Book Review: Dark Matter Heart by Nathan Wrann

A new town. A new school. A new beginning. Seventeen year-old Cordell Griffin and his mother move from Los Angeles to the Pacific Northwest to deal with his "allergies," and start a healthier new life. Cor has one goal: To blend in and be invisible. Unfortunately for him, no matter how far he goes, he can't run away from his secrets. Secrets about who he is. Secrets about why he's sick. And secrets about why so many people he meets end up dead, drained of blood.

In "Dark Matter Heart", the origin novel in the "Cor Griffin Bloodsuckers" Young Adult Paranormal Thriller series from filmmaker Nathan Wrann, Cor must uncover the mysteries of his past and conquer the secrets of the present in order to protect the girl of his future, and save himself

*Excerpt from Goodreads.com

To be honest, I was not in love with this book when I started it. I thought it had some Twilight type undertones to it. I also thought that it moved along way too quickly and I wasn't sure how there was going to be any good closure to the story. This just goes to show that you can't judge a book until you are done with it. By the time I was through with this book I was loving every minute of it. I understood why the plot was moving along so quickly and Nathan did a fantastic job of wrapping it up at the end of book one. 

I usually like more character development in my books. As I have said on here before, there is a fine line between not enough character development and too much character development. But, as I neared the end of the book it dawned on me that Nathan was keeping the characters somewhat mysterious and enigmatic on purpose. So, I would have to say that the characters are right on par with the mood of the story.

The plot was well done, even though I thought it moved too quickly in some parts (I think the whole book takes place in the span of less than one week...). I'm excited to see how the characters that came to light in the end of book one play into the plot of the following books. 

If you are a fan of vampires, thrillers, and ya novels then I would recommend this read to you. It goes by very quickly. You could easily sit down in a day and read this book. I can't wait the start the next book in this series. 

Overall Rating: 4/5 

Book Review: The Orphan, The Soul Catcher, and The Black Blizzard

Most of his life, Charlie Reese has been surrounded by a loving family and all the comforts of home. But when a house fire claims them, he and his cousin, Jimmy are sent to an orphanage in the heart of ‘Depression Era’ Chicago. A year later, Charlie’s life is shaken by yet another tragedy and with it comes the mysterious introduction of a secretive runaway, named Bartholomew. As Charlie begins to discover more about his new companion, he unknowingly becomes a participant in a two-hundred year old secret. Come the morning of the Black Blizzard, Charlie finds he must make a choice - flee the destiny laden at his feet or take on his responsibility and follow a path full of supernatural wonders.

*Excerpt from Goodreads.com

This was an interesting read for me because I didn't remember that it was the beginning of a series (doh!). So, until the end of the book when I saw there was another one coming, I was really confused about the lack of closure in the book. Stupid me...

Having said that, this was a fantastic book with a perfect ending to set up a sequel! The plot is well thought out and well crafted. I love the setting of depression era Chicago. It is such a gritty and nasty place. It's the perfect setting to move the story of Charlie and Buck through. Charlie is a kid that has had to grow up too fast. He has a problem with not being able to leave "project" children alone. He feels the need to take them under his wing and help them along. Well, he get's more than he bargains for with "Buck". Buck gets him into more trouble then he really knows what to do with. It's an interesting relationship to watch develop and I'm excited to see how the author (Kimberlee Bastian) works all of the sub characters into the rest of the story. 

This book has something for a wide range of readers. There is some action and adventure, some mortal vs immortal, and some mystery going on. If you are at all a fan of any of these things then this book would be a worthwhile read for you. 

I apologize for the vagueness of this review because it's hard to tell you much about the story and what I liked about it without having some spoilers, and I hate spoilers. Just know that this book has a lot going for it and that it will keep you turning pages to the very end. If you have the time, pick it up and give it a read. 

Overall Rating: 4/5 

My First Giveaway!!!

Thank you to the fine folks at Sterling Publishing for giving me an extra copy of "The Blackhouse" by Peter May to give away to another lucky reader.

A brutal killing takes place on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland: a land of harsh beauty and inhabitants of deep-rooted faith. A MURDER. Detective Inspector Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh to investigate. For Lewis-born Macleod, the case represents a journey both home and into his past. A SECRET. Something lurks within the close-knit island community. Something sinister. A TRAP. As Fin investigates, old skeletons begin to surface, and soon he, the hunter, becomes the hunted.

*Excerpt from Goodreads

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Home Library? Maybe one day...

As my wife and I are looking at homes in hopes of moving one day in the not so distant future; there is one thing that I would love to have...a home library. Now, it doesn't need to be as fancy as these two, but one can dream can't he?

If any of you have home libraries that you don't mind sharing pictures of; please feel free to post them here in the comments :)

The Orphan, The Soulcatcher and The Black Blizzard by Kimberlee Ann Bastian

 

Inspiration for the Billiards Scene By: Kimberlee Ann Bastian
Movies have always been my biggest inspiration and some of my best teachers when it comes to life. I can blame this obsession on my Gramz (my mom’s mom). When I was younger, if my Grandpa didn’t have the Vikings football game on, my brother and I (later my brother, sister and I) would go through the movies that make up our Gramz movie library. And boy, does she have a library. We stuck to the classics, which were pretty much all a part of the Disney Catalog. And I’m not talking about just the animated features. Some of our favorites were Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mary Poppins, Candleshoe, The Apple Dumpling Gang, That Darn Cat (the original), The Love Bug, Parent Trap (the original), just to name a few.
Now I can’t say for sure if I actually saw this movie at her house first, but I’m pretty sure I did. When trying to build a conflict between the gang leaders Victor and Kalvis, I thought of a scene from this movie. What is this mysterious movie you might ask? It is Disney’s 1978 classic “The Cat from Outer Space”.












Original Poster 1978 (Movieberry.com)













DVD Cover (Amazon.com)

For those of you who don’t know what this movie is about here is IMDB’s description. A UFO is stranded on earth and impounded by the US government. Its pilot, a cat with a collar that has special powers, including the ability to allow the cat to communicate with humans, has eluded the authorities and needs the help of a man named Frank in order to reclaim and repair his ship to get back home. (IMDB)
From it, I borrowed a few things, particularly the idea of the billiard scene, the names Link and Honest Harry, and the idea of a talking cat to be the first image of my shape shifting spy, the Chameleon. Without this childhood classic, I’m not sure what the landscape of the story would look like and I shudder to think, because I can’t see it any other way.

Throwback Thursday (4)

Throwback Thursday is where I talk about the classic books I would love to read when I get the time (who knows when that will happen).

The Book

Catch 22 has always been a book that has interested me. I tried to read it once in High School (I wasn't the avid reader then that I am now) and didn't have much luck. The writing style wasn't something I liked back then. I would love to give it a try again and make it through this time. Hopefully it won't be another 10 years before I can pick it up again...

What classics would you love to read?

Book Review: The Gatekeeper by Jason Morrow

With the war in Marenon escalating quickly, Silas Ainsley is running out of time. The relentless Stühocs are attacking villages, and an assassin is tracking his every move, making it difficult to find the one person who has all the answers: The Gatekeeper.

Meanwhile, after learning that the Dunarian Council is compromised, King Julian Hobbes scours Marenon for the truth about how deeply the Stühocs have penetrated the freedom fighters.

When Julian discovers what he must do to uncover that truth, he must decide whether the result can justify his actions.
*Excerpt from Goodreads

This is the second installment of the Marenon Chronicles; a trilogy by Jason Morrow. As I have said before on this blog, I'm always worried about the second book in a trilogy. The second book is usually the worst book of the lot and I cringe when it comes to it. However, this book was a glorious exception to that notion.

The Gatekeeper is a fantastic followup to "The Deliverer". It keeps the story moving at a break neck pace that keeps you turning pages long into the night. I loved this book from beginning to end. There was no long drawn out sections where you could tell that the author was just trying to fill up space on the pages. The characters didn't become stagnant as some are prone to do in second books of trilogies.

In this book we see Silas and his companions continuing their quest for the six medallions that they believe will bring peace to Marenon. Along the way Silas is also trying to embrace his role as the "deliverer" of Marenon. There are some unlikely twists and turns in his role as the "deliverer" during this book and I'm excited to see how Jason continues this plot line in the third and final book in this trilogy. There are also a lot of players involved in the quest for retrieving the medallions. I have so many different ideas in my head for how this could end that I'm excited to see how Jason wraps it all up.

Overall I would say that Jason Morrow has crafted a trilogy that is a must read for lovers of the fantasy genre. If you haven't picked up these books or heard of Jason then it's time to start reading his books and finding out what he has to offer. I give this book two thumbs up.

Overall rating: 5/5