Review & Giveaway: She Never Got to Say Goodbye by Ica Iova

Book Trailer | Amazon | Goodreads

When Olivia trades her promising career for a more domestic lifestyle as a wife and mother, she expects many things but never to see ghosts much less be one.

Her life with her handsome husband, Brandon, a successful criminal lawyer, starts as a happy one, but following a tragedy, guilt, alcohol and drugs crush their blissful world in a hurry. One minute Olivia is planning to leave the marriage and the next she’s floating at the foot of her son’s bed. Dead. Murdered. And all evidence points to Brandon as the prime suspect.

She is angry and determined to make him pay, but soon, she learns that she if she wants justice, she must follow the clues that reach back into Brandon’s past.

Suspenseful, romantic and awash in the afterlife thrill, She Never Got To Say Goodbye captures the power of love and friendship.

REVIEW

A book which gave me some unexpected surprises when I least expected it.

I read nothing from other reviews and go through Google ratings before I started reading.  And I am happy for that decision.

It started off where Olivia and Brandon meet at a restaurant, become friends, falls in love, gets married and has a baby.  Yeah, all these were said in the same pace in the book.  No big ah's and oh's of romance and marriage.  It just happened and then the tragedy hit the happy couple when Olivia was murdered.  The spirit Olivia is on her way to getting revenge on... yeah, you have to go read the book, in order to know more.

It was not an easy read.  I seriously didn't expect a paranormal plot.  So many secrets and revelations - that will cause your mind spiral down to a complete mess.  I was plastered in my chair with my Kindle until I completed this book.  This is the first book for me from this author, but she made sure that I get her other books some serious attention.

4 STARS!

GIVEAWAY

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Review: Miss Mabel’s School for Girls by Katie Cross

Never underestimate the power of a determined witch.

Letum Wood is a forest of fog and deadfall, home to the quietly famous Miss Mabel’s School for Girls, a place where young witches learn the art of magic.

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Monroe has inherited a deadly curse. Determined to break free before it kills her, she enrolls in the respected school to confront the cunning witch who cast the curse: Miss Mabel.

Bianca finds herself faced with dark magic she didn’t expect, with lessons more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Will Bianca have the courage to save herself from the curse, or will Miss Mabel’s sinister plan be too powerful?

Miss Mabel’s School for Girls is the first novel in The Network Series, an exciting new fantasy collection. A gripping tale about the struggle to survive, it will take you to a new place and time, one you’ll never want to leave.

REVIEW

Bianca is a witch, who has a curse on her.  To remove the curse, she requires to meet Miss Mabel, which seems to be possible only if Bianca wins the Competition in the school.  Three different and difficult tasks are set.  Bianca faces so many struggles inside her own mind in every turn.  The result of the Competition and the things that happen later are something that you won't predict it.

I started this book with so much expectations.  When I was over 30% of the book, I was not even sure whether to like it or even continue it.  Bianca seems selfish and none of the other characters really spoke to me.  So many incidents to this extent just left me thinking about Harry Potter books.  Letum Wood = Forbidden Forest, Leda = Hermione, three enemy students, the deadly curse, the high towers, I could go on.  But, I just went on, because a good friend said this was really good.

If I was proved wrong about my opinion of a book, this was the first time.  I was surprised really. It took a great turn in terms of both the writing and plot around the middle of the book.  I enjoyed it, loved it, adored it.  The author has really got a great story at hand.

Bianca's character, although, seemed selfish at first, was actually brought out full of determination and courage at the end.  I loved the girl especially for the fight she gave all of them.  Camille and Leda, who are Bianca' friends, also end up being liked for all their help.  Miss Mabel is the perfect villain for the story.  The readers will literally want to push her from the top of the mountain, after her actions.

The author never gave me a dull moment in the second half of the book.  It was a page turner and a dark adventure.  Highly recommended.

4 STARS

Review: Logos by John Neeleman

Original Title: Logos

Author: John Neeleman

Publisher: Homebound Publications

Release Date: March 10th 2015

Source: From Novel Publicity 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Logos is a bildungsroman about the anonymous author of the original Gospel, set amid the kaleidoscopic mingling of ancient cultures. In A.D. 66, Jacob is one of Jerusalem’s privileged Greco-Roman Jews. When Roman soldiers murder his parents and his beloved sister disappears in a pogrom led by the Roman procurator, he joins Israel’s rebellion against Rome. The rebellion he helps to foment leads to more tragedy—personal and, ultimately, cosmic: Jacob’s wife and son perish in Rome’s siege of Jerusalem, and the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, and finally extinguish Israel at Masada. Jacob wanders, and in Rome, he joins other dissidents—plotting vengeance not by arms, but by the power of an idea. Paul of Tarsus, Josephus, the keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the historical Jesus himself each play a role in Jacob’s tumultuous fortunes, but the women who have loved him compel the transforming and subversive climax.

REVIEW

I am a Hindu and I know about Christianity only through my Christian friends and movies.  It's so popular that many movies are taken even in my regional language.  So, I entered this book with as much nervousness when one has on their interview day.  As far as I am concerned, this book is just plain fiction to me, but the research work and hard work of the author can be noticed.

The story follows Jacob, whose life traverses along various historic life events.  Jacob is not the usual hero type material.  He is the hero, who is common man.  So, seeing history through his eyes is definitely a story, that is commendable.  Jacob faces so much tragedy in his journey, but still comes up with confidence and heart in each instance.

Facts and fiction play side by side in the novel and the readers will be kept interested enough to get absorbed into the life of Jacob.  The real story, as said by John Neeleman, questions some major beliefs of the society.  Well, I am not good with Christianity or history, so I am not the right person for judging this part.

A new perspective on history!

4 STARS!

Review & Giveaway: Rumors by A.C.Arthur

Welcome to the tour for Rumors by A.C. Arthur! Rumors is an adult murder mystery/thriller that was published by Alloy Entertainment in December 2014.

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Rumors by A.C.Arthur

 

Rumor has it…he will kill again.

Her death tore them apart. Will solving her murder bring them back together?

Best friends Landy, Tenile, Nicole, Nathan, Justin, and Kareem were the golden children of Tanner University. Their paths were set: doctors, lawyers, business moguls, they were going to light the world on fire. Then, two weeks before graduation, Landy was murdered—and Nathan was blamed. Though he was never charged, vicious rumors drove him from town, and the circle of friends broke.

Ten years later, Nathan is back in Tanner, determined to clear his name. He’s asking questions no one wants answered, and soon rumors threaten to divide the community once more. Everyone in this small town is keeping big secrets—especially Landy’s old friends—and someone is willing to kill to keep their darkest deeds buried…

Goodreads | Amazon 

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REVIEW

Landy, Tenile, Nathan, Justin and Kareem were best friends, during their college at Tanner University.  Landy-Justin and Tenile-Nathan were couples.  Everything was so beautiful and their future is all set, just when Landy was murdered.  And Nathan became the suspect.  Even after Nathan's father won him out of the case, rumors never changed.  Ten years later, Nathan goes back to Tanner to find the murderer.  But there are so many secrets and so many rumors that comes with every turn Nathan takes.  Between all this, he has to win Tenile back...from Justin.

Very well written and interesting characters!  Every character has more secrets than what we know through the first impression and the author releases one after the other giving readers enough time to appreciate or analyze everything.  The change in POV between the main characters gave more detail behind the motivation for their secrets.  I loved the romance between Tenile and Nathan and was rooting for the couple to get together from the start.  

I couldn't have asked for a better mystery novel.  This is just perfect, until the ending though.  That's just plain cruel to end a novel like that, without even a partial closure. :(  But, the only thing that has kept me from pulling my hair after that kind of ending is that the second part of this series is coming soon.  That's a big relief. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Artist C. Arthur was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where she currently resides with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school and she hasn’t stopped since.

Working in the legal field for more than twenty years now she’s seen lots of horrific things and longs for the safe haven reading a romance novel brings. Determined to bring a new edge to romance, Artist continues to develop intriguing plots, sensual love scenes, racy characters and fresh dialogue—thus keeping the readers on their toes!

Artist loves to hear from her readers and can be reached through her contact form or via email at acarthur22 @ yahoo.com (without spaces).

AUTHOR ONLINE: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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GIVEAWAY

The author will be giving away $25 Amazon Gift Card to a winner of the below Rafflecopter.  The giveaway ends June 23rd.
 

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

#Review & $50 #Amazon Gift Card #Giveaway: You Can't Get Blood Out of Shag Carpet by Juliette Harper

Welcome to the blog tour of You Can't Get Blood Out of Shag Carpet by Juliette Harper! This is the first book in A Study Club Mystery series and it's now available for sale on Amazon and Smashwords for only .99 cents!
This tour runs June 15-26 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

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About the Book:
Wanda Jean Milton discovers her husband, local exterminator Hilton Milton, dead on her new shag carpet with an Old Hickory carving knife sticking out of his chest. Beside herself over how she’ll remove the stain, and grief-stricken over Hilton’s demise, Wanda Jean finds herself the prime suspect in the case. But she is also a member of “the” local Study Club, a bastion of independent Texas feminism 1960s style. Club President Clara Wyler has no intention of allowing a member to be a murder suspect during her administration. Aided by her younger sister and County Clerk, Mae Ella Gormley; Sugar Watson, the proprietress of Sugar’s Style and Spray; and Wilma Schneider, Army MASH veteran and local RN, the Club women set out to clear Wanda Jean’s name — never guessing the local dirt they’ll uncover in the process.

Only .99 cents at

Amazon & Smashwords 

Add it to your Goodreads!

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REVIEW

Wanda Jean Milton's husband is dead..with her best Old Hickory carving knife sticking out of his chest..on her new shag carpet.  The police thinks that Wanda is a prime suspect.  Study Club President Clara Wyler doesn't think so, and she is not going to allow one of her club members arrested while she leads the club.  Club members Sugar, Mae Ella and Wilma join with Clara to find the murderer of Wanda's husband.  While trying to solve the mystery, the team uncovers various dirty secrets of their town folk along the way.

The story is set in 1960s and it's really interesting to know the various beliefs that were prevailing at that time period.  Even at that time, these study club ladies had been trying to be independent and to have a voice on their own in their household and society.  That's some pretty great thing for the author to touch on.  The story itself is simple, but with various subplots, each one as interesting as the other.  Although this is a mystery, it's fun to read and had less thrill.  This was both an advantage and a disadvantage.  As the mystery element is not thrilling enough, when I completed the novel, it didn't feel like reading a mystery..at all, but like listening to a lot of gossips in a very short span of time.  Which is fine with me.

The writing was good and the book is clean. This was my first read from this author, but it's definitely going to continue.

An interesting take on mystery genre!

4 STARS!

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About the author:

Juliette Harper is the pen name used by the writing team of Patricia Pauletti and Rana K. Williamson. You Can’t Get Blood Out of Shag Carpet is the first installment of Harper’s debut cozy Study Club Mysteries, an hilariously funny look at the often absurd eccentricities of small town life. The second book, to be released in coming months, is called You Can’t Put a Corpse in a Parade.

The droll series, set in the 1960s, is a light-hearted spinoff of Harper’s Lockwood Legacy a nine-book chronicle of the lives of three sisters who inherit a ranch in Central Texas following their father’s suicide. Three of the novels are currently available: Langston’s Daughters, Baxter’s Draw, and Alice’s Portrait. The fourth book, Mandy’s Father, will appear in Summer 2015.

And don’t miss Harper’s first foray into the world of the supernatural, Descendants of the Rose, Book 1 in the Selby Jensen Paranormal Mystery series. The second Selby Jensen book, Lost in Room 636 is also scheduled for a Summer 2015 release.

Pauletti, an Easterner of Italian descent, is an accomplished musician with an eye for art and design. Williamson, a Texan, worked as a journalist and university history instructor before becoming a full-time freelance writer in 2002.

Website | Twitter (@jharperbooks) | Facebook

Giveaway:
One (1) winner gets a $50 Amazon Gift Card (INT), one (1) winner gets Langston's Daughters, Baxter's Draw and Alice's Portrait in paperback (US) and one (1) winner gets Descendants of the Rose in paperback (US)

Ends June 29th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Mini-Reviews: The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver and My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Due to time constraints and piling up review copies, I thought I would post some reviews short.  Because these are the books, which already has many reviews for you to choose from in Goodreads and Amazon.

THE SPINDLERS

Series: (Standalone)

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: October 2nd 2012

Source: Review copy from publisher

Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade

One night when Liza went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, candy-grubbing and pancake-loving younger brother, who irritated and amused her both, and the next morning, when she woke up, he was not. In fact, he was quite, quite different.

When Liza's brother, Patrick, changes overnight, Liza knows exactly what has happened: The spindlers have gotten to him and stolen his soul.

She knows, too, that she is the only one who can save him.

To rescue Patrick, Liza must go Below, armed with little more than her wits and a broom. There, she uncovers a vast world populated with talking rats, music-loving moles, greedy troglods, and overexcitable nids . . . as well as terrible dangers. But she will face her greatest challenge at the spindlers' nests, where she encounters the evil queen and must pass a series of deadly tests--or else her soul, too, will remain Below forever.

From New York Times best-selling author Lauren Oliver comes a bewitching story about the reaches of loyalty, the meaning of love, and the enduring power of hope.

REVIEW

A nice fantasy world which reminded me of Alice's wonderland, although this is more like terror world.  I liked the second half of the novel much better than the first.

I read this long ago, but its like I have nothing to say about it.  I had this "its neither good nor bad" feel.  Don't get me wrong..I like Lauren Oliver's writing, but I am not able to enjoy this one well.  Maybe because its slow, maybe I didn't expect such a plot, maybe its the boring first half..  Well, whatever! 

A simple but a good children's story!  So, I recommend this for children..as for the adults, this would not be 'my' recommendation.  But I still know many who will..  So, give it a try and see for yourself! :)

MY UNFAIR GODMOTHER

Series: My Fair Godmother #2

Author: Janette Rallison

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Release Date: April 12th 2011

Source: Bought

Genre: Fairy tale retelling, Fantasy, Young-adult

Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn't exactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum "Chrissy" Everstar, Tansy's fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy's three wishes don't exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn't bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She'll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief's son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control. Janette Rallison pulls out all the stops in this fresh, fun-filled follow-up to the popular My Fair Godmother.

REVIEW

As its predecessor, this novel is also fun, fairy-tale-ish and adorable.  People need these kind of books once in a while.  It makes reading more light and safe from emotions.

This novel is about Tansy whose life is about messed up in the fairy tales of Robinhood and Rumpelstiltskin.  As much as I liked this novel, I loved "My Fair Godmother" more!

Loved it and recommending both the books in the "My Fair Godmother" series!

So readers, have you read or heard about any of the above two books?  What do you think about them?

ARC Review: The Stone of Fire (Geronimo Stilton Cavemice #1)

Original Title: The Stone of Fire
Series: Geronimo Stilton Cavemice #1
Author: Geronimo Stilton
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Release Date: January 1st 2013
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Comics, Children's

This NEW Geronimo Stilton series spin-off is set in the Stone Age!

Who is Geronimo Stiltonoot?
He is a cavemouse -- Geronimo Stilton's ancient ancestor. He runs the stone newspaper in the prehistoric village of Old Mouse City. From dealing with dinosaurs to dodging meteorites, his life in the Stone Age is full of adventure!

THE STONE OF FIRE
Old Mouse City is in an uproar. The most precious artifact in the mouseum -- the Stone of Fire -- has been stolen! Geronimo Stiltonoot and his cavemouse friend Hercule Poirat are on the case. It's up to them to retrieve the stone from the ferocious Tiger Khan and his band of fearsome felines!

REVIEW

*** Thanks to Scholastic Publishers for providing me the advanced review copy. ***

Well, I think one is never late for reading comics, fairy tales or children's novels.  It all depends on one's own thinking, though.  So, here I am requesting for this comic to Scholastic.  As always, whenever some new book arrives, I felt happy.

But, this is something different.  When I was in junior school, my school used to conduct this Scholastic Book Fair, which the teachers insist us on attending along with our parents.  And for every book fair, my dad used to get so many comics and children's books for me from Scholastic.  And I forgot how I used to be in those times..coming home with all those books feels to me like I am the richest and happiest person on Earth.  First, thanks to this novel - The Stone of Fire (Geronimo Stilton Cavemice #1) - for bringing back all those sweet memories.

So, to the story..

You know Geronimo Stilton from the popular "Geronimo Stilton" comic series?  Below is the picture of him.

Source: http://geronimostilton.com/

Geronimo Stilton, now, writes about the adventures his great ancestor, Geronimo Stiltonoot, a cave mice, who lived in the stone age, where mice travel in dinosaurs and news are carved in stones.  In this adventurous Old Mouse City, one of the most important artifact in the mouseum has been stolen.  Now, its up to Geronimo Stiltonoot and his detective cave mouse friend Hercules to find the stone and return them back.

Good story for a comic, isn't it?  Did I mention about the illustrations?  Its awesome people!  Just go get it and read it or give it to your kids.  The words are given different font and colors to describe the word, for example the word "TIGERS" is given in orange color with some stripe, the word "PAINTING" has different color for each letter with a cute font, etc.

This colorful novel will be fun..entertaining..exciting..and above all, will bring back your sweet memories..

SERIES ORDER:

1. The Stone of Fire
2. Watch Your Tail (expected publication 2013)

4-STAR Review: "Wanted: Dead or Undead" by Angela Scott

Original Title: WANTED: Dead or Undead
Series: The Zombie West Series #1
Author: Angela Scott
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Release Date: March 18th 2012
Source: From "I.O. Book Tours"
Genre: Horror, Young-adult

Trace Monroe doesn’t believe in luck. He never has. But when a fiery-headed cowgirl saunters through the saloon doors, wielding shotguns and a know-how for killing the living dead, he believes he just may be the luckiest man alive.

Trace wants to join Red’s posse, but she prefers to work alone—less messy that way. In order to become her travelling companion, Trace has to agree to her terms: no names, no questions, and if he gets bit, he can’t beg for mercy when she severs his brain stem.

He agrees, knowing only that Red is the sharpest shooter he’s ever encountered. The fact she’s stunning hasn’t escaped his attention either.

What he doesn’t know, is that Red has a very good reason to be on top of her game. She not only has the answer for how they can all outlive the plague taking over the wild, wild west, she IS the answer.

REVIEW

Recently, I like to read zombie novels, more than fantasy (but, fantasy is still my favorite genre) and when this book came for review, I just accepted.  And I am glad I did.

Set in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, this novel focuses on a group of people, trying not to get infected and stay alive.  Red, the heroine of this novel, is tough, independent and no-nonsense type.  Trace is a guy, who starts following Red, after she kills a zombie in a tavern, when all other men failed to do so.  Trace also knows that Red has a bounty placed on her head and tries to get Red to the city and get his money.  Red, knowing nothing about Trace's intentions, just tries to get rid of him.  During their journey, there are so many survivors here and there, who got themselves attached to Red and Trace and before Red knows it, soon they are like a family.  But, Red has her own secrets...

Okay, I know what you think - zombies and cowboys?  (I can even see your eye roll..)  Because I just did that, when I heard that.  But, I really was surprised to see that this novel gives you a good reading time.  In fact, this is the first western novel that I review.

The plot is fast, original and well-developed and the writing is great.  The character development is good and I loved almost all the characters.  The trust, friendship and romance is all non-cheesy (and that's a good thing).  This is a different approach to regular zombie novels and that's really appreciated.  The romance part is tender and sweet.  Enjoyed this page turner!

My only complaint is this - I am not scared.  Yeah, there are some gruesome descriptions, but I am not sure, why I don't feel that I-love-being-scared-of-zombies thing.  Other than that, I liked this book and definitely would like to continue this series.

Overall, this book created a feeling of sunniness while reading, and that alone should be enough for me to recommend it.

Recommended for zombie western romance readers!

Review: Halo of the Damned by Dina Rae

Original Title: Halo of the Damned
Author: Dina Rae
Publisher: Eternal Press
Release Date: February 7th 2012
Source: From "Orangeberry Book Tours"
Genre: Horror, Fantasy

A chain of advertising agencies, a new breed of humans, and a fallen angel to worship... Andel Talistokov is known for his slick advertising agencies across the globe. He is a fallen angel that uses advertising as a weapon for Satan's work. His growing power emboldens him to break several of Hell's Commandments. Furious with his arrogance, Satan commands him to return to Hell after finding his own replacement. Yezidism, an ancient angel worshiping religion, quietly expands throughout the West. Armaros appears as a guest of honor during their ceremonies. He mates with young women to produce nephilim, a mixed race of humans and angels. They are alone and unprepared for their supernatural power. Joanna Easterhouse, a recovering drug addict, steps out of prison shortly after her mother's fatal accident. She and her sister, Kim, unravel their mother's secretive past. Intrigued, they learn their bloodline is part of a celestial legacy. Both worlds collide. Halo of the Damned is a horrifying tale that weaves research together with suspenseful twists and turns.

REVIEW

*** WARNING: This book is rated R. ***

Here is the synopsis again, because it explains well, about the major part of the story.

A chain of advertising agencies, a new breed of humans, and a fallen angel to worship... Andel Talistokov is known for his slick advertising agencies across the globe. He is a fallen angel that uses advertising as a weapon for Satan's work. His growing power emboldens him to break several of Hell's Commandments. Furious with his arrogance, Satan commands him to return to Hell after finding his own replacement. Yezidism, an ancient angel worshiping religion, quietly expands throughout the West. Armaros appears as a guest of honor during their ceremonies. He mates with young women to produce nephilim, a mixed race of humans and angels. They are alone and unprepared for their supernatural power. Joanna Easterhouse, a recovering drug addict, steps out of prison shortly after her mother's fatal accident. She and her sister, Kim, unravel their mother's secretive past. Intrigued, they learn their bloodline is part of a celestial legacy. Both worlds collide. 

Andel just made me feel sick.  All the gruesome zombie-ish routines of eating humans and Andel's assistant, Marcus' past are enough to make most of us stop this book.  But, its like you just love to be afraid when seeing the horror movies.  I just continued and it became less horrific.  I still continued and something new came up.  I was still reading when I predicted the next move and I finished reading when I felt like its a good read.

There are usual paranormal references like nephilim, angels, etc.  Most of the paranormal fiction readers would have read many books about those - so no surprise there.  But, this is my first time reading a fallen angel acting like a vampire cum zombie - I think the author thought this might add some terror to the reader's experience.  And it did to me, at the start.

There are some minor flaws in the novel.  When starting a new chapter, it takes some time to know what the author is narrating about.  Also, the book had some typos.

This book was predictable at many places, but some areas like Toby's character (you will have to read it to know) was good.  I enjoyed the read and that's all that mattered in the end.

Before I give a rating to this novel, I will admit that I have not read many horror and zombie novels, so this is not with my comparison with other horror novels.  But, as for me, I enjoyed reading it and I give it 3.5 stars.

ARC Review: Of Blood and Bone (The Minaldi Series #1)

Original Title: Of Blood and Bone
Series: The Minaldi Series #1
Author: Courtney Cole
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Release Date: September 30th 2012
Source: From the author
Genre: Paranormal Romance

As a little boy, Luca Minaldi was told he was a monster.
As an adult, he knows it is true.

He lives in Malta, a fairytale-like place filled with sunshine and sea, beauty and secrets. And Luca’s darkest of secrets is the best kept of them all.

Eva Talbot arrives in Malta for the summer to finish up her doctoral dissertation. When she meets Luca, a mysterious and handsome shipping tycoon, there is an instant attraction, a disturbing and beautiful energy that she has never felt before. But she senses the darkness that lives within him.

Eva is hired to care for his mother, who suffers from dementia, but it is Luca who Eva will eventually risk everything to save. Her life becomes a swirling chaos of darkness and romance, of secrets and mystery. And the question that emerges will become the most important answer of all.

Can she save Luca from the darkness that plagues him without losing herself?

The answer is a matter of life or death.

REVIEW

Evangeline (Eva) is an American psychiatrist, who travels to Malta to finish her dissertation over the summer.  On her first day, Eva meets Luca Minaldi, who 'protects' her from a spider..and so begins the romantic interlude.  In this new place, people are friendly and accepting, except there are strange murders happening all over the place.  While her attraction towards Luca increases over time, she also learns that this rich, gorgeous and mysterious male has some dark secrets.

This felt like a modern day version of "Beauty and the Beast" with more suspense.  I liked the author's writing in general, and her way of maintaining the thrill.

I loved the way the author has brought out certain feelings, differently through her writing.

"Ever since my father died, since he committed suicide, my mother has not been well. Not that she was ever well to begin with. Not truly. But she is worse now than she has ever been. Now, to put it less than eloquently, she is fucking insane."

"And it’s not that I don’t think he’s attractive. Clearly, he is attractive. And he’s charming and sweet. And I like him. But when I think of him, I think of a golden retriever. Happy, loyal, not too deep. I think I need a man with substance."

Although I like this new world and new characters, the main characters doesn't connect deep with me, as much as the world did.  This new world with friendly atmosphere is sweet.  The main strengths of this novel are its story and the thrill.  There is a cliffhanger in the end and you are going to buy the next one to know what lies next.

"so I tell him that" - This is the statement that occurs some 100 times or so, in this book.. and its becoming annoying at times.  For example, "I find myself sleepy, so I tell him that."  I think I prefer direct dialogues.

There are many times, that I thought this book is way too predictable (maybe the blurb says it all???), but still I enjoyed this novel and that's all that matters in the end..right?  So, yes!  There are some flaws, but who cares.  Enjoying the novel during your reading time is more important.

*** WARNING: This novel contains adult content! ***

*** The quotes from this review is taken from the ARC provided by the author. ***