Strength

#Bookreview: Strength #fantasy #book

This is a special post I do once a month to highlight a book I reviewed some time ago, but never actually featured on my blog. Because this is an author blog and not a book blog, I don’t always feature all the books I read. Like all good and dedicated fans of the written word, I do my part and leave reviews on Goodreads.com, Amazon.com, and sometimes other places, but don’t always bring attention to what I’m reading, unless you follow me on YouTube… hint, hint, wink wink 😉 In any case, please enjoy this review of a book I read at some point in my life.

I realize this should be a WIP and or Reading Challenge Update, but… life happens. I’ll have it next Friday. Promise :D.

Title: Strength

Series: Mark of Nexus #1

Author: Carrie Butler

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance

Pages: 389

Reading Level: Teen Adult

Content: R (violence, brutality, sensuality, sexual content, dark and mature themes, adult situations, suspense)

If only my college experience had been so interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were times when I didn’t know exactly where it was going, but it all came together in the end. At no point during reading it was I ever bored, but there were times when I had to really think about what was going on in the story, and I appreciated that. I like that this author made me think as well as entertain me.

This is a new adult story, very realistic and a bit steamy in places, but that’s what college is for. There’s nothing shocking in this story, but is very mature and sophisticated. The heroine isn’t a ditz who doesn’t know how pretty she is, but despite that, when she meets a man who looks like a god, she does drool a bit. Who wouldn’t?

Out of character for me, I fell hard for the strong, brooding, and dark Wallace. Not sure why, but who cares. We soon learn that there’s more to him than his brooding and there’s no doubt that he’s the type of dangerous that you want on your side, perhaps cuddling up with you at night… I digress.

Wallace’s family, not so alluring at first, but I won’t go into that.

Back to the heroine, Rena. I like her. She’s practical and smart. She’s more scared of going to church than she is facing a possible homicidal maniac, but she has her reasons. She also has a great group of friends. I want to say more about this but I don’t know how without giving away something.

This is thrilling from beginning to end. The slow parts add an edge of suspense to an already intense story and the action is amazing to the point where my superhero geek mind was definitely blown. Yes, there is a romance in this story, but it is second to the actual story and action. Got the next two books already.

Recommended to adult readers (teens with parental agreement) who like urban fantasy.

I give this book a 5.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

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

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

#BooktagsBlogHop No. 3: Strength (Mark of Nexus Book 1) by @CarrieAButler #fantasy #amreading

The purpose of this blog hop is for readers and writers to share what they are reading, have read, are writing, or have written with others. This is not about promoting free or discounted books, though some of those may be featured. This is about book lovers sharing what they love about books. This blog hop is about the Joy of Reading and the Joy of Writing with tags of your choosing and is hosted by me, Toi Thomas, the third Monday of the month. Learn more here.

This month’s optional theme is: Winter, cold, or holidays.

Excerpt from Chapter 7

I stood up and hastily buttoned myself into my purple, clearance-special pea coat. It pleated at the waist and had big, funky buttons down the front. I’d gotten it for thirteen dollars after Christmas and wore it like a victory medal.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and merged into the line for the door. Go, people. I hate loiterers. It’s one thing to have a legitimate reason to hold up the flow of traffic—like, maybe someone is on crutches or something. That’s fine. Well, not for them. It sucks for them. But pausing to have a conversation in the doorway? I blew out an aggravated sigh. Un-ac–cep–ta-ble.

“A little impatient today?” a smooth voice cut in, interrupting my thoughts.

Was someone talking to me? I cast a quick glance over my shoulders and found a pair of amused brown eyes taking in my every move. My cheeks burned. “Uh, yeah, I guess.”

The guy grinned, studying me like he had some kind of divine insight. Laugh lines creased the corners of his eyes, and his warm gaze smoldered. “And it’s only the first day of class, sweetheart. How are we going to make it through fifteen weeks?”

I blinked. Was this guy for real? Who starts up a conversation like that out of nowhere? I wasn’t shy or anything, but the familiar language was throwing me off. “I guess we’ll have to manage.”

My Thoughts

I’m making a point to get this review posted soon. I just finished this book and really enjoyed it. I will definitely be seeking out the rest of the series. As for why I shared this piece today, there are a few reasons.

1. I think this may be classified as YA, but for me, it has a more New Adult feel to it. The college banter here doesn’t feel as bothersome as what I usually read in YA, which is why I don’t read it much. In any case, much of the story reminds me of my own college experience, which I haven’t often felt when reading stories set in a college scene.

2. This passage goes great with the winter and cold theme for this month. This whole installment of this series takes place in winter and some of the scenes made me cold just reading them.

3. I like the way this character thinks. She’s very down to earth and her inner monolog isn’t annoying.

4. I like the originality of this story. It’s always surprising to me when I come across a story that feels truly unique. It’s hard for stories these days to be completely original, but when a story doesn’t come off cliché and there’s something I haven’t figured out by the end- I’m impressed.

Lastly, this passage is important to me because of how the story plays out at the end of this installment. I figured out something here, but I also completely missed something too. I hope you read it for yourself and see if this scene stands out once you’ve read it.

Find this title at Amazon | Goodreads

What are you currently reading? I’d love to know.

Next blog hop post date will be January 18, 2016.

I’ll be setting up a new linky soon and emailing it to past participants. Thank you to those of you who joined me on this journey so far, whether you’re continuing or not.

Be sure to hop around and see what others are reading so you may continue to pile onto your TBR list.

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

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