Forged By Battle (WarVerse, #1) by Patrick J. Loller

Aliens changed the world. 
Portals changed reality. 
Shadows will destroy us all. 


The year is 2042, and in the wake of alien contact and rapid expansion, Humanity and her allies find the multi-verse is not a welcoming place. Portals have opened around the colonies and throughout critical systems. Gateways to realities where shapeshifting Elves, monstrous Elementals, and impossible magic hold sway. As the Joint Fleet battles the unbelievable, rapid advancements in technology are pressed, blending the lines between machine and men. 

On the front lines of the conflict a techno-phobic snub-fighter pilot tries to forget his loss, a captured surgeon struggles to save the unending wounded, and an exiled psionic commando infiltrates the fleet. Their paths lead to the planet Hecate, where they discover that something darker than magic or technology is growing, feeding off the chaos. 

Forging an alliance seems impossible, but if they should fail it will not mean the loss of a colony or system, it will mean annihilation. The real war has begun among the shadows, and every reality will feel the impact in WarVerse.

REVIEW: ***

The author requested I review this book and I was happy to do so. 

I had a hard time getting into this book at first..the first few chapters were confusing and a bit dry. There was no real references to anything I would be familiar with and no background to explain what was going on. It was a difficult few chapters to read but I pushed through. 

The story itself was interesting and the writing was done well. Once I plowed through the first few chapters the book became more interesting and the characters more real to me. It took time though. And I was still a bit confused at times over what was happening and who the players in the story were and how they related to the main characters. Like I said...no background at all. There was no real explanation of who the "elves" were or the other alien races they talked about. I had no idea why they were fighting or what caused the conflict to begin with. I wish the author would have spent some of those pages in the book explaining things a bit more. It helps to have a point of reference in a science fiction story that helps relate what is happening to something you can actually understand. 

I did enjoy the book overall. The story was different and intriguing, if a bit short on explanation. 

Book Finished: 03-20-2015

Levitate by Kaylee Ryan

Trust. Five Letters. One Word.

I'm the girl who doesn't let anyone in. My world was shattered and turned upside down in one night. Since then I've been trying to live, if that's what you call it, but fighting the anxiety of what happened and trusting others is hard. Each day is a struggle to reach for the unknown.

Truth. Five Letters. One Word.

I watched my father give my mother the world and the stars. She took everything from him, then left him as a broken man with nothing to live for. I told myself I'd never fall in love. I'm guarding my heart and emotions, only looking out for number one. The only way to have truth in any relationship is to stay true to yourself.

Just when you think you've got it all figured out, you realize your puzzle is unfinished. You find a piece you never thought you needed until everything changes with one touch.

After that...you levitate. 

REVIEW: ****

This was a heartfelt book. Very emotional and easy to read. The characters were easy to understand and relate to and the romance was sweet. It did not move overly fast (I hate it when they fall in love in less than a day or two), but it was a steadily building relationship. It was well written and well paced throughout the entire book. I did think some of the things...like her fathers quick acceptance...was a bit trite but it did not diminish from the story. 

Finished book: 04-26-2015

His Proposed Deal by Sandi Lynn

THREE MONTHS. IT WAS ONLY FOR THREE MONTHS.
My name is Emma Knight and I’m a twenty-four-year-old woman who was moving from Miami to New York to pursue my dream of attending Parsons School of Design. My plan was set in motion. I was packed and already on my way when I met a man and received an email, both of which altered my plans and changed the course of my life.
Max Hamilton, a twenty-five-year-old, panty-melting, rich playboy who was being groomed to take over Hamilton Securities, told me it was for only three months. His proposed deal was that I had to pose as his fiancée until his twenty-sixth birthday so he could collect his trust fund. I’d help him and, in return, he’d help me achieve my dream. It was a win-win situation, right? 
WRONG.
Love was never part of the deal and neither was the secret that Max could never find out about.

REVIEW: **

I am not a big fan of this book. It felt totally unemotional. I could not really get into the characters - any of them - at all. It felt forced, not free flowing. I think it was the way the author wrote...it felt more like a teenager writing than an adult. It was choppy at times and very basic. Even the sex scenes were not all that sexy. I got no real feeling of connection between the two and there was no real tension (either sexual or otherwise) in the book. 

I have no idea how one author can evoke multiple emotions out of a reader and another one can hardly stir up an interest in a character. Its not my thing since I am not an author, but this book fell flat. Even the issue at the end (I don't want to spoil it) but that evoked no tears, worry, tension etc. I really just did not care too much what happened. 


Book completed: 04-27-2015

Chubby Chaser by Kahoko Yamada

Sara Krason, still reeling from the loss of her mother and still suffering from the psychological scars caused by her classmates bullying her over her weight, just wants to finish her last year of high school in peace, but that is made impossible when she starts tutoring Jason Pruitt, an arrogant, handsome high-school football star, who, unbeknownst to her, has made a bet with his friends that he can win her affections, the shrewish, homely, overweight girl no one at school likes.


REVIEW: *

I did not really like this book at all. It was billed as a romance...or at least the blurb implied it would be a YA romance..even the title implicates it was. But THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE by any means so if thats what you are looking for then do not read this book. The characters were horrible people. Arrogant, Cruel, nasty, bullies etc. If I went to a high school like this I think I would have quit. This story is more of what happens to someone when they are bullied and harrassed for years. It is violent, very sexual in nature and not recommended for anyone under 18. Personally I don't recommend this to anyone.

I noticed that there is now a warning on the Goodreads site about this book not being a romance.  (WARNING: This is not a romance novel. It is a young-adult tragedy. There is mature content (sex and violence). Reader discretion is advised. )  

I wish that warning was there BEFORE I picked this one up. 

An Officer's Duty (Theirs Not to Reason Why #2) by Jean Johnson

Jean Johnson—the national bestselling author of the Sons of Destiny novels—returns to the world she introduced in A Soldier’s Duty with a terrible vision of the future... 

Promoted in the field for courage and leadership under fire, Ia is now poised to become an officer in the Space Force Navy—once she undertakes her Academy training. But on a trip back home to Sanctuary, she finds the heavyworld colony being torn apart by religious conflict. Now Ia must prepare her family and followers to secure the galaxy’s survival. Her plan is to command a Blockade Patrol ship. Her goal, to save as many lives as she can. But at the Academy, she discovers an unexpected challenge: the one man who could disrupt those plans. The man whose future she cannot foresee... 

REVIEW: ***

This is the second book in the series and it picks up right where the first book left off. Again it was a good book, but a bit shallow on the supporting characters and a bit long winded in descriptions of the ships/weapons which bores me a bit. It did move the story forward..but it feels like the real story hasn't really started yet. Book 3 is on my list next so we will see how that one stacks up. 

The Hawk and His Boy (The Tormay Trilogy #1) by Christopher Bunn

One night in the city of Hearne, a young thief named Jute is instructed to break into a wizard's house and steal an old wooden box. It sounds like a straightforward job. Climb down the chimney, creep through the house, find the thing and get out. Unbeknownst to the boy, however, the box contains the knife that killed the Wind. Overcome with curiosity, Jute opens the box, setting off a chain of events that soon has him on the run from the wizard, his old masters in the Thieves Guild, and their client, who happens to be the Lord of Darkness himself. On his odyssey of escape, Jute is aided by an unlikely assortment of friends, including a guilt-ridden assassin, a reluctant wizard, and a hawk who just might be able to teach him how to fly. But the Darkness will do anything to find Jute, even if it means plunging the whole land into war.


REVIEW: **

So so book. It was a bit slow and boring in places. I did not like that its supposed to be about a young boy and his friends, but you barely saw the boy (Jute) in this book. Only a few small chapters of his role. The rest of the book was taken up with those I suppose are to be his companions in this "epic quest" story, but not a single one met up with the others. The whole book felt like one long set up to meeting and then ended without any of them actually meeting up or doing anything. Not sure I want to continue with this series. 

A Soldier's Duty (Theirs Not to Reason Why #1) by Jean Johnson

Ia is a precog, tormented by visions of the future where her home galaxy has been devastated. To prevent this vision from coming true, Ia enlists in the Terran United Planets military with a plan to become a soldier who will inspire generations for the next three hundred years-a soldier history will call Bloody Mary.

REVIEW: ***

This is the second time I have read this book. It is a good, solid story...if a bit too descriptive of weapons and ships etc. at times. I went back to re-read it since I obtained the second book in the series and needed to remember more details from the first book before starting the second. 

It is an interesting story line about a woman who can see the future and how she deals with it to prevent a future of desolation. She is trying to save the universe, and her character is well fleshed out and fun to read about, but the side characters are flat, less filled out and easy to forget. Ia does not develop any real relationships, not deep ones anyway, and it makes the lesser characters less as well. 

Overall a good read.