Category: Reviews

Reviews and ratings of books and movies Toi has read or viewed for pleasure.

Categories
Books

Review: Embrace

Embrace (The Gryphon Series, book 2) by Stacey Rourke

I give this book a 5.

 

This second installment of the Gryphon Series was so good; I’m still kicking myself for taking so long to finish it and even longer to review it. I had to go back and refresh myself on the story because so much time had passed, but life happens and things don’t always work out the way you want, something the heroine of this story knows all too well.

Celeste is busy going to school, working a job, training and fighting demons, and being a loving family member. So why would romance even be on her mind? Maybe because she purred at a guy, yea. The underworld has a new leader and a new battle is starting. In the midst of this, apparently, romance is in the air and not just with her…Oh and she has a whole new set of powers that are driving her crazy as well as new “friends” to help or hurt her cause.

I like that this book started right where the other ended and didn’t waste a lot of time trying to catch the reader up on what happened in the first book. I get the feeling, however, that even if I hadn’t read the first book, I would still have been entertained by this one.  I like the Garret family more and more. Even with all their powers, they are still just an average family doing the best they can, but the battle with evil is beginning to take its toll in this tight-knit group. The punches, the laughs, and the tears keep on rolling in this series. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

See my review of book 1 in this series: The Conduit.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

 
Categories
Reviews

Reading Reviews

I ask and ask and then finally I asked the right question to the right people. What did I ask? Well simply, who wouldn’t mind reviewing my book…and no I didn’t pay anyone to do it. I just wanted to know what someone outside of my family really thought of my book. I was connected with a few people to see if there was interest and ‘tada!’ I got reviews… and honest ones at that.

I’m thrilled to know that though my book may not be the next great American novel, it hasn’t brought anyone into fits of rage with complete disgust. I’m also pleased to see that downloads of my free ebook have picked-up and will hopefully result in an increase of book sales.

In all I find that writing is still the one thing that keeps me going in the midst of all the chaos of life. Even though I desperately want my book to be widely popular and continue to take measures to help that along, I find that it’s not a bother to me or a worry. I guess I know that deep down in the back of my mind that no matter what happens I’m going to keep writing. I’m sure I’ll come across some highly opinionated person, eventually, who will tell me that my book is crap, but all long as I know I like it and at least five other people like it, I’m good.

Here are a few links to some of my reviews. Some are repetitive, but not all. There’s a good mixture of praise and criticism here, which I’m more than satisfied not to argue with. As a first time self-published author, I’m pleased with this achievement.

GoodReads-book description and reviews.

Amazon– book description and reviews.

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I’ve been interviewing authors over at the Eternal Curse Series Blog, check it out to see what author Bridget Straub has been up to.

Interview: http://ecsuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/11/interview-05.html

Guest Post: http://ecsuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/11/guest-post-02-bridget-straub.html

Categories
Reviews

How to write a review: Part 4.

*Lastly, posting reviews can also be tricky, but I believe there is a rhyme and reason for that as well. Always try to post your review at the location or site it was purchased or obtained. Sometimes, books are received without knowing the location of purchase, but that’s not a problem. Most books are now available for viewing and reviewing at GoodReads.com.

Lastly, if you have a blog, Facebook page, Stumble Upon, Google+, twitter, or other social media outlet, post your reviews there. As with most sites these days, reviews are just the tip of the iceberg. You can also show your support by rating, ranking, and Liking books and pages where applicable. For example, most Amazon book listings come with a Like button, rate option, and review option. Take a few extra seconds and pursue all three.

I hope you found this to be helpful and wish you all the best in your reading, writing, and reviews. I think I have finalized the details of the Review Challenge that I’m going to host. I think it will be a lot of fun. I will be awarding prizes to the winners. Winners will be based solely on votes. Be sure to come back tomorrow to learn all the details of challenge and the prizes…

In the meantime, I will be posting a whole bunch of reviews I should have done ages ago. They are for traditionally published books as well as Indie published books. It’s time I started putting all my theories into practice and stop being afraid to express myself when writing reviews. (I used to post my reviews at the following blog: http://ecsuniverse.blogspot.com/)