Kishaz Reading Corner: Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author or publisher for this honest review.

About the Book

In the wake of the Second Wave, the angel menace has exploded, and Alex and Willow are on the lam. Willow’s prophetic dream points them to Mexico City, where they connect with a fledgling group of angel killers led by the exotically beautiful Kara, an Angel Killer from Alex’s past. But the team remains suspicious of Willow, even after the more-experienced Alex takes over as leader, training them hard for a rush attack on the Seraphic Council, or “The Twelve.” This elite group of all-powerful angels is also under the scrutiny of Willow’s angel-father, Raziel, who has his own sinister plan to defeat them. What Willow hasn’t told Alex is that there was also a mysterious boy in her dream, one she felt overpoweringly attracted to. When brooding, gorgeous Seb shows up in the flesh, he turns out to be another—possibly the world’s only other—half angel. He’s been searching for Willow all his life, and when Alex enlists this rival to help keep Willow safe, he can’t predict what chemistry will pass between them . . . or how far Willow might go to keep Alex safe. Will their love endure or spell doomsday for the human race?

Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Here's why:

When we ended the first book, Willow and Alex were on the run and heading south toward Mexico thanks to Willow's precognitive dream. What Willow doesn't tell Alex is that she sees a boy in her dream that feels oddly familiar to her. Oh, and that she is attracted to.

This bit of news sets up one of the major side plot lines that drives the story: the love triangle. And, I will admit, this was one of the better ones. Often times with love triangles, one of the two love interests comes off a little, well, flat. Weatherly did not have that problem with Seb, the only other half-angel in the world besides Willow.

The angst between Willow, Seb and Alex was realistic and had me pulling my hair out in places at people's stupidity. That's when I felt fully invested in the characters. Even minor characters had a richness of development that I haven't seen in a while.

In addition to the well done character development, the pacing, main plot and other side plots kept me happily reading for several hours until I finished the 700+ page novel.

I cannot wait to read the final book in the trio. I personally am rooting for Willow x Seb, but that's just me.

Would I recommend it to others? That would be a big "YES!" I'm eagerly awaiting the library getting the newest one.

Book Blast: Jasmine's Tale

Tour Schedule

EXCERPT

How long she lay there she would never really know. She would never remember any thoughts or wants she might have had. Long past the point where she needed physical nourishment to survive, she lay there motionless as months turned into years. Vines wove over and around her, until she seemed to be part of the undergrowth. She didn’t feel the sun or the snow, the wind or the rain. The Earth and Sky that she had worshipped for centuries were beyond her reckoning, and she no longer cared. She had finally escaped her tortures the only way she could…by falling deep into total oblivion.

She didn’t know when she began to feel the presence. It was just there, and becoming almost imperceptibly stronger. With it came other things, just as slowly and dreamlike. The smell of the Earth, the dim sensation of a light shower, then the warmth of the sun as it streamed through the forest canopy. Slowly she felt herself rising up from her self-imposed depths, until finally her eyes opened.

Through the dark branches far above her she saw a full moon. Its light and her acute senses let the surrounding woods slowly come into view. She sat up, the undergrowth that had become her blanket falling magically away from her. She looked down at herself, and saw that she was nearly naked, covered only by rotting rags of old clothing. Dimly she noticed Aida’s ancient crystal still hung from around her neck. Then the presence that had made her stir caused her to raise her head, and she saw its source.

Standing before her was a tall, broad figure. Small braids were woven into both his long, unruly brown hair and beard, which were just beginning to go gray. His eyes blazed at her from beneath thick eyebrows. His formidable brow was scarred, as was one cheek. His thick neck disappeared into a rough shirt covered by chain mail, which was in turn covered by a leather tunic. From the wide belt that bound these hung a broadsword and a dagger. Below this was a kilt of muted browns and grays, and shoes of leather strips. A wolf pelt draped one shoulder, and on one arm was a round targe of leather-covered wood. In all, he was the fiercest looking creature the gentle Jasmine had ever seen, and the energy he radiated was overwhelming. She knew without being told that this was the Celt warrior that old Hanob had warned her of, and thought that all of her earned catastrophes had struck upon her at once.

When he spoke, his voice was as fierce as his visage.

“Rise up, Witch. It’s time you live again.”

Praise for Jasmine's Tale: Darkness and Light
“(the) characterizations and descriptions are so vivid that I felt like I was following Jasmine through the centuries.” - Patricia Gligor, author of Mixed messages

“Unique, grabs the reader’s attention and holds it.” – Writer’s Digest

"The cover of this book had caught my eye on more than one occasion. I was excited when I finally got around to reading it... and I was not disappointed. Though the cover is stunning, as it turns out, it is the least impressive aspect of this book. Don't take this as criticism; this is a very, very good thing. The beginning of the story hits you with slap-in-the-face action that sucks you right in.

... I'd like to take a tiny detour; if I may - I have said that it's not often small presses can deliver such gems as Jasmine's Tale. This is the fifth book I have read which is published by Post Mortem Press, and I'm beginning to believe they are regular gem dealers."--5-Star Amazon Review, Emma Ennis

Jasmine’s Tale: Darkness and Light
Book One of the Jasmine and Sam Chronicles


When Sam Melody, a hardworking private detective, meets the beautiful Jasmine Pellitier, the consequences could be deadly. Although Jasmine seems like the perfect woman, she is actually a 2,500-year-old witch… and is being pursued by ancient enemies who will stop at nothing to learn the secret of her powers.

A fascinating marriage of witch-tale and detective yarn, Jasmine’s Tale: Darkness and Light takes the reader from Sam and Jasmine’s adventures in modern-day New York City to her ancient European beginnings and back again, as they try to elude their enemies in a running battle between good and evil.

From ancient times though the Crusades to the Salem Witch Trials and beyond, follow Jasmine and the man she loves in to a final showdown between the powers of Darkness and Light.

Amazon  |  BN

More praise for Jasmine's Tale: Darkness and Light:
“A wonderful Book” – Lonna Kingsbury, Countering the silence, KET TV

“An Intensive novel.” – Mark DeWitt, Cover to Cover, WRRS radio

“…one interesting book.” – Tawana Thomas, Northern Kentucky Magazine



Brian Dobbins has had a wide variety of experiences, from artist and writer to videographer, graphic designer to bartender to salesman to factory worker… and so on. He attempts to draw on this varied background to spin tales of strong characters in unusual situations. He’s written everything from graphic novels to magazine articles to short stories to novels. His novels represent different genres such as Witchcraft, Detective and Western, and usually involve a good amount of historical background. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

FB: Brian Dobbins Makes Stuff Up
Goodreads: Brian's Author Page
Twitter: @BrianEDobbins

 GIVEAWAY

$25 Amazon.com or BN.com Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 11/30/2013. Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com or BN.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kisha from Indie Hoopla Services & Promotions, http://indiehoopla.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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Much Needed Break

I'm taking a break today and tomorrow from being me. It's either that or go crazy. Then on Monday it's back to the business of being me and finally getting some writing in after spending half of November engrossed in side projects.

I will make my 50,000 for NaNo or go broke...not really. Well, I'm already broke so I guess I can't "go for broke" now can I?

Oh well, rambling a bit there. See what tiredness does to you?

I Really Hate Spammers

Well, thanks to spammers, my newly "My Inner Muse" site went over the database limit and was locked down by GoDaddy as a safety precaution.

I've had enough of this insanity, really, I have. First, it was my Wordpress site with the malicious code they dropped in that earned it a place on Google's malicious sites list. Then I decided to switch content platforms and go with Drupal (which by the way is an awesome platform.) for my blog, my author website and my new author services and promotions company.

I'm not having in trouble with the latter two being targeted but because of one moment of forgetfulness on my blog, spammers dove in and destroyed what I had built.

So I'm done using content platforms for my blog. I'm sticking to blogger because I've had no trouble with my blogger sites.

I will be creating archives from both of the old site locations so that my content is not lost and I'll post links up once it's done. But as of now, this is me turning over a new leaf and I couldn't be happier.