Greywalker

Welcome to my second Opinion/Discussion post!

Title:  Greywalker
Author:  Kat Richardson

I just finished this book this past Wednesday during a rather large storm.  It was perfect considering the part I was reading also had a storm going on.  Anyway, I found Greywalker to be suspenseful, confusing at times, adrenaline pumping, unbelievable, and sucky (and not in the way that you think) all at the same time.

[SPOILER ALERT]

So this is the part where I divulge some information that may or may not be too revealing.

Our main character is Harper Blaine - a dancer turned private investigator.  She is attacked while working a case and dies (but only for a little while).  She comes back with super powers!  Kind of.  She notices that she keeps seeing things from different time periods and that aren't really there.  She is referred to a couple (Ben and Mara Danziger) who dabble in the paranormal and tell her she is a Greywalker (more on that in the book).  Her life pretty much changes from there.

While trying to come to grips with her new abilities, Harper takes on two cases that will really change her life forever.  The first is a missing persons case and the second is to find a missing item.  Her missing persons case draws her even more into the paranormal since the person she found is a vampire.  Enter Cameron.  Since he is now found and no longer a missing person, he hires Harper to get in contact with his maker (Edward).  She is supposed to convince him to take Cameron back under his wing or assign another vampire to be the new vampire's mentor.

The story only gets weirder and more intense from there.

That is all I will give you right now.  If you have read Greywalker and have some things to add, leave a comment and I will do a follow-up post.  But for now... here are my thoughts on this book.

I thought the story was great.  It kept me wanting more with every new twist and turn.  At the beginning of this post I put that I found Greywalker to be suspenseful, confusing at times, adrenaline pumping, unbelievable, and sucky.  Let me explain some of these:

I found some parts confusing, not because of the writing, but because it was hard for me to keep track of and understand some of the paranormal based conversations - that's more of a personal problem I suppose but there you go.

I also found some parts to be unbelievable.  Now I know what you're thinking (maybe).  Well duh!  Of course it's unbelievable!  It's a fictional story written for entertainment purposes.  What I mean is that I found those unbelievable parts to be like, "Oh my gosh!  That is unbelievable how Will could just be like that with Harper!"  (Curious about Will?  Huh?  Huh...?)

Lastly... sucky.  Yes I found the book a little sucky.  Okay so maybe not the book but the main character's situation.  I mean poor Harper goes through a lot!  She is thrown into situations that are less than convenient and scary as hell.  All she wants is to grasp on to a little piece of normalcy.  A piece of humanity.  Unfortunately that is not an option for her.  At least not in this book.

All in all... I liked the book.  I would definitely read the second book in the series - after I read the current stack of books I have that is.

Some exciting extras!

I want to start posting some short stories and poetry here at EP Book Nerd!  But I can't do it alone.  (Cue Audience:  Awwww....)  If you have any short stories and/or poems you would like to share with the world, submit them to submit@epbooknerd.com.  I will not take credit for anything that isn't mine so if you submit it, you will receive full credit for your work.  Also, please don't submit something that isn't 100% yours (unless it was a team effort and all members are credited).

Recap:

Submit your short story and/or poem to submit@epbooknerd.com with "Submit Short Story" or "Submit Poem" in the subject line.  Include your name, short bio, and the link to your website/blog (if you have one) in the body.

 
My Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Happy Reading!

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Violet and the Veterox

My first Opinion/Discussion post on EP Book Nerd!  How exciting! (Read my previous "Book Nerd" posts on my other blog.)

Title:  Violet and the Veterox
Author:  A. Crouch

First let me say that I have been giving this post a lot (I mean a lot) of careful thought for the past five (yes five) days.  The reason?  I absolutely loved this book and I want to do it justice.

So.  Before I go into why I loved this book so much, let's take a trip back in time.  The year was 2014.  The month was April (I think).  I was perusing the many different projects on Kickstarter.com when I came across a book project.  Being a self-proclaimed book junkie I couldn't help but to click on it.  The moment I read the description I was hooked.  I had to know more about the book.  So... I pledged enough to earn a free copy of the e-book upon 100% funding and release.  I even posted about it on my other blog to try to get more people involved.  I wanted that book!  Finally... the project was 100% funded and I was ecstatic!  Now all I had to do was wait until the e-book was released.  Waiting... waiting... waiting... Yay!  The e-book was released and I got my free copy!  I read the book, loved it, and here I am sharing it with all of you!

Okay.  Now for why I loved this book.

The author, A. Crouch, did a fantastic job introducing us to the characters and their relationships to each other.  I really felt as though I got to know each and every one of them on a personal level.  The world building was also great.  It was technologically advanced yet believable.  It felt as though we are today right around the corner from where they are in the book.

Our main character is Evangeline.  I have to say that I found her the most relatable on a personal level.  It was literally mind-blowing how much we were alike.

For example:

On page 37 of the e-book she talks about how she wonders what it would be like to live through a pandemic and what she would do if she were in a hostage situation or survived a plane crash.  Basically going though different scenarios.  And well, I often think of the same things.  I'm not all "doomsday prepper" or anything like that but I do wonder what I would do in the event zombies were to start popping up (I get made fun of a lot by my family for that one) or if some other disaster were to take place.

That is just one (perhaps not so impressive) example of course.  There are more that I have highlighted but I don't want to overload you with things the main character and I have in common.  We can save that for a different post.

The beginning mostly gives us a background and brings us up to speed on the characters' lives (as most books do) until one evening when shit basically hits the fan and Evangeline's world gets turned upside-down.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Evangeline barely has time to take in what happens at the restaurant and the fact that her dad, best friend, and possibly sister are dead.  She is whisked away to safety and then heads over to a hidden (seriously cool) community of people with powers (Veterox).

I've been known to give away a little too much so I am making the conscious decision to not do that this time.  If you want to find out more about Evangeline and the start (hint hint) of her exhausting journey, buy the book.  It is super affordable and available here .

In short, this book was exhilarating, suspenseful, sad, and happy.  I could not put it down and finished it in the record time (for a non-speed reading busy wife and mother) of three days.  I cannot wait for the next gem A. Crouch releases!

If you have read Violet and the Veterox and would like to voice your thoughts on the book, leave a comment and maybe we can have a follow-up post about this awesome story!


My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Happy Reading!

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Introduction

Hello everybody!  Welcome to my newest creation!  EP Book Nerd!  Here you will find my random thoughts on books I read.  Thus the "Book Nerd" part in EP Book Nerd.  So what's with the "EP" you ask (or don't ask but I'm going to tell you anyway)?  "EP" is a little shout out to my lovable city of El Paso, TX... and it was the only blogspot sub-domain available where I could also use "booknerd."

Before I post anything else, let me say a few things...

I am not a professional writer.  I will repeat that - I am not a professional writer.  My writing will not be at the same level as a novelist.  I will have grammatical errors.  I will probably say things in ways that don't make a whole lot of sense.  My thoughts will be everywhere.  But... I will try, to the best of my current ability, to provide an enjoyable reading experience to all who visit.

I am not an expert on literature.  I'm pretty sure I don't have to repeat that one.  I do not have a degree in literature.  (In fact, my degree is in Web Graphic Design.)  I will comment on whether a book was well written or not but my opinions are just that - opinions.

With that said...

By now you are probably wondering... "Why in banana's pajamas am I going to take the time to visit your blog if you bring no real professional value to the table?"  For me that's simple.  I am sharing my love of books and stories with people who, hopefully, have that same love.

My plans for EP Book Nerd:

Now I do juggle many things such as work, volunteering, family, etc.  There may be times where there will be a couple of weeks worth of gaps between posts.  But... I will try my best to not let that happen.  My goal is to post at least once per week.  Hopefully more.  I hope to post:

 - Book Opinion/Discussion
 - Inspired By...
 - Kid's View
 - Short Stories
 - Poems

Well, there you go!  A little introduction/sneak peek to my new blog!  Feel free to follow my blog and leave comments below.  As long as they are tasteful and not rude, I will leave them up for others to read and respond to.  Also, as things pick up, you may suggest books for me to read.  I mainly focus on fantasy, romance, mystery, paranormal, and sci-fi but am open to trying new genres.  I hope to see you soon!

Happy Reading!

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