Author: sharisakurai

Shari Sakurai is a British author of paranormal, horror, science fiction and fantasy novels that almost always feature a LGBT protagonist and/or antagonist. She has always loved to write and it is her escape from the sometimes stressful modern life! Aside from writing, Shari enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to (loud!) music, going to rock concerts and learning more about other societies and cultures. Japanese culture is of particular interest to her and she often incorporates Japanese themes and influences into her work. Shari loves a challenge and has taken part and won the National Novel Writing Month challenge ten times!

Review: The Story of Lucius Cane: Book One

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The Story of Lucius Cane: Book One by Vanya Ferreira 

London, 1794. Lucius Cane, a peculiar sort of vampire, comes upon an opponent the likes of which he has never seen before – a brute with remarkable abilities. But not all is as it seems as their encounter unfolds in a manner that neither of them expected.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

The Story of Lucius Cane: Book One on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 3 stars

Lucius Cane is a vampire living in late 1700s London. Book One introduces the reader to the title character as well as antagonist Jack ‘The Hound’ who is trying to kill him.

This is a short, but enjoyable read. Lucius is an intriguing character with a certain amount of empathy for humans. I do prefer vampire novels where the supernatural beings are given a more human side, but still connected to their vampire natures too and this certainly is the case here. Lucius’s vampire side comes across as an inner voice inside of him, which he tries to dismiss, most of the time successfully.

There is a good use of description within the novel and the fast pacing swiftly concludes with the inevitable showdown. This ends on a cliff-hanger and I’m looking forward to reading what happens next!

Review: Frost Burn

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Frost Burn by K.T Munson and Nichelle Rae

Fire and Frost; no two nations have ever been so divided. Only two bridges across the great River Gora connects them and their long standing hatred. When spring comes early the Frost Nation looks upon the Fire Nation with suspicion. Soon they will discover that the rising rivers, warmer temperatures, and the quakes are all a result of something far more terrifying then each other. When the world seems to turn against them they will only have each other to look to. Can they put their differences aside long enough to fix their planet?

They must or face extinction.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Frost Burn on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 4 stars

Frost Burn tells the story of two nations who must put their differences aside in order to save their world.

The authors have cleverly developed two very different nations; the Fire Nation and the Frost Nation who have been at odds with each other for many, many years. As a consequence their queens of the past opted to isolate the two countries from each other. Now they find themselves having to work together or face the destruction of both their nations. The world building in Frost Burn is very well-thought out, which creates a very detailed backdrop for the novel to unfold. The characters, both major and minor, are developed, but with room to grow in strength and personality as the story progresses. The politics of the different nations has been addressed in such a way, and the two queens both written sympathetically, so there appears to be no ‘taking sides’ on the part of the reader who can see the entire picture clearly. The healing of the rift between the nations as a whole, as well as the main characters, occurred slowly but naturally and as a consequence the strengthening of the, at first uneasy alliance, was very believable.

I really enjoyed reading Frost Burn. The story evolves at a steady pace that hooked me almost immediately. A great fantasy read, which I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone who is a fan of the genre!

Author Spotlight: M.A Robbins

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This month’s Author Spotlight features M.A Robbins.

Interview with M.A Robbins

1. Please tell us a little about yourself?

I’ve lived in Anchorage, Alaska with my family for the past 33 years. I came up with the Air Force, which I separated from in 1991. Since then, I’ve had many different creative and non-creative jobs, including computer programming, project management, IT management, training, magician, comedian, mentalist, and singer-songwriter.

Continue reading “Author Spotlight: M.A Robbins” →

Author Spotlight: Mercedes Fox

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This month’s Author Spotlight features Mercedes Fox.

Interview with Mercedes Fox

1. Please tell us a little about yourself?
I’m just a girl with a dream, married to the best man in the world and proud mom to 3 dogs.

2. When did you first start writing?
I’ve been writing since childhood but didn’t become serious about it until about 4 years ago.

3. Do you outline your novel before you start writing or do you prefer to just begin and see where your ideas take you?
I’ve still not grasped the concept of outlining. I have a good idea and then as things come up I make notes but mostly I’m a pantser.

Continue reading “Author Spotlight: Mercedes Fox” →

Review: You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories

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You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories by Andrew Kozma

You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories is a collection of weird, speculative fiction containing four stories dealing with the end of the world, both in terms of the death of the individual soul and the running down of the universe as a whole.

The title story presents a woman who’s been murdered and still has a dinner party to prepare for. In “Teller of Tales,” a young girl must take on the responsibility of being the necessary conscience of her city. “Breach of Contract” describes the plight of an oil man who just wants to insure production quotas, but is roped into saving the world. Lastly, “The Trouble-Men” details what happens when a man trying to survive the end of the world meets up with those who are ending it.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 3 stars

You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories is a collection of four short and strange stories.

The first ‘You have been murdered’ is my favourite of the tales. It tells the story of a woman who has been murdered and tries to cover up this fact and her denial by still continuing to prepare for a dinner party that she had planned before her death. The author conveys her feelings regarding her death and her anxiety very well and you get a real sense of the pain and confusion that she is going through.

I enjoyed reading the other stories in the collection too, told through the eyes of a variety of different protagonists.

The collection is well-written and the author knows how to build plenty of atmosphere. The twists are surprising and unexpected. A great short read for fans of speculative fiction.

Review: Beyond the Storm by Adam Jones

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Beyond the Storm by Adam Jones

Man tries to remember his past while Jude tries to forget hers.

Years after the nuclear holocaust decimated Britain, Man wakes up, naked and alone but for the murdered corpses whch surround him. Struggling with amnesia, Man travels the wastes trying to piece together his past.

Across the crumbling remains of the city, Jude flees a depraved fiend, running for her life. Beyond the Storm is a journey of horror and suspense which paints a broken future world and the events that made it that way.

Beyond the Storm is the brutal and disturbing new novel from cult bestselling author, Adam Jones.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Beyond the Storm on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 3 stars

Beyond the Storm is a post-apocalyptic thriller set in Bristol, England. It follows the stories of Jude and Man, at first on separate paths and then when they come together. Jude is on the run from a monster who abused her terribly, and Man is suffering from amnesia and has no idea who he is or how the nuclear war almost destroyed the planet.

Whilst I did enjoy reading Beyond the Storm, I did find the description generally in excess and my attention was prone to wander, especially in the first half of the novel, and I felt that perhaps less would have been more in places. However, the second half of the story was more captivating and, eager to find out just who Man was and the fate of the rest of the cast, I found it difficult to put down. The truth about Man I never saw coming and there were plenty of twists that did not fail to disappoint. Beyond the Storm is dark, gritty and certainly not for the faint-hearted!

My first tattoo!

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Getting a tattoo has been something I’ve wanted to do since I was eighteen and today I finally got one! It’s Super Sailor Moon henshin’s brooch in honour of my favourite anime, but with a couple of modifications that my tattoo artist suggested! I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt, because it did but it certainly wasn’t as bad as the blood test that I had to have earlier this week!

 

Review: Wind Down by Mark Ewig

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Wind Down by Mark Ewig

Aaron Starks survived a near death experience when he was stabbed by an unknown assailant. All of his college roommates were suspects. However, investigators could turn up nothing to catch the attempted murderer.
Fifteen years later, Aaron is all grown up with a family. Things are going great until he starts experiencing strange blackouts and other paranormal visions. During the blackouts he still interacts with others, but he cannot remember anything he said or did. Doctors are unable to provide an answer. It is not until Aaron has an encounter with Ju’van, a local shaman, that he realizes what he needs to do. He is sent on a journey to meet up with all his old roommates to discover the truth on what really happened the night he was stabbed in the back.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Wind Down on Goodreads

 

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 2 Stars

Fifteen years ago university student Aaron Starks was stabbed in the back and left for dead. His attacker was never caught and Aaron had always suspected that one or more of his friends and flatmates may have been involved. Fifteen years on and Aaron is married to his university sweetheart, has three children and his dream job. Then his perfect life is shattered when he starts experiencing blackouts. When doctors are unable to find a reason for these, Aaron learns that his blackouts are connected to the attack on him all those years ago.

I really liked the concept of this novel. The ideas are very clever and original, and this had the potential to be an excellent paranormal/mystery. Unfortunately there were quite a few things that let it down.

The grammar is very poor. It jumps between tenses almost constantly making it very difficult to read, and also punctuation has been used incorrectly throughout. Whilst the characters have potential they are undeveloped and very immature for their age. They act more like primary school children than university students. The writing itself isn’t bad, but it yo-yo’s from either rambling long descriptions to very short sentences.

However, as I said this has great potential. In my opinion it needs to be longer with a lot more time taken to character build (especially the university part of the novel). A revision that adds to this good start combined with addressing the points I made above would make this a really unique and page-turning read.

And I loved the twist at the end! I never saw that coming!