Book Review: Souls Unite (The Soul Wars: Book 4) by J.D. Blackrose

Souls Unite (The Soul Wars: Book 4)

by J.D. Blackrose
November 21, 2017
Falstaff Books
Pages: 120
Souls Unite is the breathtaking fourth installment in the Soul Wars series, begun in Souls Collide.

A mysterious informant draws Valkyrie Kara away from her vampire charge Gaspard to whisper dark secrets of past vengeance and broken promises.

Can Kara trust the shocking revelations the stranger shares? Can Kara keep Gaspard safe from the perils of the Soul Wars?

The Soul Wars novella series is a new series of short novels, similar to BookShots. Souls Collide is the first in the series by urban fantasy author J.D. Blackrose.

In Book 4 of the Soul Wars, Gaspard and Kara prepare for the coming battle. Kara is given information that may help them with the war, but the informant who prefers to keep their identity secret and they worry that they can’t trust this mysterious informant. Gaspard has no desire to for Kara to meet with this informant on her own but concedes he must allow her to do her job after all she’s a Valkyrie and is more than capable of protecting herself.

Gaspard and Kara find themselves more drawn to each other than ever before. Kara does not want to love someone, and Gaspard is trying desperately to respect her wishes. As Kara faces her mortality, it may be the tipping point in their relationship.

Blackrose is a gifted writer who can write fast-paced novellas without sacrificing her characters or the story. An excellent supernatural fantasy series you will want to check out!

Review: Souls Collide (The Soul Wars: Book 1) 
Review: Souls Fall (The Soul Wars: Book 2)
Review: Souls Rise (The Soul Wars: Book 3)

Getting 5 sheep

Denise B

Pre-order the collection of all four books. A print version will be available too!

The Soul Wars: Collected Edition

December 12, 2017

466 pages

About the Author:
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J.D. Blackrose is the fantasy pen name of Joelle Reizes. She loves all things storytelling and celebrates great writing by posting about it on her website, www.slipperywords.com.

When not writing, Blackrose lives with three children, an enormous orange cat, her husband and a full-time job in Corporate Communications. She’s fearful that so-called normal people will discover exactly how often she thinks about wicked fairies, nasty wizards, homicidal elevators, and the odd murder. As a survival tactic, she has mastered the art of looking interested.

Book Review: Souls Fall (The Soul Wars: Book 2) by J.D. Blackrose + excerpt

Souls Fall (The Soul Wars: Book 2)
by J.D. Blackrose
July 27, 2017
Pages: 119
Book 2 of the stunning new fantasy series The Soul Wars, this novella continues the action begun in Souls Collide.

A visit from the obnoxious Simon Whitleigh, a representative of the Vampire U.S. Assembly, reveals how far Gaspard’s enemies will go to in order to remove Gaspard from influence and power. Meanwhile, Kara meets an interesting neighbor who must be handled with care.

The Soul Wars novella series is a new series of short novels, similar to BookShots. Souls Fall is the second in the series by urban fantasy author J.D. Blackrose.

Gaspard and Kara return in book 2 of the Soul Wars series with Souls Fall. The novella’s that make up the Soul Wars series are short, easy reads but with a great story line. Each book focuses on one story that connects to the previous book and doesn’t overwhelm you.

A seethe from the Northeast region has arrived and they appear to have an agenda. Simon, who represents the Vampire Assembly is requesting that Kara consult for his region for a month’s time. Things quickly spiral out of control and there seems to be more going on than meets the eye.

The chemistry between Gaspard and Kara is interesting and I hope that it is examined more closely in the next book.

Review: Souls Collide (The Soul Wars: Book 1) 

Getting 5 sheep

Denise B

Excerpt:
Rikassa, normally surefooted, skidded on the loose ground and almost pitched Kara headfirst. Rikassa righted herself, raced forward, and plunged headlong back into the marsh, unerringly heading toward the mansion grounds. Kara slipped off Rikassa, so as not to hit her head on branches, and splashed behind her mount. The horse whinnied, and the horses in Gaspard’s barn whinnied in response, sensing her anxiety. Kara stopped a moment to catch her breath and get her bearings, knee deep in swamp muck. It was only then that she saw the white sign, hanging askew from one nail on a large bald cypress tree, practically swallowed by Spanish moss but still readable. “No Entrance! This means you! Fear your death!”

Someone must have put that up there to keep trespassers out of Gaspard’s land, Kara thought. The sign was ridiculously dramatic. Gaspard wouldn’t hurt anyone for wandering on his land by mistake, and he most certainly wouldn’t kill them. She reconsidered for a moment, revised her opinion, and spoke out loud to her horse. “Okay, he might kill someone, but it would be for a very good reason, and after a lot of thought. I wonder who put up that sign?”

The horse shivered, her withers shaking and her tail swishing in unease, letting Kara know that she didn’t care about the sign and it was time to go. Kara led Rikassa away from the bank, comforting her with her hands and voice until they reached the barn. Usually, Rikassa didn’t sleep in the barn, but they both smelled bad and the horse needed a bath and brushing. Horse first, myself later. It was one of the first things her sister Valkyries taught her when she was brought into Odin’s service.

As she tended to her horse, a niggling thought squirmed its way to the forefront of her brain. That overly dramatic No Entrance sign hadn’t been facing the swamp to keep people out of Gaspard’s land. It had been facing inward, warning Gaspard’s guests and residents not to enter the wetlands at that spot. Whatever that creature was, it must be a killer.

About the Author:
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J.D. Blackrose is the fantasy pen name of Joelle Reizes. She loves all things storytelling and celebrates great writing by posting about it on her website, www.slipperywords.com.

When not writing, Blackrose lives with three children, an enormous orange cat, her husband and a full-time job in Corporate Communications. She’s fearful that so-called normal people will discover exactly how often she thinks about wicked fairies, nasty wizards, homicidal elevators, and the odd murder. As a survival tactic, she has mastered the art of looking interested.

Book Review: Souls Collide (The Soul Wars: Book 1) by J.D. Blackrose

Souls Collide (The Soul Wars: Book 1)

by J.D. Blackrose
June 2 2017
Pages: 120
A Valkyrie and a Vampire battle together for the fate of the world in Book 1 of The Soul Wars, a stunning new fantasy series!

Kara, a Norse Valkyrie warrior, and Gaspard, a centuries-old vampire, find themselves in an improbable alliance to prevent the Soul Wars, an epic battle between vampires with souls and those without, which a real god swears could shake the very foundations of the Earth. Can Kara and Gaspard set aside their natural enmity, or stranger yet, nurture their unexpected feelings for one another while fighting for their lives?

In Souls Collide, Book 1 of The Soul Wars - Things thought long dead reappear, forcing Kara, Gaspard and their paranormally sensitive neighbor Adelaide, to work together to put them to rest forever, or at least, for now. Kara and Gaspard’s growing attraction forces Kara to reconsider her feelings about vampires and her belief that they are soulless monsters.

The Soul Wars novella series is a new series of short novels, similar to BookShots. Souls Collide is the first in the series by urban fantasy author J.D. Blackrose.

Gaspard is a very old vampire who is protected by Kara, a Valkyrie who is on loan to him. Gaspard wants to help his elderly neighbor, Adelaide, who unknown to her is somewhat of a distant relative to him. Adelaide, is a tough, spunky, 80-year old lady who is sensitive to ghosts. She wants to preserve her family’s history even though in the past they were slave owners who were horrible to their slaves.

This novella is the first of four by urban fantasy author J.D Blackrose, and is an easy read. Even though the novella was short it was well written and developed. I enjoyed the story so much I wished it would have been longer. I look forward to reading the next books in the series.

Getting 5 sheep

Denise B

About the Author:
website-FB

J.D. Blackrose is the fantasy pen name of Joelle Reizes. She loves all things storytelling and celebrates great writing by posting about it on her website, www.slipperywords.com.

When not writing, Blackrose lives with three children, an enormous orange cat, her husband and a full-time job in Corporate Communications. She’s fearful that so-called normal people will discover exactly how often she thinks about wicked fairies, nasty wizards, homicidal elevators, and the odd murder. As a survival tactic, she has mastered the art of looking interested.

Book Review: Freed (Phoebe Meadows Book 2) by Amanda Carlson

Freed: (Phoebe Meadows Book 2)

by Amanda Carlson
254 pages
September 18, 2016 

Phoebe Meadows has one thing on her mind: Free her mother.

For the last month, Phoebe has been training in the Valkyrie stronghold readying for battle. But when she stumbles into a secluded valley after a day of grueling practice, she’s given a dire prediction. Phoebe must leave the stronghold immediately with the aid of the giant, Junnal, to rescue her mother from the dark elves. If Phoebe fails, Leela will be transported to a place that can no longer be reached.

Leaving Fen behind threatens to undo her, but Phoebe stays true to the mission. Along the way, she allies with the god Baldur and an old white elf mage. Together, they storm the realm, and with the help of an angry wolf and her Valkyrie sisters, they just might stand a chance to free the valiant shieldmaiden.

But Phoebe soon learns that in order to save her mother, she might lose something too precious to sacrifice…

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"Zena, Princess Warrior". My first thought after reading the initial chapters! 

Confession: I didn't read Volume 1 in this series so I felt a little frustration in trying to put together her history and the character development of the other players. It took me a while to figure out exactly what was going on with the story but setting that aside I knew I liked Amanda Carlson's writing and was determined to continue it as a "stand-alone" for this review. Some authors are really talented at inserting a small synopsis intertwined in the first few chapters and I would recommend that in most series.

OK, after that small glitch I became totally engrossed in the story of Phoebe and the rescue of her mother from the dark elves. I loved the characters, scene development, the humanization of Phoebe and the way the author drew the reader in on Phoebe's emotions. The action keeps you on your toes and the end will leave you salivating for more.

There were elves, giants, trolls, shifters, Gods and some new PN that fit nicely in the story. Once I decided I loved the main character I flew through the rest of the read. Kudos on an enjoyable series. I will be looking forward to the next installment!

Another confession: After finishing this read I looked back in my "library" and found that I did have the first installment hidden among my many books marked as "to read"! Shame on me for not taking the time to snake that out earlier!

Review: Struck (Phoebe Meadows #1)

Getting 4 "make me a Valkyrie" sheep!

Jeanie G

About the Author:

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I’m a Minnesota girl, born and bred. I started writing stories about teenage girls and their social missteps when I was in high school. I still have the handwritten spiral notebooks to prove it.

I started writing FULL BLOODED. because kickass heroines rock and I love shifters of all kinds. There aren’t enough warm-blooded girls to go around, in my opinion. I fell into Jessica’s story and had such a great time writing it and now I couldn’t imagine writing anything other than urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When you’re creating a story in this fantastic genre, it can contain almost any elements you can dream up. Creatively, for me, there’s nothing better.

Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a BA in both Speech and Hearing Science & Child Development. She went on to get an A.A.S in Sign Language Interpreting and worked as an interpreter until her first child was born. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three kids.

Book Review: Struck (Phoebe Meadows #1) by Amanda Carlson

Struck (Phoebe Meadows #1)

by Amanda Carlson

May 24th 2016

Paperback, 328 pages

When Phoebe Meadows gets struck by a strange light in the stockroom of Macy’s, life as she knows it flies out the window. As if being hit by lightning isn’t bad enough, she’s accosted in the subway by a man with a missing hand, arrives home to find a raven on her kitchen counter, and her neighbor, Ingrid, shows up dressed like a gladiator hell-bent on protecting her.

Before Ingrid can shuttle her to safety, Phoebe is kidnapped and tossed into one of the Nine Worlds where she’s quickly forced to come to terms with what she is: A valkyrie. The only problem is, she has no idea what that means.

After a narrow escape, she finds an unlikely ally in Loki’s son, Fenrir. Together the valkyrie and the wolf must battle their way back to New York City and reach the valkyrie stronghold where Ingrid is waiting for her. But with danger and obstacles at every turn, she might not live long enough to learn the full truth about who and what she really is. 

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There is plenty of Norse mythology in Struck, with the author putting her own unique spin on it. Phoebe Meadows is struck by lightning at work! If that wasn’t weird enough, she finds a large raven on her kitchen counter and her neighbor, Ingrid, tells Phoebe she is a Valkyrie, one of Odin’s shield-maidens and the daughter of Leela, a Valkyrie and Odin, leader of the Norse gods. Phoebe had been hidden on Midgard (Earth) and raised by human parents that she had always believed were her real ones. But after Ingrid hands her a knife of Odin, Phoebe is kidnapped and thrown into one of the Nine Worlds. She escapes the first one by Yggdrasil, the tree of life, but ends up in the world of the fire demons and where Fenrir the wolf, demigod, and offspring of Loki, has been imprisoned for hundreds of years. Except Fen (as she calls him) is not a wolf most of the time, but a hunk she finds herself attracted to. Both managed to make a getaway to Midgard.

Even with the action, the story begins ponderous. I felt the real story started when Phoebe escaped back home to earth and the story became less laborious. Fen and Phoebe telling each other they loved one another is too quick to be realistic in my opinion. If you enjoy Norse mythology and urban fantasy, this novel gives it to the reader.

I gave Struck 4 sheep.

Pamela Kinney

About the Author:

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I’m a Minnesota girl, born and bred. I started writing stories about teenage girls and their social missteps when I was in high school. I still have the handwritten spiral notebooks to prove it.

I started writing FULL BLOODED. because kickass heroines rock and I love shifters of all kinds. There aren’t enough warm-blooded girls to go around, in my opinion. I fell into Jessica’s story and had such a great time writing it and now I couldn’t imagine writing anything other than urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When you’re creating a story in this fantastic genre, it can contain almost any elements you can dream up. Creatively, for me, there’s nothing better.

Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a BA in both Speech and Hearing Science & Child Development. She went on to get an A.A.S in Sign Language Interpreting and worked as an interpreter until her first child was born. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three kids.

Book Review:Heart of a Lion (Dark Sun Dawn Book 1) by Stephen Zimmer

Heart of a Lion (Dark Sun Dawn Book 1)
by Stephen Zimmer (Goodreads Author), Scott Sandridge (Editor), Bonnie Wasson (Illustrator)Kindle Edition, 234 pages
Published February 2nd 2015

by Seventh Star Press

Rayden Valkyrie. She walks alone, serving no king, emperor, or master. Forged in the fires of tragedy, she has no place she truly calls home.

A deadly warrior wielding both blade and axe, Rayden is the bane of the wicked and corrupt. To many others, she is the most loyal and dedicated of friends, an ally who is unyielding in the most dangerous of circumstances.

The people of the far southern lands she has just aided claim that she has the heart of a lion. For Rayden, a long journey to the lands of the far northern tribes who adopted her as a child beckons, with an ocean lying in between.

Her path will lead her once more into the center of a maelstrom, one involving a rising empire that is said to be making use of the darkest kinds of sorcery to grow its power. Making new friends and discoveries amid tremendous peril, Rayden makes her way to the north.

Monstrous beasts, supernatural powers, and the bloody specter of war have been a part of her world for a long time and this journey will be no different. Rayden chooses the battles that she will fight, whether she takes up the cause of one individual or an entire people.

Both friends and enemies alike will swiftly learn that the people of the far southern lands spoke truly. Rayden Valkyrie has the heart of a lion.

Heart of a Lion is Book One of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy. 

Xena the Princess Warrior on Steroids!

This sage (yes, I feel like it was a saga..."a long and complicated series of events") centers around one main character....Rayden Valkyrie. Set in a time of "Kings", tribal Chiefs, Clansmen and what seems to be a prehistoric type creatures, Rayden begins her journey home across Mystic Kingdoms, arid deserts, vast seas and dangerous forests.

Along the way she encounters many hostile environments that tug on her attributes of fairness and desire to squash all types of oppression. In her travels she joins a caravan riding camels, a ship that delivers goods to foreign shores, a tribe of "uprising" slaves and an enemy clan she enlists to help open a path through the mountains to freedom for her charges. (Rather like the stories of the Norsemen)

Rayden is a tall, blonde young beauty with the intuition and fighting skills that more than rivals Xena, Princess Warrior. Her unassuming looks led many male warriors to underestimate her skills and paid the price.

The story was filled with page after page of violence and graphic killing scenes. There never seemed to be must respite for Rayden, always the champion and mainly the one in control. There were a couple supporting characters that at different times accompanied Rayden on her journey but I felt they were introduced to bring a little more meat (no pun intended) to the story. One of the characters, Ammanus, began the journey with Rayden but was left behind after she came to the rescue of a child being "sacrificed" to a local "God". He was never reintroduced in the story.

Romance was non-existent, which I guess is fine, but page after page of torture, revenge, bloodlust and death tended to take a toll on my psyche after a while. Even though the heroine was fearless, talented, loyal, wise and a champion for the oppressed, she seemed almost inhuman. But besides being very intuitive, I didn't feel a lot of paranormal skills in her arsenal.

I have to give "Kudos" to the author for the ability to paint a picture. The scenes left nothing out for those with a desire to hear a story of retaliation for the oppressed and a need for a strong savior to deliver the judgement!

I give this 3 1/2 "fighting" sheep!

JeanieG

About the Author:
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Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author and filmmaker. His works include the cross-genre series The Rising Dawn Saga, the epic fantasy Fires in Eden series, the Hellscapes horror short story collection, the Chronicles of Ave fantasy short story collection, and the Harvey and Solomon steampunk tales. He is based out of Lexington, Kentucky and you can find his site at www.stephenzimmer.com