The Gladiator and the Guard review - written by Annie Douglass Lima | Promo Post!

Attention! This review may contain spoilers that could reveal the story line or events that occur over the duration of the book. If this does not bother you, or if you would just like to get a better feel of what this book is about before you read it, please feel free to carry on and enjoy this review!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

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The Collar and the Cavvarch:

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time.  With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?

What is the Collar for, and What is a Cavvarach?

 The story is set in a world very much like our own, with just a few major differences.  One is that slavery is legal there.  Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone.  Any slave attempting to escape faces the dilemma of how and where to illegally get their collar removed (a crime punishable by enslavement for the remover).  

Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil.  It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with "have a rack"), a weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge.  Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades.  You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.

Click here to order The Collar and the Cavvarach from Amazon for $2.99 a discounted price of just 99 cents through April 28th!

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The Gladiator and the Guard:

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him?

Click here to order The Gladiator and the Guard in Kindle format from Amazon for $2.99 a discounted price of just 99 cents through April 28th!

Click here to order The Gladiator and the Guard from Smashwords (for Nook or in other digital formats) for $2.99 a discounted price of just 99 cents through April 28th!

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About the author:

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published twelve books (two YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, and five anthologies of her students’ poetry). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

Connect with the Author Online:

Email: AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com

Blog: http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/princeofalasia

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGoodreads

Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/AnnieDouglassLimaOnAmazon

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnieDouglassLima

LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnLinkedIn

Google Plus: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGooglePlus

Enter to win an Amazon gift card or a free digital copy of The Collar and the Cavvarach!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Personal opinion of the book:

This book was extraordinarily well written and was amazing in the way that it got me thinking about so many different topics that are truly important in our society.
This book is about a young man who has to fight for his freedom, but he is a slave. Although his master is a very loving person who treats him more like a son, he would so anything to join his sister in freedom. In the first book in this series, he fought and won his sisters freedom.

With all this talk of freedom I though: What is freedom? Do I take it for granted? 

After basically contemplating my life and all my life choices, I came to the conclusion that, like most things in our lives, we under appreciate it while we have it, yet mourn it when it is gone. 

Then I began thinking about all the times through history, how no one is every truly free. I cannot just say that I am going to go and buy all the books I want and then travel to Hawaii to read them. We are all limited. 

Imagine, the whole world coming together to make everyone equal, everyone having equal freedom... 

This book was a standout for me. 

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I just wanted to say a HUGE thank-you to Annie for asking me to read and review this book. I really enjoyed reading the book and writing up this post. I also want to apologize for my post being up five day after I was meant to post! 

As I told Annie, I loved the book, but my laptop doesn't love me...

Until next time, keep reading!

-Shelbi (Book Ambrosia)

The Arrow Bringer review - written by Lisa Mayer

Attention! This review may contain spoilers that could reveal the story line or events that occur over the duration of the book. If this does not bother you, or if you would just like to get a better feel of what this book is about before you read it, please feel free to carry on and enjoy this review!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

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Quick overview:

After recently receiving earth-shattering news that may change her life forever, a girl must embark on a life altering journey into a world where dragons are real and her identity may not be her own... This is a journey of faith and bravery. 

(The Arrow Bringer by Lisa Mayer)

Read the full summary and check out other books by Lisa Mayer on this Amazon link.

Personal opinion on the book:

When I first picked up this book I wasn't quite sure where it would take me. But after getting over just how heart-breaking the first few pages are, I was able to really get a feel for this truly unique and intriguing world. 

To me, this book felt as though it was a sort of God-and-his-followers sort of book. I liked how it was not only based around this point though. It had magic and dragons and sword fights! 

The character the 'Arrow Bringer' felt like he was 'God' and that all of the people in the story and to show their faith in him to get over their issues and troubles. 
Overall, this was a pretty good book that was very interesting to read!

Star rating (out of 5):

After reading this book I found that I enjoyed it a lot! It was not my favorite book, but I must say that the way the character and story line was written was SUPERB! I give this book a star rating of 3.5/5 stars. 

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This is only a nice and short review, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND people to read this really great book! Thanks so much Lisa for contacting me and asking me to read this book, I really enjoyed it and it was a fantastic read! 
Make sure to check out this book and buy it using the Amazon link above!

Until next time, keep reading!

-Shelbi (Book Ambrosia)

Rebel of the Sands review - written by Alwyn Hamilton

Attention! This review may contain spoilers that could reveal the story line or events that occur over the duration of the book. If this does not bother you, or if you would just like to get a better feel of what this book is about before you read it, please feel free to carry on and enjoy this review!

I received this book in a YA Chronicles subscription box. 

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Quick overview:

To escape the place Amani has called 'home' all her life, she must trust a stranger, believe in magic and become a rebel of the sands...

(Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton)

Read the full summary and check out other books by Alwyn Hamilton on this Goodreads link.

Personal opinion on the book:

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book, I really only started to read it because I wanted a nice short and easy read. But literally the first paragraph won me over. My favorite quote of the book (below) is what drew me in. I love it when there is a female character who is kick-ass and sassy! And the main character in this book was truly incredible to read. I am so happy that I have read this book. 
To be honest, this book has actually inspired me to try and start writing my own book. Because I had the biggest book-hangover after finishing this book I wanted to try and create my own world... So keep an eye out to read about that...
I am a little sad that the date for the next book isn't even set yet... But I will wait as long as it takes! I LOVED THIS BOOK!
But back to this amazing book! Not only does it have an incredibly beautiful cover that is so nice and shiny (and really hard to take pictures of!), but it is also written incredibly well. The world in this story is set in the desert (obviously) and has incredible elements of magic and mystery incorporated into it. 
Overall, lets just say this is one of my all time favorite books! 

Quote of the book:

I wasn’t up to no good. Then again, I wasn’t exactly up to no bad neither. - Amani

Star rating (out of 5):

This book has left me in a two week (and still going) book hangover. This book is so amazing and I am so happy to have read it! So I give this amazing book a star rating of 5/5 stars. LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

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THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! I just had to say that one more time! This is actually my favorite book (at present) and I am ligit in the biggest reading slump after this book! 

I cannot say enough just how much I LOVED this book and still LOVE it once the story is over!
Also keep in mind that I have some very awesome bookish goodies coming your way! So keep and eye out!

Until next time, keep reading!

-Shelbi (Book Ambrosia)

Reaping Angel by S. L. Saboviec | RELEASE DAY!

Welcome to the release day blitz for S. L. Saboviec's Reaping Angel!

Reaping Angel is the sequel to Guarding Angel, which received an honorable mention in the 23rd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards: "... A fascinating story of a particularly loving guardian angel. Overall, the writing is emotionally grounded, character-focused, and technically superior..."

Enael starts picking up the pieces of her decisions from the first book and comes face-to-face with her nemesis from centuries ago. If you enjoy fantasy or paranormal, this series is not to be missed!

After the battle at the Bastille, the Council of Seraphim offers reluctant demons Enael and Kaspen a chance to return to Heaven—but only after they’ve completed sufficient penance. Ready to move past the ugly chapter in their lives, they settle into their assignments.

Until Enael’s former lover, Voctic, a powerful demon, interferes.

Voctic seduces and demeans, taunts and entices Enael, stirring centuries-old longing in her while infuriating Kaspen. Caught up in the demands of their duties, Kaspen and Enael drift apart until she finds herself isolated.

Fed up with Voctic’s harassment, Enael prepares to fight back. When he targets the new human she’s responsible for protecting, she creates her own plan. His self-proclaimed “gala of the century” will be the perfect cover for her revenge. But will a hasty decision cost her Kaspen—or even her spot in Heaven?

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99 cent Sale!

To celebrate release day, both Guarding Angel and Reaping Angel eBooks are on sale for 99 cents at all major retailers:

Guarding Angel:

Paperback (Regular price) | Kindle | Kobo | Google Play | Nook | Goodreads

Reaping Angel:

Paperback (Regular price) | Kindle | Kobo | Google Play | Nook | Goodreads

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Signed Paperback Giveaway

You have three ways to enter to win one of three signed sets of paperbacks. By Sunday, April 17, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, retweet on Twitter, share on FaceBook, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

1.     Retweet on Twitter and follow @Saboviec to enter for one set: Click to RT me!

2.     Share on FaceBook and Like S. L. Saboviec's author page to enter for another set: Click to Share me!

3.     Enter the Rafflecopter below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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S. L. Saboviec grew up in a small town in Iowa but became an expat for her Canadian husband, whom she met in the Massive Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game Star Wars: Galaxies (before the NGE, of course). She holds a B.S. in Physics, which qualifies her to B.S. about physics and occasionally do some math for the sci-fi stories she concocts. Her dark, thought-provoking science fiction & fantasy contains flawed, relatable characters and themes that challenge the status quo.

Her short fiction ("I Am NOT Little Red Riding Hood") has appeared on Grievous Angel. You can call her Samantha.

Make sure to checkout all of Samantha's links below! 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads

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Happy release day to Samantha and her AMAZING book! I am so proud to be one of the very lucky bloggers to be involved with this release day promotion! 
Truly, I love the cover, story line and just everything about this book! So please make sure to show your support for the author and buy the book now while it is ONLY 99 CENTS!
Thanks again for checking out this post and let me know if you like the new font... I really do! 

Until next time, keep reading!
- Shelbi (Book Ambrosia)  

Story of Lucas Cain review - written by Vanya Ferreira

Attention! This review may contain spoilers that could reveal the story line or events that occur over the duration of the book. If this does not bother you, or if you would just like to get a better feel of what this book is about before you read it, please feel free to carry on and enjoy this review. 

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

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Quick overview:

London, 1794. Lucius Cane, a peculiar vampire, comes upon an opponent the likes of which he has never seen before - a brute with remarkable abilities. But not all is as it seems as their encounter unfolds in a manner that neither of them expected.

(Story of Lucas Cain by Vanya Ferreira)

Read the full summary and check out other books by Sarah J. Maas on this Goodreads link.

Personal opinion on the book:

This book was a short story, so there wasn't too long spent on character development. But I did find that this book was quite good in the way that it used the different POV's(*) to assist in the progression of the story line. I really liked the semi-werewolf character and found that it was a really cool show-down. 
Overall, although this book was quite interesting, in the end it is a short story and have pretty good development. Not my favorite story, but lots of other reader will ENJOY THIS BOOK!

Star rating (out of 5):

I give this book a star rating of 2.8/5 stars. 

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This book was sent to me by the author for free in exchange for a honest review. 

(*) POV is an acronym for Point of View.

Thanks for reading this review and keep your eyes open because I have some pretty amazing things coming soon!!!

Until next time, keep reading!

-Shelbi (Book Ambrosia)

Hollow City review - written by Ransom Riggs

Attention! This review may contain spoilers that could reveal the story line or events that occur over the duration of the book. If this does not bother you, or if you would just like to get a better feel of what this book is about before you read it, please feel free to carry on and enjoy this review. 

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Quick overview:

With their headmistress being stuck in her bird form and there loop being destroyed, Jacob and his friends must travel across London and through time to find a way to save Miss Peregrine. On a time limit of three days to do the impossible, will these peculiar children be able to work their way out of trouble and save Miss Peregrine? 

(Book 2 in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs)

Read the full summary and check out other books by Ransom Riggs on this Goodreads link.

Personal opinion on the book:

I typically HATE the second books in series, and to be honest I only wanted to read the first book because it's movie adaptation is coming out soon. But O M DOUBLE G! This book was so amazing! It flawlessly connected to the first book and I was instantly intrigued from the first page.
I love the way that photographs were used, if anything it made the book! 

But one thing that annoys me is when I try and tell people how AMAZING this series is and they say, "But the cover looks kind of scary and I don't really like the pictures..." All I can say is SORRY! I am sorry for the way you are so close minded and are not open to reading new and AMAZING books! 
Also, I have a bone to pick with QUIRK publishing house, the design on the side of book one and two DO NOT LINE UP!
This is NOT OK! This is EVIL! I will not stand for this!
*pants heavily* Okay, sorry. I am good now. It just upsets me a little... 

Hidden message and consequential thinking:

This book really made me think about loyalty. I believe that loyalty is one of the most important things in a friendship, if anything sometimes it defines a relationship. 
When I was younger I found that not many of my friends had true loyalty towards me. I moved to a new school and tried to call and message my friend from my old school, but she just didn't seem to care about showing loyalty towards me and I haven't heard from her in five years. 
Now, this is not just some sob story about my old best friend, but through this, I learnt that I would always be loyal towards my friends. 
This book showed true loyalty, from never giving up on each other, to being there for one another. 

Quote of the book:

Do you ever find yourself climbing into a grave during a bombing raid and wish you'd just stayed in bed? - Jacob

Books in the series: 

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
2. Hollow City
3. Library of Souls

Star rating (out of 5):

I give this amazing book a star rating of 5/5 stars. I found that this was an absolutely amazing second book in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series and I was so impressed by it. 

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Thanks so much for checking out this review! 
Lately I have actually been so into bookstigram, tweeting about my books and just reading in general! 
I have been a little crazy with my reading requirements, I have about eight books that I have to read for review and a few promo posts that I have to have done by the end of THIS MONTH! That is just crazy! 
Ever since I have started this amazing blogging passion of mine, I have found that there are so many amazing authors, bloggers and book-loving people out there who are so supportive and encouraging of my LOVE for books. 
So thank you to everyone who contacts me or simply reads my post, it really means a lot!

Until next time, keep reading!

-Shelbi (Book Ambrosia)

Red Queen review - written by Victoria Aveyard

Attention! This review may contain spoilers that could reveal the story line or events that occur over the duration of the book. If this does not bother you, or if you would just like to get a better feel of what this book is about before you read it, please feel free to carry on and enjoy this review. 

 

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Quick overview:

In a world where people with Silver blood are regarded as Gods and Goddess and the people with Red blood are disposable servants, a girl with Red blood and Silver powers is forced into a dangerous game. 

Mare Barrow has never been special, she is jobless and is destined to be shipped of to fight in a war she doesn't even believe in. But when she is given a high ranking job in the castle because of a handsome stranger, things get difficult when she displays the powers of a Silver in front of hundreds of high ranking Silver families. Forced to play an evil part in an unknown game, Mare needs to navigate the war, the rebellion and her heart. 

(Book 1 in the Red Queen series: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard)

Read the full summary and check out other books by Victoria Aveyard on this Goodreads link.

Personal opinion on the book:

At the end of reading this book I was literally screaming, I just wished I had the second book to read IMMEDIATELY! But alas, I had not though that far ahead. (The annoying this was that I was at the book shop that morning and picked up the second book and said "I should get this" but I thought I wouldn't finish the Red Queen that quickly and put the book down!) 

But back to the book. In the first couple of chapters I found the book a little slow to develop and thought that it was kinda just like every other dystopian novel I had read. But then the plot's complexity began to pick up and I was swept away into the Red Queen novel's world. 

Regarding the boys and the impeding ship in this book... I was ultimately so confused. At first I liked Cal, then I hated Cal and then I liked Maven, then I hated Maven. Ultimately I finished the book feeling a little lost, I am a person who typically ships two characters in EVERY book! I could ship a romantic couple, a bro-mance, a BFF thing, a dog being man's best friend. Basically, I ship a LOT! And when both of these male leads (who just so happen to be hot brothers) fell out of my grace, I just felt very empty inside. 

But overall, I adored this book and really enjoyed the concept!

Hidden message and consequential thinking:

Over the duration of the time that I was reading the Red Queen, I really started to think about different social and world issues that this book (and many other dystopian stories) brought to life. In this book there is a strong divide between the 'Reds' and the 'Silvers.' As the reader I felt pretty upset by the way the Reds were treated. But I found that in a way this divide is present in our world, but in a different way... I would like to call it, the present and the future theory. 

I have two example of this 'theory':

The first is when you arrive home after a long day at work/school, you had the WORST DAY! Everything that could have gone wrong did and nothing went your way. So instead of unpacking your bag you just dump it on the floor. You proceed to stomp off and take an awfully long and hot shower. Now this means that all the hot water has been used up on you and nobody else gets any, but you don't care. YOU are the one who had the hard day, YOU deserve a nice shower! Next you see those delicious leftovers, the very ones you were specifically told NOT to eat. But alas, this delicious meal is now YOURS! You finish eating and go off to bed. 

Because of how you felt in the present, not only will you have made someone else miss out on having hot water and there special meal. But you have also made your own future harder for yourself. 

My second example is one that I have personally experienced on several occasions while I was on a camping trip. At this camping ground there were only three showers and over a thousand woman. So as expected, each night I would have to line up for a minimum of thirty minutes to a maximum of an hour and fifteen minutes. While standing in the line all you could hear were people talking about was how long the three lucky people were taking in the shower. But as soon as it was any of these people's turn in the shower, suddenly it was completely reasonable to take a ten minute shower. 

In both of these examples, it is pretty clear that sometimes we actually don't think about how our selfish actions affect the people around us. Although we may feel as though it is an okay way to act at a particular time, sometimes it can have negative effects on the people around us. It could even effect ourselves in the near or far away future...

Quote of the book:

I am finally learning my lesson, anyone can betray anyone - Mare Barrow

Books in the series:

1. Red Queen
2. Glass Sword 

Book containing both novellas: Cruel Crown 

If you like... then try...:

If you enjoyed reading this book I recommend reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. I hope that you have already heard about this book and movie. But these two series are both about a messed up society and how one girl is 'special'... They are both really great and I highly recommend it!

Read the full summary of Divergent by Veronica Roth through this Goodreads link.

 

Star rating (out of 5):

I give this amazing book a star rating of 4.8/5 stars. I did feel as though this book was a little slow at first, but it picked up and had some amazing plot twists! 

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This is the first time that I have ever written this kind of review before, I actually really LOVED writing my new segment: Hidden message and consequential thinking. I found that it helped me think through this book, what it is about and how it made me as a reader feel. 

Thanks for checking out this review! I really loved this book and am going to be buying the next in the series really soon! 

Until next time, keep reading!

- Shelbi (Book Ambrosia)