Monthly Archives: August 2012

Wishlist Wednesday # 22

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen to Paper. It is the place to showcase one book that has been on our wishlist. Click on the image if you feel like joining in on the fun.

On My Wishlist is: Solstice by Donna Burgess

Blurb from Amazon:
On the eve of winter Solstice, a massive flash envelopes the Earth and then there is nothing. The sun no longer shines and civilization is plunged into unending darkness. Those exposed to the mysterious flash have changed—they have become bloodthirsty, cunning, and determined to devour anyone who is not infected. They are Ragers.

In Sweden, a group of uneasy travelers hears a broken broadcast. There is hope.
Something called Sanctuary waits, but it is thousands of miles away, somewhere on the shores of the British Isles.

Meanwhile, in a London supermarket, a high school English teacher from the States finds himself stranded along with a handful of students on a senior trip. Outside, hoards of hungry Ragers await, ready to tear them limb from limb. Their only hope is to find Sanctuary.

That is an amazing cover. I love how blue and wintery it is. Winter is one of my favorite seasons. I think her shoulder is at a weird angle though.

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday

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Tags: Donna Burgess, paranormal, Solstice, zombies

Review: Guardian of Fate by L.J Kentowski

Aug 3

Posted by Persephone

Title: Guardian of Fate
Author: L.J Kentowski
Series: Guardian of Fate # 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: E-book
Source: Bewitching Book Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz/ B&N/ Smashwords
I receive this novel free of charge from BBT in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:
Fear of death is all too common. Visions of it chill the bones and skip heartbeats. Seeing it coming and knowing only you can rescue the soul of the victim from the fiery bowels of hell…that’s downright life-altering.

Cassandra Cosgrove’s life was altered at the age of sixteen when she found out that it was her responsibility to save the lives, and ultimately the souls, of innocent victims targeted by Hell’s demons. As impossible as it seemed at first, she was able to live a fairly normal life, while secretly fulfilling her obligation as a Guardian of Fate.

But years later Fate has its own plan when her visions begin drastically changing at the same time two mysterious men appear in her life. Cassandra suddenly finds herself caught in a battle between good and evil, with her own soul on the line. When it seems everyone in her life has a secret they’ve been hiding from her, who can she trust to be the Guardian of her Fate?

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A Heaven and Hell battling each other novel that doesn’t use the word “fallen angels” to describe Hell’s demons. This novel is a good novel, it has a good story that just needed a half-decent male lead with a stronger female lead.

Let’s talk about Cassie. She is a Guardian who saves people from dying prematurely and I imagine she does a pretty good job except not when the novel takes place. She has about four visions yet she only manages to act one vision but her life is changing dramatically so I will cut her a break. She masquerades herself as being strong and half of the time, she is. The other half, she is failing but trying to hold her ground against an aggressive male lead. She is not a bad female lead; she just needs a little more of a backbone which she begins to obtain towards the end of the story. Looking forward to that.

Hunter is the main love interest for Cassie and I can’t stress enough how much I dislike him. He has no respect for personal boundaries; he is constantly invading Cassie’s mouth without her permission. He is this dominant sexual person who needs to have Cassie bend his way. Hunter corners Cassie and forces himself on her because he believes that she secretly wants him (and half off the time she does). The thing is that Cassie is saying “No” and he takes it as “Yes” which for me is problematic because it is feeding the myth that “No means yes” when it comes to sex. Kentowski makes Cassie appear to be a sexually repressed person that needs to be force to admit that she wants sex because she won’t willingly admit she wants sex. That’s why Hunter plays the role that he does and why he invades Cassie’s personal bubble. For me, this couple is not one I root for because I dislike how Hunter treats Cassie but if you like dominant males then this relationship shouldn’t be a problem. It probably makes the book more exciting, I don’t know.

Besides Hunter, the book was well-written and it had a good story. It is a war between heaven and hell with hell playing a more dominant role in moving the story forward. Heaven only intervenes when it suits them which means at the end of the book lol. This novel dropped the world-building on the reader right at the start. It start off explaining the world we are entering and settles down for the entry of Cassie. Don’t be alarmed by how fast everything is explained, everything is not given away. There are still a few surprises left.

The world of Cassie is interesting. She is Guardian who protects people, Seekers are demons who want to kill Guardians, two powerful angels that have a love-betrayal story, and a secret council of Elder Guardians. The war between Heaven and Hell is different in this book than it is in other books. It is not about angels, fallen angels that are actually good or bad, or even nephlism. It is much more about new types of individuals fighting a war. Seekers were created in response to address a decrease in the souls in Hell. It is a new form of warfare that is still marred with angel blood and issues. The novel doesn’t have a philosophy or theology aspect to it so religion doesn’t appear in the book.

In the end, it is a good book. The world building is stronger than the characters. Cassie and Hunter have no sense of defining what personal boundaries are. I’m somewhat looking forward to the second book because this novel implies that Cassie will be taking a trip to Hell and I love knowing how authors describe Hell. It just happens that the Hunter might be a deterrent. Who knows? I’ll wait and see.