Tag Archive | Fantasy

The Prince and the Cyborg: A Space Age #FairyTale #romance

Oct10

The Prince and the Cyborg: A Space Age Fairy Tale (Star-Crossed Tales)

4heart

Synopsis
Celine is a cyborg that has lived her entire life in the Wastelands, where there are dust storms that prevent anyone from being above ground for any length of time. But her dream is to get off of the planet and discover what more there is to life. However, her father thinks that it is for her best interest to deter her curious nature.

Due to bureaucracy governing the city where Ben lives, he decides to venture into the Wastelands to acquire much needed medicine for his friend. Things do not go as planned and he is soon stranded after a crash. Celine comes to his rescue and returns him to the city.

Even though their meeting was brief, each made a lasting impression on the other person and that draws them together despite the odds.

Opinion
FYI: I received this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review

When I first read the title (I did not see the cover), I thought this was going to be a M/M romance. And I almost passed over it (MM romances are not my thing). I am glad that I read the blurb though. After reading what the book was about, I was hooked because there are not many stories out there where the heroine is the CYBORG.

Celine seemed to be delicate but strong at the same time. She was a natural explorer which is one of the main reasons why I think her contact with Ben impacted her so much. She wanted to learn more about him and his world, but her father kept trying to hold her back due to prejudices and misunderstandings.

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Ben was a real maverick to me. He was more in tuned with the people of their city than his father was. At least he used his power and influence to try to make a difference in the lives of their subjects.

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The more I thought about the story, I think it has some aspects that are similar to the Little Mermaid (the Disney version).

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However, the author weaves an interesting story in a way that I felt engaged as the reader. The romance in this book was present but not graphic. The author said “This book contains NO harsh language, explicit violence, or graphic romance scenes”. Even though this adult fiction, it is fine for younger readers if parents are worried about that.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BUY. This is a sweet romance. I loved the story and the way that it ended.

Book details
Print Length: 191 pages
Series: No (Does not appear to be)
Publication Date: August 26, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

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Review: Fire by Tiffany Flowers #dragonshifter #paranormalromance @Authortflowers

Sep9
Title: Fire
Series: A Dragon’s Novel #1
Author: Tiffany Flowers
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Dragons are not supposed to exist. They are just fairy tale creatures in stories used to get children to sleep. Now faced with a living breathing Dragon, Jade Teal has no choice but to believe. And with this newfound knowledge, danger arrives at every turn.

Alex Sparks is the leader of the Drac Dragon Clan. He doesn’t want a mate, ever. Sent out on a rescue mission to save a human female, he comes face to face with someone that he did not expect. To protect her, his world will be set on fire.

~~~TOW Review~~~

4heartWhen Alex and Jade meet, Jade finds out that everything that she heard about the legends and stories she had been told as a child was true. If that was not mind blowing enough, she also finds out that Alex thinks she should be his mate.
I think that the author did a very good job of making Jade very realistic for the situation she was in. She could not understand if it was her body’s attraction to Alex that was drawing her to him or if they really had a connection to be together.
I loved this story so much that I could not put it down. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride and all I could do was hold on as tightly as possible. I felt for both Jade and Alex because they had aspects of their personality which they deemed themselves unlovable.
In the end, they both have to come to terms with learning how to love themselves before they could recognize the truth about love they found in each other. It was so much more than a simple connection shared between the dragon and his mate.
TOW Opinion: Should you buy, borrow or pass?
BUY!!! You will not be disappointed. The story flows well with characters that come to life.

~~I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~~

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Latest Genre Binge: Alien-Human Woman #romance #scifiromance

Jul30

As I have mentioned before, I sometimes get in a genre binge moods. I was feeling like some alien-human woman romances.


Amazon made some suggestions and I started clicking. In retrospect, I probably should have searched a little more. These books were short and mediocre at best. I tried to look for the positive though.

Caressed by the Savage Alien ♥♥

Plot in a nutshell: Viktor kidnaps Natasha because he feels she belongs to him.

TOW Opinion: He was a self-entitled jerk in the beginning. She had family and friends that loved and missed her. I was not used to that. My moral code dictates that only women that have no family or friends are allowed to be kidnapped. The only bright point was that she was able to get him wait before getting physical.

Rescued by the Alien ♥♥

Plot in a nutshell: Melody is kidnapped from her home and is sold to Garon from an alien slave market.

TOW Opinion: She was only 20 which is too young to be starting any relationship. The whole thing seemed really traumatic considering it was supposed to be a romance. The only bright point is that Garon was nice.

Waking up with the Alien ♥♥

Plot in a nutshell: Mary goes to sleep and wakes up on another planet where she is told she is to wife of Ac’von and made queen. Plus, they are changing her name.

TOW Opinion: I thought the author needed to hash out the plot a little more. The alien characters did not seem to have much patience for a person they just kidnapped. They brought a stranger to a totally new world, but expected her know how things worked on their planet. Plus, their race seems to have a lot barbaric traditions and a tinge of overwhelming misogynist tendencies.

Should you buy any of these? There are so many better books out there, BUT if you are looking for a little bit of evening reading entertainment, any of these might fit the bill. I do not read a lot alien-kidnapped woman romances to know if I am being too harsh with my rating. I do realize, there are readers who will like the book for exactly the reasons why I did not like it.

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Caressed by the Savage Alien

Rescued by the Alien

Waking up with the Alien

The Upside of Iris by Helen Rose @TheUpsideOfIris #childrenslit

Jul25

Thanks Helen Rose for providing an ARC for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

The Upside of Iris 
4heart

Synopsis
Iris is visually impaired and as a result everything she sees is upside down. She does not let this condition stop her from following her dreams as an artist. Along the way, she finds love and experiences heartache.

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Opinion
Even though this is a children’s book, I enjoyed it immensely. The heroine in the story Iris has a tender and sweet personality, along with an innocence that connected with me as the reader. I wanted to see her succeed as a child and find love as an adult.

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I loved the vibrant colors of the illustrations. I thought they were whimsical and fanciful.
I thought that the story deals with themes that are not often discussed with children in a very positive way without being overly simplistic or insulting the intelligence of the child.

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Should you buy? Yes. I think that younger children will appreciate the illustrations (all the pictures in this post are from the book). As a parent, I think you could uses elements of the plot and theme to engage in meaningful discussion with your child.

Book Details
Publisher: Through the 4th Wall (September 9, 2015)
Publication Date: September 9, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

 

Feel the Burn G.A Aiken #dragonkin #review #kLover @KensingtonBooks #TBRlist

Nov8

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Feel the Burn (Dragonkin)
4heart

Synopsis
Gaius is the Iron Dragon One-Eyed Rebel king and Kachka is a Rider, daughter of the Steppes.
Both are on a mission. Gaius is trying to find his sadistic cousin to exact revenge for her torturing his twin sister. Kachka is on a mission from the queen to put an end to the Charamnesind cult, a group of people who are disrupting peace by slaughtering priests in the temples throughout the land.

Opinion
To me, this book is not really a romance. Do not get me wrong, I thought it was great fiction with romantic elements. For the most part, I felt like it was a Game of Thrones type of book. There were all these different characters, tribes, and ruling groups that had to be explained. There were alliances between nations, provinces and obvious power struggles that had to be addressed. It was a ways into the book before the hero & heroine actually meet.

Props to the author for the elaborate world she created. This was not as simple as just dragons and non-dragons. There were people with various types of abilities and those with none at all.

Kachka was a hilarious multi-faceted character. She was a skilled hunter that was not used to just sitting around. She needed a mission or purpose to stay active. Her people, as a race of female chauvinists, looked down on males. Period. It did not matter if the male in question was stronger; he was still only good for one thing. Help her make babies. Well, two things.

As a result, she looks down on Gaius in the beginning. She is attracted to him and tells him that she will allow him to share her bed because it pleases her. Gaius should be offended at the way that Kachka talks to him (she shows no respect) but he cannot help but feel drawn in by the attraction.

I focused a lot on Kachka, because I love her character, but Gaius is just as well developed. He is a warrior and dragon, but at the same time, I could tell so much about him from the way he takes care of his sister.

There was so much action happening in this book that it is difficult for me to concentrate on one aspect. Don’t worry. It is not too convoluted that you cannot follow the story. My only regret is that I did not read some of the previous books in the series before requesting this one. I think that would have helped me to have a deeper context and understand the supporting characters better.

Should you buy? Yes! If you like strong heroines, Kachka is the one for you. She is a warrior in her own right and does not need a man to save her. Gaius and Kachka are definitely equals, even though it takes a while for her to see it that way. I am glad that they have a HEA and it is an entertaining story to see all that Gaius and Kachka experience along the way.

This story is a standalone but it you are like me, you will want to read the rest of the books in the series as well. This series is a world that you want to immerse yourself, especially when it is cold and rainy outside!

Book details
Series: Dragonkin
Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Zebra (November 24, 2015)
Available on Amazon
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