My Thoughts on The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher

Penelope Fletcher has created a most unique post-apocalyptic world as the background for a new series about a girl discovering her true birth-right of being a Demon, and the inevitable ensuing conflicts that come along with it. As the first book in a new series The Demon Girl brings something new and different for the fall of civilization and it is quite refreshing. It is a great story abounding with love, deception, and loss.

I really enjoyed the author’s characterizations and her definition of Demons, offers a very different perspective, which is always good.  Our protagonist, Rae, has a spunky voice that remains constant throughout the entire novel, and I believe that she embodied an independent and strong willed teenager perfectly. She was easy to relate to--especially when describing how she felt like an outcast--at times I found myself wishing I could be her friend. It's always nice being able to connect with the protagonist of a story almost instantaneously. It's even better when that connection lasts from the first page all the way to the last. 

Rae is a Disciple who is being trained to become a Cleric, but she will soon be faced with the decision to live and die as a human, or embrace her birth-right as a Demon. The Clerics who are the world’s protectors, the most fiercest, strongest, intelligent, and intuitive among the remains of humankind fight against the Demons--vampires, shifters, goblins, witches, and fairies, although most humans believe the fairies are nearly extinct. Since the Rupture (a global slaughter that nearly wiped the entire human race off the face of the planet) what remains of humankind have essentially locked them-selves in a prison behind a wall surrounded by a klaxon protecting The Temple from the Demons. The Temple once served as an army base, but in post rupture world it serves as the stomping ground of the Sect Cleric and its Disciples. Thanks to the Sect Cleric human survivors now reside inside the Wall, and are strongly guarded by the Clerics. 

The Story starts off with our protagonist, Rae, going for a run outside the wall which breaks rule one--never go outside the Wall. While running she gets this feeling like she is being watched, and then catches a glimpse of something. As Rae goes to investigate she gets lost in the woods. While trying to find her way back to the Wall and not panic she stumbles upon two Clerics, and a green skinned fairy girl with wild red hair. Rae decides to hide and see what is going on, and ends up witnessing something that feels horribly wrong to her. As Rae continues to watch what is unfolding she locks eyes with the fairy girl who whispers one word—Run! While running away from the Clerics and their Bloodhounds—she knows she’s in trouble if they catch her—something happens. Rae feels pain, a terrible paralyzing pain that runs through her entire body, and when the pain subsides, there’s this boy looking at her—and talking to her, and saying she’s his. His name is Breandan, he’s a fairy boy, and he’s got some news for Rae; she’s a fairy too.  A Demon and exactly what she has been training to fight against her whole life.  This book is action packed from start to finish, and includes a love triangle that will leave you guessing just who our young Rae Wilder is going to give her heart to.

My dislikes of the book were one that maybe it was a wee bit rushed. I would have liked to see the story played out over a longer time line, but then again that would have taken away from the Rae Wilder is having the worst day ever feel and flow of the book. Also, there were many typos and grammatical errors (not that I am one to talk) which in turn made it hard to stay focused on the story at times, but I do understand the reasoning behind this. The biggest reason being Miss Fletcher is an Indie author who is probably left with the task of editing, and proof reading the novel herself. I have read though that a revised version has been put out to eliminate this problem.

I would recommend this book based on the strong characterizations and the amazing world she has created.  I am so eager to learn and discover more about the post-rupture world and the secrets it holds! I am excited to read book 2 in The Rae Wilder Novels: A Demon Day due out in the summer of 2011!  I hear an audio version of The Demon Girl is set to be released sometime February! If I had a rating system I would say 4 out of 5 Stars! This basically means I really liked this book!

Check out the books website
The Demon Girl Website

The Demon Girl - Free Ebook at Barnes and Nobles

To download a copy- The Demon Girl

I just finished this book and plan to write a review of it soon, but wanted to share in the mean time. It is free  at Barnes and Nobles right now. I definitely recommend this book to the paranormal and urban fantasy lovers out there.

Synopsis

Rae Wilder has problems. Plunged into a world of dark magic, fierce creatures and ritual sacrifice, she is charged with a guarding a magical amulet. Rae finds herself beaten up, repeatedly, and forced to make a choice: to live and die human, or embrace her birth-right and wield magics that could turn her into something wicked, a force of nature nothing can control.


Please stay tuned for my review!

Follow Friday

I am a newbie to these Friday hops, but they seem quite entertaining and fun! This blog hop is hosted by ParaJunkee.com

The Question of the week is: What is/was your favorite subject in school?

That is a difficult question for me as I am more a student of life than a student of "school", but if I had to pick one subject I guess it would have to be Medieval History. I love everything about that time period, and can never seem to get enough!

18 & Over Book Blogger Tag Along Jan 28th

18 and over book blogger tag along is for a specific group of book bloggers. 18 and over book bloggers primarily have on their blog book reviews and post of adult content. In other words, if you read books like erotic and adult romance and have adult pic. then you can play tag along. Sorry YA readers, but if you read both (I know some of you do) you can tag along also.

This is my first week but it's sure to be fun right!

My Thoughts on To Kill a Warlock

I wake up this morning laying in bed thinking ugh morning already, and promptly roll back over pulling my snuggly down comforter over my head.  Then as my inner voice starts chastising me for retreating in to the cloud comfort I call my bed I begrudgingly throw my feet over the side of the bed and set up ready to face the day. I am immediately assaulted with my morning routine of getting my family ready for their day of work and school. This routine consists of breakfast, reminders, and lunches for my two if sometimes annoying favorite people.  Finally and an hour and a half later I sit at my desk with a nice warm cup of java to finish reading my latest book To Kill a Warlock which brings me to writing this review.

To Kill A Warlock: Dulcie O'Neil Series by H.P. Mallory

 

Synopsis from the back of the book 

The murder of a dark art warlock, a shape-shifting ravenous creature on the loose, and a devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate sometimes-working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch. Dulcie O'Neil is a fairy not the type that frolics in gardens either. She's a Regulator-a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she's either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim. Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie's got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

 

My Thoughts

      

This is the third book I have read from Mallory and that like its predecessors, it did not disappoint. HP Mallory is as good of a writer as any other Urban Fantasy author I've read. Her writing was great and her story line and characterizations were fantastic. I was sucked in from the very first page! The story follows Dulcie O'Neil an independent, hard-working, crime busting fairy as she polices the Netherworld handling illegal potion trafficking, murder, and much more! Dulcie's routine is thrown into disarray when a dark arts warlock is murdered it becomes Dulcie’s job to track down the killer. The bad news for Dulcie is she was at the shop of the dark arts warlock the night he died, and she happened to have seen a tall, dark, and handsome stranger, one she has never seen before. Even stranger is that she couldn't tell what kind of magical being he was... which is very unusual for Dulcie being both a fairy and a regulator for the A.N.C., she knows every creature that comes and goes in the human world.  Enter Knight Vander (a great name right) who has his sights on Dulcie... the problem? He is here to get Dulcie to work with him on finding the creature that killed the warlock and Dulcie has… let us just say a few trust issues. Nevertheless, Dulcie must crack the case, fast--and it remains to be seen whether the sinfully attractive investigator Knight Vander will help or hinder her cause. Between fighting her attraction for Knight, hunting a roaming monster, handling a scheming vampire, an S&M loving Demon, and the steamy love triangle that blossoms will Dulcie be able to capture the murderer in time?  Guess you are going to have to read to find out! Character wise I was very delighted with Dulcie, she reminded me of a girl next door type, with kick ass abilities! Her abilities include the magic of fairy dust, which she can make with the waggle of her wrist, and her fairy speed, which was cool and refreshingly different.  I definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy a sassy lead character, sinfully good looking men, with a hint of romance and suspense!

If I had a rating system I would give this, book 4 out of 5 stars. The one thing I did not like about this book was the length; it ended at page 167 on my ereader. Although, Barnes and Nobles says it is 208 pages either way to short for my tastes I enjoy a much longer book as I feel such a sense of loss when they end.  I would love to discuss this book so if anyone has read it and up to it comment.

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Books Galore

No offense Edward!

 This is a very new blog, and short of writing about every book I have read to give me a little "book cred" I decided to add a Shelfari Bookshelf to this blog showcasing all the books I read from January 2010 until now. If you look through it and need a recommendation or want to discuss one please feel free to comment or email me. I would also love any suggestions you have because I am always looking for new authors, books, and series to read!

Currently Reading To Kill a Warlock and still loving it!

My Life with a Side of Books!

This morning I wake up to my beautiful husband, and I think to myself it's going to be a great day. Suddenly my ears are assaulted with the hubby getting on our daughter for getting up in the middle of the night and sleeping in the guest room. Eek I say to myself it was me who told her she could sleep in there. Slowly, I drag myself out of bed knowing I can not let my daughter take the heat for something I said she could do. Now I feel like a child because said beautiful husband of mine was using words like going behind my back,I have no say, and the kicker she is manipulating you (me)...eek again now I am in a rock and a hard place between the two people I love the most. It wasn't that I went behind his back it is just I do not agree with him about our daughter being banned from the guest room. But then the more he talks I slowly begin to realize two things she has been manipulating me and I hurt his feelings. This is the point in the conversation where I apologize to him and silently close the bathroom door walking away with my head hanging low. As I mentioned before these are the two most important people in my life and I feel torn between them. We are supposed to be a team I am not suppose to have to pick sides! Parenting and Marriage are my two greatest achievements in life, but yet the hardest as well. My plan to fix it talk with him "alone" give in to save some of his feelings and compromise with them both! Truly my work is cut out for me.

Now on to the things I feel my life with besides my two loves... I am currently reading To Kill a Warlock by HP Mallory. I am still in the beginning, but thought I would share with the world what I was reading today. It has started out very strong I always love a book that grabs my attention at the beginning and holds it tight! Also, if you read the previous post the author is hosting a really great contest to go along with the sequel.

My reading list for last week

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by HP Mallory
I believe she is definitely an up and coming author as I absolutely could not put this book down. Just the right amount of romance and action. Plus, the lead character was a different type of female instead of being all strong and capable she was self conscious. Something I myself could identify with. Upon finishing this book I immediately picked up book 2.

Toil and Trouble by HP Mallory
This too was a fantastic book and added many new characters and aspects to the world Mallory has created. It left me emailing the author begging for a book 3 of the Jolie Wilkins series.

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning This was the 5th book in the series, and sadly the last from what I have read although the end was set up to where there could be more books! If you have been following this series (Fever) then I definitely recommend you run right out and buy this book. It is amazing action, action, action, and lots of kinky and sometimes romantic sex if you know the characters. This book ties up all of the loose ends answers so many questions and still manages to leave the reader wanting more. If you have not been following this series and love paranormal romance/horror then start with book 1 Darkfever you will not be disappointed.

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks I will admit I have had this book for a really long time, but have always put off reading it because of the title...I know you can't judge a book by it's cover, but what can I say I was slightly embarrassed by it. Alas, it was actually a good book although quite cheesy at times. Not cheesy in a bad way just different which I guess in the world of paranormal romance is a good thing. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book actually grabbing and keeping my attention the entire time. I would find myself doing mundane house chores thinking I wonder what is going to happen between Roman and Shanna. This girl does love a sexy, millionaire vampire. Did I mention he is a scientist who invented synthetic blood and is trying to rid the world of vampires who drink from humans. Kind of lends it self to True Blood, but quite different.

Well that wraps up what I have been doing over the past week. I know 4 almost 5 books in a week is a lot for a mother and wife, but what can I say I am a fast reader, and when it comes down to it books are just better than the television. No commercials and they rarely get canceled!

I am looking for a book to read after To Kill a Warlock so if you have any suggestions please leave them!

Author HP Mallory, Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy is Running an Amazing Constest

culled from... HP Mallory's Blog


Become a character in my next book part 2!!!
Woo Hoo! Another Contest to become another character!


Remember how I hosted a contest for two winners to become characters in Toil and Trouble? And Mercedes Berg and Christine Trum won? Well, I'm at it again! This time for the next Dulcie book. I'm thinking it will be titled "A tale of two goblins".

Here are the contest parameters:

Enter to be written as a character in my book, A tale of two goblins (maybe the title as of now but might change). I'll create your character using your name, description and personality (I'll have to send over a questionnaire, etc. to find out all about you!)

I already know which character you'll be and without giving away too much, this character is:

* Integral to the storyline
* A kick butt type of person
* A "good guy" aka not a jerk wad or a character you wouldn't want to be

The winner will get:

* A written part in the next Dulcie book
* The ability to read the next Dulcie book before it's released to the public
* Added to the Acknowledgments page of the next Dulcie book
* Interviewed on my blog
* A signed (with dedication) paperback copy of the next Dulcie book
* A signed paperback copy of To Kill A Warlock

To enter, you can simply comment on this blog post. To get more entries, you can do the following:

* Leave a comment on this blog post (+ 1 point)
* Follow my blog (+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)
* Join my Yahoo Group (+ 1 point)
* Purchase To Kill A Warlock (+5 points--simply send me an email to hpmalloryauthor at yahoo dot com and tell me what the first sentence of chapter eighteen is in To Kill A Warlock to verify that you purchased it. Please don't leave the first sentence in the blog post--just mention that you purchased the book and email me separately!)

Do all of the above and you'll get even more chances to win with a total of 13 possible points. Just mention in your blog comment how many points you earned (and how you earned those points). A sample comment could look like this:

Hey, HP, enter me in your second awesomest contest ever! I have a total of 4 points for commenting on your blog, friending you on facebook, tweeting about your contest and joining your yahoo group!

This contest is open until January 31, 2011 with the winner announced on February 1!

Contest Rules:

* Enter by January 31st, 2011, winner drawn Feb 1!
* Total your points in the comments field of this blog and tell me how you earned your points.
* The winner will be drawn at random (the more points you have, the more entries you'll get)

Buy her books here HP Mallory's Books