Dark is the Night by Mirriam Neal ~ Book Spotlight + Review

Graphic Credit: Morgan G. Farris

Skata has only one goal in life--to seek out the vampire who turned his wife and kill it.  When he finally tracks the vampire to the small nowhere town of Salvation, South Carolina, he realizes he has stepped foot into something bigger than himself.  He's going to need help--and that help may come in many forms.  Between the vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and an unusual preacher, Skata may be in over his head.

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Colton eyed Skinner in the rearview mirror.  “You do anything to screw this up, and I’ll gut you with a screwdriver, you got that?”

  “That,” said Angel, “Is not a very heavenly attitude.”

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Of all the vampire books I've read - which don't number many - this is my favorite.  It's the perfect mixture of sweetness, snark, sass and adventure with incredible wisdom and a few touches of sadness thrown in.  My favorite character was not a werewolf, but the above mentioned, Angel, a vampire.  But it's from a lack of werewolves, not because my loyalties are shifting.  Yes, pun intended.

What I loved most about this book.

I honestly loved everything about this book...okay, not true, there was something I very much disliked, but more about that later.  The characters were well written and connectable for the most part, the plot never dragged or bored me, the descriptions were vivid and realistic and the whole thing captivated and enthralled, leaving me with begging for more...literally.

I would begin with speaking about Angel and everything I loved about him, but I've found I can't accomplish that without giving away massive spoilers.  So that's that.

If it wasn't for Angel's just pure awesomeness, the Preacher Man would have been my favorite.  I mean you've got to read this book just for him!  The gems that fall from this man's lip are honestly mind blowing at times, and most definitely thought provoking.  A problem I constantly run into is finding novels that incorporate God and Christianity without being 'preachy', thankfully, that was not a problem with Dark is the Night!

The Girl in this novel and her relationship with the men was refreshingly different and I adored the way in which Ms. Neal handled the usual "Guy reveals something, Girl gets mad and can never forgive him but then she comes to realize something so she goes to him" trope, was perfect.  Actually, she twisted a lot of old tropes new ways and that is one of the things that makes this book such a delightful read.

Also, I can't say much about him because of spoilers, but Gideon is so cool.  I know, I know, I keep saying they're all awesome, but Gideon is really fascinating.  He's very much not my type though, rather an intimidating fellow, which is why he is not my favorite.  No, precious sweet Angel with his very ironic name is way more my type.

Ms. Neal packs in plenty of suspense and action, I was so on edge and engrossed that I didn't even know when I finished a chapter.  I literally went from chapter 14 to 30 without even realizing chapter 14 had ended.  Honestly!  

There's just so much to love and enjoy that it's hard for me to find the words to tell you about it.  And who wants to go poke around in a South Carolina swamp with me?  Well stocked on Wolfsbane and Vervain of course, because as much as I like them, I have no desire to become a werewolf!
I also had the distinct pleasure of ARC-ing this with my dear VampKat, only I finished it before she did and spent several hours gleefully tormenting her.  I actually had her thinking that someone we loved was going to die.  It was so much fun!!  Yes, yes, I'm a mean person.  

What I didn't like about this book.

 Someone dies.  Well, many someones die, but there was one death in particular that I really, really didn't like.  I wanted to see the person kicking butt with everyone else, but he can't do that if he's dead!!  I must admit though, his death was a good plot point.

I didn't connect with Skata very well and he felt rather vague at times.  I don't know if that was just me or if that was the writing of his character.

There's nothing else I disliked, well okay, I did wish at one point that there had been more particular werewolves involved much earlier, but I hear they play a larger part in the second book, so I'm okay with that.

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I know that quite a few of my blog readers don't read vampire novels, so why should you read this one?  The best answer I have is that in this novel, so many questions that everyone asks are answered in a new way that can be greatly enlightening and comforting.  I'd describe it more as a good novel that has some vampires in it, than a vampire novel with a good plot.  Plus Ms. Neal doesn't shy from truth or reality no matter how uncomfortable it might be.  So I ask you, please trust me and even if you don't usually read this type of story, hold your skepticism and give Dark is the Night a shot.

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WARNING!!!

Contains some gore and violence.
Not recommended to anyone under the age of 18.

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MIRRIAM NEAL is an author frequently masquerading as an artist.  When she's not scrubbing paint off her hands, she's thinking about writing (actually, if she's being honest, she's always thinking about writing).  A discovery writer, she tends to start novels and figure them out as she goes along and likes to work on several books at the same time--while drinking black coffee.  She's a sucker for monsters, unlikely friendships, redemption arcs, and underdog protagonists.  When not painting fantasy art or writing genre-bending novels, she likes to argue the existence of Bigfoot, rave about Guillermo del Toro, and write passionate defenses of misunderstood characters.

To learn more about her fiction and art visit her website: HERE where you can find a full list of her social medias, or join the Citadel Fiction newsletter: HERE

The Worth of a King: Cover Reveal

  Hey all, I am appearing once again, this time to bring you the cover reveal for Kendra E. Ardnek's Worth of a King.

This book will be released on August 27th, and I'm very much looking forward to reading it! 

Princess Obsidia’s father was killed the night she was born. Since there was no male heir, the crown went to the man who killed him, by Dialcian law. This never bothered her, growing up, and when it comes time for Obsidia to choose her husband, she chooses Prince Delaney, the son of that man, with little hesitation. Only then does her life start crumbling around her.

Adrian expected to live a normal life, taking his father’s place at the print shop when his father retired. But, on his eighteenth birthday, when the princess’ engagement is announced, his world is ripped out from under him when he learns that his life was a ruse, and he is the twin brother to the princess – and expected to take back his father’s throne.

Delaney knows that his country is hovering on the brink of war – and that his father may harbor murderous intentions towards his intended bride due to her Zovordian blood. He wants nothing more than to protect Obsidia and his people, but as merely prince, he has little power against his father.

The ancient war between the Dragons and the Immortal King and Queen is nearing its climax, and the three are already caught in it.

You can find the first chapter here:

https://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-worth-of-king-chapter-1.html

And add the book on Goodreads here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32739875-the-worth-of-a-king

Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairytales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She's been or acting them on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years. "Finish your story, Kendra," is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children's tales that glorify God and His Word.
Find her online at: Website || Blog || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Amazon 

And here a snippet from the book.

One evening when Adrian was, as usual, in the library hoping for a chance to meet with his sister, he heard giggling.

This wasn’t terribly unusual. The library was popular for stolen trysts between lovers. Yet Adrian was bored and the couple wasn’t being quiet, so he unconsciously wandered towards the giggling.

As he expected, he found a young couple just a few shelves down. They appeared to be about Adrian’s age, and both wore expensive clothing. He also wore a number of finely-crafted weapons, and she an array of jewelry that didn’t strictly go together. He was whispering in her ear, hands trailing through her long, frizzy, brown hair. Apparently, he was being very amusing for she was the one giggling.

Adrian was going to back away and leave them to it, but her head shot up and her amber eyes locked with his. All mirth instantly vanished, and her lover even removed his hands and backed away.

There was no guilt in either of them, however, as Adrian was accustomed to seeing in the couples that he had previously caught.

And here is a Pinterest Inspiration picture.

Showing her something that was always special to him as a child?

 So, yes, this scene happened. Ended up being a turning point in Adrian and Obsidia's relationship.

And now, I need to go eat breakfast.  See y'all later!

Kendra E. Ardnek ~ Bookshelf Overhaul ~ Cover Reveal.

  I am very excited to bring to you today...

The new covers of Kendra E. Ardnek's published books!!!  I have been looking forward to revealing these for a while and they are absolutely gorgeous guys!

But first, let me introduce you to Kendra.

Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairytales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She's been or acting them on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years. "Finish your story, Kendra," is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children's tales that glorify God and His Word.

You can connect with Kendra on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Now for the beautiful, lovely covers!!

Two twins in a fairy tale world must find their Fairy Godmother before their eighteenth birthday, lest they forever be stuck with the other’s gift. 

As some of you may know, Kendra just re-released Sew with new content.  Now it also has a darling new cover and I'm totally loving it!  To be honest, the old cover irritated me because the photo-shopping was pretty amateur (not that I could have done any better!) and while it fit the story...it just didn't fit.  So I really, really love this one.  The way the sword is stuck through, and how the font turns into thread on a needle that's wrapped around the hilt of the sword making it look like the leather wrapping?  Totally cool!  And the pink!  It's Robin's pink.

You can find the book on Goodreads, CreateSpace and SmashWords.

And for those of you who don't know what has been revised, here's how Kendra put it.

"I sent this book to my kindle, tore it to shreds, then retyped the whole thing, making every word fight to stay in the book. I completely rewrote one chapter, and added/expanded several scenes, focusing on character development and pacing, in particular Robin’s character."

And now on to the next one!!

A prince’s quest for allies against his misery uncle and a madcap race to get home for a wedding.

Now, Kendra is planning to re-release all of the rest of these books, but so far only Sew has been, so the only links I have for the rest, are 'Add on Goodreads'.  But this cover though...while it's not my favorite of the new Bookania covers, it's still pretty good.  I really liked the swords in the cake on the previous cover and is it really bad or what that I only noticed what the above painting is while I was typing this?  Sorry, guess that shows how out of it I've been!  Okay, now that I've realized what the painting is, I like this cover a lot more!!  Still not my favorite though!!  I do like that she has Maddie on the cover, because she does play a fairly big role in the story.

For those of you wondering what Kendra plans to update in this one, here's what she said.

"This book has one added chapter, a few (potentially) added scenes, and a severe edit. Again, focus is going to Robin’s character development. I hadn’t the maturity to completely handle her emotional situation when I wrote this book, and now I intend to fix that."

As someone who has been privileged to read a fair amount of the updates for Take, I think I can safely say that you won't be disappointed.

And...

Prince Arthur’s quest to take back his kingdom, and Casperl’s quest to find out how, exactly, he’s a prince.

I'm trying to decide whether I like Sew or Kingdom's new cover more.  I really don't know!!  The updates to Kingdom though are the ones I'm most excited about.  Mainly it's just additions like Part 2 AKA book 3.5 The Quest for a Quince AKA Casperl's story!!  I got to beta read it guys, and let me tell you IT'S SOOOOOOO COOOL!!!!!  More importantly....I WAS RIIIIGHT!!  I WAS RIIIGHT!!!  Okay, enough bragging!!  I really like how Kendra used the same font for the titles on all the books.  I think it gives the series a unity that it didn't have before.  Plus all the covers now have a whimsical feel to them (which is what Kendra is aiming for) that none of them possessed before.  Previously, what you found inside wasn't really what you would expect from the cover design.  Now it does, and I believe your cover having the same feeling as your story is very important. 

Goodreads

And now for the other books!!**

Jen knows she had an imagination once – how far will she go to get it back? 

Now, this is my least favorite of the new covers.  I think does look more professional then the old cover, but it doesn't really grab me.  Pretty much the only 'revision' this will be receiving, is a thorough edit.

Goodreads

When two teens are pulled into another world, fire and water must work together to defeat a dragon.

This cover!!!  I was (still am a bit) partial to the old one, but WOWO!!!  This is totally amazing!!  Those of you who have read the book will know what I mean when I say "Isn't it cool how she has the Blue and Orange and has them mixing into the Purple!!!!  Tooooooo cool!!!

Mostly this will just be receiving a thorough edit, but she will be adding a bonus scene at the end.

Goodreads 

Only the Tela Du stands in Amber’s way for ruling Rizkaland forever. Petra would much rather find her long-lost sisters than fight a Lady Dragon.

And this!!!!  *swoons, falling off the chair and hits head on wall which revives me*  Again, I really didn't like the old cover, I disliked it only a leetle less then the old Sew.  But this, THIS!!!  FANTASTIC!!!  And once again, she used the same font on both books in the series.  Thumbs up.  This too will just be receiving an edit.

Goodreads

We all love giveaways, don't we?  Well, this cover reveal is part of Kendra's Bookshelf Overhaul...the Grand Prize?  Signed hard-copies of ALL her books!!  Is that some Grand Prize or what?  Comments on this post DO count for points.

Well that will be all for right now, Folks!  See you later!!

** The below covers were designed by Alea Harper over at Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings 

Also, my apologies for low quality on this post.  I should be asleep, the formatting keeps acting up and my internet keeps blipping out.