GoodRead - Mistress of Souls

I'm not sure what made me return to the world of Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters. I think there has been some news linked to her son (which I have read and am totally on Michelle's side over. What to know more, go to her website and read the story up), and I thought "Sod that! I want to support her" and I did consider writing a blog post about this thorny topic. But I thought "Actually, if I reviewed her writing, that will work also... will it?"

Ok, it might not, but I went to my kindle and blitzed this, the second in the Prophecy of the Sisters enovella spin off, we follow Alice after the events of Prophecy of the Sisters (this eNovellas takes place between the first and second books in the Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy). Alice is alone in Birchwood, New York. She barely eats. She spends most of her time in the Otherworlds where the Souls welcome her and the demon Samael gives her companionship. But something unexpected happens. Something that surprises even herself. Her sister's fiancee, James, and her feelings towards him.

I forgot how much I enjoyed Michelle's writing. It's easy to read and yet, it has this Gothic quality to it that fits this Victorian setting. And she made me get excited for this series again - a series I never finished (reading slump in 2012 really threw me and I haven't got books 2 or 3 in this trilogy. I know, I suck).

It was also interesting to read from Alice's point of view. While Lia was our heroine and who was meek yet strong of will, Alice was loud, headstrong and yet the "bad girl" in this situation (till the end of Prophecy of the Sisters, when she did something unforgivable). But here, we see a different side of Alice. A more fragile, lonely girl who is just trying to find herself and to find acceptable from the people around her. But she's not exactly doing the right way...

While this doesn't redeem her, I found I understood her a little better, and I feel believe enough to go back to this series and try again. If not, read the third and final eNovella in this spinoff series, Rise of the Souls that takes place after the trilogy's end (which I have on my kindle). But yes, I liked this and I will be returning to Michelle's writing soon...

GoodRead - Whisper of Souls

When I found out that Michelle Zink had written ebook Novellas, I got excited (like Emma from Book Angel Booktopia). And when it was revealed that these three novellas were linked to her Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy, I was intrigued. I've only read the first book in the trilogy, and I do have copies of the rest of the trilogy and Michelle's newest novel, A Temptation of Angels, which I plan to read over the summer or fear Emma's wrath...

But with these novellas, all being released over a three week strength (by the time you read this, Amazon should hopefully have this and the second eNovella, Mistress Of Souls, out but Amazon has been a bit slow on releasing these) so it will keep you Prophecy of the Sisters fans happy till the final book, Circle of Fire, comes out in paperback.

In this, a prequel to the series, follows Lia's and Alice's mother, Adelaide. A human portal to the otherworlds, Adelaide is slowly losing her grip. With the souls and their leader, Samael, grow more restless, wanting to come through to cause chaos and wreck havoc. And if Adelaide gives in to her urges, her two daughters will suffer the same curse...

I love eNovellas where you spend money (£1.99) and you get what you've paid for. I have a huge issue when you spend money of an eNovella or short story and, within a few clicks, you've finished (as you guys are probably aware). With Whisper of Souls, it was a good meaty eNovella, that I stretched out over 2 days.

Maybe I over-hyped this in my head, but oh, how I slipped back into this world. I fell in love with this story. I just loved this story. Maybe it was because I slowly fell in love with Prophecy of the Sisters (though I haven't read book 2 or 3). But I loved this prequel of sorts, explaining what happened to Alice and Lia's mother.

I loved this, and I can't wait to read the second eNovella in the series, Mistress of Souls.

RIFT's UK Cover! (& Some Michelle Zink News)

As you guys know, I FREAKING love Andrea Cremer's Witches War (aka Nightshade trilogy)! So, when Andrea revealed that she was writing two prequels, Rift and Shine, you could guess how EXCITED I was. And now, I just spotted that Atom (the UK publisher) slipped the UK cover to Rift without telling anyone! And here is it:

I love it! I simply love it. I imagine this cover to be SUPER shiny and I can not wait to get my hands on this book when it comes out at the start of August! And, Atom revealed info about this book:

Ember has always known that she owed her life to a mysterious order of Knights who saved her as a baby. The same order of Knights who called her best friend to service, leaving her behind to play the dutiful daughter. 


But shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Alistair returns. Although he seems altered - shadowed and brooding - Ember places her trust in him, knowing that he's her one chance to escape. 


Little does she know what danger lies ahead. For this is a tumultuous time, and Ember will soon be caught up in an age-old struggle between darkness and light. Neither she, nor her heart, can possibly survive unscathed.


PS - as a small note, Atom also revealed that they will be publishing 3 short e-novellas, written by Michelle Zink and they are spin-off linked to her trilogy, Prophecy of the Sisters. These three will be released in the coming weeks. And here are the covers for these three:

GoodRead - Prophecy Of The Sisters

It's quite a bit late and I can not go to bed without quickly reviewing the book (okay, audiobook) I have literally finished half an hour ago. It's called “Prophecy of the Sisters”, debut novel from Michelle Zink.

This is a slow building Gothic fantasy (though that comes a far bit into the book) set in 1890 and follows twin sisters, Lia and Alice. Their father has died, leaving them orphans but leaving far more behind than either of them realise. They soon discover that they have roles in a very old prophecy which has turned sister against sister throughout the ages. One of the side of good, the other on the side of evil. Living with their aunt and their disabled brother, the two soon discover that they don't know who to trust. Expect that they can't trust each other.

This is a slow book. You have to give it time. It's not one of the books I have been read over the last few months where something happens within the first few chapters. And with the first few chapters, you have to get use to the style of writing (remember this story took place in 1890). And this is where an unabridged audiobook comes in useful...

Am getting sidetracked. Once you get into the story, you find yourself getting sucked in. You see the character development, which Michelle uses the first part of the book to do. She developed, not only the mystery of the Prophecy, but the characters. We see that Lia and Alice isn't as cut dry as we think.

Then, we get into the fantasy element. There were a few times I did jump (not tell you.) and one time I actually got serious angry at the book (again, not telling, but if you've read the book, you know what I mean).

This is a slow building story that I have slowly grown to love. Plus, it's part of a trilogy! The second book – Guardian of the Gate – will be out later this year, around the same time Prophecy of the Sisters will be released in paperback.

I will be wait for the sequel. Or annoy Michelle Zink on Twitter for information. One or the other...

*

Also, a new thing I think I should do with a Book Review blog, is to put a piece of music. So, I have one video and one link. I suggest you check out the link.

The link, is Kenneth Zink. Yes, this is the author's son and he is STUPIDLY talented (me? bitter? No! Of course not!). He has made a score the Prophecy of the Sisters (as if it was a film) and some of the tracks are wonderful! PLEASE CHECK HIM OUT! http://www.myspace.com/kennethzinkmusic

GoodRead - UK Cover Vs US Cover

Blog Two of the day linked to UK Vs US Covers!

So, this blog will be of the audiobook I've started listening to (and has started to creep me out. And I'm not into chapter 8 yet!) - "Prophecy Of The Sisters" by Michelle Zink. Yes, I know this book has been out for a while in the US and in the UK so this is a teeny bit late. Oh well...

This is the UK Cover of "Prophecy Of The Sisters"


And this is the US Cover of the "Prophecy Of The Sisters"


I like them both. But I prefer the UK cover for the reason that it feels the dark, gothic feel of the story which I have heard so far.

But what do you think? Leave your comments and thoughts below!

***

EDIT!
Mere hours after I posted this blog, the author herself - that's right, the real MICHELLE ZINK - posted a small message on my LiveJournal entry on this. She stated the following:

Thanks so much for featuring Prophecy on your wonderful blog. I just wanted to clarify that both the US and UK hardcovers featured the first cover shown here. The second cover is actually the US paperback cover, and it may be used for the UK paperback as well. The cover concept was changed to appeal to a wider segment of the teen audience.

Hope you enjoy the sequel, Guardian of the Gate!
<3

MZ

First of all, am in shock! She ACTUALLY took time out of write on my blog! I know she does this with all her readers on Facebook and Twitter, but this feels like a real honour. So, Michelle, thank you!
And second, she called my blog "Wonderful". *faints*