Review: Oleah Chronicles: Truth by Michelle Johnson

Title: Oleah Chronicles: Truth
Author: Michelle Johnson
Source/Format: Author, Paperback
More Details: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Publisher/Publication Date: MJ Publishing (Lulu.com); July 14, 2015

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Synopsis 

What would you do if everything you thought to be true in your life was a lie?

Sixteen-year-old Angel Seriki must face overwhelming truths about her family when she meets Zander Black, a new student to her high school who is smart, charming and devastatingly beautiful. The revelations he uncovers to her about her family’s past changes everything, and as her relationship and feelings for Zander deepen, so do the risks involved. She must now accept her fate and face the true reality of who and what she is. Even if that means giving up everything, including being human...

The Oleah Chronicles: Truth is a young adult paranormal romance novel that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. It’s a phenomenal introduction to the series. I absolutely loved the beginning that brought the readers into the center of  a conflict that resulted in Angel’s family fleeing their planet. The urgency of their flight from their home had me hooked early on as I anticipated the events that would follow.

The world created by Johnson was original and beautifully crafted. Truth took place on the planet Uforika and earth. It consisted of characters that we've all seen before in paranormal novels, but their characterizations had an interesting twist. I was intrigued by the Oleahs who had both lion and human characteristics all wrapped in one, which presented an interesting take on shape-shifters.

In Truth, Johnson excels at creating diverse teenage characters who maintain that teenage voice. Angel and her best friend, Julie, were polar opposites. I loved the depiction of Julie who was outgoing and rather animated. She was depicted as a very supportive friend without ulterior motives; although, they still had occasional conflicts. Zander brought a sense of mystery to the scene. And although he was a likable character, his past resulted in questions regarding his motives for wanting to get to know Angel. I liked that Angel had a questioning attitude and didn’t accept everything that Zander did as gold just because he was “devastatingly beautiful.” I also liked the fact that Johnson captured Angel’s awkwardness as she was developing an interest in boys.

Another aspect of Truth I really enjoyed was the involvement of Angel’s parents throughout the story. They didn’t just make a cameo appearance before fading into the background. They were actually key characters who were important to the overall plot.

From the cover art to the final page Johnson’s graphic design experience and creativity shine through in Truth, the first book of the Oleah Chronicles. I am definitely looking forward to reading future work by this author.

I received a copy of Oleah Chronicles: Truth from the Author in exchange for an honest review.

For More Information about the author, click on the link to visit Michelle Johnson's website!

The Friday 56 (31) Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A.L. Kennedy

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

This week for The Friday 56 I picked a quote from a book I already read and reviewed (Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A.L. Kennedy). You can check out my review for it HERE.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

“I shall make you the jewel at the heart of the universe.”

Something distinctly odd is going on in Arbroath. It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again. It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch–owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses. It could be the fact that people in the surrounding area suddenly know what others are thinking, without anyone saying a word. Whatever it is, the Doctor is most at home when faced with the distinctly odd. With the help of Fetch Brothers’ Junior Receptionist Bryony, he’ll get to the bottom of things. Just so long as he does so in time to save Bryony from quite literally losing her mind, and the entire world from destruction. Because something huge, ancient and alien lies hidden beneath the ground and it’s starting to wake up…

"Agnew flip-flopped along the relentlessly calming corridor with its tranquilly scented incense burner, its photographs of placid lakes and its carefully positioned speakers softly playing the songs of whales who, if he could have understood them, were actually having a quite heated argument with each other about herring."--Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A.L. Kennedy


What's on your page 56 this week?

Review: A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

Title:A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Source/Format: Won, Paperback Omnibus
More Details: Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Square Fish, July 1978

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

When fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry shouts out an ancient rune meant to ward off the dark in desperation, a radiant creature appears. It is Gaudior, unicorn and time traveler. Charles Wallace and Gaudior must travel into the past on the winds of time to try to find a Might-Have-Been - a moment in the past when the entire course of events leading to the present can be changed, and the future of Earth - this small, swiftly tilting planet - saved.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet is the third book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet...

If there’s one thing I always enjoy about the Murry family’s adventures, it’s the fact that science is blended perfectly with fantasy to create a consistently enjoyable story. And a Swiftly Tilting Planet, the third book of the Time Quintet by Madeleine L’Engle, is done in much of the same way. This book opens with the Murry family reunited on Thanksgiving—with the addition of Meg’s mother-in-law Mrs. O’Keefe—practically on the eve of an impending disaster. The simple call added a touch of tension early on in the story, and from there the plot took off. This time, it was Charles Wallace who was mostly on his own as he attempted to find a solution to the problem, with the occasional help from Meg. The adventure was just as dangerous, but ultimately the story was easy to get into. The setting, as always, was interesting. It began at the Murry’s house again, but quickly shifted focus as the story took its course, spanning across several When’s scattered across time. So in that aspect the concept of time travel was handled really well. Overall I really enjoyed A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and eventually I want to get the rest of this series to see how it all ends.

Review: Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A.L. Kennedy

Title: Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse 
Author: A.L. Kennedy 
Source/Format: Blogging for Books, Paperback
More Details: Science Fiction
Publisher/Publication Date: Broadway Books, July 14, 2015

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

“I shall make you the jewel at the heart of the universe…”

Something distinctly odd is going on in Arbroath. It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again. It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch–owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses. It could be the fact that people in the surrounding area suddenly know what others are thinking, without anyone saying a word. Whatever it is, the Doctor is most at home when faced with the distinctly odd. With the help of Fetch Brothers’ Junior Receptionist Bryony, he’ll get to the bottom of things. Just so long as he does so in time to save Bryony from quite literally losing her mind, and the entire world from destruction. Because something huge, ancient and alien lies hidden beneath the ground and it’s starting to wake up…

Whew, ok, so this is my first Doctor Who novel—my co-blogger reviewed one earlier in the year—and now I’ve finally read one. And I have to say that The Drosten’s Curse was pretty awesome, and kept me up till one in the morning.

The concept was definitely one of the most interesting I’ve read about in a while. There was essentially something lurking in The Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel’s golf course that was making the unassuming guests vanish. There were also a number of strange occurrences surrounding the entire area, such as how people were suddenly able to know what others were thinking. That was just the least of it, trust me, there was a lot more to it. So I immediately knew that there was something very wrong with the place. And that made the story very interesting.

Speaking of places, I think the setting was pretty much perfect, and presented an extra challenge—the golf course really made dealing with the creature difficult. There seemed to be a lot of places where it could hide and no one ever knew where it was going to appear next. Inevitably, there were a lot of elements of suspense throughout the entire book, and I enjoyed seeing how it all played out as the Doctor tried to figure out what was really going on. There were many instances that left me wondering how the characters were going to get out of the situation they found themselves in.

It was kind of the reason why I was up so late—just as things were beginning to calm down, something else came hurtling out of nowhere, adding to the troubles that the characters already faced.

Alongside the Doctor was Bryony, a receptionist at the hotel who inevitably gets wrapped up in the mess. She was pretty awesome, and I truly did enjoy her parts of the story. There’s a lot I want to talk about but can’t because this is one story that I can’t say much about without spoiling the entire thing. So I’m just going to leave it at what I’ve already said.

So yeah, I really liked the Drosten’s Curse and if you’re a fan of Doctor Who then I recommend giving this one a try.

This copy of the book was provided by Blogging For Books for this review, thank you!

A. L. Kennedy has published six novels, two books of nonfiction, and three previous collections of short stories. She has twice been selected as one ofGranta’s Best Young British Novelists and has won a number of prizes, including the Costa Book of the Year Award (2007), the Somerset Maugham Award, the Encore Award, and the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year Award. She lives in Glasgow and is a part-time lecturer in creative writing at the University of St. Andrews.

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Source/Format: freebie, iBooks ebook

More Detains: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher/Publication Date: August 1, 2009, Scholastic Press

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever...

I have to admit that I struggled with Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and I really wanted to like it. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about it that immediately made me hate it. It’s just that it took me a week to read 138 pages, which was just way too long for such a small amount. For some reason I was bored despite the fact that I thought the writing was nice. Stiefvater’s style is definitely something worth noting, because it was easy to read and conveyed the story in a way that should have interested me. However, I don’t think I’m in the mood for a paranormal novel that involves werewolves, so maybe now wasn’t the right time to read Shiver. Another issue that might have something to do with why I’ve decided to put this book down had to do with the story and the main character. Grace…oh Grace **sigh** I felt like it was rushed, like there was no prior buildup to Grace and Sam’s relationship other than the fact that he was a werewolf that she saw around the outskirts of her yard. And with a relationship like that—based on so little—I just didn’t buy it when she suddenly decided to let him stay in her bedroom. So yeah, I’ve decided to put Shiver aside because I have to move on to other books. Maybe one day I’ll give it another try, but for now I’m done with it.