Book Review: S.P.I.R.I.T Firestorm by Dawn Gray

First of all, let me start off by saying that I wasn't particularly eager to read this novel, mostly because the cover image doesn't speak to me. There's nothing about it that jumps out and says, 'pick me up and read me'. The monotone wash of grey and the old creepy house feel a little generic, as do the unstylistic font and general lack of 'wow' factor. But alas, after reading the novel, the image is in fact the essence of this very story, and I now understand why the author chose such imagery.
S.P.I.R.I.T follows the story of Samantha and Zander, two seemingly ordinary people thrust together under the strangest of circumstances. As they learn of developing gifts, past connections, and an unsettling truth that the supernatural realm is very real and very present, it forces them to uncover the mystery surrounding their coupling and the double layered reality crossing paths in the most unimaginable way. Ghosts, demons, and lies from the past see them struggling to unlock the reasons for their current endangerment but it also sees the strength and abilities within each of them grow - their blossoming love forging a connection stronger than even death itself.
S.P.I.R.I.T, despite the non-stop revelation of mystery, followed by battles with the unseen, or tangible crossovers from past encounters, was heavily littered with romance. The interaction between Samantha and Zander bordered on the fast-pace unrealistic connections of Mills & Boons characters. I did however appreciate Samantha's initial reluctance to trust anyone given the situation thrust upon her. She seemed to take a little longer to warm to heavy petting rather than her male protagonist that basically shadowed her every footstep.
The characterization was good, however, there was a lack of descriptive text on other minor characters. Alas, when something unfavourable occurred, I found that I cared little for their welfare as I was given no reason to embrace these minor characters as anything other than props to continue the story of Zander and Samantha.
What I did enjoy was the overall story, a thoroughly interesting concept that straddled just the right amount of supernatural element and action sequences. I also didn't mind the romance, bar the pet names and it's actual relevance to the story as a whole.
What I didn't like were the grammatical errors. I'm an author, and I make mistakes too, and usually I do overlook these knowing how hard an author works to produce any novel, but unfortunately there was one every couple of paragraphs - often very distracting.
Overall, S.P.I.R.I.T Firestorm was an enjoyable read with a little bit of something extra to your standard paranormal romance. With a carefully unfolding plot and an expected, yet satisfying ending, it was easy to give this book three out of five stars.

Synopsis:

When Samantha Ricketts finds herself in a town half-way across the country, her only worry is how did she get there, but when her life is saved by a handsome and mysterious man, the connection they feel is almost more than she can stand.
Zander Smith was only acting on his instincts and training when he moved the dark-haired woman to safety but what he got from his heroics wasn't the distressed woman that he thought he was helping but a fireball of fury that sparked a storm within himself.
Together they tap into the supernatural to uncover the mysteries surrounding the strange town they were slowly growing fond of before they became a part of its history.

Kristy :)

Follow Friday #32

Happy Friday everyone!

Yes, it’s that time of week again where bloggers unite to participate in the Follow Friday venture. The idea behind #FF is to promote traffic to your own blog, make new friends with other like-minded bloggers and discuss new and interesting topics each week.

Participating is simple. First you need to follow my blog because I’m totally awesome, then you can follow me on Twitter @kristyberridge (actually you don’t have to do this, it’s wishful thinking), but do follow my blog or assassins will get you …

Then you must follow our illustrious hosts Rachel of http://www.parajunkee.com/ and Alison of http://www.alisoncanread.com/ If you want more details on how to enter your own blog in the follow and hop, all directions are on their webpages

Now, once you’ve followed, check out my answer to this week’s questions and don’t forget to leave a comment so I can do the right thing and follow you back!

Ben Barnes

This Week's Question: Activity! Dream cast your current read.


My Answer: I'm currently reading "Dead Radiance" A Valkyrie Novel by T.G. Ayer. It's an interesting read with the most beautiful imagery and well crafted, descriptive structure that I've read in a really long time. The protagonist is Bryn, essentially a re-birthed Valkyrie. I don't really imagine her as anyone in particular, but I guess she would resemble Emily Browning, and her love interest Aidan, I think looks like Ben Barnes. Then again, any dark-haired gorgeous guy resembles Ben Barnes in my mind while I'm reading. Weird.
Anyway, here they are!

Emily Browning

Alien in my Belly

So as you already know, I'm on a massive fitness kick at the moment and I've managed to rope in buddies to keep the process fun and promote success. One of those buddies is my dad, his enthusiasm for weight loss and body toning only equal to that of my own. We've been training four days a week, calorie counting, and pushing each other to achieve.

Anyway, last night we were fitting in some last chance training due to dad's weigh-in and measurement day today (success all round by the way). We were working through an abdominal session and that's when we noticed the alien. 

We had a moment, thought about calling in Sigourney Weaver to bust a cap in its ass but how can you kill it if it hasn't reared it's ugly head yet?

Confused?

During a roll up crunch pushing a pretty impressive weight of 45kg's, I noticed my dad's stomach had a spine. When I pointed this out to him, he casually informed me that he had an alien in his belly. So, whether it turns out to be fact, fiction, medical condition, or some weird-ass muscle, we all have something weird and unexplained. 

For one, when I finish my workout and take my shoes off, veins practically explode from the top of feet like bloody octopus tentacles. I often look at them and wonder if I could launch off the end of a jetty and start an undersea adventure - my own inbuilt pulsing flippers. My fingers also bend like bananas, my belly button frowns at me, and I sweat mostly from my kneecaps. Yes, I actually have to wipe those bad boys down with a towel so my socks don't get wet. It's insane.

So alas we all have alien's inside of us, and if not, please don't tell me that you're perfect because I don't want to know that my family are the only bearers of the freak flag. But, if you have ears like an elf, a nose like Pinocchio, or an ass like J-Lo, let me know. I can't be the only one out there with octopus feet.

Kristy :)

What Follow Friday?

Okay ... my bad. I usually do the Follow Friday meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read every Friday, mostly because it's fun to see what everyone is reading, and then because it promotes the blog - a massive priority as an author.
This week I didn't do it. The day just got away from me, mostly because I was buried under a mountain of edits for my second book, The Damned. (awesome read BTW, you so don't want to miss buying this :P)
So why did I miss the weekly ritual that I have participated in for over thirty weeks?
Okay, pipe down to those of you that are saying 'who gives a crap?'. There has to be someone out there that thinks me blowing off 'Follow Friday' for a two hour session at the gym was more important so that I could finally pour myself into my slim fit jeans and then head out for a girls night?
*clasps a hand to my ear* Yes, I'm hearing the 'Amen, sister'.
So, needless to say I went to my girls night out. I looked great in my jeans, and we listened to music of yesteryear, and sang (badly) and laughed about it until late. Naturally I ducked home and crawled into bed while everyone else took it to the next level at the clubs but everyone knows I'm a virtual hobbit and boogying on the dance floor is not really my thing (I just embarrass myself and everyone else with my Saturday Night Fever moves)
Anyway, so being that music was the main topic of conversation for most of the evening, we started laughing like mad when we all realised there were about a million songs we 'thought' we knew the words to. But have you actually sung a song, have your buddy turn to you and say, 'Mate, that's not how the song goes'.
Answer ... we all have. So with this in mind, here are some of the little gems we came up with;

1. Cold Chisel - "Cheap Wine"
Our version - Cheap wine and a three-legged goat (Who the hell has ever seen a three-legged goat?)
Real version - Cheap wine and a three-day growth

2. Elton John - "Island Girl"
Our version - I like girls (I totally thought this was an affirmation)
Real version - Island girl (you think the title of the song might have spelled it out for me)

3. Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes - "Time of my Life"
Our Version - We saw the writing on the wall, I've never felt this mad before, it's a specialty.
Real version - We saw the writing on the wall, as we felt this magical, fantasy (go figure)

4. Madonna - "Ray of Light"
Our version - And I feel, like a disco gnome, and I feel. (Truth be told, we were laughing at someone else for this one)
Real version - And I feel, like I just got home, and I feel.

5. Snow - "Informer"
Our version - Informer, you know fhshgsgkhsfgkskskgsklfhdhdhdrs to blame, a licky boom boom down.
Real version - Informer, ya' no say dadda me Snow me I'll go blame, a licky boom boom down
(Yeah, Snow, no one has ever understood what the f@#%k you are saying)

Anyway, these are just a few. There were so many more it's crazy. My face still hurts from laughing so hard. My friend even told me that she'd had an ongoing argument with her brother for over ten years because he swears Charles and Eddie's "Would I lie to You" was "Ooh la la to you".
You gotta love a girls night out.
Have a great weekend everyone, let me know if there are some songs out there that throw a spanner in your lyrical genius. I'd love to hear if you're a disco gnome or that you like girls.

Kristy :)

Book Review: Mark of the Seer by Jenna Kay

I have to say, there's just something about YA supernatural fiction that is hard to go past. You get to immerse yourself in surrealism, step outside the box of every day, and plunge yourself back into the waters of high school. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm thirty and I still love watching those bitchy teen movies, and in particular, burying my face in a good read branded with the cynicism of youth and the daredevil courage of years past.
Mark of the Seer by Jenna Kay puts you right back to those Saturday mornings where you wake up, rub your bleary eyes, swallow the git in your mouth from an all night drinking binge, and rub your head in self pity for the miscreants of youth.
Clarity Miller, just your average teenage girl is the protagonist of this novel. She is likable and easy to relate to as struggles with aspects of her past, namely the loss of her parents, as well as her indiscretions with her predictably wild best friend Kora, her sweet as honey boyfriend, Brenton, and her seemingly absent yet caring Aunt as the caregiver. Sum in total, the story begins with parties, boys, failed relationships, and the mundane task of school attendance. Nothing in these first few chapters is remarkable or particularly entertaining, but what you can see is good character development and clever lead up to later aspects of the plot where this information is deemed essential.
Introducing Sam, the new kid in town with an unbelievable story and heavenly intentions. Invisible to everyone else, poor Clarity begins to question her sanity, only later to discover, she's not crazy - Sam is her guardian angel, this revelation making her feel no more secure in her mission to grapple incessantly with reality.
This is when the story really begins to unfold. Without giving too much away, Clarity is soon marked as a 'seer' - the gift of vision and the ability to interpret dreams and change fate. While Sam is intent on awakening Clarity's spirit and Good Samaritan nature, Clarity just wants to hide from her potential and squander her youth as most of us do - locking lips with boys and swigging a bottle of bourbon on weekends.
What will Clarity choose? And how do the characters intermingle with her fate and the intent of others perhaps more damaged by the past than outward appearance initially perceive?
You'll just have to read Mark of the Seer to find out.
The relationship between the characters are not complex, and dialogue is easy and in keeping with the pace of unfolding events. I gathered the characters were from the South, but I still often found it a little jarring to have the word 'ya' thrown into the dialogue instead of 'you'. I also found the relationship between Sam and Clarity a little confusing at first, their seemingly instant connection difficult to swallow. And, given that we were led to believe the affection was innocent, there was a lot of descriptive element that led the reader to sometimes consider otherwise.
Narration on the whole was quite purposeful, and the last few chapters were intense, but not quite fast-paced or gritty enough to really get my heart rate entering warp speed. Imagery was good and the concept itself had a very 'nice' and comforting feel about it.
I rate this book three out of five stars. It was an enjoyable read.

Synopsis: All Clarity Miller wants is a normal teenage life and everything seems to be going in the right direction until she meets Sam. Sam informs Clarity that he is her guardian angel and she has been given the gifts of a 'seer' but Clarity wants nothing to do with magic or the spirit realm. However, when tragedy strikes her home town, she realises she has a very important decision to make.

Kristy :)