Fledgling by Mari Miniatt

Publisher: Animated Liar Media
Pages: 134 (pdf) 218 (print)

From the Cover:

"She didn't scream. She should have, but the scream never formed." Rebecka "Beka" Saberhagen had a shock of her life when she found out her brother worked for a vampire. Just as she was able to understand that Vincent was a vampire, multiple murders began to happen close to her home. Then she was attacked by another vampire. A giant by the name of Steopa. With the help of Steopa and Vincent. Beka begins to accept the changes. Her old fears are gone, but new ones are becoming apparent.

Strange creatures and other beings, things she would never had seen as a human are suddenly real for her. The night has become a new playground for her and sometimes a nightmare. But, her brother and friends are being targeted; by someone with an old grudge. A grudge, she has nothing to do with. But it has ties to both Vincent and Steopa. As she discovers the past, she realizes she will have to fight. Will Beka find the strength to fight for the people she loves? Is she powerful enough? Will she survive?

Beka is a lonely woman, down on her luck. She's been in and out of mental hospitals, after her step-father raped her and her brother, John, damn near kills him for it. She's lost most of her self respect to become the overweight crazy lady, living on social media sites, "Saber" to her online friends.


When she stumbles upon Vincent's secret, she tries to escape, only to have him explain the facts of life to her as a vampire. As she attempts to slink away from her brother's overcrowded goth club, she is attacked, and slowly becomes what she didn't believe existed.


Fledging by Mari Miniatt is exactly what the title describes, the beginning of life as a fledging vampire. Beka is attacked by a starving vampire, Steopa, a monster of a vampire who finds himself attracted to the accidentally turned Beka. But, in becoming a vampire, she gains more than she ever lost.... a new love, life, name, and the ability to like herself once more. Rebeka is strong than Beka ever was, and with vampirism, comes new abilities, like blood magic. She becomes almost indestructible, ash wood still blisters her flesh, but not even taking her head will kill her, and she knows from experience.


Fledgling has an excellent storyline, a solid basis, and a breath of fresh air in the vampire genre. I liked the new twist Ms. Miniatt brings with her story as well as new mythos added to it's unique storyline. There are a few grammatical errors and iffy sentence structure (more complex sentences with a few descriptors and contractions would have been nice...again, maybe that's my preference and prejudice?) but with editing this would be a fantastic entry into the genre! It's unique in world building, allowing her vampires to be everyday people who aren't dramatically changed by vampirism. Though I prefer my vampires hot and steamy, lol, Ms. Miniatt's unique take freshens the genre, allowing it to grow. If you'd like a different take on vampires, gritty urban fantasy, and are prepared for the writing style, The Fledgling may be a book for you. If you'd like to see more reviews, click here. Three out of five fairy kisses for this reader.

 


I received this ebook from the author (she tweeted the code for a free copy) @ Smashwords for review.

Shimmerspell by Kimberly Spencer

Publisher:  Kimberly Spencer / Smashwords
Pages:  50

From the Cover:

When sixteen-year-old Jensen Meadows is cut off from her sister and finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient faerie war, she quickly learns that faeries aren't made of sparkly goodness. They're vicious. And worse, they're after her.

With the help of Liam Casey, she searches for her sister and begins to suspect that her whole life has been nothing more than a faerie tale.

But what if the truth turns out to be more than she can handle? 

 

EXCERPT:

She reared back and slammed the locker shut, backing away with her hand braced against the wall of metal for balance. She blinked and everything became more pronounced--the green of the lockers extra bright, the classroom doors an almost blinking white, like the world had suddenly gone HD and her eyes couldn't catch up.

Something was wrong with her, but she couldn't ponder that something for long. The sound of feet shuffling had her heart back-flipping in her chest. Unnerved, she turned to run, or more honestly, hobble to class, and slammed into a brick wall.

Liam. Except--not. The boy in front of her had pale pearlescent skin that shimmered underneath the overhead lights, his eyes no longer the cerulean she had come to adore, but a deeper, more vibrant blue that reminded her of giant sapphires. Tension lines bracketed his mouth, and his gaze darted up and down the hall as if he expected someone to show up.

Jensen found her eyes riveted to his face. She tried to count the number of hairs that made up his golden stubble, looking for something, anything to avoid dealing with the two things that had caused her breaths to come way too fast, and her palms to feel like she had dipped them in the ocean.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, voice just as strained as the cords bunching in his neck.

She shut her eyes. They weren't working anyway. But the darkness that followed only made her pulse speed up more, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. When she peeled her lids apart, she knew her sight wasn't the problem because they were still there, still peeking over his shoulders at her. Still fluttering. Wings. Liam had wings.

Jensen has had a strange life. She's never known her mother or her father, both gone soon after her birth. She's been raised by her con-artist sister, Lauren, constantly on the move, going from one to another when it gets too hot to stay. But, this time something is different. Even when Lauren tells her it's time to move on, Jensen stops to think, why now?

Then, a strange thing happens. Jensen has been the burnt of the A-listers jokes, maybe because Liam, hot and magnetic, notices her. When she decides to even the scales, Liam intercepts her activity, catching her in the act. But, the weird thing isn't being caught, it's the wings that suddenly sprout from his back. And he's not the only thing that's different.

Shimmerspell by Kimberly Spencer is a fun ride into the world we didn't know existed and neither does Jensen. Everything isn't how it appears to be, and not everyone is who they claim to be. And Jensen's world gets more interesting and more complicated with every glance. But, it might also lead to her imprisonment in a world that can't exist, Jensen's never has known existed. Only her father can save her, and she doesn't even know him.

Shimmerspell was fast paced fun trip into the land of faery, and it gets better. There's a struggle going on and Jensen is stuck in the middle. If you want a quick little read that's just the tip of the iceberg, pick up Shimmerspell, you won't be disappointed, and there's more stories to come. Paranatural story lovers will want to read this one, interesting and fun take on the land of faery. Great for an afternoon pick me up!!  Kimberly is blessed by the cover goddess as well, lovely cover!  4.5 out of 5 fairy kisses. Excellent read and I'm looking forward to the next novella is the series.

 




Book Trailer:



I received my ebook novella from the author for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Saint Valentine's Clash by Raven Corinn Carluk

Publisher:  Raven Corinn Carluk /  Smashwords
Pages:  320

(Release Date:  February 13, 2011)

 

From the Cover:

Her powers are growing, her depressions are gone, and Keila is doing what she does best; helping those who need her. The young psionicist has her life back on track thanks to her considerate vampire lover and close friends that love her.

Varick is out of town, and Keila keeps herself busy to avoid any longing. Simy is suffering flashbacks from childhood, Giovanni says kids are going missing, and a strange presence is affecting Portland. More than enough for a young woman to juggle and solve, keeping herself happy.

Events culminate quickly; Simy is kidnapped, a sex cult is enthralling people, and an enticing incubus becomes her ward. Suddenly, it's a race against time with an enemy from her past.

Keila must face her greatest challenge, alone, and prove to the world just how deadly capable she is.

While Varick is away on business, Keila finds herself in demand. She has finally come to understand that she is strong enough to stand on her own. Since the death of her parents, she's been a little lost. With Varick's help, and steady pushing, she's glorying her own abilities, and they're many and varied, and growing everyday. And she's found out something else about herself, without her vampire lover at her beckon call, she's becoming more like the vampire, in her thoughts and her needs, maybe even becoming a little bit of a vampire herself.

Simy, Keila's best friend, has been summoned back to New Zealand. But, when she drops him at the airport, he's kidnapped by a distant relative, a sex mage. It turns out, though Keila or Simy can't remember anything about what happened before, this is the same mage that kidnapped Simy and his sister. It's also the last thing Keila's father did before his death, freeing Simy from the very same sex mage. Now, it's up to Keila to find her friend and set him free.

While the airport and before she knows about Simy, she discovers another man, a gentle Japanese man, being forced into a van by other stronger men. It goes against her family creed not to try to help the weaker when possible. She frees the man, Kiyoshi, only to find out, he is one of the sex's mages underlings. Moira bound a demon to his soul, turning into an incubus and immortal. His abilities are to soothe, calm, use others with his sexuality. To get Simy back, Keila will need his help.

Also, Giovanni, since losing his daughter, Charlotte, has left the vampire's employment and he's now running a shelter for teens. Trying to give back and help other teens as he wasn't able to help Charlotte. When teens go missing, Keila thinks she knows where they are, and it all comes back to the sex mage, Moira. And there's more going on than Keila is even aware of.

When Varick calls Keila to see if she'd like him to return, in need of his help, she refuses. She needs to try to do for herself.

Saint Valentine's Clash by Raven Corinn Carluk is the second installment of her Keila O'Brion, Psioinic Warrior series. In this installment, we find Keila on her own, her German vampire lover, Varick Eitenhauer, out of town on business. Simy has been called back to New Zealand, but it's all a ruse to get him back into the evil clutches of Moira, ancient sex mage and distant relative. Without her vampire, Keila has to depend on herself, use her wits and cunning along with her powerful abilities to find and free Simy.  Moira, sex mage and wicked witch, has intruded once more into Keila's life and is daunting her with facts she doesn't remember, the reason for her father's death. Keila is also, with the help of the vampire's networking abilities, being called to help with preternatural problems. A private investigator, Cliff, calls about an odd book left in his care. He gives Keila the ancient book.... covered in something besides leather... and there's something about the book, something unclean... (there's more story to tell here, so there's hope for a three book for this series). Keila is the same gothic tongue-studded character from All Hallows Blood, Book 1 (Crescent Moon Press) who uses her abilities for good. She refers to herself a sociopathic, but I prefer "emotionally divergent" (she may exhibit some antisocial behaviors by not conforming to the societal norms, but she is engaged and she helps those who need her). It is through her emotional divergence that she's able to stay calm in extreme situations, not minding a little blood shed.

Saint Valentine's Clash is an excellent follow up to All Hallow's Blood, though I would have enjoyed seeing more of the vampire, Varick Eitenhauer. He was a strong character in the last book, and I missed his presence in this book, other than phone calls and dreams. But, Keila becomes more focused, a stronger character without the vampire taking care of her needs, letting her grow and come into her own. There is less romance in this book than the first, with the vampire out of town, but the introduction of Kiyoshi and his growth in the story, helps fill out the missing pieces. Though Saint Valentine's Clash is Book 2, it is easily read as a stand alone. Raven Corinn Carluk also wrote a flash fiction with Keila and Varick on her website, it's definitely worth a peek too. This is a book that all urban fantasy lovers will want to take a look at. I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series.

I received this ebook for review from the author. All opinions expressed are my own.