{Review} Delilah Dusticle by A. J. York

ASIN #: B00BOXRDDE

File Size: 220 KB

Page Count: 33

Copyright: March 3, 2013

Publisher: A. J. York

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Delilah Dusticle has special powers, she can completely eradicate dust. With her quiver pouch of special dusters Delilah can run up walls and reaches places others just can't. As a maid in the Fenchurch-Whittington house Delilah's unusual skills soon lead to her being promoted to Chief Dust Eradicator and Remover. Until one day a broken heart leads to her powers taking an unexpected turn.

This is the first in a series of touching and funny stories about Delilah Dusticle. Follow her on a journey of self-discovery, friendship and adventure.

Mandy's Review:

Delilah reminds me of Rosie from the futuristic cartoon, The Jetsons. She can go up walls and eradicate dust from every person, crevice, it doesn't matter what or where it is. There's a catch to Delilah's skills, though ... they only seem to work when she's happy and content.

Unrequited love can be very hurtful and that's how Delilah becomes extremely sad and depressed. Once her heart is broken, Delilah starts trailing dust everywhere. Dust even puffs out of her mouth when she speaks, which I find slightly disgusting and it made me want to clean just reading about it. For a little girl reading this story, though, it's very emotional and has a magical feel to it.

Eventually, Delilah becomes best friends with the last person she ever expected. As their friendship grows, Delilah becomes happy again and is able to eradicate dust once more. This first book in the series does end happily for Delilah and I was glad to see it.

This would make the perfect book for little girls, probably around 7 or 8 years old. To be a short story, it has a lot happening. Don't mistake what I write, though ... even though there's a lot happening the story does not feel rushed or lacking in any way. It really is the perfect little story to read to your daughter, niece, granddaughter, etc.


*An ecopy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang

ISBN #: 978-1439198346

Page Count: 400

Copyright: February 28, 2012

Publisher: Pocket Books

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

Just when her new life as a TouchStone - a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds - seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate's away ... let's just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed. The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faery is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding elven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen's magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she's making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves.

Mandy's Review:

This book begins pretty much where A Brush of Darkness left off. Abby's trying to recuperate from Brystion leaving her and from being injured during her stint inside a nightmarish painting. Once again, Moira has left Abby by herself. I'm not sure why Moira's even the Protectorate. It's been two books now and we barely know anything about her. I agree with Brystion's assessment that too much is often put upon Abby to figure out.

Talivar has begun expressing his interest in Abby and wants to court her. I don't like the thought of Talivar and Abby together. He just seems to be the rebound and we all know that never ends well for the rebound person. Having him interested in Abby does give a nice balance to Brystion's bad boy persona. If I was Abby, though, Talivar wouldn't have a chance. He seems just a little too needy and apt to smother her. Abby seems a little like me: independent and wants freedom to do what she wants when she wants. If Abby and Talivar do become a couple, he better man up and stop being so needy. I have a feeling that an emotionally smothered Abby will not be a happy Abby.

I liked that Abby, and we, learned more about her past, specifically dealing with her parents. In the first book, we knew her mother died but we didn't know anything about her father. Abby has more family connections in Faery than she realizes and the Queen is not happy about it. Of course, the Queen is going mentally insane so who knows how she really feels about anything.

The book ends on a huge cliffhanger (which annoyed me and made me happy all at the same time). Now I just HAVE to read the third book to see how this all comes out. Will Abby continue to be with Talivar or will she give in to her desires and hook back up with Brystion? What's going to happen to the person at the end of this book who did the most unexpected thing (if I told you who or what it was then it'd ruin the ending for you)? This series is definitely a must read for all you paranormal lovers out there!


*A paperback copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} Four Days by JP Murphy

ASIN #: B00BP2C9DS

File Size: 262 KB

Page Count: 69

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Sydney, a single forty-ish career woman, who is also straight, decides on a spur-of-the-moment weekend on an island in the Caribbean - why ever shouldn't she? Her relaxing "do nothing" weekend turns into four days of incredible sex with a local woman, Carla, who lives overseas and is also on the island for a few days of R and R. Sydney must return to work with an outwardly calm manner whilst her insides are churning with excitement and the inevitable question - is she straight or gay or bi, and does it even matter?

Mandy's Review:

I'm going to try and keep this review PG because I know there are followers who aren't "of age."

This is going to sound mean, but I don't know any other way to put it ... Not everyone should be an author. I don't mind reading a bit of erotica now and then, but this was extremely boring and repetitive. A lot of 'ooooohs' and 'aaaaahhhs' and 'mmmmms' filled these pages ... really? If you're going to write erotica people, try to be a little more imaginative.

Sydney traveled to Jamaica for a 4-day vacation from work. Her first night there, she meets Carla and then they begin fingering each other. Now, don't get me wrong, if I were a single woman traveling to Jamaica I'd be tempted to engage in a little sexual exploration. I don't care if he invents a whole fictional background for himself, but I at least want some information and just a little bit of wooing before hitting the sack with him. What I find hard to believe about Sydney and Carla was that they JUST MET and only knew each other's names. It pretty much went like this:

"Hi, I'm Sydney."

"Carla. Nice to meet you."

Finger, finger, kiss, finger, thumb, ooohhh, aaahhh, climax, smile.

And it pretty much went that way for the whole four days. Every time I turned around they had their face and fingers on and in each other. It was like watching two human bunnies on crack with some Ecstasy thrown in. By the way, the above was my paraphrasing on what actually happened, but it's pretty darn close.

And, oh my gosh, the internal non-stop monologue Sydney has in this "book." It was like reading a timeline: I feel wonderfully refreshed after last night's sleep, think I'll have some coffee to help me get going, do I even have coffee, why yes I do, I'll go put it in the coffeepot and take a shower while it's brewing. Mmmm, the coffee smells heavenly, now what do I want for breakfast to go with my delicious coffee? Granola and cereal? Why, yes, I think that will do nicely ... and on and on and on and on. Thank God this was only 69 pages ... even then, I almost didn't finish reading this story.

Sorry, JP Murphy, but you do not need to put any more "books" like this out on the market.


*An ecopy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

ISBN #: 978-1439198322

Page Count: 343

Copyright: January 25, 2011

Publisher: Pocket Books

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn't at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as-sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus's whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart - and there's no one she can trust to save her.

Mandy's Review:

Now this is a fantasy book that I can get behind! I absolutely loved Abby. Her sarcasm and dry humor were right up my alley and I found myself laughing at her too many times to count. Had Abby been real, her and I would've become fast friends.

Abby's life changed more than she realized six months prior. She knew she was a Touchstone, a human who enables an OtherWorld creature to be permanently "grounded" in this world, but she never realized she was more. Her other abilities showed themselves during her helping Brystion figure out the specifics of his sister's disappearance. Surprisingly, as a Touchstone, Abby possesses very limited knowledge about the OtherWorld. She should have had better training.

Brystion is definitely sexy, but that's partly due to how Abby imagines him to be. Brystion's true self is not-so-sexy and I was a little grossed out that Abby had sex with him in his true form towards the end. He turns out to be not so trustworthy, which disappointed me although his sneakiness is probably more in line with his true nature ... so I understand his actions, I just don't like them.

Phineas, Abby's unicorn, is a little disgusting but funny too. He was definitely not what I pictured a unicorn to be and that's what I liked the most about him. I'm glad he had a "rough" edge about him rather than being syrupy sweet.

The author has done an excellent job of giving all of the characters their own personalities. Each one stood out as individuals, but they blended together well to form this wonderfully entertaining story. Overall this was an excellent start to a promising series. I almost declined to read this series when asked about them, but I am so very glad I did. I cannot wait to see what happens in the second book!


*A paperback copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

{Blog Tour - Review} All About Me: A Journey to the Inside by Elvie Dell

ISBN #: 978-1621370789

Page Count: 88

Copyright: January 7, 2013

Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing

Description:

(Taken from back cover)

This book is for born-again Christian believers who find themselves frustrated and confused with internal battles and silently ask themselves, "What's wrong with me? Everyone else seems to have it all together." The key word is seems! There is a rest for God's people!

II Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if we are in Christ, we are a new creature, old things have passed away and all things have become new. If you're still struggling with a lot of "old" in you, this may be the insight you long for.

Being saved doesn't mean an instant personality make-over. The new creature this scripture refers to is our spirit man. We are a 3-part being: spirit, soul, and body. Gaining a better understanding of ourselves and learning to differentiate between the three helps bring us peace.

As people begin to recognize where their struggles really lie, and how to hear from their spirits, they find peace in the knowledge of what's normal and common to us all as part of the human experience. Learning to walk out this new found freedom is a fascinating journey. We can rest in the assurance that God has a good plan for our lives.

Charlene's Review:

This incredibly compact "Christian Users Manual" is a jam-packed with down-to-earth, solid Biblical advice. Written with the understanding that being born-again doesn't end our struggles, Ms. Dell walks readers through a step-by-step guide to hearing the Spirit speaking to you, and how our minds and bodies often block out that voice, due to emotion and our sinful nature. No matter where you are in your walk with God, there is something here to help direct you towards the person God calls you to be. I truly admired the simplicity and sincerity of the author, in her writing.

5 out of 5 stars!


*A paperback copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this tour in exchange for an honest review.