Reviewing and Reading books that were free or are free. You see, I finally caved and bought an eReader. Now I find I can't stop reading all the free books offered on the online market. Despite whether or not the book is a good read or not. In this blog I will weed through all books, whether it was amazing or a grammatically sad excuse for a book, because the point in the end is . . . HEY, IT WAS FREE!
In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life. She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon. When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous. Resolving to meet the threat head on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life, but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.
“’The Chemist’ is the love child created from the union of my romantic sensibilities and my obsession with Jason Bourne/Aaron Cross. I very much enjoyed spending time with a different kind of action hero, one whose primary weapon isn’t a gun or a knife or bulging muscles, but rather her brain.” - Stephanie Meyers
And the unbending passion of two young lovers will bring hope to a defeated kingdom and, through their sorrow, deliver a kingwho will change its fate.
Vivid visions have haunted Andrea since her arrival in northern Spain. In her visions, the ruins of the medieval village she’s excavating comes alive, and, around the fires burning in the no longer buried hearths, she sees people dressed in furs sharpening old fashioned swords.
Even more upsetting for her that the headaches her visions leave is the fact that Julián appears in them—Julián, the king from her world whose rejection she is trying hard to forget.
But when a slide bury Andrea under the mountain, Julian comes searching for her. Soon after they are reunited under the mountains, the full moon opens a portal and sends them back a thousand years into the past, to a time right after the Spaniards have been defeated by the Arabian invaders.
Separated by a bitter winter, Andrea and Julian are caught in opposite sides in the battle between the Spanish last unconquered settlements and the Arabian army. A battle for survival that will determine the fate of a kingdom and demand of them the ultimate sacrifice: As the Arabs close on the mountains, Julián makes a decision that will break Andrea’s heart and change them forever.
In the following excerpt from The King in the Stone, Julián makes a fateful decision.
I don’t know how long I remained by the cliff staring down at Andrea’s broken body, so unnaturally still in her white shroud of snow. I don’t know how long I remained by the cliff lost in a world of my own. A world beyond feelings, beyond reason. A world in which, I came to believe, time could flow backwards, and as long as I didn’t move, didn’t breathe, it was still possible to reverse its course. Andrea would rise from the ledge and climb to my side, and her blood would be warm again inside her body and not a red stain over the snow.
I don’t know how long I remained by the cliff dreaming impossible dreams. Then somewhere down in the valley, a horse neighed and broke the spell.
I shivered. The rush of the fight had left me by now, and the bitter wind blowing through the mountain had covered my body with a frozen dust. If I didn’t leave soon I would freeze to death. Forcing my stiff legs to move, I turned my back to the ledge and started walking.
I didn’t remember going back into the cave and retrieving the sword and the knife from the bear’s body. I didn’t remember grabbing the cloak or picking up Andrea’s arrow from the ground or walking down the mountain. The next thing I remember is someone calling my name.
I shook my head to clear my mind and looked around. I was back in the oak grove where we had tethered the horses, and Irene stood in front of me.
I let go of the hilt of the sword I’d instinctively grabbed, and nodded to the girl whose waif-like face was tense with fear.
“Julián?”
I tried to talk. But no words came.
Irene moved closer and reached for my face. “You’re hurt, Julián. Let me help you.”
“There is no time. We must go. Now. Get the horses ready. I’ll get Theodorica.”
Turning my back on her, I entered the copse.
Her feet and hands bound, a dirty rag over her mouth, Theodorica was sitting on a stump. Her eyes full of contempt didn’t leave mine as I approached her, and when I removed her gag, she spat at me.
In anger, I lifted her and held her against the closest tree. Theodorica struggled like a wild animal trying to break free, and as I fought her back, something snapped inside my mind, turning the throbbing ache at Andrea’s loss into a feral urge to make Theodorica mine. Forcing her face still with one hand, I kissed her. I kissed her long and hard. Not because I cared for her, but because Andrea was dead and she alive, and in the aftermath of death we crave life.
I kissed her out of pain, out of anger and despair. Out of hate. I kissed her until her body grew willing under mine. Only then, I pulled back.
Without a word, I cut her bonds.
Theodorica stared at me.
“You got your wish, my lady,” I said in answer to the question she had not asked. “I’m coming with you to the Arab’s camp.”
Carmen Ferreiro Esteban is the author of the medieval fantasy Two Moon Princess (Tanglewood Press 2007), and Immortal Love (Crimson Romance 2012). Her own translation into Spanish of Immortal Love can be found under the title Bécquer eterno.
Carmen was born in Galicia (northern Spain) and went to college in Madrid, where she finished her Ph.D. in Biology. She worked as a researcher in Spain and California, before moving to Pennsylvania, where she now works as a writer, editor and translator.
My Thoughts:Insta-Soulmate with Powers and Connections.
Definitely a good read but long, as author Shelly Crane introduces new characters who live amongst us humans. I'm all for long reads especially for beach days, but the story at times felt repetitive. However, I did fall for the male lead and totally wish I had a Caleb!
Graduating from high school should be a happy event filled with family and friends, but for 17 year old Maggie Masters the moment only highlighted how broken her family is and how uninvolved she became with her friends. Becoming unsocial happened around the time Maggie's mom ran and her longtime boyfriend dumped her senior year claiming it was best friends college plans in a year. So when a friend asks Maggie to come and celebrate after graduation Maggie agrees. It's on her way to meet up with the friend that she saves a boy from being hit by a car and in that moment her life is forever changed. The boy is actually Caleb Jacobson a college guy from out of town visiting Maggie's friend. The two have an instant connection that feels too unreal for her to understand. Caleb reveals they are each others significant, imprinted for life, they begin to feel each other's ever thing. Supernatural changes occur to the couple as they go through their bonding process and Maggie is brought into the family, but rival clans begin meddling putting everyone in danger.
Overall, good read just a bit repetitive. Maggie won the lottery with Caleb. Seriously her life was CRAP and then Caleb comes and its begins to brighten minute by minute. The only bummer is the rival clans constantly trying to harm and kidnap her. Oh and Kyle, her friend, being such a snot all the time because he wasn't the lucky guy to imprint with her. But Caleb he's a solid guy all the way. Again my only issue was the fact the situation of Maggie's in danger seemed overly drawn out when the book's timeline was only 9 days. Which in 9 days if you almost get kidnapped after already being attack or cornered I'd think there'd need to be an offensive move instead of being on constant defense. Honestly, I was waiting for an epic fight scene having the Jacobson's kick butt and when there was one it was like barely a page. Now I'm most impressed with how Maggie's dad comes out of his funk and becomes a father again even if he's a bit late. So if you're looking for a YA book with a female lead who finds an instant soulmate who is the complete package that includes family, undying love, wealth and powers then this book will be a good pick.
Shamed and dismissed from the Atlanta Sheriff’s Department, Larson Rader abandons big city law enforcement for a small town campus police job. He only hopes it’s far enough to escape the publicity of putting a man his own sister falsely accused in the hospital. Helen Simpson returns to Riverbend for a new start with her young daughter running a battered women’s shelter. Small town life gives them a peace they never had, until a dangerous man from her past, untouchable by police, threatens to kidnap her daughter. A payment he feels is due to him for the humiliation she brought upon his family for fleeing the cartel and her husband. Helen must learn to lean on someone again or she’ll lose her daughter. But will Larson be able to trust her, or will he abandon her to her fate?
Jane is on a mission of self-discovery. Having lost the love of her life in a horrific motorcycle accident on their wedding day, she’s been a shell of the woman she once was. Learning to live without Blake is going to take more than just waking up each morning. So, she leaves for England to return to the place it all ended, in the hopes of figuring out how to negotiate life on her own. What she doesn’t expect, is to meet Harry Tindal, and for the hunky Brit to present her with a surprising proposition. Harry never intended to approach the red-haired beauty when she stepped into the pub, but the music drew his feet her way and before he knew it, he’d struck up a conversation with the fascinating woman, only to discover they were on similar missions. Trying to escape his painful past, Harry decides to step out of his comfort zone and invite Jane to join him for a fortnight of no regrets. “No sex. No histories. No awkward conversations. Just two people living life to the max for two weeks. Then we say adios, thanks for a good time, and go our separate ways.” Jane can’t resist, and the couple embark on a journey of faith, that soon turns into something neither of them expected. As hearts unfurl, truths rise to the surface and the couple must decide if they’re able to risk love once more and hand their hearts to someone new.
Penned Series:Unraveling You Series, The Secret Series, The Fallen Star Series, The Shattered Promises Series, Death Collectors, The Breaking Nova Series, The Coincidence Novels, Darkness Falls, and Unbeautiful Series.
Isabella Anders isn't ready to accept that her mother is guilty of murder, and with the help of Kai, she might be able to find out the truth. Over the last month, Kai’s feelings for Isa have grown. He knows he’s in love with her and will do just about anything to protect her. But by helping Isa, he’s putting his own life at risk. Kai isn’t the only one in danger, though. Isa is being stalked by someone who knows what really happened the day her mother was accused of murder, and they’ll do just about anything to keep her from discovering the truth.
After facing severe tragedy in life, Madeline assumes her death will be easy.
But the angels do not come to take her to Heaven.
Instead, what retrieves her is something she never expected: a gargoyle.
Delivered to Truce, the King of the Gargoyles, Madeline now has choices she never wanted. She has the ability to take over the entire Gargoyle Kingdom, if she is willing to kill the king. However, looking to prevent takeover, Truce transforms Madeline, thereby granting her the ability to achieve the thing she wants most—death—if she can just find the human recipient for the Gargoyle Gift that she now has to give. It should be easy.
But lives, whether they are lived or not, are seldom simple, and Madeline’s past still stands in her way. Now, only a voyeur in the life of The Boy with the Golden Rod Voice, Madeline’s must reconcile her own life and death, if she ever hopes to have free reign of her soul.
Misty Provencher offers readers, ranging from teen to adult, a shelf full of stories to enjoy. Provencher's genres include titles in contemporary romance, fantasy, literary fiction, Sci-fi, and even erotica. While Provencher can ride a motorcycle, knows how to Karate chop, and has learned enough French, Spanish, and Sign Language to get herself slapped, Misty's life is dedicated to connecting with, and understanding, the people who cross her path. She is totally enchanted with the world and spends her days trying to translate her everyday muses into words. Misty Provencher lives in the Mitten.
Penned Series:Blood and Bone Series, The Lonely Books, Born Trilogy, Crimson Cove Mysteries, imaginations, The Light Trilogy, The Devil's Roses, and The Single Lady Spy Series.
Sami Ford has it all. Looks. Money. Happiness. Her life is perfect. But only if one doesn't look too closely. Matt Brimley is a sports god. Hockey fans adore him. Girls everywhere want to worship at his skates. He’s living the dream. If the dream involved everyone expecting you to be nothing but a jock. These two rich kids could be the perfect couple. If he didn't think she was a spoiled princess, and she didn't think he was a dumb puck, they might be. But hating someone doesn’t mean you can’t want them.
by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
