Soul Reborn by Jean Murray

Publisher:  Crescent Moon Press
Pages:  282

(Released:  April 6, 2011)

From the Cover:

THE HUMAN REALM, HIS BATTLEFIELD.

Asar, the Egyptian God of the Underworld, has been tortured and left soulless by a malevolent goddess, relegating him to consume the very thing he was commissioned to protect. Human souls.  Now an empty shell of hatred, Asar vows to kill the goddess and anyone involved in her release, but fate crosses his path with a beautiful blonde huntress who has a soul too sweet to ignore.

DEADLY SECRETS BETTER LEFT UNEARTHED.

Lilly, fearless commander of the Nehebkau huntresses, is the only things standing in the way of the goddess' undead army unleashing hell on earth. But Lilly has a secret--one she is willing to sell her soul to keep. If the Underworld god discovers her role in the dig that released the goddess, she will lose everything, including his heart. 

Lilly has had her hands full since the death of her father, and Mother holds his life and death over her head. Lilly holds herself responsible for a lot of things, including the well being of her two younger sisters, Kit and Kendra. Lilly is the leader of the Nehebkau huntresses, only occasionally challenged by Rebecca, the commander of the para-fighters. With Kit at her back, Lilly lets the power of Nehebkau flow through her body, to destroy the hordes of undead plaguing their world, their home. This undead plague seems to be infecting more and more of humanity, until the city officials have to depend on the huntresses to keep the hordes in check. Kendra, museum mistress and the brains behind their efforts as well as being the youngest sister, keeps them on track, searching to discover the answer to the undead plague... one Lilly feels has been unleashed by her own hand.

Asar first sees Lilly as he seeks out the human souls he needs to nourish his depleted soulless body. She appears as the beautiful blonde unwilling to bow to his demands or desires. His body has been left soulless by a jilted goddess, one he found lacking, one he couldn't allow to have entrance to the Underworld, and entombed. As revenge, when she was accidentally released, she strips away his heart, and with it, his soul, as well as any of the human souls she can enslave. He and his brother, Kamen, are unaffected by the soulless undead, even to the point of having control over them if only temporarily. 

When Lilly and Asar finally meet on equal terms, sparks ignite, and what Asar thought was lost forever is returned with Lilly's every touch. It's an addiction only she can cure, and he must endure, if his soul is to be reborn.

Soul Reborn by Jean Murray is a sweet ride into Ms. Murray interpretation of Egyptian mythos. She builds her world to include a different existence on the Earthbound plane, one where Egyptian myths are brought into reality. And with that reality, comes the existences of Gods and Goddess, some good, and some, not so much. A great battle is building between the forces of good and evil, the only question is will Lilly and Asar be able to withstand the coming conflict? Will this new love they've discovered by strong enough to fight the evil that has been brought into reality? Are Asar and Lilly willing to forgive each other for what they see as their crimes against humanity?

Soul Reborn is an excellent addition to the growing genre of stories revolving around the mythology of Egyptian, Roman, and Greek Gods. The heroine of the story, Lilly, provides the strong resilient, but at the same time, very feminine leader. Asar, our hero, is the alpha male I've come to love, strong yet needy, a soft core only Lilly fill to complete his existence. Because, with the loss of his heart and soul, he'll need to learn to love, if he's going to live to fight another day. Each will have to see how far they're willing to go to be together. I highly recommend this book to lovers of stories revolving around mythos, as well as paranormal romance lovers. Urban fantasy lovers will also fall in love with this story because at it's core, there is the creation of the world filled with scores of the undead, willing to dine on humanity. 

Soul Reborn, Key to the Cursed, Book 1 is Lilly and Asar's story, with Kit and Kendra's stories yet to come. I'll be eagerly waiting to see where this story leads next. Five out of five fairy kisses.

Book Trailer:



Stop back tomorrow for an interview with Jean Murray, author of Soul Reborn! 



I won my copy of Ms. Murray's Soul Reborn in Crescent Moon Press's Memorial Day blog hop. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Monday Morning Flash Fiction Challenge, Week 49

Good Morning Flash Fictioners!

It's fast approaching a year of flashing each other, only three weeks left until week 52....so I'm wondering....what do I call it after 52? Just keep going numerically or do I say something like Year 2, Week 1? Hmmmm..... I have no clue!! lol... Any input from the interwebs would be great!

Well, anyway... it's time for another edition of...

Monday Morning Flash Fiction Challenge!

This weeks image in another of Luis Royo's images, but with Blodeuedd in mind. The minute I saw it, I thought of her. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with, so many possibilities!

The rules remain the same, 350 words (which I stayed inside of this week) and come back on Friday to post your response. See everyone then!

Ciao!

Monday Morning Flash Fiction Challenge, Week 48, The Friday Post (on Saturday)

Well, I'm late again, but here's my flash fiction entry. Really struggled trying to come up with something, but on a side note, the YA MS I'm working on is coming right along. Almost to 13,000 words after a long dry period when I could figure out how to move the story. Then, it came to me out of the blue, and I wonder...what the ..., why were you struggling, lol. Doh!

Destiny Revealed

By: Dottie Taylor

Word Count: 350

Lightning flashed through the smoke filled sky, striking indiscriminately. It was burning, all of it. Astral gazed over her city, her place in the clouds. The demon angels filled the air, all grieving the loss of their home.

This was her punishment for escaping the Dark Prince. He was magnetic, impossible to refuse, seductive in his need to possess her. He'd become her life, her breath, her every need, killing her a little more with every fiery stroke along her pale flesh. But, he couldn't force her to love him, and that was the one thing he desired.

Now, the screams could be heard rebounding from the cliff sides, echoing her pain.

When she would not love his Darkness, the Prince's wrath for her disregard brought pain to those around her. Baiting her to return to him, to give him what he desired, even if it was a lie.

“Why?” She demanded aloud, “Why do you demand what I cannot give?”

A boom resounded in her ears. “You are mine, I will have you!”

“No person can be owned.” She called back.

“I have no desire to own, merely possess.” He seductively called. “I will return what has been taken,” he purred, “give in to my demands.”

“For my life, you will return our homes?”

“Yes,” he answered enticingly.

“Then, I demure, take what you desire.”

“Freely given?”

Defeat filled her voice. “Freely given.”

“You will come to love me.”

She hung her head, whispering. “No, I will not.”

Thunder rumbled, the lightning came closer.

Astral lifted her face, “but you may have my body.”

With a crack of lightning, Astral vanished from the cliffs. Laughter thundered, pleasure at her supposed defeat.

The Dark Prince possessed Astral for many years, finally tiring of her refusal. Another, more amendable, soul would be found.

Though ravaged by the Darkness's caresses, Astral smiled. With all his ungodly power, she was victorious. Though he had possessed her body, he was unable to steal the one thing he coveted, love.


I hope everyone else had fun with this!

Have a great weekend!

Ciao!

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.

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Publisher:  Candlewick Press
Pages:  352

(August 9, 2011)

From the Cover:

Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. 

Locked away in the chemically-induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten sub-basement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long dead, and Rose – hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire – is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. 

Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes – or be left without any future at all.

Rose was been asleep for a very long time, much longer than her mother promised, much longer than anyone thought possible. Sixty-two years is a long time to be asleep. She missed so much, and from what she understands, no all of it was good. When she went to sleep, her father's company was working on genetic altered foods, and when she woke up, everything has changed. The Dark Times brought death, infertility, instability. Her parents and first love, Xavier, are all gone. Her parents died after putting her in stasis, never telling others of her existence. She was left to languish in the stasis tube found in the sub-basement of their apartment building all those long years. And if it hadn't been for the accidental discovery of her tube by her mysterious savior, Bren, she would have remain, asleep within her dreams, eternally.

When she wakes, it's to a new world, new vernacular, nothing is the same. And someone, something, has been programmed to seek her out, and retrieve her... and ultimately killer her.

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan tells the story of a young girl, who has been sheltered and shielded all of her life, to the point of obsession and abuse. Her parents seldom let her explore her world, even before stasis. They were world famous scientist and corporate engineers, holding the rights to an interplanetary empire. Every time they opened a new station, launched new product, wanted to take a vacation, they put Rose into stasis.... every time. Rose doesn't know any better, she's never been treated any differently. Her controlling father demanded obedience, her dependent mother easily and willingly bent to his will. If she questions their decisions or requests, she's put into stasis, until she "calms down....becomes reasonable". It happens many times throughout her life. Rose first meets Xavier when he is only a toddler, and while he continues to grow, to mature and grow older, Rose exists in that place without reality. She's always been older than Xavier, until one day, when she's released from her stasis tube, she's not. Xavier, though chronologically younger, has gained more birthdays than Rose. He's always been fascinated by the girl who goes away, but always comes back the same. Eventually, love grows and when Rose's parents place her in stasis, Xavier finds a way to help her escape. He becomes Rose's hero and savior... until her parents found out, and she's placed in stasis and forgotten. Sixty-two years later, Bren discovers an old tube, dusty and worn by time, used for home stasis, until it was outlawed. As he brushes away the dirt and grime, he discovers the sleeping beauty tucked away inside. Then, Rose's world changes, and nothing will ever be the same. Everything has been lost or changed. And not only that, something is hunting for her, something wants to find her, and wants her dead.

A Long, Long Sleep is one of the best YA distant reality novels I've read. It's not set in the far future, just one that hasn't happened yet, but could. It's the story of a young girl's abuse. She's not beaten or physically damaged in any way that anyone else can see. She's not mentally broken... that anyone would notice. She has accepted her fate, to be the girl in the stasis tube, never questioning, never resisting, compliant. She doesn't know any different, won't accept that her parents are doing is something wrong. When she does question why, when she wants to be her own person, to learn to live and have a life, she forced in stasis one last time and forgotten. It isn't until she's discovered in the sub-basement of her parent's old apartment building that she comes to life, real life. Her old life comes to her in the memories of her mother and father, and of Xavier... and they're all gone, long dead. She's never been allowed to attend school long or socialize with others her age. Now, she has to start over, if she can figure out how and learn to handle all the new strangeness. She latches onto Bren, her savior, but Bren is overwhelmed. But, Otto, the hybrid-alien engineered boy is fascinated by her, and he seems to be the only one who wants to be her friend. But, then again, they are both owned by the corporation, one and the same.

A Long, Long Sleep is a sleeping beauty retelling with a macabre twist. Rose's parents leave her in a stasis tube, repeatedly. Any time they need a break from being parents, a break from the reality of their lives, she's hidden away. No one questions, no one knows. Rose is almost the secret child, and there might be others. But, even from the grave her parents reach out and touch her one last time. If you like retellings of classic fairy tales, you'll enjoy A Long, Long Story with it's dark twists and turns. If you like young love, twice over, give this one a try. You won't believe the ending. Five out of five fairy kisses.

I absolutely LOVE the UK cover! Isn't it amazing!!

I received my ebook copy for review from NetGalley and Candlewick Press. All opinions are my own.