Review & Blog Tour: Destiny (New Avalon, 1) — Andrea Buginsky

Elena Baxter has spent her life desperately wanting to fit in. She’s used to being teased and taunted by the popular girls, but when she celebrates her sweet sixteen birthday and receives two amazing gifts—the power of telekinesis, and the truth about her heritage—she has high hopes that things will change. But her wish does not come true, and Elena is bullied just as she was before, only this time her hurt feelings and frustration boil into something even she cannot understand. When an explosion hits, chaos ensues and she learns that her new power just might be bigger than she is. 


She embarks on a journey to a secret island to learn how to control her powers, and she’s thrown into a different world, one where she just might be able to fit in. What Elena learns about her heritage forces her to face her past – and the demons it created – head on. 

My Review

3 / 5 Stars

The cover is pretty intriguing, but it was the synopsis that really caught my attention. It’s well written and I'm really looking forward to seeing the synopsis fleshed out in the book so I can really get a feel for this character and how these changes affect her life.  It seems to suggest her new powers might overwhelm her and that there is going to be some awesome conflict with these ‘demons’.

While the synopsis may make it seem young adult and above friendly, I think this book is really written for younger children in their early teens. The language is pretty simplistic, and the style of writing tends to contain more listing than indulgent descriptions to excite the senses. I only really concluded this after having read the novel, and so I will try to write the review with this in mind.

This book explains one girl’s transition to young adulthood. She learns about her family history, her destiny (obviously!), and finds a place she truly belongs. It is nice to see that family is somewhat important in this story, rather than simply being brushed over. Elena is refreshingly average. She has to work hard in some subjects, and naturally excels in others. She is saddened when she realises her failings, shocked and worried when she learns of her destiny and yet is happy to be in a welcoming environment and making new friends.

There were a few things that didn’t seem to make sense. For example, when the students are being taught spells to use on a daily basis they are told to only use them in ‘emergency situations’ which could be ‘to avoid burning your dinner’. Perhaps witches have a different definition of emergency? The dialogue also felt stiff or disjointed at times. I doubt younger readers would really pick up on these two things, however.

Okay, as an adult, I was kind of disappointed. I thought it was going to have strong character development, magical elements and a real wow factor when it came to describing the world of Avalon. I also thought there would be more excitement because of the mention of demons arising. Instead it was more of an easy read for girls who like things like friendship, magic and learning.

I think young teens will find themselves able to relate with Elena and her struggles at high school. For those that like fantasy and magic, they will also enjoy reading about Elena’s time in Avalon and how her powers grow. This book is pretty well rounded in that the characters who are introduced each have their own strengths which is an important theme for some children who may feel they aren’t really good at anything.  

Because this book is so easy to read it doesn’t take long to get through. I think this will make it appeal to younger audiences because they could read it in a few days. It also means this book is very accessible to younger or struggling readers. I think it’s really important that, for those two groups of readers, there is a range of books in different genres with different types of characters and settings to broaden their imagination and love of reading. Too often it seems that books for younger audiences are somewhat the same which can be rather uninspiring for reluctant readers.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Excerpt

Elena was getting upset as she defended her family’s honor. She wasn’t thinking about where that might lead. She wasn’t thinking at all.

“Why, Elena, I didn’t mean to upset you.  I just meant that-“

“I know exactly what you meant, Barbara Thomas! You think your family is better than anyone else in this town. You always have. Just because your dad happens to be the former mayor’s son doesn’t mean you own this town and everyone in it! I’m so sick of your mock sentiment when all you really feel is that you’re better than everyone. You’re no better than the rest of us!”  

As she yelled, things around her felt funny, and she realized she heard screaming. She looked around, and was startled to see everyone staring at her, horrified. She took a deep breath, and realized what had happened. She let her emotions get away from her, and her powers erupted.

The only words she could think of to describe the scene around her were total chaos.  Every locker had burst open, and the entire contents – books, folders, papers, pictures, mirrors, backpacks – had come flying out. The posters on the walls were scattered everywhere. Most of the students and teachers were picking themselves up off the floor. Elena knew her powers had gotten totally out of hand, and she made everything around her fly out of control, literally.

She heard footsteps walking toward her, the only sound in the hall. She looked up and saw her counselor, Mrs. Adams, walking toward her. She gently took Elena by the shoulder and guided her to her office. She looked back and saw Barb and the other Bimbettes staring at her, as well as everyone else in the hall. 

About the Author:

Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer and author. “The Chosen,” a middle-grade fantasy novelette was her first book, and was followed by “My Open Heart,” an autobiography about growing up with heart disease. “Nature’s Unbalance” is the second story in THE CHOSEN series. Andrea is currently working NEW AVALON, a YA fantasy series. Book 1, "Destiny," is available on Amazon

Connect with the Author:

Website I Facebook I Twitter I Pinterest I Goodreads

Tour Schedule:

24th October
Andreea @ Book's Blog
Anna @ Wicked Book Addict
Annamaria @ Annamaria's Writing Corner - Guest Post
Justine @ The YA Lit Chic
Kalyan @ Heavens Garden
Kyra @ The Shadow Portal - Interview
Laura @ Colorimetry
Leslie @ That Chick that Reads - Review
Lianne @ Book Reviews
Marni @ Word to Dreams
Michael @ Michael Scifan - Interview
Myra @ Pieces of Whimsy
Niyati @ Books,Food & Me
Sam @ Rockin' & Reviewing - Interview

25th October
Books are Love

Cremona @ Mythical Books

Jenn @ BooksBooksBooks - Review

Serena @ Poetree

26th October

Chuckles @ Chuckles Book Cave

DDS @ b00k r3vi3ws

Heather @ The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty Something Old Girl

Jessica @ The Evening eBook Read - Review

Joanna @ Words & Tea Bottles

Margaret @ Literary Chanteuse

Nikita @ NjKinny's World of Books - Review

Rachel @ The Rest is Still Unwritten

Sanchit @ Musings of Immortals

Vinny @ Books Are My Best Friends

28th October

Brittany @ The Passionate Bookworm

Candy @ Just Me, Myself & I
Freda @ Freda's Voice

Rae @ Drunk on Pop - Review

29th October

Angelique - Why I can't Stop Reading

Jacquel @ She Reviews Everything - Review

Mindy @ Books, Books & More Books - Review

Paul @ Sher A Hart : Written Art

Tegan @ T & a Book - Review 

30th October

Elizabeth @ Elizabeth McKenna's Blog

Heather @ A Little Bit of R&R

Kathy @ Bookmarks, Spoilers & Happily Everafter

Pooja @ The Bookish Quibbler - Review

31st October

Becky @ Becky on Books & Quilts

Giveaway

1 Digital copy of The Chosen by Andrea Buginsky to the best reviewer of this tour
1 Digital Copy of Destiny

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review Reflections (Eternal Curse, 1) — J Dorothy

Reflections (Eternal Curse, 1)

by J. Dorothy

Star Rating: 4 / 5

Read the synopsis on GoodReads

I didn’t really have any first impressions of this book from the cover, title or synopsis. I accidentally clicked on this book so I didn’t have a chance to judge it before reading. The cover looks very amateur, but don’t let that put you off! Behind this cover lies a great story that anyone can appreciate – even young adults due to nicely worked time skips and wording. The synopsis is okay; it certainly raises a lot of questions. I don’t think it captures what I loved most about this book though. The roundness of the characters and their relationships really kept me hooked.

I found the story to be rather well laid out. The beginning of the book is intriguing, but at the same time something about it just didn’t click with me. I’m not the sort of reader to put a book down unless I really cannot stand to read on further, so I kept with it. I am so glad I did. What I did like about the beginning is the reference to Jo’s eighteenth birthday and how the book ends at that time. It’s set up as a pivotal moment in the beginning and ends on it meaning, having read the book, I have to read the next one to see what happens after Jo’s eighteenth birthday! I think it was a great idea to connect the beginning and end of the novel in such a way.

I found the characters to be all rather likeable in their own way. Jo seems like a sensible, intelligent, yet reserved young girl. I found it easy to relate to her. Other members of her family seem equally likeable – but they are not without their flaws – except for Gabriella, who of course serves as a character whose position in terms of good and bad is ambiguous. I feel the way that Gabriella – and her aunt – were made into ‘evil’ characters to be very interesting. Unlike most bad characters, Gabriella didn’t seem to do anything that you wouldn’t expect from the typical school queen bee. She’s beautiful, has lots of friends, is manipulative and sometimes stirs up trouble. Sounds pretty normal – and not exactly evil so far, right? Dorothy establishes sorceresses as truly selfish beings who ruin lives without a care. While Gabriella herself never does anything explicitly, her predecessor condemned one woman to a life of solitude and another to death (possibly). Those things made me expect something similar from Gabriella!

While some people mention how sibling rivalry was an interesting part of this story, I didn’t see that. There’s no competition. Jo is quiet and happy to sit back on the sidelines while Gabriella takes centre stage. Jo doesn’t really fight for Gabriella’s position. If anything this is a story about good and evil in sister form. Jo (good) tries to believe the best in her sister; meanwhile her sister (evil) manipulates people and does things to purposely hurt Jo, sometimes under the guise of caring for her.

Towards the end, I was certain that Gabriella would choose the selfish route and so I was surprised when she agreed to end the curse. I started to wonder, as I read the last chapter, what the next books would be about. Defeating their aunt? Finding the truth about their mother’s death? Romance and family bonds? Part of me couldn’t believe Gabriella had changed, just like that. But I was led astray by Dorothy – so I found the ending a very pleasant surprise!

While I think the length of this book is pretty standard for an eBook and that it works well as a standalone novel, this book really works as a set up for the following two books. The reader has questions – which arise after reading the synopsis – and we do get some answers. There is no final solution, nor is the whole story told and so the reader is left with more questions which, hopefully, the following books in the trilogy will answer.

I will happily continue with this trilogy! There wasn’t a lot of paranormal things going on (the mention of sorceresses, a curse and magic rings is the max), so perhaps this isn’t your book if you’re looking for a paranormal fantasy or lots of magical moments. If you’re looking for a novel with a well thought out plot and wonderfully developed characters then this is a book for you. The characters are compelling and the plot is full of delicious questions making it a truly fascinating mystery with a hint of magic.

Review: Fluffy: A Journey Through Depression

Fluffy: A Journey Through Depression

by Michael John-Ryler

Star Rating: 2.5 / 5

The real reason I choose to read this book is because, from the front cover and title, I thought it may be a young teen account or a book for children (about a depressed rabbit called Fluffy) which would guide youngsters through some of the key features of depression. I was pretty wrong about that!  This book doesn’t really tell the ‘journey’ of a man through depression, so much as it gives you a glimpse into his world. It isn’t written chronologically, so if you want a story and a plot, you won’t find it here. Instead this book is written with alphabetically themed chapters that can be read singularly rather than in order as a whole.

While you won’t get an emotional and moving account of a man and his family’s struggles (I found it difficult to really connect with the voice of the author), you will get a frank account. I found it interesting that the title seems inspired from a small event that I think all people who have experienced depression have felt: a moment when the people that you love or feel aligned to find something heart-warming, amusing or happiness inducing while you feel nothing. Absolutely nothing. I think the title and cover are generally misleading, but it was interesting to see where the ‘fluffy’ came in to it.

I feel that the grammar and writing style could be improved, but I understood what the author was trying to say. The ending was a nice, brief and uplifting send off. It’s a quick read and might make you feel not so alone if you have depression. I do believe there are probably more relatable, emotional, scientific and/or informative books out there to read on the topic of depression. But hey, this is real life. Sometimes it doesn’t have a pow factor. It’s a nice read, but as someone with an interest in psychology I certainly would have liked more background on his parents and how his depression came about. I don’t think I would read this book again, but it certainly made me more interested in finding good books about depression. 

Review: A Sexy Journey (Delilah's Diary #1)

Delilah's Diary #1: A Sexy Journey by Jasinda Wilder

Star Rating: 3 / 5 

This book is something I picked from my Kindle library because of its short length. It seems most of the short books on my Kindle are erotic. I found that this book made a great bedtime read because of this. The plot is easy to follow, it's easy to read, and quick to finish.

I'm not sure if this plot is typical in erotica or chick-lit, so I can't comment on its freshness. The background or beginning of the story seems a little bizarre. A man stays with the same woman for years despite having no sexual desire for her, but cheating with numerous other women. Then they get married and he still has no desire for her. On the other blame hand, the female character is apparently a good little Christian girl who doesn't know better. I don't find the religious part convincing at all - I just didn't feel the cheating exposure would magically make a woman, who has followed a strict morality the whole of her life, to magically forget or disregard it. Surely she would be more worried about sinning and going to hell? But I think that's a little too deep for erotic, so I let that slide.

I found the way that Wilder described Delilah's reaction and thoughts on homosexual men to make a lot of sense. I've never really had an issue with any people of a certain sexuality, but her confusion was well explained in text. I know that a few reviewers dislike Delilah for her narrow mindedness and limited experience - I can totally understand their dislike - but as I said earlier, it's erotica so I think the main aim is to make a character you can just about like and a plot you can just about keep interested in and then put lots of steamy sex between that.

I find it difficult to believe that...

• everyone slept with Delilah's husband and she never knew.
• people would happily give their services to Delilah for free.
• the hottest men on Earth would be super interested in Delilah (if she was so undesirable before)
• the divorce (time taken and terms)
• the amount of money she carries around with her
• this is just a few examples.

Regardless of all the issues, this book was all right for a quick read and, to be honest, I really wasn't expecting much when I started to read it. The frank writing style sometimes felt inconsistent with the character herself, but it was somewhat amusing.