self-publishing

Book Review: Eléonore

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Eléonore
Iníonaofa Chronicles #1
by Faith Rivens

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Urban fantasy

Librarian by day, demon hunter by night, single mom all day, Eléonore has things under control until she finds out there’s a bounty on her head. Now she has become the hunted, but she’s going to face the trouble head-on so she can get back to her son.

This type of urban fantasy is not my normal fare, but I thought I’d give it a try to support a fellow self-published author. I appreciate the depth Rivens has given to her fantasy world, as it was developed enough that I felt like I was diving into the middle of an already-going story. This led me to feel a bit lost at times, but it also made me want to know more, keeping me engaged. Unfortunately, by the end, I felt like there was something majorly missing from the plot, and I think that’s because the answers will come in a later book. Or maybe some of them won’t.  I don’t think I’ll continue on, mostly due to what I mentioned before about it not being the kind of thing I normally read. It was also a bit more extreme than I expected in various ways. There’s a fair bit of violence and language and a sex scene (not particularly graphic, but more than I prefer). It was also weirdly religious—Eléonore prays to Mary (mother of Jesus) after stating that she isn’t religious at all, so kind of confusing. Fans of urban fantasy of this nature who don’t mind the things I mentioned above might consider giving this book a try.

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If you’ve read Abby’s Letters, or read it in the future, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with this book.

Book Review: Elizabeth’s Playground

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Elizabeth’s Playground
Abby’s Letters #3
by Dana Romanin

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Christian YA romance

After losing her dad and then her mom and being lied to by her older sister for months about her mom’s death, Abby doesn’t have a lot of capacity for trust. She also can’t quite keep herself from shoplifting whenever she’s stressed and doesn’t feel worthy of love. But when she meets the new kid, Ian, she can’t stop herself from liking him any more than she can stop herself from snatching items off the store shelves.

I wish I had liked this book more. I think I get what the author was going for throughout, but it just didn’t really work for me. Though Abby has had some rough stuff in her life, I think she is more traumatized than makes sense to me. Yes, her mom was an alcoholic, but in the first book, we’re shown that Abby still had a decent relationship with her. That was the whole point of her letters that showed her older sister Jane that Abby and their mom were close, while Jane only thought of her mom as a mess. And yes, Jane lied to Abby for a while about her mom being dead so that Abby wouldn’t be taken away, but since then, Abby has been in foster care with a loving family. So why is she a prickly, self-destructive klepto who feels like she doesn’t deserve love?

Right off the bat, I didn’t care for the cliché of instant attraction between Ian and Abby (more on his side than hers, but hers wasn’t far behind), nor the cutesy nicknames they give each other and use almost exclusively throughout the book. In fact, the whole book feels like a lot of clichés or tropes mashed together, starting with Abby being really rude to Ian when they first meet, yet him being drawn to her because there’s “just something about her.” There is some light sexual innuendo I didn’t care for, and Abby’s friend Louisa has a sort of “wise older person” persona, despite being a fairly typical-seeming teenage girl otherwise. Then there’s the moment near the end of the book when Abby’s foster dad tells her that she needs to stop living for others and do something for herself, which led me to ask…when was she ever living for others? In the end, I liked the idea of this series of novellas more than I liked the execution, though I think that the middle book could stand alone as a decent read.

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If you’ve read Abby’s Letters, or read it in the future, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with this book.

Book Review: Lightkeepers

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Lightkeepers
by Kennedy Plumb

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: YA romance

In this modern Rapunzel re-telling, Rapunzel (Zella) has lived in isolation all her life, one of the first “Children of the Lighthouse,” an organization her mother founded. Though she understands her mother’s reasons for keeping her shut away and has always done her best to obey, it only takes one small crack to make her wonder about the world outside the stone walls. When a young man bursts into her room looking for refuge from the cops, Zella sees a way out.

This book was overall okay, though not really my thing. The set-up of Zella living in a lighthouse as part of a cult, and having been lied to her whole life about the world outside to keep her complacent wasn’t bad, but I think it was all quite shallow for being something so dark and potentially deep. Based on what we’re told about her isolation, she knows more things about normal life than I would expect. And once she starts getting out into the real world, she doesn’t really seem as naïve as I feel like she should be.

Ryder’s foster situation is also fairly interesting to start with, if a little cliché, but again, it wasn’t explored as deeply as I might have preferred. Instead, the focus is mostly on Zella’s freedom or on Ryder and Zella’s burgeoning relationship. And their relationship advances fast enough that it doesn’t seem stable to me. I mean, he’s a foster kid whose every action is defined by his need to belong and she’s…well, she’s a cult child who’s been isolated her whole life and is presented with the opportunity for freedom by an attractive teenage boy. It’s probably not unrealistic that they become chummy so quickly, but to me, that’s not exactly romance.

One other thing to note—this book was self-published, and is overall one of the better self-published books I’ve read. It wasn’t terribly obvious, other than maybe the shorter length to the book, which seems to be a common thing with self-published books. In the end, I think this book is aimed at 2 things that I’m not: a teenager (specifically female, I assume) and a fan of Tangled (which I’ve never seen). However, my daughter is a 14-year-old girl who is a fan of Tangled, and after I read this book, she did as well, and she liked it. So if you’re in that audience in some form, you might do well to check out this book or at least other reviews at the link below.

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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Seeking Real Life Irish RomCom

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Seeking Real Life Irish RomCom
by Katie Nelson

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Contemporary romance

Victoria is surprised to find her interest in Irish exchange student Michael returned, but Michael returns to Ireland as their relationship is getting started. When Victoria decides to visit Michael in Ireland, she finds out that their relationship isn’t quite rom-com material.

This short read is a clean romance with a brief tour of some notable sights of Ireland. The premise is interesting, if a bit outlandish, considering that Victoria travels all the way to Ireland for a man she doesn’t really know that well, and not because she wants to have a physical relationship with him (not that I’m saying she should have, but I have to admit I made assumptions that led me to be a bit lost early in her trip). I suppose the author does a decent job of crafting her personality to be the kind that would travel all the way to Ireland, hoping for a rom-com moment, but it’s definitely not a personality I can relate to. Characterization overall leaves a lot to be desired, especially on the male characters’ side of things. And the story is told almost exclusively from Victoria’s perspective, then suddenly changes to someone else’s well past halfway through the story, for a few short bits.

When I read a self-published book, it is my intention not to let things that a professional editor would help with affect my view too much. I’m not saying that there is no burden of responsibility here, but it’s harder for self-published authors. So while it did not affect my rating, I will at least mention that the grammar gets fairly bad as the book goes on. It can detract from the book for some, so let that be a warning. In the end, I wish I liked the book more, but I think it’s just a bit too quick and shallow for me. Perhaps I’m the wrong audience for a story like this anyway, since contemporary romance is pretty hit-or-miss with me. If you have any interest in the book, please still consider reading it for yourself.

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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Bee’s Gift

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Bee’s Gift
Abby’s Letters #2
by Dana Romanin

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian YA romance

A one-time mistake changes Lindsey Bartley’s life forever during senior year, and she has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. Though Richard Hendrick, the man that Lindsey is forever linked to by two lines on a pregnancy test, doesn’t know it yet, his life is about to change for good as well.

I liked this book more than the previous in the series, mostly due to the main character actually being a bit more interesting and dynamic and the loss of the love triangle that permeated the first book. However, though we have moved on to a different character, we don’t move on enough. Part one of two, so half of the book, takes place at the same time as the events in the previous book, and though we see a different side of the story (Lindsey was a side character in the first book with no POV parts), she connects with one of the POVs in the first book (Clark) enough that several scenes are literally re-hashed, word-for-word, from the first book. To be fair, there are minor differences amongst the repeated sentences, though, since a different perspective is shown on the same scenes, but I really think the author should have figured out a way to have a completely fresh take on this second story.

That being said, Lindsey’s character arc, especially her newfound faith in God, drives the first half of the story pretty well. She struggles to decide what to do about her pregnancy, from keeping or discarding, telling the father or not, telling parents or not, etc., and it all felt pretty realistic to me. Except for the way that Lindsey picked up on “church lingo” and prayed fluently for someone else who was struggling, after only attending youth group for a few weeks. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of a learning curve, and it seemed like it could be a bit intimidating for anyone reading the book that is a new believer themselves.

Then part two of the book shifts focus completely from Lindsey to Richard, who was part of the love triangle in the first book. This second half of the book takes us past the time period covered in the first book, into the first summer after graduation for all of these characters, and to a brand-new setting. In a way, it felt like a whole different book, and I wonder if the author perhaps could have started the book here instead. I enjoyed Richard’s arc in this second half, as he grapples with an uncertain future and what his responsibility really is in the life of an unborn child that he has no reason to feel connected to. In the end, the story ends well, probably not much different than one might expect, though there is a bit of a twist thrown in in what feels like an obvious attempt to add drama or excitement. Overall, this book was more enjoyable than I expected it to be, after the first one, and though I’m not sure how accessible it is, I would recommend it for older teens and Christian parents of teens.

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If you’ve read Abby’s Letters, or read it in the future, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with this book.

Weekly Writing Update: 3/31

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I continued reading book #3 (“Power”) out loud this past week, managing to get 20 minutes in every day. It continues to be a huge benefit—necessity, even—as I wait for my sisters to read it and give me their feedback as well. Hopefully this will be the last intensive revision the book needs before it’s ready to be published, but we’ll see what they say when they get through it too.

While I work on continuing the series, if you’re interested in reading where it all starts, Pithea is available on Amazon in multiple formats (e-book, paperback, and now in hardcover) as well as Kindle Unlimited.

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Book Review: Butterflies in the Storm

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Butterflies in the Storm
by Gary Warner

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Fantasy

When Melissa Jones is invited to a funeral for a girl she doesn’t remember knowing, the last thing she expects is to be whisked away from the funeral by a woman claiming her life is in danger. She’s taken to a place where she’s told she’ll be safe from a threat she never knew existed that all started hundreds of years in the past at a place called Brathy Beck.

Though the synopsis for this book was very vague, I was intrigued enough to give it a try. And the book starts off with a bang, with Melissa’s escape from unknown danger and flight to the secretive sanctuary in some nebulous location. (It took me a long time to realize this book is set in England, as I don’t remember any location names being given until quite a ways in.) But as Melissa tries to get her bearings in this complex full of women, she’s given nothing but vague answers by everyone she encounters. I’m annoyed for her, since supposedly she’s not a prisoner and this is all for her benefit, so the only reason I can see for all the secrecy is that the author wants to add suspense for the reader. As the answers begin to unfold, though, they take the form of the different women at the sanctuary telling their own story of how they came to be there. And for the most part, all of the stories are the same. Names and locations are different and the initial situation for each woman is different, but they all become a fight to free the woman from the men who are trying to catch or kill her and a flight to the sanctuary. After a few of these stories, I started to skim through them.

The fantasy element comes with the explanation, which, since it’s kept a secret for so long, feels like a spoiler to explain completely. But I will at least say that the fantasy element is also vague and could definitely have been expanded on some. By the last quarter or so of the book, the plot has devolved into a “who will end up with who” pseudo-romance, in which apparently all of these women are lesbians, who apparently marry men they care nothing about for the sole purpose of reproduction. Since this is not my preference in reading and wasn’t indicated anywhere in any of the locations this book is advertised, I can easily say that I am not the right audience for this book, which of course influences my rating and review.

In the end, the premise of the book was interesting and started off good, which is the main reason for 2 stars. But it simply became too repetitious and then took a left turn from the sort of suspenseful tone that was set up to focus on relationships. The ending was anti-climactic. Also, though the book was self-published, I didn’t notice a lot of line-editing issues that I often do with self-published books (typos, grammar issues, etc.). There are some weird formatting issues that might just be an issue with the ebook, but I didn’t factor them into my rating. Still, though, while I can’t say I’d recommend this book to anyone, I’m sure it has an audience that just doesn’t include me. Please do check it out at the link below if you’re interested.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Weekly Writing Update: 3/24

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After an entire week of no writing (3/11-3/17) due to extra work demands and an urgent deadline for VBS prep, I picked it up a bit last week. Though I still didn’t write 20 minutes every day, I did extra some days to at least be able to average it out to 20 minutes every day. I’m continuing with reading book #3 (“Power”) out loud, which helps me notice dialog that is awkward, prose that could use adjusting, or even errors and typos that I had missed. It’s turning out that I missed a lot on what I thought was a really comprehensive revision, which is awkward, since I printed a copy before this read-through for one of my sisters to read and give me feedback. And now I know that there are a lot of mistakes or clumsy-sounding areas…

While I work on continuing the series, if you’re interested in reading where it all starts, Pithea is available on Amazon in multiple formats (e-book, paperback, and now in hardcover) as well as Kindle Unlimited.

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Book Review: The Magic Factory

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The Magic Factory
Oliver Blue and the School for Seers #1
by Morgan Rice

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

As the perpetual new kid, bullied by peers as well as his own brother, 11-year-old Oliver has only his inventions to keep him sane. Things start to change, though, when Oliver notices he seems to be able to make things happen and then visits the old, decrepit factory of his hero, inventor Armando Illstrom. Oliver learns that he has powers, but before he can learn any more, tragedy strikes and Oliver is on his own.

Overall, this book felt like a mixture of Harry Potter and Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children with some steampunk elements. I didn’t care for what felt like a Harry Potter rip-off in the beginning, with Oliver being bullied by his older brother, seemingly uncared-about by his parents, who favored the brother, and having to live in an alcove… Even the school that Oliver ends up at later in the book didn’t feel remotely as much like a copy of HP as that beginning. And it does, indeed, move on from that similar feel. In fact, but the end of the book, I found that I had enjoyed it more than I’d expected to once I’d gotten a few chapters in.

Oliver meets others like him, called Seers, learns a tiny bit about how to use his powers, and then is thrust into a life-or-death situation that only he can take care of. The author’s inventiveness in the school itself was probably my favorite thing about the book. The bully at his new school (since, of course, there always has to be one) and his motivations were a bit weak. And the whole book could have used some more editing, with some verbal tic-like phrases here and then that detracted from the flow. I don’t normally hold self-published books to as high a standard as traditionally published books, but there’s still some burden of responsibility to smooth out the prose.

I’m glad I read this book, though I don’t plan to continue the series. In the end, though, I would say this book is better than average amongst self-published books I’ve read.

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Weekly Writing Update: 3/10

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Last week was a much more intentional, productive week, in regards to working on my writing. I’ve hit a bit of a stride, which comes more easily when the work I’m doing is more enjoyable or just otherwise flowing smoothly. I spent all week reading more of book #3 (“Power”) out loud, because that helps me notice dialog that is awkward, prose that could use adjusting, or even errors and typos that I had missed (which has turned out to be more than I would have hoped, since I thought I caught a lot on the previous revision. I’ve been really getting into the story again, which I take as a good thing, because it means that I, at least, enjoy it. Hopefully others will too!

While I work on continuing the series, if you’re interested in reading where it all starts, Pithea is available on Amazon in multiple formats (e-book, paperback, and now in hardcover) as well as Kindle Unlimited.

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