Review: Nyxia Uprising by Scott Reintgen

Nyxia Uprising by Scott Reintgen
Narrated by : Sullivan Jones (Narrator), Kyla Garcia (Narrator), Alex Romashov (Narrator), Keong Sim (Narrator)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I feel like this was the perfect ending to the series.  I'm sad to see it end, but I'm so satisfied with the ending.  I wasn't sure what to expect because in Reintgen's own "review" he said "You are not ready" and he pointed out that your favorites aren't safe and people die.  It isn't often that authors really go there, but he did and it was really well done.  This series needs so much more recognition in the YA Sci-fi community.

The audiobook cast was A+! I wasn't sure how I'd feel about finishing up the series on audio since I previously read ARCs of the series, but the cast was perfect!  They did an amazing job bringing the story to life and their personification of the Imago and the Genesis crew was spot on!  I'm going to check out other things they've narrated because all four of them were very talented.

This follows Emmett and Morning and the rest of the Genesis crew as they try to escape Babel and the impending end of the world. Babel didn't plan on the moon's colliding when they came to take over the Imago's planet to mine Nyxia. The Genesis team has made a pact with the Imago to fight against Babel and return to Earth to expose Babel. The story is told from several perspectives, Emmet and Morning which I expected, but we also get Longwei's perspective, and Anton's perspective as they have both left the crew and infiltrated Babel's domain in different ways. This basically picks up right where the last book leaves off. The crew and the Imago are recovering from Babel's last attack, Anton and Longwei have taken their respective places within the Babel network in an attempt to help their friends get home safely. As Emmett and Morning lead the crew on the ground toward the ships that will take them off planet, things do not go smoothly and they decide to split up. As is typical nothing goes to plan and the group finds themselves not only fighting for their lives against Babel but fighting the clock as the moons collide and the world ends. Meanwhile Defoe isn't giving up so easily and he is determined to win at any cost.

The world building, creativity of all of the creatures that Reintgen creates on the planet, the character development are all fantastic. I also appreciated that the author wasn't afraid to put the characters in danger. You weren't sure if your darlings were going to come out alright until the end. There were some plot points that kind of wrapped up a bit too quickly or could have been explored or explained in a bit more detail. Overall, I really don't have much to criticize. I just really liked the whole series.

This is a great YA sci-fi series and I highly recommend it. It has action, it is a bit on the violent side, great friendships, good humor, and it just overall a good story. I look forward to reading more of Scott Reintgen’s work in the future.


View all my reviews

Review: The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I feel like I need to read this again, I’m still not sure what happened. That ending had my head spinning!

This follows Eddie and his group of friends alternating between events that occurred in 2016 and 1986. In 1986, Eddie and his friends are enjoying their summer vacation or holiday because this is set in England. One evening they head to the fair (aka carnival), and they witness one of the rides break and careen into a local teenage girl. Eddie and the new teacher in town help rescue her, and traumatic experience leaves a lasting impression on Eddie. While the summer drags on, Eddie and his friends devise a code to let each other know where to meet in town, of course it is made out of little chalk men. When they find a dead body in the woods one day when they are out playing, and it just happens to be surrounded by drawings of little chalk men, all suspicions point to one man in town who has earns the name of “The Chalk Man”. Now this is not the only harrowing even that happens this summer, each of the members of the group suffers some sort of traumatic even that changes them and their friendships with the others.

In 2016, Ed and his friends have a strained relationship because of things that have happened over time. They are all haunted and broken by the events that occurred in 1986 in some way. When they all receive chalk men drawings in the mail, the past is brought to the present and many secrets are revealed.

This was a pretty good thriller. It kept me engaged and turning the pages to find out what happened. Tudor creates a pretty creepy atmosphere and I was never quite sure what was going on. I like that in a thriller. As I stated earlier, I feel like I need to reread this because I feel like I missed something that was right in front of me the whole time. I enjoyed this and felt that the twists and turns kept me guessing. I’ll definitely be checking out more books by C.J. Tudor.


View all my reviews

Review: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this as an audio book. Both narrators did an excellent job distinguishing all of the characters and giving them similar but unique accents so you could tell them apart. I read a couple of reviews that the pacing might be a little off and I recommend the audiobook as I felt the pacing was fine in the audio.

This is told from alternating perspectives Nadya and Serafin. Nadya is a Kalyazi cleric who has the unique ablity to communicate with the gods of her culture and they grant her spells to guide her magic. Serafin on the other hand is her enemy; he is a Tranavian blood mage and set to kill Nadya and all Kalyazi. Serafin is a powerful mage and also the High Prince. When Serafin attacks the monastery Nadya has been hiding and training in, she must flee in the hopes that she will still be of some use to her people if she can survive. During her escape she encounters Malachiasz, a former blood mage and his two companions Rashid and Parajihan. Nadya isn’t sure of what to make of the trio, but they quickly become allies in the face of dying by the hands of the Travanians. As Nadya tries to infiltrate the Travanian court to kill her enemy, Serafin is called home to find a wife. They both get caught up in court politics and find themselves in the middle of something much more sinister.

This is pretty dark and violent. If you are squeamish, stay away from this one. There is mention of blood in pretty much every scene. There are many bloody fight scenes. There is an unnecessary insta-love triangle sort ofthing forming between Serafin and Nadya and Malachiasz. She likes them both pretty much instantly upon meeting them but fights her feelings because they are the enemy. I don’t think it was entirely needed to move the plot along. I could have done without it, and I think the outcome could have been the same without it. It also takes away from Nadya as a strong female lead and makes it more about the boys than her. I also didn’t feel the chemistry between any of the romantic pairings.

In the end the magic system was so interesting, but I feel like I missed something when the book was over. I hope that the magic both the divine and the blood magic are explored more in the next book. There was a ton of information and detail presented to the reader. Unfortunately none of it was ties back together to give you a clear picture on the rules of each magic system, the gods, and what actually happened at the end. I’m hoping we will get some more answers in the next book. I’d like to see the magic system explained a bit more and the cleric’s relationship and to the gods explained clearly.

After proofreading this review it kind of sounds like I didn’t really like this book, believe me I did. I really like the concept of the lore and mythology; I hope we get more of it. The magic system is cool, I just don’t understand it. The world building was done pretty well, and while the characters still have a good way to grow I think we have a good foundation set for them. I’m looking forward to the next book and hope we get some answers.


View all my reviews

Blog Tour: In Her Words by J.S. Ellis

Title: In Her Words

Author: J.S Ellis

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Release Date: May 7, 2019

My Review

“Edge of your seat read!” - Amazon Review

“In Her Words is a thriller that will capture a reader’s curiosity until the very last page.” - Crazies R Us Book Blog

“This was excellent. An engaging and intense read I read straight through. I held my breath a few times. Twisted and heart breaking. Fabulous debut!” - Novels and Latte Review

While she seems to have it all, Sophie Knight is looking for more. When gorgeous and carefree Michael Frisk walks into her life, he offers the excitement and passion she desires.

Sophie is willing to risk everything she has. After all, she is used to concealing things from her husband—like her alcoholism, her unhappiness. But soon she has more to hide. She wakes up one morning in an alcoholic haze and finds bruises on her body, but has no recollection of what happened to her. Was she raped?

When unsettling notes and mysterious phone calls start, Sophie wonders whom she should turn to. Is Michael the cause of the frightening things happening in her life, or is he the answer to her problems? 

While preparing the evening meal, I slammed pots and pans, and slipping into a terrified murmured, oh no, no, no, what am I doing? What am I thinking? Trying to convince myself that, somehow, I am blameless.

Couldn’t I be? There is the address of another man in the bin! Shall I remove it? It’s unlikely Richard will go through the rubbish.

I’ve done nothing wrong. I admit, I find Michael positively beautiful, and I’ve flirted a bit, but I’m sure he gets it a lot from both women and men. He’s a talented musician. It’s his job to create a certain allure, but luring me into seeing him in his apartment? The danger of being with him in a room alone! How suffocating the whole experience would be. I have a fairy tale image in my head of the goblin leading the princess to his lair. 

I stopped cooking and caught my reflection in the living room window, surprised how flushed I appeared. The streets were empty except a few people walking by. Does Richard have plans tomorrow? He told me something, but I can’t remember. Everything he says is a blur. I’m sure he has to go golfing. Michael has conquered my eyes. Why have I allowed him into my imagination? I have a healthy marriage, not ideal or a perfect one, but I accept it for what it is. I get lonely, but I’m not alone. I have Richard. I get bored too sometimes because of the routine, but that’s marriage. I never thought of it as a sport. If I did, I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago. 

Did Michael sense something, or give him the impression I’m trapped in an unhappy marriage? Even so, the logical thing to do is not get involved with another man's wife. I took vows that Michael is breaking. I can’t say I’m a fabulous wife, or Richard is a fantastic husband, but we’ve managed all these years. He’s older than I am, and uses his authority and superiority which makes me feel inferior to him, but I don’t dwell on the petty stuff. I’ve learned to ignore him. 

I inspected my wedding ring, which I’ve never removed since Richard slipped it on my finger. My life commitment, forever. But forever is such a long time. How did I get myself into this mess? Oh no, no, no, what I am going to do?

J.S Ellis is a thriller author. She’s currently working on an adult Dystopian series called the Chaperone. She’s also working on another thriller novel for now it’s called Opium, as it’s still a wip.

J.S always liked to scribble from a young age, but started writing by the age of sixteen. She spent all this time, enhancing and learning about the craft. Writing is her passion books are her obsession. 

She has a degree in Creative Writing, English literature, and digital marketing. She works in an accountancy firm. She lives in Malta with her fiancé. 

When she’s not writing or reading, she’s either cooking, eating cheese, and chocolate, or listening to good music and enjoying a glass of wine or two. 

HOSTED BY:

Review: The Friar's Lantern Greg Hickey

The Friar's Lantern by Greg Hickey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is a choose-your-own-adventure type of book. This is pretty heavy on the math, science, and legal terminology. As the main character is taking part of a scientific study and sitting as a juror on a murder case, I did find that parts of the story were a bit repetitive especially since it was so heavy on the science and legal aspects. The author did do a good job making sure those parts were accurate and I do appreciate and author that takes the time to do their homework.

As for the choose your own adventure part, I felt that while the writing of the book was good, the chapters were a bit too long for my taste before you got to the point where you made a choice if you even got to choose something at the end of a chapter. Having flipped back and forth between the two choices, several times they ended up with the same outcome regardless of what you chose. That gave me the impression that no matter what I chose, I was going to end up where the author wanted me to go, which is fitting because that is what the book is about. I feel shorter chapters would have allowed for more unique outcomes, which is my preference in these types of books. I like having more choices, but I understand that writing a novel is cumbersome enough and creating a book with multiple outcomes is even more difficult. The author did a good job with this and should be commended for taking on this format. I eventually just read through to one final outcome and I'm happy with the experience. I bookmarked the pages that had choices so I can go back and try again some other time because I did like the plot and I'd like to investigate the other possible outcomes.

Onto the plot, our main character (I don't think the author ever tells us his name and I couldn't find it when I went looking) is taking part in a study involving an MRI and the ability of a model to predict human decision making. The study indicates that after being presented with some information the subject with make a choice between Box A, Box B, or take both boxes. In those boxes is either a million dollars, a thousand dollars, or nothing depending on the choice you make and what the model predicts. Our MC has an MRI and is asked to come back in a week and make his choice. During that week, he must sit as a juror on a murder case and decide if a man is guilty of manslaughter, second degree murder, or both. During his week between his MRI and decision about which box to take and during the trial, he has to think hard about the human decision process, statistics, and moral conviction. The reader is presented with choices at various points in the story to guide the MCs actions when he has to make a decision.

Overall, I thought this was well researched and well written. I do enjoy this format of book, and I look forward to exploring the other outcomes. The choice points where in logical places, and this book gives you something to think about as you are reading and when you are done.

View all my reviews

Review: In Her Words by J.S. Ellis

In Her Words by J.S Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie is an alcoholic; because she is always under the influence she has the feel of a very unreliable narrator. This book is told from the perspective of Sophie’s diary entries. She is a successful woman, with a good husband, but something is missing in her life. As the book goes on we come to find out what she is missing and why she drinks all the time. While her husband is away on business she goes out with her best friend for a girls night, however the next day she finds herself in a ripped dress, covered in bruise,s and unable to remember anything from the evening before. As she tries to unravel the mystery from her crazy night out, she learns that she met up with the young men that live next door and they tell her she just drank too much and fell. She can tell they are hiding something and she is determined to find out the truth. As she searches for more information on her wild night out, she meets beautiful Michael who immediately captivates her. Their relationship quickly escalates from neighborly chat to something much more. Sophie continues to spiral out of control in her personal and professional life, especially when it comes to Michael, and then someone starts leaving her cryptic notes and following her. Michael eventually becomes possessive and jealous of her husband and they fight constantly. They are the definition of a toxic relationship.

As far as character development goes, I think given the fact that this was told via diary entries we really get a good glimpse into Sophie and her inner self. Michael was well developed, and for the small parts they played the side characters did their jobs. I found none of the characters to be particularly likeable in this book, despite that I found them oddly compelling and was completely invested in Sophie and her story. The twist at the end was creative.

I’m going to hide this next part because of potential spoilers. I enjoyed this book but there were a few things negatives that bothered me. (view spoiler)[ The main character is an alcoholic and that is used as a plot device. Many times her husband, lover, and best friend all call her out on her drinking and tell her she needs to stop, get help, or threaten rehab and then it is just left to continue. Alcoholism is a very real and serious disease and I’m probably taking this a little too personally, but I didn’t like the portrayal of an alcoholic main character that gets zero support from her loved ones. I also have an issue with the way the sexual assault in this book was handled and the victim shaming that took place afterwards because of the aforementioned alcoholism. (hide spoiler)]


View all my reviews

Release Blitz: In Her Words by J.S.Ellis

Title: In Her Words

Author: J.S Ellis

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Release Date: May 7, 2019

While she seems to have it all, Sophie Knight is looking for more. When gorgeous and carefree Michael Frisk walks into her life, he offers the excitement and passion she desires.

Sophie is willing to risk everything she has. After all, she is used to concealing things from her husband—like her alcoholism, her unhappiness. But soon she has more to hide. She wakes up one morning in an alcoholic haze and finds bruises on her body, but has no recollection of what happened to her. Was she raped?

When unsettling notes and mysterious phone calls start, Sophie wonders whom she should turn to. Is Michael the cause of the frightening things happening in her life, or is he the answer to her problems? 

I took a long bath with Maria Callas playing in the background, emptying my mind. I put on a black long-sleeved skater dress, but as I inspected myself in the mirror, it seemed too provocative. I didn’t want to send the wrong message, so I changed into a different dress that wasn’t so short. I applied too much makeup which made me look like a tart, so I removed it and started again. My hands trembled as I drew on my eyeliner. I drank a glass of wine and took several drags of my cig to steady my nerves.

 I went outside and hailed a taxi. I must have been out of my mind. The cabbie kept looking at me through the rear view mirror. I bet he knew what I was up to, or maybe not. I probably looked like a corporate woman heading for a meeting with a client.

  I almost told the cabbie to turn around, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. Mama by Phil Collins was playing on the radio. Here I was on my way to meet a kid, who had seen me at my worst, if not at my most degrading. It wasn’t too late to change my mind. However, I didn’t change my mind when I paid and tipped the cabbie. I didn’t change my mind when I scanned the block of flats and rang the bell. I didn’t change my mind as I plodded along the corridor adjusting the hem of my dress.

When I arrived, Michael was leaning against the doorframe, waiting for me looking flawless in black, with long earrings dangling from his ears. I like how well dressed he is, unlike those boys who wear jeans under their buttocks - they make me want to pull them up for them. He led the way. It was too late to change my mind now.

He shut the door. I smiled, and he smiled back. With the back of my hand, I ran it across his cheek feeling the softness of his skin. A sexual wave built in my groin, I moved close enough that my lips almost brush against his. I was intoxicated by his beauty, his talent, his strangeness. It was so forbidden and sexy.

J.S Ellis is a thriller author. She’s currently working on an adult Dystopian series called the Chaperone. She’s also working on another thriller novel for now it’s called Opium, as it’s still a wip.

J.S always liked to scribble from a young age, but started writing by the age of sixteen. She spent all this time, enhancing and learning about the craft. Writing is her passion books are her obsession. 

She has a degree in Creative Writing, English literature, and digital marketing. She works in an accountancy firm. She lives in Malta with her fiancé. 

When she’s not writing or reading, she’s either cooking, eating cheese, and chocolate, or listening to good music and enjoying a glass of wine or two. 

HOSTED BY: