Dark

Review: Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin

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I adore pirate books. I wish there were more. Not YA, but historical romance ones. And if they were like Sea of Ruin, I would never read anything else.

I’ll admit, it takes me a while to try a new to me author. I have so many auto-buy ones that I just don’t make the time for new ones. But when one of my auto buy authors raved about a super dark and sexy pirate story, I knew I needed to give it a try.

While Bennett runs from one pirate she ends up caught by a pirate hunter. Planning her escape has her doing things she never thought she’d be doing. Her life ends up being one twist after another. That is til everything comes to an explosive end.

The crazy thing is that the cover is very deceiving. It looks all whimsical, but in reality far from that. Let me tell you, it’s dark. I mean super dark. Triggers all over the place. But since I don’t have any, I was game for it. Were there places that made me cringe? Heck yeah. Super dark parts. But again, I had faith that things would work out.

If you like adventure with dark and twisty mixed in then this book is definitely something you will like! Go forth and grab it!

~Melpomene

Click the pic to buy!

Review: Twisted Pride by Cora Reilly

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I’m finding myself more and more intrigued with mafia books than ever before. In February I stumbled upon Cora Reilly’s Born in Blood mafia series while doing a free trial of Kindle Unlimited. From the very first book I was hooked. I inhaled them in a matter of a couple of days, then I immediately jumped into The Camorra Chronicles, which is the spin off series. So I’ve been DYING to get Remo’s story! He’s one of the most brutal characters in these series but I knew he would crack when he found the right woman.

Now mafia books aren’t for the faint of heart. They’re brutal and sometimes disturbing, but family is at the core, so they can also be filled with lots of love. This series is about a set of brothers and Remo is the head of them. He will do everything and anything for his family, even kidnap and break an innocent woman. I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous when I started. I know what Remo’s like and I needed to prepare myself. But like I said, all it take is the right woman to ease the monster and Serafina is that woman.

Serafina was raised like all women are raised, covered in protection till their wedding. But when she is kidnapped on her way to her wedding, she has to be strong and unbreakable in the face of a monster. The more she’s there, the more she grows to understand Remo and why he’s the way he is. Soon her heart makes a decision that will forever change her life.

I missed the days when I thought a knight in shining armor riding a white stallion would steal my first kiss.

Instead a monster had claimed me, body and soul.

I loved watching these two circle each other. Seeing the brothers get a little softer when more women enter their lives is fun to watch. They will still be killers, don’t get me wrong, but when they look upon the face of their women, you see an easing of the tension that surrounds them. Behind all the violence are men who just want to be loved, even if they don’t want to admit to that.

~Melpomene

Read all three books in the Camorra Chronicles. Click picture for link.

Review: Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones

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While I am very happy with the way Shadowsong ended, it took a lot to get there. A lot of stress and heartache, and more pacing. After we were left with our hearts on the floor, by the ending of Wintersong, I needed this book to put me back together. While Wintersong was about love, Shadowsong was about healing. Healing of families. Healing of hearts and healing of minds.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, when I first started. But soon I realized that this book was going to be nothing like the first. In fact, when I read the author’s note, I knew this was going to be totally different than the first book.

We rarely saw the Goblin King, but I understand why. It wasn’t really about him. It was about Liesl’s and her brother, Josef’s journey. They both are broken and troubled and trying to discover the pieces they need to put themselves back together. My heart was breaking for both of them. In the first book was find out why Josef is struggling. He is different but he doesn’t know it. Liesl needs to help him, while also helping herself.

This book was harder to read than the first. It was making me manic. The twists and turns of Liesl’s world had me reeling right along with her. My heart was breaking. My soul hurt. The world is falling a part and she’s the only one who can stop, but she doesn’t know that. And when she does, she has to make sacrifices that don’t only affect her, but her loved ones as well.

Again, I am happy with the ending, but I feel there could’ve been just a little bit more. There’s a few open ended stories that need to be written. *hint hint*

~Melpomene

Buy Wintersong~ http://amzn.to/2CPEZEJ
Buy Shadowsong~ http://amzn.to/2F8xIgC

Review – The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell

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15818333In 2013, the age of Instant Messaging, texting, face-iThingy, etc…, how many of us really know or speak to our neighbours anymore? Would you notice if two teenage girls were living with abusive and irresponsible parents? Would you notice if those parents were to disappear? Well, luckily for you, Lisa O’Donnell explores this conundrum in her debut novel, The Death of Bees. Set in present day Glasgow, O’Donnell presents the reader with Nelly and Marnie – two teenage girls growing up in some of the worse conditions imaginable. Their situation gets exponentially more precarious when their parents die, and they are suddenly left to fend for themselves. Don’t worry, I didn’t just give away a spoiler – you know this happens right from the get go. Marnie and Nelly’s quest for survival from both death, and the social services is the main focus of the story and along the way, we meet a host of interesting characters that intersect with Marnie and Nelly.
O’Donnell’s narrative is split between 3 people, and each one provides a different view point of events. At first it was a little jarring to read through the eyes of Nelly, as she has a very particular way of speaking. However, you soon get used to it and it really provides character. The amount of time spent on each narrative is perfect; you never once feel like you’ve been spending too long reading as one character. The language used by the characters is not pretty – but then life isn’t always pretty – it is honest, sparse, and real.
If you’re looking for your next unique read, I would highly recommend this one. It runs the gauntlet of emotions (it will even make you feel physically sick at one point!) and does not let up, but at the same time, it isn’t depressing for the sake of being depressing. There is light amongst these characters and it shines just as often as it is put out. It is a relatively short read, so if you can read it in one sitting, or even two, then that would be the way to do it so that you don’t lose the rhythm of the narration.
You can get this fresh, unique and honest story here – The Death of Bees: A Novel

~ Pegasus.