REVIEW - WARRIOR PRINCESS - BLOOD WEAVER TRILOGY BY KARINA ESPINOSA

  

Title: Warrior Princess
Series: Blood Weaver Trilogy
Author: Karina Espinosa
Genre: Romantasy, Fantasy, Romance
Release Date: 16th August 2024

BLURB
In the fantastical realm of Asteria, where ancient bloodlines and magical allegiances govern the land, Leila, a blood mage with a complicated past, finds her fate intertwined with Ronan, the fierce warrior from the Crimson Clan. When an insidious plot by Prince Caelan of Eldwain threatens to destabilize all of Asteria, Leila must harness her formidable powers and confront secrets that could shatter the very foundations of her world.

Together, Leila and Ronan embark on a perilous journey through treacherous territories, from the Grasslands, Keldara, the Central Plains, to the deceptive courts of Eldwain, to safeguard their people and uphold ancient alliances. As battles rage and loyalties are tested, the pair must navigate a tapestry of intrigue and betrayal, where love may be their most powerful weapon or their ultimate undoing.

With the fate of Asteria hanging in the balance, Leila must decide if she can go against the man she once considered her best friend. In this epic tale of magic, love, and rebellion, only the strongest will survive to tell the tale of their victory—or their defeat.

Goodreads Link

REVIEW
I think the covers for the Blood Weaver Trilogy are all very striking and Warrior Princess fits with the two previous covers very well. It was mixed emotions approaching reading Warrior Princess as it’s the last book in the trilogy, I was eager to read the book but at the same time wasn’t totally ready to bid farewell to Leila and the other characters.

Warrior Princess starts with a small prologue that is a flashback to how/why Shiro was made into the Demon Fox. Celeste put her beloved Shiro into slumber to stop him attacking/destroying Asteria. Celeste then cursed her own bloodline saying there will be no female blood mage born until Shiro has had time to think things through and sort of see the error of his ways, only then will a female blood mage be born. The female blood mage must fall in love with one from the Crimson Clan, then be sacrificed to bring back Shiro the Demon Fox. The female blood mage must be in love with one of the Crimson Clan that way she will feel the betrayal when he kills her for his own people. It’s quite a sad kind of prophecy/ceremony really though Ronan thinks he has a way around the fact Leila must die for the Demon Fox to return. Once returned the Demon Fox can grant one wish. Ronan decides he will use this one wish to bring Leila back to life.

Chief Aryan of the Crimson Clan thinks sacrificing Leila/Princess Lyanna of Valoria is the only way to make the Crimson Clan the strongest army so that they can defeat all enemies in war. He doesn’t care that his son Ronan is in love with the Princess and he has no intention at all of honouring his agreement with his son, to use the one wish that Shiro grants to bring Leila/Princess Lyanna back to life. Chief Aryan wants to use the wish for himself which is why he uses a tranquiliser dart to put Ronan out of action whilst he persuades Leila to let him perform the sacrificial ceremony. Silas finally finds Ronan after the ceremony has been performed and has to break the devastating news that Leila is dead. Ronan rushes to find his father and the Demon Fox to make the wish to bring Leila back to life which is rightly his wish to take.

Leila does struggle with the memories of the sacrificial ceremony that Chief Aryan performed on her, the way he began slitting her wrists and then quite callously and savagely slits her throat to enable her blood to flow fast and freely onto the stone she is laid on. In fact, she is rather self-concious of the scar at a neck so much so she initially wears scarves at her neck to hide it. Shiro – the Demon Fox being brought back does give the Crimson Clan army extra strength, they feel the extra power almost immediately. Shiro is also a formidable fighter in any battle himself. Shiro also helps Leila develop, wield and learn to control her Blood Weaver magic which certainly comes in useful.

Without going into detail there is more than one person who would force Leila into marriage with them to gain control of Valoria who are willing to go to extreme lengths to get what they want. Leila also has no shortage of potential agreeable suitors either! There is lots of betrayal and conspiracy going on, some from quarters you would not expect that Leila has to deal with from her adopted home of the Grasslands with the Crimson Clan as it is not safe for her to return to Valoria. Leila has the help of most of the other regions in Asteria

So, there’s lots of action scenes both of the steamy and battle varieties making this book really difficult to put down once you start reading! Though I did enjoy the epilogue at the end I would have loved a little more of a mention of Selene & Marcellus and their relationship outcome. I did love the way Henry is happily settle with Ronan & Leila. I'm not sure how to explain it but it just ended a little abrupt & quickly for me....it left me wanting a little more…..maybe that’s a good way to end leaving me to fill in the blanks

Summing up Warrior Princess really is an action-packed, edge of your seat conclusion to The Blood Weaver Trilogy. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this author!

 

 

 

REVIEW - TRAPPED DAYS - AFTER THE END BK1 BY GRACE HAMILTON

  

Title: Trapped Days
Series: After The End
Author: Grace Hamilton
Genre: Post Apocalyptic
Release Date: 7th August 2024

BLURB
As the world descends into chaos, one woman will do anything to find her daughter…

Shannon Grayson is a tough-as-nails long-haul truck driver. But her life is turned upside down when a massive electromagnetic blast hits North America while she’s unloading cargo at the South-Central Retail Supercenter, demolishing the power grid.

Now she’s trapped inside the sprawling building, along with dozens of other survivors. And no one is coming to their rescue. Without power, the world outside begins to collapse. Shannon is determined to escape and find her daughter—they haven’t seen each other since Shannon entered witness protection five years ago, but when SHTF her momma-bear drive takes over.

But first, she must survive this ordeal…

Eight hundred miles away is Dennis Sullivan, Shannon’s witness protection officer, who swore to protect her and her daughter, and he’s a man of his word. He’ll battle through the ruins of America to reunite with them and ensure their safety.

Desperation quickly turns to terror as Shannon and the others realize there’s no way out of the locked-down supercenter. They’ll have to depend on each other to survive.

In the world gone mad, the only people they can trust—and the only people they need to fear—are each other…

Goodreads Link

REVIEW
I think the cover does its job well as it certainly attracts your eyes and attention to the book. Once I read the blurb I was hooked and knew I really wanted to read the book!

The main character is Shannon Grayson who before going into witness protection was Sarah Nakamaru, wife of gang boss and murderer Andre Atkinson. Sarah/Shannon committed the ultimate betrayal when she gave evidence in court against Andre and she knew she was putting her life at risk but she also knew it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, it also meant that Sarah/Shannon and Andre’s daughter Kim was caught up in the whole mess. Kim was old enough to make her own decision about going into witness protection and she decided against it, she is sure her father and his associates would do nothing to hurt her as it was her mother that testified, not her. However she does change her surname to Nakamaru which is the same as her Aunt & Uncle who became her legal guardians because her mother had to go into witness protection. Kim Nakamaru went off to college, and Sarah Nakumaru became Shannon Grayson, long distance truck driver, never staying in one place for very long for fear of being tracked by her ex-husband or his associates. Kim and Shannon keep in touch and receive updates on each other via Shannon’s witness protection officer Dennis Sullivan who takes his job and the safety of his charges seriously. Dennis is an ex-marine and Kim and Shannon are the nearest things he has to a family of his own, and he will do whatever is necessary to protect them from anything, including the end of the world as they know it. Dennis has been suspended indefinitely from his job because of his reliance on strong painkillers that he takes for his old marine war wounds and a more recent car accident. It’s as if Dennis is on some sort of Marine auto pilot in his determination to find Kim.

Everything starts to go wrong with a flash of light in Washington, cars, electronics just stop working. Unfortunately for the rest of America there is no time to warn anyone, or contact loved ones. Phone calls go unanswered, messages unheard when everything comes to a grinding halt.

Shannon is about to unload at a Supercenter/Warehouse when everything goes dark and she ends up trapped in an increasingly tense situation with other truckers and shoppers. At first people push and shove to get to the exits but somehow the storm shutters are triggered and come down sealing people inside the Supercenter/Warehouse. The manager is Noah Mochire and his thoughts are all about the business, no one should have anything they cannot pay cash for, be that food, water or medical supplies. Theres plenty of arguing and bickering, kids are tired, hungry and restless and basically everyone has had enough so Shannon channels her biker days with 'the black rats' and silences everyone shouting 'enough' then she takes Noah Mochire to task and a system for feeding people and “living” in the Supercenter/Warehouse is organised. When Hank Nilsen dies mysteriously, Bill, Connor & Shannon deal with the body and talk about escaping the building sooner rather than later, all eager to distance themselves from an unstable self-appointed guard/security Barney Langmaid with a gun!

Andre Atkinson starts his day out like any other is in his cell reading a book and almost gleefully intimidating his cell mate when all the lights go off. His immediate thoughts are of chaos & escape! He isn’t sure how he is going to even get out of his cell but he is content enough to take his time to come with the perfect plan to escape prison. Then he knows exactly what he is going to do, make his ex-wife pay for putting him in prison.

When Dennis is attacked on his journey by Martin, as he desperately wants the car Dennis has to get him, his wife Rita & diabetic daughter Nancy back to their home. Despite being attacked Dennis still cannot help himself and offers them a lift to nearest town & pharmacy for insulin. Martin refuses determined he wants the car to get to their home, nowhere else will do. Dennis manages to overpower Martin and driveaway but Martin shoots at the car puncturing a tire, causing car to crash, making it unusable by anyone. Dennis slips in and out of consciousness and wallows a little, almost giving up on reaching Kim and then his marines attitude kicks in & once again he is determined to get to Kim.

The book chapters are from the individual perspectives of Shannon, Dennis and Andre which works really well, though it would have been nice to have a few chapters from Kim and where she was and how she dealt with the changing world when the EMP struck too.

One thing that is prevalent throughout the book is how quickly people fall into the mentality of thinking only of themselves & killing & maiming to get what they want. Yet at the same time there are also people who go above and beyond to help others and share what little they have themselves.

Summing up there is so much happening in this book in different areas to the different characters. The book is centred around and told from the points of view of three pivotal characters, Shannon, Dennis & Andre. From the moment the EMP strikes, to the end of the epilogue this book is full of action, drama, dilemmas, betrayal and chaos. Seriously looking forward to reading more of this addictive series. I honestly hated having to put this book down!! I can’t wait to read more about Shannon, Kim, Dennis and even Andre!

 

 

 

REVIEW - FIREBIRD CAGED BY MAYA CHHABRA

  

Title: Firebird Caged
Author: Maya Chhabra
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press, North Star Editions
Genre: HiLo, Teens & YA
Release Date: 1st August 2024

BLURB
Ashley didn’t mean to get pregnant her senior year in high school. She didn’t mean to scare her hardworking and financially struggling mom, or to hide the truth from her awkward ex, Danny. She also didn’t mean to illegally take her well-off friend Madi’s prescription Xanax to cope with the stress—and she definitely didn’t mean to do it more than once.

When a doctor reports Ashley to the State of Wisconsin as a drug-addicted threat to her own unborn child, she is forcibly detained under the obscure and secretive Act 292 civil detention system for pregnant women, stranded in the county juvenile shelter home, and stigmatized by authorities who assign her fetus a lawyer but not her. It’s a struggle for Ashley just to get medical care for the pregnancy supposedly being protected—never mind fighting for her own freedom and making sure her baby isn’t taken away by social services after birth. Who’s going to protect Ashley herself?

But Ashley is stronger than anyone knows, and she has allies on the outside who believe in her. This is a fight Ashley can win—but only if she stops drifting passively, starts believing in herself, and chooses not to give in to despair.

Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and themes that are relevant for high school students, Horizon’s Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for teen reluctant readers. Horizon books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 14 and up.

REVIEW
The image on the cover is what initially drew me to the book. The cover conveys the desperation of a young woman, a teen in this case taking a pregnancy test and all her fears being confirmed the test is positive meaning she has a huge decision to make.

Ashley lives with her mum, her dad has moved on with a new wife and baby meaning the support checks are minimal and any other support is non-existent. So, its Ahley and her mum against the world really, they get by but don’t have money to splash about and live in a run down rented property where the landlord is reluctant to do any repairs or updates.

Ashley has broken up with her boyfriend Danny, he was more interested in his computer game world than Ashley and when he fails to support her dancing dream it’s the final straw for her. Its just a couple of weeks after the break up that Ashley thinks she may be pregnant, she buys a test and tries to play down its importance, comparing it to a Covid test just not snot that she’s testing.

She finally sneaks off to the bathroom at to take the test wondering how something so small as the pregnancy test in front of her can loom so large over her. Ashley is still trying to stay in the “its probably nothing” mind set until the test confirms otherwise. In the three minutes waiting for the test her whole life changes. Suddenly she is faced with a large, difficult decision that she cannot put off for very long. Ashley and her mother are close and when she confides in her mum, though she can see her mothers disappointment that she didn’t want her daughter to go down this difficult road that she herself had travelled. Ashleys mum offers to help sort out travelling to get an abortion as it is illegal in the state they presently live in, but doesn’t pressurise Ashley to decide right away, though she does caution her that the longer Ashley waits for an abortion the more complicated and expensive the procedure will be.

Just when decisions are made, things go terribly wrong with Ashley and her mother being made homeless. Madi offers Ashley a place to stay in her large house, and Ashleys mum finds a place to sleep at a friend’s home. It’s whilst living with the Wendt family that Ashley encounters Xanax and its effects. When she feels she is somehow becoming addicted she confides in a Doctor, and is suddenly arrested for the protection of her unborn baby. Ashley finds herself in a sort of home for girls pregnant or those considered by society as in need of such a home. Ashley has to prove herself to not only get out of the home but to make sure that she can keep her own baby! Ashley has to grow up quickly, and after reaching out to Danny, he puts her in touch with a compute game group friend who is a lawyer and who helps Ashley put her case across to the judge.

I really felt for Ashley who was perhaps at times a little naïve which ended in her making a succession of mistakes that took her situation from getting by to homeless and then into a group home. At times it felt like Ashley was a victim of circumstances. I could really understand the way Ashley looked at Madi’s life with rich parents, large house and her own car and envied it. Yet when Ashley moved in with Madi we caught a glimpse that not everything was perfect in the Wendt household either.

I liked the character of Danny, who eventually came through and how ironic it was his gaming contacts that provided he lawyer to help Ashley. It was a shame we didn’t get to know him a little better, though it became clear he still cared about Ashley and was going to support her and their baby in the future.

I think Ashley’s mum was amazing, having been a pregnant teen herself she didn’t jump for the obvious solution of abortion, she offered the option to her daughter and supported her in anyway she could to make her own mind up. It would have been easy for her to pressurise her daughter to have an abortion, as a baby would put further strain on the family finances. Ashleys mum was already working two jobs and barely covering their expenses.

This was a Hi Lo book aimed at reluctant readers, these books have a fast pace and are usually on subjects highly relevant to the age audience they are aimed at. I found the book really held my attention as an adult and I didn’t want to put it down!

I think the subject of teen pregnancy is covered quite well in the book as you see the different reactions through the generations. Ashleys mum was rushed into marriage, where as Ashleys mum gave Ashley choices and told her the decision was hers to make and that she would be there for her no matter what. Sadly, the subject of abortion is still a controversial subject and is a highly emotive subject especially as more and more obstacles and bans are being put in front of those seeking them. The book also mentions addiction, with Madi having Xanax and freely giving it to an agitated, upset Ashley without thinking of any side effects or consequences. I think the book also touches on the different way parents care for their children. Madi’s parents seem to throw medication at a problem rather than finding out the source of Madi’s issues. Ashleys mum takes time and listens to her daughter and includes her in the decision making. It would have been interesting to see what Danny’s parents thought about Ashley’s pregnancy and how involved they would have been. Though ultimately a teen pregnancy usually has to be dealt with by the young woman and her parents, in this case Ashley and her mum.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading Firebird Caged were that it was a really interesting, captivating short story about teen pregnancy and the increasingly growing legal minefield around it.

Summing up, Firebird Caged is an addictive read about a teen who finds herself repeating her own mother’s 'mistakes'. The big difference is she has her mother’s support to make up her own mind, but when their life and living arrangements take an unexpected turn and the teen makes another mistake then tries to do the right thing, social workers become involved, and it seems the state has their own ideas about the teen and her unborn baby.