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| All the covers are gorgeous! |
14th October 2014, Createspace, 308 pages, Ebook & Paperback, Review copy
Content: some teen romance, lots of violence, tragedy, a fair amount of humour, tissues needed
Blurb
In the aftermath of the latest battle, the stakes are higher than ever before, time hardly an ally to Nicholai’s army of paranormal soldiers. The Tomes remain hidden, and the clock is ticking for the Essenced tainted with the demon’s incurable toxin. And beyond those worries, reason exists to suspect that magic might be vanishing, a twist that could insurmountably cripple the army’s capabilities prior to the war’s conclusion.
Never has the conflict felt quite as desperate, danger escalating and hope lessening with the slow drain of each issue’s hourglass.
Will the answers to these dilemmas surface in time, or will the efforts of the band of warriors fail to prevent the ruin of the world?
Nayu's thoughts
*Wails* I'm so upset with this book because it's the end of an amazing series. I loved so much of it. I love how there's more focus on the characters than the war side of the story, that although there are a lot of people to remember, time is spent with each one, making them more memorable and, for those who die (there are deaths, hence the tissue warning), it makes it more bittersweet. The war gets stopped in a way which took me by surprise, but was AWESOME! I love the magical talents all the teens have, and how they continue to affect their daily lives. The banter was constantly making me smile, or cry when a character died. I wanted to keep on reading, but, I couldn't, as there isn't another book. Yet! Maybe if enough people want more Connie will write a sequel....
*Ahem* Tension is higher than it's ever been in this series for this book. Gloom plays a prominent role, but that's because the stakes are so high I didn't think there could be happy endings. AJ and the others struggle to cope with grief, which hits them all hard, and makes it hard to keep fighting, but together they find the strength to keep going, for the sake of their loved ones who are still alive, and for those they've lost. One of many great parts about the book is that there is closure at the end, of what happens to everyone. It's not a cliffhanger - phew! I'll definitely be rereading this series at some point in the future, as I'm sure you will too once you get started!
Find out more on Connie's website.
Suggested read
This is less a suggestion and more of a must-do: read the other books in the series Essenced and Emblazed (Young Adult, 9/10E)
Bad Reviews by Connie L Smith
Nayu here! It's with great pleasure that I present Connie's advice on how to deal with a negative review of your book - it's not as bad as it seems, and can be a huge learning experience, if you can get past the initial horror that someone doesn't love your novel as much you do. Thank you Connie!
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| Connie! |
If there’s a book
somewhere that everyone loves, I would be shocked. What’s a
fictional gem to one person might be utter garbage to another person,
and there’s really no way to get around that. Writing styles,
characters, genres, plots… There are so many elements that go into
each story, and a host of preferences from readers to go along with
that mix.
The point? Odds are, if
you’re an author, your book will find its way to someone who
doesn’t really like it. Call it a hazard of the job, I suppose, but
you’re likely to check on your book through Goodreads, Amazon, etc.
and find a colorful explanation of what’s hate-able in your work.
In fact, if you gain enough readers, you can pretty much depend on
seeing one (or more), and it’s no fun knowing that the novel that
you invested so much time in, gave so much of yourself to, is being
bashed on the Internet.
But those people are
entitled to their opinions, just as much as you’re entitled to
write the book you want to create. And you’ll find more good
reviews than bad, if your luck and efforts hold up.
So what do you do with
a bad review? Truthfully, you can start preparing yourself for a bad
review before you write the beginning word of your book. Before I
published the first time, I went to Amazon, looked up my favorite
fiction book, and read bad reviews for it. The rationale? If people
can find things to hate about that book, then there’s no
shame in them in finding things they don’t care for in mine.
Knowing that a story I love so much endured that type of thing makes
it a little less devastating, almost inevitable.
And okay. It happens,
because people have different literary likes. It doesn’t make you a
bad author, and shouldn’t keep you from writing.
Keep that in mind as
you write, and write the book that you’d want to read. Even if some
reviewers hate it, at least you’ll approve :)
And, once you see the
dreaded bad review, don’t (don’t, don’t, don’t) confront the
reviewer. As I’ve said before, that person is entitled to his
opinion, and there’s little good that can come out of being the
author who harasses people who don’t approve of his books. Don’t
tweet your defense, or post a long-winded rebuttal on your blog, no
matter how much the writer in you – the one who spent so many hours
for so many weeks or months working on the book that’s being
criticized – is offended.
If you have to vent
your frustrations about the review, do yourself a favor and do so in
a conversation with a good friend or family member. Anything negative
that you post for public display might very well come back and haunt
you someday.
You can,
however, take the advice from a bad review and use it for future
possibilities. Clearly, if the reviewer criticizes something about
your story that you adored, then you might not change your upcoming
projects to fit the review – and it wouldn’t be sensible to do
that, particularly if other people liked your book – but the little
details might make for a better or easier read next time. If someone
makes a comment that the font is hard to read, for instance, you
could keep that in mind for future books or editions.
So basically, at times,
a bad review might actually work in your favor.
There’s still no fun
to read though :)
Thanks for reading my
post! I have a Goodreads giveaway going on right now through
Goodreads here:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/111090-essenced.
And you can add my
upcoming NA Romance novel to your to-read list here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23267803-tail-lights.
Author bio: Connie L. Smith spends far too
much time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much,
likes to bake, and might forever be sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And
that she can’t swing dance. Her music of choice is severely outdated, and as an
adult she’s kind of obsessed with Power Rangers. She has her BA from Northern
Kentucky University
in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection
either), and is currently working on her MA.
Links:
Main
Site/Blog: http://clsmithbooks.blogspot.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/clsmithbooks
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/conniel0194/
Readwave: http://www.readwave.com/connie.l.smith/
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