Book Review: King Beatrice by Evangeline

Title: King Beatrice
Author: Evangeline
Publisher: Lunar Ink Publishing
Pages: 182
Release Date: November 11, 2018

 

Synopsis

KING BEATRICE is a coming-to-age novella that’s after your heart!

Alex is a young boy interested in his experiments, his dog, family, and little else. He lives a life of seclusion until the day his dog leads him on a wild goose chase through the forest and he comes across Beatrice, a crazy girl with leaves in her hair and the fierce belief that she is a king.

After many attempts of trying to avoid Beatrice, Alex realizes he’s stuck with her. As the years continue and a true friendship grows, he finds that perhaps she isn’t so bad, even if she constantly bests him in their duels. But life isn’t so simple, as the real world—a world of bullies and death and temptation—invades their make-believe, will it be too much for Beatrice? Will Alex make it to her in time?

Review

This was a captivating coming of age story that gracefully explored so many real things that happen. It also showed how a friendship can stand the test of time and the test of two kids growing up. The story talks about grief, loss and those two change the way a person is but also changes how others see them. At times, this beautiful story pulled at my heartstrings when I least expected it.

We meet Alex and Beatrice as young pre-teens. Alex, a natural introvert, would rather stay at home creating experiments than be outside. Beatrice, a lively young girl, spends her time in the woods as a king of her own kingdom. The two meet one day when Alex’s dog leads him to the woods. There, a slow friendship evolves after Alex realizes he’s stuck with Beatrice. Beatrice, the new kid in the  school, instantly clings to Alex because he is the only person she knows. She is a tough cookie who cares deeply and you can see that whenever she defended Alex. Beatrice also lived in her imagination more than she did reality. This was mostly her way of coping with her mother’s loss. The kingdom she created was one of wonder and something she desperately wanted Alex to see as a kid. Once, their friendship grew Alex went along with the pretend play and was okay with occasionally losing to Beatrice in their duels. However, one day at school a fight broke out and while Beatrice was defending Alex, she caught him.  Alex denounced their relationship and all seemed completely done.

Fast forward to five years and Alex is seventeen and in high school. When walking his high school halls he spots a girl whose beauty stopped him right in his tracks. There was a familiarity to her that Alex soon discovered belonged to an old friend of his. Beatrice has turned and moved back to her home with her father. The two pick up a relationship but it doesn’t start off the same. Beatrice has other less savory friends that Alex do not agree with but will tolerate in order to see Beatrice smile. During that year so many occurrences happen that bring the two together closer than ever. Beatrice seeks the help she needs and Alex supports her journey to feeling happy again for the short time before he goes off to college. What I loved most about their friendship was that it wasn’t a cookie cut perfect friendship. They went through their ups and downs together and separately but it didn’t stop their friendship from reblosoming.

The one topic that the author did so well discussing was how grief and loss can have a large role in a person’s happiness. We see this in Beatrice. As a young 12 year old, she uses her imagination to escape form the pain she feels of not having her mom around. When we meet her again as a 17 year old, she has resorted to other devices to escape because her imagination alone can’t do it. Alex begins to pick up on this and is almost too late to save his friend. What happens to Beatrice is a wake up call for all but also preparing for Alex to deal with grief and loss as well. This story has everything you want when reading an emotional coming of age story. It has heartache, loss, but it also contains hope and growth and discovery. It allows the reader to relate in some way and/or understand both Alex and Beatrice and how their opposing personalities made for a dysfunctional yet loving and powerful friendship.

Where to Buy

Barnes and Noble |Amazon| Thrift Books

Teaser Preview: Breaking the Chains

CALLING ALL MC ROMANCE FANS:

Breaking The Chains by Janine Infante Bosco will be here December 9th!!!

Synopsis

One way or another, all men pay for their crimes. Some do their time locked in a cage, while others meet their due karma without a judge or a jury. My debt to society is almost paid, and soon I’ll be free to get my son the justice he deserves. Justice he wouldn’t be due if only I had done my job as his father and protected him.

There’s just one hitch, and her name is Charlotte.

The gorgeous and completely inexperienced paralegal’s mission seems to be making me a law-abiding citizen and not a vengeful son of a bitch. But underneath her prim and proper facade, there is a woman begging to be unleashed. If I wasn’t so hellbent on breaking the chains of pain bound to my boy, I’d be tempted to unravel Charlotte and show her what it’s like to ditch the law and walk on the wild side. And there’s no time for me to succumb to her efforts to make me a decent man. I’ve agreed to prospect for the Satan’s Knights MC, and my pretty little paralegal is about to learn there ain’t nothing noble about a man who sells his soul to the Devil in the name of revenge.

*Editorial note: Breaking The Chains is the second book in the Satan’s Knights Prospect Trilogy. Fan’s of Janine’s Blackout Duet will immediately recognize Bishop, but all readers can enjoy this novel as a steamy, suspenseful standalone.*

Preorder Today!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

 

#breakingthechains #preorder #comingsoon #mcromance #bikerbookboyfriends #satansknights #prospecttrilogy #bishop

 

About the Author

Janine Infante Bosco lives in New York City, she has always loved reading and writing. When she was thirteen, she began to write her own stories and her passion for writing took off as the years went on. At eighteen, she even wrote a full screenplay with dreams of one day becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Janine writes emotionally charged novels with an emphasis on family bonds, strong willed female characters, and alpha male men who will do anything for the women they love.  She loves to interact with fans and fellow avid romance readers like herself.

She is proud of her success as an author and the friendships she’s made in the book community but her greatest accomplishment to date would be her two sons Joseph and Paul.

Website | Amazon | Bookbub | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter 

Graphic Novel Review: Moonstruck Vol. 1

Title: Moonstruck, Volume 1: Magic to Brew
Writer: Grace Ellis
Artist [s]: Shae Beagle, Kate Leth, Caitlin Quirk, Clayton Cowles
Designer: Laurenn McCubbin
Pages: 120
Genre[s]: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Image Comics

Synopsis

In the little college town of Blitheton, fantasy creatures live cozy, normal lives right alongside humans, and werewolf barista Julie strives to be the most normal of all. But all heck breaks loose when she and her new girlfriend Selena go on a disastrous first date that ends with a magician casting a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it’s up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it’s too late!

Review

Moonstruck is a vivid story of a bad date gone wrong that leads to a mystery adventure and adventure of discovery. It is filled with friendship and cute interactions. Julie and her girlfriend, Selena go into mission mode to help Selena’s friend Chat get what was taken from them.

There was an array of characters in the story, and I couldn’t help but enjoy a couple of them. Julie is such a gentle soul and I understood her shyness. I also loved the genuine care she has for people, especially her friends. Selena compliments Julie’s shyness with her extroversion, while also loving her true self in all her forms. Chet, a centaur barista, is lively and animated and probably would be fun to be around. They [identifies as non-binary] become a focal point in the story and their loss brings together people for a larger mission. The three main characters all possesses unique traits that make them special together. Aside from Chet being one of characters, Cass, a barista who has visions had a small role overall but it was enough to make me want to know more about.

Without spoilers, I have to say I loved the plot through and through. Julie and Selena’s first date is at a magic show and Chet tags along. During this magic show, Chet becomes a volunteer and ultimately loses something that makes them who they are. After that event, they go on a search and find mission to retrieve what was taken. When they find the foxy magician, there is a period were a lot of eery things occur and true natures are shown. It is a wild ride, but ultimately, the fox magician is unmasked and Chet gets back what was taken. Two points of the plot I enjoyed the most were the fact that most, if not all the characters were not human and that friendship is a main theme throughout the story.

One point I was concerned about or rather wanted to understand more of was Julie’s resistance towards showing her werewolf self. Selena is much more comfortable with herself, but we never get a backstory about Julie. I hope with feature issues that’s something we can get a little bit more insight on.

Overall, the coffee shop to magic show to coffee shop again setting was probably my favorite part of the story. It felt like all the characters were college students working a part time job and making connections daily. The diverse set of characters and beautifully illustrated panels made this story all the more enjoyable.

Blog Tour: Refraction

Author: Naomi Hughes
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: November 5th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Rating: 4/5 Stars!

*Thank you The Fantastic Flying Book Club and Page Street Kids Publishing for an e-arc copy to review and the opportunity to be on this tour!*

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Google Books

Synopsis

After an attack on earth, all reflective surfaces become weapons to release monsters,causing a planet-wide ban on mirrors. Despite the danger, the demand rises, and 17-year-old Marty Callahan becomes a distributor in an illegal mirror trade―until he’s caught by the mayor’s son, whose slate is far from clean. Both of them are exiled for their crimes to one of the many abandoned cities overrun by fog. But they soon realize their thoughts influence their surroundings and their deepest fears begin to manifest.

With fast pacing and riveting characters, this is a book that you’ll finish in one sitting.

 

Review

Refraction was an unexpected good read for me, and by unexpected I mean it wasn’t something I normally gravitate to. Thank goodness, I did because it was pretty good.

You are on an island, shrouded by fog and you are unsafe in every point you turn. Crazy, right? We follow the story through the main protagonist’s eyes who has OCD. We see how an apocalyptic setting can affect someone from medicine withdrawals to the uncertainty of finding the person they are looking for to the overall feeling of feeling unsafe. What I enjoyed most about this book was the mental health rep. Although I cannot relate to the main character in that respect, I did respect the author portraying the character in a relatable way, but someone still capable to take on obstacles. Marty had such growth throughout the story and became a character arc I wanted front and center.

Marty is a mirror dealer who is trying to gain money to find his brother.  His brother happens to be on the other side of the world.  What brought this science fiction aspect to the story was the monster/aliens that would spawn from the mirrors. This horror came after the Fog settled onto the Earth. I was turning each page trying to understand the fog and monsters and how humans were now surviving this. Now back to Marty – since we know the monsters spawn form the mirrors, Marty as a mirror dealer, is seen as the bad guy by the mayor, Elliot. To avoid all spoilers, the customers of the mirrors being sold use them in a way that is pretty sickening. If you read the book, you will want to read it over and over again because you wouldn’t believe humanity can be that bad. This causes a ban of mirrors, hence Marty being seen as the bad guy in that scope. We follow the journey between the two who eventually have to team up together after being exiled form the island they saw as safe. Each dealing with their own issues, learn to work together to survive the fog and return to the island they have been exiled from. It becomes such a journey, where both characters learn more about each other and learn about surviving a world of creatures who have now called their home , home and want to erases the species.

I loved the action packed page turning feeling this Sci-Fi novel gave me. It was creepy, eery, suspenseful and something I haven’t read in a long time.  If you want a good Sci-Fi set in an apocalyptic world where human survival relies on a world wide ban of an object and distance form an extraordinary, mysterious fog, this is the book for you!

 

About the Author

Hey! I’m Naomi Hughes, writer of quirky young adult fiction (usually involving physics and/or unicorns). I live in the Midwest US, a region I love even though it tries to murder me with tornadoes every spring. When not writing, my hobbies include reading (of course), traveling, and geeking out over Marvel superheroes and certain time traveling Doctors. My debut YA sci-fi standalone novel, Afterimage, is available now from Page Street Publishing. My next novel, Refraction (also a standalone YA sci-fi), comes out in Nov 2019. I also offer freelance critique services at naomiedits.com.

Goodreads | Website | Instagram | Twitter

 

Blog Tour & Bookstagram Schedules

Blog Tour | Bookstagram Tour

Giveaway

Win (1) copy of REFRACTION by Naomi Hughes (US Only)
STARTS: November 5th, 2019
ENDS: November 19th, 2019

 

Shifting Gears by Janine Infante Bosco

Author: Janine Infante Bosco
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Publication date: October 22nd 2019
Genre: Action & Adventure Romance, MC Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

 

Synopsis

They’re called one-night stands for a reason. If you’re lucky, there’s a lot of mind-blowing sex and then you never have to see or speak to the person again. It’s fun and uncomplicated. In my case, Bash hightailed it to the airport the next morning so I definitely never expected to run into the former prospect for the Charon MC again. But when his mother passed, he dragged his pipes all the way from Texas to New York, and now he’s crashing at the Satan’s Knights clubhouse. Which also happens to be where I work and the scene of our one-night crime. If I thought forgetting the orgasm champ was hard before, it just became damn impossible.

Grief can shake a man, make him question his whole damn life and have him taking chances he never thought he’d take. Chances like moving to Staten Island, New York. Chances like prospecting for a new club. Chances like being around a certain fiery bartender who has been in my head since we shared one incredible night. Even though I should be completely focused on earning my colors, there’s a part of me that wants to chance chasing Lydia Gallo for more than one night. I want to break down her walls and uncover every one of her secrets…patch be damned.

*Editorial note: Shifting Gears is the first book in the Satan’s Knights Prospect Trilogy and is a spin-off from Khloe Wren’s Charon MC universe. It can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.*

Review

This was the Bash origin story I didn’t realize I needed but wanted! A one night stand with a beauty with green eyes leads into a whirlwind romance and adventure for Bash. After the loss of his mother, he is stricken with grief and trying to figure out whether he wants to stay with his first MC, the Charon MC or join the Satan’s Knights. He meets Lydia, the bartender in Riggs bar. The one night of passion he has with her is what both thought would be just one night. But, a mysterious letter that could be a threat to one of the Satan Knight’s keeps Bash around for longer than one night. From there, Bash and Lydia’s lives are forever change as old secrets come to light and hard decisions have to be made. Are you ready to ride?

I loved Bash’s character and he became an instant favorite to me. He was charismatic, charming and a true southern gentleman that oozed sexual desire. I can see why Lydia couldn’t handle herself around him. Bash had patience and understanding and could pick up that Lydia was a woman who needed time and needed space to feel comfortable. He knew she was hurt and possibly broken and didn’t want enable any further behavior that could be to the detriment to their slowly blooming relationship. He was a person of reason and he was stubborn, but he had a sweet heart and was open minded. The author created a man any woman can fall for.

However, I had a love/dislike relationship with Lydia. I only say this because the light of her past secrets came out in a way where she could have prevented it early on. It could have cost her life, the lives of her friend and the people who cared for her. Her fear kept her in the dark of really feeling that she could trust people. That fear, although I cannot relate to, is something profound in this story and adds in to the understanding of Lydia as a character and as a person. The parts I did enjoy about her character was her nurturing spirit when it came to her friend. I also enjoyed her slow process of opening up about herself and letting herself feel comfortable and free again. She has a wit and her sense of humor. Even with her brutal past, she still holds that NYC toughness That I know and embrace so well. Although her secrets may have cost her life, her process to be open felt real and it was something I was invested in seeing progress in.

Both Bash and Lydia have people in their lives who care deeply about them and you see that throughout the story. They are also the folks, without realizing it, was driving Lydia and Bash closer together. Throughout the story we do get glimpses of other characters like Wolf, Riggs, Parrish and Lydia’s friend Chaz. Chaz was my favorite supporting character and his friendship with Lydia was so warm and loving. After coming out to his mother and getting the ultimate rejection, Lydia allows Chaz into her home where on occasion he goes to after shows to hang out with Lydia. Riggs, Wolf and Parrish all show Bash what members of an MC will do for someone they call their own.

The overall story was great. You are never disappointed with the Satan’s Knights. You get action, cursing, sex, romance, and moments where everyone gets together and friends for each other like they are family. Janine continues to create characters you fall in love with and each time I am ready for those heart strings to be pulled. I can’t wait to see what lies for Bash and to see if he’ll earn his colors.