Review: OUT AFTER DARK and BEST SERVED HOT

Sidenote: So, I've decided to stay with Blogger for now. Mostly because I am lazy and don't want to learn a new blogging system. Plus, I have you guys. I have updated my blog title, but more on that in another post. On with the real reason for this post.

Brandon R. Luffman is this really cool guy I've met on Twitter. If you get the chance, follow him @brandonrluffman, he's a riot. Also, check out his website here. After meeting him, I read both his published short stories, which are free by the way. I love both of them.

OUT AFTER DARK:
"A cat and mouse game played by those who stalk the night. Who is hunter and who is prey?"
I took this quote from the blurb because it best describes the premise of the book. We follow Eric as he has a night on the town, only to realize that he is being followed.

The Good:
Premise: This really is a twist on the vampire/hunter thing. What I like is that I was guessing until the end on if Eric was the vampire of the hunter being stalked by a vampire. I'm not saying which.
Pacing: Really great pacing on this story. Kept me going to the very end.
Setting: I loved the dark and and gritty setting. The whole feeling was one of danger and tension. It reminds us why we don;t travel down dark alleys at night. Even now I get a few shivers up my spine.

The Bad:
It ended so soon. I wanted to read on. I hope Brandon does write a longer piece continuing the stories of these characters.

BEST SERVED HOT
It's all about revenge and how far someone would go. This is a microfic that is only a scene.

The Good:
Even though it was short I got a good feel for who the characters were in this. It left me intrigued to know more about their history together. And I loved the end. Want to know? Read it!

The Bad:
One again this one left me wanting more.

All in all, Brandon's stories were intriguing and fun reads. I look forward to his upcoming novel FROSTWALKER. It's not about vampires, but he has taken an interesting twist on zombies. Keep an eye on this one!

Reworking My Blog

Over the next few days I will be reworking my blog image. I'm reading Kristen Lamb's book  We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and discovering the importance of Branding. So, I plan to have a new look that fits my brand. That is of course if she doesn't talk me into switching to Wordpress.

Be patient, my small band of followers. I will be back with more interesting content.

Review: THE FOREVER GIRL by Rebecca Hamilton

This is a book by my good friend Rebecca Hamilton a.k.a. @inkmuse on Twitter. (Though we became friends after I read this.) She's a great person.

Premise: Sophia Parsons is a young women in  who has to deal with diversity because she is a Wiccan. Not only that, but she also has a constant static in her head that drives her to distraction. To try and stop this static Sophia does a ritual. However, all it does is release the skeletons in the family closet and introduce her to the supernatural world hidden beneath the mortal one.

The Good:
Wicca: A book with  Wiccans. There need to be more of these!

Style: Rebecca seamlessly combines Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance with Literary elements into a new genre called Paranormal Fantasy. Well, at least I felt there were Lit qualities, but I don't read a whole lot of Literary Fiction.

Worldbuilding: Rebecca brilliantly twisted the myths of already existing creatures and created her own critters that have me intrigued. I love the use the five elements in relation to creatures. Her world pulled me in to the point I regretted having to leave when the book ended.

Characters: I loved Sophia. She was intelligent and strong willed. Even though she had a lot to be afraid of, she didn't give in to her fear. Also she had this humorous voice that wasn't over the top. Lately, in a lot Urban Fantasy books I am seeing a trend with a overly snarky first person voice. Sophia did not have this. She was funny but it didn't saturate the story. Also, I was drawn into Sophia and her emotions. The supporting characters are well rounded and multidimensional. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses.

The Bad: I only have one small nitpick. There are points in the story I felt could have been elaborated, but for the pacing and length's sake, I can understand why they weren't.

Overall: I loved this book. For a while I have been struggling to find books in Urban Fantasy that have kept me interested. I have stopped reading  several novels from the major publishing houses because I felt they were bland and overdone. The Forever Girl kept me hooked until the very end.

Check out The Forever Girl at Rebecca's page here.

Wicca

Lately, I've noticed a few books that have the Main character practicing Wicca. This makes me feel warm inside. Often, Wicca is still misinterpreted as evil, however it is one of the most peaceful religions I know of. This would be because of the Wiccan Rede. The last eight words state "An it harm none, Do as ye will."

I know that this is seen on almost any site or any book that talks about Wicca. That is because it is one of the two principles that Wiccans adhere to. One of the things I love about this religion is it can be tailored to your own belief. The are many traditions out there. You practice what feels right to you as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, yourself included. That is pretty much what the Rede means.

The second principle the "Three-Fold Law of Return" is basically cause and effect. What you do, either good or bad, will return to you at three times the potency.

I really hope that to see more of Wicca in novels. It doesn't deserve all the misinterpretation it gets.