Review: Flaming Dove - Daniel Arenson

Outcast from Hell. Banished from Heaven. Lost on Earth. Laila--half angel, half demon. Laila--of tears and blood, of sins and of piety. Laila--alone, in darkness. This is her story.

Genre: Paranormal , post-apocalyptic

Pages: (print 292)

Published: 2010

Source: Freebie

My thoughts:

I am a bit torn really, I really liked the book, but the thing is, I hated the end. I am sure many will say, but the end was perfect! Just as it should be. Well not in this girl's book. It made me sad and angry.

The world was just, wow, so cool. Earth is almost destroyed, almost no humans around as they are all dead. Instead demons and angels fight each other in a war going on 27 years. I liked the world, the angels, the demons. All strength and weaknesses. 

The main character Laila is both and can neither go to heaven of hell. She is sad, angry and lonely and I loved her. I kind of just wanted to hug her. At least she has one friend, a wolf.

Then there is Michael who is the angel's leaders, and Belzebub who rules Hell. Both need her to win. A battle of epic proportions are about to begin.

I did not like her sister though, Bat El. She was tstl, but at the same time she was not. She was just pure, naive, a harp playing angel, but still I wanted to give her a smack over the head.

Conclusion:

And then there was the end who made me angry. But up to that, one cool book and Arenson a talented writer.

Cover:

Nice

Review: Blood of Requiem - Daniel Arenson

Series: Requiem Fire book 1
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: E-book 250
Published: May 3rd 2011

Long ago stood the kingdom of Requiem, a land of men who could grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem ruled the sky. But Dies Irae, a tyrant leading an army of griffins, hunted Requiem's people, burned their forests, and shattered their temples. Requiem fell. This ancient land now lies in ruin, its halls crumbled, its cries silenced, its skeletons littering the burned earth. In the wilderness, a scattering of survivors lives in hiding. The griffins still hunt them, and every day promises death. Will Requiem's last children perish in exile... or once more become dragons and fly to war?

My thoughts:

I do not read e-books that often since I only have my borrowed reader from the library. But when I got an email from Arenson I knew I had to read this book. Because I got a taste of his writing in the anthology Kiss Me, Kill Me and it was good.

This is the first book in a planned trilogy and I like the world building. The Reqiem were humans who could transform into dragons, but then they were killed and hunted to extinction. It was bloody and it was horrible. The man who did it was a prince who was meant to rule the land but he could not shift so he grew angry. This book then takes place 10 years later and there are survivors, but the future is bleak.

First I must say that this book has a bad guy that I just wanted to strangle. She was so evil! I have not read about such an evil character in quite some time. Her name is Gloriae and she is the daughter of Dies Irae (who in his turn is an evil bastard too), but I was mostly angry with Gloriae. Because she was actually good and was kidnapped by him. She was the daughter of the Requiem King Benedictus and his wife (bit does not know it). Sure if a person is raised evil she can turn evil but I wished she had seen the error of her way. Her father rapes a women, kills a peasant and she laughs? She should think for herself and see it's wrong. There you have it, the evil duo. Remarkable done since it was those two that had me wanting to read more and more, wishing they would die.

I spent enough time talking about the bad guys, but they just brought forward a lot of emotions. The good guys are Benedictus, poor man and Kyrie who is a young reqiuem and…, oh I will save some secrets. I liked Kyrie, he really wanted to fight back even though they had no force at all. But he was angry and who could blame him.

One more thing. People are blind and stupid. The dragons never did any harm, but Dies came with his lies and people believed and now the dragons are thought of as monsters. That is what one wicked cruel man can do with words. And those that spoke down were hunted down. I still hope they will see right from wrong.

The book isn't that dark, but at the same time it is very bleak, because how can I have hope when there is no way they can survive or fight back? I really need to know what happens next.

Conclusion:

This book had me turning page after page to see what happens. It's exciting and good with fleshed out characters that will make you scream. I want to read more of this series and I would recommend this fantasy author to others.

Rating:

Page-turner

Cover

Fits since it's fantasy

Source: Author

winners:

Love Drunk Cowboy

Mona and Mary (email sent to publisher )

The Legend of Michael

Dana and Melissa (books on their way)

Review: Kiss Me, Kill Me (anthology)

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 220, ebook
Published: February 2011

So hard to review anthologies! So I am just gonna say a few words, sentences about each short story.

A Ghoulish Valentine by H.P. Mallory:
Dulcie O'Neil can't help her attraction to Knight Vander, much though she tries to fight her feelings. When she begrudgingly accepts his invitation to dinner and a movie, she can't imagine her evening will be derailed by a cemetery full of hungry ghouls and one incredibly sexy man.

They fight evil ghouls while on a date. Dulcie and Knight seem ok, and the world is interesting. I did like that before just rushing in to fight she stopped to see to that her clothes offered protection. Good girl.

Cat Fight by Zoe Winters:
Cat Fight takes place in Zoe Winters' "PretVerse". Greta is a cat therian (shifter). She's been involved with Dayne, a local sorcerer since she sought his protection from her murderous tribe. After a fight, Greta shifts into cat form and refuses to come back out.

I liked Greta, and Dayne. Not much happened since it was short but I did enjoy when she went all mad and refused to shift back, even after he tried his best. So short and cute, and it did make me wanna read how they met in the first place. Which I can since this novella happens after book 1.

Impulse Control by Susan Bischoff:

In the world of the Talent Chronicles, kids born with supernatural powers are taken from their families and forced into government research facilities called State Schools. At one such school, a group of Talents must work together to stop a dangerous experiment that's already killed two of their peers and threatens others. If they're caught they face Detention, and Detention at a State School has a whole different meaning. 

This was a YA story. Kids put in schools, never to see their families again. Sure I understand people being afraid of people with talents but I would expect some sort of outrage. What a horrible world, I hope those kids get out.

Wild Passion by Lori Brighton:

James is a treasure hunter intent on collecting a deadly, priceless statue. Then he meets Adelaide, a stubbornly beautiful and mysterious woman who knows more about the statue than she admits. Suddenly, James is tempted to give up everything for the one treasure he can't seem to own ... Adelaide.

This one deals with events in Wild 1 and 3, but it works fine on its own too. I liked Adelaide, she did what she had too, and I am sure she and James are gonna have some great adventures.

A Fairytale Ending by M.T. Murphy:
An unlucky actress discovers that there is no good and bad when it comes to vampires and werewolves, only bad and worse.

I did like it in the beginning, but then came a sad and depressing end that ruined the whole thing for me. So I did not like it.

Blind Sight by Kait Nolan:
Isla's ability as a Seer has made her a life-long captive of a paranormal crime lord. Fae assassin, Ransom, offers her a chance at escape, but when she touches his hand she sees only blood, horror, apocalypse. What reason can Ransom have for wanting to rescue her, and can she possibly trust a man who deals in death?

I liked this one. Seemed like a nice world and I wanted to know more, and I would read more too.

The Sacrifice by Toni LoTempio:
After a chance meeting with the mysterious Alfred Barstow, Jennifer is swept off her feet by his whirlwind courtship of her, so much so that she accepts his proposal of marriage. Leaving her boyfriend Peter behind, she heads off to start a new life in California, unaware there's more to Alfred than meets the eye - and a sinister plot behind his proposal. The Sacrifice is a story about what happens when the man of your dreams turns out to be your worst nightmare...and then some!

It was a good story, though one thing was a bit far-fetched. She went away, her ex was sad and decided to look up her new man, and then he realized they were evil vampires..really, I would just have thought she was high on passion.

Until the Breaking of the Day by Daniel Arenson:
The Underground. A realm of flame, blood, and knives in the dark.When its prince returns from exile, a young demon girl will learn his secrets.


Omg! This story was my fav of all the stories in this anthology. I seriously need to read more by this authot!! Awesome story.

If You Leave by Stacey Wallace Benefiel:
Despite their devotion to one another, Gabrielle and Jorge have been living separate lives. That is, until Gabrielle's life ends. Reunited and it feels so...complicated? 

It was the last one and I fear I did not pay as much attention as I could have. 

Conclusion:

I had only read one author before so the rest were new to me, and one thing is for sure, I need more Arenson!!! Trust me, that world was pure gold. All in all, an interesting anthology with a lot to offer, Paranormal YA, paranormal historical, some ass-kicking and cool new worlds.

My flash fiction entry for the week

Here