Review: Silent Hero by Christine E. Schuzle

The legend continues in a whirlwind of adventure, mystery, and romance in this fan novel from Christine E. Schulze: 

The Triforce, that golden entity set in place by the three goddesses to protect all Hyrule, has been broken—into nine shards instead of three this time. 

Darkness creeps along the fringes of not only Hyrule, but also of Termina and Twilight. These three realms, intimately linked, can only be rescued by... 

A young boy who cannot speak but whose courage will emanate louder than any evil 
he faces. 

A princess as timeless as the shadowy realm from which she returns. 

These two Heroes against three great enemies: Ganondorf, Majora, and the young, ambitious Zaruman, who connects both guardians and enemies of the three realms in ways which the heir of Link could never imagine... 

In a race against time and in a mission which breaks the boundaries of time, Hero 
and Princess must combine courage and wisdom to collect the notes of a powerful 
requiem and use their knowledge of the ancient legends to press forward and resurrect a mighty weapon from Hyrule’s past. Aided by a strange voice, Great Fairies, and their own intuition, will they succeed like the Hero who came before them? 

Can darkness and light converge without creating shadow?


Christine E. Schuzle is such a fantastic writer! I've never played "The Legend of Zelda" before, but this book was very interesting and I loved the storyline of it. 


This might be considered fan-fiction, but it was written so gorgeously that I wouldn't consider it fan-fiction. Maybe it could be just a mini-spinoff to the video game. 


I highly recommend you reading some of Christine's work. I've done a review of another book by Christine titled Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress and you can check out my review of the book by scrolling down to my archive!


Silent Hero:
Published: April 3, 2011
Format: SIGNED US Paperback
Publisher: CreateSpace
Average Rating: 3.85 stars
Page Count: 130 pages


Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress by Christine E. Schuzle

He leaned his head close to my ear and whispered, "Are you afraid?" 

Chrystine had had more reason than any other time of her life, even when facing one of the rampages of her drunken father. But she wasn't afraid. And that was odd, because although Aaryn, the person asking her that question, was her best friend, he was also a vampire. In fact, she was surrounded by hundreds of vampires. 

But they weren't your typical vampires. They were Stregoni Benefici, the good kind. Nor was Chrystine your typical elf. She was the Golden Healer, and she alone could save the Stregoni Benefici from the Dark Enchantress. But can Chrystine figure out the Dark Enchantress' secret and defeat the evil vampires without destroying the good ones as well, without destroying Aaryn? Can Chrystine unravel the dark secret Aaryn keeps so carefully guarded and show him that by choosing to serve good instead of evil, he is still capable of being loved and his past is forgiven? 

Find out as you read for yourself the story of the first vampire.


This. Book. Was. Amazing.


A story about the first vampire, myths, and a great protagonist, mixed in with different elements of rich and great writing style along with an original story line, you have an amazing book. 


Christine E. Schuzle's voice of writing makes you think and feel the emotions of the characters living inside this world that she has created. Chrystine and Aaryn were absolutely great characters. Aaryn had this dark past, but you feel the emotions he feels while you travel along with him and Chrystine in the story. I highly recommend this book! I want more of this story!


Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress:
Published: January 6, 2010
Format: Signed US Paperback
Publisher: Writers Exchange E-Publishing
Average Rating: 4.13 stars
Page Count: 132 pages


Rating: 5/5 stars

Cover Reveal (1)

Today, the cover was revealed for... Fever by Lauren DeStefano! Check out the cover below!

How do you like it? Leave a comment letting me know!

Review: Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

There can only be one alpha. 
 
Bryn is finally settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack—or at least, her own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a Were, and Bryn’s protection is his only hope.
 
But Lucas isn’t part of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were.  With threats—old and new—looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to accept what her guardian Callum knew all along. To be alpha, she will have to give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And, she’s going to have to do it alone.
 
Bryn faces both the costs, and the rewards, of love and loyalty, in this thrilling sequel to Raised by Wolves.


Jennifer Lynn Barnes has written an incredible werewolf thriller! It's not my favorite werewolf book (Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is my personal favorite), but this series is so suspenseful, that it leaves you turning page after page and wanting more. 


This idea that Barnes has came up with is so unique and original from any other werewolf book that exist in YA Fiction. Bryn is just an amazing main protagonist. And Bryn and Callum just are so different, yet they compliant each other. It's just a great relationship!


If you prefer werewolves over vampires, love page-turner books, and enjoy a light but yet suspenseful read, the Raised by Wolves series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes might be the perfect book series for you!


Trial by Fire:
Published: June 14, 2011
Format: US Hardcover
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Average Rating: 4.27 stars
Page Count:  357 pages


Rating: 5/5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine!

My WoW this week is... Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick!   (Coming out October 4, 2011)

 The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

Be sure to leave your WoW over at Breaking the Spine!

Teaser Tuesday (1)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

• Devon's suggestion was enough to make me switch my gaze from the new girl to him.
• The closest I could come to ordering him to do anything was threatening him to decapitate him if he didn't stop singing The Best of ABBA at the top of his lungs, and even that was mostly futile. 

Leave your Teaser Tuesday over at Should Be Reading!

Musing Mondays (1)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted over at Should Be Reading.


The week's musing asks... Do you need to have your owned books out where you can see them, or are you okay with them being stored away?


Yes! I love to see them on bookshelves with their spines next to each other. I couldn't stand the thought of my books being stored away!

I basically have two bedrooms in my house for me. I have one that I use to stay in when I was little, but now I have a bigger bedroom right outside the old bedroom. My new bedroom has the bookshelf with my favorite books on it, and in my old bedroom, there are three bookshelves with books on them such as Twilight and The Giver.

Be sure to do the Musing Mondays, and leave your link over at Should Be Reading!

Review: For the Beauty of the Earth by David B. Lentz

Bruce Warrick is a young, Harvard MBA with a new position for a global, financial conglomerate in New York as the portfolio manager of a Top 50 hedge fund and who suffers from narcolepsy, a condition which under emotional extremes drives him irresistibly to fall asleep. His powerful CEO compels him to join a private, hedge fund association -- the Keynes Society at the Harvard Club of New York. Bruce learns that the Keynes Society privately controls $1 trillion in assets in a dark pool -- more than the individual GDPs of all but eight nations worldwide. The trouble begins when Bruce learns that the members of the Keynes Society are trading stocks under the influence of an enigmatic Board of Governors. When Bruce is advised by his firm to engage in the illegal trading practices of the Keynes Society, he wants to become a whistle-blower. But why risk paradise on earth against such intimidating power? What's the net asset value of one's soul? 


I really enjoyed this book. Even though I usually read young-adult books, this book was great (and it's not young adult). Bruce was just a great character. I loved all of the "intimidating power" parts, as long with most parts of the book!


David B. Lentz sent be this book via Goodreads, so thank you David! This book reminded me a little of Heist Society by Ally Carter, only not a young adult novel and the main protagonist is a male. But the cons and action packed into this book was great, and it left me turning page after page! 


I only had minor flaws with the book. Some parts were a little to slow for my taste, but it picked up right away! 


For the Beauty of the Earth:
Published: April 2, 2010
Format: SIGNED US Paperback
Publisher: WordsworthGreenwich Press
Average Rating: 4.50 stars
Page Count: 376 pages


Rating: 4/5 stars

Sirensong by Jenna Black

When Dana is invited to Faerie to be officially presented at the Seelie Court, it’s no easy decision. After all, everyone knows Titania, the Seelie Queen, wants her dead. But Titania claims not to be the one behind the death threats; and her son, Prince Henry, makes the decision a whole lot easier when he suggests Dana might be arrested for (supposedly) conspiring with her aunt Grace to usurp the Seelie throne. So she and her father better do as they're told . . .

The journey through Faerie is long—and treacherous. Dana thought it would be a good idea to have friends along, but her sort-of-boyfriend, Ethan, and her bodyguard’s son, Keane, just can’t seem to get along, and Kimber’s crush on Keane isn’t making things any easier. When a violent attack separates Dana from their caravan, the sexy Erlking saves her just in the nick of time . . . and makes it clear that he hasn’t given up on making her his own.

Arriving at Titania’s beautiful palace should be a relief. But Dana is soon implicated in an assassination attempt against Titania’s granddaughter, and is suddenly a fugitive, forced to leave her father behind as she and her friends flee for their lives. Will she be able to prove her innocence before the forces of the Seelie Court—or, worse, the Erlking—catch up with her? And will she save her father before he pays the ultimate price in her stead?

Jenna Black does not disappoint! I loved the Faeriewalker series ever since I first read Glimmerglass. I've always loved the characters and the storyline! 

I have to say, Sirensong is my favorite in the Faeriewalker series. We're following Dana and she's been invited to the Seelie Court. I recommend this entire series because it's just the way the Jenna Black has crafted this story and brought excellence and action and romance through this book. And how amazing is that cover? I love all the covers in the Faeriewalker series. Recommended!

Sirensong:

Published: July 5, 2011

Format: US Paperback

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Average Rating: 4.05 stars

Page Count: 320 pages

Upcoming sequel: I'm not sure if there will be a fourth book

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

One hour to rewrite the past . . . 
 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

Myra McEntire's Hourglass is such a unique novel. Also, look at the cover. Now look at it sideways. Isn't that cool?!?! 

Emerson was an incredible character. I felt her emotions and I thought she wasn't a big baby in the book, like how some female protagonists are (not all, some). 

The plot line and the story as a whole are incredible. I couldn't believe that this is a debut novel. Also, Myra is from Tennessee! (which where I'm from) I also loved that vanishing jazz trio. And the synopsis is true. There is mystery and romance and I highly recommend it!

Hourglass:

Published: June 14, 2011

Format: US Hardcover

Publisher: Egmont USA

Average Rating: 4.08 stars

Page Count: 397 pages

Upcoming Sequel: The sequel is untitled so far, and is coming out in 2012

Rating: 5/5 stars

My Latest Amazon Order!

Hey! So I just placed an Amazon order for the month of August (and one book that came out in June). I really wanted to get Mundahlia by RJ Gonzales.

I promise I'll get it RJ! If you haven't heard of it, look it up on Goodreads! It sounds amazing! The reason I didn't get it is because it's not out yet!


I also have two pre-orders of books that haven't came in yet.


Supernaturally (July 26, 2011)

Wolfsbane (July 26, 2011)

But here's the order I just placed!


Imaginary Girls

Chain Reaction (August 16)

Bloodlines (August 23)

Sweetly (August 23)

Fury (August 30, 2011)

Expect a review of Hourglass sometime during the weekend!

Coup d'Etat by Ben Coes

The wait is over—Ben Coes, whose debut Power Down was called “the must read thriller of the year” (Vince Flynn) is back and at the top of his game with a mesmerizing new novel
Wanting only a peaceful, obscure life, Dewey Andreas has gone to rural Australia, far from turbulent forces that he once fought against. But powerful men, seeking revenge, have been scouring the earth looking for Dewey. And now, they've finally found him - forcing Dewey to abandon his home and to fight for his life against a very well armed, well trained group of assassins.

Meanwhile, a radical cleric has been elected president of Pakistan and, upon taking power, sets off a rapidly escalating conflict with India.  As the situation spins quickly out of control, it becomes clear that India is only days from resorting to a nuclear response, one that will have unimaginably disastrous results for the world at large.  With only days to head this off, the President sends in his best people, including Jessica Tanzer, to do whatever it takes to restore the fragile peace to the region.  Tanzer has only one viable option - to set up and execute a coup d'etat in Pakistan - and only one man in mind to lead the team that will try to pull off this almost unimaginable task in the nerve-wrackingly short time frame, Dewey Andreas. If, that is, Jessica can even get to Dewey and if Dewey can get out of Australia alive...


Ben Coes' Coup d'Etat was an awesome book! There so much action packed inside this book that it was almost unreal. It was almost like reading a script from a movie from all the detail and action! And that cover is astonishing. The only thing that might turn people away from this book is the bad language.


Dewey Andreas, just a great character. Coes described him as I imagined. So many things are loaded in this book! Like a nuclear response, escaping a country, and a group of assassins... what more could any action and thriller book have? I really did enjoy Dewey has a character. He wasn't perfect or a bad person either. It was really mind-blowing how creative Ben Coes has made this story. I recommend this book! *THIS IS NOT A YOUNG ADULT TITLE*


Coup d'Etat:
Expected Publication Date: September 27, 2011
Format: ARC
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Average Rating: None yet
Page Count: 48o pages


Rating: 5/5 stars

The Fever Cover Reveal Countdown!

Fever, the sequel to Wither is due out on February 14, 2012. Lauren DeStefano is holding a Fever cover reveal countdown!


Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

The cover will be officially revealed via Lauren DeStefano's Facebook on July 27

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen

Sasha is desperate to find out who murdered her father. When getting the answer means pledging her soul to Eryx, she unlocks a secret that puts her in grave danger—Sasha is Anabo, a daughter of Eve, and Eryx’s biggest threat. 

A son of Hell, immortal, and bound to Earth forever, Jax looks for redemption in the Mephisto Covenant—God’s promise he will find peace in the love of an Anabo. After a thousand years, he’s finally found the girl he’s been searching for: Sasha. 

With the threat of Eryx looming, Jax has to keep Sasha safe and win her over. But can he? Will Sasha love him and give up her mortal life?


The Mephisto Covenant is a story like never before! I read this ARC off my computer. I loved Sasha as a character. I loved the entire storyline! Trinity Faegen has written an amazing story! I just had a few problems at the beginning of the story. I liked the idea of Jax had to stay on Earth forever, and I LOVED the idea of Eryx. Jax and Sasha reminded me of Clary and Jace from The Mortal Instruments, because of their love connection of giving up the girl's mortal life or not. I absolutely recommend The Mephisto Covenant.


The Mephisto Covenant:
Expected Publication Date: September 27, 2011
Format: Online ARC
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Average Rating: 3.89 stars
Page Count: 400 pages


Rating: 4/5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. 


My "can't-wait-to-read-it" book this week is Vanish by Sophie Jordan (the sequel to Firelight)

Vanish by Sophie Jordan
Expected Publication Date: September 6, 2011


To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone. 

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love? 

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?


I love this book. I read it back earlier in the year and fell in love with it. The only flaw about it was little parts and pieces of Carrie Ryan's writing. Basically, I was at the edge of my seat and felt fear while reading this book. The only author that I've heard that can make you feel fear just by reading words is Stephen King, but Ryan had my stomach knotted up and I had to put the book down several times to gather my emotions. Just amazing.


The Forest of Hands and Teeth:
Published: July 2009
Format: US Hardcover
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Average Rating: 3.61 stars
Page Count: 310 pages


Rating: 4/5

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.


Wow. I loved this so much better than The Forest of Hands and Teeth. The only time that this has ever happened is the Need series, with how much I love Captivate over the first book, Need. This is a companion novel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I felt my teeth chattering and was just scared at some point. In Carrie Ryan's writing, you feel the emotions that Gabry (our main character) is feeling. I absolutely love her writing. 


The Dead-Tossed Waves:
Published: March 9, 2010
Format: US Hardcover
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Average Rating: 3.96 stars
Page Count: 410 pages


Sequel: The Dark and Hollow Places (March 15, 2011)

Rating: 5/5 stars