Review and Giveaway: Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold by Brinda Berry, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Jayne A. Knolls, Theresa DaLayne, Cate Dean

Title: Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold
Authors:  Brinda Berry, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Jayne A. Knolls, Theresa DaLayne, Cate Dean
Publication date:
Publisher: Sweet Biscuit Publishing LLC
Goodreads

From Goodreads:
A collection of six folklore retellings that will twist your mind and claim your heart.

SHIMMER: A heartbroken boy rescues a mermaid... but is it too late to save her?

BETWEEN is about a girl, a genie, and a ton of bad decisions.

SUNSET MOON: Eloise doesn't believe in Native American magic--until the dreamcatcher spiders spin her down an unknown path.

THE MAKER: An incapacitated young man bent on revenge builds a creature to do it for him.

A BEAUTIFUL MOURNING: The story of a Maya goddess torn between duty and love, and the ultimate sacrifice she must make to achieve true happiness.

THE BARRICADES: When a human girl risks everything to save the life of an Eternal prince, will their feelings for each other change the world they know, or tear it apart?

I was in the mood for anthology, so Lore, An Anthology: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold was a great read for me. I like some stories more than the others, but overall it was a nice read and I came out knowing much more about myths and legends.

The first story, Shimmer, is a mermaid story with a twist in the end. It has romantic atmosphere, but the pacing is a bit too slow for my taste. I found the second story, Between, very interesting. It’s a classic high school elite clique story, but the appearance of djinn (genie) make this story memorable. I think the LGBT stuff can be taken more carefully, but I like the story in general. In my opinion, Sunset Moon has the strongest characterization in this anthology. It’s a bad girl meet good guy story, and their relationship is definitely swoon-worthy! I love Native American folklore, so it’s not hard for me to fall for this one. :)

The Maker… what can I say? It’s a take on golem mythology and the story reminds me a bit of Frankenstein. The guy makes a golem in order to take revenge on his girlfriend. The story lays heavily on description of action and it can bug you at times, but the plots are simply intriguing. I can definitely see the author’s potential in the story. A Beautiful Mourning has very beautiful, flowing written style. The story has poetic atmosphere in it which I’m sure many will appreciate. I love the ending in The Barricades. It ends with a hopeful note, and I think it suits well as the last story in this anthology.

All in all, Lore, An Anthology: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold is a fascinating read for me. If I have to play favorite, I think it would be A Beautiful Mourning. I’m a sucker for beautiful writing style and melancholic plots. ;) Sunset Moon is good as well. This anthology is a recommendation for anyone who wishes to visit many myths and legends in one go. From mermaid story to golem myth: just pick your favorite lore! :)

The heat from his skin dulled as his sharp eyes softened. “I will love as the mortals.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. My eyes fluttered shut. “Fearlessly and without limitations.”

from A Beautiful Mourning

3 cups of tea

Great for in-between reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is part of the tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Thanks for letting me joining the fun, Giselle!

 

Author Interview with Jessica Therrien and Review: Oppression

I'm super excited to have Jessica on my blog today! She's super amazing and her debut, Oppression, came out on February! It's awesome and I really enjoyed reading it! I'm really glad that I also get the chance to interview Jessica

 The interview

Oppression is your debut novel (WOOHO!). Tell us, how did it feel when someone informed you that Oppression was going to be a book? 

When I got THE email, if felt like my heart shot into my throat…followed by lots of jumping, flailing and screaming (I accidently smashed a snail…poor snail). It was very surreal. I didn’t really know what to do with myself.

Where and how did you get the muse to write Oppression? Surely you didn’t make a visit to Hades, right? ;) 

My husband was my muse. He is my William. It was fun to write about love when I was actually falling in love myself. The Greek myths were also an inspiration, although they were only used as a basis for my story. 

I know that some authors say they give a piece of their soul to every character. Which character gets the most of your soul? 

Elyse. No question. I feel like she is a part of me. A lot of the emotions she feels throughout the book are my emotions. It was hard to write my first novel without giving my main character a big part of my soul. I really couldn’t help it.  

When you were a kid, what did you want to do when you grew up? 

I wanted to be a doctor. Then, when I was a teenager I wanted to be on Broadway. I’ve always loved musical theater. I would still love to act. 

Broadway is so cool! Maybe we can see Jessica act someday! What book has made you wish you were the one who wrote it? 

Divergent by Veronica Roth. As I was reading it, I was so enthralled, but I was also really jealous, lol. I couldn’t believe how good it was. Everyone who likes YA should read it.

 Imagination-escape round!

If you were a Greek Goddess, who do you think you would be? 

I would be Aphrodite, goddess of love, of course!

If you could ask for one thing in life, and it’s ANYTHING, what would you like to ask for? 

This is the hardest question so I’m going to be vague…love & happiness forever. 

It’s a beautiful and pleasant day like every day. Suddenly, your parents tell you that you’re not human (surprise!). What creature would you be? 

I’d be a descendant…you’ll have to read Oppression to know more about what that means ;) 

If you could live in a different time in the history, what time would you pick? 

I’d live amongst the Native American Indians before America was discovered. That time in American history is my favorite. Plus, maybe I’d meet some of my ancestors!

What has been your best moment being an author so far? :) 

The reactions from readers have been the best part. One advanced reader said she read Oppression in four hours, and another emailed me after she finished RE-READING it! It was the best feeling.

Thank you for answering the questions, Jessica! You're incredibly awesome and your answers are epic! 

Wait... there's more before I end this post! Yes, my review of Oppression! :)

Review: Oh. My. Gods by Tera Lynn Childs

 Phoebe Castro’s life seems as perfect as she can get. She’s a cross country runner star. She has the most amazing best friends who will go to the same college with her. She’s on her way to receive a full scholarship from USC. Everything’s perfect, until suddenly her mother announces that she will remarry and they will have to move in to somewhere island in Greece.

Phoebe is beyond furious. She can’t believe that her mother can be that egoistic. This is her last year in high school, and it’s supposed to be the best time in her life. But here she is, stuck in an ultra-private school in Serfupoula, with teachers whom she can’t pronounce their names, a step-father as the headmaster of the school, evil step-sister whose only purpose is make Phoebe’s life a living hell, and… descendants of Greek gods as her schoolmates.

It turns out that Phoebe is the only person in the school who is not a
descendant of Greek god. She quickly makes friend with a punk girl named Nicole and Troy, a really nice guy, but the rest of the school avoids her. She doesn’t have a single drop of Greek god, so why should they bother to befriend with her?

Phoebe struggles to accept her moving to Greece and find her place as a human among all the descendants of the Greek Gods. Being a part of the school team is a challenge too since her rivals are descendant of gods with their superhuman and supernatural power. It doesn’t help anything when Phoebe falls for a cute guy who is in her cross country team. Especially when the guy, Griffin Blake, turns out to be a major jerk. Phoebe’s misadventure has just begun…

This book is fast-paced and a real enjoyable read. I laughed on many parts in this book because you can’t help but love the main character. She’s not really typical main character, mainly because she’s honest with her feeling. And she always has amusing comeback in conversations, which is awesome!

It’s always amusing whenever Phoebe is talking to Griffin. Griffin is absolutely gorgeous with kissable lips, startling blue eyes, strong muscles… okay, you get the idea. Phoebe practically turns into jelly whenever Griffin is in front of her, but she always manages to control herself and comes up with witty comments. Griffin is cute, but he seems to have two versions of him. Sometimes he can be the nicest guy ever, but sometimes he’s just a plain jerk.

Reading this book is a great fun. I'm actually dying to give this book 3.5-4 stars.The characters are amusing and the story, even though guessable, is highlarious. I can’t wait to read the second installment of this series, I’m sure I’m gonna love it too! If you’re looking for light book with great romance and laugh, then this is the book for you.

“I've survived beach bunny cheerleaders, a sluthunting ex-boyfriend, and five years of cross-country camp. I'm not afraid of some throwback to ancient myth with astrocious highlights and a Barbra Streisand nose.” 

I rate this book: 

Four cups of tea. I love the book, it’s simply awesome! Love the tea flavor! A strong recommendation!