Action Archives - Proud Book Reviews

February 20, 2023February 20, 2023

Zealot – C. Vonzale Lewis

This book contains:

Depictions and descriptions of a cult and it’s impacts to the members and their families
Description of paedophilia
Description and depiction of both protective and ritualistic murder
Emotional and psychological control.

We continue to follow Nicole, picking up almost immediately after Lineage finishes. While she’s gained more confidence, has a stronger sense of herself and her beliefs; there are still huge gaps missing for her that she’s trying to puzzle out.

Nicole formally joins the group hired to find the killers of a young woman and joins the hunt to find all Blood Magick users. As they search, Nicole discovers more and more about her past and her place in the world today while more and more Gods seem to congregate on Tulare Island.

In their search for answers, they discover more than they ever thought possible.

While I really enjoyed this, I didn’t think it was as captivating as Lineage. The main reason for this stems more from the pacing than anything else I think.

It felt like the main story was written, then they realised that some context was missing and found places to shove it in at random points. The end result being that some parts felt like a normally paced book, and others felt like we were trying to shove 3 chapters worth of content into the space of like 3 pages.

It felt weird and made it hard to keep up with each of the details. And for reference, I barely had an issue keeping up with everything that happened in Game of Thrones throughout all the currently published books. I think if the book was a little longer, maybe not spaced over a couple of days, this could have been much better.

I still enjoyed it though!

The action, following along as each piece of info is delivered and figuring out how it all pieces together. That was definitely interesting. I just think I would’ve preferred a little bit more time taken in certain parts to help it flow easier, be easier to remember and also feel more realistic.

July 18, 2022July 30, 2022

Freed in Love – Zoe Ashwood

This book contains:

Murder
Physical and psychological torture.

Nora and her three men (Levi, Raphael and Isak) are back for the final instalment and their relations are pretty strained to begin with.

Nora is struggling to come to terms with the revelations at the end of Captured in Love but Isak (sea dragon) is at her side supporting her. Meanwhile, Raphael (vampire) and Levi (witch) are desperate to find Nora again and try and rekindle their relationship before things go too badly.

Nora, Levi, Raphael and Isak are racing into the final challenge in the hopes of winning the Ballendial Games. As they find their way to Greece to face the final challenge they’re confronted by mythology and other creatures they never anticipated but have to overcome.

I’m so in love with this series!

This was SUCH an amazing ending to a thrilling adventure. The sheer level of adversity they need to overcome, not just to win the Games, but also to find happiness is gargantuan.

As I got closer and closer to the end I didn’t want it to end. I mean, how could I possibly be happy with the ending given how much amazing action was happening?!

And yet, Zoe didn’t fail me and rather than leave me on yet another cliff hanger she gave me a satisfying ending that was beautiful and exactly what all four of them deserved.

April 4, 2021March 29, 2021

Fid’s Crusade – David H. Reiss

Dr Fid is an evil genius set to show the world how fake and unworthy of the title “hero” the superheros were. He’s also the alias of one genius scientist out to save the world through medicine and other philanthropy work.

It’s a simple storyline of Dr Fid and his crusade against the hero’s who killed his brother. He’s out to destroy their reputations and show the world how unworthy they are of the title hero. In this, the first book, Dr Fid begins to execute his plan to destroy the hero’s, and in the meantime gets involved in a war to save the world.

I was actually quite disappointed in this story. The writing was amazing, it draws you in and you’ll find yourself almost through the book in no time after practically inhaling the story.

My problem was that ever time I did stop, I realised I was basically reading Avengers End Game. But where Iron Man is a supervillain.

Everything from the tech Iron Man uses, his assistant Jarvis, his fight to not have to join with others, his wit and humor, the way the aliens come to Earth and the ultimate showdown is so eerily similar to this story that it really ruined it for me. I would’ve loved to have experienced this quality of writing in a story that was unique.

Or at least, did a better job of taking an existing well-loved story and making it new and exciting.

If you love Iron Man, The Avengers etc and don’t mind reading a story that’s almost the same as one you already love. Then you’ll love this!

I enjoyed the experience of reading the story, I’m just not one to enjoy reading something I’ve already watched while it’s pretending to be new.

Author Bio

While growing up, David was that weird kid with his nose in a book and his head in the clouds. He was the table-top role-playing game geek, the comic-book nerd, the story-teller and dreamer.

Fortunately, he hasn’t changed much.

David is a software engineer by trade and a long-time sci-fi and fantasy devotee by passion, and he lives in Silicon Valley with his partner of twenty-eight years. Until recently, he also shared his life with a disturbingly spoiled cat named Freya.

(Farewell, little huntress. You were loved. You are missed.)

Fear not…Two new kittens have since crept into the household and are working tirelessly to repair the hole left in the author’s heart.

David’s first trilogy, the Chronicles of Fid, has just recently been completed; these were his first novel-length projects, but they certainly won’t be his last—he’s having far too much fun!

I received this book to read and review as part of the BBNYA 2020 competition and/or the BBNYA tours organised by the @The_WriteReads tours team. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest (or insert your own standard version of the same).

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors.

If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website (https://www.bbnya.com/) or our Twitter account, @BBNYA_Official. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering.

If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)!

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.