Book Review Guardian of the Deep by Flossie Benton Rogers

Forbidden love in the fae realm…
The Succubus Layla has one job: to seduce dreaming men. Although emotional attachments are strictly prohibited, Layla has powerful feelings for the Guardian of the Deep.
Samael is a dark lord charged with maintaining order in his submerged domain. The Guardian is enamored of Layla, and they fuel their passion in his undersea home.
With forces stirring against them, the fae world becomes dangerous. Samael suggests a hideaway in the human dimension – a 1950 Montana ranch. Layla is thrilled. They can escape the threat looming over them, and she can indulge her cowboy fantasies with Samael.
When Samael disappears before their rendezvous, Layla’s dream turns to a nightmare. Peril is closer than ever. She must call on her deepest reserves and risk everything for the truth to come out. Is her love strong enough to hold the bond with her Guardian of the Deep?

                                              Guardian of the Deep

 Buy link: Amazon

My Review

I judge a book on its ability to hold my attention and keep me hooked until the very end. Guardian of the Deep did this for me. If you haven’t read any of Flossie Benton’s books this is a really good one to start with. Guardian of the Deep was a chance for me to get lost again in her wonderful characters and their lives and realms. A light read mixing sensual romance, paranormal and adventure both in the fae’s world and in Montana in the human world.

The author creates characters who are smart and beautiful. I couldn’t help but to fall in love with both Layla and Samael as they involve themselves in a dangerous relationship. Why dangerous? Because Layla is a Succubus and falling in love with Samael is considered a treacherous thing by her people. On the other hand, all those close to Samael consider Layla an enemy and don’t hide their disdain for her. As any forbidden fruit, their love is more enticing and full of unexpected surprises as, reading the story, one will discover. I won’t go into more details as this is a novella and you must read it and savor the thrilling adventure. Apart from Layla and Samael I also loved Sadie, a secondary character, a Wytchfae.

It amused me reading how Lyla went and had a cup of leftover coffee before leaving. So faes are also addicted to the black, divine drink. Good for them!

Another quote I enjoyed from the book, "She was trouble wrapped up in a bow. Gut instinct told him this woman could be the death of him.”

Guardian of the Deep is another amazing story by Ms. Benton-Rogers and the characters that she creates are second to none. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

I love Flossie Benton’s 's writing -  have loved Flossie Benton’s books since I read the first one - and this book is one of my favorites from her. She never disappoints.

Oddities of all Kinds - The Parthenon of Books

                  There's a famous quote attributed to Ray Bradbury. He says, "A book is a loaded gun!" The idea is that a book may be dangerous and thus parents  or officials need  to protect readers from coarse language, sexual themes, or other perceived offenses. Sometimes even political or religious themes are considered inadequate for the people of a country to read as it might give them ideas of what happens beyond their borders. (It happened around here in a not so long ago past.) 
                 Can you imagine that famous novels like The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter series belong to the list of banned books?
                 However such books are, from time to time, brought to the people's attention by various actions.

                In Kassel, Germany, the art exhibition documenta 14 is displaying a replica of the Greek Parthenon made of steel, plastic sheeting, and over 100,000 banned books.

                  Built behind the Fridericianum museum, where Nazis burned some 2,000 books as part of their “Campaign against the Un-German Spirit” in 1933, this is considered as “a symbol of opposition to the banning of writings and the persecution of their authors,” a kind of celebration of the written word and its threat to those in power.
                  The artist behind the project, Marta Minujín, has used banned books in her work: in 1983, she built   El Partenón de libros after the fall of the U.S.-supported military junta in her native Argentina. This Parthenon featured all of the books that the junta government had banned. After five days, Argentinians were encouraged to take titles from the installation and bring them home.
                    In preparation for the installation in Kassel, the art festival requested that authors, publishers, and individuals donate their banned books. With the help of professors and students from the University of Kassel, a list of 70,000 banned books was compiled. It includes titles like Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Alchemist, The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity, The Poet in New York, The Sorrows of Young Werther, The Metamorphosis, The Satanic Verses, and The Grapes of Wrath.
                  Have you read any of the books mentioned in the  list above? Do you consider them dangerous? 

Author Interview and Spotlight Sally G Cronin

                       I am honored to host today a special lady. She  is not only a great supporter of fellow authors from all over the world but she has numerous books on health and nutrition. Her blog is an exquisite source of information be it for women who want to keep a diet and look slimmer and also for people who have all kind of health problems.
                       She kindly agreed to answer a couple of questions for the followers of this blog, despite her busy schedule. so let's give a warm welcome to
                                             Sally G. Cronin

1 . What 3 words best describe you?

Inquisitive, Supportive, Joker

2. I’m sure we all have writing rituals, even if we’re not conscious of them! Do you have one, I mean do you need music playing in the background, have a certain snack at arm's length, write with a certain type of pen/keyboard, drink coffee/tea/milk/juice while writing?

I am pretty easy going with my writing process, but once I get started I like to work through without interruption until I have finished a chapter, short story or post. I may come back to edit later, but I like to know that it is all there.

3. What is your favorite positive saying?

There are quite a few that I have gathered over the years. One I do like in particular is this one.

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle

4. You have a complex blog. Promoting other fellow authors, articles on health and nutrition, etc.All of them extremely useful. How do you find time for all this?

Even when I began working for myself twenty years ago, I always put in the hours. I was used to 12 to 14 hour days and I consider what I do now as my job. As an author I needed to build a platform to promote my own books which cover health, nutrition and fiction. I have a diverse audience around the world, with varied interests. I wanted a blog that embraced that, and also provided me with a stimulating, if virtual work environment. For me promoting others is a natural extension of that, since they too write books across all the genres, which again brings a wide cross section of readers to the blog. And, I love what I do which is always a key element.

5. What question do you wish that someone would ask about your books, but nobody has? Write it out here, then answer it.

Why do you write so many short stories?

My favourite time of day when I was a child was being read a bed-time story. But I would not go to sleep until I had listened to the whole story. I am like that now. Although I read novels and enjoy them, I much prefer a really good short story with a beginning, middle and end that I can read before I switch out the light. That is why I love blogging because each post is a story with the same elements. And with short stories it is so much easier to end on a twist...

6. Which of your books was the most difficult/complex to write?

The most difficult to write was my first book Size Matters. Not because it was the first, but because it was the most personal. I shared the physical, emotional and mental elements that had led me to being morbidly obese and suffering from various lifestyle induced diseases. Being honest with myself was the first step and putting it down on paper for others to read was the next. It is there now permanently as a reminder to me of how much work I did to get back my health and that the effort should not be squandered.

 

About Sally Cronin

My name is Sally Cronin and after working in a number of industries for over 25 years, I decided that I wanted to pursue a completely different career, one that I had always been fascinated with. I began studying Nutrition and the human body twenty years ago and I opened my first diet advisory centre in Ireland in 1998. Over the last 18 years I have practiced in Ireland and the UK as well as written columns, articles and radio programmes on health and nutrition.

I published my first book with a Canadian self-publisher in the late 90s and since then have republished that book and released ten others as part of our own self-publishing company. Apart from health I also enjoy writing fiction in the form of novels and short stories.

My latest book – What’s in a Name? - Volume Two.

Buy link: Amazon

Our legacy is not always about money or fame, but rather in the way that people remember our name after we have gone. In these sixteen short stories we discover the reasons why special men and women will stay in the hearts and minds of those who have met them. Romance, revenge and sacrifice all play their part in the lives of these characters.

Kenneth watches the love of his life dance on New Year's Eve while Lily plants very special flowers every spring for her father. Martha helps out a work colleague as Norman steps back out into the world to make a difference. Owen brings light into a house and Patrick risks his life in the skies over Britain and holds back from telling a beautiful redhead that he loves her.

My other books

You can find more about Sally here:
Smorgasbordinvitation

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All books available in print and E-versions

Amazon 

Book Review - A Desolate Hour by Mae Clair

Sins of the past could destroy all of their futures . . .
For generations, Quentin Marsh’s family has seen its share of tragedy, though he remains skeptical that their misfortunes are tied to a centuries-old curse. But to placate his pregnant sister, Quentin makes the pilgrimage to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, hoping to learn more about the brutal murder of a Shawnee chief in the 1700s. Did one of the Marsh ancestors have a hand in killing the chief —the man who cursed the town with his dying breath?

While historian Sarah Sherman doesn’t believe in curses either, she’s compelled to use her knowledge of Point Pleasant to uncover the long-buried truth. The river town has had its own share of catastrophes, many tied to the legendary Mothman, the winged creature said to haunt the woods. But Quentin’s arrival soon reveals that she may have more of a stake than she realized. It seems that she and Quentin possess eerily similar family heirlooms. And the deeper the two of them dig into the past, the more their search enrages the ancient mystical forces surrounding Point Pleasant. As chaos and destruction start to befall residents, can they beat the clock to break the curse before the Mothman takes his ultimate revenge? . . .

"

Buy link Amazon

My Review

“Run from the thunder,

Run from the rain,

Lightning can’t hurt you,

The wind is in vain, ”    Sarah keeps saying in A Desolate Hour.
    .
Mae Clair is one of the best writers I've read. I've read a lot, indie and traditional.  She's one of the best overall. Her writing style and also the characters she creates are amazing, yet, characters any of us can easily  relate to. Once I started reading I couldn’t put the book down until I had read every word. I loved the characters, especially  Caden and Eve. But more characters are added to the story here in A Desolate Hour, like Sarah and the mysterious QM from book 2. Each with her or his secret and karmic burden.I want to make a special mention of Shawn, a perfect portrayal of an evil character, no matter his justification.

By the way, the title is a perfect fit for the story. The author couldn’t have found a better one.

For someone who is reading Book 3 it would be helpful to read the previous stories to fully tie all the threads together. But the book can be read as a standalone and there are reminders along the first chapters smoothly weaved in the plot that help the reader understand who’s who.

I knew I had to prepare myself to say goodbye to this incredible cast of characters at the end of this book, especially to Drayandor. Sadly this  did nothing to lighten the blow. With every passing page I marveled over the genius of the words before me and fretted over the dwindling number of pages left ahead of me. Now a few words about the story. 
Amazing. Entertaining. Beautiful, [of course.] I don't know if I'd want to know a person who couldn't absolutely adore this entire series. As I  mourn my goodbyes to these characters I have come to know and love (and sometimes hate, see Obadiah's descendant) and attempt to pull myself together to face life again, I offer a most sincere plea to Ms.  Clair to be so kind as to spin another tale for us (and quickly). The world is truly a better place with her books in it for everyone to enjoy.

The suspense builds constantly making readers curious to see what comes next. And the expectations aren’t in vain. Almost each chapter, and even scenes, end in cliffhangers that urge you to postpone other chores and go on reading.

For example:

“Everything that happens around here gets blamed on Cornstalk’s curse.”or

“The tip of the scars he carried from the Mothman poked from beneath his sleeve. . . . the welts had never changed in appearance or texture. Until today. Normally vibrant red, they were now jet black." or
"It was time to leave, to get out before someone spied his Charger in the
driveway. He cleaned up the sink, wiped up his bloody prints, and looked
around for a piece of paper.
There was one more thing he had to do to make the scene complete."

Based on a real tragic event the three books combine, in a skillful way, folklore, paranormal and romantic suspense. If you love mysteries linked to the Men in Black, UFOs, the Mothman, Ouja boards, curses spanning the centuries and marking the main characters’ lives or   reincarnation this is a series you SHOULDN''T miss!

         To sum up - another superb story, packed full of action and emotion,  by the talented Mae Clair that will keep lovers of the paranormal/romantic suspense  genre well entertained!