The Wronged Princess by Kae Elle @kathylwheeler #CinderellaTale #Fantasy #Suspense

The Plot:

Finding his mysterious princess by trying her glass slipper on every maiden in Chalmers Kingdom sounded like a brilliant scheme until the silly thing slid quite easily on the foot of the wrong girl. Now how is Prince Charming supposed to find his true love? Unbeknownst to either, his mother, the queen, and her feisty twin (Cinderella’s infamous fairy godmother) have a lesson to impart—impulsive decisions do not a future king make!

About the Author:

I love sports—the NFL, the NBA… I hold season tickets to the Oklahoma City Thunder. I love Broadway musicals, too. I have a BA in Management Information Systems and a vocal minor. I love travel, reading, writing, and just to round things out and scratch the singing itch—karaoke.

Review:

I just hate it when I read a book by a friend that’s poorly edited. Ms. Wheeler tells a really good story with a much more complex relationship between Ella and her sisters than the usual version of Cinderella. Her stepmother is still the scheming, social climber of the Grimm version, but she doesn’t have to lop off parts of her daughters’ feet to get the shoe to fit. Esmerelda and Cinderella used to swap shoes all the time before the Count died, when the girls were friends. Imagine both Cinderella and the Prince’s horror when the glass slipper slid right onto the wrong foot! And so, the fun begins.

As I said at the beginning, my problem with the book was the editing, or lack thereof. There were mixed tenses, misused words; in short, the grammar was terrible. It really is a shame, because Ms. Wheeler shows a deep knowledge of history and mythology, and her fractured fairy tale would be a great read with better grammar.

Author Website:  http://www.kae-elle-wheeler.com/

Warnings:  None

Length:  190 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $9.99

Digital:  $0.99

Buy Link:  https://smile.amazon.com/B007MF3NK0

The Wolf Queen: Arcadia, Book Two by Kelley Heckart

Blurb:

A new twist on Beauty and the Beast and the Greek myth of Lycaon the werewolf. A Bronze Age fantasy, adventure, and romance set in Arcadia, the wild forests of the goddess Artemis.

A tormented wolf man… A mysterious girl with a terrible secret…

Alara, a princess from a foreign land, is forced to wed the sorcerer-king Aramon, a power-hungry warlord, who discovers her dark secret and wants to use her to create an invincible army. When she meets Lycaon, she must decide if she should trust the cursed, tormented half-man half-wolf who might be her enemy, or her true mate.

Lycaon, once a great king until he was cursed by Zeus to be a werewolf, is drawn to the mysterious princess. He is torn between helping Alara escape and using her to gain power over those who despise him.

Secrets abound, and old enemies reunite to battle Aramon before he can unleash his terrible plan. Time is running out as the dark moon approaches. Soon, Arcadia will be overrun with an unstoppable, vicious army, unless Aramon can be defeated. To prevent his victory, the cost is high. As Lycaon’s affection for Alara grows, it becomes more difficult for him to decide which to save: Arcadia or her.

About the Author:

Multi-published author Kelley Heckart writes romances with fantasy/paranormal elements set in ancient and medieval time periods. Her stories reflect her passion for ancient history, storytelling, and the supernatural. She is drawn in particular to the ancient Celts who are shrouded in mystery and associated with the otherworldly realm of the Fae. With her pen and paper, she recreates long ago places filled with fierce warriors, bold women, otherworldly creatures, magic, and romance.

Two of her favorite things are sunrises and men in kilts. When not writing or editing, she enjoys practicing target archery. She can be found online at www.kelleyheckart.com.

Review by Rochelle:

Alara escapes from Aramon, the evil king to whom she is betrothed. He has learned the secret of her people and plans to use her to create an unstoppable army that will enable him to conquer the territory surrounding his kingdom. She passes through Artemis’s enchanted forest and enters territory protected by Lycaon, a former king who was cursed by Zeus and is now a werewolf. Strangely, Alara shows no fear of him in either of his forms, and he finds himself strangely drawn to her. He decides to help her avoid Aramon, and prevent him from raising his evil army.

Historical/fantasy is not my favorite genre. There is too much room for anomalies and modern jargon to slip in, but in The Wolf Queen: Arcadia, Book Two, Ms. Heckart has done a good job of keeping to the period, and not jarring me out of the mind-set. I’ve even studied some mythology and she seems to be accurate there. Finally, her pacing and character development were great. She sucked me in from the first page and kept me burning through to the last. So, considering my normal reluctance to read these books, I greatly enjoyed The Wolf Queen. If I didn’t have a rather long “To Be Reviewed” list, I’d grab the first book in the Arcadia series. I’m sure I’d enjoy it.

Author Website:  www.kelleyheckart.com

Heat Rating:  R

Length:  246 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $11.99

Digital:  $2.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Queen-Book-Arcadia/dp/1519606249/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Thanks for visiting.

Clouded by M. S. Kaye

Blurb:

A Sumerian water and sky god myth collides with a modern high school.

Ayanna is a math nerd, logical and rational, even cold, but Calder makes her feel things she never had before. Somehow, she’s able to accept it when she discovers he’s a reincarnated Sumerian water god. Will she be able to accept the full truth, that the story of Enki and Inanna has been reborn in a modern Ohio high school?

About the Author:

M.S. Kaye has multiple published books and awards under her Black Belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, FL, where she does her best not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at http://www.BooksByMSK.com.

Review by Rochelle:

Okay, I admit I’m a fan of Ms. Kaye. I haven’t reviewed many of her books, because for the past couple of years I’ve been her editor. Sadly, our publisher has closed, so I am no longer in that position. Someone else gets to read and barely tweak Ms. Kaye’s books.

The good news is that now I can review them, and they’re all masterpieces. The characters are deeply drawn, and the pace moves right along. Images aren’t just vivid, Ms. Kaye’s descriptions are downright poetic. The Sunshine State is wasted on an author who loves the rain and conveys its moods and music in ways that even a person who hides from thunder storms can appreciate and enjoy.

Clouded is a young adult/new adult book, in which the Sumerian water god Enki and sky Goddess Inana are reincarnated and reunited in a small town Ohio high school. Calder realizes he’s Enki and he knows he’s found his Inana when he meets Ayanna. She can accept that he’s Enki, but has more difficulty accepting her own divinity. She only knows she’s in love with Calder.

Don’t let the YA/NA genre throw you. By all means, buy Clouded for your teenaged kids or grandkids. But read it yourself, too. I’m almost sixty-five and I loved it. I highly recommend Clouded for young people of all ages.

Author Website:  http://www.BooksByMSK.com

Heat Rating:  PG

Length:  261 Pages

Digital Price:  $2.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Clouded-MS-Kaye-ebook/dp/B0155MS2JS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle

The Story of the Iliad by Simon Armitage

Blurb:

Following his highly acclaimed dramatization of the Odyssey, Simon Armitage here takes on the fate of Troy, bringing Homer’s Iliad to life with refreshing imaginative vision. In the final days of the Trojan War, the Trojans and the Greeks are caught in a bitter stalemate. Exhausted and desperate after ten years of warfare, gods and men battle among themselves for the glory of recognition and a hand in victory. Cleverly intertwining the Iliad and the Aeneid, Armitage poetically narrates the tale of Troy to its dire end, evoking a world plagued by deceit, conflict, and a deadly predilection for pride and envy. As with the Odyssey, Armitage reveals the echoes of ancient myth in our contemporary war-torn landscape, and reinvigorates the classic epics with adventure, passion, and, surprisingly, Shakespearean wit.

Review:

Simon Armitage’s The Story of the Iliad is a dramatic retelling of Homer’s epic and the last days of Troy. It is an enriching read for its transforming qualities from classic moments to contemporary wisdoms. It is easy to read, written in play format. I especially appreciate the insight it gives to the main characters of the Iliad and it’s ability to enliven them for me. While I still consider Homer’s Iliad one of the greatest reads and not to be missed, I can recommend Armitage’s book as an interesting and enjoyable supplement.

Thanks for visiting, Rose, Julie, Donna, & Rochelle

Length:  112 Pages

Print Price:  $13.95

Buy Link:  http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?id=4294985199