Review: Beckoning Light, by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy
Title: Beckoning Light
Series: The Afterglow Trilogy(#1)
ISBN: 9781463708849
Publisher: Createspace (July 1st 2011)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“As Charlotte steps through the gate, she has a strong feeling that nothing will ever be the same again.   

Moving back to South Carolina after three years away, Charlotte knows she's going to have to face people from her past and adjust to a new high school, but she's completely unprepared for what else waits for her in Charleston    .

Drawn through an old garden gate, Charlotte discovers a hidden world where she meets Calvin, a boy to whom she is inexplicably attracted. As Charlotte is pulled deeper into this hidden world, it's up to her older brother Kevin to rescue her. No matter how hard Kevin tries, the rescue depends upon Charlotte fighting her intense feelings for Calvin while mastering a set of abilities that she has only just discovered she possesses.” GoodReads’ blurb

I won this book in a giveaway ages ago, and only now got around to reading and reviewing it – thanks to TBR Challenge, I must add. And after having read it, I can’t really bring myself to truly care about it.

The book alternates between Charlotte’s point of view and her brother’s Kevin – which is important in order to show what’s going on apart from Charlotte, because she’s the real protagonist here. She’s timid, in the way that she’ll often bend and go out of her way just to avoid confrontation, and she started off being quite unable to stand up for herself.

Part of the story is about this shy, unnoticeable kind of girl growing into... an important role that I mustn’t disclose for spoiler’s sake. But, yeah, character growth. It sounded promising.

Review: This Same Earth, by Elizabeth Hunter

Author: Elizabeth Hunter
Title: This Same Earth
Series: Elemental Mysteries (#2)
ASIN: B006HIR944
Publisher: E. Hunter (December 2011)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Beatrice De Novo thought she had left the supernatural world behind…for the most part. But when the past becomes the present, will she leave her quiet life in Los Angeles to follow a mystery she thought had abandoned her? Where has Giovanni Vecchio been, and why has he returned? Giovanni has his own questions, and he’s looking to her for answers.

The sequel to A Hidden Fire will reunite Beatrice and Giovanni to continue their search through the past while both wrestle with the future. When the world as you knew it has changed forever, is there any way you can turn back?    

This Same Earth is the second book in the Elemental Mysteries series. It is a paranormal romance/mystery for adult readers” GoodReads’ blurb

If you have read my review for the first book in this series, you know how head over heels in love I’m with it. If you haven’t, I don’t know why, and you should go check it out right now – here’s the link.

That said, if you haven’t read the first book, this review of the second one might contain spoilers – though I’ll try to keep it in check. With that warning, let’s move on and discuss this amazing title.

This Same Earth lived up to each and every single one of my expectations after book one... and then some.

In My Mailbox #19

IMM Time! So... Can someone please send me over the Bookish Police, to make sure I stop buying books? Pretty pretty please? *Sigh* Anyway! This is what I got this week: