Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The Scribe Book Review



Synopsis:

Hidden at the crossroads of the world, an ancient race battles to protect humanity, even as it dies from within.

Ava Matheson came to Istanbul looking for answers, but others came looking for her. A reckless warrior guards her steps, but will Malachi’s own past blind him to the truth of who Ava might be? While ancient forces gather around them, both Ava and Malachi search for answers.

Whispering voices. Deadly touch. Their passion should be impossible... or it could be the only thing that will keep them alive.

THE SCRIBE is the first book in the Irin Chronicles, the new paranormal romance series from Elizabeth Hunter, author of the Elemental Mysteries.


My Review:

After finishing The Scribe, my heart was racing.  I felt like I was on a runaway train with no way to get off.  I would have done anything to have book 2 in my hands at that moment, as I read the last page and frantically looked for more.  Elizabeth Hunter has woven a beautiful fantasy of good vs. evil with a compelling storyline filled with action, mystery, and romance that will leave you begging for more.

Ava is a strong willed woman with a delightful wit about her and a desperate desire to escape the voices she hears in her head, in a language she doesn't understand.  She often travels alone, working as a professional photographer and living life in self-imposed isolation, battling her fears that she just may be insane.  The only way Ava can quiet the voices in her head is to leave crowds of people behind.  In an attempt to find help for her affliction, she travels to Turkey, seeking the services of a mysterious specialist who claims to have helped others with her condition.  The peace Ava hopes to find in Istanbul is shattered as she realizes she is being followed, and her life is in danger.  As a result of these events, she meets Malachi who pretends to be a bodyguard hired by her family to protect her.  Ava has no idea that he is much, much more than just a bodyguard.

Malachi has a very secretive, mysterious, powerful and dangerous air about him from the first moment he appears in this story.  You know right away that there is much more to this man than you can see on the outside and are mesmerized by the waves of passion rolling off him and the sense of vulnerability that even his powerful exterior cannot hide. Malachi is one of those special characters that you just can't help but be drawn to - those special heroes who will earn his spot on your favorites shelf.

When Ava and Malachi meet in Istanbul, the chemistry is sizzling, and the story kicks into high gear as he seeks to protect her from unknown forces and help her discover who and what she is.  As the story unfolds, we also learn who and what Malachi is.  Thus, a world of powerful "other beings" is revealed as Elizabeth Hunter weaves her story of tragedies, both past and present, loss, hope, love, life and death.  You will become entralled with the story of Malachi and Ava and the journey for truths that they set out upon.

What works about this story?  Everything!  The characters, the fantasy, the romance, the suspense, the plot...even the setting adds to the awesomeness of this book!

What doesn't work?  I can't think of a thing that doesn't work about The Scribe.  It does deliver a heartbreaking shock near the end but leaves you with hope for the future as you anxiously await book 2, The Singer, due out sometime in the spring of 2014.

I could not put this book down.  I do not give 5 star/heart ratings easily, however; this book was a Page Turner book for me and receives a spot on my favorites list and shelf.  A Must Read!

Rating:  5 Gorgeous ♥♥♥♥♥'s...And that's the truth!

Cross My Heart...xxx

Sandra 

Quotes:

"I understand.  It's part of the reason I came back.  This city...It feeds the soul."

A strange fluttering started in her chest.  "I didn't know my soul was hungry."

"Didn't you?"  He smiled.  "Hmmm."
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"I thought I was crazy for a long time.  My whole life, really.  It's hard to leave that behind, even with all of you telling me that I'm not."

"Why?"

"Don't get me wrong."  She shook her head.  "I know it should be a relief.  But there's a part of me that still doesn't believe it.  A part that thinks I'm locked in a room somewhere because my delusions have finally taken over.  The voices have finally won, and this is all a kind of dream that my mind is using to cope."
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"Is that what you think?"  His voice fell, and he put his hand on the side of her neck.  Immediately, her pulse roared.  Her mind went silent.  There was only him.  His scent and touch.  The rest of the world went quiet when his thumb stroked the base of her throat.  

"You really think I have no claim on you?"

She swallowed with effort; her eyes locked on the stormy grey in his.  "None."

"Really, Ava?"  He leaned down, his breath whispering across her cheek.  "How do you feel when I touch you, canim?"
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"When you find your power," he murmured in her ear as he stretched out beside her on the narrow bed, "you will sing to me.  And I will feel your magic as you feel mine."
♥       ♥       ♥       ♥       ♥       ♥       ♥      ♥
         

Friday, November 1, 2013

Nightfall Book Review



 Synopsis:

Roarke is in love with Mr. Wrong.

His name is Richard Tiernan. He is deadly handsome, darkly brilliant, and devastatingly attractive to women. He has been convicted of killing his wife, and his children have disappeared. Now he wants to make Cassidy the latest victim of his powers of seduction and secret agenda.

Cassidy knows all this. But still she chooses to surrender her heart and soul to a lover whose reasons for wanting her are as mysterious as the violent act that branded his a murderer. Cassidy is his now, to do with what he wishes...as he leads her through a labyrinth of desire that is her only path to the terrifying truth.



My Review:

Nightfall was my introduction to the book world of Anne Stuart, and I'm now a fan.  From the very first page through the last page, I lived in this world of dark, psychotic madness, sucked in so deep that I was unable to let go.  I had to keep turning pages, desperately trying to find out the truth about Richard Tiernan, convicted (he confessed) of taking a butcher knife and brutally murdering his pregnant wife, and suspected in the deaths of his two young children who have disappeared as well as his former lover.  Then we meet insecure, innocent, boring Cassidy Roarke, sacrificed by her own father as he will do anything to write his next bestseller - even make a deal with the devil.  His deal is to deliver his daughter to Richard in exchange for the exclusive rights to write his story, but why does the dark, moody, manipulative, dangerous  Richard want Cassidy?  What is he looking for?  Richard is out of jail on appeal and living with Cassidy's father when her father suddenly calls her home.  Cassidy returns home, walking into an empty house...empty except for a convicted murderer who is lurking and waiting for her in the shadows.  And thus the mind games begin.  

Richard has a master plan...Cassidy needs to figure out what it is in order to survive.  Along the road to discovering all the horrific truths, she falls in love with a man who will be put to death in three months...a man who refuses to fight his death sentence...a man who both terrifies her and yet draws her to him like a moth to a flame.  She knows she will lose everything - her heart, her soul, her sanity and possibly her life if she doesn't run and so she tries...time and time again.  But her heart and soul will not allow her to resist the magnetic pull he has on her.  Richard has nothing and yet everything to lose.  He wants Cassidy like he's never wanted or needed another woman...but for what?  What is his mysterious plan for her?  This is a book of mind games...and nothing is as it seems.  Anne Stuart has crafted a story of murder, lies, deceit and guilt and intertwined it with a story of  love, desire, truth, and strong characters who are pushed to their absolute limit.  A must read for lovers of romance/suspense.  This book goes on my Favorites List!

Rating:  5 Gorgeous ♥♥♥♥♥'s...And that's the truth!

Cross My Heart...xxx

Sandra