Finding Eden

Camilla Beavers

Fantasy

200 pages

Teen

Warnings: Violence

There's something different about Eden. She sees the emotions of people in the colors that surround them, colors so bright that she has to wear sunglasses in order to be able to see anything. Eden begins dreaming of a boy, one with golden eyes. When he shows up at her school, she does her best to avoid him, but finds that difficult when he follows her everywhere and she finds him so intriguing with his lack of colors.

Writing Style: 4/10

I had to deduct a lot of points from this for two major reasons. One, words seems to be repeated numerous times in a very small space. A great example of this is in the first paragraph where the word eye is used five times and it's not a long passage. The second major deduction is that although all of the words seemed to be spelled correctly in the story, many of them were the wrong ones. Say instead of day, as instead of at. This happens a lot in this story and is something that an editor could easily fix. The rest of the writing style is fairly decent, but the amount of time you spend deciphering the meaning of the writing is a real problem.

Plot:6 /10

In the beginning, I really was interested in the plot. There was the mystery of Sahariel (the mysterious boy) and why Eden could see the colors and all of that resolved very nicely around the middle of the book. Then you go to another region, where Sahriel is from, and things are completely different and my interest sort of petered out. The plot had already had a sort of climax, although it could have been better and I wasn't really up for another plot yet.

Originality: 4/10

A lot of sci-fi/fantasy books have this type of plot. The main character has something strange about them, someone mysterious shows up, they have a love/hate relationship with this person, the same person who ends up explaining this to them and showing them a world they didn't know existed that is dangerous and different. It's not a bad plot, especially if the writing is good, it's just not very original.

Enjoyability: 6/10

I sincerely enjoyed the first half of the book. It was set in the current world with interesting characters and interesting situations. Then you get halfway through it and all of those characters are replaced by new characters, the setting is completely different and I just couldn't really enjoy it as much. I feel like the two halves of these books needed to be fleshed out and turned into their own individual novels, especially the second half. They were both good, they just needed more to them for me to truly enjoy them.

End: 4/10

The end was very lack luster. It was predictable, sure, but that wasn't why I gave it such a low score. It was just so anti-climatic. I was expecting a little more from the confrontation than I got. It seemed like as soon as it started, it had ended and I was left severely disappointed.

Overall: 24/50

You can get Finding Eden from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Find Camilla Beavers in Good Reads.

Has anyone read any good indie e-books recently? Any suggestions for future posts?

Spree

Spree

Jonathan DeCoteau

Paranormal

153 pages

Older Teen

Warnings: Character death, mentions of sex, underage drinking and driving, violence

After pre-gaming her ex-boyfriend's party, Fay DeSoto gets behind the wheel and subsequently  kills herself and a schoolmates mother and puts her two best friends in the hospital. When she dies, she becomes a taker, a spiritual being that exists to take lives. When she finds out that her death may have triggered another student to kill others at the school's championship soccer game, she makes it her goal to try and stop him by using her death day wish to be allowed to try and stop it.

Writing Style: 9/10

I thought it was good. There were a few mistakes, but nothing so terrible that it took away from the story. I also think that the scenes with Fay's mother were incredibly well written. They really hit me hard. It may be my own impending motherhood influencing my emotions, but I feel like it was more than that. That DeCoteau really just wrote her well.

Plot: 8/10

There were a few small times that the plot was a little confusing, such as why Fay had to wish for the chance to stop Zipper instead of just being able to stop him, but for the most part it flowed very smoothly and really held my interest.

Originality: 10/10

The only book that I've read that really has a plot that's all that similar is The Wish List by Eoin Colfer and even that book had some stark differences. You don't often find that there are such original novels, at least in my opinion. This could just be a sub-genre that I've completely missed, but I think that this is a very original novel.

Enjoyability: 9/10

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. DeCoteau definitely had a few good morals that he was trying to get across in this story, but I feel as though they came to the story naturally instead of having to be forced. I also think the fact that this was so enjoyable was very important, as I believe it deals with many touch issues that are very important.

End: 9/10

Unexpected and excellent, although the last page seemed a little cliche.

Overall: 45/50

Get Spree for the Kindle and Smashwords.

Has anyone read the book? Am I just completely missing a sub-genre? Let me know what you think of this review in the comments or suggest an independent book for me to read!

Beautiful Demons

Beautiful Demons

Sarra Cannon

Supernatural

136 Pages

Teen 

Warnings: Death, violence

 After getting kicked out of her latest foster home, Harper Madison is sent to Shadowford Home for Girls in Peachville, Georgia, her last chance before getting sent to juvenile detention. She wants to start fresh, she just has to make sure that she doesn't lose her temper, as things tend to start flying around the room, against her will. Everything is going fine until the head cheerleader, Tori, is murdered and she becomes the main suspect.

Writing Style: 10/10

I didn't see any errors and the characters were well fleshed out. There were a few characters that were just sort of introduced and not heard from much afterwards, but there were reasons for it that made the story that much more intriguing, especially seeing as there are sequels that they may play a bigger role in.

Plot: 9/10

A murder mystery always seems to be a good time. Mix that with the supernatural elements and you've got a recipe for a good story, if you manage to pull it off. Sarra Cannon did just that, giving me a plot that I wanted to know more and more about.

Originality: 8/10

There seemed to be a few things that I've noticed happen a lot in this type of story that docked a few points. First, there is a mystery about the parents. Harper was adopted when she was young and doesn't know who they are or if her ability comes from them. Second, she cannot control her ability and it keeps getting her into trouble. Third, there is something that happens that she has to find out the answer to. The formula mirrors the first Harry Potter book to me, but it was pulled off completely differently and some of the fleshing out between it was very original.

Enjoyability: 10/10

I couldn't put this down. It's not a very long read, but I had some other things that I probably should have been doing that got put to the way side in order to finish this book.

End: 9/10

The main point of the book is all wrapped up in a nice, neat ending. There are still questions that are about the series as a whole that need answered, but you could just end after reading this book and be content. It also wasn't too cliched and had some nice twists to it.

Overall: 46/50

You can get Beautiful Demons at Barnes and Noble,  Amazon, I-tunes, Smashwords, and Kobo.
Visit Sarra Cannon's website.

Has anyone else read Beautiful Demons or some other good self published book? Is there some book that I haven't gotten to that you think would warrant a review? Let me know in the comments.

Enigma

Enigma

Aimee Ash

Supernatural, Romance

238 pages

Teen

Warnings: Mentions of sex and sexual activity, non-graphic

Kate, a girl who has been forced to move around her entire life, ends up in Long Beach right before starting her freshman year of college. She's hoping to finally settle in and make some friends when she meets a mysterious neighbor, who seems to be avoiding her. When she finally catches up to him, she finds out that his name is Jack and the weird things that have started happening to her are related to him and a curse, one that she is now completely caught up in.

Writing Style: 7/10

There were a few spelling/grammar errors, but nothing major. The biggest problem is that I keep hearing how independent and strong that Kate is supposed to be, but she seems to be very reliant on Jack and his family. In the beginning I could see this trait, but as the story progresses she seems to lose a lot of what I think originally made her a good character. Jack also seems to be a very different character in the beginning, but begins becoming a jerk. Some of this can be written off by his twin brother coming back into the picture, but the rest is very much just Jack being problematic.

Plot: 6/10

The main plot of the story was good, but it had too many side plots that really seemed to come out of nowhere or happen too fast, especially with Kate's family. For example, there is some talk about her brother having a drinking problem, but it's also said everyone pretty much ignores it until suddenly when they decide that something has to be done and it has to be done immediately, without any clear reason as to how it this course of action was decided. I also think that there may have been too many plot twists for the story. Instead I think some may have been able to be dropped in order to flesh out some other parts.

Originality: 9/10

This was a pretty original story. Jack's powers and curse are not your standard vampire or werewolf or anything like that and that was very refreshing and the powers weren't just your standard super strength and the like either. This made the story a much more interesting read.

Enjoyability: 7/10

Enigma reminded me a lot of Twilight, which isn't my favorite book series in the world, though I did read them all. That being said, I really think fans of that series will like Enigma. I also had some issue reading it due to the side stories and plot twists.

End: 7/10

The end was pretty much as expected. It wasn't a crazy twist, but it also wasn't disappointing. I feel like it was a safe ending, but a good one.

Overall: 36/50

Enigma is available from  Amazon, Smash Words and I-tunes.
Visit Aimee Ash's website.
Does anyone else have an opinion? Let me know!
Also, sorry for the delay in posting. There were some technical difficulties.

Panamanian Stompers

Jake F. Simons

Horror, humor

25 pages

Adult

Warnings: Language

Fernie Deacon is a low-life who earns his living by shady means. While waiting for an friend for his newest job, he talks to a bar mentally handicapped barkeep and another bar patron about Panamanian Stompers, a fish that comes up on land and kills people on the shore not far from where they are, especially on rainy nights like the one that they're currently experiencing.

Writing Style: 6/10

Fernie is skeezy and it definitely shines through really well and I give the author props on that, but this isn't a style I generally like. That being said, many people do like it. It's just never been anything I've been interested in.

Plot: 8/10

The plot was amusing. It wasn't confusing and it was very straight forward. Fernie was just attempting to pass the time until he could go and hold up some gangbangers and get his money. Terrorizing a poor mentally handicapped barkeep was just something that he thought would be fun to do. When it ceased to be that, he leaves and does what he needs to do to finish up the story and bring it full circle.

Originality: 5/10

This is story similar to what many have heard with snipes or jackalopes when parents or older siblings want a young child out of the way or the scary creature in the dangerous area to keep kids away. It also followed a very predictable path to the climax there were no huge surprises.

Enjoyability- 3/10

For me, the enjoyability on this was very low. I knew where the story was going from the beginning and I didn't like the writing style, so I didn't really enjoy the story much. There was a highlight or two though, making it a little better.

End- 6/10

Although predictable, the end was amusing to me. I was holding out hope for something a little different, but justice was served and that was what mattered most in this story.

Overall- 28/50

Get the book for the Kindle.

Visit Jake F. Simons' website. Note: Simons is a pseudonym to distinguish between his all ages works and his adult works.

Musical Chairs

Musical Chairs

Marla Braziel

Teen, Vampires

47 pages

Teen

Warnings: Violence, mentions of murder, mentions of sex

   Annabell is a vampire attending night school in order to seek out her next kill. She befriends Aiden in an attempt very to find the best rating victim through his friends.

Writing Style: 5/10

   Most of the characters were very two dimensional to me. Annabell was interesting with her hunt, but Aiden and his girlfriend are very standish, not letting you know anything. Students best friend, Bane mentions family problems at home. Bane himself had potential, but was only in the story briefly. The most interesting character, an athlete named Mark, was brutalized by Annabell early in the story and avoided her for the rest. Mainly, this story us internalized by Annabell and lets no one else develop.

Plot: 7/10

   Annabell's quest to find a delicious high schooler for her once yearly underaged kill is interesting, especially with the night school. How she goes about it, finding a target and devoting every minute to trying to get their trust so she can betray them is interesting. The plot is fairly loose otherwise and sort of focuses on her finding her target.

Originality: 5/10

   The market is so swamped with stories on vampires at this point that it's hard for any of them to be original. Still, the night school is a nice addition that I had yet to see and the intense focus on finding a target and not worrying about being popular or falling in love was a nice change if pace. This isn't to say that no one wants to be with Annabell, Mark got himself hurt by being too forward and Bane was also very interested in her, she just had no interest in the boys.

Enjoyability: 6/10

   The story wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either. So little time was spent on Annabell truly interacting with other characters that it really took away from the story and made me yearn to have someone show up that would have a full conversation with her.

End: 6/10

   This is a novella and has for other parts and I took that into account, but the end was still awkward. I feel as though it should have ended more where Annabell determined her target, as that seemed to be the focus  of the novella.

Overall: 29/50

Musical Chairs can be gotten from Amazon or her own page.

Visit Marla Braziel's website.

What are your thoughts on Musical Chairs? Any other readers out there?

WILDly

WILDly

T. Swanpoel

Fantasy, sci-fi

180 pages

Teen

Warnings: Violence

When moving into her varsity dorm, university for all of us American readers, a mysterious man named Duncan awakens something in Valerie that she didn't know she possessed. She now has a great connection to the Earth and Duncan and her new friend at varsity, Alex, are fighting for it. Valerie has to decide what side is good and help fight in a battle to defeat the other one.

Writing Style: 4/10

The style wasn't terrible, but the were a few things were very problematic with it. First of all, you're just thrown into this world without learning anything about the characters. I also have no idea where this is supposed to be set. I don't have any issue with it being set in a different country (probably where the author is from), but it helps me engage in the story, particularly when I need to realize that their slang is different than ours, such as varsity meaning university. In addition, I couldn't there were words that seemed out of place, as in they were too advanced for the writing. Occasionally, a word I had never heard was thrust upon me and I have a feeling that I wasn't the only one who was confused and trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, there were a number of spelling and grammar mistakes. It wasn't anything so bad that it made it unreadable, but it was enough to warrant suggesting a proof reader.

Plot: 8/10

The plot was very good. Valerie starts not knowing of her connection. She's just a normal girl that is going to varsity and is hoping to have some fun. Everything quickly begins changing and the plot is fast paced. Between trying to determine which side is the one Valerie needs to align herself with and then how to make her powers stronger to fight the other side, there's always something to keep you enthralled.

Originality: 9/10

The connection to a celestial body isn't exactly a new idea, but the way Swanpoel went about it was original. This was a facet of this alternate version of our universe that had to be thought about very carefully and be fleshed out. Not only do Valerie and the some of the other characters have a connection to a planet, star or other celestial body in our galaxy, but they have powers associated with it also. Some of these powers are dependant on their connection, Valerie can change the weather based on her moods, and some are based on just the fact that they have a connection at all, such as healing. This combined with a hierarchy and a ruling class makes for a very original story.

Enjoyability: 6/10

As much as I loved the plot and the originality, there was a major problem with the enjoyability. It's too fast paced. There's never really any downtime to get to know the characters. It's only a few pages in before Valerie meets Duncan and her awakens her connection. She then wakes up in a hospital and feels as though there's something wrong with the nurse and escapes. At no point during any of this do we really learn anything about Valerie, other than she's adopted. This continues throughout the entire book. There's not a lot of interaction that not based strictly around the issues at hand and I didn't feel like I knew any of the characters at the end. I feel like not thrusting us into the world of danger so quickly or taking a step back at some point and allowing Valerie and her varsity friends, Lisa, Alex and Jennifer, some time to get to know each other and their interests would have helped immensely. Even just some time with some of the other, more elusive characters like Benjamin or Duncan would have made it easier to get attached to Valerie.

End- 4/10

I really felt as though I had to come down hard on the end. I have no idea what happened. Three characters could have died and I have no idea if any of them did or not, although I have my suspicions. There was a twist that I did like and that brought the score up a little bit, but it was just too muddled and there was no real wrapping up. I feel like some closure in a story is necessary and there wasn't any in this.

Overall- 31/50

Get WILDly for the Nook, Kindle or other devices.

Visit the series website.

Have you read WILDly? What did you think?