#Review:: A Wild and Unremarkable Thing

A Wild and Unremarkable Thing

Author: Jen Castleberry
Publisher: Parliament House Press
Release Date: December 7th, 2017
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Cayda has spent her entire life training to slay a Fire Scale. Now the time has come to leave her dragon-ravaged village behind, march into the Summer Alps, and reap the rewards of a Champion. But the road between poverty and prosperity is rife with beasts, betrayals, and baser temptations. Sensible Cayda soon discovers she’s not the only Champion with her eye on the prize, or the only one wearing a disguise.

A Wild and Unremarkable Thing pits girl against dragon in a stunning blend of Greek mythology and medieval lore. Don’t miss the thrilling novella that readers are calling poetic, enchanting, and a must-read for fans of fantasy! 

BOOK LINKS::

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble| Parliament House

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 My thoughts...

Let's talk about that amazing cover! I didn't even realize that there was a 'thing' in the background at first.. I legit think this is the first time I've seen it! LOLz, AWAUT, was a great read.

 I loved Cody/Cayda, she is forced to pretend to be a man/ boy everyday of her life. She is trained (by trained, I mean that tough love crap people do to boys to make them stronger) to be fierce, and strong to kill a dragon. Cayda needs to become a champion to support her family. Her father is a ****, no way around that, mom can't help her but Cayda's sisters are treated like queen's by their father. But they are forced to work in a brothel. Unfortunately, Cayda isn't strong enough to stand up to their father but she does manage to save herself. So that's a win!  Not really sure why the father pampered the other sisters but not Cayda..maybe he felt guilt from forcing the girls to work in a brothel. It's weird dynamic to read because you want there to be camaraderie/love between the father and Cayda but she is seen as a means to an end. An end of being poor, and not respected, if Cody wins the townspeople will have no choice but to respect Cody's family. Cody/Cayda develops like two personalities because she's forced to be this man/boy in public. All Cody wants to do is win, and support her sisters. Cayda takes her failures personal because she knows she holds the power to provide for her sisters. We meet Penn who happens to be the God of  death, in human form. Who comes out every 15 years, to find a replacement. Penn was interesting to read, because you expect him to be terrible but he's not. I mean he is thee God of Death, and he might have a crush on Cayda.. Penn also helps Cody when he needs help. Wolfe was a terrible character who had it coming. Cayda sisters meet Fares who was attacked but they don't know that he's the crowned prince. Nothing like romance, and heartache to save the day! I loved the ending, happy for Cayda and her family!

 My rating 4/5

  **I received an ARC of this book from Parliament House Press in exchange for an honest review. **

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About the Author

Jen Castleberry resides in Virginia Beach with her husband and pets. Her background is in Communications and Animal Welfare. All of her pets are named after superheroes!

#Review:: Blue Bottle Tree by Beaird Glover

Blue Bottle Tree by Beaird Glover
Publisher: Parliament House Press
Release Date: October 24th, 2017
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Magic

There’s no such thing as Voodoo. At least that’s what most of the Baptists in Bellin tell themselves. But Seven LaVey knows better.

In a small rural town just outside of Nashville, Voodoo conjures and curses simmer and seethe under the noses of the many who will never know. Seventeen-year-old Seven romanticizes about the meaning of life while held captive as a zombie under the shell of a kiddie pool. He's counting on the strength - and maybe even love - of a certain redheaded clarinet player to save him. But will she?

Filled with betrayal and revenge, two families struggle with a curse that stretches back to Queen of the Voodoos Marie Laveau in this contemporary Southern Gothic adventure. Prepare for a wildly original twist on the paranormal.

BOOK LINKS::

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Parliament House

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 This book was a great read! I love, love, love reading about Voodoo! Even though, that means that I cannot sleep at night..But who needs sleep, when you got books to keep you up! Honestly, there were some parts of this book that kept me up because it was too much! Let's talk characters first, Seven reminded me Powder, from the movie Powder..Yeeah, he wasn't the best but I like him a lot. I didn't like how behind he was in everything. But we learn that Penny is highly annoying, and I'm sorry Seven thought they would be great... Not that she wanted to be a unicorn but it would've made me like her more.. Seven's grandmother was amazing, she very much reminded me of the grandmother from Holes.. You know the one who cursed Shia's family? Madam Zeroni, ugh I loved her! 

This book moved so fast, one minute Seven is stalking an unknown girl, and BOOM! She's being tricked/played by a crazy man into thinking that Seven is trying to curse her. Why? Well Seven's bloodline is from Marie Laveau, thee Voodoo Queen. Except, Seven knows what his family can do but he was never taught/learned anything due to an old treaty that his grandmother signed. The first half of this book moved slow, but the second half picked up. As much as I liked this story at times it was hard to keep the storyline/plot straight. There was so much happening, one minute Penny hates Seven the next shes possessed by spirits, and Seven is almost dead. It was a lot but overall I did enjoy this story. I just wish we could've known more about Seven, he doesn't have much character development. Penny and Victor two other main characters, were juts super weird but I think that was part of their storyline.Victor's presence in the story was assaulting, I did not like reading about him at all. Nor did I enjoy reading about what happened with him and Penny. My rating is 3.5/5

  **I received an ARC of this book from Parliament House Press in exchange for an honest review. **

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About the Author 
 

Beaird Glover grew up on a farm outside of Obion, Tennessee. In 1991, he wrote a nonfiction book called Secret Ciphers of the 1876 Presidential Election (Aegean Park Press). He has traveled extensively and lived in eleven of the United Sates, and Taipei and Buenos Aires. His poetry was published in the New York Quarterly and his chapbook of poems was selected by the Austin Chronicle as one of the Top 10 Best of 1994. He works as a physician assistant hospitalist and lives in New Orleans with his wife Kim and their cats.  Website

#Review:: Hook & Crown by Nicole Knapp

Hook & Crown by Nicole Knapp 
Publisher: Parliament House Press
Release Date: June 11th, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings

You've heard of Neverland and its inhabitants... Fairies, pirates, mermaids and a boy who didn't want to grow up. But you can't always believe the stories.

Elena Hart arrives in London, bound for a new boarding school operated by her estranged uncle. A fresh start is exactly what she needs. But when strange things begin happening, things she can't explain, she begins to wonder if she has lost her mind.
Until the night a strange girl appears in her room, claiming to be a fairy from Neverland, come to take her to the fantasy world at the request of its ruler.
Skeptical, Elena refuses. But the following night, a young man with strange green eyes appears, and though she tries to resist his charms, something about him draws her in and Elena is whisked away from the world she knows, to a world she always thought was make believe.
But when she arrives in Neverland, it is nothing like the stories and Elena realizes that she must figure out for herself who the true heroes and villains are.

BOOK LINKS::

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

  | IndieBound  | Parliament House

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I don't read too many Peter Pan retelling's but this was great! I couldn't put the book down, I was blown away by Nicole's writing style. Too many times we see Captain Hook as the villain but never as as a just a male. A lonely male, at that, one who would rather sail the sea, and enjoy his time in paradise. While reading Hook & Crown, I much preferred to read about Captain Hook versus the other characters. Let's talk about Crown aka Peter Pan aka Aiden, he is not what you expect. Talk about having a chip on your shoulder, and all that jazz. Aiden is your typical "I know you want me..male), so there's not much to him. We don't get to see any character development with Aiden because he is a dreadful male, that you don't want to know. Much of what I read/learned of Aiden is from Captain Hook. Which I felt took away from story, we never got to know Aiden's side of the story. I tots get it, thou this story was mainly about Hook and Elena, and what they could be or rather the differences between the protagonist's and antagonist.  I just wish we learned more about Aiden also why does no one call him Peter Pan? I did love how both Hook and Aiden knew about the Peter Pan book, and both of them gave grim warnings saying "don't believe, everything yo read". How ominous of them!

 I was caught off guard, and wasn't expecting this story-line. Enter Elena broken-hearted for the umpteen-th time...It seems that she is a magnet for young males with one thing on their mind, and she gets hurt every time. So Elena, decides to move to London, with her uncle that she hasn't seen since the death of he parents. She wanted to stay in the states, and her uncle supported this, one too many heart breaks. So Elena, ditches the states to go to the UK, and try to move on with her life...Elena is "that girl", she fell hard for two characters, granted one was totally manipulating her into thinking that she wanted him but it still happened..So we can't trust her to be the best judge of people, even her own love life..Lol! 

It did feel like insta-love quite a few times, and there was a push to make Captain Hook a better male... But he was a dick sometime, which is expected, he is Captain Hook! I really did like the plot twist, did not see that coming at all. Also for the record, fairies suck! There is no Tinkerbell, which is great because she too sucks. Just when I was starting to develop second hand sadness for a few characters BAM! They become threatening, and the ending of the book took my by surprise, and I had to re-read the last few chapters because I thought I missed some parts. Prepare to be outdone, I am so here for the drama lama.


I enjoyed much of Hook & Crown, you would too if you read it! This is definitely one of those books that you have to read. I'm pretty sure there will be a sequel, be on the look out for that!  
My rating 3.5/5 
 

**I received an ARC of this book from Parliament House Press in exchange for an honest review. **

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About the Author 

Nicole Knapp is originally from California, currently living in Oklahoma. She loves to read and write Young Adult Romance, fantasy, and the classics. The Missing Piece is available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle version. Hook & Crown, a dark and twisted retelling of Peter Pan, is set to release in Autumn 2019 from Parliament House Publishing.

#Review:: Collateral Damage by Taylor Simonds

Collateral Damage by Taylor Simonds

Publisher: Parliament House Press
Release Date: June 25th, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Comics, Superheroes

Power. Courage. Invincibility. The marks of a true hero.

Meg Sawyer has none of these things.

Meg has never stopped a moving bus with her bare hands, been bitten by a radioactive insect, or done anything moderately resembling saving the world. She doesn't have to. She's a background citizen, a nobody, one of the swarms of faceless civilians of Lunar City--where genetically enhanced superhumans straight out of the comics have thwarted evil for years.

For as long as the Supers have existed, Meg has had one goal: to not become a casualty in their near-daily battles for justice. And for the last seventeen years, she's managed to do just that. Sure, her minimum-wage job at the local coffee shop isn’t great, she can’t even leave her apartment without loading herself up with protective gear, and her car was just hijacked to throw at a supervillain (again), but she’s not dead yet.

But when Meg accidentally finds one of the city's perfect, invincible protectors murdered under extremely suspicious circumstances, her whole “innocent bystander” strategy falls apart. After being coerced by his determined girlfriend into a mission to help prevent the deaths of the remaining Supers, Meg finds herself forced into the foreground of a story she never wanted to be part of—one that challenges everything she thought she knew about both her city and herself.

BOOK LINKS::

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 | Parliament House

 

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Honestly, Collateral Damage is a breath of fresh air! I read this entire book after dinner, I tried to stop but MEG is Uh-Maz-Ing! Literally I opened the book, and said It's about Superheroes..." LOL jokes on me because I really liked this book!

Meg Sawyer is everything, you hope your protagonist should/would/will be. Meg is strong willed, level-headed (which is a constant battle to keep her head attached to her shoulders), and vulnerable, which made her more relatable.Did I mention funny, sassy, amd  She has lost her mother tragically and then her father. Meg's father was lost to her the moment her mother, died. Meg is just trying to survive in a world, that she feels has no place for her. Meg becomes an orphan, living in terrible conditions, and eventually escapes to the city after learning to make fake ID's.

Why does the world have no place for Meg? Well there are Superheroes that protect the city but they destroy everything in the process, and are not held accountable for their actions. But that's okay, Meg tends to yell at the Superheroes or just let them know that their a nuisance. The Superheroes are everyday people given the opportunity to have powers to fight crime, and protect the city... Mean while people are dying, buildings, homes,cars, schools are being destroyed everyday. But the city is in a better place! Not to mention it takes forever to get reimbursed for the damages... Who would've thought that Superheroes protecting the city are the worst!?!?!?! 

Meg, and her band of do-gooders are the best back up a girl could ever have! If you're looking for a fun and easy ya to read, check out Collateral Damage! Even if the Superhero trope isn't your thing! My rating 4.8/5 (I was kind of hoping someone was exterminated...)

**I received an ARC of this book from Parliament House Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! That in no way affected my rating or review.**

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About the Author

Taylor Simonds is an Orlando-based professional manuscript editor with Write My Wrongs Editing. Taylor holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of Central Florida, and previous staff writing credits include CollegeFashion.net and MuggleNet.com. Taylor likes cosplaying, watching anime, buying fan art she’ll forget to hang up, and camping out for the next Marvel movie. Collateral Damage is her debut novel; the product of a dawning realization after years upon years of superhero fandom that although superheroes are cool, living next door to them would be decidedly not so. 

Contact Links:: Website | Twitter