Book Review: Scales (Book One of the Fate and Fire Series) By Amity Green

Scales (Book One of the Fate and Fire Series)

By Amity Green
September 1, 2018

260 pages
Publisher: Petrichor Press
ASIN: B018WZY15Y ISBN:
How does Tessa, an orphan from Austin, Texas, cope with being transformed into a living, breathing gargoyle? By rolling with change, learning to control new abilities, and using super powers to help the less-fortunate and vanquish evil. A sickly childhood under the care of a rotten gaggle of nuns is all Tessa knows, until studying in London confirms the gut feeling that there is more to her beneath the skin, and ultimately, beneath the scales. A Celtic demigoddess has fused her existence with Tessa, and much to Fate’s delight, mayhem ensues as Tessa struggles to embrace her new existence as a gargoyle with strong goddess tendencies.

Tessa has lived her life in an orphanage in Austin, Texas, until she has a chance to study one life-changing summer in London, England. As she prepares to return home, Tessa visits a bookstore. A man changes her into a gargoyle and she finds her path changed forever. Not only set in London, this fantasy novel is set in Scotland, too. There is romance with a fellow bookseller who is also a gargoyle, a bad guy named Kia, and others, including her American human girlfriend from Austin, Bree. It’s an origin story for the heroine.

If you enjoy paranormal romances and urban fantasies, Scales is a fun read styled just for you!

I gave Scales 4 sheep.

Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney

About the Author:

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Amity Green was born in a small town in Colorado in the spring of 1971. She graduated high school in Kingman, Arizona in 1989. She started taking college courses in the fall of 1992 while working as a raft guide on the Arkansas River. Amity won her first writing award as an essayist in the fall of 1998 and continued college part time while raising her children and working as a haul truck driver in the mining industry. In the summer of 2006, she went to Austin, Texas to continue her education. She has studied Creative Writing and British Literature, including a stint in London during the summer of 2010, where she toured and studied theater and the history of English Literature. Amity returned to Colorado in late 2010, where she began her first novel, "Scales" which she outlined in Stratford Upon Avon while touring bookstores and playhouses. Since then, many of her short stories have appeared in numerous published anthologies and continue to appear in new publications. In 2014 she moved to Manitou Springs, Colorado, where she currently resides and continues to produce works of Urban Fantasy and Horror. Amity is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and keeps steady attendance at local writers groups. A lover of animals, Amity is an advocate against animal abuse and assists with lost pets in her community.

New Release: Not Her Gargoyle by Annie Nicholas + giveaway

Not Her Gargoyle

by Annie Nicholas
publication date: June 18, 2018
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Ruby is done with jerks, dead-end jobs, and eviction notices. Everyone else she knows is finding ways out of this crappy neighborhood, so why can’t she? Since opportunities refuse to fall from the sky, Ruby makes her own. To hell with the little voice in her heart whispering about love. She never met a man she wanted to keep…then she met a gargoyle. Men were boring after all.

Nick was a con, a thief, and a rogue. He couldn’t keep a dime in his pocket even if it was glued. Then he met a ruby. Not one from the earth but one of flesh and blood. And ass. Let’s not forget the ass. Stealing her heart was now all he wanted.

He has a plan that could make both their dreams come true. It only involves an itsy-bitsy risk. All they must do is rob a witch.

Oh, and avoid the dragons.

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Grab your copy for only 99¢ during release week only!

EXCERPT:
A distant dragon roar made Nick miss a wing beat. He swirled out of control for a second and caught his balance. One of them was close and he bet it was Eoin. Masquerading as a human would help Nick avoid recapture. He increased his speed, heading back to the apartment.

Landing on Ruby’s fire escape, he found the window cracked open for him. He smiled at the small gesture of kindness. She was one of the sweetest women. He recalled how fiercely she’d protected her sister from the vampire and himself when they had invaded the apartment. That felt like forever ago. She had been ready to fight them both. Brave and beautiful and kind.

Once more he wondered why she didn’t have a mate.

Nick climbed inside and found her on the couch, feet propped on the coffee table as she watched the evening news. Three empty bottles of beer sat next to the couch.

“Honey, I’m home,” he sang out. He’d always wanted to say that.

She gave him a huge grin and waved him over. “Come sit with me.”

The couch seemed too small for the two of them so he sat on the floor in front of her instead, leaning his back against it.

“Look.” She pointed to the television. “More gargoyles.”

His brothers were on the evening news, flying over the city’s port. “Yeah, I know them.” The dragon would hear about this if he wasn’t already watching. Nick hoped his brothers would lie quiet for a few days so Eoin wouldn’t blast them from the skies.

Ruby draped herself over his shoulders and handed him a beer, rubbing her face on his skin. “You’re very warm.” She snuggled closer between his wings, her arms lazily circling his neck from behind. “Can you shoot flames like the dragons?”

He snorted and took a sip of beer. “No. Are you drunk?” He eyed the bottles. There were only three. Then again, she was much smaller than a gargoyle. Maybe three was all it took.

“Nah, but I’m feeling good.” She sighed and seemed to melt against him. “I had an awful day.”

He reached behind and scratched her scalp with the tips of his claws like he would any family member in distress. He knew from experience that it felt good. He’d had a bad day too. Touching her made him feel better.

She moaned in his ear and it sent shivers down his spine. She bent over his shoulder more, giving him better access to her head. “That feels great.”

He undid the pins holding her hair and allowed it to cascade over his chest before continuing to massage her scalp. “What happened?” She felt so soft and tiny. Delicate like an angel. A brief whiff of her sweet smell and he struggled with the urge to bury his nose into her hair.

“What do you mean?” Her voice was muffled against his skin. Sleepy.

“Why was today so awful?”

“My boss sold the diner. I might be unemployed soon and my landlord is pressuring for rent.”

Nick finished his beer, absentmindedly scratching Ruby’s head. Stalking her boss until he changed his mind on selling the diner would probably end up with the police being called. Killing him was not Nick’s style. “Who’s the new owner?” He moved his hands to her shoulders and gently massaged the knots. Maybe they could be convinced to keep Ruby as an employee.

“The right side is worse than the left. Oh God, right there. Don’t stop.”

Those breathless pleas made him shudder. His wings reflexively expanded. She was setting off instinctual triggers. He breathed through the strong urge to carry her away somewhere dark and secluded. Teach her a thing or two about gargoyle anatomy. The desire to show her exactly how good he was at making women scream grew. The good kind of scream. Not the bad kind. Well, he could make them do that, too.

“I don’t know about the diner. I imagine I’ll meet them soon. My boss says that my job is secure—”

“That’s good news.” He ran long strands of red hair under his nose. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply. So, he didn’t have to beat anyone.

“It is, but it’s also a lie. I’ve been through this before. The shifters are trying to clean up this area. They are building shifter oriented neighborhoods close to here and investors are gobbling up every available building.”

“They are planning to make this neighborhood nicer?” That meant safer. Shifters were territorial and the majority responsible citizens. Any criminals in the area would be smart to move. He scratched his chin. Most shifters didn’t care for his kind.

“Nicer means more expensive. It means my landlord can increase the rent, which means I’m going to have to move just like everyone else.”

This wasn’t the Ruby he remembered. She seemed deflated draped over his body in defeat. “But you could find a better job at one of these new businesses.”

“That’s if I can find a job. The last place I worked was a biker bar. The new owners renovated the place, it became an after-work lounge for hipsters. Then I was fired because I didn’t fit their expectations as a bartender.”

About the Author:

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Annie Nicholas writes paranormal romance with a twist. She has courted vampires, hunted with shifters, and slain a dragon's ego all with the might of her pen. Riding the wind of her imagination, she travels beyond the restraints of reality and shares them with anyone wanting to read her stories. Mother, daughter, and wife are some of the other hats she wears while hiking through the hills and dales of her adopted state of Vermont.

Annie writes for Samhain Publishing, Carina Press, and Lyrical Press.

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