Review: The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker (Strangely Beautiful #2) by Leanna Renee Hieber

The illuminating, ghostly second installment of the Strangely Beautiful series by Leanna Renee Hieber, The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, picks up right where Book I left off.

The dark, brooding professor Alexi Rychman and ‘reincarnated’ Grecian goddess Persephone “Percy” Parker are soul mates….destine for each other. They are now planning their hasty wedding in the midst of the turmoil which prophecy has brought on.

With the coming prophecy has come the war which was also for told….the Whisper World is threatening all The Guard holds dear. The Guard knows that their fight is far from done….the Whisper World and Darkness threaten to claim the now mortal goddess (Percy) as his bride.

Alexi struggles to protect Percy from her fate while Percy herself searches for answers to her past and what she is exactly. Alexi knows his duty is to protect Percy from danger and as leader of The Guard, he is powerful….but his power soon turns boarders on obsession. Alexi must learn how to protect Percy while allowing her some room to breath…Percy must learn her own power.

Dark signs soon begin to develop at the beloved Athens Academy signaling the coming war but The Guard is not alone….previous Guard members rally themselves as allies (they are the ghosts of past Guard members) to the new Guard. One ghost Guard member, Beatrice, was once the leader of Alexi’s Guard and she helps him realize he must trust in Percy and trust in her power in order to save the Guard from the coming war. Continue reading “Review: The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker (Strangely Beautiful #2) by Leanna Renee Hieber”

Review: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Strangely Beautiful #1) by Leanna Renee Hieber

In the dark allies of Victorian London, phantoms, ghosts, and demons alike haunt the city streets. A group of six are chosen as protectors known as, The Guard, helping keep London and the public safe from paranormal danger. The first night of their meeting, they are told of a prophecy who will be put in their path to strengthen The Guard and make them complete not just as a group but for one member in particular–their dark, brooding leader, Alexi Rychman.

In Leanna Renee Hieber’s para-romance, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, we meet the shy, meek, phantasm-like name sake: Percy Parker. She arrives at the London school Athens Academy feeling quite alone in the world. Percy is quite different from the other students at the academy: she is older, gifted in languages, has few ‘friends’, and unlike most of the normal world she can see ghosts. Looking much like a ghost herself, she spends most of her day ‘hiding’ behind veils, shaded glasses, and long gloves. She is a luminescent with her pearl white hair and alabaster skin…she glows like a ghost but yet is mortal.

When she meets Alexi, her terrifying mathematics professor. Though wickedly attracted to him, she knows her feelings can never become more than fantasy but yet she is strangely drawn to him, and he to her. Though gifted at languages, she cannot grasp math to save her life. Alexi begins tutoring her in math and slowly she reveals her nature to him….she discovers she is not alone in the world, like her Alexi can also see the ghosts who haunt the city. Continue reading “Review: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Strangely Beautiful #1) by Leanna Renee Hieber”

Review: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

What would you do if you had a face that could literally stop time? Or if you could really clone yourself? How about meet and greet your fav literary character? In the world of SpecOps and LiteraTec (Literary Detective division) extrodinaire, Thursday Next, all of these things are possible.

My sister recommended the book, The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, to me a few weeks back…and now that she wants to commandeer the book from me, I figured I better get a move on since she will be wanting it by Christmas no doubt.

This speculative fiction book is a hodge-podge mixture of sci-fi, fantasy, time travel, YA, mystery/detective novel, steampunk, and vampire/werewolf fiction all in one…and the best part, it’s all based on classic British Literature. Set in 1985 Great Britain, detective Thursday Next (a Crimean War vet) is living in an alternative universe where time travel (among many things) are all possible.

Next is sent to investigate a puzzling case, someone has taken Charles Dickens’s original manuscript for Martin Chuzzlewit. The LiteraTec task force suspects notorious mass murderer and thief Acheron Hades…except there is one problem, no one knows what he looks like except Next. Continue reading “Review: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde”

Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Bah humbug! The snow is falling, Christmas carolers are in the streets London, dinner is in the oven, families are laughing around the fire, and Ebenezer Scrooge is busy ‘bah humbug-ing’ everyones Christmas cheer!

In the timeless classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts: Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. The ghosts are sent to help Scrooge realize the importance of giving, being thankful, and of course being merry during the holiday season.

I decided to read this book for both the Victorian Literature and the Christmas Spirit reading challenges since I have never actually read the classic novel.

As a child I remember watching the Muppets version of this book but that’s about it….and I just have to go on record….I love the Muppets Christmas Carol! I know lots of families read this book to their families every year as part of their holiday tradition as it is relatively short (surprisingly for a Victorian era novel….and a Dickens novel!)

Needless to say I was really excited to start it especially during the holidays….something to get me really excited for Christmas. Continue reading “Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens”

2012 Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire Series) Reading Challenge, Sign up now!

Winter is coming.

Well I guess technically winter is already here in Oregon’s as is it almost everywhere else in the Northern hemisphere….LOL :).

As many of you know I am hosting the Outlander series reading challenge again this year…..and I know I said I was a little over epic book series, but I am totally going to make an exception for this series! I have heard such great things about the Game of Thrones (a Song of Ice and Fire series) and I have had the first 2 books on my shelf at home begging me to read them.

The time has come, I can no longer ignore the books….I must read them!! I am dying to watch the HBO Game of Thrones series as I hear it rivals even that of the books but sadly I have to wait till it comes out on DVD which will probably be sometime in March…which is just enough time for me to read the Song of Ice and Fire series and what better excuse than a reading challenge.

I am hosting a very informal reading challenge for the Song of Ice and Fire series here on my blog this year for those of you who are in want of motivation to read this series. The rules are simple, read the Song of Ice and Fire series…post comments, blog about it, review the series….totally up to you!

You must sign up for the series here via Mr Linky and please also spread the love by grabbing the button and posting to your blog.

Grab the button by copy/pasting the code below to your blog or by locating the Song of Ice and Fire Series Reading Challenge button on the main page: Continue reading “2012 Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire Series) Reading Challenge, Sign up now!”