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Showing posts with label Ashley Robertson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashley Robertson. Show all posts

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

A Review for UnGuarded by Ashley Robertson + eBook Giveaway (Int)

UnGuardedPosted by Guest Reviewer Melanie
Release Date: July 1st, 2012
Finished Date: June 27th, 2012
Publishers: Self Published
Source: ARC For Review
Format: Kindle
Pages: Unknown
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US 

Guardian angel Selene was so close to becoming an archangel—the supreme of all beings—until she fell in love with Cole, a forbidden dark one. Once she discovers her vampire lover has been kidnapped and the only way to save him is by abandoning her number one priority—Caitlyn, her human charge—there really is only one answer in Selene’s mind, even though leaving Caitlyn unguarded will most likely cause Selene to fall from grace.
But her choice to save Cole doesn’t come without a price…and now Selene is racing against time to not only save her dark lover, but find a way to keep Caitlyn alive as well. With the help of a new vampire ally, Luke, Selene will push her diminishing angel abilities to the point where her very existence lies in the balance. Now threatened with the chance of becoming a fallen angel or even dying, Selene can only pray she’ll have enough time—and good grace—to save the ones she loves.

The Review: I think the synopsis says it all so I’m not going to re-cap because I wouldn’t be able to add anything extra. So, I really enjoyed this book – I kind of have a love/hate relationship with books about Angels, I either love them or hate them. . . I really liked this but didn’t love it nor did I hate it so I consider it a success for me. I liked the characters Selene especially, I loved that she was willing to risk everything for love and to do the right thing. I love a character that has good morals and who is genuinely selfless even if it didn’t seem that way from the beginning and of course, she is an angel – I would expect no less but ‘the road to evil is paved with good intentions’ and that is a threat that is very prominent throughout the book. Will Selene’s actions cause her to fall and become a demon? There are two main male characters Cole – Selene’s boyfriend – and Luke – who helps Selene in her endeavours. Both seem like likable characters although I was left wanting a bit more something from them because Cole was missing for the first half of the book and the only way we had of knowing him was through a few flashbacks which was fine but I didn’t get to ‘feel’ their relationship so I couldn’t really ‘feel’ why she risked it all for him. Same with Luke, it seemed rushed and I didn’t get why he was so enamoured with her, did he truly want her/care for her? Or was it just because she had let her vampire boyfriend do something that he wanted to do and he coveted her in that way?

The storyline was intriguing; I liked the whole set up with guardian angels each having a charge to guide and that each charge also had a demon steering them in whichever direction they chose – like the angel and devil on the shoulder theory – and that the fallen angel’s became the demons too or ‘dark ones’. I liked that each guardian had an Archangel to answer to, take orders from and be bestowed powers from or powers taken as punishment – Selene’s was good, more fatherly toward her I thought. I liked the worlds that were described- there were quite a few settings- and I liked the gathering together of the different species –Angels, Demons, Vampires, Humans and all of their varying forms and what part they played. It was a quite complicated plot that was weaved here because there were many events that culminate to the ending and I had no clue where this was going or why - which is quite rare in a book and why I liked it so much. Also it was a quite unique storyline, yes we get Angels & Demons all of the time but the way this was put together isn’t something that I’ve read about before.
The pacing was a little off for me in the beginning but once you got to a certain point it ceased to be an issue, I think maybe it was because there was a lot to set up that slowed it down but once everything was in place, it was plain sailing and all out action as you’re hit with all of the revelations that built up throughout. I loved what happened at the end in one way, but not in another and hopefully that means we will be getting a sequel, but what I loved most about this was its message that love can be worth the fall and sometimes it’s a love worth risking everything for and Selene definitely did. 

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Wednesday, 20 June 2012

A Review for Crimson Groves by Ashley Robertson + eBook Giveaway (Int)

Crimson Groves
Posted by Guest Reviewer Melanie
Release Date: November 9th, 2011
Finished Date: June 19th, 2012
Publishers: Self-Published 
Source: For Review
Format: Kindle 
Pages: 282
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Abigail Tate was a normal human girl. Until the day Bronx the vampire barges into her life and turns her against her will. Held captive while forced to deal with never ending cravings for blood, Abby prays for a way to escape. Only when an opportunity arises, it's with the aid of an innocent human named Tyler--except vampires are forbidden to interact with the unbitten. But Abby quickly learns this human has secrets of his own...secrets that can either help her or get her killed. Only Abby discovers that she was the one with the biggest secret of them all.

The Review: What an excellent book, I'm seriously impressed. 4.5 out of 5! 
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Crimson Groves is the beginning of a new series that revolves around Abigail (Abby) Tate, a 25 year old woman who has had nothing but disappointment all her life. Her Daddy left her 15 years ago, her Mother rejected and disowned her, blaming her for her father’s disappearing act and then 6 months ago she walks in on her best friend & her boyfriend getting jiggy! The only friend she has is her work pal and he’s more of an acquaintance, you could count the patrons of the bar she works at too but on one craptacular night she gets to work and not only has to deal with an ‘ex’ confrontation but out of the blue she gets a phone call from her estranged father! Aww does he miss her? Does he want to make up for the time he’s been gone? NO! He phones and tells her that she is in danger and ‘HE’ is coming for her because ‘she’s special’!! Whatever! Guess her father really was an alcoholic loser after all. Then her evening suddenly takes a turn for the better when a super-hot man walks into the bar and he only has eyes for Abby and she is inexplicably drawn to him. . . .But she is totally unprepared for the massive impact he will soon have on her life. The thing is. . . . He’s not the only stranger she is going to meet and soon her life will be flung into chaos leaving her wondering just who she can trust because this time it’s not just her life on the line.


I mentioned earlier, this is an excellent book and I loved it. Abby is the focus of it and she is a great character, I liked everything about her. She is quite a lonely figure in the beginning and finds it really hard to trust but with her background, that’s understandable and she has been betrayed in the most awful of ways. She goes through a lot in this book and it makes it hard not to feel something for her. I loved who she is and what she became and I also love that even though we did get a lot from her - we are left with the feeling that there’s a whole lot more to come too. I’m not going to say much on the other characters in case I give something away but all of them are great, I even liked the ‘baddie’ to a certain extent as well.
The storyline is great, I don’t think I will ever get enough of vampires and in this they seem quite civilised with how they survive and they have a governing body too, so there will be rules to live by and possibly broken. . . What I really liked about these vampires was the gifts. I like it when we get a little something different and even though I have read of vampires with gifts before – I really liked the way it was done in this and it also gives each vampire that has a gift a little individuality and uniqueness. I loved that the plot had lots going on that I would love to tell you about - but that would spoil it so let’s just say we get Vampires, donor night clubs, a mysterious council complete with enforcers, special gifts, visions, power plays, kidnap, friends, enemies, secrets & lies, a smidgen of romance and one young woman who’s about to send the vampire world reeling!
There wasn’t anything to dislike in this, even the pacing was practically perfect for me (a couple of slow chapters) but I know that I will definitely be looking out for the sequel – Crimson Rain.

Ashley RobertsonAuthor Bio: 
Ashley Robertson resides in sunny Orlando, Florida and loves reading and writing about everything urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When she isn't writing you'll find her spending time with family and friends, training in her home gym, traveling and exploring new places, drinking fine red wines, and making gourmet coffees with her Nespresso machine. Visit her website to learn about her upcoming releases, blog entries, and featured giveaways at: AshleyRobertsonBooks.com

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