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Title: Trapped by a Song
Author: Nicole Pouchet
Publication: March 24th 2015 by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Genre: Adult ~ Paranormal Romance
Purchase: Amazon | Kobo
Rating: 3/5
If Detective Jori Anzoli has to do one more telepathic reading for the Las Vegas Police Department, her para-capabilities may fry out. That doesn’t matter when she’s called in to help find eight men who mysteriously went missing. The case escalates quickly. Clairvoyants in the department are scared to touch it, her brother becomes the ninth missing man, and the Paranormal Investigative Agency (PIA) sends a distractingly handsome agent who hassles her every step of the way.
Agent Del Moore is on a mission to find the PIA’s missing biomedical weapons engineer. A retro-cognizant, Del is used to avoiding human contact unless the job demands it. The less intrusive knowledge he has about others, the better. But a brush with the aloof Detective Jori may change his mind. He can’t ignore her warm essence, especially when she impossibly summons him into her dream.
As mounting clues lead Jori and Del to go deep undercover into a Nevada brothel, an ancient succubus preys on every living soul within, placing Jori and Del on separate hallucinogenic paths of destruction. Will they learn the truth behind the brothel and their mission before succumbing to an ulterior plan neither of them wishes to see?
First of all a huge thank you to Nicole Pouchet for kindle giving me the ARC of Trapped by a Song to read and review it. It was a quick, interesting and steamy story that I enjoyed!
To be fair, I actually feel like this book is better than 3 stars but not quite 4 stars, if you know what I mean. I would give it 3.5 stars although I don't usually work with halves. But anyway...
So Trapped by a Song is a novella about paras (people born with paranormal abilities) that are basically forced to serve as officers. I've always been a fan of stories like this and I've read a couple like it before and I must say that I really liked this one because it's also a retelling of the fairy tale Jorinda and Jorindel by the Brothers Grimm. I actually read the fairy tale after I finished reading Trapped by a Song just to see what it was like and it's a pretty great retelling of it, in my opnion.
Main characters Jori and Del had great chemistry. I guess I would've liked a bit more character building to be able to connect with them more but then again this is still a novella of only 81 pages so it's kind of hard when there's not much time for it. But other than that they were great. I loved how Jori was a a bit indifferent at times but that eventually she couldn't deny her attraction to Del.
I really liked the twist of the original Brothers Grimm story where Nicole Pouchet changed the old fairy into a succubus. Pretty brilliant if you ask me. I also liked how the succubus used a drug called Song to lure men and to make them keep coming back. I just love a good story with an evil succubus.
All in all, Trapped by a Song was a likable paranormal story that I read very fast. It might not be the best novella I've ever read but it was quick, very hot and I loved the twist on the fairy tale.
About the Author:
Still amazed to be an adult, Nicole co-owns a marketing agency and writes paranormal romance novels. She has managed to center her life around raising her two small sons and being true to her family (including husband and friends), and is happiest near the water.
Nicole wrote a weekly column about life’s mysterious and mundane moments called “A Discerning Eye” for her local branch of AOL’s news website, Patch. Her poetry and articles have been published in journals including Executive Pie, Sacramento Poetry Corner, Mother Earth Journal, Lummox Journal, Poetry Now, Poetry Motel, and The Duke University Archives.
Nicole holds an English degree from Duke University where she studied poetry under Lucille Clifton and Debbie Pope.
As a former theater hand, Nicole assistant directed Broadway’s Little Women and Broadway’s A Thousand Clowns; served as prop master’s assistant for Broadway’s Birdy; and directed and stage managed a host of regional plays in Durham, North Carolina and Charles Town, West Virginia.
Nicole is a partner at marketing agency BlueTreeDigital, an outsourced marketing department for small-to-medium sized businesses. She lives in Leesburg, Virginia with her husband and two small sons.
Title: The Golden Apple
Author: Michelle Diener
Publication: March 24th 2014
Genre: Fantasy ~ New Adult ~ Fairy Tale Retelling
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
Kayla's world has been turned upside-down . . .
Her father has made her the prize in a deadly, impossible tournament, and Kayla has retaliated in the only way she knows how; by choosing her champion beforehand. But taking control of the outcome changes the game completely, and when the real reason behind the strange test becomes apparent, Kayla realizes not just her life, but her entire kingdom is at stake.
Rane's honor is torn in two...
In order to save his brother, Rane will do whatever he has to--including deceive and betray a princess. He knew nothing about this tournament would be easy, but when it turns into a deeper, far more sinister game, Rane is forced to see it through to the end, or leave his brother at the mercy of their enemy.
Now their fates are entwined, and they must venture into the deep, dark forest together . . .
Kayla and Rane are bound to one another by an enchantment and Kayla's actions. But the sorcerer forcing them to do his will may have miscalculated, because no-one comes out of the Great Forest unchanged. No-one.
The Golden Apple is loosely based on the Norwegian fairy tale The Princess on the Glass Hill.
I do love retellings and this one is very original because it's based on a Norwegian fairy tale and we don't get to see that often. These fairy tales are also not widely known (not to me anyway) so that makes it all the more special. Especially when the story woven around it is so good.
I actually liked The Golden Apple a bit more than Michelle Diener's previous fairy tale retelling Mistress of the Wind. I loved how there was a lot of action so it never got boring, the romance was nicely done too although it didn't overpower the rest of the story and of course above all else, the magic. I love me some magic in a book!
Kayla and Rane's journey was fantastic. I loved their interaction, their personalities. Kayla, a princess, though no ordinary one and isn't what she seems and Rane, doing whatever it takes to save his brother even if he had to deceive Kayla to get to the golden apple. Ah, the intrigue! As always Diener has managed to create great leading characters that you can't help but care for what happens to them. Kayla and Rane also meet a lot of interesting characters on their journey in the Great Forest; A huge enchanted kitty, evil sorcerers, witches, trolls... you name it. It had them all.
I'm pretty excited that there will be a second book coming out in the fall because I can't wait to see where the story is going next and if they will be able to stop the socerers' war and defeat Eric The Bold. So yes I would definitely recommend this fantastic new adult fairy tale retelling by Michelle Diener!
Favorite Quotes:
His determination to win her set her senses alight, more brilliant and blinding than the midday sun off the glass mountain.
She could not get lost in his again. She would never find her way back.
She was his by law, and yet, he knew she was not his at all. She was one-one's but her own.
About the Author:
Michelle Diener writes historical fiction and fantasy. Her Susanna Horenbout & John Parker series, set in the court of Henry VIII, includes In a Treacherous Court, Keeper of the King’s Secrets and In Defense of the Queen.
Michelle’s other historical novels include Daughter of the Sky, The Emperor’s Conspiracy and Banquet of Lies (loosely connected to The Emperor’s Conspiracy).
Michelle’s first fantasy novel, Mistress of the Wind, was published on December 19th, 2013 and her second fantasy, The Golden Apple, is due out on March 24th, 2014.
Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.
Title: Mistress of the Wind
Author: Michelle Diener
Publication: December 23rd 2013
Genre: Fairytale Retelling ~ Adult
Purchase: To Come
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . .
The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.
Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .
She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response.
It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .
This novel is a retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
My Thoughts:
Mistress of the Wind is a very special book to me. For one, it's a beautiful story and two, I was one of the beta readers and my name is in the acknowledgements. So I just want to thank Michelle again here for asking me.
"She was not just Astrid. She was something more."
Though I didn't give this book as high a rating as I did in the past for the other books written by this author I did like it. It was an amazing retelling but I didn't enjoy it as much as her other books. But I must say that when a read the completed story I enjoyed it more. I really loved the characters and Michelle's writing was gorgeous.
"She didn't care if there was no hope in Norga's palace. She was bringing hope with her."
Astrid is definitely one of my favorite female character. I love all female characters Michelle creates actually, but Astrid had really something special. I love how slowly she finds who she really is. It was a joy reading about her.
Bjorn was another amazing character. Though I wasn't so sure of him the first time I read this book I fell in love with him slowly and even more so the second time I read it.
But my favorite character was Jorgen. I loved him right from the start and his dry humor made me laugh several times.
"Because no matter how small the chance, she was willing to risk everything."
Also this is an adult fairytale retelling and I just love that because most fairytale retellings are young adult so it's nice to see that adult ones can just be as enjoyable to read.
Gorgeous writing and spunky characters, Mistress of the Wind was a great retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Though not my favorite book by this author, I'm so glad I got to chance to read it and am once again awed by the way Michelle Diener can hook me with her words.
About The Author:
Michelle Diener writes historical fiction and fantasy. Her Susanna Horenbout & John Parker series, set in the court of Henry VIII, includes In a Treacherous Court, Keeper of the King’s Secrets and In Defense of the Queen.
Michelle’s other historical novels include Daughter of the Sky, The Emperor’s Conspiracy and Banquet of Lies (loosely connected to The Emperor’s Conspiracy).
Michelle’s first fantasy novel, Mistress of the Wind, is set for a December 23, 2013, release.
Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.
When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter and Facebook.
