Category: Fantasy

Check Out the New Book Release for The Soulstealers by Jacqueline Rohrbach (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: The Soulstealers

Author: Jacqueline Rohrbach

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: April 1, 2019

Heat Level: 1 – No Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 90100

Genre: Fantasy YA, LGBT, Magic, soldiers, power struggle, spirits, Penumbra, slow burn

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Synopsis

Arnaka Skytree grew up believing she was chosen to bring new magic to the world. As the heir to the cult of druids responsible for keeping their floating palace habitable for the wealthy aristocracy, she’s expected to wield her power as those before her did: by culling the souls of peasant women.

But when Arnaka learns more about the source of her magic, and that her best friend’s soul will be harvested, she embarks on a journey to end the barbarous practice and to restore a long-forgotten harmonious system of magic practiced by the original druids. Along the way, she discovers she’s not the only girl chosen to restore balance to their world—many others have powerful magic inside, and with them, she will tear the floating palace from the sky so everyone can live in the sun—out of the shadow of the eclipse.

Excerpt

Soulstealers
Jacqueline Rohrbach © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter 1
The Choosing

Flowers bloomed around Arnaka Skytree. Tiger lilies tickled her feet while orchids pried open one eye. Rose, the pricklier of the three, stuck her with one of its thorns. She puffed some air up in its direction, fluttering petals and her bangs. Late for her Choosing, Arnaka forced the insistent garden out of her mind, to focus on the currents of air traveling around her, picking out the magic radiating from the flowers the way her older brother picked out soldiers to die for him—delicately, decidedly.

Strong magic ran in her family. The ritual she had to go to was nothing but a mere formality. She would be a druid like all the other women in her family before her, down to the original matriarch—Arnaka the Creator—whose name she shouldered. She was bound to it the way her magic was bound to living things. Soon, it would be the last tattoo burned by magical fire into her skin.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she pressed her finger deep into the sifted dirt around her, begging the world to swallow her whole. The flowers, sensing her sadness, bowed their heads, but they couldn’t give her what she wanted. Destiny’s feet were too heavy for soft petals.

“Lady Arnaka? Are you here?”

Nara, one of her maids, stumbled into the conservatory. Arnaka felt the young woman’s life force before she opened her eyes to watch the bony girl blunder over the flowers, which recoiled from her steps, lifting their leafy underparts to avoid a trampling. Arnaka gave Nara’s approach a small, fond smile.

When she finally saw Arnaka, Nara jumped as if surprised. Her brown eyes widened, giving her the appearance of a deer about to be speared. “Lady Arnaka. Your mother wants you in the hall for the ceremony.”

“I know.”

“She sent me here to get you.”

“I assumed.”

“Lady Arnaka…” the poor girl prompted her.

Arnaka sighed. Nara, who was brought here as a servant and lived on the daily whims of her captors, had no choice but to play her role in today’s events. She wasn’t trying to drag Arnaka to the ceremony out of spite, avarice, or revenge. Doing her job without getting hurt was her only goal.

Pity softened Arnaka’s voice. “Of course. Tell Mother I’ll be right there.”

Nara hopped from one foot to the other. Voice barely above a whisper, she said, “I’m supposed to escort you, Lady Arnaka.”

Arnaka lifted her head and glowered at the servant, hoping the severe expression might be enough to send her on her way. Having company on the long trek toward the hall forced Arnaka to be strong. Really, all she wanted to do was run, hide, vanish.

You promised, she reminded herself. You promised you’d go through with this, and that you’d keep it from happening to anyone else.

With a wince, the servant tried again. “My lady, please. Your mother. She’ll—”

“Very well. Come on,” Arnaka interjected before Nara completed the statement with “punish me.” Hearing about her mother’s temper coupled with her propensity to harshly correct servants for slight failures would only twist Arnaka’s already knotted emotions.

“Thank you, Lady Arnaka.”

Said as if she had a choice. “You’re welcome.”

Banter wasn’t something Arnaka lavished on the silly, sweet girl. The walk down the hall was silent. Nara didn’t seem to mind the quiet, or notice. Newly employed, she occupied a world where magic was still magical. The diamond archways casting rainbows to the reflective surface beneath their feet dazzled. Gold shone. Ruby and sapphire mosaics sparked her brown eyes to flame. Tiredly, Arnaka grabbed the gawking servant, who tripped over her own feet as she ogled the spectacle, by the upper arm to drag her inside the transport.

“Ceremonial hall.”

In moments, they arrived. In front of them, the entire court gathered. Thousands of nobles, maybe more, in their best attire.

Her mother broke from the crowd and rushed over. “Arnaka, my daughter. You are radiant today.”

Both of them had black skin that always seemed moonlit and black hair that grew in thick waves. Her mother’s was always swept up into elaborate twists. Arnaka cut hers rebelliously short, letting her curly bangs cover her golden eyes, the pride of her family line. Look into your future mirror, the elder druids always liked to say, you are the spitting image of your mother.

Although her mother was undeniably beautiful with her high cheekbones and angular features, Arnaka’s pleasure in hearing about their resemblance waned. She didn’t want to be kin to a monster.

The swirl of Mother’s elaborate gown extended a foot or two in each direction. Mercurial as the woman herself, its folds, bows, frills, and ruffles shifted on whim in color and in style until she settled on a deep royal purple with a long ivory lace train that fluttered in the air like a cobweb in the breeze.

“Wasteful as always, Mother.” Arnaka pointed to the dress, to which she still made minor adjustments. Meanwhile, the living gathered around her looked wary. Druid magic required life, willing or not. “Glad you settled on something before the whole assembly was depleted.”

A few of the nobles glanced at their feet and cleared their throats but did not comment on the awkward exchange. Her brother puffed his chest. “Sister,” he bellowed, not unlike a braying goat. “We have waited for this moment your whole life.”

Lacking the refinement of magic, Escan’s features looked blunt and staggered as though whoever carved him had jittered uncontrollably during the process. Only his eyes, the color of golden flame that was his family’s legacy, rendered him attractive. Every girl wanted babies with ladder-climbing genes and nothing said advancement quite like the bloodline of old aristocracy. Otherwise, her brother lacked figurative magic as well as literal. He was doing his best to steal the moment despite it.

Arnaka looked at the assembly of aristocrats before her. Like her mother, they wanted all the religion with none of the sacrifice religion required. Servants were there to pay the life price for their magic. In a pinch, merchants would do. Who better to understand there was a cost to doing business? This was probably the first time in centuries any of them felt the intrusive pull of magic’s touch at their own doorstep.

Resigned to what was to be, Arnaka raised her voice to carry across the room. “I am here to bring new magic.”

Applause broke out. Arnaka winced away from it, hating the fact they clapped for her, for the evil thing they were about to do. You promised her, Arnaka had to remind herself again. You looked her in the eye and said you’d go through with this, then you’d keep it from happening to anyone else.

She’d been so focused on remembering her vow that she forgot the ceremony. The pain from the burning as her final tattoo, a small circle on her forehead, seared her skin surprised her. More than any of the other tattoos branded into her arms and back, it hurt with pain beyond the smell of her own flesh, beyond the residual throb of the wound. It foretold what was to come after.

As the smoke around her cleared, a young woman a few years older than her was escorted forward. Unnamed at birth, she existed to be Arnaka’s spirit sister until she became a soul familiar, forever bound to serve as an instant source of magic. But Arnaka knew her name, a deep secret between them that she’d sworn to keep. She held onto it even as the knife plunged into the young woman’s throat. She thought it when the soul heeled at her side—Hannah. Again when she went to bed with the thing looming over her shoulder—Hannah. Only once more after that.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

Jacqueline Rohrbach is a 36-year-old creative writer living in windy central Washington. When she isn’t writing strange books about bloodsucking magical werewolves, she’s baking sweets, or walking her two dogs, Nibbler and Mulder. She also loves cheesy ghost shows, especially when the hosts call out the ghost out like he wants to brawl with it in a bar. You know, “Come out here, you coward! You like to haunt little kids. Haunt me!” Jackee laughs at this EVERY time.

She’s also a hopeless World of Warcraft addict. In her heyday, she was a top parsing disc priest. She became a paladin to fight Deathwing, she went back to a priest to cuddle pandas, and then she went to a shaman because I guess she thought it would be fun to spend an entire expansion underpowered and frustrated. Boomchicken for Legion! Follow Jacqueline on Twitter.

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A Free Dreamer Review:Time Taken (Out of Time #3) by C.B. Lewis

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Time travel is a precarious business at the best of times, but when Qasim El-Fahkri’s mission to the past ends in violence, it has a ripple effect through every level of the Temporal Research Institute.

Rhys Griffiths finds himself caught in the wake of the disastrous jump, his own career uncertain. With the Supervisory Board breathing down his neck, operatives demanding answers to baffling questions, and life outside of work bearing down on him, his only respite comes from Qasim’s company. As the professional slowly becomes the personal, they must confront the echoes of their own pasts to try and move forward in the future.

But another past is waiting for Qasim, and there may be no coming back from this one…

For full enjoyment, it is recommended to first read books 1, Time Waits, and 2, Time Lost.

If I only had one word to describe “Time Taken”, it would have to be “surprising”. I really didn’t expect the story to go the way it did.

First of all, the blurb implies this doesn’t work as a stand-alone. I have to disagree. I didn’t read the previous two books and didn’t really feel like I missed something. Other than some background of the MCs and a bit of world-building.

While I read a lot of SciFi and Fantasy, time-travel isn’t normally one of my go-to sub-genres. It’s more something I only read every now and again, so I can’t really judge how unique this book actually was. However, it certainly felt unusual. Historical Istanbul and Uzbekistan aren’t exactly the first places I’d expect people to travel to. I really enjoyed finding out a little more about those places. It feels like Europe is the go-to setting for any historical fiction, so this was a nice change.

Qasim is a practicing Muslim and yet the book isn’t about Islam or any other religion. It’s not about a young Muslim struggling with his faith and his sexuality. It’s not about a homophobic family. In fact, Rhys, the Christian MC, is the one with a difficult family background. Qasim’s family is extremely supportive, loving and tolerant. They don’t care that Rhys is a man and a Christian. Qasim is a very religious man, he prays five times a day, fasts during Ramadan and doesn’t eat pork or drink alcohol, but he never tries to shove his believes in anybody’s face. I really liked him and I think this is the first ever practicing Muslim MC I’ve come across in M/M fiction.

Rhys is an interesting character as well. I think he might just be the first-ever Welsh I’ve read about. Plenty of English, Scottish and Irish, but nobody from Wales. And I actually learned a few words of Welsh thanks to him! I think a lot of his background story was talked about in the previous two books, so I felt like I kind of missed some info to really understand him, especially in the beginning.

The romance is quite slow. It takes Rhys and Qasim quite a while to admit their attraction to each other and act on it. I think it worked perfectly for the story and they were really sweet together. So very different, but neither tried to change the other one. They were so accepting and loving, it was really wonderful.

The whole first half of the story is rather slow. The book starts off with a bang in historical Istanbul and then I was kind of lulled into a quiet sense of peace. It was a nice story, nothing mind-blowing, but definitely enjoyable.

And then the second half started and suddenly there was so much drama it gave me whiplash. Suddenly I couldn’t put the book down and was biting my nails in anticipation and dread of what was going to happen to next. At times, I was actually a little bit teary-eyed and struggled not to start crying on the subway. I’m not going to give away too much, but let’s just say I really didn’t expect this kind of drama in a book about time-travel.

I felt like the whole story was very realistic. Qasim got injured right at the beginning of the book and came close to getting killed. And he’s actually traumatized by that and struggles to find his way back into his normal life. Often, characters in similar situation just shrug it off and bounce back to normal with no trouble whatsoever.

The ending was a little much for me, though it does make sense for Rhys and Qasim. Still, it was a little too cute for me.

Overall, I really, really liked “Time Taken” and I definitely want to read the previous and the following books of the series. My rating for the first half would have been 4 stars, the second half would have been 5, so I went with the average of 4.5 stars.

The cover by Natasha Snow is alright, if a bit generic. Nothing about it really says “time-travel” or hints at the places in the past that Qasim visits.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book details: ebook, 450 pages

Published March 18th 2019 by NineStar Press

Blog Tour All Souls Near & Nigh (Soulbound #2) by Hailey Turner (excerpt and giveaway)

 

All Souls Near & Nigh by Hailey Turner

Series: Soulbound 2

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date (Print & Ebook): March 19, 2019

Length (Print & Ebook): 104,100

Subgenre:  LGBTQ Urban Fantasy

Reader Warning:  This book contains on page sexual assault.

All buy links or pre-order links: https://haileyturner.com/all-souls-near-nigh-02/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PLQBLH3/

Book synopsis:

You can’t bargain with death if you’ve already sold your soul.

Special Agent Patrick Collins has been reassigned by the Supernatural Operations Agency to New York City. Learning to navigate his new relationship with Jonothon de Vere, the werewolf he’s now soulbound to, is nothing compared to dealing with territorial disputes between the vampires and werecreatures who call the five boroughs home. But the delicate treaties that have kept the preternatural world in check are fraying at the edges, and the fallout is spilling into the mundane world.

Manhattan’s club scene is overrun with the vampire drug known as shine and the subways have become a dumping ground for bodies. When the dead are revealed as missing werecreatures, Patrick and Jono find themselves entangled in pack politics twisted by vampire machinations.

Learning to trust each other comes with problems for both of them, and the gods with a stake in Patrick’s soul debt aren’t finished with him yet. Bound by promises they can’t break, Patrick and Jono must find a way to survive a threat that takes no prisoners and is stalking them relentlessly through the city streets.

Old and new betrayals are coming home to roost but the truth—buried in blood—is more poisonous than the lies being spun. Trying to outrun death is a nightmare—one Patrick may never wake up from.

All Souls Near & Nigh is a 104k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot and a HFN ending. It is a direct sequel to A Ferry of Bones & Gold, and reading the first book in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one. Please see the disclaimer in the Look Inside for content some readers may find triggering.

Author Hailey Turner says All Souls Nigh & Near is: An exciting sequel that builds on the series plot and will keep readers wanting more!

Blog Tour Exclusives:

Q&A with Hailey Turner:

What comes first, the plot or characters?

This is like the chicken or the egg question. For me, it’s a mixture of both. I feel my characters play off the plot, but I need the outline of the book and series to really create a character and their motives. Characters and plot are pretty intertwined when I create a book, so I can’t say one comes first above the other.

Describe a typical writing day.

I usually write in the morning and evenings around work on weekdays, and for a block of hours on the weekend around errands and time spent with friends and family. On weekdays, I get up early in the morning (I’m talking 5:00am here) to get some writing in before work. I try to make time to write every day otherwise it would be difficult to finish a book if I didn’t.

How do you come up with the titles to your books?

I like to have themes with my titles and they tend to have the same sort of word structure for the entire series. For my Metahuman Files series, the titles spoke to the missions in each book. For Soulbound, every title has a hint of the mythology I’ve incorporated into that particular book. It varies with every series but I honestly can’t start a book without a title.

—

Excerpt #1:

He made a fist, snuffing out the mageglobe, and the silence ward died away. Sound rushed back with a pop that made him tug at an earlobe.

One look at Jono’s face as they waited for the elevator told Patrick he was pissed.

“You don’t—” Patrick began, but was instantly cut off.

“Don’t bloody tell me I don’t have to go,” Jono growled. “I’m going. We’re a pack, and like fuck am I letting you face that psychopath alone.”

“I’ve done it before.”

The elevator doors pinged open and Jono crowded Patrick into the space. He hit the button for the third floor before settling one hand over Patrick’s waist, fingers biting into skin. The other gripped his chin, forcing his head up with a firm push. Patrick stared into Jono’s face, barely able to see his wolf-bright eyes through the dark lenses of the sunglasses he wore.

“Stop it,” Jono told him in a low voice. “We’re in this together, whatever it is this time around. We’re a pack. You don’t get to sod off and pretend otherwise. I won’t let you.”

Patrick swallowed in the face of Jono’s frustrated anger, not knowing what to say to that. He didn’t have an SOA-assigned partner, and learning to keep Jono in the loop about things was still a work-in-progress.

“Sorry,” Patrick finally said.

Jono let out a heavy sigh before brushing his lips against Patrick’s in a soft, close-mouthed kiss. “If that fucking bastard touches you, I’ll murder him.”

“He’s already dead.”

“Then I’ll murder him twice.”

Patrick wondered what it said about him that Jono promising murder to defend his honor made him want to drop to his knees and suck Jono’s cock as a thank you.

Excerpt #2:

Sunrise in summer came before 0700, and after a night of no dreams or nightmares, Patrick woke to warm lips pressing open-mouthed kisses down his spine. Cracking open one eye, Patrick flexed his fingers against the sheets. He’d rolled onto his stomach sometime during the night, arms shoved beneath the pillow. He had a vague sense memory of Jono pressed close throughout the night but that was overtaken by the present teasing touches.

“You turned off my alarm,” Patrick mumbled. His internal sense of time told him it should’ve gone off five minutes ago.

Jono licked at the dip of his lower spine, the warm drag of Jono’s tongue making Patrick twitch. He’d gone to bed in boxers but those were missing now. The fact that Jono was able to strip him without Patrick waking up just proved his subconscious had firmly put Jono in the non-threat box.

“You get up too bloody early most days but it works in my favor sometimes,” Jono said, his breath ghosting over the curve of Patrick’s bare ass. “Figured I could welcome you home now since I didn’t get the chance last night.”

Patrick helpfully spread his legs, hissing at the way his already interested cock moved against the bedsheet. Warm fingers gripped his ass and spread him open. Patrick turned his face into the pillow at the first lick of Jono’s tongue over his hole, the scrape of Jono’s five o’clock shadow against sensitive skin making him gasp.

This was, hands down, Patrick’s favorite way to wake up these days.

Excerpt #3:

“Bloody hell, mate,” Jono swore, reaching for Patrick. “What happened?”

Patrick kicked the door shut behind him, which was fine with Jono because it gave him something sturdy to shove the other man up against. Gently, though, because Jono didn’t know what other injuries Patrick sported besides the ones on his face. Jono framed Patrick’s face with his hands, staring at the slightly swollen nose with a strip of medical tape arching over the freckled bridge and faded bruises around bloodshot, tired green eyes.

“I took a potion. I’m fine,” Patrick said, blinking at him.

Jono rolled his eyes before sliding his right hand down to Patrick’s throat, discreetly scent-marking him. The stench of travel, of too many bodies packed too closely together, clung to him. Beneath that was a hint of forest and blood, neither of which stopped Jono from worrying. Beneath all that was the familiar, bitter scent that was Patrick’s alone, and it felt like coming home to Jono.

“Fine doesn’t look like you took several punches to the face.”

Patrick’s mouth quirked at the corners. “Gonna kiss it better?”

“Cheeky. Could’ve just asked rather than go out looking for a fight.”

“Hazard of the job.”

“Bollocks.”

Jono shook his head before leaning down to gently press his mouth to Patrick’s. Those familiar plush lips immediately parted, letting Jono in. The quiet sigh he drank down told him more than words how tired Patrick must be. The mage wasn’t one to show weakness, even amongst friends, but Jono had started to learn the little quirks and half-hidden actions that spoke of Patrick’s true feelings.

Patrick was still a hard read on the best of days, soulbond or not, but Jono was figuring him out.

About Hailey Turner:

Hailey Turner is big city girl who spoils her cats rotten and has a demanding day job that she loves, but not as much as she loves writing. She’s been writing since she was a young child and enjoys reading almost as much as creating a new story. Hailey loves stories with lots of action, gritty relationships, and an eventual HEA that satisfies the heart.

Newsletter:  You can keep up with Hailey’s future projects by joining her newsletter, where you can instantly download two free Metahuman Files short stories and the Soulbound short story Down A Twisted Path:  http://eepurl.com/cAEejL

Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/haileyshellions/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/haileyturnerwrites/

Facebook Profile:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014824811406

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/hailey-turner

Author Page:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHaileyTurner/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/haileyturnerwriter/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16473068.Hailey_Turner

Website:  http://www.haileyturner.com

Giveaway: Win 1 of 2 e-copies of any back catalog book by Hailey Turner!

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A Free Dreamer Review: Apple Boy (The Quiet Work #1) by Isobel Starling

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

A new Fantasy series by award-winning author Isobel Starling

A lost lordling, a farm boy, and a tale of mystery, magic, and murder!

After a traumatic event, Winter Aeling finds himself destitute and penniless in the backwater town of Mallowick. He needs to travel to the city of Serein and impart grave news that will bring war to the Empire, but without a horse, money, and with not a soul willing to help him, he has no choice but to line up with the common folk seeking paid work on the harvest. 

As wagons roll into the market square and farmers choose day laborers, Winter is singled out for abuse by a brute of a farmer. The only man who stands up for him is the farmer’s beguiling son, Adam, and on locking eyes with the swarthy young man Winter feels the immediate spark of attraction.

Winter soon realizes there is a reason he has been drawn to Blackdown Farm. The farmer possesses a precious item that was stolen long ago from Winter’s family, and he determines to retrieve it. He also cannot take his eyes off the farmer’s son, and as the young man opens up Winter can’t help wondering if Adam is just kind or his kind!

I was really looking forward to “Apple Boy”. Finally a M/M fantasy novel that actually has more than 300 pages! In the end, the book didn’t quite meet my expectations, however.

I quite liked the beginning. I enjoyed slowly finding out about what happened to Winter, and about the world in general. I was charmed by the unusual plot idea and the highly likable MCs. But the more I read, the less I enjoyed what I was reading. The MCs were still likable and the plot unusual, but somehow the initial spark just got lost.

One thing I noticed right away was the slightly sloppy editing. There were several recurring minor spelling mistakes, like Gods vs. God’s, that really have no place in a finished novel. I’ve definitely read worse, but there just is absolutely no excuse for bad spelling and grammar.

The world building was very thorough and yet somehow lacking at the same time. We learn a lot about the different provinces of the Empire and their past, as well as how the magic works. I mostly missed some details. I didn’t understand why homosexuality was completely normal and accepted by everybody in Winter’s home province, while it was an offense punishable by the death in the neighbouring province. Those are two opposite extremes I wouldn’t expect from neighbours under the same government. I also completely missed any kind of religion. I’m not even sure if there was one god or several, because of the constant switches between Gods/God’s.

I enjoyed the relationship dynamics between Winter and Adam. Winter is younger, yet more experienced and more powerful. Adam is older by five years and has absolutely no experience with relationships or sex. I really liked how their relationship developed with time.

While I didn’t mind the writing style initially and thought it fit the setting, it got on my nerves after some time. It started to feel very much like purple prose and the many exclamation marks made it all feel overly dramatic.

The story definitely captivated me. I was at work when I read the very first scene of Adam and Winter sharing forbidden kisses and when the door of the shop opened and a customer came in, I very nearly got a heart attack and felt super guilty.

I was quite surprised by how the plot turned out. There were some big surprises and a couple of twists I most definitely didn’t see coming and I liked how it all played out.

Overall, I did enjoy “Apple Boy”. The story itself was great, but the editing and writing style definitely had a negative impact on my reading experience. The next book in the series won’t be about Winter and I’m actually not sure if I want to read it or not.

The cover is very pretty. Adam looks gorgeous and just how I imagined him. I wouldn’t expect a Fantasy story behind such a cover, though. There’s nothing remotely magical about it.

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book details: Kindle Edition, 556 pages

Published February 15th 2019 by Decent Fellows Press

If You Love Fantasy Don’t Miss The Book Tour for Apple Boy (The Quiet Work #1) by Isobel Starling

REVIEW TOUR

Book Title:  Apple Boy (The Quiet Work #1)

Author: Isobel Starling

Publisher: Decent Fellows Press

Cover Artist: Valentine Pascadian (Lennel)

Genre/s:  Fantasy, M/M Romance

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length:103 600 words/ 556 pages

Release Date: February 15, 2019

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Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Blurb

After a traumatic event, Winter Aeling finds himself destitute and penniless in the backwater town of Mallowick.  He needs to travel to the city of Serein and impart grave news that will bring war to the Empire, but without a horse, money, and with not a soul willing to help him, he has no choice but to line up with the common folk seeking paid work on the harvest.  

As wagons roll into the market square and farmers choose day laborers, Winter is singled out for abuse by a brute of a farmer.  The only man who stands up for him is the farmer’s beguiling son, Adam, and on locking eyes with the swarthy young man Winter feels the immediate spark of attraction.

Winter soon realizes there is a reason he has been drawn to Blackdown Farm.  The farmer possesses a precious item that was stolen long ago from Winter’s family, and he determines to retrieve it.  He also cannot take his eyes off the farmer’s son, and as the young man opens up Winter can’t help wondering if Adam is just kind or his kind!

About the Author

Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year professional career making art in Ireland.  She relocated to the UK and, faced with the dreaded artist’s creative block, Isobel started to write and found she loved writing more than making art.

Isobel is currently working on her nineteenth book.  

“As You Wish” (Shatterproof Bond#1) narrated by Gary Furlong won the Audiobook Reviewer Award for Romance 2018.  It is the first M/M Romance audiobook to win a mainstream audiobook award.

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A Free Dreamer Release Day Review: I’m Not Who You Think I Am by Felicitas Ivey

 

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Mykayla’s parents’ marriage is in trouble, but they’re working on it. Unfortunately for Mykayla, that means she’s getting shipped off to Boston to spend her summer with Uncle Yushua while they work out their issues. Mykayla has issues of her own-like her confusion about her sexuality, or apparent lack of it-that she’d like to explore alongside her best friend, Xiu. The situation at her uncle’s house is weird to say the least. There’s something off about his coworkers-aside from the fact that they won’t go away. Things go from strange to stranger when a supernatural being shows up to protect Mykayla from someone he calls the Shadow Pharaoh. Sutekhgen is a sorcerer who never made it to the afterlife, with a huge Set Beast as a companion… and the mistaken assumption that Mykayla is the reincarnation of his lost romantic partner. She doesn’t know what’s worse: being caught in a metaphysical conflict between ancient gods or being stuck with a pushy jerk who doesn’t know the meaning of personal boundaries.

“I’m Not Who You Think I Am” was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were some elements I really enjoyed and others I didn’t really care for.

I haven’t seen a lot of books that mix old Egyptian mythology and urban fantasy, so this was a nice change. While I’m not completely ignorant of Egyptian history and religion, I’m hardly an expert and I did feel a little bit lost at times. Sometimes the in-depth on page research actually bordered on info-dump for me and it was hard to keep track of all the facts.

Mykayla is a girl after my tastes. She thinks museums are just as interesting as bookshops and can easily spend hours there without getting bored. That made me like her immediately. She’s also obsessed with knitting and still struggling a bit with her asexuality. Or rather, how and who to tell about it. She did get a little bit annoying toward the end, with her seemingly endless internal rants about sexism and how she was very much NOT attracted to anybody.

Her best friend Xiu was kind of annoying from the beginning. She never shuts up and kind of refuses to accept Mykayla’s asexuality. She’s the only person who knows about it and yet she keeps going on about how she wants to date Mykayla. It seemed quite insensitive to me, even if it was passed off as a sort of running gag. Plus, she acted awfully mature for a 15-year-old and not at all how I think a normal teenager would behave.

The adults were also very lenient towards the two teenagers. Who allows two 15-year-olds to go out alone at 11pm to have a coffee at the train station of a big city? And Mykayla’s parents were extremely neglectful. They weren’t abusive or anything, but they just seemed to not be as concerned about her as I’d expect. They’re actually somewhat important to the story, even if they don’t get all that much on-page time. That was actually a nice change from the usually absent parents of the YA genre.

I did like the fantasy elements and the scenes with Sutekhgen and his adorable Set Beast. Kudos to the author for creating two truly unique animal characters in this story. I’m still halfway convinced Yushua’s cat is secretly not a cat at all, but a shapeshifter or something like that. I think the animals were my favourite characters of the entire book.

Not a lot actually happens here. There’s one big event pretty early on, followed by lots of talking and research, and then there’s another big event toward the end. I didn’t quite understand the big reveal at the end, tbh.

Overall, I did find “ I’m Not Who You Think I Am” a mostly rather entertaining read. It does have its ups and downs, though, and it was far from a “great read” for me. I do believe there’s going to be a part two, the overall story arc definitely isn’t done just yet, even if there was no horrible cliffhanger at the end. I’m not sure if I want to read the sequel, yet.

I’m not a huge fan of the cover by Tiferet Design. While the cover model definitely has the right hair and skin tone, she just doesn’t look like she’s 15. Plus, I’m fairly sure Mykayla didn’t wear make up. I do like the font that was used for the title, though.

Sales Links:   Harmony Ink Press | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Book details:

eBook, 200 pages

Expected publication: March 19th 2019 by Dreamspinner Press LLC