Mystical Emona: Soul's Journey by Rebecca Carter - A Review

5 stars!

I never thought I'd read a romance set in Bulgaria but now that I have, I'm enchanted. I had to pull up Google maps and check it out. 

This was such a sweet, well-written story with plenty of paranormal to keep it interesting. The characters were well developed, the setting was beautiful and exotic, the plot was complex, and the ending was satisfying. 

There were just enough foreign words to keep in line with the tone but not so much that it was confusing. I especially loved all of the traditions and superstitions that made this book cozy like a bowl of hot tomato soup. I consume mass quantities of stories set in Scotland for the same reasons - magic seems possible, maybe even probable, in places like this. 

Even the secondary characters have back-stories. I enjoyed that. One of my favorite things in a book is being introduced to a seemingly insignificant character only to find them woven flawlessly into the story. So much research, thought, and care went into crafting this book. It's a tale of "Love endures all" set in a mystical village by the sea in a town where the samodiva (Balkan nymphs) are more than legend. And now I want a karakachan! 

The writing was beautiful with a high attention to detail. You can tell when the samodiva speak because of their use of archaic language, a level of dialogue mastery I particularly appreciate. You'll want the bat-poop-crazy bad guy to get his comeuppance. You'll get annoyed with Stefan because he's so thick and cynical sometimes. Above all, you'll love this story and will be captivated by it. 

Book 2 is coming in 2015 and I can't wait! I read the preview in the back and it's one heck of a cliffhanger! 

Get your copy today! Just click the book cover above.

Editing You Can Afford - RRBC Members Get 1 Chapter Free!

So, you've finished your book. Congratulations! You've perfected every sentence until it rings with the glory of your talent. You've scoured the text with your (likely) myopic eyes for errors. Did you find them all?

Are you sure?

See, no matter how great an author you are, and I have no doubt that you are, you've made mistakes. A missing quotation mark, tense issues, passive verb issues, too many adverbs, plot loose ends...

You're too close to the story to see it objectively.

That's where I come in. When you're vacillating between "My story is the next great literary masterpiece!" and "It's horrible. I should just give up,"  that's when you need a professional editor to step in and really dig deep into your work.

It's a bit like open heart surgery - you hand over your manuscript and let a total stranger tinker around with the internal workings.

Sometimes you get bad news - major structure issues, a hundred extraneous commas, plot too weak. Sometimes you get good news - excellent world-building, great dialogue, plot kept me guessing the whole time.
Most times you'll get both.

After the procedure you will be confident that the mistakes have been eliminated and your story is stronger for having been through all of the nitpicking.

Here's what happens when you hire me: I operate on a per chapter basis. That means you don't have to pony up $6000 up front. Not even close. You send me one chapter, I edit it according to the package you've chosen, I send it back to you and give you my feedback, you give me your feedback. We move on to the next chapter. Easy!

I have 3 editing packages and 1 formatting package for you to choose from. Check out the website here for thorough information. The lowest package is $5 per chapter and the highest is $30 per chapter. **For now. Prices will go up one day!**

It's like financing so that you pay over time. We can do a chapter a day or a chapter a month - it's up to you. Regardless of the package you choose, we will work on that one chapter until you are absolutely satisfied before moving on. (I also will do a whole manuscript for 1 cent per word, price will go up one day.)

I'm nowhere near the industry standard cost. Why? Because I know that most indie authors can't justify spending that much money up front for uncertain success. Do I want to earn industry standard for my work? Yes, but I want to help you more. I am passionate about helping indie authors.

Members of Rave Reviews Book Club get a one chapter Comprehensive Edit free. It doesn't have to be chapter 1 either. If you're not a member, be sure to join and list @AprilAdamsNovel as having referred you. Nothing has helped me as an author more than joining and "paying it forward" purchasing books and posting reviews. If you do nothing else, do that and get involved. It's brilliant.

I've worked with PH Solomon's short story The Black Bag and Andy Ritchie's new novel Fractured Time, coming soon. I'd like to work with you too.

Visit the website and let's get started! Included with any package is my free "Author Pre-Publication Checklist" which has valuable information to help ensure your success.

I look forward to working with you!

Ambient Light: An Angel McKenzie Novel (Angel McKenzie Mysteries Book 1) by Lorraine Adair - A Review

5 stars!

I'm not much of a mystery reader. I like a good mystery but I prefer a healthy dose of fantasy or sci-fi thrown in for sheer escapism. That being said, this realistic book was awesome!

I really loved the romance aspect of this story. It may have seemed too harsh without that element to soften the abject terror of some moments. The story is told from several perspectives, so you glimpse into nearly everyone's mind - even the psychopath's. It was a disturbing yet fascinating place to be.

My heart was beating fast and my shoulders were tight as I read about Angel's situation. I couldn't put it down! I got a little upset when I had to stop reading and cook dinner. I just had to see the bad guy get his! I finished the book while eating. You won't be disappointed in the way the story ends.

Grab your copy today!

The Black Bag by PH Solomon, Short Story - A Review

5 stars to updated version!

I specify the updated version because the version I purchased originally had errors and didn't dive deep enough into Coryss's point of view. Not so with the new version.

If you haven't purchased the book yet that shouldn't be an issue. The author was so kind as to send me an updated version and it hooked me from the first paragraph! He worked very hard to make his book better and it shows. 

Three witches have made Coryss's life a tragedy but she is about to get even. 

Great stuff. It does read like a very short novel. I normally don't read short stories but found this a pleasant distraction from longer novels. 

Get your copy by clicking the link below. You'll be glad you did!

The Best Is Yet to Come: A Romantic Comedy (The Best Girls Book 0) by Tamie Dearen - A Review

5 stars.

This is a very short prequel to Her Best Match. It's written from Steven Gherring's point of view and includes the few days before Ann Best interviews from the job through just before she arrives. 

Even though it's a very short prequel you get a taste of the author's writing style and Steven's character. There's also a bit from Gram at the beginning, and she's my favorite. She's so feisty! 

This prequel is definitely a teaser and makes you want to keep reading into book 1 and you should because it's great. 

Grab your copy today by clicking the cover below.

The White Queen, Beyond Endless Tides Vol. 1 by Charles F Bond - Not Market-Ready but Has Potential

2 Stars

I hate writing bad reviews. It hurts my heart but in the hopes that the author will heed some constructive criticism and perhaps take an ok book to a good or even great one - here goes.

1. The language. This is a rookie mistake. Here's one paragraph from the book: "Any blood spilled was a beacon for hackas five hundred strokes, or more, away. A pack of smaller hackas, Desentines, swift and nimble, moved into view from the nic. Her tamur would be among the ligphurs and as the Desentine pack, numbering around forty closed in on them , she tensed."

Hackas? Desentines? Nic? Tamur? Ligphurs? That is just one paragraph! I only just found out (from reading other reviews) that there is a glossary in the back. In the kindle version that should be in front - or better yet use real words. Blood is blood in the book, fins and tails are fins and tails, I assume the author was trying to immerse us in the peculiar oceanic world he created by using peculiar and foreign language. Far from achieving that he instead created a slur of jibberish that throws the reader from the story to either reel in confusion, look in the glossary, or skim past the offending words substituting "blah-blah." I have to be honest, I cannot finish the book as written in the version I purchased. It reads like Mad Libs filled in by a foreign speaker.

The language thing is a big deal. My advice - choose 5 or less mermaid words that you feel are most important and make sure they are well explained the moment they are first presented. Nix the rest. I just can't keep reading. I've been thrown from the story so much I honestly don't care what happens... but I want to!

2. Excessive and incorrect comma use. Examples: "Take, Morg, to, Vert Ravine." - "Go with, Ethos, he'll keep you safe." - "But the porene are more loyal to my haspur than, Leader Lyon." A book has to be clean before put on the market. A few mistakes are permissible but this level of sloppiness is not ok.

This book needs an editor so very badly. At the very least it needs to be read and critiqued by several beta readers. I think that once the 2 main issues are addressed it will be a good book. A girl/mermaid refuses to be hurt by her clan, runs away which leads to a clan battle, and is told to go see the White Queen who can see the future. Except that it reads more like: A mur refuses to be hurt by her Inyarl Shawl, runs away... See what I mean?

Note to the author: I'm sorry if you read this and think I'm insulting you or calling you a bad writer. I'm not. I only give these critiques because this book is not market ready and with a bit more work it definitely could be. I WANT to find out what happens to Morg when the necessary corrections are made and a new version/edition is available. Like I said, I see the intent behind the language but it just doesn't matter to the reader. I think you have massive potential. From what I could understand of the world you created it is interesting and the plot seems solid. Please, consider these constructive criticisms and take your work to the next level. I will be more than happy to read your new finished edition when it becomes available. At that time I will absolutely alter this review to reflect the newer edition. I appreciate your effort and it is with respect for you as a fellow indie author that I offer these critiques.

The Book That THEY Don't Want You to Read, Part 3 by Andy Ritchie - A Review

5 stars, but....

How can you do that to your readers? Just end the book with several unanswered questions? What's on the Researcher's P.I.U? What is the black tentacle stuff? Those two questions above all others are making my eye twitch because I can't find out! 

You've got to write a sequel and give us/me the answers! 

Besides that slightly disappointing state of affairs, the book is wonderful. It's not as jam-packed with action as book 2 was but that's ok. I found myself sad that it was about to be over. 

If you like aliens, sci-fi, and good writing you will like this book. By the way, dear author, I absolutely LOVED what "The One" was. I laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed that. There was a lot of humor in this book, a few satisfying scenes where the Bad Guys get theirs, but I am so sad that it left me with a void. 

On a related note, I am awed and astonished by how much work the author did for this book series. Creating an alien bureaucracy complete with several tedious documents with subsections, a different way of telling time, and including samples of all that in the appendices... well, I respect the heck out of that. 

This is a well put-together series, a fresh take on storytelling, an exciting plot with characters that develop organically as the story rolls on, humor, philosophical musings, bureaucracy gone mad, and all told in a way that kind-of makes you believe THEY are going to come bust down your door because you read The Book That THEY Don't Want You To Read. 

Buy these books. You won't be disappointed.