Frankie Rose's Halo Makes Emotions Surge Forth!

You've lived

Almost entirely devoid of emotion

For as long as you can remember.

One day, though, the emotions all come back.

Can you imagine what that would be like? And I thought I had problems...

Halo is the first installment of the YA dystopian Blood and Fire series, written by Frankie Rose.

So what's it about?

Falin Kitsch is a member of Sanctuary's fighting caste, and uses her knives to compete within the Colloseum. The halo she wears around her neck infuses her with drugs that keep her from feeling emotion, enabling her to apply her training with a clear mind, making her a perfect fighter.

Or does it? One day, she is pitted against Falin Asha, who has trained with her for years. His last action before he dies is to grab ahold of her halo, ripping it almost entirely free of her neck. "Don't let them see..." 

Suddenly, she begins to feel emotions surging back to her. She now has a choice: Have technicians repair her halo so that she can continue to be the perfect Falin, or apply her well-honed skills to leave Sanctuary and the only life she's ever known... 

To us, the answer seems pretty easy: Get rid of that darned device. But imagine what it would be like to have your first memory of emotion be one that comes in the aftermath of blood and pain. That's your emotional awakening.

The choice isn't so clear anymore, is it?

Rose gives us the opportunity to feel what that would be like, through the eyes of the Falin of House Kitsch. We go through our lives constantly keeping our reactions to our emotions in check. We consider the feelings of others when we reply to their statements. We gauge society's response to every choice.

We've trained ourselves to control our emotions.

Small children, on the other hand, are still learning. Their reactions are juvenile, and often confusing.They don't always understand our decisions, and many times respond with anger or sadness when they have no need to do so.

Now imagine knowing you have to react maturely, like an adult, without having the training to do so, like a child.

Welcome to Kit's world.

As you can imagine, her emotional reactions are often juvenile. She doesn't have the experience that we do. This tends to get her into trouble, which tends to make her emotions spiral even more out of control.

Poor Kit...

And we're taken on that overwhelmingly intense ride along with her, meaning that we feel much of what she feels... plus the added frustration of realizing that proper emotional control would have kept her out of trouble, minimizing her agony.

Poor us!

This ebook was extraordinarily exhausting... in a good way. I felt like I was right there next to Kit, and I wanted her to succeed. I needed her to succeed. She was important to me, and I had to know that she'd be able to pry herself from any situation she placed herself in.

And there were many of those!

I didn't want to put this one down. I had to know what would happen. Naturally, then, this ebook became the very next...

Treasured Tome!!!

If you're looking for a highly emotional story that rips your heart out, throws it on the floor, and stomps on it a few times, you'll love this one. Be warned, though: you'll want to read it when you're alone.

Interruptions will not be welcomed, and you'll notice that your fuse is remarkably short if someone is silly enough to get in between yourself and Halo for even a few moments.

You'll start wondering if you need a halo!

Halo can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Stefan Bolz's The Fourth Sage Makes Us Ask "Why"

Is it science fiction? 

Or maybe fantasy? 

Perhaps it's a blend of both? 

Nope. Definitely sci-fi. Though it did seem like a genre blend for quite some time. After all, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Ok, ok... that Arthur C. Clarke statement doesn't quite fit, but it's one of my favorites, so I'm using it anyway.

Why doesn't it fit? What in the world am I going on about now? Well... just keep reading!

Cover design by Jason Gurley, who happens to be an author, as well!

The Fourth Sage is the first installment of the sci-fi Circularity Saga, written by Stefan Bolz, who, by the way, has a spectacular author page. So be sure to click on the link in that last sentence!

So what's it about?

In a world where every move a person makes is watched, every word is guarded, and every independent action is punished, Aries Egan is an anomaly. She has discovered how to steal one hour of freedom every night, evading the cameras that lurk everywhere.

But freedom comes with a price, and one mistake can mean re-education and pain, as Aries discovers. Forced to flee, knowing that her life as she knows it is gone, she finds herself on a quest to topple the Corporation and bring freedom to others, as well.

And did I mention that one of the main characters is a hawk?

That's right. A hawk. Bolz breaks free of the standard definition of sci-fi, giving personality and complex communication skills to a bird. An awesome bird, of course, but still a bird.

You see why I thought he blended genres with this ebook?

Turns out, there's a valid reason for this communication. It has nothing to do with technology, but rather with genetics. Still, he placed it in the realm of science, rather than magic.

So... dystopian sci-fi it is!

The environment Bolz created was absolutely stifling. This was a vast city in which the inhabitants have no free choice. There is the semblance of choice, but nothing more. People are reasonably content with that, though, because that's all they've really ever known.

Cameras are everywhere: hallways, bedrooms, common areas... everywhere. The Corporation is watching at all times. Anything construed as veering from the norm, even the smallest gesture, is flagged.

A red flag action is cause for immediate removal and imprisonment. Or death.

People are told the truth that the Corporation wants them to believe. If the Corporation says something is true, it is. Period. The Corporation's word is not to be questioned. Everything the corporation does is done for you.

Well, Aries does question it. And she suffers because of that.

But she's also set free, in a sense. Questioning the Corporation brings her one step closer to true knowledge. She constantly asks that one question that is always needed:

"Why?"

She becomes a leader. Others who have the ability to question what's around them recognize this, and soon she meets a ragtag group of gifted children who have the ability to help her fight the corporation.

The philosophies and creativity this ebook was filled with were absolutely amazing, and the situations were intense. There wasn't a single break for Aries, who was met with adversity at every turn.

And the technology?

Riveting. I could clearly see each drone, each android. The strange flow of electricity was beautiful. The strange readings on Aries' tablet as she sought answers to electrical problems? Fascinating.

There were a few things that didn't quite feel right to me, however.

I felt an emotional disconnect at a couple of points in which I should have felt like my heart was being crushed. Some of the characters' reactions to events didn't feel true. Rather, they felt controlled, reined in. This jarred me from the story on occasion.

But this wasn't common.

In fact, I felt a connection to a few of the characters, and when one of them appeared lost, it upset me. I love when I have those horrid feelings, as contradictory as that sounds!

So this ebook is definitely worth reading. Heck, it even has a well thought out (and rather cool) book trailer!



Awesome, right?

The Fourth Sage can only be found on Kindle.

I Can't Wait for Book 2 of Joanne Armstrong's Unworthy Trilogy!

I'm so mad at today's author!

You know what she did?!

She made me wait.

I want to start the second book.
Right.
Now.

Aaarrrrggghhhh....

Unworthy is the first installment of a YA dystopian trilogy, written by Joanne Armstrong.

...and Armstrong is making us wait for the next one! NooOOOoo!!! 

Yes, I know I'm being dramatic. But... Oh, I want it now!

So what's it about?

After a devastating disease wiped most of the human population, people fought to survive in a chaotic and cruel world. The Polis was formed as an island nation, isolated from the rest of the world. Hubs were created that branched out from the main city, and people were raised to fear and hate physical weakness and follow the laws of the Polis to the letter. 

Arcadia has been raised by her grandfather in Sector Four. Found unworthy of life when she was born, she has spent her life shunned by her community. Her grandfather, though, is sure to remind her that she's just as worthy of life as everyone else, and capable of greatness. She always thought those were just the loving words of a devoted grandparent. But then, on one Festival Day, her entire world changes...

"Marked to die. Raised to survive."

It's very easy for me to make one huge decision about this ebook, without second thought. This amazing story is quite obviously...

A Treasured Tome!!!

That's right. It's that good. With every other book I've given Treasured Tome status to, I've carefully considered whether that was the right decision.

Not this one. 

The characters were real, dialogue was true, the world of the story breathed, and I went through a rather extreme emotional roller coaster ride. I was transported directly into the story, and took every altercation, every mishap, every joy, every experience personally.

Oh, yeah...

And my husband had to hear all about it. I called and woke up one of my sisters. I interrupted not one, but two friends at work, texting them about it. Heck, I even discussed this ebook with my dog (she's a very good listener).

I stayed up late to find out what happened to Arcadia, and woke up this morning while dreaming about it. And! I awakened not too long before writing this review, so the neighbors may end up having to hear about it, as well.

Seriously. This ebook consumed me.

And book 2 isn't out yet. I have to... Wait? What?!!?!

So cruel! There should be a law against writing something this fantastic, then making readers wait for the next installment.

Perhaps I should take up meditation while I do. It'll help teach me patience.

What makes this ebook so flipping amazing, you ask?

Armstrong made it personal. Arcadia doesn't go through a single emotion that a person wouldn't understand. She's thrown from one situation into the next, never getting a moment to consider the best response. The result is raw and true emotion, reactions that aren't always thought out very well, and, on occasion, a feeling of contrition.

And it all makes sense.

Never once did I question why she made the decisions she did, even when I didn't like them. I understood them perfectly. Her choices all made sense, which made them real.

She was stuck in the worst of situations, stuck within a community that had an authoritarian government filled with corruption. The truth was hidden from the masses, laws had to be strictly adhered to, and punishment for breaking even minor laws was terrifying.

Beatings administered by soldiers weren't questioned.

Yet people accepted that, making it all the more frustrating for Arcadia, and by extension, the reader. Arcadia's strong sense of morality, as well as her desire for a life without the stigma placed on her by the government of the Polis, cause the reader to flip pages without stopping to take even the smallest break.

And now we have to wait for book two.

Oh, cruel world!

You can find Unworthy on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

The Land of No Angels Inspires True Self-Evaluation

Ready for another foray into a post-apocalyptic setting?

This one has nothing to do with zombies.

Instead, we're delving into the realm of demon invasion!

Cover by Amanda Kelsey
at Razzle Dazzle Design

Welcome to Land of No Angels, the first installment in the Dark Ascension series, written by N.R. Wick.

So what's it about?

    One day, everything was fine. The next, our world spiralled into chaos as demons invaded the Earth. Many people died, and others went mad. Humans discovered by the new demon conquerors were killed or enslaved. Now, cities and homes are abandoned and left to rot.
    Rebecca and her sister Errol, however, have managed to survive with their wits intact, living in a tornado shelter and surviving off of canned goods and strange, unintelligent turkey demon meat. It's a lonely life, but life nonetheless.
    But one day, a demon attacks Errol after luring her into a trap. Errol survives, but is now poisoned. She'll die unless Rebecca can travel through demon territory and find the ingredients necessary to cure the affliction, and she only has a week to do it.

I have to be honest with you.

Reading about an awesome main character that just happens to have my name was very satisfying. I found myself thinking things like,

"Yep. Good name. All Rebeccas would make such a wise decision. 

And that one. And that one, too."

But can you really blame me for my moments of overinflated ego? I mean, come on... we all yearn to relate to a well-crafted character.

But! 

Even if the main character's name was, I don't know... Michaela Kennedy Kennsington LeBrat, III or something... even then, I'd like this book.

(Nothing against anyone with the name Michaela Kennedy Kennsington LeBrat, III, of course. 

That one is kinda growing on me...)

See, Wick managed to weave a beautiful tale of love, strength, and hope into an environment rich with hatred, cruelty, and desolation. The characters were all deeply flawed, yet still managed to overcome their personal weaknesses to work toward good, and at times selfless, goals.

How many people would be willing to sacrifice themselves for a stranger? How many would ignore a person in need in order to ensure their own survival? What would we do in the same circumstances that the characters were forced to endure?

None of those questions has a true answer. 

We know what we believe, and what we would like to believe, but since we've never actually been faced with a world in which demons have conquered and even transformed our environment, we really don't know those answers.

Wick explores these questions. 

She makes the reader question what s/he thinks is obvious. A few times, I found hope within situations and actions which I otherwise wouldn't. I also found pain. I found myself questioning what I thought I knew about the characters - especially bit characters.

This drew me into the world, and kept me there.

Even now, I don't feel I have the answers. Wick left just enough loose ends to make me crave the second installment, without leaving so many that I was plunged into frustration. I think I've stared at the cover for Land of No Mortals about fifteen times already, with my finger hovering over the 'Buy Now' button.

The pacing is great, and emotions run high. Throughout, the question of what separates us from the demons hovers above the reader's head. Wick's ability to thread the psychology of morality into her work without turning the story into a preach-fest is superb.

I found myself pondering: 

What, realistically, would I do in this same world? What choices would I make? How strong would I be? Where would I draw the line?

In all honesty, I'm a bit nervous about what those answers would be, and I think the same could be said for anyone.

Land of No Angels can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Anywhere But Here: Emotionally Exhausting... and AWESOME.

I want to begin this review with a warning:

NEVER 

stay up a few hours

past your bedtime to read

a zombie story.

(especially a good one)

Never.

Well, ok. Maybe I'm overgeneralizing just a bit. This isn't the case with all zombie stories. This isn't even the case with most zombie stories... but it is definitely the case with this one.

Cover Art by Melchelle Designs.

Anywhere But Here, the first installment of the Starborn Ascension, is a post-apocalyptic thriller by Jason D. Morrow that will send your imagination soaring... or diving for cover.

Because, you know... zombies.

So what's it about?

Waverly was in the middle of a simple game of Go Fish when news of 'greyskins' was first reported. Media reports talked of people whose skin turned gray, and whose eyes turned black. Those people were seemingly unstoppable and attacking en masse, even though their bodies appeared to be dead.

That was three years ago. Now, people struggle in a world overrun by greyskins. Even worse, they have to be careful of each other. Trust doesn't run high in a devastated world. There are stories of a town called Crestwood, however, that allows travellers to settle within its walls. All a person needs to do is get there. Somehow.

I expected a run-of-the-mill zombie story, but that's not what I got. In fact, I got

Another Treasured Tome!!!

I know what you're thinking. 

"Already?"

I thought the same thing. Two Treasured Tomes in a row? No way!

But... yep. It happened. See, this was a spectacular work from the very beginning. Not only did the first few pages draw me in, but somewhere around 2/3 of the way through, I cried.

Not little, easy to ignore tears. Big ones. Huge ones that forced me to take a break because I couldn't read the blurred words in front of my eyes.

I was hooked, and good.

But then... then!

After the waterfall finally ended, I kept reading, puffy eyes and all. I read through dinner. I read through tooth-brushing. I then read long past my bedtime.

Big mistake.

Don't do that. I didn't sleep well at all, largely because my dreams were infested with zombies and vacant cities. And raiders.

Then, then next night, I had more nightmares. Everybody noticed the shadows under my eyes, and "...it was a good book" was the wrong response, triggering eyerolls, rather than commiseration.

The thing is, I don't have nightmares. My dreams are about eating a sandwich, typing on the laptop, tying my shoes. They're usually are usually quite boring, and even when they aren't, I find them more fascinating than anything else. Nightmares are rare.

Nightmares after reading a book? That just doesn't happen.

Although, I guess it does now, right?

See, but that's not everything. The worst part is that the ebook isn't. 

Even. 

Scary. 

Not really, anyway. I mean, yes there are zombies, and yes, people die. But super-creepy Steven King type stuff? There's none of that.

Rather, this book gets under your skin. It slowly takes over your subconscious, making sleep a distant memory. 

I haven't had a book do anything like this to my mind in a very long time. Morrow crafted a story that draws the reader in, causing them to beg for more... then releases the reader in an emotionally exhausted state.

Yet, all you can think about is going back for more.

Anywhere But Here can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Read it.

But not right before bed. That's a really bad idea...

Discovery of a Brilliant Work Concealed in the Shadows!

I'm adding works from small publishing companies to the list of Tomes to seek for review.

This does not mean that they'll be considered for Treasured Tome status. I reserve that distinction for authors that fit the indie description.

What does that mean, exactly?

If an author happens to publish under their own company name, they still fit the indie author description. If their manuscript was sent out to a company they weren't previously affiliated with, however, they no longer fit into my view of an indie author, and will not be considered for Treasured Tome status.

That being said, we've got an ebook that could have been a Treasured Tome on our hands. This one is set in the not-so-distant future: the 2030s.

Cover art by Marya Heiman 

Concealed in the Shadows is written by Gabrielle Arrowsmith. This one isn't actually an indie book, as you've already figured out. Rather, Concealed in the Shadows is published by a very small publishing company known as Clean Teen Publishing, which means I kind of bent my original rules a bit. How'd that happen, you ask? 

Well...

It was an accident, I swear!

I didn't actually realize my mistake until I finished this ebook, and I just couldn't pass up reviewing it. You needed to hear about it. It's a book well worth reading, and since Clean Teen Publishing is a very small company, I figured it would be okay to bend the rules a little...

...and then I decided to re-write them.

I did this partially because I like the idea of small publishing companies being highlighted on the web, rather than the big publishing houses, but also because I really wanted you to hear about Concealed in the Shadows. Like I said, it's well worth the read.

So what's it about?

For some time now, Sydney Harter has been crossing the electrical barriers that surround Miles County, training herself to elude the authorities if the need ever arises. She's prepared to do anything to ensure her little sister Evvie's safety. On her eighteenth birthday, Sydney goes to court to legally request full guardianship of her sister. The request is granted, and Sydney at last seems to have the ability to protect Evvie from the dangers of Miles. But as she goes on a run across the barrier the following morning, Sydney is thrust into a strange new world. Her one thought? To protect her sister at all costs.

This ebook felt like a warning about what could happen in the future if we continue to live in our social media driven world without paying heed to what's happening all around us.

Of course, that could simply be because I'm a strong supporter of the Internet Defense League (Cat signal!), and believe we need to be careful to watch just what our government is doing at all times - regardless of political affiliation. So I could simply be drawing on my personal beliefs...

Which means the author made it personal!

Arrowsmith made me laugh, and she made me tear up... twice. I got angry at the characters, then forgave them. I longed to make them understand each other, and wanted to throttle them whenever they made dumb choices - especially the irrational choices that I would have made under the same circumstances.

The characters weren't just believable. They felt real. If I chose to read this aloud, I'd be able to do it smoothly and with proper inflection. Dialogue was perfect. I assume this has to do with Arrowsmith's experience with community/school acting - of which she has plenty. She understands the importance of vocalizing the dialogue she writes.

What about the flaws?

Honestly, there were very few. There were some clunky and mixed up sentences that caused me a bit of confusion, especially in the first four pages. There were also a few typos and incorrect word usages that caused me to raise my eyebrows a few times.

But that was it. 

Don't let those first few pages stop you from reading. Concealed in the Shadows kept my interest throughout. I didn't want to stop reading, and even lost a bit of sleep because I couldn't put it down. 

You can pick up Concealed in the Shadows on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Allie's War: Accidental Victory!

On my latest treasure hunt I accidentally discovered a great sci-fi oriented dystopian novella.

I say accidentally, because it was listed as an urban fantasy.

But even though it was a mistaken discovery, it was a good one!

This novella (of roughly 120 pages) was Allie's War: Episode 1, by J.C. Andrijeski.

Cover art by
Greg Jensen and AnneMarie Buhl

Initially, I was going to leave this one alone and continue my search for something within the fantasy or paranormal genres, but when I saw the page length on my Nook, I elected to read it anyway. It was short, after all. If I didn't like it, no time would be wasted.

Why not, right?

So I sat and read what turned out to be a great break from my normal choices.

So what's it about?

After finding herself holding a bloodstained, broken bottle while police scream for her to drop her weapon, Allie is forced to accept that she attacked the woman that her beau was seeing on the sly, even though she has no memory of the assault. Soon after, she's given a GPS tracking anklet so authorities can monitor her every movement. First offense or not, she's now a violent criminal.

Both of these problems are small compared to what she discovers next: She's not human, and she's being hunted... by different factions within an alien race which has been on this planet for a very long time.

I raced through this one.

Energy was high, and I found myself turning pages at a rapid rate. My eyes even teared up a bit during one scene. Granted, this is only because Andrijeski wrote something that hit me on a very personal level, but that's just it:

It hit me on a personal level!

The characters were all very well written, and believable. I sympathized with each and every one of them. Dialogue was spot-on and specific to each character.

I found myself frustrated by a society that was built and structured upon fear, but understanding where that fear came from, at the same time. I was shown a new view of the planet, as well as the lifeforms that live here.

There were a few problems that caused my to withhold Treasured Tome status, however.

The author gave the reader information at the beginning that was unnecessary, causing the story to slow down. It was only a few words within a couple of sentences, but even so, it detracted from the story's energy.

The other flaw had to do with the switching of tenses. Sometimes that can work, but switches between present and past tense within the exposition here had a jarring effect. Again, though, this is something that can be improved upon with great success.

And in truth, Andrijeski may have already made these changes.

The thing is, I found another piece written by J.C. Andrijeski with a nearly identical name: Rook: Allie's War, Book 1. This appears to be the same novella, and may be an updated version, but I can't be 100% certain... I didn't see this title until after I finished with the version I already downloaded.

Getting confused? Don't worry. I am, too.

Regardless, this is an ebook worth reading. Even when including the flaws with tense and with poorly timed information, this story flowed remarkably well, and kept my interest to the end.

And don't forget... I teared up a little!

Allie's War is available on Kindle, Smashwords, and Nook.


**Update 4/30: The confusion I spoke of has been cleared up. Rook: Allie's War, Book 1 is actually episodes 1-4 combined. JC Andrijeski was going through rebranding, and my download happened to occur in the middle of it. Check out her comment below for a more in-depth explanation!

...And now I'm off to download Rook!