General | Lost in a Good Book

Dark Southern Sun by Shaun J McLaughlin

06 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Book Bingo, General Tags: aboriginal, australia, book bingo, ebook, five stars, gold rush, historical fiction, shaun j mclaughlin

Published: 1st December 2014
Publisher: Raiders and Rebels Press
Pages: 284
Format: ebook
Genre: Historical Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Dark Southern Sun is a story about love, friendship, and honour in the goldfields of old Australia.

In this sequel to Counter Currents, Ryan washes up on the southern shore of Australia near death in 1845. Rescued by two Wathaurung native children and nursed to health by their parents, his life and theirs are entwined through good and sorrow for the next ten years. Set against the historical backdrop of Australia’s formative years, Ryan witnesses the displacement of the Aboriginal people, and he faces the chaos of the world’s largest alluvial gold rush and the bloodshed of Australia’s only armed uprising.

Throughout, two very different women—one white, one black—tug at his heart as he struggles from penury to prosperity. As he rises in social esteem as an astute businessman and cunning street fighter, Ryan creates two bitter enemies—one white, one black. In time, they set aside their vast racial and emotional hatreds and combine forces. Can Ryan survive their vicious attempt to destroy him and save the good life he has built?

Note: I was provided a copy of this book for review

Across ten years and coinciding with the gold rush, McLaughlin’s story is a beautiful and tragic story about life in Australia and the expansion of one culture and the decline of another. This is not the sole focus of course, at the heart there is a fantastic tale about the power of friendship and the life and successes of a former convict.

While this is a sequel to McLaughlin’s other work Counter Currents, it can also be read as a standalone. Counter Currents tells the story of how Ryan came to be sent to Australia and Van Diemen’s Land but these reasons and his story are adequately covered in this novel to make it understandable.

There are a few varying points of view but Ryan’s is the main viewpoint we are given. Ryan is an admirable character and someone who is proud and honest, and who stands up for what he believes in. His past makes him streetwise and clever but he is also fair and honourable.

It is not just Ryan who is shown to have honourable strengths and weaknesses, each one of McLaughlin’s characters is depicted as their own person; they are complicated, unique, and not just a background figure to Ryan’s life. Having such detailed characters draws you into their lives easily and adds emotion and affection to each of their actions. By staying alongside many of these characters for the ten year period you are able to see them grow and develop, understanding who they are people and what they represent. Such an approach is brilliant on McLaughlin’s part because it makes every event and action that happens hold a lot more meaning and deeper importance than it may not have if the characters were not as understood as much as they are.

The downside of the strong attachments that develop is that you become quite invested in each and every character. With the rejoicing of successes and the mourning of losses there are a lot of unexpected and multiple emotions to experience. Within this story that looks relatively innocent on the surface, lies a deeper and darker one lurking in the background. Given the context and era such a story was expected, but the way McLaughlin uses words and emotions as well as his characters to bring this story to life is marvellous.

One of my favourite discoveries about this story was just how many historical elements had been included and McLaughlin’s attention to detail and creativity for bringing together so many stories, lives, and events is astounding. The Eureka Stockade, Aboriginal culture, and life in 1800s Australia are brought to life, intertwining with Ryan’s story and there are also historical people dotted throughout adding an additional element of reality and history.

With McLaughlin’s writing there is never a moment where he begins to preach or demonise, and yet by capturing the society and conflicts so wonderfully within a brilliant story, it cannot help but highlight the issues of the era. He shows a lot of respect for both cultures and with impressive skill cleverly and effortlessly weaves many aspects of the turmoil of the time into the narrative such as bushrangers, settlement expansion, abuse and cruelty to Aborigines, as well as the legal and social laws of the time.

Knowing this story is based deeply on history and real events it can be quite a depressing and melancholic read. McLaughlin’s story captures beautifully and tragically the takeover of the Aborigine’s land and culture and seeing the opinions expressed by characters towards them is painful. But at the same time it is strangely fascinating and captivating to see it play out before you, knowing this is so close to what happened and how the arrival of white culture eradicated and erased much of the indigenous culture.

McLaughlin is a great storyteller and someone who manages to encapsulate the lives of people in a way that breaks your heart and fills you with admiration, sometimes even at the same time. Dark Southern Sun brings a moment of Australia’s past to life in its glory and its failings and offers up a stunning tale filled with strong friendships and unbreakable bonds making it a story that will stay with you for a long time.

You can purchase Dark Southern Sun via the following

Ebook

Paperback

Keepers of the Dawn (The Dawn Cycle #1) by Herb J Smith ll

04 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, General Tags: ebook, epic fantasy, fantasy, herb j smith ll, the dawn cycle, three stars

Published: 18th September 2014
Publisher: Bright Realms Publishing
Pages: 668
Format: ebook
Genre: Epic fantasy
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

For two thousand years the Teeth have stood, three immense barriers of divine light rising high into the heavens, encircling the world, dividing it from Paradise. Like others of the Penitent world, Dreen and his telepathically impaired son, Bartu, cling to a dream. A dream that one day a savior will arrive to fell the imprisoning Teeth. Unlike others, however, their dream rests on more than mere faith. It rests on the promise of an artifact that came to their family centuries ago. A holy relic that is key to a future savior’s success.

To keep the relic safe, Dreen and Bartu must keep it secret. A task not easily accomplished in this world of telepaths. Making the task even more difficult is an obscure prophecy that foretells of the sacred artifact. A prophecy that Rue-A-Kai, the Destroyer, knows well. With the strength of a hundred wizards, the reincarnated savior of the Vile hordes imperils not only the Penitent kingdoms he now threatens to overrun, but also the promised arrival of a true future savior. Were the demonic Rue-A-Kai to acquire the holy relic, his perverse interpretation of prophecy would transform the relic from a device of deliverance to one of damnation, ensuring that the Teeth never fell, that the world never saw Paradise.

Yet the relic remains safely hidden, as it has for centuries. And there is no reason to believe it will not continue to remain so for centuries to come. No reason at all, that is, until the accident…

Note: I was provided a copy of this book for review

The first thing to say about this book is that it’s epic fantasy and it is LONG! At 668 pages I was not prepared for how long it took me to read this book. Length aside the other reason it took me so long to read was that I found it extremely hard to get into this book which made me not want to keep going.

From a slow beginning it took me about 1/5 of the way through before I became interested, and then it wasn’t until the halfway mark did I feel the story took off. Understandably being an epic fantasy there needs time to introduce and set up a story and world, but because I could not find interest in the story unfolding the first half of the story dragged on.

The other thing I found was that I could not connect with the characters. The problem being that there was very little depth to any of the characters, yes you knew what they stood for and knew who they were in as much as their role and responsibilities, but there was never an exploration of who they were as people. Braxton and Volar were perhaps the only two I enjoyed reading about and who I felt any real liking for. They both had more depth to their character than the others, while the rest I was indifferent to in a way, not really caring what happened to them.

What Smith makes clear is showing who is on the side of good and who is classed as the enemy but as the story progresses this varies and who you think you can trust alters and at times there is never any real certainty about who is in the right.

There are positives in this story, Smith’s writing is very descriptive and poetic and the idea behind his story is sound. There is also no doubting his development, explanation, and execution of the telepathic communications the characters have, a part that was quite interesting to read about and Smith incorporates it into the story seamlessly.

The final half of the book is where I felt the story kicked off and I could become more engaged in the events unfolding. This final half saved the story for me because there was intrigue and adventure of sorts, and something was actually happening and progressing in the story, more so than it seemed before.

The story covers many years and is shown from multiple points of view though Bartu is seen as a key character. Bartu was likeable enough; his ostracism from his community made him different and his family’s secret made him special. This comes across on the page and it is clear Bartu is someone unique, but despite getting a bit more depth into his character than most it still was not enough to truly care for him. He is young and naive, and he is a follower rather than someone who takes any initiative, though there are brief moments where his maturity and courage shine through as he acts as the Keeper he has been trained to be all his life. Braxton I think would have been a better main character, if only because I understood him more and he had more depth, but I understand why Bartu is the focus.

There are multiple surprises in this book, certainly situated in the latter half, but they take the story on an interesting journey and add suspense and mystery. I think the redemption in this was the events in the later half; the characters are busy with tasks and a mission so there is less need to know them as characters in order to support or judge their decisions, and the unfolding plot is dramatic enough for it to no longer matter.

There is a lot to take in with story, from the beginning even to the end. There are a lot of factors to grasp and understand and many points of view to consider as each one affects another. Once a solid understanding is achieved of the world and it past, as well as the present and ongoing conflicts, then engagement in the story is much easier and enjoyable.

With an intriguing concept and a good foundation Keepers of the Dawn is a decent start to the Dawn Cycle series. Smith has created a solid premise for the next book and an interesting introduction to the world and its people. While there is work to be done on the vividness of the writing in terms of character and the world itself, there is enough to make it pleasing.

You can purchase Keepers of the Dawn via the following

Giveaway Winners!!

02 Mar 2015 2 Comments

by Amy in General, Giveaway Tags: giveaway, giveaway winners, summer's gone, valentine's day, valentine's day giveaway

The time has come to announce the winners of the Summer’s Gone giveaway as well as the Valentine’s Day one. I should be doing separate posts but instead I am being sneaky and combining them into one.

I would like to thank everyone who entered and I am even more pleased that the Rafflecopter worked which was a nice change!

Summer’s Gone by Charles Hall

Using Rafflecopter’s random drawing, the lucky winner of Summer’s Gone is

Diane Cummins!

Congratulations!

Valentine’s Day Giveaway

I have drawn the winners of each book using Random.org, and I am pleased to announce the following:

Congratulations to allvce who has won Twisted Heart by Eden Maguire

Congratulations to allvce who has won Velvet Touch by Zara Devereux

Congratulations to John McCready-Huntsman who has won Because You are Mine by Beth Kery

All winners have been notified by email.

Congratulations again and I hope you enjoy your books!

Release Day Blitz: Animal by Nikki Rae

28 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in General Tags: giveaway, nikki rae, release day blitz

Today marks the release of Nikki Rae’s latest novel Animal. Nikki is the author of the brilliant The Sunshine Series as well as the novella The Donor and now adds Animal to her ever-growing list of successful stories. Animal is a new adult paranormal suspense novel and brings a new light to characters seen in The Sunshine Series. You can read my review of Animal here.

In honour of the release there is also a giveaway where you can enter to win signed paperbacks as well as ecopies of Animal, plus additional swag. Details are below.

Synopsis:

Ava has spent her life running from the monsters that lurk in the shadows, always the prey.

She finally thinks she can settle down, have a normal life, and work on not being so scared of the world around her. That is until she runs into her worst fear.

He has finally found the potential family he has always wanted. All he has to do is make his little bird sing. Will Ava escape with her humanity intact?

About the Author

Nikki Rae is a writer who lives in New Jersey. As an independent author, she has appeared numerously on Amazon Best Seller lists and she concentrates on making her imaginary characters as real as possible. Nikki writes mainly dark, scary, romantic tales, but she’ll try anything once. When she is not writing, reading, or thinking, you can find her spending time with animals, drawing in a quiet corner, or studying people. Closely.

Giveaway

Nikki is running a giveaway to win signed paperbacks and ecopies of Animal!

You can get all the details on how to enter here.

You can purchase Animal via the following:

Amazon

All Your Bits and Pieces Needs

Traveling Left of Center Blog Tour

17 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in General, Short Stories Tags: blog tour, nancy christie, short story, traveling left of centre

A few months ago I was lucky enough to review the short story collection Traveling Left of Center by Nancy Christie. Now, in honour of her birthday, Christie is having a blog tour of her book to celebrate! Visit her website to discover other stops on the tour or you can check out my review of this great collection!

The Book

There are some people who, whether by accident or design, find themselves traveling left of center. Unable or unwilling to seize control over their lives, they allow fate to dictate the path they take—often with disastrous results.

TRAVELING LEFT OF CENTER AND OTHER STORIES details characters in life situations for which they are emotionally or mentally unprepared. Their methods of coping range from the passive (“The Healer”) and the aggressive (“The Clock”) to the humorous (“Traveling Left of Center”) and hopeful (“Skating on Thin Ice”).

The eighteen stories in TRAVELING LEFT OF CENTER AND OTHER STORIES depict those types of situations, from the close calls to the disastrous. Not all the stories have happy endings—like life, sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t.

In these stories, the characters’ choices—or non-choices—are their own. But the outcomes may not be what they anticipated or desired. Will they have time to correct their course or will they crash?

Teasers

(From “Traveling Left of Center”)

“Girl,” my mama had said to me the minute she entered my hospital room, “on the highway of life, you’re always traveling left of center.”

Mama was always saying things like that. She had a phrase for every occasion, and would pronounce them with a certainty that, in my younger days, I accepted as gospel. But that time, I didn’t pay her no mind. I just went on painting my nails “Passionate Purple,” hoping that the sexy polish would catch the doctor’s eye.

I was justifiably proud of my hands, especially since, at that particular time, they were the only part of me that was skinny. A girl’s body sure takes a beating from having a baby. It had taken me at least a year to get my shape back after Robert Nicholas, and it looked like Rebecca Nicole wouldn’t be any kinder to her mama than her big brother had been.

(From “The Sugar Bowl”)

Chloe would tell men that the slightly battered and tarnished sugar bowl was a legacy from her grandmother.

“Granny,” she would say, her eyes fixed on a distant spot in the small apartment, “had to sell all her possessions to keep my mother fed and warmed. But she saved the sugar bowl for better times. And when she died,” here, her voice would quiver and a brave smile would slip across her face, “she left it for me, for my ‘better times’.”

The story always worked on those older men who would bring her home after a pleasant dinner in a quiet, expensive restaurant. They would listen to her story as she poured freshly-brewed coffee into delicate porcelain cups, her light brown hair falling softly around her face.

And they would be overcome with feelings of protectiveness for the young girl, so unlike the hard brittle career women they were used to. It would be almost obscene, they would find themselves believing, to think of taking this fragile flower to bed.

Instead they would kiss her chastely on the cheek and then leave, never understanding that it had all been carefully orchestrated—the dinner, the story, the quiver in the voice.

And if they should call again, she would be politely unavailable. Chloe could not support a return engagement. Her story was only strong enough for a single run.

(From “Watching for Billy”)

The sound woke her from her usual afternoon sleep. One of the curses of old age was the need to nap at odd hours of the day, coupled with the inability to stay asleep during the dark hours of the night. And since Roger died, it was even worse. Agnes found herself nodding off at mid-morning while the game shows played on the television screen, during the afternoon courtroom dramas, after the soup-and-sandwich dinner that almost always constituted her evening meal. Why not? There was no one to talk to and nothing else to do.

Brad said that she wouldn’t be bored if she moved into one of those retirement homes. But she didn’t want to leave her home and go live among strangers—even if sometimes the loneliness was more than she could bear.

“I’ve lived here more than 60 years and I’m not leaving now,” she had told her son. “There’s nothing you can say that will change my mind.”

“Fine,” he answered, an unmistakable note of irritation in his voice. “But if you won’t move, then you need to at least have an alarm installed. There have been too many break-ins in your neighborhood lately.”

Agnes agreed reluctantly… was dutifully attentive when the technician explained how the alarm worked and what each noise and light represented.

During the long summer days, she didn’t bother to activate it until bedtime, trusting in the safety of daylight to keep thieves and robbers from her door. But as winter drew near and the days grew shorter, she found herself turning the alarm on at the first sign of dusk, feeling for the first time a little unsure, a little vulnerable, in the house where she had lived for six decades.

About the Author

Nancy Christie is a professional writer, whose credits include both fiction and non-fiction. In addition to her fiction collection, TRAVELING LEFT OF CENTER, and two short story e-books, ANNABELLE and ALICE IN WONDERLAND (all published by Pixel Hall Press), her short stories can be found in literary publications such as Wild Violet, EWR: Short Stories, Hypertext, Full of Crow, Fiction365, Red Fez, Wanderings, The Chaffin Journal and Xtreme.

A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and Short Fiction Writers Guild (SFWG) and creator of “Celebrate Short Fiction” Day, Christie hosts the monthly Monday Night Writers group in Canfield, Ohio.

Visit her website at www.nancychristie.com or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or at her writing blogs: Focus on Fiction, The Writer’s Place and One on One.

You can purchase Traveling Left of Center via the following

eBook: Amazon Apple iBookstore Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million Kobo

Trade Paperback: Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million and select independent bookstores

*February 2015 only — Birthday Blog Tour Sale Price [Click here for link to BIRTHDAY SALE OF AUTOGRAPHED PAPERBACK]*

Nancy’s Blogs:

Focus on Fiction www.nancychristie.com/focusonfiction/

The Writer’s Place www.nancychristie.com/writersplace/

One on One www.nancychristie.com/oneonone/

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