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Friday 19 October 2018

HATCHED


Hatched by Joanna Mazurkiewicz
Book 1 of the Draconia World series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook


About Hatched:
When a world of magic is the only thing you know, what do you do when it’s gone?

In the dark city of Draconia, ruled by powerful mages, the only thing that matters is magic, and Fran is on the search. She’s caught the attention of some unsavory types. It doesn’t help that she has the most powerful magical object in the kingdom in her possession; an object many men have died to hold: a dragon’s egg.

Trapped down a dark alley, with the threat of death coming ever nearer, a crack forms in the wall allowing Fran a way of escape to a place she’d only heard tales of. But will it be one that she regrets? She’ll enter a whole new world, but the threat of Draconia and the mages isn’t far behind.

They want what she has, and nothing will stop them — not even a non-magical place.
Source: Info in the About Hatched was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36565336-hatched on 01/04/2018.

Avianna

My Thoughts:
This book is a kind of "coming of age" story. It may not be so surprising seeing that this is the first book in the series. This is also my first Joanna Mazurkiewicz book and I like her author's voice. Having said that, for some reason I needed little breaks from it. So it may not be as compelling as I would have liked it to be. Still I trudged through the book because I like the premise. So, I am a dragon lover and a hatched dragon egg is irresistible! ... So pace-wise, this book wasn't a very quick read for me.

Plot is not this author's forté. There isn't much of one in this book. All the main protagonist did is run around stumbling from one danger into another and saved by sheer dumb luck. On top of that, Francesca has a tendency to be too stupid to live (TSTL). That soooo did not endear this book to me! But me, being a fantasy geek, was willing to overlook that for the dragon story that this book has to offer. However, if the TSTL persists and overcomes the goodness of the dragon story further down the line, then I may stop following this series at some point... which would be a pity, because I really like the dragon story! And to top that off, the ending is a huge cliffie!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 2
World building = 4
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = 2
Plot = 1.5

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Draconia World Series:


Meet The Author

About Joanna Mazurkiewicz:
Joanna Mazurkiewicz was born in Poland. She moved to United Kingdom when she was only nineteen and just finished high school. She had aspired to be a writer upon completion of the Harry Potter series but also enjoyed reading books like ‘Gone with the Wind’, ’Animal Farm’ and ‘The doll’. She graduated from Swansea University with a bachelor degree in American Studies. While studying in the UK she made a decision to start writing fiction in English.

The “Whispers of the Sprite” is her first debut novel and she is currently working on other projects. Joanna lives in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with her boyfriend Bruce. She enjoys cycling around Welsh countryside some of which has become the settings in her first series.



FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Friday 5 October 2018

BLOOD VICE


The Book

Blood Vice by Angela Roquet
Book 1 in the Blood Vice series
Read by Hollie Jackson
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


About Blood Vice:
Detective Jenna Skye bombs her first week on the St. Louis County Police Department's Vice Squad when she's bitten by a vampire in a supernatural brothel. Her day only gets worse from there. She wakes up in the morgue and discovers that her partner is dead. Before the sun rises, she realizes she is too. Jenna vows to continue their investigation until justice is served, but a werewolf squatter, an unexpected visit from her estranged sister, and a nosy FBI agent stand in her way. Not to mention her fresh aversion to sunlight and a thirst for something a little stiffer than revenge.
Source: Info in the About Blood Vice was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35022378-blood-vice on 02/01/2018.

Books in the Blood Vice series:
Book 1: BLOOD VICE   Book 2: BLOOD AND THUNDER   Book 3: BLOOD IN THE WATER   Book 4: BLOOD DOLLS Book 5: THICKER THAN BLOOD Book 6: BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS


Review

My Thoughts:
I bought this book because I became a fan of this author's Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series. I wanted to see if this author's awesomeness would carry over to her other books. And I'm glad I checked out her other books because Angela Roquet's wonderful story telling quality does carry over to her other books! Unfortunately, so did the TSTL (too stupid to live) element. It has reared up it's ugly head again. And that is why, even though this book is good, I do not think that I would be buying/reading another book in this series again. I just couldn't tolerate the TSTL!

The plot... like the Pocket Full Of Posies, of the Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series, was pretty simplistic. Or rather, it ranges from simple to non-existent. However with Lana Harvey I could excuse it by saying that it was never a crime fiction or thriller to begin with. That series was more of the "fantasy" bit rather than the urban, in the urban fantasy category. Blood Vice though is suppose to be a police/crime sort of thing. I kinda expected the plot to be a little thicker. Guess I was expecting too much.

This would be my second book series listening to Hollie Jackson and I'm happy to say that I still like her narration. I still agree with her interpretation. And would happily buy her books again!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 3
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (5 hours and 40 minutes listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


The Author

About Angela Roquet:
USA Today bestselling Angela Roquet is a great big weirdo. She collects Danger Girl comic books, owls, skulls, random craft supplies, and all things Joss Whedon. She's a fan of renewable energy, marriage equality, and religious tolerance. As long as whatever you're doing isn't hurting anyone, she's a fan of you, too.

Angela lives in Missouri with her husband and son. She's a member of SFWA and HWA, as well as the Four Horsemen of the Bookocalypse, her epic book critique group, where she's known as Death. When she's not swearing at the keyboard, she enjoys painting, goofing off with her family and friends, and reading books that raise eyebrows.

GRAVEYARD SHIFT, the first novel in Angela's Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series, is now available for FREE on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, & iBooks. You can find Angela online at www.angelaroquet.com


The Narrator

About Hollie Jackson:
With over 200 audiobooks narrated and produced, Hollie Jackson has worked with both indie and USA Today bestselling authors across a wide range of genres. Hollie's voice brings characters of all types to vibrant, compelling life, allowing the listener to sit back and enjoy the story.

Growing up in a military family, Hollie found herself lost in the world of poetry and prose, and truly enjoys sharing that joy with others through spoken and written word. As an author, she understands the importance of drawing the reader into the world of the story. As a voracious reader, she enjoys an eclectic range of genre and carries that over into the studio: from contemporary romance to paranormal thrillers, historical fiction to epic fantasy, from erotica to tamer New Adult/Young Adult titles.

Everyone has a story to tell, and Hollie loves to bring those stories to life, one word at a time.
The information about Hollie Jackson was taken from https://tantor.com/narrator/hollie-jackson.html on 25/12/2017.



FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

 
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