Author Archives: Luna Lovebooks
Eden’s Wake by Lyn Steigleder
Get ready for book 2 in this thriller like sci-fi.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: Eden’s Wake
Author: Lynn Steigleder
Series: The Rising Tide Series 02
Publish Date: May 2015
Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller
Source: Provided by author
Publisher’s Description: Ben’s best friend is killed in an underwater implosion on a dying world. Living to die again, the two men reunite and battle for an ancient artifact, a relic which will ensure this planet’s survival. Ben crosses a threshold. The world he leaves—doomed; the world he enters—reborn. His wife, Eve, and their bumbling charge, Eleazor, follow Ben through the doorway and blindly into the void. This is Book Two in the Rising Tide series.
Luna Lovebooks says…
I was originally approached by Mr. Steigleder to review Terminal Core and he offered Rising Tide as well.
While I see hard core science fiction fans liking/loving this novel/series, I often found myself confused while I was reading. The plot mixes dystopian, sci-fi and spiritual themes and tropes. There are allusions to Christianity’s stories, but they are not super clear; at least to me. The many creatures with unique names were also hard to keep straight. However, if you love worlds where good and evil are still found in large supplies and stories that have similarities to the Christian faith then this book is for you.
I had to take a step back and look at this from a different perspective to give it a true rating since I had difficulties keeping things straight. After looking back over my notes and re-reading parts of the novel, I can safely say that I give this installment 3 stars.
Our reviews in this series…
Other recommendations…
Check out these other great reads: Left Behind by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
The Silver Queen by Josie Jaffrey
Hi all! Sorry for the silence! I can’t remember if I updated readers that I was expecting last summer so…surprise! I had twin boys about a year ago now. I have been working on getting the mom thing down and now that my little ones are a little more independent, I have been able to pick up a book more often (not much more I am afraid). I cannot fan girl over Ms. Jaffrey enough and so I thought I would start with her second installment of the Sovereign Series to get me back in the groove. I was not disappointed!
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: The Silver Queen
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Series: Sovereign 02
Publish Date: October 17 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal , Fantasy
Source: Provided by author
Publisher’s Description: The last city on Earth is contaminated. Now blood is the only thing that can wash it clean.
Julia is trapped inside the Blue as the Nobles fight over the few humans who are still alive. When the dust settles and she finds herself shackled to a new master, she knows she must escape or die.
Meanwhile, Cam has gathered a handful of comrades and is on his way into the Red to rescue his queen. But not all of his friends can be trusted, and not all of them will make it back alive.
The Silver Queen is the second book in Josie Jaffrey’s Sovereign trilogy, set in a dystopian Europe where vampiric Nobles control the last remnants of the human race.
Luna Lovebooks says…
Josie Jaffrey has done it again with another amazing read. It is dark, gritty and filled with devious twists that once again had me wanting to throw the book across the room (trust me this is a good thing)! Ms. Jaffrey brings characters of depth, natural dialogue, expands upon her world building.
I absolutely adore Lucas and Julia! She is tough and isn’t going to let anyone or anything stop her. Even when she faces death not once but twice! He grows over the course of the novel into a powerful young man!
Once again there is a cliff hanger ending that makes you want to rush out and get the next book. Sorry this review is short and sweet but over all I love love love this book. I 
hope I can get to read the last novel in this series (maybe, eventually like when the boys are in college?).
Our reviews in this series…
Other recommendations…
Check out these other reads!
Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, The Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine, Immortal: Love Stories with Bite edited by P.C. Cast
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
The Alchemist’s Son by Athena Daniels
The Beyond the Grave series by Athena Daniels returns with Book 2, The Alchemist’s Son.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: The Alchemist’s Son
Author: Athena Daniels
Series: Beyond the Grave 02
Publish Date: August 16, Sunset Coast Publishing
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Provided by publisher
Publisher’s Description: A town with a dark secret.
A detective digging for the truth.
A discovery that leads to an unthinkable sacrifice…
For one hundred years, a demon has been watching, waiting, plotting…
White witch Sage Matthews has inherited a gift that makes her both integral to an ancient prophecy and a target for a demon-possessed serial killer. Assigned to catch the killer, Detective Sergeant Ethan Blade falls wildly, and inconveniently, in love with the one woman he doesn’t know how to protect.
Together Sage and Ethan delve into the prophecy, and the more they learn, the more deadly their situation becomes. At midnight on the night of the blood moon, an ancient doorway will open, and a master demon and his horde will pour through and unleash hell on earth. Only Sage can stop their onslaught—but not if the demon kills her first.
With the blood moon looming, Sage discovers she can join forces with “the alchemist’s son” to destroy the demon. But who is the alchemist’s son? And will he be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice required to end this struggle between light and dark forever?
The Alchemist’s Son is the much-anticipated conclusion to Sage and Ethan’s journey of supernatural suspense and romance, which began in The Seer’s Daughter.
Luna Lovebooks says…
I must admit I was a little disappointed in this one. The title promises more of Ethan’s background but we get more of Sage trying to figure out what to do. Readers don’t learn more about Ethan until the story is almost over. Most of this installment is Sage still running around trying to figure out how to defeat the demon.
The setting is even darker in this book as the demon is closer to walking on this plane of existence. but readers get comedic breaks between the doom and gloom when they are introduced to the new characters of Ethan’s team. Ethan and Sage have their romance beautifully wrapped up.
I did enjoy this novel but I think it could have taken a different direction that would have made me love it.
Our reviews in this series…
Other recommendations…
Check out these other Romance reads!
His Darkest Craving by Tiffany Roberts, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, Real by Katie Evans
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Rising Tide by Lynn Steigleder
In a world where land is scarce, the forces of good and evil will form and battle it out.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: Rising Tide
Author: Lynn Steigleder
Series: Eden’s Wake 01
Publish Date: June 17, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Provided by the author
Publisher’s Description: Rising Tide depicts a world in which land is at a premium due to the advancing sea, where man’s attempt to adapt has led to a decay of morals into survival of the fittest. In the midst of the ocean, a crew of racketeers rescues a stranded diver, Ben Adams. Is the rescue just a fortunate coincidence for Ben, or has he been led to this rendezvous with fate for a common goal? A mysterious island inhabited by a primitive yet advanced race of people. A devious ship captain’s metamorphosis into the essence of evil and a ship’s container discovered by itself in a billion square miles of ocean all play a role in this tale of rebirth for a world corrupted by the collapse of morality.
Luna Lovebooks says…
This novel has an interesting premise. The world has descended into chaos because the world’s oceans have risen. A ship’s captain descends into evil as his crew meets a primitive people and becomes a force for good.
I liked the idea. It was a new concept to me and showed promise. It was a quick read. The world and backstory are set up quickly, within the first few pages/chapters. But the characters weren’t fleshed out as well to me. I found that I wasn’t as sad as I should be when this character dies or these two characters get married. There were some twists that I didn’t see coming. Overall it was a good start to a series.
Even though I read it fairly quickly, I found my interest waning. Rising Tide is a promising start but I felt that it needed a bit more work. Because this is the start to a series, I give it three shipping containers, in hopes that things pick up in later installments.
Other recommendations…
Check out these other popular Science Fiction reads! Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Martain by Andy Weir, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: The Gilded King
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Series: Book 01 of the Sovereign Series
Publish Date: Expected Publication June25, 2018
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Source: Provided by Author
Publisher’s Description: In the Blue, the world’s last city, all is not well.
Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, a boy who believes in fairytales that Julia’s world can’t accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she’d escape into the trees if she didn’t know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.
But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.
Beyond the city’s boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.
One way or another, the walls of the Blue are coming down. The only question is what side you’ll be on when they do.
Luna Lovebooks says…
‘Of course. You want to hear the fairytale, don’t you?’
Ms. Jaffrey quickly became one of my favorite authors when I read her Solis Invicti Series. I, of course, jumped at the chance when she asked me if I would be interested in reading the first book in a new series set in the same world, where the events of the Solis Invicti are mere legends and fairy tales. Hey, all fairy tales have a seed of truth right?
Two stories are brilliantly melded into one without shortchanging the other. We read of Julia in the Blue. A world of humans ruled by Nobility in the last city on Earth. Julia is well written in her struggle to keep with the status quo but also her wonder at what really lies beyond the walls of the Blue. This internal battle continues even after she is assigned to be an Attendant for a young Silver named Lucas, who also questions their world.
But we also get to catch up with an old acquaintance, Cam, in the Red – a wasteland filled with death (or so the humans of the Blue believe). Cam searches for Emmy and it is through this search that we learn about the events that happened in between the two series. We also learn that the Red really is a dangerous place as the monsters of the previous series have grown in numbers – but for a horrifying reason.
This tale is told through Julia and Cam’s alternating point of views and when the Red starts to bleed into the Blue and world collide, it is explosive. We get both Cam and Julia’s emotions and insecurities and hopes and maybe even budding romances.
Characters and world are both well written. The only issue I had is that while these are two separate stories, I feel like you really should read the Solis Invicti series before this one. It is not necessary, but I feel like you will get more out of the secondary characters if you have their background and the history behind the fairy tale. Overall I enjoyed this promising new start but I didn’t devour it the way I did the prequel series. I give it 4 silver studs.
Other recommendations…
Solis Invicti Series by Josie Jaffrey, The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Secret Keepers Series by Jaymin Eve
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
One Book Two 