The Nowhere Gate by K.T. Munson (The Gate Trilogy #2)

What an amazing review of The Nowhere Gate by the wonderful Darque Dreamer Reads (who has the most amazing hair—mermaid hair!) Be sure to check out her blog and her review of The Sixth Gate as well!

Mermaid Reading

The Book:

Book Title: The Nowhere Gate

Book Author:K.T. Munson

Genre: YA Dark Fantasy/ Paranormal

Publishing Date: July 7th, 2017

Publisher: Self Published

Date Read: August 8th, 2018

Synopsis:  Elisabeth and Ki return in the second novel in The Gate Trilogy.

The interplanetary gates originated from somewhere and nowhere.

Ki is lost on an unknown planet with no memories or body. Worse, an entity came through with him, something dark. It can’t hurt him, but no one else is safe. He doesn’t know how they arrived, but he knows one thing for certain—they don’t belong.

Elisabeth isn’t willing to leave a man behind, even if that man is lost among infinite possibilities. When Morhaven holds the answers to rescuing Ki, she takes Nanette with her to serve her term in the Netherworld. In turn Nanette must take a chance and trust a man she barely knows.

How far…

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Travel with number 10 by Ronit Tal Shaltiel

Summary

In this book, Number 10 went on a trip to travel the world with the rest of the numbers. When they came to New York, Number 10 liked the place and decided to stay there to explore the city.This book is the third in the series, “The Adventures of the Numbers”. This book makes math fun for kids. It is an educational book. It can also be read as a bedtime story.The book is for children from ages four to seven, who are beginning to learn about numbers and math.

Overall

What a cute book! The concept was very solid, and the idea behind it was as well. Especially considering that each stop has the reader work on their math. However there is a problem with execution. The wording was very awkward—almost bland—in a lot of places. The pictures are okay, with a lot of variety, but weren’t particularly eye catching.

Rating

3 stars

Cute concept that just needs a little more polishing.

 

The Wake Up by Angela Panayotopulos

Summary

For years, Lexi has repressed her secret gift: a rare ability to glimpse the angelic or demonic manifestations of people’s personalities in their mirror image. With her family’s glass-blowing studio as her playground and her mirror-making grandfather as her mentor, Lexi comes of age when the nation’s president—an undisclosed Seer who demonizes his gift as fiercely as Lexi treasures hers—bans man-made reflective surfaces, plunging the nation into a dystopia where government agencies annihilate families like Lexi’s.

As her family breaks apart, Lexi falls for a man who comes to stand for everything she despises. Betrayal and deceit ignite a domino effect of dangerous consequences in a world of blurring boundaries between the worldly and otherworldly. Caught up in a battle as old as time itself, the last mirror-maker must revamp a breakup into the greatest wake up of her life, embracing her forbidden capabilities in an attempt to rouse her world out of darkness.

Amazon Link

Characters

Lexi. Lexi. Lexi. Where do I start? You are going to love/hate her but by the end you’ll miss her. At least I did! Dominic, Gabriel, and Zach are all central to Lexi’s story. Yet it isn’t just about her. Her story feeds into other stories as well. Changing those she interacts with. There is some head hoping and I didn’t love some of the flash back stories, but they weren’t too distracting. More like “Get back to the main story, I want to know more!” kind of way.

Plot

This story had a deep dystopian feel, over something that seemed very odd to me at first. However, as the novel and story progresses the plot expands to take on broader meanings and deeper themes. It went in directions I hadn’t thought of. It lulls you into a state of expectation and then throws a horrible but wonderful curve ball. Be warned, this is not a lighthearted novel, the darkness has to have its moment before the light will matter.

Overall

Wow! This novel had a slow start, but after about 30% it really picks up and then I couldn’t put the book down. I had to force myself to plug in my phone and go to bed, then I woke up in the morning to finish it. A fantastic book! Very colorful and vivid language throughout the book. Almost lyrical. Each chapter starts with a quote that connects to the theme of the chapter.

Was this novel perfect? No. Did its imperfections distract from the amazing story? Not at all!

Rating

5 stars

If you love dytopian novels and vivid descriptive language, this is a must read!

Where did I get a copy?

The author send me one. This is a voluntary review.

The Baby Plan by Joan Carney

Summary

Tick, tock…

The itch of ‘baby lust’ has prickled just under the surface of Tessa’s skin since she turned thirty. Five years have passed since her thirtieth birthday, and her obsessive nature has stoked the minor irritation into a full-blown fertility frenzy. She’s given up waiting for the right man to put a ring on her finger and, instead, decides to actively seek out a man with the right genes who will give her the child she wants with no further involvement. Love wasn’t in the plan, but Karma had other ideas.

Amazon Link

Characters

I’m really impressed with the characters in this story. Mostly because they both are flawed and have issues. One if a former gambler and the other one has obsessive compulsive disorder. Tessa is an accountant with a great career but no family. Michael is a bit of playboy with no plans for a family, but is attracted to Tessa. Craziness ensues. Tessa is very resilient but is also can be whiny. Side note Tessa’s family is terrible and awful. There is head-hopping off an on throughout the book, which could be distracting, but you do get both Michael’s and Tessa’s point of view.

Plot

This is a romance. It is breakneck, with very little nuance, which was really nice. It throws you in from the get go—sexy right off the bat. Tessa has plans, she wants a baby before her clock runs out. She just needs a man that meets her criteria and to agree to her plan. In comes Michael who might give her more than she bargained for. In more ways then one.

Overall

This book is both painfully predictable and surprisingly gritty. The writing is fast pace and enjoyable. It gets really dramatic in the middle. I did notice that there were a lot of Michael chapters in the beginning but they are very inconsistent, with almost none happening in the middle. A lot of it is to cause a mystery aspect. I have to say without trying to ruin the story that the moment Tessa knew she was working on something that she had a vested interest in she should have recused herself. It was very unethical and anyone who works in business/accounting would have know that. It ruined the realistic feeling of the story but the romance was very steamy! It had a very corny ending.

Rating

4 stars

A charming romance with a fast pace! Sometimes when you plan for something life decides to throw exactly what you need, but will you have the strength to take it.

Where did I get a copy?

Author sent me a copy. This is a voluntary review.

Heir to a Prophecy by Mercedes Rochelle

Summary

Shakespeare’s Witches tell Banquo, Thou Shalt Get Kings Though Thou Be None. Though Banquo is murdered, his son Fleance gets away. What happened to Fleance? As Shakespeare’s audience apparently knew, Banquo was the ancestor of the royal Stewart line. But the road to kingship had a most inauspicious beginning, and we follow Fleance into exile and death, bestowing the Witches prophecy on his illegitimate son Walter. Born in Wales and raised in disgrace, Walter’s efforts to understand Banquo’s murder and honor his lineage take him on a long and treacherous journey through England and France before facing his destiny in Scotland.

Amazon Link

Characters

This book mostly follows Walter, but it doesn’t start there. It starts with Fleance. Walter is an interesting character to follow. However, there are lots and lots of characters that you’ll meet. This story isn’t told from their point of view but rather in a narrative voice…most of the time. Sometimes the story-line dips into third person, making the POVs fluid. This actually gibes the novel a visceral feel.

Plot

This story is not so much about characters. It is a story of lives. Lives lived and lost.  Set in the 1000s. It has a historical novel feel with a overlay of a fictional backdrop. Prophecy and an established story results in many of the plot points being predictable…right up to the end. This story starts almost as abruptly as it ends—which was a bit of a bump in the road for me. It takes you on a journey though, an interesting and unexpected journey.

Overall

The writing has a historical feel and is long winded. Takes on a telling style, rather than showing, because of the narrative like writing. That being said there are some very powerful lines. However, the past and future story telling can be very jarring at times. Like someone reading a book and paraphrasing as they read. Which means it sort of meanders and then just ends. Very abruptly. The journey until you get there is interesting.

Rating

3.5 (rounded up)

Readers of historical novels and those who like Shakespeare will enjoy this book. It takes you on a winding tale.

Where did I get a copy?

Author sent me a copy. This is a voluntary review.

Penny Candy: Hopscotch Trails by Lorna Jackie Wilson

Summary

Margo is excited that school has finally let out for summer vacation. She is anxious to visit her best friend, Trisha. They haven’t seen each other since Trisha and her mom moved away to Florida. It’s finally time for best friends to enjoy a fun-filled summer together. But what is this? When she arrives, she finds Trisha has other friends, too. Will they all get along? Will they have fun? Whatever will they do? Penny Candy, The Hopscotch Trails takes you on a journey through the eyes of Margo, a little girl, on summer vacation.

Amazon Link

Overall

This is children’s book for sure. It has cute pictures and a simple story, as is appropriate. The story would flow really well sometimes, especially some of the dialogue, but then it would become disjointed and less melodious. There is a series of short stories following young Margo during summer vacation. Some of them were more wholesome then others, but they were all very cute.

Rating

3.5 stars (rounded down)

A cute children’s story following a young girl over summer break.

Where did I get it?

Author sent me a copy. This is a voluntary review.

NaNoWriMo – Day 11

That’s right 30% of the way through National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and had my best day yet! I’ve written 3,903 words yesterday, bringing my total word count to just over 11,000. Which means I’m just a little behind the curve ball but yesterday sure helped close the gap.

My goal this year is 25,000 words. Anyone going for for the win?

I’ve been diligently writing away on Zendar: A Tale of Wind and Blood, book two in the Zendar Collection. Bella’s story is starting to take on a life of its own and the story is just starting to heat up.

However, I was distracted by a short story anthology I’m writing for a friend. To help with her Christmas Romance anthology. It is a cute little romance about second chances and forgiveness. I’ll hopefully finish it up shortly and then get back into Zendar 2.

Do comment if you are participating in NaNoWriMo this year! I’d love to hear what word count you are on. My user name is K.T. Munson if you are so inclined to add me!

As always, happy writing!