Review: The Daemon Parallel (Daemon Parallel #1), by Roy Gill

 

Title:         The Daemon Parallel (Daemon Parallel #1)

Author:     Roy Gill

Format:     E-Galley

Source:     NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Our world is only the beginning… Cameron's father is dead and his inheritance is … rather unusual. He has power to world shift: travel between the Human and Daemonic realms and the Parallel – a void where the worlds meet. Between befriending werewolves and battling daemons, Cameron's new life is already pretty complicated but things are about to get even more dangerous…"

My Opinion: Cameron is a young teen who has just lost his father, and his mother left when he was even younger, so he's very thankful when his grandmother takes him in, even though he doesn't know her at all because for some reason, his father wouldn't let him have anything to do with her when he was growing up. When she tells him she can bring his father back from the dead with his help, he's over the moon. She explains to him that there is a world parallel to ours, called the Daemon parallel, and that he has magic and can help her obtain all of the things needed to perform the ritual to bring his father back. This sets Cameron off on a quest that involves werewolves, daemons, and even humans, and puts him in danger from an unexpected source.

I enjoyed this book very much. Cameron was a very likeable young man, and the friends he makes along the way are just as likeable. The interesting thing is that the ones you think will be evil sometimes aren't, and the ones you're supposed to trust are sometimes the ones you should be running away from the fastest. It keeps you on your toes!

The plot was well written, and moved along at an easy pace. The world building was phenomenal due to a very interesting setting. The human world and the Daemon parallel were described very well, which made them easy to imagine. The ending was a great twist, as well.

In summary, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Highly recommend to MG readers who like a little paranormal in their stories.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: Aloha Alibi (Charlotte Gibson Mysteries #1), by Jasmine Webb

 

Title: Aloha Alibi (Charlotte Gibson Mysteries #1)

Author: Jasmine Webb

Format: audiobook

Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Most people flee to Hawaii for gorgeous weather, white-sand beaches, and cocktails at sunset. Charlotte Gibson, however, is fleeing for her life after a vengeful mobster leaves a severed finger on her doorstep as a warning. Message very much received.

That’s how Charlotte—Charlie to everyone except her mom— finds herself on Maui with six dollars to her name, living with a mother who can’t stop giving her advice on how to land herself a husband. But when a businessman is murdered and his company offers a reward to whoever finds the killer, Charlie sees an opportunity: with that kind of cash, she could afford her own place and start a new life here away from the people who want her dead. After all, how hard can hunting down a murderer be?

Teaming up with a couple of old ladies with more spunk than Betty White, Charlie is sure she’s on the right track to snag the reward money. However, the infuriating-but-smoldering-hot cop trying to keep her away from his case has other ideas. Throw in a day job at an ice cream shop, corrupt local politicians, and a best friend trying to act as the voice of reason, and Charlie has her work cut out for her.

Will she be able to find the killer, or is Charlie’s time in paradise going to go straight to hell in a handbasket?"

My Opinion: Charlie Gibson kills a man in self defense who ends up being the brother of a very vengeful mobster, and when she finds a severed finger on her doorstep, she decides it's time to get out of Dodge, fast! The only place she can go, seeing as how she has no money, is Hawaii, where she spent her childhood and where her mother still lives. I mean, there are definitely worse places to go!

I thought this was a very fun book. The premise is far fetched, to say the least, but if you could look past that, it was a good read. I loved that the main characters were all strong, independent women, other than Charlie's mother, who just couldn't seem to talk about anything other than her daughter's lack of a sex life and her single-minded need for her daughter to find a man and get married. That was really annoying. 

There was a semi-romance set up between Charlie and the "infuriating-but-smoldering-hot cop" but it felt forced. I would love to see that delved into further in a more organic way.

Since this was an audiobook, I have to say that I thought the narrator, Khristine Hyam, did a fine job with the different characters, and she injected a lot of feeling into her reading, which was great.

All in all, I enjoyed this cozy mystery, and look forward to reading any further books in this series as I can see the promise in this book.

4/5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an audiobook arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Review: The Magicians Convention, by Elena Paige

Title: The Magicians Convention
Author:  Elena Paige
Format: ebook
Source: BookSirens

From Goodreads: In a world of mages and illusionists, one orphan must find the magic within himself to save the ones he loves . . .

Twelve-year-old Toby would give anything to see his parents one last time. But since they died tragically ten years ago, he knows it’s an impossible wish. Raised by his grandfather, who’s a little too protective, Toby yearns for adventure. So when he wakes up one morning and realizes his grandfather is missing, he follows the clues that will lead to his rescue. Toby is soon engulfed in a secret world of magic and illusion.

In this unfamiliar world, Toby is joined by two new friends: Wesa, a runaway mage, and Thatch, a security boy who’d give anything to practice magic. The three friends are instructed to find a magical hat before an evil magician gets his hands on it first.

Failing will mean the deaths of those they love and create a dangerous divide in the world of magic.

The Magicians Convention is the spellbinding first book in a trilogy of middle-grade fantasy novels.

My Opinion: Toby, a 12 year old boy who is being raised by his over-protective grandpa, wishes for excitement, for an adventure, and whether good or bad, he gets his wish. One otherwise ordinary day, he is looking out his window when he sees a long line of people, dressed very strangely, queued up outside a neighbor's door, waiting to enter. He calls his grandpa up to witness this strange occurrence, but his grandpa thinks he's making it up because he, himself, sees nothing. And thus begins the very adventure he was wishing for.

This is the first book in a new series, but there is a prequel that I recommend you read before starting this one. You could definitely read The Magician's Convention without reading the prequel, and would understand it completely, but the prequel sets the tone and gives a bit of background that makes it easier to understand just what is happening and who some of the characters are.

As for the characters, they are written very, very well, in my opinion. The back story of each of them is written seamlessly into the story line, and they are able to grow and learn as the story progresses. The plot is easily followed but not predictable, and the pacing of the story is just right.

I like to review MG books because I have a seventh grader who doesn't mind my picking his brain to get an idea of what works in a story and what doesn't, and I can report that he gave this book 2 thumbs up and said that he really enjoyed reading it and is looking forward to reading the next book in the series, which was my opinion, as well.

In summary, I am giving this book 5/5 stars, and can enthusiastically recommend it for fans of all ages who could use a little bit of magic in their lives.

*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Review: Hoods: The Beginning (Hoods #1), by David Niall Wilson

Title: Hoods: The Beginning (Hoods #1)
Author: David Niall Wilson
Format: ebook
Source: BookSirens

From Goodreads:  San Valencez is a city with many levels. Near the barrio, on the south side of town, gangs rule the streets, and those that don’t find a way out tend to be sucked into the shadows and consumed. Not far away, near the border between the bad side of town and civilization, there are those standing up to the shadows. They aren’t superheroes, exactly, but they aren’t regular kids either. They have abilities, intelligence, strength, skill—and a desire to see their city become a better place.

Four teenagers, Weaver, Cami, Shooter and Combo, come together with a mutual desire to make things better, to help those who need it and punish those who deserve it. When Shooter’s old friend Mikey approaches them, concerned over his brother Dale’s connections with a gang called Los Escorpiones, they organize and become something stronger than their separate parts. The city is in danger from a threat it doesn’t even know exists. All that stands in the way of disaster is a group of “Hoods.”

My Opinion: San Valencez is a tough place to live, so having friends, your own squad, is highly recommended, especially if you have to go out at night. Our four young heroes-to-be are pretty much loners, until a chance encounter in a dark alley brings two of them together. Bobby and Eddie both have enhanced abilities, and, unknown to them, they are caught on video by a classmate of theirs by the name of Luisa, code name Weaver. Weaver and Cami (another classmate named Lisa) have already been working together to help clean up their city, but they are not getting as far as they would like, so when Weaver sees what Bobby and Eddie can do, she knows instinctively that she needs to recruit them to join her cause. The boys agree that someone has to take on the gangs and other bad elements in their neighborhood, so they join forces with Weaver and Cami, and get their own code names, Shooter and Combo. They have to keep their identities secret because it would be very dangerous if anyone found out who they were.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The setting was described in such detail that I could feel the gritty darkness of it slipping into my mind as I read. The four kids who headline this book were well fleshed out and easy to like. You get to know them through their back stories and family history, which was written into the story very naturally.

I thought the plot flowed along at a good pace, which made the book very easy to read. It was a quick read because of this.

In summary, I enjoyed this book very much and enthusiastically recommend it to lovers of MG/YA fantasy stories. I give it 5/5 stars.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.