A Tale of Two Novels

It was the best of novels, it was the worst of… Okay, it was neither. The thing is, my daughter gave me a Kindle for the holidays last year, and I am now a sucker for free books. I now have an opportunity, even on my miniscule budget, to try new authors. Yes, I do read them, and yes, I do buy other books by the authors I discover this way.

This blog is a story of two of those free books. Both novels, both had good titles and covers, both sounded interesting. I hadn’t read anything by either of the authors before. One was excellent. I finished the first in the series (free) last night. I bought the second in the series today and will start reading it tonight. I loved the story and the characters. I’d never heard of the author before, but I’m now a fan. Was it the best book I’ve ever read? Probably not. I wrote that one. (Yikes, did I say that out loud!) Seriously, I’d be hard pressed to name my favorite novel. It’d be like choosing between my daughters.

The other free book I read, not so great. Big fact holes, a heroine I’d love to slap, and just not that appealing. Not horrible, but not great. I won’t go out of my way to read another of her books.
The first, great, book was self-published. The second, not so good, was by a NYT bestselling author. Shocked? I’m not.

Please understand, I’m not saying the second author is a bad writer. Maybe I just got hold of her worst book. Maybe one day I’ll read another of her books and love it. Or not. Who knows? I won’t mention her name.

I will mention the first author’s name, Barbra Annino www.barbraannino.com/ the book I read was Opal Fire, the first in the Stacy Justice series.

It was eye opening for me, a dead tree book person who is now an ebook convert. Better for the environment, easier to hold and carry, and the fun of reading a book seconds after hitting the buy button is amazing. I still love paper books and bookstores and libraries. But it is a changing world, and the readers are going to be the winners.

Have a great weekend!

Cheryel
www.cheryelhutton.com

Favorite shifters...

I love shapeshifters. Beyond the traditional werewolves, there are shifters who can take any form. There are those who are restricted to particular creatures. My daughters also enjoy shifter stories. Luckily, they've been able to find quite a few Young Adult novels that are not only well-written, but include some wonderful characters.

In honor of the Halloween season, here are some shifter stories -- mostly YA -- you might want to check out. Some you've probably read or heard of; the rest may be a pleasant new find. If you have some to add, please do!

1. Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls) by Maggie Stiefvater

2. Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls) (M. Stiefvater)

3. Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls) (M. Stiefvater)

4. Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book 1) - by, Cassandra Clare

5. The Hunchback Assignments - by, Arthur Slade

6. The Dark Deeps -- The Hunchback Assignments, 2 (A. Slade)

7. Empire of Ruins -- The Hunchback Assignments, 3 (A. Slade)

8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - by, JK Rowling

On a more 'adult' note:

9. Eat Prey Love - by, Kerrelyn Sparks

~~Meg Allison
Indulge your senses...
http://www.megallisonauthor.com