Review: Hero, Cursed by Diantha Jones

Title: Hero, Cursed
Author: Diantha Jones
Series: Mythos #2; Oracle of Delphi #3.5
Publication: August 17th 2014
Genre: Young Adult ~ Greek Mythology
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5/5

Before he knew the Oracle.
Before he knew the Quad.
Before the Great Unknown threatened his world.
He was a hero, cursed forever.

Shunned by a family that doesn't understand him, demigod Lenka Tahile aka "Swindle" is a complete loner and he likes it that way. Then he meets the hero, Ace Remedy, the brother of an infamous demigod Prince, and his life goes from bad to worse. Ace is loud, rude, and disruptive to his peaceful existence in every way. He's also hilarious and daring, and Swindle ends up finding a friend just when he thought he'd never have another.

But little does he know, becoming friends with Ace was all part of the Fates' plan. Now his past is slowly coming back to haunt him and there's nothing he can do to stop it. Nothing but try not to bring to light the lost love, the failed hopes, and the cursed existence that he would kill to keep in the dark.

I was not chosen. I was cursed.


Diantha Jones really surprised me with Hero, Cursed — This is Swindle like you've never seen him before. 

I can't express enough how much I love these Mythos books. It gives us insight into the characters and let's us get to know them better and understand where they're coming from. I think this is especially good with Swindle because he's one of my favorite characters and there has been so much mystery surrounding him.

I loved seeing Swindle's past and how his curse started. I couldn't have been more surprised by his involvement with Jason and the Argonauts. I think my exact reaction was: "Jason?! *jaw drops*" Yeah, that sounds about right. I must say that I really feel bad for everything Swindle went through, with the curse, losing his mother over and over again. And of course Apollo has to make everything so much harder for him. Poor Swindle!

There are some characters that we know from the Oracle of Delphi books making an appearance. Of course there's Ace — I always enjoy reading about him. I love his and Swindle's bromance. They're so much fun together. I was thrilled to see Strafford coming in too, sort of... It totally was a mind fuck. Thanks for that, Diantha. And Apollo, naturally, was being a pain in Swindle's ass. There were more familiar characters but I'll just let you discover it on your own. 

So overall, another fantastic book by Diantha Jones with awesome action, great writing and an ending that made me scream inside. Hero, Cursed was just as amazing as I was hoping it would be. Lenka "Swindle" Tahile is definitely one of the more intriguing characters in the Oracle of Delphi and Mythos books. I loved this story about him and as always I can't get enough of this world. More, please!

About the Author:

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Diantha Jones was born the day thousands of turkeys sacrificed their lives to fill millions of American bellies on November 22 which also happened to be Thanksgiving Day (Her mother says she owes her a turkey). She is a Journalism graduate who wants to be a career novelist (of books, not Facebook posts). When not writing or working, she is reading on her Nook, getting drunk on Red Bulls, being hypnotized by Netflix or on a mission to procure french fries.

The Oracle of Delphi fantasy series is her first series. She is also the author of Mythos: Stories from Olympus, a companion series, and there is another fantasy series in the works.

Release Day Blitz: Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters + Giveaway (INT)

Debt Inheritance (Book One) Indebted Series

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

Goodreads

RELEASE DATE: August 18th

Blurb

“I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It’s undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you’ve paid off your debts.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Being the first born daughter, her life is forfeit to the first born son of the Hawks to pay for sins of ancestors past. The dark ages might have come and gone, but debts never leave. She has no choice in the matter.

She is no longer free.

Jethro Hawk receives Nila as an inheritance present on his twenty-ninth birthday. Her life is his until she’s paid off a debt that’s centuries old. He can do what he likes with her—nothing is out of bounds—she has to obey.

There are no rules. Only payments.

A modern day Dark Erotic Romance

Excerpt: Debt Inheritance:  Meet Jethro & Nina

ONE - Nina's POV

“Huge disappointment, Ms. Weaver.” His cold glare sent a snowstorm wiping away the bonfire in my belly. “I’m done playing games, so cut the bullshit. Time to begin the day.” His voice gave no room for interpretation. A cold draft shot down my back.

My brief reprieve from debts and horrible Hawks was over. I’d been shown something I desperately wanted, but denied it because I failed to please him.

“You could teach me…show me how…” I couldn’t make eye contact with him. Mortification painted my cheeks for both admitting I was clueless and asking a monster to coach me.

Jethro laughed. “You think that will save you from what’s coming? Was that your little plan? To make me fuck you in the hopes I might feel something for you?”

**

TWO - Jethro's POV

I stood up slowly, clicking my tongue. “Ah, ah, ah, Ms. Weaver. Don’t take that tone with me. You’re the failure. You’re the prisoner. You take what I give you. You do not assume to have any say or authority. That includes listening to everything I deem important to tell you.” Ghosting to a stop in front of her, I murmured, “Is that quite understood?”

I flexed my muscles, welcoming back the soothing chillness of control. I hadn’t liked stepping outside my confines of civility. Things got messy when silence was disrupted. Things got rushed when tempers rose and curses flowed.

And I didn’t want to rush her undoing. I wanted to savour it. Devour it.

About the Author:

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex... her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:

Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)

Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:

Destroyed

STALK Pepper: 

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Signed Swag Pack (2 Winners)

ebook of Debt Inheritance (5 Winners)

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Review: Exposure by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Title: Exposure: A Modern-Day Spin on Shakespeare's Macbeth
Authors: Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
Series: Twisted Lit #2
Publication: January 18th 2013 by Merit Press
Genre: Young Adult ~ Contemporary ~ Retelling
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository 
Cover Rating: 3/5
Overall Rating: 4/5

Double, double, toil and trouble. Sometimes, the quest for high school royalty can be deadly! In this emotionally-charged twist on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a self-conscious shutterbug named Skye Kingston navigates a treacherous school year in Alaska fraught with unspoken secrets and tragic twists of fate. Along the way she encounters three strangely prophetic BFFs; one social-climbing, sociopathic cheerleader; and a heart-stopping hottie named Craig McKenzie: the man who would be Prom King. Can Skye save the boy she loves — and herself — before they get caught in the crosshairs?

How I love these books. I feel like for the past two days I've been living on a Twisted Lit cloud. When I finished Tempesteous I started Exposure right away. And even though I didn't think it was quite as good as its predecessor, I still really liked it.

This book, unlike the previous one, had definitely a slightly dark undertone. I mean, it was still kind of cute but with the murder and everything it was darker. Which I thought was great.

As always (so far) with a Twisted Lit book, I really liked the main character and her voice. Skye was a little bit of an outsider, which I think a lot of people can relate to. I also liked her three friends. I'm not sure I liked Craig, though. He had his good moments for sure but I thought he was kind of an ass for the way he treated Skye for the past three years.

As always the writing was excellent, which by now I shouldn't be surprised with because obviously Kim Askew and Amy Helmes are very skilled with words. 

All in all, Exposure was another thoroughly enjoyable and recommendable book in the Twisted List series!

About the Authors:

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Los Angeles-based writers Kim Askew and Amy Helmes have been writing and blogging together since 2007. Askew, whose work has appeared in Elle and other magazines as well as the anthology The May Queen, is a content manager for the Webby-award winning teen site www.FashionClub.com and the FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Helmes is a West Coast editor for Soaps In Depth magazine and a contributor to The Rundown, a daily e-mail service that keeps subscribers informed on what’s new and cool in L.A.