Book-ish Fantasies

To date, this is the lightest book that I've ever read and that's the first thing I adored about it. It's light yet it didn't get too cheesy on the themes of love, friendship, family and passion in life.

It's our arty, glass-blower protagonist Lucy's hunt to the young, sheddy, graffiti artist who happened to be the boy she wished and badly wanted to be with for the rest of her life. Luckily, like fairy tales, while life sometimes sucks, it still gives the best rewards. There were lies yet there were more honesty; there were fighting and drunk parents yet there were more faith; there were unfinished businesses, failed tests, yet there were more innate knowledge and talents.

Graffiti Moon opened my mind to this side of graffiti sans the gangs, drugs and vulgar wall messages. It's graffiti with deeper meaning. It's the mixture of graffiti and poetry.

Even though it mostly talked about these spray-painted walls, wall by wall, it didn't drag at all. The flashbacks and stories behind the characters, the POV's, the whole feel of the environment were legit and easily relatable. It was such a steady, friendly experience.

Middle grade, teens and adults are going to love this! :)

WARNING: Check price before downloading, some of these titles may not be free in your country.

   

- The 19 Dragons by S.M. Reine Steampunk, Dragons, Fantasy
- Gears of a Mad God: A Steampunk Lovecraft Adventure by Brent Nichols Steampunk, Fantasy
- Nimbus by B.J. Keeton & Austin King Steampunk, Fantasy
- Viridis by Calista Taylor Steampunk, Romance, Mystery

   

- Island of Fog by Keith Robinson  Middle Grade Fantasy
- The Merman and The Moon Forgotten by Kevin McGill Middle Grade Fantasy
- Branded by K.L. Hawker YA Fantasy
- The Cypher by Julian Rosado-Machain YA Fantasy

   

- Order of the Seers by Cerece Rennie Murphy  YA Fantasy
- Keeper of Reign by Emma Right YA Fantasy
- Sentinel by Joshua Winning  YA Fantasy
- Halfway by Stephanie Void  YA Fantasy

   

- Threads That Bind by Brant Williams  YA Fantasy
- The Witch's Price by S.M. White Fantasy
- Child of Fate by Jason Halstead Fantasy
- Creatures of Appetite by Todd Travis  Horror, Mystery

   

- Shadow of Time by Jen Minkman YA Paranormal
- Cursed by Tara Brown  YA Paranormal
- Hidden by M. Lathan YA Paranormal, Shapeshifters
- Insight by Jamie Magee  YA Paranormal

   

- A Demon Made Me Do It by Penelope King  YA Paranormal, Demons
- Midnight Fire by Melody Anne  YA Paranormal, Angels
- Origins by Steven Tandberg  YA Science Fiction
- Hell's Belle by Karen Greco  Urban Fantasy, Vampires

   

- Katie's Hellion by Lizzy Ford Paranormal Romance
- Captured by Erica Stevens Paranormal Romance, Vampires
- Night Time by H.T. Night Paranormal Romance
- Bitten by Merrill Gemus  Paranormal Romance, Vampires

Feel free to share your recommendations in comments and tell us what you downloaded or if I should download, read or avoid something from this list.

It's hilarious, it's real-life relationship dilemma. It's first love yet it's also why Ed and Min broke up.

It showed me the wonders of film, criminy, as Ed said it was. But now I realized even if love can change a thing about Ed, or anyone else, maybe even enjoying the "different" side he thought was gay, for the sake of love, still won't make it work. If only love can put things in sync entirely without having to make things complicated "trying to go with it", if only it turned Ed a true man who can stand proud for Min, and only Min, then it'll be a happy ending for them.

Above anything else, I love the characters, love the poetic Handler writing, love the flashbacks. I giggled at the memories, I even teared up at the challenges between the characters.

Quick note: I've broken up with my exes without giving anything back, any memories back to them, because that will be such a revenge and it'll tear their world apart, remembering everything.

Oh well, poor Ed, he fell in love and messed up with the wrong girl. xD

“The person, Be it Gentleman Or Lady, Who has not PLEASURE in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

– jane austen

SinfulFolk.com

Thanks to the author for providing the book for free for an honest review.

With fantasy genre, you may love or hate it depending on how the author create this another world with creatures and supernatural powers. Many fantasies create these stories with mythology (mostly Greek), witchcraft, monsters, fairies and even time travel. However, there are also some books which mix adventure and real life together, creating two plots as it develops the protagonist's life on earth and his hidden journey in another world.

That's where we meet Aiden, our 15-year-old hero who happened to just move to a small village with his parents and baby sister to attend and continue high school. He's not ugly yet he's also not the attractive type and since he's new, high school remains as challenging from being bullied, getting late, and skipping classes. Good thing though, he has Ethan who can defend him and keep him company from time to time. Not long when Aiden thought it's better to just sleep-in at home and enjoy his privacy in his attic room when one day, he woke up from a dream and someone summoned him to save the land of Eden.

I liked the development of Aiden's character and how the people of Eden blend together with him. The training is intense, the story revolves around training most of the time yet the pacing gets in the right speed as it approaches the upcoming war. I easily felt the surroundings around the Capital.

Aside from Aiden's POV, I liked that we also get a glimpse of other POV involving the other armies from the nearby lands. This showed the image of the supposedly villains and how they're planning to attack the King's men. Unfortunately, there's no exact villainous character. As I get to know the other side and their view on the Mountain People, it felt like there's no villain, which was the downside. There's also not much climax in the story as there was no peak of suspense and conflict at all while the war also happened near the ending. Good thing the POV and narrative was enjoying, not to mention the added romance from before and after between the other leading characters. It showed a slight cliffhanger so I hope to see more of these in the next installments.

Definitely, this is still a great start for a debut fantasy novel and I commend Stalder for that. A fast, enjoyable read indeed. I recommend this to fantasy fanatics!

“April comes to us, with her showers sweet. I wake to the cries of little birds before the light comes across the heath. They wait all night with open eyes. Now, with the rain at dawn, their voices make melody.

I turn back the reveled cloth of gold on my bed and walk to gaze beyond my glazed casement window. In the plaintive voices of the wood fowl, I imagine my mother calling to me, her words echoing across the years.

Every night, I slip into the empty winter land of memory.”

     —from the novel Sinful Folk, by Ned Hayes (forthcoming in 2013)

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing a free copy of this book for an honest review.

There's mythology (Celtic), there's fantasy and there's mystery. I should have loved it. But even though the writing was good, and the pacing average, it didn't strike me much. The protagonist Cedar, for instance was again, like most of the protagonists, a love and hate. Love, because this character just acted nothing like a superhero after a tragedy whatsoever happened. She acted what a real life mother should act after discovering her child being kidnapped (adding her feelings behind her daughter's supernatural abilities) - she whined a lot, she easily became angry at everyone else around her, she panicked, she was clueless. However, I basically could put the book down from time to time to take a break from Cedar's too confused attitude. I have expected her to cool down a bit, open her mind and create a better strategy in the journey but she was too consistent, too dramatic for my taste in this genre, I can easily get tired of her.

Supporting characters that revealed the world with the Celts though was what made me interested nearly halfway through the book because even if I didn't have idea about this kind of mythology, the narration helped me understand the history gradually. It was told in third person that divided three scenarios of Cedar with the Dannans, Eden with the female antagonist Nuala, and a scene with Maeve, Cedar's mother. These three characters shared relevant yet different goals which created the conflict between them as they unraveled one mystery after another. It built the climax of the plot in the middle when all characters finally meet destinations thus adding a hint of action. But speaking of action, I thought I should hate the main antagonist Lorcan being a wicked High King and all, however he didn't play much role in this debut. He wasn't developed that much, and it felt like the story was forced to have a happy ending.

Lastly, the hint of love story from the beginning and reuniting it at 70% of the book somewhat captured my emotions. Finn actually made my day when he went back for Cedar. And since he's Cedar's initial weakness, he's the one who calmed the situation down as he comforted her and continued to give her hope that everything will be all right. Indeed, he was able to protect them and his race.

Overall, it's a fine read, just not so spectacular as I expected. Hopefully the next book will! :)