Thursday, June 25, 2015

Burdney (Review & Cover Reveal!!!)

 
"A man could only pretend for so long before he had nothing left to hide behind."
 
Betrayal and forgiveness. Hatred and love. Bitterness and surrender. Deception and simplicity. Bondage and freedom.
 
There are games afoot and something sinister in the air beneath the wings of Burdney Hall, and it will take a strong band of Faithful to brave the shadows and uncover the secrets that seemingly everyone is hiding.
As you journey once again to the neighboring kingdoms of Arcrea and Mizgalia, the battle for truth and light over darkness and evil is constantly waging, and you never know what may be hiding behind each rock and tree...or façade; carnautars and nobles alike have the tendency to appear where and how you would least expect them (with the potential of causing a terrible fracas).
Be prepared to get mercilessly pulled into this gripping whirlwind- and to hold on tight! Intrigue and mystery are around every corner; nearly every chapter ending with a new clue and more suspense, building up to a race for time and discovery that will leave you breathless with excitement.
Readers of all ages will love this beautifully and cleverly written epic, and you will both laugh and cry along with a cast of characters you can't help but grow attached to. (And they won't mind you joining them, for they love visitors.)
 
"There's beauty in the ruins, once you wade through the rubble and climb higher than the shadows."
 
    Truly,

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

London Tides

London Tides by Carla Laureano
Reviewed by Alice, at Reading with Alice
Radiant Lit Blog Tours
Genre: Romance
Publisher: David C. Cook
Date: June 1, 2015

Irish photojournalist Grace Brennan travels the world’s war zones documenting the helpless and forgotten. After the death of her friend and colleague, Grace is shaken.
 
She returns to London hoping to rekindle the spark with the only man she ever loved—Scottish businessman Ian MacDonald. But he gave up his championship rowing career and dreams of Olympic gold years ago for Grace ... only for her to choose career over him. Will life’s tides bring them back together ... or tear them apart for good this time?


London Tides possesses the same unique writing style as Five Days in Skye (book #1 in the MacDonald trilogy), but I felt that the story was not quite as captivating, and the descriptions not as transporting.
I found I couldn't connect as well with the characters, and that the story seemed to rush it's way from romantic scene to romantic scene. (And though there are no "scenes" in the book, there seemed to be a focus on getting there; and some references to there having been unwritten "scenes" in the characters pasts.)
I was glad the author wrote Ian's story, because in book one the reader is given hints about his life that made me want to know more! So, from that aspect, I appreciated the book and its information, but I definitely enjoyed #1 more.
I'm looking forward to seeing who/what book #3 is about!


Carla Laureano is the author of the RITA® award-winning romance Five Days in Skye as well as London Tides and the Celtic fantasy series The Song of Seare (as C. E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons.
London Tides is available for purchase from Amazon.com

Note: I received this book as part of the London Tides blog tour from Radiant Lit.  I received no compensation for this review and only received a copy of the book for review purposes.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Happy reading!