The Righteous and The Wicked - by April Emerson

Available April 10th from The Writer's Coffee Shop

My Thoughts:

Ok, so here it is… my fangirl squee moment…

The Righteous and The Wicked is my all-time favourite novel this year. April Emerson has been added to my “Must Read” list. Whenever she puts out a novel, I want to know about it. I am completely satisfied.

I know some people have issues with head hopping, point of view changes; but not me. I love it. The different perspectives round out the story perfectly. You can feel the pain that both Emma and Eric are going through. When they have a misunderstanding, the POV changes put you right in the middle, simultaneously feeling their distress and rooting for both of them. In an instant, you are able to both understand and empathise with Eric (you know why he is the way he is) but you can also be terribly disappointed because he’s going to hurt Emma and he can’t seem to stop himself.

These characters are real. I think Eric could even be my first book boyfriend, except I love Emma too much and I would never compete with her that way. Oh but Eric is hot… and Emma’s voyeurism was a turn on… and how it made me feel when Stormy came out to play (yep, you read that right - this review is all about how this book made me feel). I’m a mess. A delicious mess. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve been so emotionally invested in two characters and their romance and I have missed this feeling. I wish I was Emma.

xD

My Rating:

❀❀❀❀❀

Disclaimer

I obtained an ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley) with a view to providing an honest review. The thoughts expressed above, are entirely my own. Normally I don’t really like the concept of rating novels as they are subjective and subject to change... but this book will forever be A five star book to me.

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The Summary:

Small moments can seem insignificant until they change the course of a life forever. The sound of a bulldozer. A chance meeting at a gas station. A gust of wind through a chime. Benign events become something more when viewed through the lens of fate.

Emma Santori is a prisoner of tragic memories. Locked in a spiral of depression, she leads a desolate and empty life, trapped in her decrepit home. Rooted in routine, she’s numb and vacant. As a lonely Catholic school teacher, her only joy comes from her young students. One Saturday morning, her isolation is infiltrated by a mysterious architect building a home beside hers.

That man is Eric Wilder and he’s keeping a secret that’s destroying his life. Filled with guilt and self-loathing, he’s forced to move often. He chooses the small northeastern town of Pine Lake as his latest refuge, and hopes to make a successful attempt at starting his life over. As always, he’s unable to make that happen.

That all changes when he meets Emma.

She finds herself drawn to Eric when she accidentally bumps into him, but Eric’s unfazed by their first meeting. When a gust of wind brings these two people together once again, Emma discovers Eric’s secret. She’s forced to battle between her Catholic faith and her desire for this stranger.

Their attraction is intense and they soon discover they’re each lonely and longing for what the other has to offer. As their friendship blossoms, Emma realizes her passion and lust for Eric are the remedy to her depression. Eric discovers his feelings for Emma are the only antidote to his secret burden. 

They begin an erotic journey, which leads these beautifully broken people to discover that love can be both righteous and wicked.

Introducing April Emerson

April Emerson grew up in rural upstate New York, and moved to New York City after graduating from college with a degree in Literature. As a nature lover, living in the city was a culture shock, but she soon began to enjoy being surrounded by so much energy. Submerged in perpetual crowds, April developed a fondness for people-watching, which inspired her to start writing. Drawn to both the light and dark of humanity, she strives to tell sexy and romantic stories with exquisitely complex characters. When she isn’t writing, she loves listening to music or reading a good book, with a glass of wine.

Connect with April on 

Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter

Obvious Child by Warren Cantrell

Published By The Writer's Coffee Shop

Available from TWCS, Amazon, B&N, iTunes and Kobo - April 3rd, 2014

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My Thoughts:

Obvious Child by Warren Cantrell is a strange story to describe, it's part sci-fi, part modern culture, and part drama. 

The sci-fi is easy to explore as the tale begins with the first successful time travel experiment being broadcast on YouTube. Of course YouTube is hardly a private medium, so it is not long before the discovery goes viral and the Government is forced to decide on the best use of the technology through a very public forum. Enter the modern culture aspect... Reality TV and the Global Financial Crisis.

How do you chose the first suitable candidate to travel through time in today's society? More importantly in today's insecure financial climate, how do you fund such a project? Well... you invite applicants to submit an application along with an entry fee, you choose a select few to compete against each other and have the public vote. A simple enough premise with the obvious elevated drama that accompanies such programs. 

But the real drama, the real depth to this novel centres around the main character Sam Grant, who goes from being a loveable larrikin to being a perfect scoundrel, before he finally chooses a more honourable path. I love stories where a character can grow and change, and come out a better person in the end.

My main criticism with this book is the author may have taken the degeneration of our Hero a little too far over to the dark side. It's a tricky to balance to maintain and in the end his redemption was proportionate, so I guess that the tension created by Sam's shenanigan's was justified. 

My Rating:

❀❀❀

Disclaimer

I obtained an ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley) with a view to providing an honest review. The thoughts expressed above, are entirely my own. I don’t really like the concept of rating novels as they are subjective and subject to change. A five star book today, may be re-evaluated when compared to future novels.

The Summary:

Sam Grant doesn’t want to be famous, but he doesn’t have much of a say in the matter.

On the verge of graduating from college with his master’s in History, Sam and the rest of the world bear witness to the invention of time travel. Revealed via a YouTube broadcast, the brothers responsible for inventing time travel find their remarkable device coopted by the U.S. government. In a magnanimous gesture, the U.S. government holds a worldwide competition to decide who will be the first time traveler in history. This turns Sam’s world upside down after a half-baked joke application he sends in gets him accepted as a contestant for consideration.

Thrust into a political and media blender set to puree, Sam and his fellow contestants vie for the affections of a worldwide audience who will vote on the eventual winner. As the successive rounds of the contest pass by, and Sam tries everything from indifference to wild irreverence to get himself voted out of the competition, he finds that all his actions only serve to make him more popular.

As the contest goes on, Sam and the time travel project become more of a referendum on our society’s fascination with celebrity disasters, and what they will do to make sure the entertainment doesn’t stop anytime soon. Unable to get out of the contest via logical means, Sam learns to embrace the perks sudden celebrity provides, yet also suffers some of its typical consequences.

Stuck between two worlds—one he can’t handle, and another he can’t control—Sam finds himself considering a third option, one that has him confronting a time traveling reality that terrifies him to his very core.

The Author:

Warren Cantrell is a film and music critic based out of Seattle, Washington. One of the few surviving journalists of the Gonzo school, Mr. Cantrell’s work has appeared in such publications as Lost in Reviews and Scene-Stealers.

A classically trained scholar with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in History, Mr. Cantrell has spent the majority of his time since graduation writing novels and paying off his student loans. Working as a critic and an on-the-ground correspondent, Mr. Cantrell has covered the Seattle International and Sundance Film Festivals and has had the pleasure of interviewing people ranging from Sissy Spacek to Joss Whedon.

As an established film and music critic, Mr. Cantrell finds that it is best to keep his political views private, except to say that he feels Greedo definitely did not shoot first and that The Misfits ceased to exist the moment Danzig left the band.

A life-long Arizona Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and Phoenix Suns fan, Mr. Cantrell enjoys fast cars, Italian opera, Norwegian cinema, Kentucky bourbon, and Motörhead concerts.

Connect with the Author

on Facebook

Honor Among Orcs by Amalia Dillin

Beauty must save the BEAST...

Honor Among Orcs

by Amalia Dillin  

Publication Date: April 1, 2014
Available from: Barnes & Noble, Amazon
Series: Orc Saga, Book One
Genre: New Adult Fantasy/ Romantic Fantasy 
Blast Page: Masquerade Tours

After nearly a decade as the king’s whipping-girl, Princess Arianna has no intention of going quietly into marriage to some treasonous noble, or serving obediently as the king’s spy until her death is more convenient. When she discovers a handsome orc, chained and trapped inside a magic mirror, Arianna cannot help but see a lasting freedom from her father's abuse.

Left to rot inside a mirror by the king, Bolthorn never imagined his prayers would be answered by a princess. Nor did he ever expect to meet so worthy a woman after knowing her father’s cruelty. He needs her help to escape the mirror before the king marches against the orcs, but all he can offer Arianna is ice and darkness in exchange for her aid. 

If Arianna can free the monster behind the glass, perhaps she might free herself, as well. But once they cross the mountain, there will be no return, and the deadly winter is the least of what threatens them on the other side. Romance blossoms in this gripping fantasy adventure.

About the Author

Amalia Dillin began as a Biology major before taking Latin and falling in love with old heroes and older gods. After that, she couldn't stop writing about them, with the occasional break for more contemporary subjects. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, and dreams of the day when she will own goats--to pull her chariot through the sky, of course. 

Amalia is the author of the Fate of the Gods trilogy from World Weaver Press, and the soon to be released Orc Saga, coming April 1, 2014. You can learn more about her work at www.amaliadillin.com

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