Elemental Reality

Here we go with a character interview with the main character from "Elemental Reality", Callie. Thanks for stopping by!

1) Why 21 again? What's wrong with being 22?

I have no problem being twenty-two. The whole “21 again” thing was Ady’s idea because she found a grey hair last year.

2) You have a unique definition of soul mate, care to explain it?

I guess it’s just from watching what my parents were like before my mom was taken. They never fought. Were always romantic with each other. My dad always brought a bouquet of flowers home for my mom after work. They were so affectionate with each other. I’ve always wanted that. I guess that was one of the many reasons I never settled with a guy I was dating. Something was off when I was with them.

3) What's it like to be an elemental?

It’s just like being a human except you have power, wings, and a glow to your skin. Mine’s purple which is wicked cool. Did I mention we have wings?

4) How did you take the news when you found about being different?

I flipped out! I probably would have done less flipping and more freaking if my dad wouldn’t have waited so long to spill the secret. I know my mom said she didn’t want us to know right away but it would have saved us a lot of trouble and arguing.

5) What's your favorite thing about your powers?

My wings. If I had to give up one thing, I’d give up my powers. The wings must stay. But you said powers so I’d have to say . . . the electricity, for sure.

6) What are the first things you notice about a guy?

His eyes. Then his smile.

7) If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be and why?

Wow, this is a tough one. If I went back in time and told my parents to stay in Tehokas City the Elders would have taken me. Or if I went back twelve years ago and told my mom not to make that deal my parents would have lost Lola and me. I don’t think I’d change anything.

8) What is a t-shirt slogan that defines you?

“Please wait. Witty response is loading . . .”

9) What is your biggest pet peeve?

My hair and makeup being done to my perfection. You know the just-rolled-out-of-bed look.

10) What are you most afraid of?

Losing everyone I love.

This or That:

Sweet or salty?

Sweet like Oli (blushes)

Summer or winter?

Summer

Inside or out?

Depends on the weather. If it’s rainy or too cold I’ll stay inside with a book. If it’s warm and sunny I’ll be outside with a book.

Book or movie?

Book, of course.

Tropical or mountains?

Tropical.

Review: Elemental Reality
Score: 75 points (4 stars)

Synopsis:

Drastic changes in Callie’s life aren’t unusual, but this time it’s different. Now she’s fighting to save her family while she adjusts to her new, supernatural reality. Life will never be the same. . . .
What Worked:

The world building is unique and interesting. The visuals are stunning, and the characters are diverse in personality and lifestyle. There's also a lot of cool definitions for old concepts (I don't want to go further because that would be spoiling the book). A lot of action and swoony boys, makes this a pretty fun and interesting read. And what a cliffhanger! Wow! I'll be picking up book two, that's for sure.


What Didn't Work:

There are a lot of cultural references I didn't quite understand. I had enough knowledge of the scene to figure it out, but it would be helpful to have them elaborated on slightly for those of us not in the know of the 'punk rock' scene. I also would have loved to see some more build up with Cayden. I can't wait to see him again in book two though because he's especially got me curious! There was one section of the book which was a little slow for me, but other than that it was well paced. Finally, I almost played a drinking game with how often the main character was called "Kitten". A minor pet peeve of mine, but it was there all the same. :3

Rising - Colin Andrews

Rising - Colin Andrews



A reminder again of how the scoring works: Low scores = GOOD. High scores = BAD. Points are earned based on flaws. They're taken away for super awesome moments. Star ratings are done based on number of points in comparison to the number of pages in the book. 0-20% = 1 20-40% = 2 40-60%= 3 60-80% = 4 and 80-100% =5.


REVIEW: RISING - Colin Andrews
SCORE: 55 points.
RATING: 4 stars

SYNOPSIS:

That can be found here: http://www.colinandrews.info/Book%20Extracts.htm (along with the pretty cover and other shiny things from the author's webpage. Gorgeous site!)

And here is a book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u39VaPzuvQo

WHAT WORKS

This story begins with action, which I like. It gets right to the point of things and takes the reader on a wild Indiana Jones kind of adventure. The style is easy to read and understand. I liked most of the characters (sans one, but I have a feeling Tom was supposed to be annoying, right? right? If yes, you did a good job with that one). I don't want to give away spoilers, because that's not my style, but I will say that if you enjoy action stories with good details and diverse unique settings? You'll no doubt like this book.  There's a touch of romance, gunfire, and giant crocks! This book is a creative and imaginative work, and it's the kind of story I've been looking for because it fills a void left behind with the influx of vampire/werewolf/witches phenomena that's overloading the market. It's a great sci-fi adventure, and fairly clean. There's a little swearing, but I'd recommend it to anyone who's about fifteen and older.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK (aka earning the points)

There were a few things that threw me off. The first being some of the language didn't quite feel right. The characters spoke a lot like they were from the UK, but the narrative never specified that was where they were from so I got a little confused because I thought they were from America. I could have missed something though, because that is known to happen, but it threw me off all the same. There was a lot of British slang used in the narrative as well (non-character development type stuff), which isn't a complaint necessarily, but as an American reader it wasn't necessarily what I would call universal language use. I know enough about the terms to figure things out, but in a few areas it threw off the narrative for me all the same. Formatting was weird on my Nook, but I didn't give points for that. I'm just making a mention of it so the author knows. Over all though, the writer has a good handle on how to write.

A few spots needed some tightening, but it was refreshing to read a book by an independent author who knows how to write and bring a good story to life.  I'm definitely ready for a sequel.

The Other Side of Life - Jess C. Scott

A reminder again of how the scoring works: Low scores = GOOD. High scores = BAD. Points are earned based on flaws. They're taken away for super awesome moments. Star ratings are done based on number of points in comparison to the number of pages in the book. 0-20% = 1 20-40% = 2 40-60%= 3 60-80% = 4 and 80-100% =5.

REVIEW: THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE -  Jess C. Scott

SCORE: 10 points.

RATING: 5 stars

More often than not when I pick up a self-published novel, I get a little pit in my stomach. Is this going to be good, or am I going to regret my decision. More often than not I lean more towards the latter because while I’m all about the self-publishing industry, a lot of self-published authors need better editors to the point where I’m so distracted by mentally red-penning a book to death, I can’t enjoy the story. Yeah, so a lot of books have the occasional errors in them, but when they’re so plentiful they distract from the work, that’s usually a bad sign.

Hesitations aside, I started this book. The concept seemed too cool to pass up, and boy am I glad I did because this book is probably the best indie/self-published novel I’ve picked up in a long, long time, if not to-date.  I’m happy to say, I was able to enjoy this story and not be distracted, and boy is the story a good one. I’ll copy and paste the synopsis here so you can see for yourself.

Anya and Leticia are partners-in-crime who steal for a living. Their world turns upside down after a chance encounter with fellow rogue, Ithilnin—the enigmatic leader of an Elven band of thieves.
A scuffle to prove who’s “the better thief” transforms into more than Anya and Ithilnin ever bargained for. They retrieve the missing piece of an ancient poem, before getting caught in the secret dealings of a megacorporation. What they uncover threatens to alter the very essence of not just human life, but the other side as well.
Elven intrigue, cyberpunk action, and a deadly dose of danger come together in The Other Side of Life [Book #1 in the (Cyberpunk) Elven Trilogy].

WHAT WORKS
The story starts out quick enough. There’s hardly ever a time where it lags actually. It’s a great pace of information and action. What I especially like is that while you might be able to predict the romance line, it doesn’t follow into cliché story line patterns. The chemistry is real and it develops so fluently that I’m rooting for the characters in all of their adventures.

In fact, all of the characters in this book are diverse and developed enough where you’re interested in their lives. I find in a lot of books, an author only takes the time to hold the readers interest in just the main characters. That wasn’t the case in this book.
If there was something I loved the most about this novel however, it was that Scott was able to create a completely new world for me. With the plethora of cookie cutter fiction out there, this was a breath of fresh air for me. I got to travel to a world of corruption, technological dreams, and magic. She does a wonderful blend of magic and science, keeping it fantasy but believable with lots of good cultural references in the mix. In fact, the world was so believable and well described that when I went to bed that night I had a dream about breaking in to a corporate tower with a group of elves. I’m not lying. You have invaded my dream world Scott, and this is quite a feat to accomplish. ;)

WHAT DIDN’T WORK (aka earning the points)

Points were earned simply for some minor errors. Five points were given for some grammar blips and writing errors, and then another five were for some formatting problems. They weren’t anything distracting necessarily, but they were noticeable, so I can’t sit and give it a completely perfect score of 0. However, 10 points for a 200+ page novel comes out to being 95% perfection and puts it at a 5 of 5 stars.

Now, I charge you, Jess C Scott, with getting the next two books of this trilogy out so I can read them. I’m kind of on the edge of my seat here, and I’m pretty sure anyone else who picks up this book will be too. If you’re a lover of science fiction, fantasy, or just looking for something new and different that’s a fun, fast read? Pick up this book. You won’t regret it.

The Mind Entangled: Part One - Discovery - Courtney Conant

Courtney Conant has given me the honor of letting her book be the first review I put up on here.

With that said, I present to you a review for “The Mind Entangled”, a short story. Which is a huge thing to keep in mind when reading this, because it was definitely short. There's a lot going on, and a lot left unresolved. I don't think short story is the word I would use to describe it accurately though. I would call it Part One of some kind of novella. The story is about Adrianna, a young former dancer turned housewife and what happens when she finds out some shocking truths about her husband. I can't elaborate too much more on the plot though because it would be a lot of spoilers.

Real quick, let me remind you about how the scoring system works. Every time there's a moment where things were weird, confusing, or otherwise not working, a point is given. For everyone moment there's something good going on, there's a point taken away. The lower the score, the better. Eventually I'm going to figure out average percentages.

Score: 12. 

I gave it a twelve because while the story is interesting, I think the writing could use some tightening. Conant has a unique style. She's got a way with words and making them flow in a poetic sort of way, I'll give her that. I think it could really shine if she did the tightening thing.

Now, as for the story. I'm intrigued. A lot of ideas were brought up, but few were resolved. I'm guessing this has something to do with it being a two parter. What I wish for is more. I'd love to see more of the back story between Adrianna and her husband for example, or other things happening with the spoilery moments that I can't talk about. I'm guessing this will come in part two though. Right? RIGHT COURTNEY? Please, please, please say yes!

Over all, I think this is a great start to something interesting and unique. I'd check it out. Hook me up with Part Two A.S.A.P. And thanks for the read!

- Sack Boy, peace and marshmallows.

Holy Buckets!

Kind of died off, but having a funeral and a crazy work schedule will ruin anyone's reading time. The goal is to get back to reading and reviewing this weekend. I will do my best to be as fast with the process as possible of course. Sniper is kind of going through her own stuff at the moment, so it'll just be me.

So who wants to be our first review? Send an email, and don't forget to follow! I promise it will be worth your while.  bitter (dot) truth (dot) books (dot) gmail (dot) com.

Welcome?

This is Sack Boy, signing in for the first time to say hello and welcome to the blog. We're brand spanking new, and we want to review your book! Those of you interested, feel free to send us an email at bitter.truth.books@gmail.com.

Now comes the part where we scare everyone away by saying: you might not like what you read. We review books here based on a system of points. For every bad 'wtf just happened' moment, plot fail, character fail, or anything else considered book fail, the book receives a point. For every awesome moment, the book loses a point. In the end, the lower the score, the better the book.

Sack Boy's Current Read: "The Unsuspecting Mage" by Brian S Pratt
Sniper's Current Read: "The Awakening" by Kelley Armstrong