The Fragile Things Cover Reveal

Two girls on the road to self-destruction.

A village upon the brink of collapse.

A past which refuses to die.

The beginning of an epic four-part horror serial.

At seventeen-years-old, Jennifer should have the world at her feet. Instead, she’s an ex-heroin addict living in a council estate with Tony, her boyfriend and former dealer. Shunned by her family and friends, she dreams of something greater than she’s been given.

Beautiful and strange, Ebony has moved in across the street. She’s just lost the one person in her lonely existence to cancer. She’s also a centuries old vampire, struggling to cope with murderous outbursts and the desire to be something more.

When these two lost souls meet, an unusual friendship begins.

But with the news of Morris, Tony’s sadistic best friend and drug-dealing partner, being released from prison, Jennifer knows it’s only a matter of time before his path of vengeance leads to her and Ebony, too.

With a cast of memorable characters, a village full of secrets, and a gripping story, The Fragile Things is a layered tale of friendship, hope, survival and what it truly means to be human.

Part I is available on 30^th April, 2013. And will be FREE from Amazon for a limited time.

V. Shaw is the author of short fiction collection, The Lady of Chains and Other Stories. Having reviewed horror films for FatallyYours.com, she now focuses on creating her own monsters.

Check out V. Shaw's blog. The Fragile Things can be found on Amazon. 

So Bad, It's Terrible

Valiant One by Jay Hughes

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.

Summary: Ragnar, a hardened Scottish soldier, is indifferent to English rule of his homeland until he falls in love with Gylis McIvoy, a fellow Scotsman. They have a brief and passionate affair, but circumstances tear them apart permanently. Ragnar swears vengeance, and soon becomes a freedom fighter modeled on the recently captured and executed William Wallace. Ragnar manages to raise a ragtag army that rains terror down on Longshanks' occupying forces, but in the process, he has a chance meeting with the king's son, Prince Edward of Wales. Sparks fly between them despite the impossibility of an English prince taking a Scottish enemy soldier as his lover-giving new meaning to "the love that dare not speak its name." These two star-crossed lovers may cross swords on the battlefield by day, but they still manage to heat up the night. 

Review: A “romance” told with characters who love to repeat themselves, unbelievable situations, and terrible sex.

I know sometimes people say that something is so bad that it’s good. Valiant One is not one of those somethings. While the plot sounded a little unbelievable, I enjoy m-m stories, historical fiction, and Scottish romances so I decided to give this book a shot. It was bad, so bad. I am not sure how this managed to get published. I have looked at the author’s other two books and they seem just as bad. I do think this could have been an interesting story if it wasn’t told so poorly.

The first thing that irked me was how often the characters repeated themselves. I get that Edward I was tall so he was called Longshanks. I get that Prince Edward liked men. Second, I didn’t like how quickly Ragnar fell in love with another man. It was much too quick and unbelievable, especially for one who had never been involved with another man before. I know that Ragnar is set up for a relationship with a man due to the recounting of how he dealt with women, but at least let it take more time. Third, the sex was so bad and there was too much sex with absolutely no lubrication or preparation. Ouch!! Finally, there was the situation with Isabella and Edward I. This whole book was quite unpleasant.

Rating:






Recommendation: I honestly can't recommend this book. It's just that bad.

Zombies Ruin Everything, Don't They?

Dead Kitties Don't Purr by Amber Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: People who take their shots and do as they're told have nothing to fear. Right?

The Rabies Z epidemic began and ended in Miami this past summer, didn't it? And that guy my daddy saw at the Jacksonville airport last week was just having an epileptic fit. No cause for alarm. Epilepsy always causes an eighteen-hour hazmat shutdown at a major airport.

So while my twin tours to flog her newest album, here I am, Camie Invisible, parked at this nice, safe college—as far as I can get from the infection and still pay in-state tuition. Only now, my studies have become focused on the fascinating Risa Ruiz. And she has eyes for me.

Isn't this the perfect time for the zombies to show up?

Review: A somewhat confusing tale of the zombie apocalypse.

I’ve gotten more into zombie stories recently. The zombies in Dead Kitties Don’t Purrwere humans who had been infected, but weren’t actually the walking dead. It was a decent medical explanation for zombies although I have a tendency to prefer my zombies as the undead (they can still be caused by a virus though). I was surprised at the lack of alarm at Camie’s college. It may be far away from Miami, but it’s still in Florida and zombies are very bad at following quarantines. I would have expected curfews, checks, and doomsday preppers.

I liked the relationship between Camie and Risa. I thought the sex was well done and not tacky or overbearing. I was confused at a number of points in the story. I wish there would have been more explanation, especially with the evil man who Risa knew and how everyone kept getting past the National Guard barriers around campus so easily. People would come and go at Risa’s and I am not sure how they were getting around nor how they managed to have enough food. I don’t know how long the quarantine lasted. The epilogue was also very sudden. I think this story would have been better if it had been expanded into a full length novel.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this to those looking for a story of not so traditional zombies that don't mind a lesbian couple. 

In the Court of the Queen

Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I (Ladies in Waiting #3) by Sandra Byrd

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. 

Summary: In 1565, seventeen-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiance has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry money has been gambled away, but ahead of her lies an adventure that will take her to the dizzying heights of Tudor power. Transformed through marriage into Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, she becomes the highest-ranking woman in Elizabeth’s circle. But in a court that is surrounded by Catholic enemies who plot the queen’s downfall, Helena is forced to choose between an unyielding monarch and the husband she’s not sure she can trust—a choice that will provoke catastrophic consequences.

Vividly conjuring the years leading up to the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, Roses Have Thorns is a brilliant exploration of treason, both to the realm and to the heart.

Review: An enjoyable tale of a foreign woman caught up in the pull of Queen Elizabeth.

I liked Elin von Snakenborg as a character. I can’t imagine coming to visit a foreign country with your princess and then deciding to stay. I know that she had her reasons, namely a marriage proposal and her fiancé loving her sister, but there was a good chance that she would never she her family again. Today, with air travel, it is much easier to visit other countries and you can see your family much more easier. It was interesting to see Elizabeth through the lens of a foreign born person, not an Englishman.

This book really demonstrates how much of a pull Elizabeth had on people. She would get annoyed when her ladies got married and would be furious if they did it without her permission. Friendship with the queen seemed a very one sided affair. Sure, the person would get properties, titles, monies, and gifts, but they would lose a lot of their freedom. I liked that Elin actually saw Elizabeth as a human being and not as an untouchable monarch. I was glad that she was able to get her happy ending.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy historical fiction about queens or fiction about the Tudors. 

Out With a Whimper

Life As We Knew It (The Last Survivors #1) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Summary: Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.

Review: A quiet post apocalyptic tale of the world after the moon has been knocked into a closer orbit told from a teenager’s point of view.

One of my Goodreads friends mentions in her review that the world is going out with a whimper and not a bang in this story. That is certainly true. However, I think that is due to the fact that the main character, Miranda, lives far enough away from the coasts, fault lines, active volcanoes, and the like to miss a lot of the immediate catastrophe. The story focuses on one small town so the focus is quite small and you only get hints on what is going on the inside world.

I am not sure if the moon could be knocked into an orbit or what would happen if it was, but the book does a decent job of providing one possible explanation. Miranda writes so much in her diary that isn’t always believable and Miranda can be a very annoying and selfish character at times. Reading Life as We Knew It is rather unnerving because I keep thinking about what would happen if the world, as we knew it, would end tomorrow. I live my life thinking that I will have a future, but what if I don’t?

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy young adult apocalyptic novels. 

It's a Trap!

Inside Out (Insiders #1) by Maria V. Snyder

Summary: I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

Review: An enjoyable, seemingly dystopian story with a twist.

I thought this book would be a pretty standard young adult dystopian novel with a barely believable or sometimes completely unbelievable setting and a luv story. The setting of Inside Out makes so much sense when you actually find out the big secret. Of course it doesn’t really explain the reason for why the scrubs and uppers formed the way they did. It does explain why the one millionth week was so important. I know there is one more book in this series so far. I am curious whether the author will ever write a story about what happens when they get to the one millionth week.

I liked Trella. She was competent, did not need a boyfriend to function, and was able to make decisions on her own. She could be a bit snobby and standoffish at times. I don’t understand why people started to protect her as much as she does once she inadvertently starts a revolution. I can understand hope, but how much faith could they have possibly had in her? I guess the situation must have been very bad for the scrubs. I will be interested to see how things go in the second book.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy young adult science fiction novels.

Butterfly Tour: Character Interview

Today I will be featuring a character interview with Ellis McGowan from Butterfly by Kyra Gregory.

Today we'll be talking to Ellis McGowan, the psychiatrist who worked with the children in the much-talked about Abbey disaster.

Originally, we hoped and planned to interview Zack and Alex, the two eldest victims of the tragedy, whom have been in your care for the past few months. What is the reason you have turned up in their place?

The situations they've been in lately, the things they've been through, have made them eager to please but, from getting to know them, I realise that this isn't what they'd want for themselves; they don't want to talk about this to anyone they don't trust. I wouldn't want them to feel like they had to do something to please me, or anyone else. I gave them a choice, they took the one that felt right to them and I wouldn't have it any other way.

You seem to have gotten to know them quite well in the past few months, something you had mentioned was certainly not going to be easy. Was it truly very difficult for you?

It was difficult for everyone. I felt an unbelievable amount of pressure to make things right for everyone and to do that I needed to be wise in my approach with all the children. Zack and Alex are particularly...mature so even the way I dealt with them had to be different from the way I dealt with the younger ones. That made it difficult for me. I consulted with my wife also; that put pressure on her. It was certainly difficult for them too, of course; they went from holding everything inside themselves like a secret that needed to be protected with their lives and to take them out of that took a lot of effort on their part.

It's been known for a while that your wife, though unofficially, played quite a big part in all this because you took Zack and Alex into your home. That's unusual practice, isn't it?

It was an unusual situation; sometimes unusual situations need to be tackled in some unusual, possibly controversial, ways.

Do you worry about the responses you received due to this decision?

The decision came quickly but not easily; I did it for the benefit of the children. If I wanted to think only of myself I would have let the state put Zack and Alex in another institution before they were ready, away from all the rest, and put my mind at ease that I could go home and take myself away from it all for a few hours. I didn't; I went straight from work in the hospital where the younger children were to work at home where they were. That meant it was always on my mind and I was always trying to move things in the right direction. Even if I questioned myself at times I still knew I was doing the right thing for them; if other experts believe they could have received the same results in another way then that's great, they'll have something to work with if such a tragedy were to arise again.

You ended up taking the two boys in permanently, do you think that decision had anything to do with having taken them into your home?

My eldest, prior to Zack and Alex, was actually adopted so I've never been closed off to the thought of adopting again. One way or another this could have happened.

How is the family right now? They've gone through quite a lot of changes these past few months.

My eldest was a little apprehensive at first but my wife and I prepared her well; it didn't take her too long to see the boys as part of the family. My wife...is incredible; she was in the late stages of her pregnancy when this all happened but she really worked hard and took it all in her stride. Alex warmed up to us all quicker than Zack but I think they're finally grasping that they have family now. It's a wonderful thing that my youngest will grow up seeing them as older brothers.

And you? How do you feel about all this now, especially now that you have good results?

I...almost don't know how I feel. I struggled for a while to get the best results for everyone and, though things are far from perfect, now that things have fallen into place I feel good about everything. I think the best part is that it made me realise the strength and love within my family; as long as I have that to support me I feel like I can tackle anything. I love Zack and Alex like my own children, my family too, so I can only hope that they'll always be aware of the strength and love we have for them so they can also feel like they can tackle anything.