Review – January Black by Wendy S. Russo

Fantastic! Intelligent! Sweet! & Well written!

JanuaryBlackCover

A novel should make you feel something. It should spark your imagination and grab your heartstrings. January Black does not disappoint and has so much more to offer than the casual page turner! It is a thought provoking puzzle intertwined with history, sweet first love, family secrets, and political dissension.

Matty Ducayn is an upper-class teen in the city of Aventine. After being expelled from school for outwitting his instructor, he is given a task by King Hadrian. Matty is quickly entangled in a behind the scenes, political exploitation of his intelligence, naiveté, willingness to bend, if not break the rules and laws that govern his world, all while falling deeply in love with Iris.

Although the novel is set in the future, I feel that the story is relevant to the present. The scenes are descriptive but not wordy. The future technology is imaginative but not farfetched. The characters are well written and relatable. The dialog extremely enjoyable. It is a fascinating tale where seekers of freedom and a new beginning end up with a government that sees and controls everything – or at least tries to.

Is Matty being unfairly manipulated, or is he part of a greater scheme for a better future? You’ll have to read it to find out.

I would like to add one humble note: I do not care for anyone to push their thoughts, opinions, or beliefs on me and this novel DOESN’T come across that way at all. It is a story. Well told and inspiring.

My only regret about January Black is that I didn’t read it sooner.

Released from Crescent Moon Press 2013

More information available on:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16692299-january-black

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/January-Black-Wendy-S-Russo-ebook/dp/B00B0I176M/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387735547&sr=1-1&keywords=january+black

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/january-black-wendy-s-russo/1114181000?ean=9781939173010

Review – Rhythm of My Heart

Book Review:  Rhythm o f My Heart by Kemberlee Shortland

Rhythm of My Heart

Being that I am mildly obsessed with Ireland, love pubs, and cherish live music there was no way this novel wouldn’t resonate with me. That being said, you never knows exactly what kind of world you’re about to enter when cracking open the spine of a new novel (and never having read anything from the author before either.)

Let me tell you, my intuition and good feelings upon reading the back cover copy did not let me down. Rhythm of My Heart is an endearing romantic tale infused with the Irish culture, language, landscapes, and heart. Plus so much more.

Eilis Kennedy has spent the majority of her adult life focused on her career – discovering new talent for Eireann Records of Dublin. While scouting out blues guitarist, Keiran Vaughan, Eilis has a thrilling and somewhat alarming instant attraction to the handsome and rogue guitar player. She isn’t the only one who feels it – Keiran is equally drawn to her. So much so that they feel an intense visceral connection to one another.

It wouldn’t be a romance novel without a little drama, and kissing of course, and Rhythm of My Heart doesn’t disappoint. We find out quickly that Eilis is a little untrusting of men and relationships, and for what she’s been through, no one would blame her. Her character is well written and believable. Kieran is a gorgeous hunky Irishman – who happens to play guitar – but also has a history that makes you see him as a real person. He’s not perfect, but he also has sweetness and charm that any maiden in her right mind would swoon over – I also can’t leave out his stormy blue eyes and dark hair.

My favorite part of the novel is when an unexpected change in plans places Kieran and Eilis alone together in a traditional Irish country cottage. The excitement, emotion, and the drama during their stay was fabulously written and fun to read. Overall the plot moves along at a nice pace and kept me happily turning pages. There is some suspense and action, particularly at the end of the novel, involving Eilis’s boss that had me reading well into the wee hours of the night.

Rhythm of My Heart is an engaging romance that is well written with memorable characters. The dialogue flowed effortlessly and the settings couldn’t have been more realistic. If you would like to read an entertaining romance full of music and love in an Irish setting, then I highly recommend this novel.

For more information, you can visit:

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15754297-rhythm-of-my-heart

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rhythm-My-Heart-Irish-Pride-ebook/dp/B008LV27VK/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387670888&sr=1-9&keywords=rhythm+of+my+heart

The Memory Witch – Cover Reveal

Today’s cover reveal is…Heather Topham Wood’s, The Memory Witch
the memory witch
Wow! The colors are earthy and rich. The trees, the back lighting, and the cloaked lady makes me want to dive right in and find out what in the world is a Memory Witch anyway?  What do you think?
Here is the blurb on the back cover
Ten years ago, Quinn Jacobs’ mother made a bargain with a local witch—steal away Quinn’s memories from the first eight years of her life and in return, Quinn would spend a year in servitude to the witch.
 
On Quinn’s eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to leave her home and friends behind. For the next year, she’ll live at the Chadwick House, learning everything she needs to know about being a spellcaster. As her powers grow, Quinn begins to unravel the secrets of the past and the reason her mother was so desperate to conceal the horrifying truth.
 
Publication Date: December 15, 2013
 
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
 
 
Excerpt:
 
I didn’t have a single remembrance before the age of eight. The first day of kindergarten, losing my first tooth, my first best friend—these memories vanished into an unexplained chasm and were still missing ten years later.
My mother would never explain the root of this anomaly to me. The only thing she’d say is that losing my father that year did something irreversible to my brain. A crater opened up inside of me and every early memory fell into oblivion.
I had eight years with my father before he died—but I didn’t have one memory of him. I didn’t know what it felt like to be inside of his embrace. I had no recollection of the scent I breathed in when he gathered me up into his arms. I had to imagine the memories through a haphazard collage of photographs and videos left behind.
My father was murdered in a fumbled burglary attempt at our home. My mother told me I should be grateful we weren’t home that night because we would be six feet under right alongside him. The ice in her voice made me wonder if she blamed him in some way for being killed.
Mere weeks after we laid him to rest, we moved two hours away from our New Jersey hometown to Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania. A visit to his final resting place was a rare occurrence and we were estranged from my father’s side of the family. The part that I always had a hard time wrapping my head around was that my father’s unsolved murder never plagued my mother. She never sought out the killer to exact justice for taking a father away from his young daughter.
She insisted we needed a fresh start. And for ten years, I lived a seemingly normal teenage existence with the exception of my unique case of amnesia. My mother never brought me to a team of doctors to analyze my brain and she has never pushed me to remember. I comprehended the oddities surrounding my life, but we’d lived this way for so long that it became normal.
Until the day that everything changed.