Review: The Bird and the Sword

THE BIRD AND THE SWORD
Amy Harmon
New Adult/Fantasy
352 pages
Self-published
Available Now
Source: Bought

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Swallow, Daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heav’n or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, Daughter. Stay alive.

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky.

My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free.

But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird?

MY THOUGHTS
The Bird and the Sword is immensely satisfying from beginning to end, giving us a heroine robbed of words on a beautifully-told journey to find them again amidst the backdrop of a sweeping fantasy epic.

Lark is a Teller, gifted with words that create a call to action when spoken, bringing to life inanimate objects, controlling animals, and healing when needed. After her mother's dying rhyme rips away her ability to speak, she's assumed to be deaf and dumb in addition to being mute, but we're treated to her innermost thoughts and feelings and therefore know she's as smart and strong as they come. She quickly finds herself a pawn in a game of politics, taken from her father and held as insurance to make sure he provides promised assistance to the young king in his war against the monstrous Volgar (vulture-like birdmen). She could have easily spent her days wallowing in self-pity for the position in which she finds herself – in a strange place and forced to be a weapon in the service of her king – but instead she does as she is asked with a quiet pride and a lick of defiance, one that brings a smile to our faces every time she wields it. 

Her romance with King Tiras is of the slow burn variety, one with a start rooted in antagonism as she resents being made into the tip of a spear and hurled at the Vulgar with little care for anything other than her usefulness. Her feelings for Tiras seemingly develop quicker than his for her (though it takes her plenty of time to begin to see him in a romantic light), and she keeps those feelings close to her vest because she knows he's unlikely to return her affection. She is a means to an end for him, an ace up his sleeve in the war against an impossible enemy, and she protects her heart as best she can by defying him in the most perfect of ways when he proves to be too presumptuous.

Their story has my highest recommendation for all those who love apparent underdogs with unparalleled strength, love interests who challenge at every turn, and grand romances that share the spotlight with well-executed paranormal and political wars.

Rating: 5/5

Find Amy:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

Friday Flourish: Rafe Ryder + The Well of Wisdom

Happy Friday Everyone!

I have another fun project to share with you this week, one I'm immensely proud of and sincerely hope you guys end up loving as much as I do.

Author L.L. Reynolds got in touch with me thanks to the amazing Katie Cross (who has been one of my biggest supporters), and as soon as I read the words "middle grade fantasy" in her inquiry email I hit reply with record speed. What followed was a collaboration full of laughs and over the top enthusiasm on both sides, and I can't thank L.L. enough for her unwavering trust as she handed me her book and simply said "do whatever you need to do to make this cover the best it can be".

Since this was middle grade, we both knew we wanted an illustrated design, something full of color, texture, and movement that would really draw the eye of readers young and old. I also wanted to design this first book with the entire series in mind, creating a Rafe Ryder brand that would be carried through each subsequent book, so I started with my core elements (which included the title treatment and a pair of wings) and then built out from there.

Since this first book is titled The Well Of Wisdom, I wanted to make sure the well itself appeared on the cover along with its very important counterpart, The Tree of All Knowledge, and I then completed the design with a few other small elements to try and bring this fantastical world to life.

For fun, I thought you guys might like to see the initial sketch I sent to L.L. for approval before I began putting the design together on the computer, if for no other reason than it will give you a good laugh. For all that I'm artistic, drawing on paper really isn't my strong suit ;-)

Glorious isn't it? *pats self on back*

I think the final version turned out a touch better...

Strange things happen when the place you call "home" is no longer your address.

Twelve-year-old Rafe Ryder's year couldn't get worse. His parents have shipped him off to live with his grandmother and he doesn't know if he'll ever see his sick father again. Arriving in Maine, Rafe plots his return to England, but the possibility of a homecoming slips further from his grasp when an adventure in a corn maze at his new school goes wrong, and he and twelve of his schoolmates are mysteriously transported to Mystfira—a realm of angels, leprechauns, gargoyles and fairies—and home to an elite angelic training school. Forced to co-exist with student angels and surrounded by more danger than he ever could have imagined, Rafe searches for a way home only to stumble upon a scheme to destroy the heavens. Can he find a way to save himself and his friends...or will they be lost forever?

Rafe Ryder and the Well of Wisdom is set to release next month, so I hope you guys add this one to your lists. I've also done some interior artwork for this book, including a full map of the fantasy world of Mystfira, so I'd love for you all to check it out when release day comes around!

Review: Shadows of Asphodel

SHADOWS OF ASPHODEL
Shadows of Asphodel #1
Karen Kincy
Dieselpunk Romance
350 pages
Self-published
Available Now
Source: From author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
When Ardis discovers a man bleeding to death on the battlefield, she knows she has to walk away.

1913. In her work as a mercenary for Austria-Hungary, Ardis has killed many men without hesitation. One more man shouldn’t matter, even if he manages to be a charming bastard while he stands dying in the snow.

But when he raises the dead to fight for him, she realizes she must save his life.

If a necromancer like Wendel dies, he will return as a monster—or so the rumors say. Ardis decides to play it safe and rescues him. What she doesn’t expect is Wendel falling to one knee and swearing fealty. Ardis never asked for the undying loyalty of a necromancer, but it’s too late now.

Ardis and Wendel forge an uneasy alliance underscored with sexual tension. Together, they confront rebels, assassins, and a conspiracy involving a military secret: robotically-enhanced soldiers for a world on the brink of war. But as Ardis starts to fall for Wendel, she realizes the scars from his past run more deeply than she ever imagined. Can Ardis stop Wendel before his thirst for revenge destroys him and everyone else around him?

MY THOUGHTS
Shadows of Asphodel gives us an intriguing story full of magic and gadgets with two protagonists who are beacons of light in a world hovering on the precipice of all-out war. While both Ardis and Wendel are highlights though, the rest of the story causes us a bit of trouble, mainly due to the fact that we are provided with absolutely no framework for the world itself. We know war is imminent and there are “rebels” fighting against those to whom Ardis swears allegiance, but we don’t really know who either side is or why exactly they’re at odds, leaving us feeling like tiny boats torn from our moorings and left to drift with no hope of rescue.

Ardis is a woman who can more than take care of herself, wielding a sword with lethal skill and earning her keep by the blade. She’s hesitant with Wendel initially, put off by his necromancy but also more willing to give him a chance than anyone else in his life, making her someone we can easily support for the compassion she shows him. Like the world-building though, we’re left with lots of questions with regard to necromancy and the reasons it’s so despised and loathed by everyone. There appears to be no reason for the hatred Wendel is subjected to other than the obvious fact that he raises the dead, but Ardis herself is a mercenary receiving payment for taking lives, so we can’t help but shake our heads and wonder why the blood on Wendel’s hands seems to be so much heavier in terms of sin than the blood on Ardis’s own.

Wendel, for his part, is a charmer, always quick with a smile or quip and shockingly positive despite the utter disgust with which others look upon him when they learn what he is, and we find ourselves feeling emotionally protective of him throughout. Though we may thoroughly enjoy both him and Ardis, we don’t come to know either of them all that well, with Wendel in particular being more of a mystery. We know he was disowned by his wealthy family and picked up by the Order of the Asphodel–and there’s a brief scene with his brother and sister toward the end–but ultimately that familial line is cast out into the water and then never reeled back in to see if there’s meat on the hook.

Overall, Shadows of Asphodel is a book that just feels a touch unfinished, various threads woven into the story that end up going nowhere, and we’re left with a lot of whys and whats haunting our thoughts. Why is the Order of Asphodel so desperate for Wendel to begin with? What is their end game? Despite those questions and some of the fairly large holes in the world-building, our time with Wendel and Ardis is enjoyable, the two of them a couple that makes us smile as they try to move past their initial shared hesitancy and into something emotionally and physically intimate.

Rating: 3.5/5

*Note: At the time of this review, I couldn't find any information on whether or not this would be a series. Since then I've learned there will be a sequel, so the unfinished aspect makes a bit more sense:)

Find Karen:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Guest Post: Liz Long + Burned

I'm pleased today to welcome author Liz Long to the blog to tell us a little bit about the world building in her paranormal Donovan Circus series. The second book, Burned, is available now. Welcome to Supernatural Snark Liz!

Thank you so much to Jenny for hosting me on her blog today! I’m lucky to know good people :) I thought for today’s post, we’d run away to the circus together. The Donovan Circus, that is!

In my first book GIFTED, the protagonist, Lucy Sullivan, is thrown into a world full of gifted beings – that is, people with special powers like Telekinetics, Empaths, Runners, Levitators, and many, many more. Lucy is a Firestarter, meaning she can create and control fire at her will. Her gift is a dangerous one, and it’s pushed to the limits in GIFTED.

Many readers often tell me how they think the concept of this world is so neat – because the story takes place in today’s real world, the idea of supernatural beings hiding right in plain sight at the circus is pretty unique! When first introduced to the Donovan Circus, Lucy is overwhelmed by the bright lights, loud colors, and whirlwind of activity – just read about her first hour there:

“We followed the already worn walkway around a corner, where a sea of activity blinded me. Whereas the campers were quiet, the actual circus grounds thrived with members preparing for the day.
 
My senses hit overdrive—colors, smells, and sounds assaulted me. Costumes covered in sequins and feathers were traded off between artists; my nose detected popcorn machines, sawdust with hay, and sweat, both human and animal. And the sounds! It was so loud between the people yelling, animals’ screeches, and equipment in use to set up stands and booths. I would have to shout at Delia to be heard.

I suddenly became very aware of why Sheffield and Delia warned me against being surprised. People made no secret of their gifts in safe company. I saw another Runner dart in and out of the crowd while Levitators floated seamlessly between the bodies. Birds flew all over, carried messages or small objects such as tools or costume props. The air filled with sounds of conversation, animals protested their displeasure of cages, and men barked orders on the best way to get tents up fast.”

See what I mean about being overwhelmed? There’s a lot going on in that show! I have to admit, I’d be totally intimidated if it were me, but to Lucy’s credit, she dives right in and does her best to work hard and belong to the group.

The second book in the Donovan Circus series is called BURNED and while we see a bit of Lucy’s familiar circus grounds, you’re soon introduced to the Grayson Circus, another show that Lucy visits in order to gain support. When a vicious Shapeshifter named Medved attacks her on the Donovan grounds, ringmaster Sheffield Donovan insists she and her friends travel to Grayson’s circus in order to make friends and allies in case of another attack.

The catch? The Grayson Circus is nearly the opposite of the Donovan Circus. Lucy is used to being around lots of gifted, but there are even more humans in the Grayson show, so gifts aren’t quite so in-your-face there. Things are much quieter there, the equipment and tents older, the people more frightened. See?

“The Grayson Circus vibe was not uncomfortable so much as it was different. Their grounds were clean enough, but all of their equipment and games looked old-fashioned, with plenty of wear and tear. Maybe they were going for that vintage look, but it felt older than the Donovan property.
 
The two circus groups couldn’t have been more different. When I walked through the Donovan grounds, there were always noises, colors, passersby running into and cursing you. Here, colors weren’t so bright; the overcast weather made for a dull, gray backdrop. Many things were in need of a new paint job. Our tents were red, black, and white, the Big Top like a striped candy cane. Their worn, dingy gray tents showed the years of use and travel. Several of the lights on their games were out and half the booths looked slapped together with plywood and haphazardly placed nails.

The grounds and people were quieter; instead of meeting my eyes to glare at me (like most of Donovan did when I arrived), they looked away or eyed the ground until I passed them. No one stood tall and proud, no smiles told me they were happy to be here. A handful of stares met mine; only some could hide their fear. These people seemed terrified of us…of me.”

It’s obviously going to be hard for the Grayson group to trust Lucy, not just because she’s a Firestarter, but because it’s difficult for circus folk to trust anyone outside their own shows. Even worse, the differences between them might mean an unwillingness to cooperate. Will Lucy be able to get the Grayson group on her side when things are so vastly different between them?

I hope you enjoyed the brief look inside the Donovan and Grayson Circuses. Thanks again to Jenny for hosting me today! And in case you’re interested in checking out the books, GIFTED is currently on sale for 99 cents, while BURNED is just $2.99.

Gifted • Burned

• • • • • • • • • • • •

LIZ LONG

Liz Long is a ridiculously proud graduate of Longwood University with a BA in English. Her inspiration comes from action and thriller genres and she spends entirely too much time watching superhero movies. Her fabulous day job as a social media editor includes writing for a publishing company in Roanoke, VA.

Her first book, Gifted, is the first book in the Donovan Circus series. Her second book Witch Hearts, a story about a serial killer hunting witches for their powers, is available at Amazon on Kindle and paperback.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

Interview: Andrea Lynn Colt + Torched

I'm thrilled today to welcome young adult author Andrea Lynn Colt to the blog to answer a few questions about her latest release Torched. I absolutely adored this book and highly recommend it to fans of contemporary YA who are looking for a fun and fast read. Welcome to Supernatural Snark Andrea!

Rose handles the evidence of Ryan’s alleged cheating far better than I would have in her shoes. I tend to jump to conclusions and hold a mean grudge :) Are you the type of person to jump to conclusions as well, or are you more like Rose, content to wait until you have more information before you formulate an opinion?

I guess I'm like Rose in that I always like to give people the benefit of the doubt. After all, until we know the whole story, there's always an alternate explanation that might be true - the world is a weird place!

If we could have been in Paxton’s head the minute he found out Rose was accused of arson, what would we have heard him thinking?

Probably something along the lines of, "Oh wow, she really went overboard – but I know she's ballsy enough to pull that off! Also, if Ryan's really cheating on her ... then Ryan's an idiot." ;-)

Rose and Paxton have such a tension-filled, antagonistic relationship – one of my very favorite things to read about. Aside from Rose and Paxton, do you have a favorite fictional antagonistic couple?

I absolutely love antagonistic couples! They're my favorite to read and watch. I adored Buffy and Spike on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show because of their tension and banter. For books, a favorite couple is Phedre and Joscelin from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart series; their relationship starts off very antagonistic, and though they fall irretrievably in love, it's never easy for them.

Really, any couple that starts out as enemies, frenemies or simply at odds with each other makes me want to see their sparks. Some recent-ish YA examples can be found in The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, or Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

Did you simply make up the practical jokes Rose and Paxton play on one another, or do you have any first-hand experience with such activities?

Making up the jokes was one of the most entertaining parts of writing Torched - I always love books with pranks in them, though my sister and I never pranked each other. We're twins, and I think if we'd started a prank war it would have escalated badly, and we would have wound up getting in a lot of trouble!

Two other prank-filled books I've read are A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker, and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, so if you're looking for more fun books, check those out.

Rose names her car Cloudmonster. Does yours have a name?

It doesn't, not officially! It's a red Prius, and my fiancé calls it the Hampstermobile because it's shaped (in his opinion) like a rodent, but I pretend not to hear that :)

If you were to design a movie poster for Torched, what would the tagline be?

Ooh what a fun question! Maybe, "Where there are sparks, there's fire!"

Let’s say you’ve been falsely accused of a crime as Rose is. Just how good are your detective skills and do you put them to work for you to help clear your name?

I am actually terrible at noticing things, and incredibly easy to surprise (which is fun when people surprise me with parties!), so I'd probably be totally blindsided by an accusation. I'd spend a lot more time freaking out than Rose does, but I like to think that once I put my mind to it I'd be able to regroup and kick some butt to clear my name the way she does!

Thanks so much for having me on Supernatural Snark!

Glad to have you Andrea! More information on Andrea and her books can be found here:

Website
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Amazon Buy Link

TORCHED

Rose Whitfield's senior year just went up in smoke. Instead of having a blast with her best friend, her cheerleading squad, and her boyfriend Ryan, she's framed for arson. Popularity and criminal records don't mix, apparently.

Luckily, Rose knows exactly who's framing her: Paxton Callaway. Paxton and Rose have spent years locked in a war of practical jokes. This time he's gone too far. Rose sets out to prove her innocence, win Ryan back, and take Paxton down hard. Not necessarily in that order.

Review: Cornerstone

CORNERSTONE (Cornerstone #1)
Misty Provencher
Paranormal Young Adult
219 pages
Self-published
Available Now
Received from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Nalena Maxwell has been branded ‘The Waste’ at her new school, due to her mom's obsessive paper hoarding. Nalena desperately wants something to change in her life, but when she receives a sign (and it's the wrong dang one) inviting her into a mysterious, ancient community, too much changes. What she knew of her family, what she thought of her life and what she believed about her future, is no longer applicable. Seventeen years worth of family skeletons come crashing into Nalena's life and it is the boy...the one that smiles at her like he wants to hear everything she'll ever say...that already knows her powerful secrets. But it is only Nalena that can choose between protecting the life that is already crumbling beneath her feet and the one that might sacrifice everything she could ever have.

MY THOUGHTS
Deeply intriguing, Cornerstone is one of those stories that doesn’t immediately enfold us in its paranormal world, instead taking the time to introduce us to an utterly normal young woman dealing with a realistic and difficult situation in a mother who hoards astronomical amounts of paper and spends all their available money continuously buying more. We instantly align ourselves with Nalena, feeling the pain of every verbal arrow aimed at her as the words “The Waste” echo in our ears, reminding us of just how mighty a weapon a couple of letters strung together can be. Only once we’re firmly connected to Nalena and emotionally invested in her life is the paranormal element brought into play, providing us with firm ground to stand on before showing us something completely new.

Nalena is a young woman of whom we feel instantly protective, her role reversal with her mother causing our arms to practically spasm with the need to wrap around her and assure her that the paper her mother seems to treasure above all else does not define her life. Her mother clearly loves her, but there’s a innocence to Evangeline that has her appearing younger in years than Nalena herself, and we can’t help but smile as Nalena exhibits far more patience and understanding than we might were we in the same situation. Because of the treatment she receives from the classmates, she’s instantly wary when Garrett Reese begins to show an interest in her, and their relationship is thankfully one that progresses at a much slower pace than we often find in young adult fiction. She’s smart with him, testing the waters with cautious fingertips to determine the reception she’ll receive should she wade in deeper, and taking some care to guard her heart against a young man who so easily could cause her pain.

While the romance is well-executed–just the right amount of tension and affection swirling around and between Nalena and Garrett–the paranormal element itself is a touch elusive, a complete explanation seeming to dance out of our reach every time we make a grab for it. We learn the basics of Nalena’s gift as well as her mother’s, but some of the finer details remain blurry, leaving us struggling to figure out how the pieces of the community Nalena suddenly finds herself a part of fit together and what this community's purpose is as a whole. Perhaps greater illumination is coming in later books, but our slight confusion does rob us of some of the intensity of Nalena’s conflict as we don’t fully understand the ramifications of her decision to either join the Ianua or continue on as she has been. The ending is rather brutal and heart-wrenching, and it would be my recommendation to have book two on hand for immediate consumption upon finishing as things for Nalena are clearly only going to become more challenging.

Rating: 4/5
 

KEYSTONE BLOG TOUR

The promotional tour for the second book in this series, Keystone, is running now through September 28th. The participating blogs have various reviews, guest posts, deleted scenes and interviews, so be sure and check out Candace's Book Blog or Misty's Blog for the full schedule because you don't want to miss out on all the fun. Additionally, there are some EPIC giveaways on this tour. Seriously. Want to see?

That's just one prize pack my friends. All the giveaways and the aforementioned tour details can be found HERE.