The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater

The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVED this book!

I was first introduced to this book as part of a book tour & was asked to review. I almost passed, because I don't really read Zombie books. I've gotten into Walking Dead, however, and LOVED the cover of this book so much I couldn't resist getting a copy to read.

And I was immediately hooked, from the very first page.

I haven't loved a book this much in a long time.

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her entire life within an area called the Bastion. She's a soldier and has battled the zombies that surround their area before. The story revolves around Maria, her friend Lindsey who also is a veteran of zombie battles, and her boyfriend and an officer in the Constabulary, Dwayne Reichardt. Their relationship is kept a secret because of his marriage and family, but in the end, Maria's relationship with Lindsey & Dwayne is what keeps her alive.

Frater does a wonderful job of creating a whole world with rich, multi-faceted characters, and kept twisting the plot so you had to keep reading. The last half of the book I couldn't even read at night because it would keep me up at night wondering what was going to happen next! She wrote this as a stand-alone book, but I'd really love to see where Maria and Dwayne are in ten years.


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Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L. Bryan

Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L. Bryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a kindle book I picked up for free earlier this year. It was a quick read, only took a few hours to read. It starts off real enough, & then rather abrumptly shows its fantasy side, & that's when the story really starts to take off.

As with most first books in a series, there's a certain amount of world & character building, which I did enjoy. There are lots of hints of action, but other than the climax at the end of the story, nothing really happens in the story, & all the hints of future development do not come to pass. Of course, this is so the reader just HAS to buy the next book to see what happens, but I just didn't get invested in the book enough to really need the next part.

I give it 4 stars, however, as it was an enjoyable read up until the end - I just wish things had been settled a bit more. It felt too much like an advertisement for the rest of the series instead of a stand alone book, but that's just my two cents.

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Thanks, That Was Fun by Andie Nash

Thanks, That Was Fun by Andie Nash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First, this is definitely NOT my usual read. I apparantly didn't read the description very well because I didn't realize it was actually erotica/romance, I thought it was just going to be a light, quick, summer beach read type of a book.

That being said, it was a fun read! I can't say it's laugh out loud funny, but there were certainly funny parts & Nash does a fabulous job writing this well paced book. Jordan whines a lot about how unhappy and depressed she is, but it's not negative in any way, and the chapters fly by while reading.

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Friendship: Launch Day by S.J. MacDonald

Friendship: Launch Day by S.J. MacDonald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting book, and not my usual read. I love futuristic type of books, but I do prefer plot-driven books much more then character driven books, which is what this book is.

That being said, the book does grab you from the very first page. I actually wrote something along the lines of "you could actually taste the excitement in the air" after reading the first chapter. But, after a few chapters... I got a little bored. The book is well written, and I did enjoy the main character, Kat, but there are so many new worlds, civilizations, and ideas introduced in the book, in a short time period, that I felt myself more confused by it all then entertained... which led to me being bored. There are some exciting moments, but like I said, I felt more confused then anything.

That being said, there were sections that I did greatly enjoy - not going to share & spoil - and the ending was great, and it was worth reading. I can't say I was terribly surprised by the ending - but I think I would have been disappointed if the ending was different.

I received a review copy from the author.

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Project Hope by Sean Joyce

Project Hope by Sean Joyce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just received this book from the author, who kindly sent me a review copy. It had what I felt to be a bit of a slow beginning, because the themes in this book are not my usual cup of tea.

Overall I enjoyed this book, especially the ending, which I didn't really expect. At times the book is very dark & despairing, but it's well written. I liked the fact that there weren't a lot of main characters, so you could really get to "know" each one of them.

There were a few things I didn't really care for: the main characters all live in the "zone", and until almost the very end, I didn't really understand that the rest of the world still existed (as it does in real life). There is no explanation for how, why, or when the zone was created, & that was a mystery that I thought would be revealed at the end - but wasn't. There's also a few scenes which I felt was really unlikely to happen to the world which Joyce created, which I won't get into further & ruin the book for you.

All in all, it was a quick read & an enjoyable one.

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Sanna, Sorceress Apprentice by Roxanna Matthews

Sanna, Sorceress Apprentice by Roxanna Matthews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Sanna!

Sanna has all of my favorite things - knitting, magic, witches, young adult, fantasy, & in a vaguely historical setting. Author Roxie is a knitter, and you can tell this in the book, from how Sanna fixes injuries by "knitting" the bones (love the pun), to knitting magical self-heating socks & mittens to keep a friend warm. Sanna & her classmates are a bunch of girls, just out to have a good time, who are just happening to attend a magical school.

There's a bit of a mystery, there's a bit of romance, but all in all it's just a good fast read.

I only have one negative about the book, which isn't really a negative at all. I felt a couple of parts - especially the ending - were written a little abrumptly for my tastes, but I think it's more written for young adults, which of course, this book is. As an adult reader, I would love liked to have seen those parts a little more fleshed out, but I completely understand why Roxie wrote those parts the way she did.

I was thrilled to pieces to find out that there is another book in the series, too!

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