Weighted review

Blurb:
The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.

My review:
Raeth Arteres is at the mercy of the cruel interrogators aboard the Queen's ship. There's information they want, but she cannot talk or it might mean the destruction of all her people. The Queen won't let Raeth go into the arms of her parents in the land of the dead, though. Whatever it takes to make Raeth talk, they will find a way. Raeth's only hope is Princess Semara, but is she truly an ally or is she pretending to be to learn Raeth's secrets?

I was immediately hooked with the first paragraph. This steampunk novella thrummed with tension and kept it tight from beginning to end. I couldn't stop reading. Though Raeth is narrating the story, she's a mystery even to herself, and I was enthralled by her people's plight and her strange gift. For such a short story, I became emotionally invested quickly and ached for Raeth's escape. Semara also fascinated me. She and Raeth are two unlikely friends. If they are friends at all!

A veil of dread covered everything. The setting was frightening and exotic. The writing was brilliant. Such amazing detail! Why was this book sitting on my TBR list for so long? I highly recommend Weighted to everyone. Bravo, Ciara!

Visit Ciara Knight's website and blog.

You can purchase Weighted on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and B&N.

Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest

This great blogfest was created by Ciara Knight and Alex J. Cavanaugh. It gives us an opportunity to shout-out about books. You can choose any book except your own or something that has been on New York Times or USA Today best sellers list.

DON'T tell the author you're featuring their book. Instead, shout-out on social media sites and encourage others to do the same until the author notices. Then leave a comment with Ciara or the Ninja Captain when they do.

Check out the other participants' posts and find some great new reads!

I decided to choose a book by an author that doesn't regularly visit my blog. I have so many great friends who are fabulous writers. I'd shout-out their books all the time if I could! But they'd likely see my post before hearing about it on the internet. Here's my pick.

Blurb: My name is Amelia Gray. I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.It started with the discovery of a young woman's brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I've been hired to restore. The clues to the killer--and to his other victims--lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

Buy it on Amazon!

Author: Amanda Stevens is an avid reader, a wannabe taphophile, and a collector of all things Alfred Hitchcock. When she’s not writing, she likes taking road trips to Austin. And to Marfa. And to old cemeteries.

You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, her blog, and her website.

This one has been on the top of my TBR list for a while. I've heard fantastic things about it, but my local library doesn't have it and I'm a poor writer. This book was recommended to me by a fellow reader on Goodreads. I wouldn't have heard about it otherwise. Now I'm passing on the shout-out!

Weighted Release Day Blitz

Weighted (Prequel Novelette)

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.

Now available on

Smashwords,

Amazon,

and B&N.

Check out a fabulous excerpt here!

Ciara writes to ‘Defy the Dark’ with her fantasy and paranormal books. Her debut novel, The Curse of Gremdon, was released to acclaimed reviews, securing a Night Owl Top Pick and five stars from the Paranormal Romance Guild. Also, book I, Rise From Darkness, from her debut young adult Battle For Souls series, secured glowing reviews and won July Book of the Month from Long and Short Reviews.

Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She's backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska.

Ciara is extremely sociable so please feel free to connect with her at her blog, website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Facebook.

Upcoming books in The Neumarian Chronicles:
Escapement (Book I) - Early 2013
Pendulum (Book II) - Mid 2013
Balance (Book III) - Early 2014

Other books by Ciara Knight:
Battle for Souls Series
Rise From Darkness
Fall From Grace
Ascension of Evil - Coming in October