Tag: fantasy

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Books EC: Giovanni's Angel

Eternal Curse Release Week! Monday Book Review 2014

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Interesting and original, January 12, 2014 (visit and or rate this review here)

By Jaq D Hawkins

The preface to this book was enough to show me that this writer can write. While I don’t often read Romance, I make the occasional exception in any genre when I come across better quality writing.

The sequence in the first chapter that eloquently expresses the changes in the experience of air travel over the last decade or so impressed me and struck a congruence with my own encounters with what was once an embarkation on an adventure and has become more like being processed for a stretch in a prison camp. I stopped flying years ago and couldn’t have expressed the reasons better than the words in this chapter. The reader also gets a lot of back story about the character, Mira, in this chapter, but it soon becomes apparent why the information is necessary to put the events of the story into context. The fact that she is a doctor quickly becomes significant, along with other key points of her background.

This is not your run-of-the-mill Romance. I hedge on using the word ‘paranormal’ as definitions seem to vary from one reader to another, but Giovanni has, shall we say, special attributes that are fascinating for the reader to discover along the way. No telling here, but plenty of showing as the layers of this character are slowly revealed. There is far more about the discovery of Giovanni’s nature in the plot than the usual fare that one gets in Romance novels. The romantic angle is almost an aside for some time, though it becomes more important towards the end.

The writing continues to be of a good standard throughout the book, although there are a few places where I felt the points were belaboured just a little too much. Still, it kept my interest and I found myself wanting to get the full picture of exactly what was different about Giovanni. We’re not talking a few extra muscles here.

All becomes clear as we near the end. Giovanni’s background is told in a story within a story that fits into events as they happen. The inevitable romance between him and Mira develops slowly, in many ways very innocently, almost like a Cinderella story, only instead of a prince she loves… well, the reader needs to discover that for themselves.

While the writing style is wordy, it is also meticulously correct and well-edited. Even after the climactic events near the end, I wanted to continue to see how it all finished. I found that the story wrapped up nicely and left the perfect opening for the predicted sequel, while still remaining a stand-alone story.

As much as Romance isn’t my favoured genre, I find myself interested enough to want to read the next book. Toi Thomas may well raise the bar in the Romance genre.

For a fascinating Cultural Study of this book, also visit: Street Wraith Press

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel releases worldwide on February 18th,
so be sure to check it out and enter my Release Day Giveaway!

A new edition of this book is now available.

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howdoyouwooThere’s still time to join my first self-hosted blog hop “How do you Woo?”.

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 4 days until my Kindle Countdown Deals on Legend of the Boy and Unexplained, featuring two romantic tales, Encounter, and Our Place.  Deals begin at 6:00 am EST 2/14; Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope you are enjoying Eternal Curse Release Week! If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #cursescanbebroken

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EC: Giovanni's Angel Excerpts Promotion

Eternal Curse Release Week! Sunday Sample 2014

CoverEternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, Preface

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel Copyright © 2013 Toinette Thomas

Have you ever looked into the mirror and asked yourself with all honesty, “Who’s that looking back at me?” You see the person looking at you and think: I don’t know that person. That’s not me. I’m lost somewhere, waiting to be found. Well, that’s what life was like for him all the time. To him, the world was a daunting maze of mystery from which he’d spent most of his life trying to escape, since understanding it seemed far less possible. The world and all the people in it weren’t the only mysteries that plagued his mind; he was also emotionally confused. That is, he was confused by many basic human emotions.

Unlike other people, the words heat and passion never really meant much to him. He never knew that their many meanings could affect him so profoundly. There was once a time when he assumed heat was simply the temperature of something being high. He’d known of ordinary people becoming mentally and physically consumed with the pursuit of something. He equated that with passion, although he wasn’t personally familiar with the word.

He longed, if that were even possible, to feel passion for anything other than just the relief from his torment. He wanted so much to be like normal people living their lives from day to day, but for him a day turned into a month, and a month into a decade, and a decade into a millennium. Insanity would have been a kind relief from facing this terrifying reality, but alas, he remained forever completely aware, conscious, and competent of his own cursed existence.

He could never have imagined in all of his, seemingly everlasting, life that he could ever truly become free and certainly not happy, until there was Mira. The one, the only person to show him the possibility of another life in a hopeful world, was Mira. She was the one to introduce him to multiple meanings of heat and passion.

His name is Giovanni. His long and complex tale is just a small part of something that is so much greater, something so magnificent that man can never truly understand it. History has been written, but it has not always been right or complete, and no mere man on this earth can understand this the way that Giovanni can. There really are no words in any language to fully describe where history has gone wrong or fallen short, but if I tell you Giovanni’s story, maybe you’ll begin to understand.

A new edition of this book is now available.

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel releases worldwide on February 18th,
so be sure to check it out and enter my Release Day Giveaway!

Stop by Is History the Agreed Upon Lie today for my guest post & discussion.

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howdoyouwooThere’s still time to join my first self-hosted blog hop “How do you Woo?”.

****

 5 days until my Kindle Countdown Deals on Legend of the Boy and Unexplained, featuring two romantic tales, Encounter and Our Place.  Deals begin at 6:00 am EST 2/14; Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope you are enjoying Eternal Curse Release Week! If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #cursescanbebroken

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EC: Giovanni's Angel Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 06: the Internet

teaNtalk

Today I’m sharing a picture of a simple speckled tea cup from Pinterest. This is part of my personal collection.

Please do not copy this image. Click image to share on Pinterest.

Today in my meditation on the Eternal Curse, I’m writing about: Why the Internet?

I’ve never met someone online and then ended up in a romantic relationship with them. I have a few people online, whom I consider to be friends, but I have not made arrangements to meet these people in person (some of them live oceans away). I am not an advocate for internet socializing or dating, but from a networking point of view, it’s where the world is and where the world is headed.

I have had more in depth conversations with complete strangers, at times, than I have with people I’ve known for twenty years because of the Internet. I’m not an overly trusting person, but I like to connect on a certain level and the Internet makes that so much simpler. In my book, Giovanni and Mira find each other while using social media, each in search of something. I believe if you look for something long enough, you’ll find what you need.

Mira doesn’t run to the internet for comfort because she’s some sort of social outcast with no other options. She utilizes the internet for its anonymity. Giovanni, on the other hand, is a social outcast, but not because he wants to be or because he refuses to get along with others or conform to social norms. Giovanni also uses the internet for its anonymity because he knows that the world isn’t ready for someone like him.

In the visual world in which we live, a supermodel and middle school custodian may have loads of things in common: from the movies they like, the books they read, the drinks they prefer, and even the clothes they admire. Unfortunately, these two vastly different categorized public personas don’t look right next to one another, so they’ll never meet and get to know each other…But online a woman and a man can both share a pin on Pinterest for a baseball cap, rate and review the same Netflix movie a five, and “Like” a strangers post about having a bad day, because somewhere down the line, they connected.

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