RELEASE DAY: "Ashen Rayne (Shadowlands Book 1)" by Skye Knizley

Young women are vanishing from Miami’s club scene, most disappearing without a trace, others found suffocated in plastic bags, their battered corpses filled with a deadly cocktail of narcotics.
There are no suspects and few clues.
When exotic dancer Rayne is taken, her sister Blaze calls the ladies of Shadowlands to find her.
With only five days before Rayne is found dead or never found at all, Smoak and Ash dive into Miami’s underworld of drugs, prostitution and slavery, using every skill they have to find her before the clock runs out.
Alone? 
Afraid? 
Lost?
In trouble and have nowhere to turn?
Call Shadowlands. We’re here to help.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kick ass women in fiction. Ever since I started reading, I always gravitated towards books where the heroine needs no man for help: Nicki Styx, the lead in Terri Garey's urban fantasy series. Raven Madison, in Ellen Schreiber's Vampire Kisses series. But those kinds of women are hard to find. Most of them fall short of what I'm always looking for...except for Smoak. Now there's a female lead!
She's too good to even be called bad ass. From page one you know there's something different about her and Ashley. Ashley is actually deaf, and you wouldn't know it except that they use TTY phones and in the first chapter it is mentioned. Skye didn't write her as disabled. Instead, she uses her disability to her advantage. Smoak is not disabled...she is actually too capable, if that's possible. It's her seeming invincibility that makes you love Ashley more: for showing her scars and her handicaps. But you learn that Smoak is not invincible, and that she does not have a heart of stone.
I don't like to review good books, because I am always afraid I'll run off at the mouth and post spoilers! I'll just try to stick to the basics.
The story should be in the dictionary for "fast paced". But it is not lacking in any department. There is no shortage of emotion, nor is there any detail missing. They define "women's fiction" as being targeted towards women by talking about women's experiences. If they put books like these down as "women's fiction", I bet we'd have had a female president by now. Reading this book was not just exhilarating for me, but as a young woman it makes me feel empowered to read a story about girls like these.
It's vigilante justice without a mask, leaving nothing and no one in her wake. This is not a book by a woman for women. This is a book by an amazing writer for anyone who wants to read real, action-packed fiction.

5/5--put this at the top of your TBR list immediately!

Purchase Ashen Rayne on Amazon!

BOOK REVIEW: "The Labyrinth Wall" by Emilyann Girdner

Inside the labyrinth, cruel Creators make their creations, known as Mahk, scrounge for food and water, mine obsidian for an unknown reason and treat them worse than wild animals.
Araina, the lead character in Emilyann Girdner's The Labyrinth Wall, is seventeen...or so she thinks. She doesn't know. She's solitary, finding friendship with a beautiful bird she named Blue, because she knows that other Mahk are ruthless and have to kill just to get enough to eat.
One day she runs into another Mahk named Darith and they witness a strange man coming through the Labyrinth wall like magic and they vow to find him and escape...even knew kills them.

What a book! The Labyrinth Wall is a fast read for upper-YA and older. Before I knew it, an hour and a half had passed and I'd gotten 300 pages into the book!
The story is straightforward, about captivity, survival and trust amongst the emotionally wounded. Mahk are almost slaves, browbeaten and starved. Creators are evil, but very complex. Each page brings about new information about the labyrinth and its inhabitants (aside from the Mahk...like the cannibalistic Nabal and the creepy canine-like man Sir Riddles).
The characters are all unique and each have their good and bad points, including our heroine, Araina, and the other Mahk she meets up with. Korun is kind with a strange healing ability, Soll is odd-looking but a great leader and little Keelie is too adorable for words.
There is violence, action, danger and vivid escape plans, making this a book that will tantalize your mind and hold you captive till its done.
This book is not just a journey to freedom, but an emotional journey teaching about trust, betrayal, survival, the brutality of people and, most of all, friendship. You don't have to be a teen to enjoy this! A wonderful book that will leave you wanting more!

5/5--A must-add for your TBR list!

Purchase The Labyrinth Wall via:

Amazon
Goodreads
B&N

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Joe Walker

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

In my teen years I was always impressed by books, films and series and I remember even then wanting to read and see so much that I would inspired enough to one day add my own work to the genres I love.

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?

J. R. R. Tolkien and J.K Rowling. Benard Cornwell and David Gemmell. Conn Iggulden and R. A. Salvatore. Eric Nylund and George R. R. Martin. Today I'm enjoying the works of many indie authors as well as A Song of Ice and Fire. 

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel Blood Bonds?

A long list of many works have led to a love of fantasy and a need to add something to the magical genre. The two most predominant authors who inspired my work have to be J. R. R. Tolkien and George R. R. Martin. Many themes in fantasy are shared and although there are some who criticise this fact the majority of people appreciate it and understand that the underlying themes are invincible and should be harboured and expressed in as many ways as possible by as many authors as possible.

4. How many books will the series span?

The Thundous Saga will be comprised of two trilogies, Ethriel and Nariel.

5. Why elves and orcs instead of vampires and werewolves?

I absolutely love vampires and werewolves, especially where Darren Shan is involved. But it is my preference and always has been that I prefer elves and orcs. That said, why not merge the two? Forgotten realms proved it works every time.

6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life?

I believe that all characters and all emotions in all books will only add to an author's success if they are based on real life experiences, otherwise they will be unbelievable and difficult to develop.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

Sci-fi and horror... maybe a sci-fi/horror.

8. What would you do if you were one of your characters in the book? Van or the princess, for instance?

If I was a character in my books I would trust in my friends. The sense of unity with the four main characters is unshakable and they should hold on to that at all costs.

9. You are an English teacher in China. What made you decide to duo that as a career and has it been influential to your writing career at all?

I'm a big fan of creation and I think it is a teacher's duty to emphasise the need to create to children everywhere. If I preached that belief without being creative myself I'd be a hypocrite.

10. Would you like to see Blood Bonds as a film? If yes, who do you want to see play your characters?

I would want Blood Bonds to be a film and I would want new and undiscovered actors to play the roles as I totally believe that everyone deserves a chance in life and if Blood Bonds were to hit the big screens I'd want that to be theirs.

11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

I try not to speculate where I will be and where I hope to be as they can fundamentally disagree at the best of times, but for honesty's sake I'd like to be comfortably settled as a full-time writer (cough cough).

12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

Perhaps I'd spend the time learning an instrument or drawing.

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

The next stop is the final instalment of Ethriel - Freedom. Then it will be onto Nariel.

14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I'd like to make a sci-fi with Tolkien - he could create worlds and I would go live on them.

15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

Thank you for having me; it's been a pleasure :) A lot of people tell me that I'm young at 22 to have two books up for sale and a third one well on the way. I want to learn Latin, Elfish and Dwarfish... oh and Orcish. I wish I had been born in Roman times.

Follow Joe Walker on Twitter.

BOOK REVIEW: "Ethriel: Blood Bonds (Thunderous Book 1)" by Joe Walker

Storm clouds gather over the land of Ethriel. 

The Dark Lord, Akvandar, has defeated the once mighty Kingdom of Sol and now turns his attention upon the men of the west; a weak and fractured people struggling desperately to repel the advances of the armies spewing forth from the dreaded Spire. 
Meanwhile, in the cold north, there is trouble afoot. Goblins march from the Mountain of Iron, ravaging the lands between the Range and the Impassable Peaks; a once peaceful region where the stench of betrayal is pungent and corruption is rife.
Humankind teeters on the edge of existence and the forces of good have only one choice. They must forget past grievances and fight against the evil that plagues their land in a war that will be decided by the sword and the shield. 
From the deepest depths to the highest peaks, Blood Bonds will take you on a whirlwind adventure following four unlikely companions who must bind themselves in friendship, overcoming battles, betrayals and grief as they strive to bring the nations of the realm together.

In Joe Walker's maiden novel, we are taken into a fictional world of the past, one where orcs rule over humans and elves are trying to get their lives back and defeat the terrible orcs.
If that sounds a little like Tolkien, you're right. It was reminiscent of the great storyteller's magum opus, but it wasn't a blatant act of plagiarism, as I have read many times before. It was written with an entirely new vision in mind, one with less imagery and more heart.
You have slaves and princesses working together, villains you'll love to despise and a magnificent journey your mind will never forget.
This is one of those books you'll be telling your grandchildren about. Great writing, great characters and a lot of things for your mind to envision late at night as you read.

4/5--entertaining and visual!

Purchase Blood Bonds via:

Amazon
iBooks
Barnes And Noble
Smashwords