The Keeper and the Alabaster Chalice by Paige W. Pendleton

SPOILER FREE!

4 Stars.

Date Released: 29th May 2013
Pages: 208
Author: Paige W. Pendleton 
Blurb: He’d bonded with the child. It was foretold, and so it would be.

Black Ledge is inhabited again, but not everyone in the Realm is pleased. As the Driscolls settle into their new home they meet magical Beings, discover secrets, and exasperate the Elven Guard. They’re having a great time.

Charm turns to alarm when they meet Doris, the Acadian Water Witch, who's removed the Alabaster Chalice from its watery grave. The Noctivagi, drawn by the artifact's Water Magyk, seek the Chalice for their own nefarious purpose, and mayhem ensues.

Eleanor, Rob, Jack, and Flora fight time and tide to return the Alabaster Chalice to the Undine Prince before the darkness steals it

I was given a copy of this book on kindle in return for an honest review.

I was very pleased when I started The Keeper and the Alabaster Chalice that it was just as fast paced and easy to get into as the first book. In fact, this book has much more action and a lot more going on than in the first book. Straight away, the mystery surrounding the Alabaster Chalice intrigued me, and I found myself feeling much more involved in this book rather than the first.

To be honest the whole plotline of The Keeper and the Alabaster was much more interesting, but it would have been nothing without my favourite characters - Gunnr and Eleanor. It was sweet how they both looked out for each other and I absolutely love their conversations. And Gunnr and Camedon help Eleanor to find out more about her powers, which was one of the highlights of the book for me because it was just so damn cool. As well as that, its nice to find another strong female character that stands up for herself.
Mary Sues are so 2012.

There are also several delightful new characters, including a dragon called Nob (yes, i admit to giggling a little bit at the name at first, but he actually does turn out to be fairly scary) and a seal called Seaton that I couldn't help but get a slightly British feel from...

And finally I would just like to add that as well as an engaging story, there were a few charming drawings of some of the scenes/characters, drawn by Thomas Block, which really did bring the story to life.

I will definitely be waiting eagerly when book 3 is released. 

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The Keeper and the Rune Stone (The Black Ledge Series #1) by Paige W. Pendleton

SPOILER FREE!

Free on Kindle!

3.5 Stars

Date Released: 31st October 2012 (first published 1st January 2012)
Pages: 200
Blurb: An unholy ritual, a ticking clock. Four children discover there are things that go bump in the night ...

Centuries ago a group of Elves committed an unholy ritual. But the ritual was a spectacular failure. It transformed the Elves into the Noctivagi - the beings we know as vampires.

Striving to maintain a fragile peace, the ancient Elves and Dwarves negotiated an Accord, which they've renewed every year on the Summer Solstice. The ceremony depends on the magical Rune Stone, but it's missing. If it is not found—and quickly—the consequences could be dire, and not just for Elves and Dwarves.

Four children, Rob, Jack, Eleanor, and Flora, stumble into a world of magic and mayhem when they move into Black Ledge, the old estate on the Maine coast, and discover they aren't the only ones who live there.

I was given a copy of this book on kindle by the author in return for an honest review.

I love how the cover actually relates to the book, and how mysterious it is (the colours really go with the colour scheme of the blog - its as if I was meant to read this book... xD)! The detailed map at the start of The Keeper and the Rune Stone was another element that made the book much more unique than others i`ve read - it helped that it was pretty as well!

Right from the start The Keeper and the Rune Stone was very easy to get in to, as it was very fast paced. And, although it is not something I would usually pick up, I was sucked into the fascinating world of Dwarves Light Elves and Dark Elves (and those are just a few of the beings in the book!).

It was certainly a nice change to read about such interesting creatures, as not many fantasy novels out there at the moment include beings like Elves or Dwarves.
I especially loved Ms Pendleton`s take on vampires, instead calling them Noctivagi - boy is that hard to pronounce - Elves that performed a ritual, which involved drinking the blood of a sacrifice or two....

Which leads me on to my next point. I expected, after reading around 50 %, The Keeper and the Rune Stone to be very, very tame in the violence department. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by how dark things got near the end of the book.

My favorite characters were definitely Gunnr because he was so mysterious and Camedon with his strange yet hilarious sense of humor. However, although the book is from the four siblings point of view, they do seem a bit too mature to be children, but I still loved Eleanor.

Although The Black Ledge series seems to be aimed at children, I would recommend it to everyone!

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Onyx (Lux #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

SPOILER FREE!





4.5 Stars

Date Released: 14th August 2012
Pages: 366 (Kindle edition 416)
Blurb: Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I've sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we've got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I've seen someone who shouldn't be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies...

Yet another cover that I just don't like. However it is a... nice shade of purple...
Onyx picks up pretty much exactly where Obsidian left off - Katy is still amazing and Daemon is still very hot 
annoying.
Miss Armentrout really did out do herself with Onyx, she had me laughing - out loud! I know, I know, calm yourself. Your thinking to yourself; there is no way that Onyx is better than Obsidian. There is no way that Onyx can be funnier than Obsidian or that I will magically start shipping Daemon with Katy, because, lets face it, he really is quite a douche and a jerk and a big smell poo and Katy deserves better *cries*.

Calms self.

The only way I can think to describe it is that everything just gets... so much better. And it was during Onyx that I really did start to LOVE Daemon and Katy together.
Sure their weird on-off not really a relationship relationship was frustrating, but I kind of loved it

To be honest the only thing that stopped me giving this book 5 stars was the angst. Maybe it was because I love this book so much, but I cant believe it took me reading Onyx for the third time to realize how much angst there is in this series.No joke.

Don`t worry though, near the end of the book there is a very sudden plot twist, which I did not see coming, which really helped Miss Armentrout redeem herself.

So that really bumped up the number of stars I gave Onyx (as well as the brief mention of Dean Winchester. Mmm Dean Winchester).

If you enjoyed Obsidian then definitely read Onyx.  

Quotes: 

“I could always give you a teaser. You bookish people love teasers, don't you?” 

“Maybe they’re getting some bow-chicka-pow-wow.”

I looked at him. “Ew.”

He flashed his teeth. “She’s definitely not my type.” His gaze dropped to my lips, and parts of me quivered in response to the heat in his gaze. “But now I totally have that on my mind.”

I was breathless. “You’re a dog.”

“If you pet me, I’ll—“

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” I said, fighting a grin.”

“Humping my leg like a dog in heat every time I'm around you doesn't prove you like me, Daemon.' 

Daemon clamped his mouth shut, and I could tell he was fighting back laughter. 'Actually, that's how I show people I like them.”

“Your mail could've waited." Daemon followed me into the kitchen. "What is it? Just books?"

Grabbing the OJ from the fridge, I sighed. People who didn't heart books didn't understand.”

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