Incite, it’s released on the 17^thFeb. The next book should be exciting, seeing what becomes of all the angels and demons stranded on earth. Michael regaining his memory of his previous life and Az being sent out to kill Pen and Michael on Lucifers orders. It’s written from duel POV, so as well as seeing into Pen’s Mind we see into Az. I didn’t like Az so it’ll be interesting to see how I find being in his head.

My tag line for this book; An action packed love story between a demon that’s not pure evil and an angel that’s not pure goodness

More Info:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ericacrouchbooks

Twitter – https://twitter.com/erica_crouch

YouTube – http://youtube.com/moreerica

Blog – http://ericacrouch.com/

Contact – http://www.erica.patchwork-press.com/contact/

I was Here by Gayle Forman

January 18, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

Cody and Meg were inseparable.

Two peas in a pod.

Until . . . they weren’t anymore.

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.

I will just say that Gayle Forman is a phenomenal writer; this story flowed beautifully and was extremely easy to read. I received this free advance reading copy of ‘I Was Here’ thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia, with its official release being the 1^st February.

…he has this expression on his face –it’s the particular contortion when fury meets guilt. And I know that look. I see it every day in the mirror.

Throughout this book we see Cody struggling to come to terms with the sudden and surprising suicide of her life long best friend Meg –Meg who she’d always held up on a pedestal –and struggling to come to terms with being left behind. Cody’s pain is natural and it feels real. Cody is wracked with the “it’s my fault” syndrome and is desperate to find someone to blame. In her effort to deal, she digs deep into the life that Meg tried to hide, enlisting the friends she meets along the way and uncovering some very disturbing truths.

To start off with we see Cody push everyone away. She is weak, scared, and a pretty crappy friend. But slowly we see her step out of her comfort zone and come to life with the determination (as she sees it) to avenge her fallen friend. We see Cody finally come to terms with Meg’s death and finally have the courage to forgive Meg and exonerate herself.

The romance between Cody and Ben is very cliché and unnecessary, but Cody’s love for Meg and her growing friendships with the other characters are more than strong enough to pull the story along.

Lastly we see Cody move on with her life, taking the lessons learnt with her.

I give it **** Four Stars (It’s quite a hard book to review as it’s a hard topic to deal with – I really don’t think my review has done the book justice).

Arcane (The Arinthian Line, #1) by Sever Bronny

January 13, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

Warlocks before their time …

Fourteen-year-old Augum and friends Bridget and Leera dream of becoming warlocks. But with a kingdom in total chaos, it will take courage, sacrifice, and an iron will to make that dream come true.

The Lord of the Legion, a vicious tyrant, has overthrown the king in a relentless and murderous quest for seven mythic artifacts–and Augum’s mentor, the legendary Anna Atticus Stone, possesses one. While Augum struggles with demons from a painful childhood, a betrayal puts him, his friends, and his mentor through a harrowing ordeal that threatens to destroy them all … and change the course of history.

Arcane, the debut novel in the fantasy adventure series The Arinthian Line, follows three friends as they navigate an ancient abandoned castle, endure grueling training, challenge old mysteries, and learn that a bond forged in tragedy might just be the only thing to save them from a ruthless enemy.

I received a copy of this book from the author, through the Goodreads Group “YA Lovers” in exchange for and honest review. So first, I am going to say Thank you!

Augum; I really liked him. He had it tough as an abused orphan slave boy, until he ended up in the care of Sir Tobias Westwood. Westwood taught Augum to read, hunt, etc. and it is thanks in large part to Westwood that Augum survives to end up with Mrs Stone. Augum has spent all of his life ridiculed and beat up on for being a gutter born orphan and it is beautiful to see that turn around for him as he finds true friendship.

Mrs. Stone; the awesome elderly super powerful bad arse Mrs. Stone. I loved her. Go Grandma, Go, Go. I think it is probably the mother in me that loved her as the hero / saviour in this novel so much (I would be interested to see a teenage boy’s response to her character)

Bridget & Leera; Augum’s back up besties. I quite liked the girls and think that they balanced Augum out nicely. Leera got to kick some butt in the book alongside Augum and I hope that in the future books they get their chance to shine independently.

Prince Sydo; I have to mention him as, Sydo is nasty spoiled foul mouthed brat and I hated him. I think you are meant to hate him, but I found him really disrupting my enjoyment of the story at times. I hope he wakes up to himself in the next book.

The story follows 14-year-old Augum. I found the story a bit hard to get into at first and some of the chapters lagging early on and towards the middle as we are getting crammed with background information. There are some cool plot twist along the way and we get a new style of magic with the Arcane discipline. Once I got into the vibe of the book and stomached all the world building, I really started to enjoy the story, but I cannot really say too much about the story without giving all the twists away.

So I will just say the Last 20% of the book was a fantastical rush. The end of the book is an exciting frantic flurry of action, with a brilliant ending, bring on the next instalment Mr Bronny.

I am going to knock this up as number one for my Debut author challenge; it is Mr Bronny’s first book and was published last year. I was intending to purchase any of the books I read for the debut author challenge and I was given this one, but I think as I am going to buy the next book Riven (The Arinthian Line, #2) due out in February that it counts.

Phillip: Friday Fictioneers 100 word story challenge

January 9, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 5 Comments

Phillip was staring at a Route 66 sign and he was feeling rather sorry for himself.

He had just convinced the lady behind the counter to give him a cup of tea, when he felt the room shake; his vision twisted and blacked out.

His ears popped and his vision returned. He was standing in what appeared to be a dirt hut.

“Not again” he moaned to himself “I’d only just figured out where I was, again”.

Furious with the fate he had been given, he stomped out the door to try and discover where he’d ended up this time.

Friday Fictioneers is a challenge set by Rochelle Fields where writers around the world create 100 word stories inspired by the one image. For more information see:

http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/2-january-2015/

RIOT’S REDEMPTION

Sharing my poetry, personal experiences and book reviews since 2013

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