Review: Second Sight by Sherry D. Ficklin

Second Sight: The Gods of Fate Book 2 by Sherry D. Ficklin

*** I was fortunate and received a digital ARC from Sherry in return for an honest review.  (She is also offering free e-books for my giveaway in May! Stop back for the giveaway - May 1-8, 2011 - it will be international!!!)

186 pages - available at Amazon.com both paperback and Kindle formats!
(You can buy autographed copies of Sherry's book on her website!)


Amazon product description:
When the man Grace Archer loves is pulled into the Underworld, she will stop at nothing to get him back. Her quest is complicated by the fallen god Samael, who is on the loose with a dangerous relic that puts all the immortals in jeopardy. With her powers on the fritz, Grace must help track down Samael and retrieve the deadly Eye of Hera before any more gods fall victim to his madness. Daughter of the Greek Goddess Pandora and the Greek God Prometheus, Grace must dig deep to find the power she needs to infiltrate Hades and convince the God of the Dead to release Chris. But when you make a bargain with the devil, you pay with your soul. [Book II of the Gods of Fate Series (Young Adult Fantasy) released 2011 by Dragonfly Publishing, Inc. www.dragonflypubs.com]

My thoughts:
I have to admit that for this one - I was not hooked from the start!  I thought I was, until Chapter 3!  When I thought, "NOOOOOOOOOOO, not that!" I put the book down for a good hour before I HAD to go pick it back up and finish it!  Of course, then I had to read through to the end! Great story - can't wait for the next one!!!!


Sherry Ficklin creates wonderful characters.  They are realistic enough to relate to and imaginative enough to inspire you.  She puts her fantastic characters into situations and settings that keep you turning the pages.


It was great to see all the characters I loved from the first book again.  It was interesting to see the relationships involved in this story - - - Hades...a loving husband!  


This installment of the Gods of Fate series is filled with questionable behavior, wonder, deceit, sacrifice, love, trials, sorrow, and mystery.  I can't wait for the next book - Hind Sight!


*****my favorite quote from Second Sight******

"It's like she's a part of me.  Like we're connected.  She breathes in, and I breathe out."

End of April - - - Wrap up!

April flew by!!! Of course it is amazing how fast time goes when you are drowning in books!
This is what I got read and reviewed:

1- Hunting Human by Amanda Alvarez

2 - Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler
3 - Sleeping Beauty Vampire Slayer by Maureen McGowan
4 - Bound by Blood by Cynthia Eden
5 - Vampire Relationship Guide: Volume One by Evelyn LaFont
6 - To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory
7 - Guardians of the Hidden Scepter by Frank L. Cole
8 - A Tale of Two Goblins by H.P. Mallory
9 - In the Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane
10 - Forever Vampire by Michele Hauf
11 - Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins
12 - Second Sight by Sherry D. Ficklin
13 - Vampire Dimitri by Colleen Gleason
14 - The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright
15 - Dead is Not an Option by Marlene Perez
16 - Diva Doctrine by Patricia V. Davis

This was I believe my biggest reading month so far this year!  I am so excited that I was able to actually review every book I read!!!

Review: The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright

The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright

200 pages (paperback version)
Blog Tour dates: May 2 (starts here at The Wormhole!) through May 16 - finishes at author site!

*received this book (digital copy) free of charge in exchange for an honest review and participating in the blog tour!

Amazon Product Description:
It was a flash in the moonlight, a blur of motion like I’d never witnessed before. No human had the capacity to move like that. When I found myself face-to-face with him there in the meadow, I knew without a doubt that the journal was authentic. I knew that my grandfather hadn’t been crazy at all. Because a foot away from me stood a vampire. Sarah Brightman reads her grandfather's journal in stunned disbelief. What was once her grandfather's responsibility has passed to her father and now to her. She has become the Warden. Her life will never be the same.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
My thoughts:
This was a fast read.  It is mysterious and intriguing.  I really enjoyed the characters!  


Michael is so interesting!  What is really going on?  Who is/was Michael and what is he to be to Sarah?  Alex is great!  What is his story for real?  How does he know Michael?  Where does this budding friendship between he and Sarah go?  Speaking of Sarah... she is a fantastic character.  Tough and determined.  I can't wait to find out what she does with her new job as The Vampire's Warden.  I get the impression that her and Michael will be changing the way things have been for the last hundred years.  


The ending is shocking!  Total cliffhanger!!! CAN'T wait for book 2!  
I will be checking out the final stop on the blog tour where we will be getting a sneak peek at book 2.


I enjoyed the story, but feel like it could have been fleshed out in places.  I finished with questions - loads of questions.  Some of those questions I am sure are left unanswered so that the reader is looking for the next book in the series, but I felt that there were some holes.   


All in all though a really entertaining read!  Be sure to check it out!

It's Friday!!!

It's Friday again - Let's hop!!!

This meme is hosted at Crazy For Books!

The question of the week?  What 2011 Summer release are you most looking forward to?

Me - - I am looking forward to Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

Amazon Product Description:

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

I have been seeing this one around and looks like something I would really enjoy!

Happy Reading!

Review: The Vampire Dimitri by Colleen Gleason

The Vampire Dimitri: Books of the Regency Draculia #2 
by Colleen Gleason


384 pages (paperback)
Pub. Date: 4/26/2011


*I got this book (digital ARC) from NetGalley free of charge - reviews are requested.


Amazon product description:
Dimitri, also known as the Earl of Corvindale, should be delighted that the headstrong Maia Woodmore is getting married. His mortal ward and houseguest has annoyed—and bewitched—the Dracule nobleman too long, and denying his animal cravings grows more excruciating by the day.
Miss Woodmore's family has a rather…complicated history with the immortals and she herself possesses a keen sensibility far beyond mere women's intuition. Marriage will give her safety, respectability and everything else a proper young lady could wish for. Everything, that is, except passion.
In the looming battle between Dracule factions, all pretenses will shatter as Maia and Dimitri come together in an unholy union of danger, desperation and fiercest desire.

My thoughts:
I was intrigued by the idea of getting another side of the story from the view we got in Vampire Voss.  I was excited to get to know more of the characters that we were introduced to in that book as well.
I wasn't a huge Dimitri fan by the end of Vampire Voss and I thought Maia was overbearing and controlling - - - so this book was a refreshing look into those two characters! 


Love, duty, responsibility, desire, obligation, status, standing....
This story has it all!


I truly enjoyed Vampire Voss and was pleased to find wonderfully created characters again in the second book of the series.  Once again I can't say enough about the author's ability to create incredible characters.  
Maia is fantastic!  Anyone who has ever felt a little overwhelmed with responsibility will instantly relate to her.  She is strong, courageous, loyal, devoted, smart and passionate.  
Dimitri is so much more than he appears to be in the first book.  He is honorable to a fault.


As in the first story - we are in the Jane Austen meets Bram Stoker setting!  It is fascinating to watch the two "responsible" adults trying to wade through emotions that don't fit into what they supposedly each want for themselves or what they believe is right and fitting.   


I truly loved that the main idea was not about self-sacrificing or self-deprivation but about taking something for yourself, learning to cope with actually wanting something and getting it.


I read this cover to cover without putting it down for more than a few minutes.  It was a great read!  I am looking forward to book 3 - The Vampire Narcise. 

Review: Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins

Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins

160 pages
Pub. Date: 4/26/2011

*got this book from NetGalley free of charge - digital ARC - reviews are requested.


Amazon product description:

The thing about Hank's new friend Inkling is, he's invisible.

No, not imaginary. Inkling is an invisible bandapat, a creature native only to the Peruvian Woods of Mystery. (Or maybe it is the Ukrainian glaciers. Inkling hardly ever gets his stories straight.)

Now Inkling has found his way to Brooklyn and into Hank's laundry basket on his quest for squash—bandapats' favorite food. But Hank has bigger problems than helping Inkling fend off maniac doggies and search for yummy pumpkins: Bruno Gillicut is a lunch-stealing dirtbug caveperson and he's got to be stopped. And who better to help stand up to a bully than an invisible friend?

My thoughts:
This was a fun, creative story about what it means to be a friend and to have a friend.


It would work well as a read-aloud for elementary students.  The theme is friendship, and of course there is a bully!  The reader is shown that sometimes there is more to a bully than just the desire to be mean.  The author doesn't excuse the bully behavior, but sheds some light on what could be going on "behind the scenes" emotionally for the bully as well as for the bullied.