Thursday, August 31, 2017

Balance of August, 2017

During the month of August, 2017, I reviewed the following:

Books:
- "Love Like This" by Sophie Love. Read my review.
- "Game of Thrones - Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1" by George R.R.Martin. Read my review.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Book "Song of Ice and Fire - Game of Thrones" by George R.R.Martin

About the Book: Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildlings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.
Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.
Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.

About the Author: George R.R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and has been writing professionally since then. He spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer-producer, working on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and television pilots that were never made. In the mid ‘90s he returned to prose, his first love, and began work on his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since. Whenever he’s allowed to leave, he returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the lovely Parris, and two cats named Augustus and Caligula, who think they run the place.

My Review: Many authors try to write fantasy books. George R.R.Martin succeeded. I could easily place this series at the same level of "The Lord of the Rings", by J.R.R.Tolkien or "Chronicles of Narnia:  by C.S.Lewis. The author creates a whole new world and an incredible set of characters. 
"A Game of Thrones" is the first book of this series called "Song of Ice and Fire". In this book we see the start and development of a series of stories that run in parallel, beginning with the Stark family. Eddard (Ned) Stark is the head of this family, Warden of the North in the kingdom of Westeros. His wife is Catelyn and he has 5 kids. The elder is Rob, followed by Sansa, Brandon, Arya and Rickon. He also has a "bastard", John Snow, that lives with them. His best friend is King Robert. They fought together in the battle that placed Robert as king, replacing the so called Mad King (house Targaryen). Robert's Hand died mysteriously and Robert travels all the way North to try to convince Ned to be his new Hand of the King, a position that is second only to the king. Accompanying him is his wife Cersei, from the house of Lanister, her brothers Jaime Lanister, a warrior (and her lover), and Tyrion Lanister, a dwarf. Also her three kids are in this trip, being Joffrey (the elder) the heir of the throne, a cruel boy. Another story running in parallel is the story of John Snow, Ned's bastard, that goes to defend the Wall when Ned travels South to help the king. The Wall is an ice obstacle constructed to protect the kingdom against the wildlings and the night walkers (army of the dead), in the far North of the realm. The third story is the story of Prince Viserys Targaryen and his sister Daenerys Targaryen, in exile at the other side of the ocean, after their father was deposed.  And the story begins, full of intrigues, deceives, betrayals, love, cruelty, battles and a lot of endless action, all the good ingredients that makes this an instance classic for the ages...   
If you are willing to spend hours turning pages and get involved in this incredible world, I highly recommend this book to your permanent library. A book cannot get better than this one.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!


Saturday, August 12, 2017

Book "Love Like This" by Sophie Love

About the Book - LOVE LIKE THIS (The Romance Chronicles—Book #1) is the debut of a new romance series by #1 bestselling author Sophie Love.
Keira Swanson, 28, lands her dream job at Viatorum, a slick magazine in New York City, as an aspiring travel writer. But their culture is brutal, her boss is a monster, and she doesn’t know if she can last for long.
That changes when Keira, by a fluke, is handed a coveted assignment and given her big chance: to travel to Ireland for 30 days, witness the legendary Lisdoonvarna festival of love, and to debunk the myth that true love exists. Keira, cynical herself and in a rocky place with her long-term boyfriend, is all too happy to oblige.
But when Keira falls in love with Ireland and meets her Irish tour guide, who just may be the man of her dreams, she is no longer sure of anything.
A whirlwind romantic comedy that is as profound as it is funny, LOVE LIKE THIS is book #1 in the debut of a dazzling new romance series that will make you laugh, cry, and will keep you turning pages late into the night—and will make you fall in love with romance all over again.

About the Author - #1 bestselling author Sophie Love is author of the romantic comedy series, THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR, which includes six books (and counting), and which begins with FOR NOW AND FOREVER (THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR—BOOK 1) —a free download on Amazon!
Sophie Love is also the author of the debut romantic comedy series, THE ROMANCE CHRONICLES, which begins with LOVE LIKE THIS (THE ROMANCE CHRONICLES—BOOK 1).
Sophie would love to hear from you, so please visit www.sophieloveauthor.com to email her, to join the mailing list, to receive free ebooks, to hear the latest news, and to stay in touch!

My Review: This author is a natural storyteller. Working with a simple plot, Sophie creates a whole world of emotions and turmoils, describing superbly the mind of a young lady (Keira) and her struggles to balance her social life and her career.
Keira is a young lady living in New York City. She just started working at Viatorum, a magazine owned by Elliot, but managed by Joshua, her boss. When he is incapacitated by an accident, she landed a cover page story about the Love Festival in Ireland. In order to attend the 30-day Festival, she ended up braking her relationship with her boyfriend Zack, who is too possessive and do not see this assignment as a career opportunity. When he makes Keira chose between her career and him, she has no doubts and go to Ireland. When arriving there, she was skeptical about true love, but things start changing when she met her tour guide, Shane. The matchmaker, her visits to places in beautiful Ireland and her visit to her guide's family changes her view not only about Ireland, but also about true love.
This book is very well written and edited and I highly recommend it to the permanent library of all readers that appreciate a romance that can be savored during a weekend. You will not be disappointed.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment.