Friday Featured Spotlight
At Curiosity Quills Press, we believe a book is a portal to another world, a break from reality that frees both mind and spirit. We want to bring a little piece of that magic to every life we touch with the written word.
W. Somerset Maugham once said, “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”
Welcome to a world of magic and dragons, of nightmares, vampires, zombies, and aliens. We are the trusty sidekicks, the parallel universe of dreams, the things that go bump in the night.
We are writers helping writers.
We are innovators.
We are escapists.
We are literary marauders.
Everyone needs a place to escape, let Curiosity Quills be yours.
W. Somerset Maugham once said, “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”
Welcome to a world of magic and dragons, of nightmares, vampires, zombies, and aliens. We are the trusty sidekicks, the parallel universe of dreams, the things that go bump in the night.
We are writers helping writers.
We are innovators.
We are escapists.
We are literary marauders.
Everyone needs a place to escape, let Curiosity Quills be yours.
*Books source ~ All copies provided by CQ in exchange for honest reviews
Title ~ I Kissed a Ghoul
Author ~ Michael McCarty
Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills
Published ~ 1 February 2015
Genre ~ Paranormal | YA
Pages ~ 128
My Rating ~ 3 bites
Tommy Wharton, son of the Edgeville mayor,
should be a babe magnet and part of the popular crowd at school. Instead he’s a
supernatural magnet. As in, he is constantly running into weird things that
shouldn’t be real. And somehow surviving. But will he ever lose his virginity?
An amusing “memoir” about Tommy, an overweight,
horny teenager who would love to finally get laid, but each time it looks like
it just might happen (whether thru a favor owed, a pity fuck or just plain good
fortune), something supernatural comes along to screw it all up and a virgin he
remains. I started to feel really sorry for the guy. Why are there so many
supernatural beings in or around Edgeville? And how does Tommy manage to
stumble upon almost every single one of them? It’s a mystery. He eventually
gets his cherry popped and manages to enter into a steady relationship, but the
journey to get there is filled with enough stuff to make Sam and Dean
Winchester’s Weird Shit O’Meter be in constant eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!-mode.
Title ~ The Vampires' Last Lover
Series ~ Dying of the Dark, #1
Author ~ Aiden James
Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills
Published ~ 19 December 2013
Genre ~ Paranormal
Pages ~ 226
My Rating ~ 2 bites and a nibble
Virginia native Txema Ybarra is a typical
nineteen-yr-old college student at the University of Tennessee. Or so she
thought. Then the attacks started. Women who fit her description were being
brutally murdered and the closer the killers get to her location the more
nervous she becomes. Handsome, mysterious strange men visiting her at night don’t
help the situation. Txema has no idea that she’s at the heart of a war between
the vampires and the undead rogues. But she’s about to find out and fast.
I have to admit to being disappointed in this
book. The concept sounded new and fresh, but the execution left much to be desired.
The pacing was all over the place, at times plodding along with too much detail
and then bam! Flying along and barely touching on the events that were happening.
Sometimes too much detail and sometimes not enough. And don’t get me started on
Txema. I completely disliked her. She calls herself stubborn, I call her TSTL. She
grated on my nerves so much that I reached the point where I hoped she would
die. The rest of the characters are flat. I cared for none of them. While I won’t
be continuing with this series, I do want to try other works by this author
because I’ve read Fractured Earth, TheActuator, #1 that he’s written with James Wymore and I enjoyed it.
Title ~ Treasure Darkly
Series ~ Treasure Chronicles, #1
Author ~ Jordan Elizabeth Mierek
Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills
Published ~ 15 February 2015
Genre ~ Steampunk | YA
Pages ~ 289
My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble
Clark Treasure is the 17-yr-old son of a
Tarnished Silver living in the attic of the brothel/saloon where she works when
he pickpockets the wrong man and his life changes forever. On the run from
those who want to use him he takes refuge with a father he’s never met. To his
surprise, his new family welcomes him with open arms (well, most of them), but
if he thought his father’s wealth and power would now protect him he’s in for a
shock. From the frying pan into the fire, Clark’s life before will come in
handy now as his life takes another turn. But is it for better? Or worse?
Two years after Clark steals and drinks from a
vial with what he thinks is absinthe (but oh so is not) he decides that only
his father’s wealth can protect him from the Army that’s looking for him. With
a supernatural ability to bring people back from the dead and then turn around and
take a life, he’ll do anything to stay out of the Army’s grasp. Even if that
means confronting the father he never met. Boy, is he in for some surprises.
And I was, too. Clark is a great hero. Strong, honorable, conflicted and yet he
doesn’t hesitate to take a life if it means his survival or the survival of the
people he considers family. I love Clark. I can’t wait to read more about him.
His new sister Amethyst, on the other hand…ugh. She is spoiled rotten and
shallow to the point of complete uselessness. And yet there is a tiny spark of
something else there. By the end of the story I’m liking her a bit more as she
grows into a more well-rounded character, but she’s still not someone I’d want
to hang out with. Yet. I see potential for her to be worthy of Clark. Her
brother. Yeah, it’s complicated. You’ll see. The writing is wonderful and the
world is vibrant, but there is a bit of a cliffhanger. Well, it’s not so much a
cliff as a steep hill. I’m looking forward to book 2, Treasure Born.
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