Tag: books

Posted in amazon, book review, book series, books, Kindle, Kindle Vella

How To Get Started On Kindle Vella

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

I’ve been curious about Kindle Vella for awhile, but I was so engrossed with my Kindle Unlimited books, I didn’t take the time to check it out. Then something happened to help me out a little with that.

Recently, I was contacted by an author to review his book. Since I was in between books at the time, I told him I could get started right away. Then he responded that his book wouldn’t be out until March, but he did have episodes posted on Kindle Vella.

Well, I certainly couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try out Vella and get a start on another awesome story. Isn’t it great when stuff lines up like that! Anyways, the following is a how to on Kindle Vella and my thoughts on A.R. Witham’s The Legend of Black Jack.

What Is Kindle Vella?

Kindle Vella is a place to read (and publish) serialized fiction. Any device that can download the kindle app can easily access Vella. It’s really geared toward readers who want a quick read on their phones.

A story is broken down into episodes (instead of chapters). These episodes can vary from author to author. I’ve seen some really long and some really short. One thing I like is that authors have an opportunity at the end of each episode to address the audience directly in A Note From Author. Sometimes there’s little stories extras in the note, or information to contact the author directly if desired.

Another cool feature is if you liked the episode, then you can do a thumbs up at the end of it.

How Does Vella Work?

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Posted in book addict, book review, book series, ebook, series review

Book Series Review: The Iron Druid Chronicles By Kevin Hearne

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a series review, but I recently finished this series and really wanted to share my thoughts on it.

I have to tell you the Iron Druid books left an impact on me. I can honestly say that this is definitely one of my favorite series, but it’s also one that I dislike as well. But before I get into all of that, let me tell you a little bit about what this series is about.

The Iron Druid Chronicles starts with the book Hounded. A 2,100 year old druid is masquerading as a 21 year-old who owns an occult book store in modern day Arizona. To every one he looks like some stoner college student, but in reality he’s packing a lot of ancient knowledge and power. But don’t tell anyone, because he’s supposed to be hiding out from an Irish god who wants to kill him.

And it just gets better (and more complicated from there). lol…

The story follows Atticus on many and crazy escapades as he tries to hold his own against a bunch of religious pantheons that don’t like him very much. It might be because he’s a little bit snarky and doesn’t really care what anyone might think about him or what he does, he also has a big issue with people (or gods) who harm the earth, because he’s druid, duh. So that can really get him riled up sometimes.

My absolute favorite part of this story is that Atticus has a faithful companion named Oberon who is an Irish wolfhound, and Atticus has taught him how to speak (mentally). So it’s just a lot of fun to watch their awesome conversations play out, and see this deep friendship between hound and human grow over the course of the series.

This series includes 9 books and a bunch of novellas and short stories. The short stories and novellas help to bring more depth to the main story, and in many cases, I found the novellas and short stories to be superior in story quality to some of the novels. So I highly recommend them.

I’m not going to list out the whole chronological order of stories, novellas, and novels. You can find that information on Hearne’s website. But here are the 9 books in the series.

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Posted in author, author interview, book series, books

An Author Interview with A.W. Exley

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Isn’t it fun to get obsessed about a book, or a book series? It’s a great feeling to get lost into something exciting. And my latest addiction happens to be A.W. Exley’s Artifact Hunters series. If you missed it, please check out my review of the first book Book Review: Nefertiti’s Heart By A.W. Exley, and earlier this week I did a review of the entire series Series Review: The Artifact Hunters. Now it’s time to get a peak at the author herself. Check it out below.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview! First, I have some questions about the Artifact Hunters series.

This is a fantastic series that brings together an amazing cast of characters. All of the characters loveable with their own quirks. Did you find one character that you liked the absolute most, and why?

Jackson! He didn’t have much of a role in the first book and he was supposed to be this thug in the background. But as the series progressed, he grew on me. He’s got this really tough exterior, and as the story unfolded, I discovered why he was like that. As Cara says he’s a crème brulee––crack that tough outer shell and he’s all soft and gooey inside LOL

I love the way you brought Cara and Nate together. Their stories so intertwined, especially once Nefertiti’s Heart became involved. What gave you the idea for this complex and fascinating artifact? And does it prolong their life in any way? How long will Cara and Nate be around (if you can say without ruining any potential new books in the series)?

Oh gosh… I wrote the book so long ago, I’m going to have to scrap the memory banks! Lol I remember trying to decide what to write and I pulled out my Egyptology books, a stack of true crime, and decided I was going to mash them together. That got me thinking about Nefertiti and what sort of artifact she would inspire. As to how long Cara and Nate might be around… I’ve tried killing them both off already and it didn’t work, so its safe to say they will be around for a bit longer yet 😉

This series is set on the backdrop of cool steampunk artifacts in the Victorian age. It’s a great world you built with lots of history, but with your own personal spin complete with mechanical hearts and beasts. Where did you get your inspiration to create this impressive world? Did you find it difficult to walk the line between fact and fiction?

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Posted in book addict, book review, books, ebook

Book Review: Nefertiti’s Heart By A.W. Exley

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Nefertiti’s Heart Book One in The Artifact Hunters by A.W. Exley is available in paperback, kindle, and audio.

If you are looking for an incredible adventure of romance, steampunk, and a strong female lead this is a great read! I really enjoyed my time with this book, and was pleasantly surprised with some of the twist and turns. But the one thing I enjoyed the absolutely most about this book was the toughness and grit of the female lead Miss Cara Devon.

Set during the Victorian age in London, Miss Cara Devon is determined to settle her newly departed father’s estate so she can close that harrowing chapter of her life forever. But things don’t go quite as planned as she meets a villainous Viscount and becomes sucked into an investigation to uncover the killer that’s been murdering the daughters of the wealthiest families of England.

As she seeks out all the ancient artifacts her father accumulated in his lifetime and then secretly stashed all over London, she is also forced to face the ghosts of her past. The kind of ghosts that leaves a female member of high society shunned and in disgrace. She finds herself in uncomfortable waters as she attracts the attention of a dangerous Viscount, and comes under suspicion as the murdered daughters body count grows.

This is the first book of the Artifact Hunter series, which currently has five books and two novellas. You can find out more at A.W. Exley’s author site. I, for one, plan on reading them all. I am hooked!

Posted in book review, books, ebook

Book Review: The Backworlds A Space Opera Adventure Series by M. Pax

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

The Backworlds A Space Opera Adventure Series by M. Pax is book one of the Backworlds series, and is in paperback and on kindle.

This is a fun science fiction novel that follows a Verkinn named Craze who is abruptly forced off his home world by his dodgy father. In shock, and with little to his name, Craze must fend for himself and find a way to make his fortune.

What makes matters worse is he’s never been away from his home world before, and because of the Verkinn’s sensitivities to environment, he’s not even sure he will be able to survive on other planets. Overwhelmed by all the new places, species, and situations, Craze finds himself adjusting to his new circumstance by doing the only thing he’s really good at––wheeling and dealing in shady business practices just like his father taught him. Along the way, Craze stumbles across good fortune and bad, but also makes some good friends along the way.

This is a straight up space opera novel on the amazing backdrop of lots of creative world building. It’s obvious this is meant to be the first of a larger series. I believe there are seven total right now. If you like lots of excitement and color, then get ready to follow Craze from one world to the next in this adventure!