Ashley Stoyanoff's Review: The Language of Souls by Lena Goldfinch

★ASHLEY STOYANOFF'S REVIEW ★

The Language of Souls by Lena Goldfinch 

Title: The Language of Souls
Author: Lena Goldfinch
Number of Pages: 146
Publication Info: Indigo Road (Nov 2012)Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Shelf: Books I BoughtRating: ★★★★

Goodreads: Here

Purchase: Here

Authors Website: Here

summary from Goodreads:

A fast-paced tale of adventure, impossible choices, and a soul-stirring romance that will leave you breathless.

Solena trespasses into hostile territory to search for a rare herb to cure the grandfather she loves. When a young enemy soldier captures her and she's accused of being a spy, Solena discovers just how much she's risked.

As a soldier, Rundan struggles to please his father, a ruthless army commander. When his father orders him to take the beautiful trespasser to the royal courts, where she'll surely be tried and executed, Rundan is plagued by an inconvenient desire to protect her.

The handsome young soldier confuses Solena. First, he cruelly captures her, and then treats her with uncommon kindness. When he risks his life to save hers, she fears she may have risked more than her life on her journey...she may have lost her heart.

"...fantasy with a side of sigh-worthy romance." --The Fiction Enthusiast

"The perfect tiny romantic escape." -- Tales of Whimsy

Young Adult Fantasy Novella

My Review:

The Language of Souls was a quick and enjoyable romance novella.  I devoured this treat in on sitting and enjoyed every page.

Solena’s journey starts with a dangerous climb into the mountains, as she makes her way to a foreign land in search of healing herbs to save her grandfather.  When she is caught trespassing and stealing, she is taken captive by Rundan, a soldier out on patrol.  He brings her back to his father, the army commander, who orders Rundan to take Solena to the royal courts, where she’ll be executed.  Will Rundan follow his father’s cruel orders, and take Solena to her death sentence, or will their budding attraction save her life?  You’ll have to read The Language of Souls to find out.

The relationship between Rundan and Solena was wonderful.  Goldfinch packed a whirlwind of emotion into this short novella that left me wanting more.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two get to know each other.  I loved the confusion, and the sparks of desire, as their story unfolded.

The descriptions were perfect.  Often times, I find that when reading a novella, things feel rushed, but that was not the case with The Language of Souls.  Each scene was painted vividly, allowing me to fully immerse myself into Solena and Rundan’s story. Everything flowed smoothly, from narrative to dialogue to description.

And the ending … It was the perfect mix of awkward and sweet.  I absolutely love it.  An awesome ending to a wonderful novella!

If you are looking for a quick romance that will make you smile, then pick this one up.

Review: Autumn Dawn by Lizzy Ford

Autumn Dawn

(#2.5 A Witchling Trilogy Novelette)

ByLizzy Ford

Rating:♥♥♥♥♥

GoodReads: Here

Lizzy's Website:Here

Purchase: Here

Good Reads Summary: 

Three months after turning Dark and being granted a second trial, Summer has succeeded in winning back not only her soul, but saving that of the Master of Dark as well. She leaves the hospital with some doubts as to whether or not she and Decker can be together, given all they’ve been through and how Dark his deeds were. Summer must choose whether or not she can risk her heart by taking a second chance to love the tormented Decker, whose only peace in the world is found in her arms.

Meanwhile, the fate of the Master of Light becomes more challenging. If finding a way to undo all the Dark that was done by his brother wasn’t enough, he’s compelled to a girl who shouldn’t draw his interest, but who he can’t get out of his mind.

My Reviews:

My mind was seriously like a tornado of questions for days & days after reading autumn storm..
 
"Did autumn/summer past the test?".." If she did will decker still want to be with her?".."Will they still love each other? Or will deckers darkness destroy there second chance?".." Will she be autumn or Summer?".. " What about beck? & the Baby!?"...

"Did autumn/summer past the test?".." If she did will decker still want to be with her?".."Will they still love each other? Or will deckers darkness destroy there second chance?".." Will she be autumn or Summer?".. " What about beck? & the Baby!?"
All i could do was think & Worry, think & worry, think & worry And then I saw Autumn Dawn was released!...oh Happy Days!

After dancing around the house for a while i some how managed to contain myself & quickly grab a copy in-which I  gobbled it up!...Ok so i actually had to read it 3 times to be truly content, it gave such a clear understanding of how the test worked & how summer was concealed I had to face palm myself because of all my worrying!

The tension between summer & decker when they finally saw was so thick you could of cut it with a knife, and the pure raw emotion made me cry. (why do I always cry!)

I'm totally thrilled beck found his (hopeful) other half (even if decker won't be over the moon about it, given Becky's track record....Crazy Dawn anyone!)  seriously I cannot wait to see  how things work out between them too in Winter Kiss, which will be coming soon. 

*fingers crossed* 

Read my Review of Dark Summer by Lizzy Ford Book 1# :Here

Read my Review of Summer Night by Lizzy Ford Book 1.5# :Here

Read my Review of Autumn Storm by Lizzy Ford Book 2# :Here

Review: Autumn Storm by Lizzy Ford

Autumn Storm. A Witchling Novel. Book 2#

By Lizzy Ford

Rating:♥♥♥♥♥

GoodReads: Here

Lizzy's Website:Here

Purchase: Here

GoodReads Summary:

A girl with no memory, hidden in plain sight. A boy with no hope, freefalling into Darkness.

Autumn doesn’t know why she remembers a boarding school she’s never visited, or why her reflection isn’t always … hers. There’s another girl in the mirror, a dark-haired ghost that emerges one night to guide her to a cliff near the school. Only Autumn can’t remember what happened there and why it’s so important. Beck’s gentle touch soothes her distress while Decker’s every look sets her A girl with no memory, hidden in plain sight. A boy with no hope, freefalling into Darkness.

Unable to recover from Summer’s death, Decker slowly surrenders to the Dark. He can’t live with the pain, and those around him keep Autumn’s secret too well. The guilt he feels when he falls for her – and betrays Summer’s memory – drives him farther from the Light, until he loses control and begins taking the souls of Light witchlings. As the protector of Light, Beck must choose between confronting his twin and watching more witchlings suffer. Decker realizes Beck has come between more than him and the witchlings. With neither of them willing to let Autumn go, they turn on each other.

Only one of them knows the truth. Only one of them will walk away, unless Autumn can find a way to save them both.

My Review:

*Spoiler-ish Warning*

After devouring Dark Summer then the Summer Night novelette, & being shocked into a teary mess with the cliff hanger that Summer had died & was some how reincarnated into autumn!!
i was, desperate...desperate for some answers!
Which thankfully lizzy gave me but turn me into a emotional mess yet again!...lol 

Autumn Storm sheds the whimsical teenage naivety of dark summer & thrusts both the reader and the chracters into a harsh and painful reality.

With Summer's death weighting heavily on his shoulders, Decker goes well to put it simply, he goes utterly insane & is trying to block out the pain with anything possible. Sex, Drugs, Women nothing seems enough to numb out the pain of losing his one true love.
I couldn't help but feel Sorry for decker, after reading the beautiful love affair between him & summer I was heart broken to see his internal struggle with the darkness but I was also insanely mad when he began sleeping around with hundreds, yes I said hundreds of women only a couple of months after her death. All I wanted to do was punch him in his stupid sexy face..

Tho The Internal struggle he had towards his feelings about autumn & not wanting to betray summer's memory got him off the hook.
"With a sob, he realized Summer's memory was best honored, by  doing what was right, no matter how hard it was or how much it Hurt. " Decker.
Awwww Poor Baby..

Autumn was cool & strong I mean really strong. 

After going through all the pain of her "accident" you 

would think she would just crawl into her little shell but she didn't. she took the master of darkness (even dawn! Yes Phyco Dawn!) Head On 

I also loved how she didn't play into decker's little game of seduction...
"The master of Darkness, Apparently the Master of Seduction was a better Title for him." - Autumn
She stayed true to herself and her own feelings. Which I really admired...Yes I was in total like with her but I just couldn't love her like I did summer.

Beck finally came into his true self as the Master of Light, protecting his family & the light Witchlings at any cost. He was was soo sweet, especially  when  he was trying to protector autumn from Decker & decker from Himself. Nawwwww brotherly love.

Would I Reccomend it? Yep Yep!
Would I Re-Read it? Maybe.
Would I Read More in the Series? Umm.. Hell yes! Unless I wanted to make myself go total Bananas from not knowing!

LOL

I was listening to this song today & all I could think was "this is totes decker & autumn's song!" read the book, hear the song then tell me I'm.. & why your at it try & tell sixty ain't sexy as hell! 

That's right you Can't cause his just too Damn Hot!! =p

Review: Nordic Faries by Saga Berg

Nordic Faries (Nordic Faries 1#)

by Saga Berg

Rating: ♥♥1/2

Goodreads

Author's Website

GoodReads Summary:

What would you do if your lover since a thousand years back in time reappeared after two years apart as a famous movie star, and you couldn't get to him?

Svala and Viggo have spent a hundred lives together over the last thousand years. As Liosálfar, Nordic light fairies, their job is to do good and to uphold a balance in the mortal world. A balance, often compromised by the Döckálfar, Nordic dark fairies.

In this life, Svala turns on her TV and learns that Viggo has become a popular movie star. This is not only highly unexpected, it indicates something is wrong and that Viggo is attempting to contact Svala before their assignments are carried out, an action which is strictly forbidden.

Svala seeks him out, but not without breaking a few rules of her own, and learning that things are not always as they seem.


This is the first part of the Novella Series Nordic Fairies. The second part Freja (Nordic Fairies, #2) was released in March 2012 and the third part, Döckálfar (Nordic Fairies, #3) will be released during the summer 2012. So far, a total of five parts are planned in the Nordic Fairies series.

My Review: 

The Story was quite interesting but the plots & characters were so boring. I didn't even really know what the heck was going on sometimes, i  didn't understand some characters & knew pointless thing about others. For me a novella engage you from the start & spends limit time on scenery of character description. Which this book didn't do. It felt more like a chapter in a Novell then a novella. which was a shame because it such potential, Liosálfar, Nordic light fairies & the Döckálfar, Nordic dark fairies was such an Awsome & original idea, maybe if all the "novellas" were incorporated into one full novel I'd probably read it.But As it is I might pass on the second book & just be super happy it was free, oh and it's very pretty on my self.

Xxx

Review: Hera Queen of Gods by T.D. Thomas

Hera Queen of Gods (Goddess Unbound 1#)

by T.D. Thomas 

Rating:♥♥♥♥1/2

Pages:115

Goodreads:Here

Purchase:Here (only 99 cents)

GR Summary:

Hera couldn't care less what the other gods think, even when it's about her. And it often is. Frankly, Hera couldn't care less about anything, except doing her duty as queen - protecting order and defending the mortal world against any threats. But when the Fates go missing, Hera and a handful of other gods must temporarily become mortal to search the human world for the missing goddesses.

Hera finds that mortality begins to change her. It's not just the loss of her divine powers. She expected that. It's deeper somehow. It's affecting how she thinks, how she feels, what's important to her. And it gets much worse after she meets Justin, who defies every prejudice she once had

about mortals. At the worst possible time, and despite all her efforts, Hera's black-and-white world starts to unravel.

My Blabber-ific Review:

Two Words basically sum up Hera Queen of Gods...Frickin Awsom  Yep that's it that's my whole review...it's awesome, you have to read It, end of story... 

Ok ok an awesome  book deserves an awesome  blabbering filled review so here it goes... My History teacher must have  forgot to teach me about the epic-ness of Greek mythology or I just fell asleep in class (which is more likely) because my knowledge of the Greeks is basically limited to  Hercules, yep Hercules..the Disney film which probably has zero facts that are actually real (ok as real as you can with myths). Sad but true.... 

 

 So to help all the other bad asses out there, who use to sleep in class I've made you a little outline of the different  gods (who are basically the main characters)......  

Hera: 

 

The queen of the gods and goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings and empires. She is the wife of Zeus and daughter of Cronus and Rhea. She was usually depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and veil and holding a royal, lotus-tipped staff. 

Zeus: 

    

The king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and fate. He is the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, whom he overthrew after Cronus swallowed his brothers and sisters and he is brother-husband to Hera. In artwork, he was depicted as a regal, mature man with a sturdy figure and dark beard.  

Demeter:

   

The goddess of agriculture, horticulture, grain and harvest. Demeter is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea and sister of Zeus, by whom she bore Persephone. She was depicted as a mature woman, often crowned and holding sheafs of wheat and a torch. 

Athena:
 
The goddess of wisdom, warfare, battle strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts and reason. According to most traditions, she was born from Zeus's head fully formed and armored. She was depicted crowned with a crested helm, armed with shield and a spear.


Apollo:
 
The god of music, healing, plague, the sun, prophecies, and poetry; associated with light, truth and the sun. He is Artemis' twin brother and Hermes' elder (half) brother, and son of Zeus and Leto. He was depicted as a handsome, beardless youth with long hair and various attributes including a laurel wreath, bow and quiver, raven, and lyre. 

Artemis:
 
Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, young girls, childbirth and plague. In later times she became associated with the moon. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo. In art she was usually depicted as a young woman dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a hunting bow and a quiver of arrows. In addition to the bow, her attributes include hunting spears, animal pelts, deer and other wild animals.

Hermes:
 
The god of travel, messengers, trade, thievery, cunning wiles, language, writing, diplomacy, athletics, traps, and animal husbandry. He is the messenger of the gods, a psychopomp who leads the souls of the dead into Hades' realm, and the son of Zeus and Maia. He was depicted either as a handsome and athletic beardless youth, or as an older bearded man. His attributes include the herald's wand or caduceus, winged sandals, and a traveler's cap.

So now your a bit more clued up, or maybe not at all because you skipped over it, which i wouldn't blame you for doing....learning about Greek mythology can be a bit boring...expect when your reading HQOG which is never boring.
any how..
I better get on with the review. HQOG is a true Young Adult Novel, the writing style, character development, plots etc all have a young feel to it which adults & teens could easily enjoy...don't get me wrong it's totally not a light hearted, everyone's happy kinda story there's actually a lot of fighting & death but all within the YA limits.  Romance blossoms (of course it does, I can't read book with out romance in it) & friendships are made and broken.  all classic ya plots, but it works.. So very very well, i was on the edge of seat waiting to find out what happened next even tho, sometimes I had a pretty god Idea.   

T.D. Had me laughing out loud (yes actually out loud!), giggling, fuming like mad and even close  to tears. ..
It was one of those novels you just don't  want to end because your enjoying the ride way too much.  

 I was very close to falling  in love with this novel but just couldn't quite take the plunge, maybe it was the repetitiveness at times or the immaturity shown through the characters or just the lack of detailed writing.... What ever It was it hasn't stop me from seriously  enjoying  the hell out of reading it & it hasn't Stop me from giving it 5 stars on goodreads and it sure as hell is not going to stop me from getting my hands on the next book! 

 would I recommend it? Defiantly! But mostly to lovers of YA. 
would I re-read it? maybe..... 
would I read more in the series? try & stop me! ;)

Xxx

Ashley Stoyanoff's Review:Once Upon a Beanstalk

★ Ashley Stoyanoff's Review ★

Once Upon a Beanstalk by Kate Avery Ellison.

Title:Once Upon a Beanstalk

Author: Kate Avery Ellison

Number of Pages: 61

Publication Information: Kate Avery Ellison (Aug 2011)

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Shelf: Books I Bought

Rating: ★★★★

Author Website: Here

Goodreads: Here

Purchase: Here

Summary from Goodreads:

In this humorous collection of fairy tale mashups combining modern day technology with fairy tale sensibilities, Rumpelstiltskin and Red Riding Hood are married and running a royal wedding planner venue, Rapunzel has been rescued from her tower and is about to start her happily ever after, and the Grimm Brothers are a group of notorious thieves who are forced to rescue a kidnapped princess in order to avoid execution.

This collection includes the short stories "Once Upon a Wedding," "Once Upon a Heist," and "Once Upon a Beanstalk."

My Review:

Once Upon a Beanstalk is a collection of three brilliantly written short stories. As always, Kate’s writing was beautiful.  Every page was filled with easily imaginable scenes and wonderful descriptions.  

These stories had me laughing from start to finish.   Ellison took our beloved fairly tale characters and added a few new twists.  I thoroughly enjoyed every page and absolutely loved Rumpelstiltskin’s wedding planning business.  

My favorite tale was definitely “Once Upon a Beanstalk.”  The Grimm Brothers were a treat.  Ellison had me at the edge of my seat with some unexpected twists, and the ending had me grinning at the blossoming romances.  

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and fun read that will have you giggling.

Review: Oath of Servitude By C.E. Wilson

 

Oath of Servitude (The Punishment Sequence)

By C.E. Wilson 

Rating: ♥♥♥1/2

Goodreads:Here

Authors Website:Here

Purchase:Here

Sypnosis: 

Teague’s was the charmed life of a popular athlete that came to a crashing halt.
Cailin is a pixi learning the price of nonconformity in her rigid clan.

She fears the darkness.She fears the darkness.

He is trapped there for all eternity.

But when the two of them are thrown together, they begin to discover the light within themselves.

My Review:

The Oath of Servitude  was a whimsical story with a beautiful mix of family, love, loss, secrets & betrayal.

  

 C.E.'s Debut novel is a  unique & quite bitter sweet tale of  a Pixie Callin with far too much confidence & Teauge a human with far too little. 

 "It's remarkable to think that you and Teague can only grow further apart with time. A human life span is but the blink of an eye for a true pixi. We open and close again before those around us, those we love, can ever really come to understand who we truly are." - Owen to

The cover is really beautiful & I hope the rest in the series are as equally pretty (next weeks cover love post, maybe)

 I Loved the story it's was so sweet & sincere, but I at times I felt like I was some how left out of the loop, it left me with utter confusion & a desperate want to know more, to understand more.  the narration seemed simple  when I needed detailed and Detailed when I needed simple, which was the result of the 3.5 instead of 4 star rating.

 "He knew that there were two truths about a last resort: everyone has one and no one wants to use it." - Owen. 

 The relationship between Callin & Teauge was tough, emotional, sweet & amazingly different... All the feelings of teen love! And god did I love it!

   

I was quite shocked that C.E. could make such an odd story work so well it was really beautiful and I so enjoyed reading it.

 "Come on, I can't see anything. Let the blind man get an idea of what you look like.” He laughed. "Hell, I sound like a perverted old guy at a retirement home. I don't mean it like that though."  Teauge to Callin.

 I was near tears on more then one occasion and I also giggled like mad on others. 

Would I recommend it? Yes 

Would I read the Sequel? Yes..... I really need a ending, I don't want sound too much like mick jaggar but....

... I Ain't Get No Satisfaction out of this Ending! 

Review: Moon Trilogy by C.L. Bevill

Moon Trilogy by C.L. Bevill

GoodReads
C.L. Bevill's Website


♦

Black Moon, Book 1#
Rating: ♥♥♥
*mature content warning*

Donovan is a werejaguar warrior for the werecat clan who's spying on there enemy the evil whitelaws, a werewolf clan who love money & murder.Isabella is a special librarian for a secret committee who job is to protect the human race. The Story starts of interesting & very promising but loses it towards the middle & then kinda cuts short at the end. Which is a shame because I really wanted to get into this book but just couldn't. As with most free books you get what you pay for. Action, Semi Romance, a bit of a plot with lust = Black Moon. All in all ok but not great. 

♦

Amber Moon, Book 2#

Rating:♥♥♥1/2

Mirie an agent of the secretive committee is assigned to stalk...I mean observe a hunky elvish prince who has the powerful possible world ending artifact but the problem is like all good short novels, her target is just to cute.....mmmm

I've read all three of the moon trilogy's & this is defiantly my favorite, mostly because of the female lead mirie. I like how there's a little reference to first book & picks up what was left out. But was a bit disappointed there was no real lust or romance going on unlike the other two books, which was a shame because I like this couple the best. Still a good book tho. 

♦

Silver Moon, Book 3#

Rating: ♥♥♥

*mature content warning*

Silver moon is the nice & tidy ending of the trilogy, jack drake & asta (who we meet in the second book) must find out the mystery of the silver moon while fighting werewolves & dragons and also while desperately trying to keep their hands off each other.....the Naughty things! ;)

Nothing epic happens..it was good but nothing really special, it worth reading if you've read the first two in the series tho.

Hot, Cheap and Free! 5#

*

Hot!

The Secret of Ella & Micha.

By Jessica Sorensen.

Buy on Amazin Amazon: Right Here

*mature content warning*

Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.

Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.

Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.

Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes. 

*

Cheap!

 Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave.

By Sibel Hodge.

Buy on Amazon: Here

My name is Elena and I used to be a human being. 

Now I am a sex slave.
If you are reading this diary then I am either dead or I have managed to escape...

Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave is a gritty, gripping, and tear-jerking novella, inspired by real victims' accounts and research into the sex trafficking underworld. It's been listed as one of the Top 40 Books About Human Rights by Accredited Online Colleges.

*

FREE!

Moon Trilogy by C.L. Bevill.

Buy

Black Moon:Here

Amber Moon:Here

Silver Moon:Here

Read the Dark & Delicious Review: Here

*

*mature content warning*

Donovan is a were-jaguar sworn to fight against his enemies, the dreaded werewolf clan - the Whitelaws. Isabella is an uncommon librarian, a member of the Committee. When she faces down the Whitelaws to retrieve a very dangerous book, she encounters Donovan and their lives will never be the same. 

Mirie has been sent to watch a handsome elvish prince because he's alleged to have the mysterious Eyes of the Amber Moon, an artifact that can destroy the world. Instead she becomes embroiled in elvish politics and has to guard for her life, even while she attempts to discover who she really is. 

*mature content warning*

ack Drake must discover what the secretive third part of the moon relic is and destroy it before it can be used to decimate the world. The equally mysterious Asta is hot on Jack’s tail, eager to gain his trust and find the Silver Moon’s Mystery. Together the pair must endure a trial of fire, dragons, and werewolves to stop the enigmatic Elijah Whitelaw from carrying out the blackest of Unseelie Fae magicks.