Review of A Shimmer of Angels by Lisa M. Basso

A Girl with Angel Sight

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley and Month9Books, LLC. Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read her book. 

Spoiler Alert:

A Shimmer of Angels is a supernatural YA read about a teen girl who after the death of her mother begins to hallucinate people with "wings" and over the years is committed by her father to a mental hospital numerous times; she is released again and in "Remission" only to find out that her hallucinations may not be hallucinations after all. 

The story line is about your typical Angels vs. Fallen Angels; only the Head of the Fallen Angels is causing teenagers to kill themselves to prepare for a revolution where Lucifer will return to power. There is also your typical love triangle with an Angel, a Fallen Angel(who is in limbo because he doesn't belong to either side),and the heroine. The book deals with mental health issues including the effects of medical drugs, teen pregnancy, and suicides; there are a few curse words but too far in between. The characters are flat; the heroine is disheartening and the way her father and sister act towards her is just wretched. I understand that having someone who has mental health issues can be draining both financially and emotionally but it seemed to me that the father and sister were just too self-involved and were just looking for an excuse to put Rayna back in the hospital then to try and be there for her. I found the book to be quite depressing and predictable; only towards the end there seemed to be some deliverance for the heroine only to have the character resign herself to sacrificing her soul for a family who quite frankly in my eyes didn't deserve her. The one redeeming relationship the heroine had was with her best friend, Lee but even that wasn't developed enough for the reader to become drawn in to. The love triangle was awkward and creepy, with the Fallen Angel having something to do with the heroine's mother at one time. I kept waiting for the story and characters to develop but maybe the author plans to reveal answers to develop the story and characters in the next book. I applaud the author bringing such serious issues to the forefront of teen reads, it should be addressed more. The cover is quite beautiful. 

Rating 2.5 out of 5 stars

Review of Easy by Tammara Webber

Spoiler Alert:

Easy is a contemporary new adult romance about a college girl who finds strength in herself with the help of her best friend and her protector/tutor when faced with an attempted rape by her ex-boyfriend's rival and in turn helps her protector by helping him face his demons regarding his mother's death.

The story line deals with very serious issues; attempted rape, rape, murder, and survivor's guilt but does it in such a way that it is earnest and insightful. Although there are certain aspects of the way the protagonist handles things and naivete is a definite issue with her that is what makes her character real to me, the main and secondary characters develop nicely as the story progresses however most of the other characters are flat. The love scenes are sensual however there are no graphic details of intercourse just insinuated. The cover is sweet and I applaud the author for taking on such emotional subject matter with a delicate but candid hand. All in all it was a heartfelt read.

Rating 3 out of 5 Stars

Review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

"Until a few days ago, humans had been little more than legend to him, and now here he was in their world. It was like stepping into the pages of a book -- a book alive with color and fragrance, filth and chaos -- and the blue-haired girl moved through it all like a fairy through a story, the light treating her differently than it did others, the air seemed to gather around her like held breath. As if this whole place was a story about her." 

― Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is an urban fantasy novel about a girl who...well, where to begin? The author has rendered me speechless. This book took me by surprise and is exactly what I am looking for when I read a book. The first part of the book had me in suspense wondering who this girl was and what the premise of the story was; then the author made me completely forget the who the what the why and I just went along for the ride. The story line takes Angels to a whole new different level, so original so beautiful I am still absorbing it all. The author's development of the characters is captivating, the author's descriptions are pure poetry pure imagery. Normally when the author shifts from one character to another or flashback to present I like for it to have some sort of structure...order, the author made me forget my OCD ways and I just let go. Some people may have issues with the flow of this book; it was a little bewildering at first but as I became engrossed with the story it was a natural shift from one character to another; it had me with bated breath anticipating the unknown. The cover is gorgeous and the book was exactly was I was looking for, an escape a GREAT read.

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

My Apologies!!!!

My sincerest apologies to H.D. Gordon and her editor, Nicole Passante.  

I started this blog for fun and have absolutely no clue what I am doing and somehow my blog got scheduled in for a Blog Tour! I have no clue how to host a Blog Tour nor how to even begin! 

H.D. Gordon is a great author with honest straight-forward storytelling and although I may not know what I am doing please show her some love on my blog!

The Blood Warrior Series (Alexa Montgomery Saga) is available at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, & smashwords.com 

 My reviews at Goodreads & Amazon are below.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12570845-blood-warrior and

http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A6HV7VZOC9SE/ref=cm_pdp_rev_title_1?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R20N1EIDQSG7V9

Redemption Blog Tour

Schedule

12/17/2012

shareAread

http://shareAread.com

Tour Kick-Off Post

12/17/2012

My Book Boyfriend

http://www.mybookboyfriend.blogspot.com/

Excerpt

12/18/2012

A. M. Hargrove

http://www.amhargrove.blogspot.com

Excerpt

12/18/2012

Passionate Book Divas

http://www.passionatebookdivas.com

Teaser

12/19/2012

Dark Obsession Chronicles

http://darkobsessionchronicles.blogspot.com/

Author Interview

12/20/2012

Delphina Reads Too Much

www.delphinareadstoomuch.com

Review

12/21/2012

Karla Calzada

http://karlacc-bookaddict.blogspot.mx/

This or That

12/21/2012

Happy tails and tales

http://magluvsya03.wordpress.com

Character interview

12/24/2012

A Diary of a Book Addict

http://adiaryofabookaddict.blogspot.com/

Guest post

12/25/2012

random jendsmit

http://randomjendsmit.blogspot.com

Review

12/26/2012

Doctor's Notes

http://doctorsnotes-shy.blogspot.com

Review

12/27/2012

Rumor Has It

www.rumorhasitummhmm.blogspot.com

Excerpt

12/28/2012

Never Ending Stories

http://www.neverendingstoriesbookblog.com/?m=1

Guest post

12/31/2012

Kahlolily's Reads

http://kahlolilysreads.blogspot.com/2012_11_01_archive.html

Review

01/01/2012

Shut Up & Read

http://shutupandreadgroup.blogspot.com/

Review

01/01/2012

Nic2

http://nicsquared.com/

Tour Wrap-Up Post 

Happy New Year!

Happy 2013!

I want to wish all those out there a Prosperous New Year 

filled with health, love, peace, and happiness!

Just waking up from a night with delightful noisy neighbors celebrating the New Year well into the morning hours. Just had a cup of Cafe de Olla and looking forward to eating some yummy Pozole my mother-in-law made; she still won't part with the recipe mind you ;)

I hope everyone has a beautiful and blessed day and enjoys a start to a wonderful 2013. A new beginning whether it is getting started with a lifestyle change (I refuse to say to say the D word), organizing your house, stop smoking, drinking, or whatever vice you have that has been getting you down. I wish everyone the best. Remember everyday is a blessing, Carpe Diem...seize the day!