Review Tales

The Band 4 – The Air We Breathe by Marguerite Nardone Gruen- Book Review by da-AL

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Jeyran Main

Gamers and Gods: The Complete Trilogy by Matthew Kennedy (Book Review #77)

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Jeyran Main

2 Comments

This review is written for Online book club

“I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.”

Gamers and Gods is a trilogy about a population that lives online in a game world. This world consists of realms, avatars, and characters, each taking part in battles and game quests. The book uses intense gamer’s terminology that may not be familiar to all.

The Gods wish to take control over PanGames, the human race. PanGames is a company where the leaders of the virtual games are located. The games consist of role-playing, and there is a champion at the end of each book signifying the finale. The battles are planned by the Gods.

There are many characters introduced in the book. However, the ones I mention here, in my opinion, are the most important. Darla is a student studying engineering and Farker is the head of information for the company of PanGames. Farker is later on promoted to become the CIO of PanGames. Cheiron is a centaur that raises heroes. Manny & Elizabeth are Darla’s parents, and Aes is a demigod physician. Alexanor is the son of Machaon (Aes’s son) and Sekhmet (quantum goddess).

There is a dream world and a real world. In the dream world, the Gods are in charge, and so they draw the images. If the characters in the real world are not available, for instance, sleeping, then the image does not show. The Gods remove the dream image of the character.

Every book is a battle between the Gods fighting for self-determination of Earth’s humans.

The story of Aes was fascinating. He thinks that his body dies in the real world while he is in the dream world and so instead of going to the underworld he is trapped in the dream world. The truth is actually unknown. They think that Farker created him to be a healer. Is this game character or code developing free will? Aes has emotions and is talking back like a human but is he really a human? Cheiron has some answers for Aes’s condition, and the story happens to take a very interesting twist of events. Aes and Darla also become attached emotionally. This added a little romance to the whole scene. Aes has to fight Am-he, the quantum God of the children of Nuit, in the championship battle to end the game.

If the children of Nuit send in another Egyptian God in the pit, the humans have to have someone like Aes to battle for them. Since Aes is not coming back, his son needs to take his place. His son is unborn at the time and is carried by Darla. Darla is pregnant in the dream world but not in the real world.

PanGames plots against Machaon and the whole gang has to defend him as well as his son Alexanor, is chosen to fight in the final battle. The whole thing became intertwined and connected answering many questions and creating a hypothesis, making it a great tale to read.

I have to admit that I found this trilogy to be very hard to follow. Although the characters were constantly in game mode and the conversations were just about games, I found it hard to attach myself to any one of them. I found the story involved with the God’s to be more appealing.

There are also references to heavy topics such as Greek mythology and philosophical terminology and questions. I found the blend to be inconsistent and unnecessary.

There are many grammatical and typo errors in the books. For example, I noticed “an women” where it should be “a women” or “he” is written instead of “she.” It was a shame as the content was rich.

The books do consist of originality in plot, and the literary standard was up to speed. However, they failed to grab my interest in the first book. As I got to the second and third book, my interest then grew. It became very complicated but intriguing. The Author definitely has a great mind to create such a plot.

I would recommend this book for people that only seek and know of the world of gaming.

Written by Jeyran Main

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Remote Viewer: Shadow Rescue by Rhonda Armbrust (Book Review #76)

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Jeyran Main

7 Comments

Jazz is the heroine of this thrilling story. She has a sensitive background having lost her parents when she was a child. However, this does not affect her emotions and judgment. She is very decisive and firm. Her relationships, on the other hand, struggle. Jazz cannot keep a relationship due to her job and the inability of giving her heart. She is a remote viewer, which makes her a valuable asset. Jazz is kidnapped by the Chinese members of a secret society for a promise she has made and forgotten about. They wish to hire her so she can spy and locate some Chinese assassins.

There is a romantic attachment between her and a man named Aidan, which was sweet. Aidan is a psychologist, so he understands Jazz better than herself. As the mission is compromised, Jazz finds herself in a very sticky situation. The story takes her from America to China where she not only pursues her endeavor but also falls in a situation where she is adamant in saving more than a few lives.

I found the book to be absorbing. The plot is super novel, and it is an ongoing drama, full of thriller and action which keeps you intrigued without any rests. There are references to sensitive topics and human rights issues, which I found appealing. In addition, the author represents a strong female lead in the story, which adds a sweet flavor of independence for the young mind.

The character building may have suffered due to the rush in the pace of the story, however, by the end, it does leave you satisfied and well informed. The ending leaves you with just enough juice in wanting to know what happens next.

I recommend this book to mystery, thriller suspense readers and look forward to reading more from this Author.

Written by Jeyran Main

This review was kindly requested by the Author, Rhonda Armburst.

Pearls Of Time: Between Gods and Mortals by Whitney Rines (Book Review #75)

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Jeyran Main

3 Comments

The land of Liansea is constantly corrupted and ravaged by the Immortals. They kill, commit genocide, poison the minds of mortals and conduct many more horrific crimes until Cabbah arrives.

Cabbah eliminates all of the Immortals except five. She appears to have stronger powers and possesses more love for the world and the humans living in it. Instead of killing the five left, she awards them with different punishments. For instance, she awards one with the responsibility of being the Gatekeeper to the underworld and awards another, the Godhood of being responsible for the peace, protection, and prosperity. As Cabbah reaches Lizia and Fayet (twins), she bestows the responsibility of mothering, fate, and prophecy to Lizia and leaves Fayet to guard her.

They can all become free of this forced duty until they learn to love, mend what they have corrupted and to pay their penance.

The story mostly focuses on Lizia and Fayet. The love between the brother and the sister is very sweet. Although Fayet is the one responsible for protecting Lizia from the dark forces and monsters that attack, it is Lizia, that is mostly worrying and guiding him towards doing the right thing. As Lizia continues to conduct her duties, Fayet falls in love with a mortal, Ayshir. This distraction prevents Fayet from adequately protecting Lizia and so she asks him to go to Ayshir and to be with her. Lizia tells Fayet that she will call for help if need be.

Although I found the relationship between Ayshir and Fayet to be uncomfortable at first, her being so young and him being more demanding than asking, it did grow on me. The family they create together nurses much love and joy. However, one thing is inevitable, and that is Ayshir is a human. Humans don’t live forever. Dark forces and other unfortunate things create much drama for this loving couple due to this fact and more. The ending of the book leaves you with a bang generating a lot of desire for wanting to know what happens next.

The standard of literature is excellent. It possesses a touch of poetry like writing, which adds to the language God’s speak. The plot and twists embedded were very well calculated and planned. I initially thought that the story was going to focus on the five immortals, but it moved on to Fayet and his destiny instead. The tale has an extreme amount of potential for many more adaptations. The author has done a tremendous job in describing human nature’s emotions and the complications of being with a God. When time is meaningless to one and precious to the other, how can a relationship survive?

I believe that this book would be suitable for anyone and not just for Science Fiction or Fantasy readers.

I look forward to reading more from this Author.

Written by Jeyran Main
This review was kindly requested by the Author, Whitney Rines.

To Trust a Wolf – by Danielle Hardgrave (Book Review #74)

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Jeyran Main

6 Comments

Helen is an archivist working in a museum and she is in charge of an annual event where she collects money from donors to keep the museum running. Her job is very important to her. A historical discovery regarding a Viking hoard attracts a lot of people, and that causes an increase in her responsibilities. Unknown to her, there is something hidden in the artifacts which put her life, museum, and everyone else in danger.

Here comes Rune Helsen, a dashing man to her rescue with a secret of his own. His agenda is not pure or clear until the end. However, he does seem to grab the heart of our heroine, and as she falls for him, Rune manages to reveal this secret to Helen while explaining the reason why many are interested in the Viking hoard.

She tags along with him on this discovery, and they are now on a mission, which will continue as Book 2.

I was astonished to see how a short story could contain this much novel content. I was very impressed by how this Author did not waste any time in including backstory and managed to build enough character to continue with her next book.

The paragraphs, literary standard and dialogues were very well put together and easy to understand. There was no fluffing of pages, and I was pleased with the mannerism of the entire plot including the twist in the story.

The tale does contain sexual content and supernatural creatures such as Vikings, Vampires, and Werewolves. This paranormal romance did also remind me of the Twilight Saga.

I recommend this book to anyone that is interested in a short story filled with paranormal creatures.

Written by Jeyran Main

This review was kindly requested by the Author, Danielle Hardgrave.

Pearl, MD: The Way West by Marie Bartlett (Book Review #73)

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Jeyran Main

3 Comments

The way of the West begins right where we were left off. Pearl is a physician in the nineteenth-century society. This was when women were not welcome to have a profession. African Americans are also treated poorly. Healing them as a patient is unacceptable and hiring them as an assistant is profound upon and bad for business. People that find her ways different burn her medical center to the ground, and she has no choice but to stay at a hotel until she finds out what she is to do now. In this second book, the Author provides a short backstory just to remind the reader of what’s happened so far in book one, and then she moves on to the story, full speed.

Even though Pearl consistently receives bad news, she is stronger than ever. As she is trying to figure out her own life, Pearl is informed that her best friend is dying and she may be losing the baby too. Pearl has to leave Asheville and travel to the West to save her friend Victoria.

There is a slight problem, though, Pearl is now romantically inclined with Herschel, and although there are no wedding bells ringing, her departure may affect and terminate this newfound love between them.

She has to make a decision and fast. She decides to ask Loomey her assistant to travel with her, and she agrees to accompany her for at least half of the way. Pearl makes a stop to see her parents and does some questioning towards finding the person who set her medical office on fire. Loomey has to return home as her husband is injured in a fight and his life is in danger. Pearl continues the journey alone to the west.

When she arrives, things do not look good. Not only is her friend in bad shape but also she discovers new things that disgust her. This is where the story really grabs your attention. She is confronted, conned, tricked and worst of all she has to save her friend from herself as well as her surroundings. Caine, Pearl’s previous love interest is also there to make things even more uncomfortable and Walter, Victoria’s husband, is acting very weird.

I was stuck to this book like glue and could not put it down. The literary standard of writing and the references to so many sensitive subjects will blow your mind. Human trafficking, sex trades, racial encounters, and women’s rights are just a few mentioned which the Author touches on.

Pearl is so gracious and kind that you find it very hard not to fall in love with. She has such a beautiful spirit to an extent where she does not care what others think regardless of how much it affects her social status. She even refuses to send Loomey to a different car just because she is of different skin color. Pearl joins Loomey in her ride to prove a point to the others.

This book is really a gem and from the beginning to the end, will it continue to surprise you.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking to read something out of this world.

Written by Jeyran Main

This review was kindly requested by UnderratedReads.