Wednesday 31 August 2016

Flora Reviews... Uprising (Vampire Federation #1) by Scott G Mariani



Flora Reviews...
Uprising (Vampire Federation #1) 
by Scott G Mariani

Read: 28th – 30th August 2016
Format: Kindle
My Goodreads Rating:  4 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This book is a vampire horror story with an action thriller theme based in the here and now over approx 483 pages.  At the time of writing this review, Uprising is the first book in a two book series.

The official blurb says;

A new war is dawning…

For millennia, the vampires walked the earth undetected, feasting on humans in keeping with ancient tradition.
 

In the Information Age, vampires realised they must be more careful to avoid detection. In the late 20th century they created the global Vampire Federation to police vampire activity, with special agents like Alex Bishop authorised to hunt down her own kind who break the laws. 
The old traditions are history.

But not all vampires bow down to Federation rule. When rebel vampire Gabriel Stone declares war against them, Alex and her team are plunged into danger.

Police inspector Joel Solomon, haunted by a secret terror of vampires, discovers a series of corpses left behind by Stone's bloodthirsty gang. As he and Alex are drawn together in an unlikely alliance between human and vampire, the race begins to destroy the evil Stone before his uprising tears their world apart.

...So, what did I like about it?
I haven’t read anything by this author before and I must say I found his writing style very easy to read, his story development easy to follow and his characters very believable.
I loved the way that the story kept me guessing; the twists and turns, the mystery and intrigue, it’s a real action thriller. Although most of our main characters are vampires, this is not another paranormal romance; the Vampires here are top predators - humans are food, not equals.  The detail and background that Mr Mariani gives to all of the characters that we meet along the way in this tale adds depth and realism to the whole story without slowing the pace.

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
No, not really. The only reason that it didn’t get a 5 star rating from me was due to the ending. The battle may have been temporarily won in this story but the war is far from over and we’re left wondering what happens next to some of our main characters.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...
I really enjoyed this book; I can see it making it onto the big screen!  It’s a suspense thriller with as many twists & turns as The Da Vinci Code with the killer vampire battle feel of Blade! I’ve already added Book 2 “The Cross” to my wish list. I haven’t read many horror/suspense thriller books in this vein (excuse the pun) so the only book I can compare it to is William Massa’s “Ice Shadows (Occult Assassin #2.5)” which I loved too.

So, has my review of UPRISING (Vampire Federation #1) sparked your interest? Just click on any of the links below to check out the book yourself, or to find out more about other books I’ve read, take a look at my profile on Goodreads.

See UPRISING (VAMPIRE FEDERATION #1) on Goodreads.com

Buy your own copy of UPRISING (VAMPIRE FEDERATION #1) on Amazon.com or through Amazon.co.uk

Visit Scott Mariani ‘s own little corner of the web

Tuesday 23 August 2016

Flora Reviews... Fractured Immortal by E.L. Wicker


Flora Reviews...
Fractured Immortal (The Bearwood Series #1)

Read: 20th – 22nd August 2016
Format: Kindle
My Goodreads Rating:  4 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This novel is the first of E.L. Wicker’s two book Bearwood Series and is a paranormal romance story of approx 412 pages that features vampires, a shape shifter, witches and a couple of Immortal Guardians. As my regular followers will know, I don’t put any spoilers in my reviews, so here’s what the official blurb says;
After a terrifying vampire attack in 1810, Ilia Rose spends the next two centuries hunting Sol, the man responsible for turning her and her friends into vampires.

When Ilia discovers he’s run to the one place she’s running from, she’s forced to face her most painful memories back in her hometown, Bearwood.

There, Ilia finds herself face to face with Nathaniel, an insanely hot vampire, and despite the evidence he’s working for her enemy, Ilia can’t fight her attraction to him, especially when he seems to show up whenever she needs him most.

But Nathaniel is keeping secrets and as they begin to unravel, instead of running away from him, Ilia finds herself falling for him. When his last secret is revealed Ilia’s past comes together in a way she never imagined and she’s left with only one option: trust Nathaniel to help her kill Sol, or risk relinquishing her new found strength thus causing catastrophic and devastating consequences for her and everyone she loves.

Ilia begins a gut-wrenching battle to save her life and the lives of her friends, a battle which not everyone will survive.

A vampire tale like none other, love, pain, devastation and revenge, all weave together to create the first in a dark and unmissable new adult series.

Due to sexual content, this book is intended for readers age 18+
When I originally downloaded this book from Amazon UK back in June 2015 I got it for free - what a bargain!! Although, it’s not free anymore, it’s still reasonably cheap considering it’s length.

 ...So, what did I like about it?

I was very impressed with Ms Wicker’s first attempt at a published novel; her writing style and how she crafted her story. I felt that her tale’s timeline was easy to follow (even when our main character flashed back to the 1800s) and the locations used throughout this story were beautifully described; utilising all of the senses.

I understand that Ms Wicker has studied Social Science at university meaning that she understands our human society, social relationships and the implications of the myriad of interaction and choices we make every day. This may be the reason why the characters felt so real to me; the deep platonic friendship/bond between Ilia and Lucas, her valued friendship with Lana, the emotional turmoil between Ilia and her first love, Kyle and Ilia’s unrelenting obsession with hunting down and killing Sol.

Please be warned, there are a few very traumatic, violent scenes in this book that some readers may find disturbing but I think that Ms Wicker handles them very eloquently, giving us enough graphic detail to shock us with the horror of each situation but then balances that out with expressive prose to convey our heroine’s viewpoint and her emotional state of mind.

This story made me smile, cry, growl in frustration, blush and kept me turning the pages.  

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?

Honestly, not much.

The final chapter in this book is a “present day epilogue” which does leave us with a bit of cliffhanger ending. Now as my regular followers will know I HATE big cliff-hangers, however, this isn’t what I call a life threatening cliff-hanger, e.g. “our heroine is running through the wood to escape her captors when suddenly she falls off a cliff…” or “…comes face to face with her enemy, who’s pointing a gun at her…” because those sort of endings leave the story up in the air and are very frustrating.  In this case, however, a bit of a cliffhanger was not unexpected as it is only two book series after all.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

This paranormal romance story gripped me from the very first chapter; it’s got tears, angst, fighting and pain but it’s also got love, passion and laughter. Although Ms Wicker is a huge fan of Young Adult (YA) fiction and is labelled an author in this genre, I feel that Fractured Immortal has more “gritty/explicit” scenes than the average YA novel which some younger YA readers may feel uncomfortable with.

So, has my review of FRACTURED IMMORTAL sparked your interest? Just click on any of the links below to check out the book yourself, or to find out more about other books I’ve read, take a look at my profile on Goodreads.

Buy FRACTURED IMMORTAL on Amazon.com or through Amazon.co.uk