Immortal Writers by Jill Bowers

This is a fantasy adventure suited to young adults.

Liz McKinnen is an 18 yr old writer of fantasy and has had a measure of success with her books involving dragons and magic, however is stuck in a relationship she feels is just not right. One evening she is kidnapped and taken to a mysterious castle where she finds out that she has joined the ranks of the immortal writers -  those whose works have crossed the boundary between imagination and reality and the characters have come to life. Finding herself pitted with Shakespeare, Tolkien and Poe, amongst others, she has been brought there to battle the villain that she has created. Helped by friends and the love interest she created, Liz must find a way to defeat the villain in ways she as the creator has not thought up yet.

The characters have been given exceptionally fun personalities and the author has taken time (through Liz) to really describe the dragons as well as their weaknesses and strengths. I like that as young as Liz is, that she is also an old soul due to the experiences that she has had and the flaws she lives with. I'm glad that the literary characters were not as fleshed out as they could have been since Liz would not have been able to create such a concrete backstory for each of them and this allowed my imagination to run wild. I thought that the intimate scenes were age appropriate and the violence not too graphic. A little light on the story for an adult but a 14 yr-old would love this.

Rise of the Chosen by Anna Kopp

This is a fantasy adventure suitable for YA and up.

The dead just don't want to stay dead anymore. After the Waking, the lifeblood that surges through a newly dead body either creates a Woken (zombie-like with a want to kill) or a Chosen (like a genetically enhanced human with no emotions). The Watch (which consists of humans and Chosen) is there to regulate these changes and make sure the Woken are dispatched quickly. Other factions like the Human Alliance don't believe the dead and living should be mixing. Samantha has always wanted to be in the Watch, just like her dad, and in a devastating turn of events is thrust into a war she never knew existed. Now she must chose the lesser of two evils in a fight that can only end badly. Will she survive as a human let alone anything else?

I loved the idea for this book as it was definitely a different take on the zombie idea. The book starts off with a scenario that cleverly you only understand a little later. There are lots of sub plots touched on, especially Samantha's role in the fight for freedom, that can lead to so many new ideas later in the series. The love interest was a good twist but I was getting agitated that so many of my favourite characters kept getting bumped off. The plot also echoes reality with the shady dealing behind the facade of peace. I enjoyed the strong main female character but (unless it will be explained later), she seemed to fall into and be able to cope with so much far too quickly. A great cliffhanger though and an interesting lead into the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blue Moon Publishers for a chance to review the book.

Pop Travel by Tara Tyler

This is a sci-fi thriller suitable for young adults and up.

Pop travel is the way to go. Jump into the transmission dock and your body is transported piece by tiny piece to the receiving dock; wherever in the world you want to go! A private investigator (Cooper), is begged by a client to find his fiancée after she vanished when using pop. Cooper digs deeper and finds a number of other disappearance - which authorities claim never had any connection with pop. The FBI puts an undercover agent onto Cooper but little does she know she will soon land up in a world of lies, spies and a big surprise. Maybe the vanishing allegations have some substance after all...

This is a very clever plot for a novel - the idea of teleportation has been around for ages and the question of exactly how it's done has been given a possible answer. Cooper is a great character, even if a little too trusting. Geri's part was written very well and I could imagine her laying on the fake accent thickly. What I found a little annoying though, was that at times the characters would say something completely out of context and was just silly - there was a major difference between the comfort of the writing and the next minute a stark contrast which had me bewildered. It didn't happen often though which was a good thing.

A solid story with a lot of action and intriguing plot. Very enjoyable.

Gifted (The Hayven Series#1) by J. George

This is a fantasy adventure with a touch of romance, suitable for young adults and up and the first in the Hayven series.

All Avery wanted was to take a short cut. Little did she know that this would lead her to Hayven Books and the giving of a gift as well as a prophecy by a lady named Sidra. Madrina and her cliders are coming back and Avery has to save everyone? What on earth does that mean? Avery is introduced to the world of Hayven where everyone has a special gift. A world just beyond her own where telepathy, teleportation and precognition exist. Along with some new fantastically gifted friends, Avery must find a way to stop Madrina and her cliders from stealing the stars from the sky and once again turning the world into a dark place.

This is a gem of a novel. I loved the parallel worlds idea and how people and their colours move between them. The love interest angle is sweet and heartfelt and brought a smile to my face a number of times. The characters, their descriptions and their personality traits were very true to life and I often felt as though I was part of the circle of friends. The pace of the novel can be a little slow every now and then but overall a comfortable read. Only one or two typos throughout made for good reading.

A very enjoyable novel with a great lead into the series and I eagerly await the next one!