Anniversary of Azurite

It’s been one year since I’ve published Azurite. In celebration, it’s available for 99¢ on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Please take a moment to check it out.

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Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

 

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Genre: YA

I really wanted to like this book. A Beauty and the Beast retelling but with magic and demons–sounds awesome! Unfortunately, this book did not meet my expectations and I lost all interest by the middle of it.

I’ll start with what I liked:
Hodge really created a unique world that is different from anything I’ve read before. It’s complete with its own history, religion, culture, and customs, and you can tell she put a lot of thought into its inception.

What I didn’t like:
Ok, so for the first quarter of the book, the main character, Nyx, goes on and on and on about how she hurt her sister, hates her sister, and is angry at the world for loving her sister. We get it. You have family problems. You don’t need to repeat the same thing every other page.
The second quarter of the book, Nyx is married to the Gentle Lord and is living in his castle. Instead of focusing on the relationship between Nyx and her husband, the author decides to make every single page about Nyx exploring the castle. She describes each and every room in annoying detail that just takes up space and has absolutely nothing to do with the plot.
Also, Hodge has a tendency to somehow incorporate every single god and goddess in Arcadia’s history into every single one of Nyx’s inner monologues or even the conversations she has with people. I could care less about her mythological deities. It’s really quite pointless.
And finally, the thing that made me feel absolutely no connection to this story or its characters was the lack of emotion and feeling Nyx has with her husband. And to be frank, the Gentle Lord was an over all horribly developed character. He has no personality and hardly any dialogue worth reading. Hodge does not do a good job conveying the romance between these characters either. They are supposed to be married and entirely attracted to one another, but the most passionate scenes went as followed. “I kissed him. And he kissed me back.
Boring.
Overall, I feel like I would’ve liked this story better if it was focused on the main characters and their relationship with one another.
2 stars!

Jaded by Kristy Gillespie

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Genre: YA dystopian thriller

My Review: Jaded is a story about sixteen year old Jade who lives a community called Nirvana. In Nirvana, people are classified by their color. Once a child turns seventeen, they choose the life path of one of their parents and get an eye surgery to reflect their decision. Right before Jade’s grandmother dies, she gives Jade her diary which exposes the dark secrets of some of Nirvana’s citizens. The rest of the book basically focuses on developing that plot.

This novel is a combination of several genres: mystery, thriller, dystopian, and YA. I liked how the author continually sets up clues surrounding Nirvana’s secrets. Just when you think you’re one step closer to finding out the truth, she throws another curve ball. For me, the characters of Jade, Ty, and Peaches were all very likable; I hate reading about despicable protagonists.

One thing I would’ve like to have seen was more history about Nirvana –where and why is was founded. Nirvana also borders ‘The Outside’. Other than slightly dated technology and eye surgery, Nirvana doesn’t seem that different from the Outside. That part didn’t make much sense to me, because why then have a separate community. I hope the author expands on this in the next few books.

I recommend this book mostly for middle grade and YA. It’s a quick, clean, and enjoyable read.

Crik by Karl Beer

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: fantasy

My Review: Wow! What a creepily awesome novel this is! I absolutely loved the world Mr. Beer created and found myself quickly drawn into it. I can definitely describe it has a dark fantasy with elements of horror woven into it. If you like Tim Burton movies and Joseph Delaney or Stephen King novels, then this is for you.

Crik is about a boy, Jack, who lives in Crik village where every inhabitant possess a unique Talent. Jack’s Talent is his shadow, Yang, who is ever present, mischievous, and unable to be controlled by Jack despite what everyone else believes. One night, Jack accidentally witnesses the origins of these Talents, and wanting to know more about his shadow and how Talents came to be, he begins on a journey of discovery. While the main characters of this novel are children, for me the content and themes are written more for adults.

Mr. Beer is a very talented story teller and this novel was beautifully written. He has a vivid imagination that doesn’t conform to the norm and is easily transferred onto paper for readers to enjoy. While this book is a bit long, there is always action leading to the next scene. I recommend for anyone who enjoys dark fantasy.

Thank you to the author for giving me a copy to review!