Here's A Book Highlight!

Age of the Aura, Phase I: Champions of Power (SYNOPSIS)

Genre: Science Fiction (Space Opera)

The Blessed Galaxy has no other name. After being gifted with the Auras—five great powerhouses of celestial creation—the title was a suitable fit. For millennia, the governing bodies have ruled their respective reaches of the Galaxy while harnessing the might of the Auras. But now they face the threat of a calamity, from an unlikely source, that could shake the lives of all.

Lowen Sars, a devout man of science, decides to take on the burden of saving the Galaxy’s people once he learns of the calamity. But he soon realizes that the role of a hero was a calling not meant for him, even with his sudden promotion. In his process of self-discovery, Lowen begins the fateful saga of not only the Blessed Galaxy, but also the kingdom in possession of the corrupt Aura.

Read more behind the story! http://ageoftheaura.com/universe/

Download Phase I for FREE on Amazon! (June 24th-28th ONLY!)

http://amzn.to/M8k1vf
Enter to Win a Physical Copy of Phase I on GOODREADS!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Champions of Power

by Samuel Odunsi Jr.

Giveaway ends July 24, 2013.




See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Watch the Book Trailer!

IN THE BETWEEN by May Sinclair, PhD REVIEW

Title: In the Between

Author: May Sinclair, PhD
Release date: Feb. 13, 2013
Rating: 4.5/5
Publisher: Createspace
Book Summary:

In the Between is a metaphysical fantasy about a woman who dies and travels through the Bardo. The book opens with an explanation of the term: she is going from one life to the next. The Bardo comes from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, loosely translated as: The In Between. And according to that book, souls travel through it for 49 days, during which time they are encouraged to accept any one of numerous heavens being offered.  

There are 49 chapters in the book because according to the Tibetan Book of the Dead souls travel for seven weeks through the in between. 

Well, unless there is some karma left over from another past life. But our soul, in the story, is not Buddhist, she is from the West. And being the kind of woman she has become through all the countless lives—she believes she has lived—she developed her own ideas about living and what happens at death.   

Based on her ideas she has about the Bardo she gets to re-live some of her past lives to help with the evolution of her soul. But, before any of that happens—right from the start—when she first arrives at the Bardo, she is surprised to discover something odd about her soul that is confusing. She learns there are two parts to her soul—the animal and the spiritual. The two aspects disagree about what the soul is supposed to accomplish and the book spells out the differences through lively dialogue between them.

After coming to some harmony, our soul agrees to re-live her past lives that took place in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Spain, Brussels, France, England, the U.S., and India. After each experience the two aspects of our soul review what happened—why she made choices causing karma that must be balanced in her future—and the two parts of our soul begin to grow together.

She learns everything is much more complicated than she ever thought, including all of her relationships whether they seemed, good or not so good. She also finds out how it is that thinking people develop their personal ideas about God, the universe, energy, but most importantly why souls are on planet earth—at all.

 The book allows for all of us to ask ourselves: What if it is true? What if we don’t go to Heaven…or Hell when we die? What if karma does exist? What if we do reincarnate into another life to try to learn about our past mistakes and get to balance out misdeeds?

Review:

When May Sinclair e-mailed me to read this book, I was extremely excited. This is the first time that I have ever seen an author tackle a book about reincarnation. Reincarnation has always fascinated me, so it was an automatic yes when I saw what this book was about.

It's not very often that the first few pages of a book are the main character's death (The Lovely Bones is one of these, I think), so it reeled me in right from the get go.

Sinclair's dialogue and description really stood out from me as I turned the pages. They were vivid and detailed, yet they remained simple and not overbearing.

Starry, our main character's soul self, leads her through her past lives in all sorts of times and places and teaches her lessons that will later be imprinted on her soul and taken to the next life. Starry was probably my favorite character in the whole book, because she was lively and her emotions changed dramatically.

However, it was difficult to differentiate which "I" or "me" belonged to our main character's animal self, or to the current self she is replaying in the reliving of the life. While I was reading, it did get rather confusing as to who did what during the life. Another thing I noticed was the typo regarding either a word that wasn't supposed to be in italics (I think I only saw this once) or the quotations around dialogue were forgotten, or doubled, or misplaced. It's not so much of a problem, though I did notice them.

Sinclair, how long did it take you to research for your novel? Everything was so accurate down to the drinks and the dances and everything! It was a wonderful reading experience.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to read something different and out of the ordinary for once!
 

Free Book This Weekend!

Double award-winning YA novel 'You Can't Shatter Me' is FREE from the 29th to the 31st of May 2013. (Pacific Standard Time)
This book on empowering ways to handle bullying has been hailed as a must-read for teens, parents & educators

This heart-warming magical realism story has received an AIA Seal of Excellence and a B.R.A.G.Medallion^TM for outstanding independent fiction. It offers real solutions for handling bullying that will inspire and empower teens and adults alike.

When superhero wanna-be, Carly, stands up to a bully, he turns on her, forcing her to battle cutting words, flying hooks, a doubt dragon and a suffocating closet. Her karate-trained boyfriend, Dylan’s desire to stop the harassment sets off a struggle to control his inner caveman. Meanwhile, Carly searches for inner strength and a peaceful solution. Will she find it before Dylan resorts to violence?

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT YOU CAN’T SHATTER ME

 ‘I was awed  . . .  Tahlia Newland’s fiction is some of the best YA on the market . . . in Newland’s deft hands, this novel is an absorbing, educational read, that both satisfies and gives hope to adults and younger readers alike.’ Blibliotica Book Reviews.

‘An entertaining and uplifting read.’ Linda Gillard, best selling author of ‘A House of Silence’.

‘This is a story about understanding, kindness and compassion, uniquely told with surreal fantasy elements, and is both entertaining and thought-provoking.’ Kevin Berry, author .’

‘This is a book that all young adults should read. It is also a great book for parents and educators who may need a fresh look into teen struggles and bullying . . . Tahlia does a brilliant job making an otherwise tedious topic fun and relatable for readers . . . You are left feeling complete and some what light.’ Little Hyats Book Reviews.

About the Author

Award winning author Tahlia Newland writes contemporary fantasy and magical realism with a metaphysical twist. She also  mentors authors and provides Digital Reading Seminars in High Schools. When not reading, writing or reviewing you may find her being an extremely casual high school teacher or making decorative masks.

Tahlia is a bone-fide expatriate of the performing arts, with over 20 years experience in scripting and performing in Visual Theatre and Theatre in Education. She has studied philosophy & meditation for many years, lives in an Australian rain forest and loves cats, but she doesn’t have one because they eat native birds.

Connect with Tahlia.
Weblog
Ripples in Water Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads Author page

The promotion is available from approximately 12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time on May the 29th to approximately 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on May the 31st.

Kindle US
Kindle UK
Other Kindle stores

Don't forget to share the news and support the author by leaving a review. 

 

Beautiful Creatures MOVIE Follow-Up

Why Richard LaGravense?

I was expecting so much from this movie. It was a very good book. I hadn't read something like it in a long time and I liked to read something fresh.

But why?

Why did you have to get sucked into the turmoil that was Percy Jackson?

I was really looking forward to watching it. Did you have book burnings on the set instead of actually reading the book? Honestly. Characters were missing, Larkin was supposed to be so much more important, Sarafine was supposed to leave Mrs. Lincoln's body. 

That leads me to the casting of the movie. I'm sorry, but Alden Ehrenreich does not look like a high school Junior. He looks like a college graduate. Even my brother leaned over and said, "He's a Junior?" Lena was casted all right, but I wish she would have done more with her character! There was so much that Lena Duchannes could have been and that wasn't shown in the movie.

Emmy Rossum was the only one who was close to her character, Ridley, and they still messed her up. How do you replace lollipops with strawberries? Are we trying to advocate eating right in movies now? Why?

They didn't even cast Ethan's dad and later on in the book he's important to why Lena gets into the whole deal with her mom at Greenbrier. Whywhywhy?

I just can't express how disappointed I was in this movie. Important parts, and characters were missing. . . Amma was not the bookkeeper in the Caster library/ the regular library. What happened to the Caster library only being opened on certain days at certain times? What happened to the scenes shown by Genevive's locket? What happened to the whole relationship between Link and Ridley? Why did Ethan forget about Lena? That never happens in the book! What happened to Ethan and Lena finding the locket together?

If you've read the book, avoid the movie. Please. Save yourself the heartbreak of watching it crash and burn. If you haven't read the book, pick it up and see for yourself that it actually is a great story.
 

Champions of Power REVIEW

Title:  Champions of Power (Age of the Aura, Phase 1)
Author: Samuel Odunsi, Jr.
Release date: June 5, 2012
Rating:  5/5
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Book Summary:

There was no other name for the Blessed Galaxy. After being gifted with the Auras, five great powerhouses of celestial creation, the title was a suitable fit. While harnessing such energies, the governing bodies have ruled their respected reaches of the Galaxy for a number of millennia, but now they face the threat of an inevitable calamity that could shake the lives of everyone, caused by one of the five Auras.

After accepting a sudden promotion, a devout man of science, named Lowen Sars, decides to take on the burden of saving the Galaxy’s people after he learns of the calamity, but soon realizes that the role of a hero was a calling not meant for him. In his process of self-discovery, Lowen inadvertently begins the fateful saga of not only the Blessed Galaxy but also the kingdom in possession of the corrupt Aura, and especially its two young heirs of the throne.

Age of the Aura, Phase I: Champions of Power is the first book in a science fiction series that has yet to be seen elsewhere and it will certainly be one for the ages.

Review:

It's been a while since I've been absolutely obsessed with a book. I would be in the middle of class with my phone hidden and reading to find out what would happen to Lowen and his group. I couldn't put it down. It was written so well, and all the descriptions were just captivating. It was different from other things I've read or seen. 

Champions of Power is basically about a man named Lowen who lost his grandfather to the green Aura, the source of power in the Ludoran Imperium. He figured out that the Auras' powers are being drained into the Central Reach's Aura--the oldest in the Blessed Galaxy. Lowen and his friends took it into their own hands, working outside of the Assembly to try to prevent the Balance Point.

All of these characters are amazing, though I think I enjoy Ambrose and his little lion pet Jak the most. I don't know why. They just seem to stand out and interest me the most. It might be the fact that he seems to understand that they're something wrong with the Aura in his Kingdom and that he figured it out without even really knowing. I can see Lowen and Ambrose probably teaming up in later books. 

I'm very excited to read the next books in this series. I was very pleasantly surprised. I didn't think that I would like this sci-fi book as much as I did. Even if you can't stand other sci-fis like Star Wars or Star Trek, pick up this book. I promise you won't be let down. 

Beautiful Creatures MOVIE

2013 is definitely the year for books becoming movies! 

Beautiful Creatures is coming out as a movie in four days on February 14. If you haven't read it by now, where have you been? 

Okay, I really can't talk since I read it just last year in December, but I read it. That counts. 

It's a really good action book (whose review is yet to be posted by me) that follows a boy and a Caster. It's a really interesting fantasy book that takes place in the South of the United States. I would pick it up and try to cram it in those four days because it is really good, and it's always fun to judge the movie based on the book. At least it is to me. 

From what I've seen in the trailer, it looks all right. The actor playing Lena matches pretty well, but the actor playing Ethan is not the one I would chose. *shrug* We'll see how he does. He doesn't look like the character I envisioned in my head. There are a lot of the actors that I probably wouldn't have chosen, but actors aside it looks like the plot is pretty much in tact.

If you haven't seen the trailer I'll put it below. 

The cast list goes as follows: 

• Alden Ehrenreich as Ethan Lawson Wate
• Alice Englert as Lena Duchannes
• Jeremy Irons as Macon Ravenwood
• Viola Davis as Amma
• Emmy Rossum as Ridley Duchannes
• Thomas Mann as Link
• Emma Thompson as Sarafine
• Kyle Gallner as Larkin

I'm not as hyped up for this one as I am for City of Bones, but I am still pretty excited. What do you think? 

Trailer: 

 


 

CITY OF BONES movie!

As I'm sure you've heard, the City of Bones movie comes out this year in August! If you haven't heard and you want to learn about it, the trailer is below. If you haven't even read it then get off this dang page and pick it up! You have months to read it!

It's kind of surreal for it to be made into a movie. I remember when The Hunger Games became a movie and I flipped out. I started reading the City of Bones series in the eighth grade, around the same time that I started this blog and also around the same time that I read THG. It's been so long--a little over three years now--and I'm overly excited that they're making a film adaptation of it. 

From what I've seen in the trailer (below), it's pretty close to the book. I mean, of course, there are always things that aren't going to be exactly adapted (e.g. how she finds the Shadowhunters the first time in the club). And Jace has an accent. That made me smile because it's really cool that he has an accent. It didn't describe on in the book, but I think it's really beautiful. And it makes Jamie Campbell Bower (who is beautiful) a very interesting Jace. As long as it's not a Percy Jackson and the Olympians repeat, I think I'll be good. 

If you haven't watched Percy Jackson, please don't. Read the book. It's so much better. 

The cast is as follows: 

• Lily Collins as Clarissa "Clary" Fray
• Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace Wayland
• Robert Sheehan as Simon Lewis
• Jemima West as Isabelle Lightwood 
• Kevin Zergers as Alec Lightwood
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Valentine Morgenstern
• Lena Heady as Jocelyn Fray
• Aiden Turner as Luke Garroway
• Jared Harris as Hodge Starkweather

(Just look them up on Google, since the pictures I wanted to put didn't work)

I'm very, very excited. Anyone else?

Trailer: