Reading & Stuff Update 4: Some New Favourites and Some Disappointments

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Hi everyone! So I haven't done one of these in a while but I wanted to talk about some of the books that I've read recently! See my previous update here.

So I have a few new favourite reads! I absolutely loved Circe, it was a brilliant and captivating re-imagining of the story of Circe and it made me feel so many emotions. It also set me off on wanting to read more Greek myth retellings. 

I also loved The Shark Caller which is a middle grade about a girl who lives in Papua New Guinea. She wants to become a shark caller, someone who can get sharks to come to them. A new girl comes to stay on the island and we see the girls at first hating each other but then becoming friends. It was a beautiful story and I highly recommend it!

Book Review: The General's Wrath : and other short stories by Laura M. Austin

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*This book was sent to me in return for an honest review, all opinions are my own

Available on: Amazon and Smashwords

Get the book for 0.99 on Smashwords with my exclusive discount code: FW62Q (just add the book to your cart, go to your cart and add the coupon code!)

This book is a selection of five short stories. The first story is about people hunting a dragon and alternates between the POV of the people and the POV of the dragon. The second story is about someone hunting a werewolf, again alternating between POVs. The third story follows a mermaid who discovers the seas are being destroyed by humans. The next story was an eerie job interview scenario. The last story was about a woman marrying for money and getting more than she bargained for.

Books on my wish list: indie books, Greek myth retellings, middle grade & graphic novels

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Hello! In this post I am going to share some books that are on my wish list. This includes indie books, middle grade books, Greek myth retellings and graphic novels. I have added physical copies of indie books to my wish list because I prefer to read hardback or paperback and just find it easier in general for most reads and I would just love to own physical copies of these authors books!

Indie books

The Curse's Light

Haze

A Game of Wings and Marks

The Fast Little Fox (The Fast Little Fox & Friends)

Shadowmarch

Romance Books! Contemporary, Fantasy, Paranormal & Historical

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If you like reading romance books or other genres with romance in, you'll love these books!

Contemporary Romance

Escape The Choice (The Choice Series)

How do you make a choice when you don't want to choose?

Oliver's friendship may be important to Ali, after all, she's the only friend he's got, but that's all they will ever be – friends. When it comes to Noah, she can't help but hope their friendship will become something more. Her heart flutters when he is near, and her eyes always seem to find his.

Unfortunately for Ali, Oliver would make things very difficult if anything were to happen between her and Noah, and while Noah has never told her not to be friends with Oliver, his distaste for the man is quite clear. For Ali to resolve the ongoing dispute, she will have to choose between them. But how can Ali choose between the two men when her decision will mean she has to cut one of them from her life?

A quick read filled with friendship, love, and a deep adoration of coffee and muffins.

Free on Kindle Unlimited or 0.99

Defying Destiny

Cameron Burk has just broken up with his long-time girlfriend. But, determined not to miss out on the biggest event of the year, he flies solo to the senior prom. Rhyanna Paramore is onstage providing the entertainment along with her up-and-coming rock band, Defying Destiny. Cameron spends the evening entranced by Rhyanna's talent and beauty. When they crash into each other after the dance, sparks fly. Though they come from two different worlds, their friendship quickly blossoms into romance.

After graduation, Cameron is off to law school while Rhyanna and her band hit the road, bound for stardom. The years bring them success, though distance and stress take a toll on them both. When the pressure of her nightly performances threatens Rhyanna's health, a dark secret comes to light.

With their love tested, Cameron and Rhyanna must decide if their relationship is real and worth fighting for. Only by Defying Destiny can they find true happiness together.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Indie Audiobooks!

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Do you like audiobooks? If so, check out these audiobooks by indie authors!

Treasures and Trinkets: A Dragon's Brood Tale (The Dragon's Brood Cycle)

Before she was a prisoner in Marianne's crystal mines or just another face among the multitudes in the city of Seven Skies, Maddy had a different name and everything she could want—governesses, gowns, and gold to fill her pockets. And though she wasn't the son her father had wanted, it was inevitable that one day she would inherit his title.

But Maddy's predictable world is turned upside down when an extraordinary servant girl challenges everything she's ever known; there's a wider world beyond the comfortable confines of her castle, full of wonder and magic, and Maddy finds that the one thing she doesn't have is the only thing she really needs.

Haven Lost (The Dragon's Brood Cycle Book 1)

Legends never die …

Sixteen-year-old Emily Haven, heroine of the girls’ hockey team at Lindsey High, has spent her young life keeping two secrets: her rapidly deteriorating home life and the seemingly supernatural power that makes her a star on the ice. When she begins seeing visions of a ragged boy reflected in mirrors and shop windows, a series of events unfolds that tears her from twenty-first century Minneapolis and leaves her stranded in another world with horrors to rival those she has left behind. Lost amidst creatures of fantasy and legend, she is forced to confront the demons of both her past and future to unravel the riddle of the mysterious boy and embark upon a journey to uncover long forgotten histories and the dark, cloaked figure in the shadows behind them all. Caught between opposing forces of a war she does not understand, Emily must find new strength within herself and, above all, the will to remember her friends.

Book Spotlight: Mystical Greenwood by Andrew McDowell

Mystical Greenwood

Book I of the trilogy One with Nature

Genre: Young Adult High Fantasy

Publisher: Mockingbird Lane Press

Synopsis

Dermot is a fifteen-year-old boy living in the land of Denú who has always longed for something more in life. His life changes when he encounters a gryphon and a mysterious healer. Drawn into a conflict against one determined to subjugate the kingdom, Dermot and his brother Brian are forced to leave their home.

A legendary coven must now reunite, for they are Denú’s greatest hope. In the course of meeting unicorns, and fighting dragons and men in dark armor, Dermot discovers a deep, sacred magic that exists within every greenwood he crosses through, but his own role in this conflict is greater than he suspects. Can he protect those he loves, or will all that’s good be consumed by darkness?

Available in paperback, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Nook! Art gifts too!

Amazon | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au

Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.in | Amazon.co.jp

Amazon.es | Amazon.it | Amazon.com.br | Amazon.com.mx

Goodreads | B&N | BAM! | Foyles | Waterstones | Deviant Art

About the Author:

Andrew McDowell has been writing since he was a child. He has written and published fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. He studied at St. Mary’s College and the University of Maryland, College Park. Andrew is a member of the Maryland Writers’ Association. Mystical Greenwood was a Finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards for Fantasy: Epic/High Fantasy, and he won the MWA’s 2021 Novel Contest in Science Fiction / Fantasy / Speculative. He also won second place in the creative nonfiction category of the 2014 Maryland Writers’ Association’s Literary Contest for his essay on his experiences with Asperger syndrome.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

LinkedIn | Tumblr | Goodreads | Amazon

Poets & Writers

Author Interview: Melissa Stone

1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

Hi, I’m Melissa Stone and I write adult fantasy and YA urban fantasy. Presently, I have 9 books out spread across two series. My AF series is Children of An’katerr (3 books, one short story collection). For YA I have Stars of Destiny (5 books).

Author Interview: D. M. Wright

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1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

Hi, I’m D. M. Wright! I’m an Australian indie author. I write across several genres and occasionally mix them together, including comedy, horror, action-adventure, romance and thrillers. I had published more than 20 books but have pulled them all off the shelf to re-invent them after ten years of lessons learnt. Currently, I have two horror-comedies available now with plenty more to come!

Author Interview: Lev: Boss Babe

1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

Hi there! I am a beginning writer from the Bay Area. I write during downtime at my job. I have no books out yet, but that is the dream! Currently, I am writing a satirical, fictional blog called Lev: Boss Babe. It is a comedy that plays on start-up culture and office hierarchies. I reflect often on the drama that comes when we realize how much time we spend working and what that does to how we see ourselves and how we see others. You can find it at Princessmushroom.com.

Free Books on Kindle Unlimited #8

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Hi everyone! Welcome back or welcome to the series on my blog where I share books by self-published/small press authors that are free on Kindle Unlimited! Kindle Unlimited is a service where you can get a free trial and then you pay each month and receive unlimited access to millions of ebooks! I'd highly recommend if you love reading ebooks. See the other parts of this series for more free books on Kindle Unlimited! 

So let's take a look at some more indie books that you can read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Beth Mac: Part One (GRIM Book 1)

Whether it's the battlefield or the football field, Beth Mac is relentless.

Adored as much as she's feared, Corporal Elizabeth Mackenzie is nothing short of a full-blown enigma. Once awarded the Medal of Honour for her bold and arguably reckless efforts as a soldier, she eventually finds herself inching toward a different type of pedestal — one at Saint Judah's College.

With her eyes on the prize, she's on a mission to take the captaincy, whatever the cost. And one by one her competition violently fall.

Luckily, for Beth Mac, a doting boyfriend and a band of followers are far too easily manipulated for her to have to get her hands dirty. The school has its bets on the Grim Reaper being responsible. After all, that's who carried out the murderous rampage at the school just the year before.

Full of all your classic sorority debauchery, Part One will take you on a journey of mysterious happenings with a down-under twist and a whole lot of slaughter. Bloody, witty and outrageously mad, it's Macbeth like you've never seen it before.

Who knew football could be this deadly?

These Violent Nights

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.