WhiteLighter by Angie Derek

Hello to all,

Today was really busy but there are two things i wanted to keeep time for: sharing a review with you and Brenda's contest. I told you about it already, and often, but i can't not let you know how fun it is... oki sometimes i'm tearing my hairs apart but mostly it's because i try to make to well^^  things are not as complicated as i can fear so if you have a little time to spare after reading this go  on Brenda's Blog and discover her great event and all the contests/giveaways. You will have fun.

 now the second thing i wanted to do...the review! i hesitate between which one to put first online and i decided to pick vampires , i'm not planning ongiving you only vampires stories for the rest of this month don't fear, in fact there will be only one or two more and at least as much with other creatures ^^ because there must be book for everyone tastes after all^^...Also Amber was anxiously waiting my opinion on this one so i couldn't make her wait any longer^^ ( FREE on smashwords right now!! hurry get it)

Today i continue my discovery of Angie Derek (or Angelia Almos)'s universe with WhiteLighter a paranormale romance with a lot of originality and that could become a great series i think. Even better, i don't know for how long but right now it's free on Smashword so don't hesitate to give it a try please, this author really deserves it.

Happy reading

Short description from goodreads :

Lily Conner is a witch with an unusual side affect to her powers – she glows like a neon white light to all supernatural creatures. A vampire who kills her will absorb her light gaining the ability to use magic. Two years ago her family was killed when a pack of vampires followed her home. She barely escaped with her toddler sister in tow. Now she lives on the run with her four-year-old sister and a vampire bodyguard.


Reyes Vega lost his whitelighter sister to vampires several years ago. When he meets Lily and her sister he knows he can’t let another whitelighter fall victim to the vampires and sets out to protect her from the same fate as his sister.

My opinion:

         I can’t resist Angie/ Angelia ‘s writing style…so far no matter the genre I get immersed in her story and I can’t only regret it’s too short. This time we get vampires and witches….very original witches in fact they are called Whitelighter because their power is radiating from them and all paranormal creatures can see it especially vampires who want to steal that power, which can be done only by killing the recipient of said power.

Lily is one of those special witches and since she discovered that and was attacked, her parents killed, she is on the run with her little sister, Sophie. However, since the situation is dangerous she never met another like her and never learned how to tame or control her powers. She learned to defend herself at least from Brenda, a vampire protector, who is helping them, fighting for them but about who we don’t know a lot. Sophie is a strange 4years old, she is really calm and we don’t know what her powers are exactly only that she is different than Lily. Writing about a little child isn’t the simplest thing to do and while I do think Sophie a little too mature it can work with her powers so the author really managed well.

Her relation with Reyes is sweet, both of them have been hurt and both of them feel guilty but it’s the protection of someone else that keeps them moving and going forward. Lily wants to protect Sophie, Reyes wants to protect them both. He can only see auras and think of himself as useless but the way his minds works is the best thing that could happen to Lily to ask her the questions she needed to think on.  Sophie likes him too because he is treating her like a normal child and it was a long time since Lily could do as much. And let just says that something instinct as what keeps you alive^^

Now, I do have some question about Brenda,, in the second part of the book we learn from Lily how they met yes but I’m curious about Brenda’s point of view. Was she there by luck or was she sent to protect Lily? How the vampires against the destruction of whitelighters are working, are they trying to change mentality from inside the vampire community too? Why Reyes is different? Is it because only females can be whitelighters? Is his mother responsible somehow? (you will see after reading you can imagine the worst from her). How lily is being tracked? Etc.

However don’t worry: it’s a lot of questions but only because you do want more, while immersed in the story you put them aside quickly as Angie manage to keep the action at a rapid level and the suspense well maintained. Also you got some steamy scenes, it could feel rushed since it’s a novella but the special connection between Lily and Reyes made it feel natural too me so I wasn’t shocked or anything.

It’s a good paranormal romance if you want something short and different. To recommend

Score:  3,5/5

Disclaimer: Source: a copy in exchange for an honest review All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

   If you want this book you can get it FREE on  Smashwords in the digital format you prefer or for print copy on amazon

              You can find more informations on the series and  Angie/Angelia on her  Website 

                                           ********************************

Now back to Brenda's blog because day 8 is about Wizards, Warlocks and magical beings which a Whitelighter definitively qualifies for, don't you think?

Until the last day of october 2013 you can enter to win a book of your choice ( following the rules of course) so hurry and enter HERE . Good luck

Encounter at Shalana (Adventures of Kristy Ryan 1) by Angelia Almos

Hello to all,

             for me it's already late in the day but  i saw that i had forgotten to post this earlier so a little night work to compensate.

I'm always surprised when i discover that an author i love writes under another name like Suzanne Johnson changes her writing name to Susannah Sandlin when she switch to the paranormal romance genre and she is far from the only one but my knowledge is still limited concerning author's pseudo so i know i'm missing a lot. This was also the case in this instance.... i absolutely loved Mafia secret by Angie Derek but when i was looking for more of her work i didn't know the author wrote also under Angelia Almos so it was an excellent surprise for me.

Angelia does write in several genres like fantasy, space opera (the author name changes for Angie Derek when it's paranormal romance, urban fantasy and romantic suspense ) and i will be glad to review a bit of each for for today i will stay with the space opera because it was a long time i read some and was really curious^^ ( sorry Amber but don't worry next one will be paranormal ;) ) now i just happy to know book 2 is under preparation because you will want it if you indulge in Encounter at Shalana, book 1 of the adventures of Kristy Ryan... if you love Star Trek you will be smiling reading this!

happy reading!

Publisher: Thoroughweb Press

Publication: 2011

ISBN:  0373277210

Genre: YA, space-opera
Violence: mild
Language: normal
sex: none
Public: 14+

Source: ecopy received in exchange for an honest review

Short description from goodreads :

 Space pirate Captain Kristy Ryan grew up the only daughter of a notorious privateer in the Border Planet Region. She learned her trade the hard way - there were no free rides on her father’s ship. Now, she has her own ship, the Unicorn, and successfully works in the shadows, the fringes of legitimate trade. Her life is just how she wants it even on those days when her pilot and lover, Andrew Bennet, drives her crazy. But an unexpected visit from the Military Space Alliance changes everything. Her father disappeared while working a dangerous mission for the MSA. Now, she’s being blackmailed into finishing his mission.

My opinion:

          Angelia has been a fan of Star Wars and Star Trek and I must admit, for having read quite a share of them, that she does make them honor! Really this story could have fit in the other universes without problem and the quality of her writing is really good.

I really liked this book and the plot was well developed to keep me interested and curious. The romance is there, sweet and not predominant which works in favour of the story. However I’m really glad this book seems to be the first of a series because there are things I thought missing and I can hope to get answer in future books.  From the beginning we learn than Kristy and her father are in a disagreement of sort to say the least…but we know nothing about it. The fact I couldn’t understand from where her resentment came made it a little more difficult for me to connect with the character.  We see she has been hurt, she is even crying in her sleep but we don’t know about why… in fact we only discover that some events took place on one planet and that’s linked to that…. That’s all. It’s something I regret but since more books are possible we could get the bottom of this. (yes I do have hope^^ even better it was confirmed that book 2 was under work YEAH!)

I particularly enjoyed to see the interaction between the crew, Wilhelmina is quite funny, acting like a mother for the rest of them, we know she is a kind of cat humanoid and that she worked with Kristy’s father before but I wouldn’t mind learning more about the linguist ^^ , what are the specific of her species, how she came to be with the Ryan etc .She is also really resourceful. Andrews is the best pilot and I’m glad he does have some alpha trait to keep up with grumpy Kristy… now when we discover his family we understand him even better ( little Ashley is more than likely wanting to join his brother on the side than her sister in the military, never underestimate little sister^^)Then you add Glenn, ex military, and Felicity, courageous engineer and you have the crew… small but effective

It’s a good read but if you are not used to space opera novel, the ending could surprise you. It’s not a cliffhanger, not at all, but often in space opera you get the bottom of the investigation, you see who was behind the plot or who was the villain….but you don’t see how it’s resolved . It’s left to your imagination or occasionally in series  you get a little more info in later books when the main characters talk about the past events. So here you understand, we see what they do about it but if you are the kind of reader who want to see the bad ones punished… you will be left  hanging ( now I do admit I love to see the bad ones punished but after reading a lot of star trek and Star wars novel I’m used not to get immediately still it’s a little regret) Angelia Almos really found how to end her story keeping us happy and wanting more at the same time so  I can only hope more books in the series are on schedule.

If you love space opera, classic one, without steamy scenes, this is the right book for you. If you want to discover the genre, it’s also a good approach thanks to the talent of the author who renders the story really accessible. Now to discover the author I would perhaps recommend to try some of other works first ( I loved some a lot more!)but keep this one on your list , it’s really worth it.

Score:  4/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

             If you want this book you can buy it on  Smashwords in the digital format you prefer or for print copy on amazon or bookdepository

                      You can find more informations on the series and Angelia on her Website 

Mafia Secret by Angie Derek

Hello again,

                Quite a few posts today but that's what happen at the beginning of the month and since i don't know when the storms will start and internet on hold i prefered not to wait and give you this review especially since i know someone wa swaiting to hear my opinion on this story.

  First when I heard about this book it made me think about the manga “ Reborn” when a young boy learn he is the next head of a mafia family and must learn what to fight to take his place while he is a kind and innocent boy. I was tempted and curious so when I was offered the opportunity to win it I didn’t hesitate.

When Brenda ( yes her again ^^) recommended this book to me she told me i was going to like it but she was wrong… i completely LOVE it. Perhaps I needed something different from paranormal reads at the moment, perhaps it was just the book I needed but Mafia Secret caught my attention and I could stop before the last page so really thanks Brenda for this discovery I really spend a fabulous time reading!

Publisher: Tell-Tale Publishing LLC

Publication: 2012

ISBN:  9781301100149

Genre: romantic suspense
Violence: strong
Language: normal
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: won ( thanks Brenda!!!!!!)

Short description from goodreads :

 Lessa Noelle grew up never knowing she was the illegitimate daughter of a mafia king pin. After his murder, she finds herself a surprise heiress immersed in the dangerous world of organized crime with only the guidance of Marco Santo her father’s second in command to help her.


Marco searches for her father’s killer and tries to keep the realities of his life from touching her. An uneasy attraction blossoms between the two. An already dangerous situation turns volatile when a killer turns his attention to Lessa.

My opinion:

          I love it! I expected to like it but I enjoyed it a lot more than that, if I didn’t have to take my medicine I would have read it in one sitting. Angie Derek really wrote an excellent story and if I had suspicions about the culprit it’s probably due only to my experiences in watching cops series on the TV… she managed to keep the suspense all along.

Lessa is young and independent woman, she grows up never knowing she was the daughter of a mafia’s boss…so when a man she never saw suddenly appears to tell her that her father died two days ago it comes as a shock and she doesn’t believe it at first. Confronted to some evidences she finally accepts to grant her father his last request and come to attend his funerals and meet her family.  It doesn’t really go smoothly, her family never knew she existed, her father’s killer is still on the run and change of power in a mafia family isn’t a quiet moment at all.  Thrown in it, she can only rely on Marc, her bodyguard, late lieutenant of her father to keep her safe and to tell her whet she must know or to be exact what he think she should know.

Preferring to keep her in the dark as long as possible to offer her the possibility to go back to the life she always knew, what Marc didn’t take into account was his attraction to the new Mafia’s princess. Quite innocent, speaking her mind she attracts him like a moth to a flame and he can’t stop touching her which isn’t helpful when he must find the killer. But danger was already on Lessa before she met Marc and it just keep growing

Marc isn’t a member of the family per say, he was a trusted man of Lessa father, on of his lieutenant. He came from the outside and slowly, during years he made his place. So he knows perfectly when what entering the family entails and he doesn’t want to impose that to Lessa. He is loyal, honest and yes a criminal too^^ he do what he is ordered to do but he doesn’t take pleasure in it which makes him even better. I really liked him and how he was trying to find what he needed to do to keep Lessa by his side and protect her… he took risks but he didn’t impose himself… a good alpha^^

Lessa’s family is quite a group… Jio is the elder and the new head. He respect his father‘s wishes but perhaps too much … since he married not by love he could be unfaithful even if we still haven’t real proof, his behaviour tend to it. Still he looks like a good man, Tony is the rebel one, he wants powers and trust no one but the family doesn’t trust him either. Then come Clarissa, same age as Lessa, she was the only girl until then and she wants nothing to do with the family, promised to Marc she doesn’t hesitate to break off  the engagement as soon as her father is dead and she doesn’t want her inherence. Leery of men she however knows that no matter what ,she is part of the family. Edoardo is the younger one; more an artist and kind soul he would love to leave the family too without really dreaming to see an opportunity. Nina is Jio’s wife, kind she is the first to welcome Lessa, I really love her.

This story is a stand alone and I think I would love it to stay that way, yes I ‘m tempted to lean about the other’s family member but perhaps then the novelty will wears off, ..; I don’t know but right now if you love suspense romance, have a little thing for mafia, I really recommend this book!

Score:  4,5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review