Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Two Indie Author Books I Enjoyed Reading

Hi all,

In 2011 I bought my first Kindle and since then a whole new world of writers have opened up to me in the form of Indie Authors! Since then, I have read many new authors and enjoyed their novels. I'd like to share three of them with you and the reviews I gave them.

The Secrets They Kept by Joanne Tombrakos

The Secrets They Kept is currently only $0.99 cents for a limited time on Amazon Kindle.

This was one of the first indie author books that I read and I was so impressed by it. I think most women who enjoy reading will enjoy this book.

Book Description:

Every family has its secrets. Elena Poulous knew that. As an attorney she witnessed such deception every day. But she never thought her Greek-American family was like everybody else’s, not until the Saturday morning, the police knock on the door of her New York City apartment and inform her of the death of Yannis Poulous, a man she had never heard of, a man who has listed her as his next of kin.

A box of old letters she unearths in his Brooklyn apartment help to unravel the mystery of who he is. But the biggest part of the puzzle - why everyone in her family, especially her mother Kristina refuses to talk about him - proves the most difficult to discover.

The Secrets They Kept is a multi-generational story, of cultural and religious influences, of secrets kept and discovered, all in the name of love and of family.

My 5 Star Review:

This is Joanne Tombrakos' first novel and she did an excellent job with it! I really enjoyed this family drama - the characters were well fleshed out and the storyline stayed consistant. In a book such as this, where there are flashbacks, it can become confusing if not written properly, but Tombrakos had no problem doing this. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good fiction family drama. 

The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin

The Darkening Dream is currently $4.99 on Amazon Kindle.

I have to admit that I bought this book because of the cover and that it is set in the 1913. I expected a book about witches because of Salem - but it is so much more. I really did enjoy this story.

Book Description:

The Darkening Dream is the chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter.

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be herself.

My 5 Star Review:

I swore I was through with the whole vampire fad in books but I was drawn to reading this book by both the amazing cover and the storyline. I was not disappointed. I liked that it was set in the early 1900s instead of being contemporary. The characters were well-written and likable, so you did care what happened to them. There was also the right amount of suspense and mystery to keep the story interesting. I do have to say, I didn't like the ending but it made me think there is a sequel in the works. This book is well worth the read and I look forward to more books by this author.

Currently I am reading ON DEADLY TIDES by Melanie Jackson and then I plan to read CHEMS by Ann Swann. I'll share my views of these books in my next Indie Author post.

Cheers,
Deanna

3 comments:

  1. There is just not enough time to read all the great stuff available on Kindle! Although I am becoming much more discerning in what I download, I still have about 150 books waiting for me - and I add more every day - YIKES!!! And I just started - how many will I have after doing this for a year or more? Do you suppose there's a support group I should join?

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  2. I know what you mean, Crystal. I have 59 books on my Kindle that I still have to read - most of them by indie authors. There are just too many good ones to choose from. At least I'll never be bored. :)

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  3. It's kind of overwhelming, and yet I downloaded the sample for The Darkening Dream - which is my way of bookmarking something I want to come back to later.
    Thanks for the tip!

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