Author:Christopher Vastag Release Date: 31st August 2021 Genre: New Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure Series: Format: E-book Pages: 406 pages Publisher: Fenris Publishing Purchase Link: https://www.fenrispublishing.com/maya Blurb: In the land of Kaskilia, a rabbit changeling slave named Maria sows plans for rebellion. To overthrow the murderous cult of Khaytan and the zealous king who spreads it teachings, Maria must rally predator and prey alike by reminding the people what true faith looks like. Brought together by the goddess Maya Herself, Maria finds an unlikely ally in the king’s son, Prince Reginald. Maria and Reginald must reconcile their differing visions of an ideal Kaskilia and their growing, forbidden attraction to one another while evading the bloodthirsty Absolvers of Khaytan’s Covenant. In a culture where she is seen as little more than food, can Maria find a way to lead her people to freedom without losing her humanity?
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Children Of Maya by Christopher Vastag is a very engaging adventure new-adult fantasy novel that will take you on an adventurous rebellious trip.
This book was very easy to read as the writing was good had a really good flow which made the book a very quick read. I enjoyed reading this book as it had really good action and was full of twists and turns. The characterisation was good and so was the pacing and tension. The ending was good too and hopefully, there’ll be more books in this series.
I would recommend this book to all the readers of the new-adult fantasy genre and to those readers who enjoy reading magical adventurous books.
Author: Emily Craig Release Date: 15th December 2021 Genre: New Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Travel Series: Format: E-book Pages: 226 pages Publisher: New Degree Press Blurb: Two years of marriage ruined by one drunken mistake. Lucy’s story is not yet over. In the sequel Where Will We Go?, Lucy Berry is faced with new challenges that will both excite and challenge her. Newly divorced from her high school sweetheart David, she is plunged into a new world where David is now engaged to his mistress while she has to navigate a life after love and heartbreak.
Just when Lucy is feeling unworthy of happiness, a silver lining presents itself. She lands her dream job as a travel writer. Follow aspiring author Lucy as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery with her best friends by her side. Witness as she blissfully immerses herself in French culture while hitting all of Paris’ hot spots for her new job. Laugh along while she helps throw an epic murder mystery birthday bash. Most of all, join Lucy as she transforms her self-doubt to self-love, ending a tragic year with the surprise of her life. Will Lucy finally leave David in the past or will he continue to haunt her dreams?
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Where Will We Go? by Emily Craig is a new Women’s Fiction, New Adult, Contemporary fiction novel that is both, quick to read and easy to love.
I enjoyed reading this book a lot because the writing had a very good flow. The characterisation was good and the settings were absolutely brilliant. I loved that the author used the backdrop of Paris in this book because I love that place (actually I may be kind of obsessed with it – just a little bit *wink*) so when I read the blurb I knew it from the start that Iw as gonna love this book and I was not at all disappointed!
The author did a great job with a seemingly simple plot and turned it into something really special. Even though this is a sequel to another book, I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything as the author has explained the story of the first book in the preface, so I really appreciated it (And would like to thank author Craig for it.)
I would strongly recommend this book to New Adult and Women’s Contemporary Fiction readers. And also to those readers who like reading about travelling and especially if you are a Francophile (like me) you will love this book!
Author: Colin Baldwin Release Date: 2nd September 2021 Genre: New Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, War Fiction Series: Format: E-book Pages: 227 pages Publisher: Shawline Publishing Group Pty Ltd Blurb: CONRAD BENTLEY ENJOYS HIS RETIREMENT. By chance, he comes across a letter from WWI — a German father writes about his grief of losing a son to war — buried by his three comrades near a small French village. The letter resonates with Conrad and he commits to researching its backstory. Months later, Conrad makes contact with the fallen soldier’s family. He falls deeper into their history and other untold stories from this era, including the fate of young Tasmanian soldiers who also fought on the Western Front.
A Soldier’s Quartet is inspired by true events, a story of perseverance and happenstance that transcends time and reaches across continents. It presents the human faces behind uniforms and battle plans, conveys love and hope set against various landscapes. Conrad’s discovery of the letter brings the past into the present as he reflects on his own life and loss.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
A Soldier’s Quartet by Colin Baldwin is a beautiful book about love, loss, hope, heartbreak and most of all about the reality of the war that was fought that changed not only the world as we know it today but how it had also affected the relationships and personal lives of generations of families of the soldiers who fought in the war.
I am falling short of words in describing the beauty of this book. It is simply outstanding. The writing, the characters, the settings and the backdrop of the war and the present time – they all interlace perfectly together creating an irresistible blend of a book.
I would like to congratulate author Baldwin for having dealt with such a sensitive and delicate topic with such great care and love that it has metamorphosed into the wonderful and enthralling piece of art that this book is. I would highly recommend this book to all the readers because it has a lot to offer to readers all across the globe.
Author:Velora Venn Release Date: 3rd June 2021 Genre: Fantasy, New Adult Fiction Series: Aerth’s Aetheric Aegis (Book #1) Format: E-book Pages: 469 pages Publisher: Blurb: The Aerth’s Aetheric Aegis series is new adult fiction the blends the genres of steampunk, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, and romance. A young woman named Elvira Evenfall has grown up in the ruggedly remote, yet enchanting Falsvik Islands with her grandfather. Her life in a simple fishing village is quaint and serene, but that all changes when a looming threat to the world suddenly invades her tiny corner of it. A swarm of suspicious bats with enigmatic origins known as the Curse, which can infect people through their bites, transforming them into horrible, bat-like monsters, endangers all human life and now is made very real to Elvira and her loved ones.
Dark and controversial secrets about her family and identity also begin to surface, and before long, she’s faced with a major decision: to accept the mystical and versatile energies known as aether and assume her role as an Aethaumaturge in order to join the precarious fight for the security of Aerth, or hold onto the comforting life she so loves? This choice is made all the easier when it is revealed that her own parents, who were thought dead, are actually still alive. Elvira’s priorities quickly change to wishing to find and return them home safely. Her decision instantly results in a corresponding new danger, though, forcing her to flee from her peaceful village. A secret society of Aethaumaturges promises to keep her safe in Brume, the impressive and imposing capital of the country of Lluminox. A host of obstacles and an assortment of characters are met along the way. While she struggles to gain control of her new powers, she also must decipher her similarly new, unanticipated romantic feelings for two separate individuals — one male, and one female. It becomes increasingly clear, through her interactions, that the world isn’t just plagued by a pandemic, but also an elite ruling class of superior people who often exploit the underprivileged and abuse their power. These people, known as Ascendants, are a vestige of the Archaic Era, a technologically-advanced time period from hundreds of years prior that was considered the pinnacle of mankind, but concluded with civilization collapsing and the destruction of nearly all humankind, due to the ancient peoples’ malice and selfishness. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself. Join Elvira and crew on this whimsical, wild ride through a retro-futuristic time. Meet humanoid and animal automata, witness powerful, magic-like abilities, and discover the many mysteries awaiting both Elvira and the reader along the way.
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Okay, let’s start with the cover of this book! Truly magical!? Am I right? Just by looking at it any reader is bound to be intrigued and would want to read the story right away.
Aerth’s Aetheric Aegis: The White Mantle by Velora Ven is an action-packed book with highly relatable, flawed and badass characters. The character development in the story is simply phenomenal; the main protagonist Elvira is one of the most unique characters I’ve ever read! Yes, she has her flaws but with the help of her close ones, she tackles everything that comes her way. I really enjoyed reading about her journey. The other thing that I loved in the book was the relationship dynamics in the story. I won’t delve into much detail because SPOILERS!, but I ended up really enjoying the drama going on throughout the book. It is filled with beautiful and amazing artwork throughout, which made the book compelling for me.
With its intriguing plot structure, some highly powerful characters, and their development, Velora Ven has delivered an action-packed thrilling and enthralling adventure for the readers. If you want to dwell in a different world that is captivating and refreshing, I would highly suggest you pick this one up.
Author:Brian McNatt Release Date: 22 October 2020 Genre: New Adult Fantasy Series: Legends Of Heraldale (Book #3) Format: E-book Pages: 435 pages Publisher: Blurb: Beneath the sins of the past, some souls are broken, some rise stronger, but all are changed. Princess Galaxy is lost. The cruel machinations of Lord Mordred have robbed the hippogryph of faith in the past and all those she most trusted. With appeals to the grand leader of gryphonkind, Lady Quetzal, falling on deaf ears, Galaxy must journey to the eastern city-state of Gateway, the last of the great nations standing against the might of the Unicorn Empire.
There she contends with a bloodthirsty general grown wary of hope, a lone king grown weary of war, and a blind prophet knowing ever more than she’s telling. Meanwhile, Brynjar and Owain find themselves the prized captives of Empress Nova herself. Lost deep in the heart of Avalon and threatened on all sides by the mad Lord Mordred, the conniving Lord Thoth, and the eldritch Lord Beauty, they will need the most unlikely of allies if they want any hope of escape . . . or survival.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Warborn by Brian McNatt is the third book in the fantasy series Legends Of Heraldale.
You can read my review for the other books in this series here:
Having read this series from the start, I was really curious to read the 3rd book as I really liked the story so far. Needless to say, I had a lot of expectations from this book and thankfully, the book delivered everything it promised and I expected it. I really enjoyed reading about some familiar characters from the earlier two books as well as some new ones. The world-building was very intricate and the book helped me refresh my memory of some of the bits that I had forgotten.
The story was every bit as full of adrenaline as the last two books, and some more. There were some really good new concepts and creatures that kept me glued to the book. I really liked this book because it took steered the story into yet another, albeit perilous, new direction and I love where it is headed.
This book has a lot to offer to fantasy readers and therefore I highly recommend (not only this book but the entire series so far.)
Author: Christy J. Breedlove Release Date: 24th March 2020 Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Series: Screamcatcher Format: E-book Pages: 240 Publisher: Melange Books, Fire & Ice Blurb: Seventeen year-old Jory Pike knows a thing or two about Indian lore from her half-blood Chippewa ancestry. She can trap, hunt and fish with the best of them. She has a team of three other teens friends called The Badlands Paranormal Society. Instead of bagging groceries or playing on I-pods, they think they can excel at banishing evil spirits. They hope to cleanse houses and earn fat paychecks for their services. Dream catchers aren’t just the chic hoops tourists buy at novelty shops–they work. And sometimes they clog up with nightmares until they collapse under their own evil weight, imploding and sending the dreamer into an alternate world.
Dream catchers aren’t just the chic hoops tourists buy at novelty shops–they work. And sometimes they clog up with nightmares until they collapse under their own evil weight, imploding and sending the dreamer into an alternate world. Jory uses her worst nightmare to enter the dream catcher world. She’s pulled her teammates in deliberately. Everything goes right on schedule but they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Now Jory and her friends are there, trapped between the people who have confessed their sins to the Great Spirit and are seeking a way out, and the monsters and evil spirits, which are happy to keep them trapped in the web world forever.
They were once considered Seekers in the dream world. Now they’ve become vigilantes and call themselves Pathfinders. Is it spiritual enlightenment they after? Or have they now become fatally reckless?
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Dream Chasers by Christy J. Breedlove is the second book in the Screamcatcher series. I haven’t read the first book though I had the opportunity to interview the author and I was really intrigued by the idea then.
I really appreciated the fact that enough information was given in this book related tot he first book that I did not feel like I was lost or didn’t;t know about somethings. But that makes me wonder that had I read the first part would this information be too much for me. Anyhow, for me, it served well and I ended up enjoying the book more than I had expected.
The concept was unique and had layers of complexity that are expected from a good fantasy novel. The writing was good and smooth and made reading this book a pleasant experience. I liked the characterisation but only enough as I wasn’t able to relate to the main characters too much.
All in all, it made for an entertaining read and I’d recommend it to young-adult fantasy lovers.
You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon
Author: Ravina Hilliard Release Date: 4th February 2020 Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction Series: Format: E-book Pages: 185 Publisher: Dawn Hill Publications Ltd Blurb: Alexandra “Lex” Granger is a private security consultant who has to go undercover to protect billionaire businessman Michael Thornton, pretending to be an escort. Michael does not think he needs a bodyguard, despite the death threats he has received from protesters against his takeover of a Danish company, but he does need protection against the predatory wife of the Danish ambassador. Lex knows that this assignment is dangerous, made more so because her client does not even know that he is being protected.
She doesn’t know that he thinks she is a con-artist a gold-digger who takes rich men for everything that she can get. As sparks fly, and the attraction between the two go stronger, they face a deadly danger from an unknown assailant. Lex and Mike embark on a turbulent affair in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, with Mike realising that there is much more to the sexy seductress, her bewildering vulnerability evoking unfettered passion and feelings that he has never experienced before. Lex realises that she has committed the ultimate folly, that of falling in love with a man who despises her. Will she overcome the dangers to Michael to her breaking heart?
Review
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
The Billionaire Needs a Bodyguard by Ravina Hilliard is an adult contemporary romance fiction full of steamy sexual tension between the leads and sprinkled with light thrills and chills. It’s not my usual go-to genre, but it made for a good distraction from my normal picks.
Although the book wasn’t an overly thrilling read, it made for a nice entertainer. The story was good and interesting and the idea of the female being the undercover bodyguard appealed to me the most about its plot. The characters were not very relatable but then I was not expecting them to be (I rarely expect it from romances, unless they’ve been written by the big authors who are good at what they do.) The writing though was good and that’s what made me read this book in the first place.
I’d recommend this book to romance and new adult genre readers and to those looking for a new entertaining read.
You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon
Author: Neal Cassidy Release Date: 25th July 2019 Genre: New Adult Fiction Series: Format: E-book Pages: 294 Publisher: M&S Publishing Blurb: In the last days before the real world, six college friends prepare to take a bow in epic fashion.
After Sunday there’s just Harry, the future business owner; Justin, the medical intern; Trent, the hapless wanderer; and Clarence, soon to don the badge and blues. But now they have years of memories to honor, all packed into one weekend. Will they grow into their new adult roles? Will they go out in style with the girls? Will the four of them even survive the sheer level of debauchery?
Living in an apartment paid for by the Grandma, an ex-hooker turned millionaire, Courtney and Ling-Ling couldn’t be more opposite, yet are completely inseparable. Courtney and Harry have been hooking up for years, neither able to commit, but their imminent separation is about to test that arrangement, and Ling-Ling’s never-ending reciprocated crush on Justin just might become more than that.
Their lives intersect with that of Professor Goodkat, their idolized instructor who never quite “left” college himself. In Goodkat, we find the consequence of getting to live out a hedonist fantasy, and the possibility for change in anyone.
Hilarious, raunchy and uninhibited, “The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale,” captures contemporary society while chronicling the dreams, regrets, perspectives, and future after youth in an unbroken sequence of shockingly touching exploits. No longer armed with the excuse of college stupidity, these friends will go on a journey with higher stakes than a night out has ever had. Because there are things about themselves that blacking out can’t erase.
REVIEW
★★+1/2
The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale by Neal Cassidy is a very unique novel with an abstract theme and seemingly vague plotline. I think I might have liked it better if the book had been a bit shorter as the abstractness of the book started to feel somewhat overwhelming after a certain point and I think that it could have been easily avoided by reducing the length of the book. Nonetheless, it’s not that I regret reading the book; it was a new kind of coming-of-age story which, I’m certain, would be more appreciated by the younger crowd. The one thing that I really liked about the entire book as the writing. The author showed some exceptional writing skills and had the plot been more refined, the book might have made it in the 3-star category.
If you’re looking for a. very unique experience and don’t mind reading an abstract story without stern plotting then you might actually like this book.
You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon
Author: Brian McNatt Release Date: 30th June 2018 Genre: New Adult Fantasy Series: Legends Of Heraldale (Book #2) Edition: E-book Pages: 316 Publisher: – Blurb: War rages across Heraldale. The Unicorn Empire sends its armies across the land, a blitzkrieg that every day brings the struggling gryphon nations closer to the final dreaded defeat.
In the Empire’s way stands Princess Galaxy, hippogryph.
Together with her adoptive gryphon brother Brynjar and the unicorn Owain, she has defied the iron will of Lord Mordred, evaded the might of the Imperial Army, and saved the city of Port Oil from the ravages of the rogue magical monster Spell Virus.
Now Galaxy continues her quest to bring the war to a final end, flying east to the Elderphine Forest and the secrets of her hippogryph heritage. A hidden kingdom will test her wisdom. A lonesome dragon will test her compassion. A travelling warrior will test her resolve. And a former enemy will test her ideas…to the breaking point.
REVIEW
★★★★
Past Sins by Brian McNatt is the second book in the Legends Of Heraldale series and a sequel to Legends Of Heraldalebook. This book was definitely a step up from the last one, which was also an enjoyable read. The issue I had with characterization was pretty much-resolved in this book as the main and recurring characters slowly grew on me and the plot started to make more and more sense in the larger picture.
There were some very interesting new characters who made this book even more interesting. The writing, in this part, felt smoother too. Overall, it proved to be an easy book to read than the previous part and hence, I liked it better than the last world.
I’d recommend it to anyone looking to explore a fresh series by a new author.
You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon
Author: 
Author: 
The Reading Bud 