Showing posts with label Sign Of The Throne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sign Of The Throne. Show all posts

Thursday, August 8, 2013

ARC BOOK REVIEW - SIGN OF THE THRONE by MELISSA ESKUE OUSLEY - THE SOLAS BEIR TRILOGY # 1 -CASTLE GARDEN PUBLICATIONS

By: Melissa Eskue Ousley
Published By: Castle Garden Publications
Released : 14th September 213
Details: Paperback from author for honest review, 308 Pages

RATING : 4.5 DAVID & JONATHAN STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Abby is an ordinary girl haunted by dreams of an ivory castle, blood-thirsty monsters, and a striking stranger. 

Working as a babysitter for a family of mythology lovers in wealthy Newcastle Beach, California, she struggles to define herself among the elite class while trying to make sense of her strange visions. Upon meeting David, the doppelgänger of the mysterious young man in her dreams, Abby’s life is changed forever.

Encountering the queen of Cai Terenmare, a magical kingdom in a parallel world, Abby learns of an evil lord hell-bent on usurping the throne, the murder of Cai Terenmare’s king, the Solas Beir, and the kidnapping of the Solas Beir’s infant son.

As the kingdom struggles to endure, the queen shows Abby the full extent of her destiny. She must convince her mysterious crush, David, that he is the lost heir. While braving attacks from the dark lord’s sadistic minions, David must realize his true identity and return to Cai Terenmare to claim his throne before time runs out, lest the evil that was temporarily locked away be unleashed, threatening to destroy both the kingdom and all of humanity.



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle :

I totally dug this book. This is a very clean read that any school library would want on their shelves.

I love the cover of this book, it really is true to the story line.

Melissa gave me a really great story that is very well written and very smoothly told. I am in two minds if it is middle grade or YA genre. My reasons, the main characters are eighteen and up, but the story is an appealing fantasy for younger readers.

The story is told from two worlds, the human world and Cai Terenmare. Melissa has a wonderful imagination that kept the pages turning. I loved all the characters names and I loved the back of the book contains, ‘Places and Terms’. I realized I had been pronouncing a character’s name wrong by the time I had finished. It is worth a look.

There were some great scenes that visually looked awesome in my head when reading. The smashing of mirrors would look spectacular on the big screen.

Queen Eulalia’s babe has been stolen and her King assassinated.

Like any mother would, Queen Eulalia goes after her stolen babe and finds herself trapped in the human world until she can reopen a portal to get herself and her now grown son back.

Poor Queen Eulalia got the wrong end of the stick on a magical spell and she is trapped, but she has the help of a faithful frog named Fergal the Valorous. He can get himself back and forth between the worlds giving Cael and herself information.

Time is of the essence. Once David turns 23 yrs old the villain of this story can take over Cai Terenmare , claim the throne that is rightfully David’s .

Bit hard to claim your birthright when you have been stolen as a babe and now live with adopted parents who have no idea about David’s heritage or any knowledge of the world he is from. He has no clue who he really is.

The ever loyal Cael goes on a quest to find the Sign of the Throne. The piece of the puzzle needed to get his Queen back into her own world.

I really like Cael. A brave, loyal character who has a thing for the Queen.

Abby is a wonderful character I liked very much. She is a sitter for the Buchans. I really liked their whole family. Riordan ( that would be the chappy I was pronouncing wrong the whole book) is a fun character, he likes to wear a kilt. He would be such a great dad to have, he has a great heart and dares to believe in what a lot of parents wouldn’t.

Jonathan Reyes is a great character. He is Abby’s best friend. He likes the ladies but he is always there for Abby. Me thinks he is a bit confused about whether he likes Abby as a bff or more.

I am a huge fan of Jon’s. I really connected with his character. He is funny and loyal.

Her relationship with Jonathan Reyes had quite literally begun the day they were born - their mothers bonded in the maternity ward, and gave birth within hours of each other.


It was a matter of chemistry - Jon was charismatic, but he could be a little too wild.

Enter David Corbin the twenty two year old hunk with the Harley Davidson.

He is rather delicious.

Abby finds herself on her own mission and she isn’t immune to David.

David’s family have expectations for his future and he is torn between what he wants. Little does he know that it is all about to change.

A nicely woven together fantasy where two people from two different worlds find each other.

A peaceful existence will always be challenged by a villain who will look for a way to get what he wants.

A beautifully descriptive book filled with imagination ,brave gorgeous lads, ravens, black cats, shadows, nightmares, dreams, a Nixie, a Queen who won’t give up on her son, and a love that was inevitable, making for a great start to Melissa’s trilogy.

But will it be a fairy tale ending?

Michelle

Sunday, May 26, 2013

BOOK BLITZ & EXCERPT - SIGN OF THE THRONE by MELISSA ESKUE OUSLEY - SOLAS BEIR TRILOGY # 1 - CASTLE GARDEN PUBLICATIONS



Today on Novels On The Run I have a book blitz for Melissa Eskue Ousley's book , SIGN of the THRONE. 

Check out the synopsis, the book trailer and a bit about Melissa.

Sign of the Throne is due for release 14th September 2013.

I will be reviewing it shortly.

Woot!

So throw this one on to your TBR piles so you don't forget about it.


Michelle



SYNOPSIS

Abby is an ordinary girl haunted by dreams of ivory castles, blood-thirsty monsters, and a striking stranger. Working as a babysitter for a family of mythology lovers in wealthy Newcastle Beach, California, she struggles to define herself among the elite class while trying to make sense of her strange visions. Upon meeting David, the doppelgänger of the mysterious young man in her dreams, Abby’s life is changed forever.

Encountering the queen of Cai Terenmare, a magical kingdom in a parallel world, Abby learns of an evil lord hell-bent on usurping the throne, the murder of Cai Terenmare’s king, the Solas Beir, and the kidnapping of the Solas Beir’s infant son.

As the kingdom struggles to endure, the queen shows Abby the full extent of her destiny. She must convince her mysterious crush, David, that he is the lost heir. While braving attacks from the dark lord's sadistic minions, David must realize his true identity and return to Cai Terenmare to claim his throne before time runs out, lest the evil that was temporarily locked away be unleashed, threatening to destroy both the kingdom and all of humanity. 




EXCERPT

Abby spent the next evening babysitting for Cassandra and Riordan. She put the kids to bed and laid out her homework on the coffee table downstairs. She was immersed in her work when she realized—the house was quiet. Eerily quiet.

She was used to the familiar creaks and groans of the old house, and night ushered in the occasional chirp of a cricket or flutter of moth wings around the antique sconces lighting the room. Tonight she heard nothing—there was only dead silence. She felt a prickle at the back of her neck and realized she was shivering. The room had gone unnaturally cold, and she had the distinct sense that she was not alone.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy presence, someone standing still, watching her. She turned to look, but there was no one there. She felt a terrible unease twisting in her gut. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

Responding to her intuition, she got up and climbed the stairs to check on the children. Ciaran was snoring, perfectly at peace. He had wriggled out of his covers in his sleep. Abby tucked him back in.

Leaving his room, she walked down the hall to the twins’ room. The nightlight in the hallway began blinking erratically. She entered the room and froze. Perched monkey-like on the corner of Rowan’s crib was a shadowed figure the size of a small boy, leaning over the sleeping child. Sensing Abby, it turned its head, blood-red eyes meeting hers.

Abby gasped with horror as the creature leapt with unnatural agility from the crib and crouched like a spider high on the wall, staring down at her. Slowly, it smiled, revealing rows of pointed narrow teeth, sharp as razors. And then…it pounced.

Abby raised her arms to shield herself, scrunched her eyes shut, and screamed. But there was nothing. She heard a low chuckle behind her and saw the creature near the door. The shadow boy laughed and ran out. The smoky form changed into a large black housecat before disappearing through the hallway wall.

Abby ran to the twins’ light switch and turned on the lights. She checked to make sure Rowan and Siobhan were unharmed, and then hurried to Ciaran’s room, flicking on lights as she ran. Ciaran was still fast asleep—her scream had not disturbed him at all.

She jerked open his closet door and found his aluminum baseball bat. Then, scooping him and the quilt up from his bed, she ran back to Rowan and Siobhan’s room. She shut the door and nestled the five year old into a make-shift bed on the floor. Sitting against the dresser next to him, she hummed, trying to reassure herself. Armed with the bat and the adrenaline coursing through her body, she waited.




Melissa Eskue Ousley
Author of The Solas Beir Trilogy


Melissa Eskue Ousley lives in the Pacific Northwest of the United States with her family and their Kelpie, Gryphon. When she’s not writing, Melissa can be found hiking, swimming, scuba diving, kayaking, or walking along the beach, poking dead things with a stick. 


Before she became a writer, she had a number of educational jobs, ranging from a summer spent scraping road kill off a molten desert highway, to years spent conducting research with an amazing team of educators at the University of Arizona. Her interests in psychology, culture, and mythology have influenced her writing of The Solas Beir Trilogy.



Twitter: @MEskueOusley