Monday 18 July 2016

Review:The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E.Pearson

Title: The Kiss of deception
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Published: 8th July 2014
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Source: Book Depository
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *** 1/2

My Review:

I struggled at first to get into this book. I am not quite sure what it was whether it was the fact that the main character's name was Princess Lia ( yes I know different spelling and in fact pronunciation but still...) or whether it was the fact that at first she seemed to be too perfect, in how she was able to instantly adjust to no longer being a princess and being on the run and survive on a multiple day trek to another city and the way the trek itself was mostly glossed over so suddenly she was there in the new town ready to start her new life know exactly what to do and settling in perfectly.

I really had to push myself to keep reading the first 20or so chapters as every time I left the book, i felt no motivation whatsoever to come back other than the fact I was in a buddy read and needed to keep reading. Thankfully the second half seemed to flow better and so I was able to speed through it and came out at the end realising I had in fact enjoyed it, and enjoyed it enough to continue on the the second book The Heart of Betrayal.

For the most part I found the prince and assassin almost interchangeable. Once I had figured out who was who, I found that neither character really stood out too much nor could I really figure out their motivation for their actions whilst they stayed in Terravin and I found the triangle a little too contrived and couldn't really feel much chemistry between any of them.That being said however, I did feel by that adding in the POVs from the assassin and the prince, definitely lended some more dimension to the story.

As mentioned the second half of the story seemed to flow a lot better. I felt like we spent the first half of the book kind of meandering a long waiting for the big event that would essentially start the action and the plot. There seemed quite a bit of set up and characters introduced who I think will become more important further along in the story and series. However in the second half i found myself more invested in the plot and the mysteries that were presented and interested to see how my theories would play out and events as they unfolded.

Overall, whilst I found the story in general not the most original and quite cliche/trope ridden with its love triangle and runaway perfect princess and another one or two that I won't mentioned for fear of spoiling the second half of the book, I did enjoy it and there are definitely some more characters and their secrets that look promising for book 2 and its story line.

While I do feel that this same story could have been told in a few less pages than the 486 its slated as, it is over all a reasonably enjoyable read so for this reason give it 3 1/2 stars


Sapphired Dragon xx





About The Book:




The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E.Pearson








A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love. .  


 
 
 


     

Saturday 16 July 2016

Review: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Title: The Dead House
Author: Dawn Kurtagich
Published: 6th August 2015
Publisher: Hachette UK (Indigo Imprint)
Source: Library
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: **** 1/2

My Review:

I could not put this book down! I picked it up yesterday afternoon asI had been meaning to read it for a while and decided to try and squeeze it before my next couple of review reads and I had finished before just after midnight.

I found it had the right balance of Creepiness and Mystery with out being over the top and I found it not only easy to read but found myself compelled to keep reading pulled into the mystery and needing to see exactly what happened and how it would all play out.

I loved the way it presented in the style of official documents,diary entries, video excerpt and police interviews as testimony for a trial. The book itself is set in the future and they are looking at a incident (called the Johnson incident) which occurred in 2005 involving parts of a boarding school being burned down, the death of three people and the serious injury of another. It gave you the feeling you were interpreting the evidence right along side the jury and to see how your conclusions married up with those at the end.

This novel is part creepy, part mystery part psychological thriller and through the whole experience you are constantly needing to make up your mind whether are events are happening as described and seen or the ravings of a seriously disturbed young girl. An the end ending , regardless of the conclusions you have previously drawn leaves you with questions anew that you may just find your self thinking about at 3 am in the morning..

If you love a good compelling spooky read that hook you in from beginning to end and then leave you breathless, then I definitely recommend the Dead House.

I give it 4 1/2 stars!

Sapphired Dragon xx





About The Book:



The Dead House By Dawn Kurtagich












Part-psychological thriller, part-urban legend, this is an unsettling narrative made up of diary entries, interview transcripts, film footage transcripts and medical notes. Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High burned down. Three people were killed and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. Now a diary has been found in the ruins of the school. The diary belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly’s identical twin sister. But Carly didn’t have a twin . . .

Re-opened police records, psychiatric reports, transcripts of video footage and fragments of diary reveal a web of deceit and intrigue, violence and murder, raising a whole lot more questions than it answers.

Who was Kaitlyn and why did she only appear at night? Did she really exist or was she a figment of a disturbed mind? What were the illicit rituals taking place at the school? And just what did happen at Elmbridge in the events leading up to ‘the Johnson Incident’?

Chilling, creepy and utterly compelling, THE DEAD HOUSE is one of those very special books that finds all the dark places in your imagination, and haunts you long after you've finished reading.  


 
 
 
     

Monday 4 July 2016

Teaser Tuesday #121 : Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard #TeaserTuesday





Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard and my two lines are from page 67


It was always this way: Safi would initiate something over her head, and someone else would clean up the mess. That someone had been Iseult for six years now...but how many messes would Safi have to make before Iseult had enough?


 






On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery,” a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch

 


 


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Friday 1 July 2016

M9B Friday Reveal + Giveaway: Clanless (Namless #2) by Jennifer Jenkins #M9B



Today Jennifer Jenkins and Month9Books
are revealing the cover and first chapter for CLANLESS, book 2 in the NAMELESS Series
which releases October 4, 2016! Check out the gorgeous cover and enter to be
one of the first readers to receive a paperback of NAMELESS or an eGalley of
CLANLESS!!

Here’s a message from the author.

Clanless is Gryphon's story in the way Nameless
was Zo's. It encompasses the struggle of self discovery and taking the hard
road to find happiness. At its heart though, this book is a love story, with
two people determined to fight overwhelming odds, even death, to be together.
Clanless provides readers a view of the world outside Ram's Gate, exploring
both the Raven and Kodiak Clans in more depth.

I LOVE THIS COVER. I love the way Gryphon is
depicted and the symbolism of of the white background in contrast to the black
of the Nameless cover. I personally think the series only gets better with
every book, and I hope readers agree.
On to the reveal! 






Title: CLANLESS (Nameless #2)
Author: Jennifer
Jenkins
Pub. Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books
Format: Paperback
& eBook
Find it: Amazon | B&N
|
TBD
|
Goodreads

Striker Gryphon has lost his position of
honor among the Ram, and is now a hunted man. A traitor.

Zo, the object of his affection, was
murdered by members of his former clan. To honor her memory, he journeys to the
highly secretive Raven “Nest” to warn strangers of their impending
demise—though it could cost him more than just his pride.

He doesn’t know that Zo is very much
alive and in another part of the region assisting Nameless refugees over a
mountain swarming with wild men known as “Clanless.”

As each struggle to make sense of what
their lives have become, they fight and claw to reach the Allied Camp, their
last hope in bringing peace to the region.






























But the road back to one another is
treacherous and uncertain. And freedom will come with a price.



Excerpt





Gryphon never thought he’d die at the hands of the Ram. Of course, he never thought he’d become a traitor to his clan, either.




He awaited a likely public execution, sitting in a patch of mud outside the walls of Ram’s Gate, his clan’s stronghold, as rain filtered through the trees overhead. Bristled ropes rubbed raw his bound ankles. Iron manacles secured his wrists behind his back. Gryphon clutched the hidden key to his restraints inside a bloody fist and glared at a man he never thought he’d call an enemy.




Zander, Gryphon’s captain, stood at attention as the rain rolled off his brown hair and banked along the harsh angles of his cheekbones and jaw. He held a seven-foot spear like a walking stick, the blunt end buried in the mud at his feet. His short sword was sheathed at his hip, his round shield slung across his back. The perfect Ram warrior, and one of the best swordsmen Gryphon had ever known.




The fifteen members of his mess sat like stones in a field, unmoving but hard and very present. Most of Gryphon’s former mess, including his best friend, Ajax, kept their backs to him, as if his treason were contagious. Some slept under thick wool blankets that repelled the rain while others stewed with the restlessness that plagued so many warriors.




No one bothered to light a fire. Whether they were too impatient to find something dry enough to burn or felt they deserved the cold, Gryphon didn’t know. Ram were experts at self-discipline—not to be confused with self-control.




Inside Ram’s Gate, Gryphon grew up training every day until his body ached. On days he struggled to do everything his leaders asked of him, he would sentence himself to mountain sprints until he literally passed out from exhaustion. Like every other Ram boy, he willingly walked into scheduled yearly beatings that were meant to train his body to block pain, making him nearly invincible on the battlefield.




A little rain was nothing.




Sitting cross-legged in the mud with his hands chained behind his back, Gryphon let the rain muffle the sound of his struggle to insert the small key into the unseen lock of his manacles. Each metallic scrap wound his nerves that much tighter. His wrists burned from bending at an awkward angle and his shoulders strained as he struggled to keep his face a mask of indifference.




Zander watched him, barely blinking. Gryphon needed to distract him—to break his intent focus.




“Why do you think they haven’t let down the rope ladder?” Gryphon asked, speaking as though his impending execution meant little to him.




Zander’s lip raised in a snarl. “Barnabas has the Raven invasion to prepare for, the gate to repair. He will deal with you in his own time.”




Gryphon adjusted his grip on the key to approach the lock from a different angle.




“It seems Barnabas is content to let you sit out in the cold for the night. Do you think you’ll lose your command over this?” Gryphon raised his chin and smiled.




Zander drew a knife so fast Gryphon fumbled with the key.




“Barnabas ordered you brought back alive, but I don’t think he’d mind if I took out your tongue.”




Gryphon had been trained to use the emotions of his enemies against them. People made mistakes when they weren’t stable. Plus the conversation muffled the sound of the key scraping futilely against the metal lock behind his back.




A few of the heads in the wet camp turned to watch the exchange.




Zander leaned back, battling with his composure. “I might lose my command, but I’ll return to my bunk with our brothers of the mess and rest well after seeing your body hang from a noose.” He shook his head. “I knew you had a strange fascination with that slave—that Wolf. I just didn’t realize your treason extended to all the Nameless inside the Gate.”




Just yesterday, Gryphon had inadvertently helped hundreds of Nameless slaves flee the massive walls of Ram’s Gate. To slow the Ram pursuit, he disabled the only exit—a gate so large it required forty Nameless to open it. Even though only a fraction of the Nameless slaves escaped, it would be days before the chain connecting the gate to the counterweight could be repaired.




The key finally slipped into the lock. Gryphon let his head fall back, just a fraction, and closed his eyes in relief. Zander’s hate-filled gaze greeted him as he opened his eyes, but that didn’t stop him from turning the key. The lock clicked open, the sound lost in the rain.




With one hand free, Gryphon still kept both hands behind his back, though he relaxed his shoulders some to alleviate the ache from being bound. The metal key in Gryphon’s hand was warm. The grooves pressed uncomfortably into his palm, but Gryphon didn’t loosen his hold, refusing to let go of the hope Ajax had given him.




Not only was the key his only chance of escaping the certain death that awaited him inside the giant walls of his clan, but it also represented a dim hope that Zo was still alive. That Ajax—Gryphon’s best friend—hadn’t followed through with Zander’s order to find and kill her and the others after Gryphon’s capture.




The vivid scenes of the morning replayed in Gryphon’s mind again and again. Everyone asleep under the tree, except Zo and Gryphon. Ram circling the perimeter of the giant fir like bloodhounds sniffing out prey. Zo taking his hand, pretending to be brave even though her eyes—they were always so easy to read—proved it a lie. Her warm lips. The feel of her body pressed against his . . .




A shudder that had nothing to do with the cold ran up Gryphon’s back. He’d been captured not far from the tree, trying to lead the Ram away from the people he cared for most.




If only he could ask Ajax if they were alive, though the chances were as likely as staying dry in this storm. Ajax had a family to protect, and the penalty for deceiving his captain was as deadly as deceiving Chief Barnabas himself. Dangerous.




Lightning struck not far away, brightening half of Zander’s face in the fast-approaching darkness.




“Come back to me,” Zo had said, just before she’d leaned into him, touching her soft lips to his.




Gryphon slid the key into the second lock.




He chewed on the inside of his lip until he tasted blood. He fought the urge to spit in Zander’s face, to unlock the chains binding his wrist and strangle him with his bare hands. He was sure he could finish the job before he took a spear to the gut. It felt like the only way to quench the hungry blackness that consumed his insides.




Gryphon hung his head, remembering the promise he made to Zo before they separated. Whether Zo was alive or not, he needed to survive to warn the Raven Clan of an impending attack. Countless lives would be spared if the Raven had time to flee the Nest before the Ram arrived. Getting himself killed wouldn’t serve them, even if it meant an escape from the overwhelming ache in his chest.




Thunder rolled again. Zander stared. Gryphon prayed for a miracle . . . and hoped he deserved one.




He turned the key.




The lock clicked open.




But his manacles clattered to the ground before he could catch them.




***




“We’re not waking him.” Zo’s head throbbed as she held Joshua’s wrist to check his pulse for the tenth time in as many minutes.




The boy lay unconscious, but his heart beat a steady rhythm. Zo needed to feel that pulse; it was her tether to sanity. The sound of Ram fists connecting with Gryphon’s body . . . the muffled grunts betraying his pain . . . they still echoed in her mind when she didn’t check her thoughts. From her hiding place, she hadn’t seen Gryphon’s capture, but she had heard. She’d wanted to run out and fight alongside him. Even though she had Joshua and Tess to think of, her inaction tasted like betrayal.




Rain fell all around them, but they’d managed to stay mostly dry beneath the skirt of a giant fir tree.




“This is insane,” said Eva. She had the long nose of her Ram ancestors, set off by a thin mouth. “Do you have any idea what will happen to us if the Ram come back here?” Eva lay flat on her stomach—all leather and long legs—as she scanned the ground outside their fir tree haven.




Even with a full moon, it was impossible to see far beyond the confines of their shelter. “They have Gryphon. They’ll know you and Joshua are close.” Eva ran her hand over her cropped hair, oblivious to the action. “If I were tracking us, I would have found us hours ago.”




Eva was a Ram, just like the soldiers she feared. She’d fled the Gate with Zo for the sake of her unborn child. A baby who would have been killed at birth because it belonged, not to her betrothed, but to a man in the Ram’s slave class known as the Nameless.




Zo gazed up at the tree trunk, hoping to inhale a bit of patience along with the strong scent of pine. “We wait until Joshua’s ready, Eva. Not a moment sooner.”




“But the Nameless will be miles away by now.”




Zo conceded the point. At that moment, hundreds of escaped slaves traveled to get as far from Ram’s Gate as possible to protect their newfound freedom. They didn’t know how to find the Allied Camp. Zo had told Stone, Eva’s lover and the leader of the Nameless rebellion, it was south of Ram’s Gate, but that was the extent of their knowledge, and it wouldn’t be enough to find the slot canyon that led to the Allies.




The Nameless needed her. So did her little sister Tess, Joshua, and even Eva. None of them would survive without Zo’s ability to lead them to the Allies. But it didn’t change the fact that all Zo wanted to do at the moment was sprint up the mountain to Ram’s Gate—the place from which they’d just escaped—and demand the release of the young man she’d come to care for. The man who’d saved her life and the life of her sister, even though doing so had caused him to lose everything.




Gryphon.




Zo’s little sister, Tess, sat like a watchdog beside Joshua’s head, playing with the boy’s red hair. In the low light, she looked even smaller than her eight years.




“Zo’s smart. She knows what to do,” said Tess. She was blond with dirt smeared across her nose and cheeks. She glared at Eva with her giant blue-green eyes, almost daring her to contradict her big sister.




Zo hugged her knees to her chest, fighting a sudden surge of nausea, hoping Tess was right to trust her so completely.




“Someone’s coming,” Eva hissed. She pushed up onto her knees, wielding two deadly looking knives. At the same time, Zo yanked Tess to the ground and threw herself over her and Joshua’s body. It was a futile effort to save them, but fear took over all rational thought.




Soft footfalls crept outside their shelter, each step marking the final moments of their lives. Zo glanced around for some kind of weapon or stick to help defend the two people—two children—for whom she was responsible. All she found in the darkness was a bed of dry pine needles and her medical satchel—nothing to defend them against fighters from the deadliest clan in the region.




The footsteps came closer, muted by the soggy earth. Eva moved from her knees to the balls of her feet, a compressed spring ready to fly into an attack. She adjusted her grip on her knives.




Hope fled. Zo couldn’t catch her breath. Tess. Joshua. Eva. The Nameless. Dying today under this tree meant the deaths of so many others as well. Gryphon’s sacrifice had been in vain.




Large boots stopped mere feet from Zo’s hiding place. Boots she’d recognize anywhere.




“Don’t,” she cried, trying to stop Eva before she attacked.




But her warning was too late.




Eva sprang, blades in hand, aimed at the intruder’s chest.







With her
degree in History and Secondary Education, Jennifer had every intention of
teaching teens to love George Washington and appreciate the finer points of
ancient battle stratagem. (Seriously, she’s obsessed with ancient warfare.)
However, life had different plans in store when the writing began. As a proud
member of Writers Cubed, and a co-founder of the Teen Author Boot Camp, she
feels blessed to be able to fulfill both her ambition to work with teens as
well as write Young Adult fiction.

Jennifer has
three children who are experts at naming her characters, one loving, supportive
husband, a dog with little-man syndrome, and three chickens (of whom she is
secretly afraid).

Visit her
online at jajenkins.com



Connect with
the Author:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest |Instagram

















1 winner will receive a paperback of NAMELESS,
US Only.



3 winners will receive an eGalley of
CLANLESS, International.




a Rafflecopter giveaway