Tag: top-ten-reads-of-2015 • BookLikes

review 2016-10-14 11:11

I was gifted my copy of this book, direct from the author, and I thank Ms Pauls for that!

Maya is a Hydromancist, she can control the water. She never found her place til she joined Cain Jones and his paranormal task force. Now, with her team mates occupied elsewhere, Maya is sent to destroy a shipment of smuggled arms to prevent them from reaching Africa. She is also instructed to eliminate the main suspect, Australian Ambassador Timothy Fardel. A man who Maya reacts to as she never did before. A man who causes Maya to want more. A man with secrets.

Book four in the series. I would HIGHLY recommend that you read books one through three before you read this one. Its not necessary, it would just help. It would give you a better picture of the people in the task force, of what they have gone through, and of who they are fighting. That runs through from the three books into this one.

I have one incy wincey niggle, and I have a sort of explanation why it does not affect my star rating, but I need to mention it.

The book is told almost entirely from May's POV, in the third person. We get a tiny bit of Tim, just a small chapter. Ordinarily, that would cause me to knock half a star off. BUT I spoke with Ms Pauls, and she explained why its written this way. I'm not giving the why, you just need to trust me when I say, its right and proper that THIS book is written this way.

The reaction of Maya to Tim, and vice versa, is powerful. Their attraction, off the charts. Their story?? Amazing! You don't get Tim's secrets til they are revealed in the book, but I had an inkling about one. Not the other, oh no! not THAT one!! did not see that coming! You don't get Maya's full background: hints and snippets, yes, but not just how bad it was til she tells Tim.

We catch up with Clelia and Josselin, and their exciting news, and with Katherine and Lann, and with Cain. We know that the battle with Godfrey is still ongoing, and this will, I suspect, continue for many a book.

This one has intrigue and danger, passion and sex, so much going for it, that bar the first chapter, I read it in one sitting. I wanted to know more about Maya, and why she felt the need for forgiveness, why she carried all this guilt. I wanted more about Tim, his background and secrets. I just needed more, and I got it in that one sitting.

so, following knowing why Tim only gets a short say, I can't, in all honesty, give this book anything other than...

5 stars.

**same worded review will appear on Goodreads, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk,**

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review 2016-10-14 11:05

awesome conclusion to Katherine and Lann's story

debbiereadsbook

Aeromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts Book Book 3) - Charmaine Pauls

I was gifted my copy direct from the author, and I thank Ms Pauls for that.

This is book 3 in the series, and you really must read book two, Aeromancist : The Beginning, before you embark on this one. This is a continuation of that story, and picks up two weeks after that one finished.

Two weeks after Lann left her, Katherine makes a discovery that rocks her, and Lann, to their very core. Lann is now forced to choose: his legacy, or the love of his live, Katherine.

Its really hard to write a review without giving ANY of the plot line away, so I apologise is I slip up, but I'm going to try really REALLY hard not to! I eagerly awaited this instalment, after being left hanging from book two, and it did not disappoint! After Katherine's discovery and Lann's confession, they are faced with a terrible decision and Katherine, unable to make that decision, runs. Can't say I blame her. But when Lann saves her from those who wish to harm her, she knows she should stay with Lann, even if it means her end.

I mentioned in my review for book two, that we don't get enough of Lann. We do here! Its even spaced out, between Lann and Katherine having their say, in the third person.

There are bigger, darker forces at work in the book, and some of that story arc will have to run over into any future books, as its left open ended and unfinished. I would like to think that Nicholas will pop up again at some point, if only to help bring Godfrey to account for his actions.

Joss, Clelia, Maya, Bono and Cain all play a part, and I was glad to catch up with them. I did feel for Clelia though, at points, when she was talking with Katherine. Her hope, and pain, jumped off the page. I'm glad she has more hope now, though.

Who is next?? I've no idea. Bono will fall hard and fast, and Maya? She'll fight it all the way, tooth and nail. Maybe, Ms Pauls will throw someone new in the mix, with an Art we have yet to come across. I don't care, really, just as long as I don't have to wait too long! Are you listening to me, Ms Pauls?!?! Not too long!!

**after writing this review, I found out, Maya is next. due out sometime in the autumn**

5 stars

**same worded review will appear on Goodreads, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk**

paranormal 5 Star Reads 2015 reads

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review 2016-10-14 10:59

4.5 stars

debbiereadsbook

Aeromancist: The Beginning (Seven Forbidden Arts Book 2) - Charmaine Pauls

I was gifted my copy direct from the author.

Lann is an aeromancist, he controls the air. He hides for a month or two, in Santiago, with his previous books, and the solitude. When Katherine visits his library for her thesis work, she literally moves the air for him. He thought it a myth amongst his kind. When Lann offers Katherine 30 days to be at his beck and call, she doesn't refuse, but wonders will she ever be able to give him up??

This is the second in this series, The Forbidden Arts, and about the manipulation of air. Or rather, I should say, about a manipulator of air, rather than the actual doing. Because, what I liked most about this book, was that, aside from Katherine moving the air for Lann, and what he thinks about, there is no actual doing of the fact. If that makes sense. Its talked about, Lann talks about it, to us, not Katherine, but thats all. I really liked that!

What I didn't like was how little we got of Lann. There is some at the beginning, their intial meeting, at the air field and again at his library, and then some at the end, the rest is Katherine, and I wanted more Lann! All those 30 days, zip, zero, zilch, and I so wanted to hear from him! This is the only reason it gets 4.5 stars, rather than 5, the lack of Lann.

Book 1.5 rather than book 2, because let me tell ya, I did not see that end creeping up on me! Lann and Katherine's tale is by no means finished, and the conclusion (I hope!) to their story is out over the summer, Ms Pauls did tell me so! And I look forward to that!

Thank you, Ms Pauls for my copy.

4.5 stars

**same worded review appears on Goodreads, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk**

paranormal 5 Star Reads 2015 reads over 18s

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review 2016-10-14 10:54

a slow burner!

debbiereadsbook

Pyromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts, #1) - Charmaine Pauls

Independent Reviewer for Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock.

OH MY WORD!

A slow burn, in every sense of the word!!

Clelia was bought up by her grandfather in a little village in France. Someone, or something, is burning that village, house by house. Clelia has dreams, nightmares and one of those dreams steps off a helicopter and drugs her. Josselin returns to his home village to chase his own ghosts, and those of Clelia's. Together they must stop a monster.

Taking a while to get going, this book simmers and smoulders, as do the ruins of the village. As does Clelia's passion for Josselin (never Joss!) As does Josselin's love for Clelia, that was sparked so long ago. You get hints, snippets, clues and you get slaps up-side the head! You get love and hate, life and death and oh! so much more!

Clelia is a Pyromancist, she can make fire. But her power isn't really her own, til much later in the book. Josselin, we know not what he is, exactly, but he IS NOT a vampire. His power comes from tasting blood, yes, but he only needs a drop to tell what you are, and whether you are lying.

Its a different take on the paranormal theme, and a welcome one. There are seven forbidden arts, long forgotten and hidden. We learn about three here, fire, air and water manipulation. Four more to come. I do hope we don't have to wait too long for book 2!

I have one teeny niggle, but it doesn't affect my star rating. There are a lot of French words here, mostly places, but I have no idea if I was saying them correctly in my head. I know I wasn't saying Clelia right, because she was Celia the whole way through!

Hurry, please, Ms Pauls, with book two. I need more of this group of people in my life.

5 full and shiny stars!

**same worded review appears on Goodreads, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk**

paranormal 5 Star Reads 2015 reads

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review 2016-10-14 10:49

It all begins here!

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Crushed (Seven Forbidden Arts) - Charmaine Pauls

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian I Dig Good Books, I received this book direct from the author in exchange for my review.

This is the prequel to Pyromancist, an introduction if you will, to the group that Josselin works for. On the run after her family was slaughtered, Lily is rescued by Jacob. But its not so much as a rescue, as a means to an end, the end being Lily's father's capture. Chased across Africa and Europe, together they find themselves in danger at every turn. But not every danger is clear, and Lily learns the hard way what Jacob is trying to tell her: not to trust anyone!

I've filed this on the paranormal shelf, but there isnt very much paranormal content, it talks about the seven forbidden arts, fire, water, air, earth, human, animal and spirit, and we are introduced to Josselin and his team, but thats all. I put it there to carry on for Pyromancist, and next up, Aeromancist. I have that to read too.

I loved this as much as Pyromancist, even with the paranormal element. Why?? no idea, but I did. You get a little introduction inot Lucien, the pyromancist in that book, and to Lily's rather lovely father and step brother. They don't appear in in the main book, though, just Lucien.

Deadlier, sexier, and more action, makes for a book that I read in one fell swoop, and could not put it down. I thank Ms Pauls for giving me this book to read. It can be read as a standalone, or after the first main book, it won't alter your reading enjoyment.

5 stars **same worded review appears on Goodreads, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk**

paranormal 5 Star Reads 2015 reads