Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Omens by Kelley Armstrong and Visions by Kelley Armstrong

Omens
Looking for a new urban fantasy series? The Cainsville series by Kelley Armstrong is exciting and full of Welsh folklore, a new and fun twist on the traditional fae urban fantasies we all know so well. Olivia Taylor-Jones has it all: beauty, wealth, and a rich and handsome young fiancé. Then her stable world turns upside down when she finds out she is adopted and that her birth parents are a notorious serial killer couple. Quickly Liv is abandoned by family and friends, and to get away from the papperazzi in Chicago, she moves out to the remote town of Cainsville where she is welcomed with open arms as a member of the community. But Cainsville has secrets, lots of them, and Liv needs all her wits to unravel the mysteries of the town while also trying to prove her birth parents' innocence in the serial murders.
Visions

If you enjoy perplexing mysteries coupled with the preternatural, read Omens and Visions and decipher the Welsh terminology along with Liv throughout the story. Or if you like to be a step ahead, look up the Welsh terms and see what Cainsville is hiding before Liv finds out. The third installment in this series, Deceptions, comes out in August. If you need more of Kelley Armstrong's writing in the meantime, try out her Women of the Otherworld series.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran

Rebel Queen
Set during the turbulent 1850s in colonial India, this book recounts the tales of Sita, a fighter for the Queen of Jhansi. Sita comes from a poor family with no sons and no dowry fortune for the two daughters. Rather than being relegated to prostitution at a local temple, Sita's father and neighbor train her to become a fierce and intelligent warrior in the hopes that she will be selected to join the Queen's all female guard and earn money for her younger sister's dowry. Once enlisted as a member of this elite group, Sita learns the precarious position her queen balances, retaining control of Jhansi while meeting the demands of the British occupying forces.

Suspenseful and fast-paced throughout, Rebel Queen is a unique view from a strong female character into Indian politics and culture during the British East India Trading Company encroachment and the subsequent 1857 rebellion. Thrilling to the core, Rebel Queen is not just for historical fiction fans, but will satisfy readers of action and adventure tales, exotic locations, and romances.