Chilling Corner in May

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So many good books and so little time. Read more or write? This is my constant battle. The presentation of a story and the effort to make it different within the chosen genre, is a challenge. The author is also responsible for making the book entertaining, and  thought-provoking. All this must be accomplished with the right language. The process is horrendous without also dealing with judgement and comparisons.

A reader can allow themselves to just be carried away by that very story. I am discovering what constitutes good reading can vary more than I realised. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Perfect can bind our minds and prevent us losing ourselves in the story; open we gain more than escapism. And if you take a chance on a different genre from time to time, then the gain continues to grow.  Check out the guest post by Samantha Marshall in ARRA.

Samantha said exactly what I have been thinking. I am eclectic by nature so until I began writing this end of month post I hadn’t considered or appreciated what eclectic can mean to reading. I was doing it but I took it for granted; I don’t anymore.

It is more than pleasure. Your mind contemplates new possibilities with each new world. Just as expanding the definition of good encourages an open mind, the choice of other genre expands your knowledge repertoire. As a writer of romance and poetry I thought I would be preference influenced by own writing choices. I’m not. I never have been and never will be, afraid to vary what I read. Each time it is the story that matters and if it is a good story then the genre is an interesting bonus. I said pretty much the same thing in my post last month.  A good story creates a chilling opportunity in this often too stressful life, and I hate missing the opportunity to engage in a different world.

Fantasy with Maxym M Martineau

One of my favourite reads in the last six months has  been a debut novel by Maxym M Martineau entitled Kingdom of Exiles (The Beast Charmer Book 1). The reviews have been mixed but I found it fresh, innovative, clever and full of both emotional tension and action, and I loved the concept of the different beasts. It carried the story into the unusual. I really loved it. So, despite some less than positive reviews I am looking forward to Book 2. Reading really is subjective and each one of us finds what is important to them.

Paranormal with Nancy Holland and S. Young

I came across Thalgor’s Witch by accident but after trying a sample I was enchanted with the simplicity of the world building. Consequently, I read the trilogy and loved the way the three books feature the three generations and it all ends with a satisfying conclusion and the word witch in the title.

War of Hearts and Kiss of Vengeance (True Immortality Novels) are fresh, and innovative. Werewolves, Fae and Vampires mix the brutal, the sexy and real love with finesse and a good plot. Again, I have no hesitation recommending the series but the reviews are varied. The author also writes some great contemporary under the name, Samantha Young. I am saving those for another time.

Contemporary Romance

I have read close to everything this author writes. Whatever the series L.H. Cosway manages stand-alone as an art form but be warned, you end up reading all of them.  I love the Heart Series, Cracks Series and the Running on Air Series. They are different, contemporary and possess a rawness, a sense of brokenness, of vulnerability that is hard to resist.

Dangerously Taken (Aegis Group Lepta Team Book 1) by Sidney Bristol is fast paced, has loads of action and an even mixture of adventure, danger, a heroine making rash decisions, intrigue, and hot, steamy scenes. I again read some mixed reviews but followed my instinct to check it out. So glad I did. It was free and deserved to be purchased. Sometimes taking a chance can be very nice indeed. Let me know what you think,

Until next month

Ciao

Barb

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