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Archive for July 17th, 2019

The Book of Spells

Posted in 3 Star Books on July 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

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The Book of Spells by John Miller

SEVENTH CENTURY SOUTHERN ENGLAND. A KINGDOM RULED BY A KIND AND GENEROUS KING. THREE SISTERS WITH A BOOK OF SPELLS. A WIZARD GROWING MORE EVIL BY THE DAY

…Transporting the reader back to Southern England into the midst of the seventh century, THE BOOK OF SPELLS takes readers to the Kingdom of Vilgar, governed by a generous king in whose household an evil wizard has positioned himself. Convincing the king that his powers of magic and premonition will benefit the kingdom, Malecar becomes the court wizard, surreptitiously studying the dark arts in his quest to rule over the kingdom.

When Martir, a kind and gentle wizard arrives, he is appointed Malecar’s apprentice and becomes a close friend and confidant of the king’s son, Audric. The forest bordering Vilgar is a refuge to three witches. The women are in possession of a book they cannot open. Dabbling in the dark arts so that they might protect themselves, they realize that the book may contain the darkest of spells.

Confronted by Malecar, the sisters give him access to THE BOOK OF SPELLS, and the evil within him allows him to open it. What happens when an evil wizard has access to powers beyond his wildest desires? Or when a gentle wizard becomes his nemesis and the only protection for the Kingdom he serves?

Working its magic on young and old alike, THE BOOK OF SPELLS will carry readers to a time and place where magic is the norm, where good and evil are at odds, and where maybe—just maybe—the gentle are stronger than they ever imagined they could be.

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My Review

3 Stars

This story takes place in the Kingdom of Vilgar. We start the story with three sisters that are witches. They practice good magic and try to help the locals. But when I rich man refuses to pay one of the sisters for healing his pigs she turns him into a pig and the sisters end up having to go on the run.

Then we have the King of Vilgar who rules fairly and is a caring man. One day events happen and the wizard Malecar saves the kingdom. The king then makes him the court wizard and he help guide the king. But Malecar is a dark wizard and uses tricks to keep himself in the favor of the king as he continues his study of dark magic.

Finally there is the wizard Martir. He is traveling the country on a personal quest and comes across the Kingdom of Vilgar. He becomes the apprentice for Malecar but also travels the land making sure things are running smoothly. As we move between these three branches, they slowly start coming together as the quest for dark power brings darkness to the kingdom.

This was an interesting story but I had some trouble with it. The dialogs are meant to vary but I had a hard time with them. The conversation between the sisters was rough and choppy and the accents for the king and prince of Vilgar were just so hard to read.

From there it’s not a bad story; it just feels rough in the execution. There are big jumps in time that threw me off and the ending left me feeling confused. Is this a first book in a series? If not, what happened?

This is not a bad book; there is a lot of potential for this story. But it felt like it was not really edited and the flow was all over the place making it tough for me to stay with the story. This is one that is not for me but I do thing that it could be someone else’s next favorite book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank the Author and Strategies Public Relations for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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Alien III

Posted in General Information on July 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Alien III by William Gibson

Audible is bringing William Gibson’s uncovered Alien III script to life in audio for the first time, to mark the 40th Anniversary of the birth of the Alien franchise.

Alongside a full cast, Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen reprise their iconic roles as Corporal Hicks and Bishop from the 1986 film Aliens.

Father of cyberpunk William Gibson’s original script for Alien III, written in 1987 as a sequel to Aliens, never made it to our screens, although it went on to achieve cult status among fans as the third instalment that might have been after being leaked online.

This terrifying, cinematic multicast dramatisation – directed by the multi-award-winning Dirk Maggs – is the chance to experience William Gibson’s untold story and its terrifying, claustrophobic and dark encounters between humans and aliens, as a completely immersive audio experience.

The story begins with the Sulaco on its return journey from LV-426. On board the military ship are the cryogenically frozen skeleton crew of that film’s survivors: Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop.

We travel aboard and hear an alarm blare. Our heroes are no longer alone….

Starring: Tom Alexander, Barbara Barnes, Michael Biehn, Cliff Chapman, Samantha Coughlan, Ben Cura, Dar Dash, Harry Ditson, Mairead Doherty, Lance Henriksen, Graham Hoadly, Lorelei King, Laurel Lefkow, Martin McDougall, Sarah Pitard, Michael Roberts, David Seddon, Andrew James Spooner, Siri Steinmo, Dai Tabuchi, Keith Wickham, Rebecca Yeo.

 Audible

William Gibson; Photo Credit: Michael O'Shea

About the Author

William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been called the father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, having coined the term cyberspace in 1982 and popularized it in his first novel, Neuromancer(1984), which has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide.

While his early writing took the form of short stories, Gibson has since written nine critically acclaimed novels (one in collaboration), contributed articles to several major publications, and has collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers and musicians. His thought has been cited as an influence on science fiction authors, academia, cyberculture, and technology.

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This book is an Audible Original Drama. I can’t wait to listen to it.

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The Witchkin Murders

Posted in 4 Star Books on July 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The Witchkin Murders
Magicfall Book 1
by Diana Pharaoh Francis
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Four years ago, my world—the world—exploded with wild magic. The
cherry on top of that crap cake? The supernatural world declared war
on humans, and my life went straight to hell.
I used to be a detective, and a damned good one. Then Magicfall
happened, and I changed along with the world. I’m witchkin
now—something more than human or not quite human, depending on your
perspective. To survive, I’ve become a scavenger, searching
abandoned houses and stores for the everyday luxuries in short
supply—tampons and peanut butter. Oh, how the mighty have fallen,
but anything’s better than risking my secret.
Except, old habits die hard. When I discover a murder scene screaming with
signs of black magic ritual, I know my days of hiding are over. Any
chance I had of escaping my past with my secret intact is gone.
Solving the witchkin murders is going to be the hardest case of my
life, and not just because every second will torture me with
reminders of how much I miss my old life and my partner, who hates my
guts for abandoning the department.
But it’s time to suck it up, because if I screw this up, Portland will
be wiped out, and I’m not going to let that happen. Hold on to your
butts, Portland. Justice is coming, and I don’t take prisoners.
Diana Pharaoh Francis is the acclaimed author of a dozen novels of fantasy and
urban fantasy. Her books have been nominated for the Mary Roberts
Rinehart Award and RT’s Best Urban Fantasy. The Witchkin
Murders is the first book in her exciting new urban fantasy series—Magicfall.
My Review
4 Stars

Four years ago magic exploded in this world leaving people altered. There is now a division between humans, technomages, and witchkin. Kayla Reese is one of those people. She was a detective but now has some other abilities that made her become a scavenger. One day she is out and discovers the murder of three witchkin. She can’t help but report them to her old partner Ray Garza.

Ray is still pissed about her leaving the force for no reason and he wants to know why. Cops won’t investigate a witchkin murder but he looks into it for Kayla. When more murders happen it’s clear something is going on and Kayla is drawn into the investigation.

This is an interesting world and I loved it. I felt bad for Kayla having to scavenge just to survive after being a great detective. Ray is determined to find out why she left the force but then again is a hypocrite because of his own secret.

This is my first book from author Diana Pharaoh Francis. I’m really curious to see where this series goes from here. I read that this story is based in the world of the Horngate Witches. I’m also curious about this series too.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive content and a giveaway!
Enter for your chance to win $25 Amazon
I would like to thank Silver Dagger Book Tours for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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