Eleven-year-old Kyra is meant to continue the Starbard's proud family legacy of interpreting the future from the stars' songs. Her deafness, incurable by the best medics, breaks her mother's heart and pushes her father to explore anything to help his little girl--including the expensive purchase of a telepathic alien servant to help Kyra communicate on a planet inhospitable to unfixable genetic defects. Marne's telepathy is too weak for his Naratsset culture, so he is sold into slavery and expects to die at the hands of human owners--until he meets a human child who begs her father to save him. Her kindness introduces Marne to a new world--one where he would risk his life to save a human from her own people's abuse and the stars' songs can touch even a deaf girl and a defective telepath. When an intergalactic terrorist organization kills Kyra's father, driving her mother to madness, Kyra and Marne only have each others' friendship--until even that is threatened by the danger surrounding the Starbard heritage. But can the two friends, not good enough for either of their cultures or families, manage to keep each other safe when several different worlds threaten their lives?

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all I need to say how much I absolutely loved this book.  It isn't very often that I read stories that has someone with a disability as the main character.  I can list less than 5 that I've read in the last two years, and I've read over 200 books since then.

The friendship between Kyra and Marne was the highlight of this story for me, and I especially loved learning about their different cultures.


This book is one that I cannot wait for my son to read when he's older.  It was a wonderful story and I highly recommend it to young independent readers, and anyone else interested in a great children's story.

Title:  Searching for Superman
Author:  Ute Carbone
Published:  June 2013
Publisher:  Champagne Book Group
Word Count:  54,000
Genre:  Romantic Comedy
Content Warning:  Language, mild sexual content
Recommended Age:  16+

Synopsis:
Stephanie Holbrook has finally found a job she really loves: working as an assistant to Conrad Finch in a small regional theater that’s about three dollars and a power outage from being torn down. Stephanie wishes her love life would be as perfect as her job. She’ll be thirty on her next birthday and she still hasn't found Mr. Right. According to Stephanie, Mr. Right has to be strong and brave, with great values and good looks. A guy a lot like Superman.
When Doug Castleberry shows up at her niece’s birthday party dressed as Superman, Stephanie is positive he’s not the real deal. Sure, he’s great with kids and he’s kind of cute. But he’s just a high school teacher making extra money by dressing up for kid’s parties. Hardly the strong, brave, and drop-dead gorgeous guy she’s looking for.
As the theater teeters ever closer to the edge of disaster, Doug proves to be a better man than Stephanie had ever imagined. Could he be the Superman she’s been looking for all along?

I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

To start off I want to say one this about this story... It is freaking adorable!  Oh my freaking gawd!  I loved reading about everything that Stephanie and Doug had to go through.  It had enough drama to keep me interested, but it was definitely a happy-go-lucky story.  I hadn't read one of those in a while, and I enjoyed it a lot.

With that being said, there are grammatical issues.  I don't just mean misuse of commas, which I've noticed is commonplace in the books I've read lately.  There are misuse of words.  One example, the word "libel" was used instead of "liable".  Those are two very different words.

The story was captivating enough that I was able to ignore most of the editing issues.  It's a cute story and, if you don't mind some grammatical issues, I recommend it to people who enjoy fluffy romance.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read. I enjoyed getting absorbed into this world and learning about it and its characters. I do wish there was more background and detail on everything going on. Maybe a prequel? (hint)

My biggest issue was with the editing. It wasn't bad, but there is an over abundance of commas and a few typos/spelling errors that would take me out of the story from time to time.

I didn't like the end. Not because it wasn't realistic or it was poorly done. It was actually something I would expect most people to do in a similar situation. Still, I wanted to go into the book and smack Riley for what she did.

The author has mentioned that this will be a series. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

***3.5***

A savagely wicked new adult sci-fi series blasts off with Fall, the first novella in The Cold Mark Saga...

Only one thousand Humans survived The Travel from the shattered Earth. Some Humans say it was their penance for crushing such beauty. Eighteen-year-old Braita merely thought it was pathetic - pathetic that her people had been that blind.

Now, the Humans live in the solar system, Kline, where three planets are habitable. Joyal, the smallest planet, is embraced by the Humans - their family to love as they had never loved Earth. Though a planet covered mainly in water is dangerous real estate to dwell upon.

Their worry turns into devastating reality when Braita’s blessed village is struck by a tsunami. Population numbers must be kept to a minimum. Drastic measures must be taken. Braita’s life is twisted in brutality when she is chosen as one of the three hundred Humans to be removed from Joyal…and sent to the Mian, the aliens to fear, on the planet Triaz.

Thrown head first into a barbaric world she knows nothing of, Braita must adapt to a dark life as a slave of the Mian society. Her existence depends on it…and possibly, the fall of her heart.

I was given a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

For the second time, I started a series by Scarlett Dawn, and felt relief reading that first book. It was if I had been waiting to read it - even though I didn't know what would happen! This is also the second time I have been sucked into a series by her.

While reading it, I was on an emotional rollercoaster. One moment I would be laughing hysterically, the next I would be laying down - clutching my e-reader while I tried not to wallow in despair over whatever was occurring.

Getting to learn about the Main was awesome. I would absolutely love to read more about their culture. They were truly a fascinating race of people in comparison to humans.

I cannot wait for the next book in the series. Seriously. I am currently whining because I pretty much need it immediately.

Check it out. You won't regret it!

I was given a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to finish this one, but I couldn't.  Partially because I was not connecting with the characters, and the story was not easy to follow.  Also, the romantic lead's name is the same as my ex boyfriend from high school - which happens to be a very usual name... and my ex is a buttface.

The thought of everyone being segregated by race was interesting, but hard to believe.  Although it is what and initially drew me into the story.  The more I read, the less believable it became... and I just couldn't finished.

Princess Briksanna has always known The Prophesy would catch up to her no matter how far she ran. Spending two thousand years hiding in the Earth Realm haunted by memories of heartache and pain in constant fear of capture by Lord Drakkoon, she finds herself unsure if she has the courage to be the person everyone needs her to be in order to stay one step ahead in a chase for her survival and of those she loves. So, when she discovers experiencing the feeling to freely love, she is pulled into a quest that will not only test the boundaries of her heart, but the life of her unborn son for the sake of saving the universe from total destruction.

Nathanial knows who he is on the Earth Realm and what kind of man he is for Princess Briksanna. But, what kind of man will she need him to be in order to fulfill The Prophesy she has spent the last two thousand years eluding? Tragedy has everyone travelling from the Earth Realm to the Second Realm of Skaldanna pushing his comfort zone knowing he has no knowledge of court expectations, but together with Briksanna and their family he believes he can succeed where all others have failed in dissolving the reign of Lord Drakkoon.

Can Briksanna and Nathanial find the undisputable faith in themselves to accomplish what needs to be done despite the sacrifices made to save their friends and family while establishing peace within the Second Realm?

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Once I started this, I was convinced I was having issues reading it because I was tired. I put it down and came back to it in the morning. It didn't get any better.

Here's an example from the book:
"She was proud of him in that moment for his trust in her. He did followed her instructions without pleading. She was astounded he held her in such regard to put their lives in such a vulnerable position."

There are similar writing issues on every page.

I really wanted to like it. And yes, I will admit I judged this one by the cover. The books I read that have a beautiful cover are usually the ones where authors invested in a good editor as well. This was an exception.

It was hard to keep up with what was going on in the story, and I really tried. I feel as if it has potential, and I would be willing to give it another go once it has been fixed.