Scookie Reviews

This week I’ve had the privilege of reading the opening to 11 self-published novels. In at least 8 of them, I spotted incorrect use of semicolons. It was such an issue that I decided not to factor it into my selection. But we need to talk! I love semicolons. I think they can turn a good line into a powerful punch. However, incorrect usage seems to be a huge problem for aspiring authors and indie authors alike. Semicolons are used to join two full sentences to imply a link, or to separate list items. The most frequent offence was using them instead of either a simple comma or when they should have used a colon. If you can replace one with a comma and you’re not writing a list, you’re doing it wrong. If you can replace one with a full stop, then you’re probably doing it right. Overuse is a problem, too. Just like someone slapping you again and again, they lose their power and you become numb to them. They become a distraction from the writing. It also means you have repetitive ...

Without delay, here are my top 5. I'll spend the next month reading each of your books before choosing a winner, 1)   Bloodline  by Tara Ellis By far the easiest choice. From chapter one, we have engaging, strong writing and a story that felt effortless. I want to know what will happen next, and I'm already attached to some of the characters. On to the next round! 2) The Scary Girls by J.D. Kaplan A few lines in this made me chuckle. I love the narrator - why wouldn't I want to read on? It begins with two intriguing characters and a prose I could slip into. Another very easy choice. 3) Broken Doll s by B.R. Kingsolver An interesting concept carried by a flawless prose. The ingenious use of asterisks to mark the telepathy made it clear and easy to follow. I'm very excited about this one! 4) Chains of Prophecy by Jason P. Crawford The opening scene reminded me of Supernatural , and now I want to read on just to find out what was going ...

H.A.L.F. by Natalie Wright 4 Stars Verdict: A typical alien experiment sci-fi novel. H.A.L.F. 9 has taken his first breath of desert air and his first steps in the human world. Created to be a weapon, he proved too powerful for his makers and has lived a sedated life hidden from humans. But H.A.L.F. 9 has escaped the underground lab he called home, and the sedation has worn off. He has never been more alive. More powerful. Or more deadly. Erika Holt longs to ride her motorcycle east until pavement meets shore. She bides her time until graduation when she’ll say adios to the trailer she shares with her alcoholic mother and memories of her dead father. But a typical night in the desert with friends thrusts Erika into a situation more dangerous than she ever imagined. Circumstances push the two together, and each must make a fateful choice. Will Erika help H.A.L.F. 9 despite her “don’t get involved” rule? And will H.A.L.F. 9 let Erika live even though he was trained to kill? The ...

That's it, guys. My review doors are now closed. We have 12 (hopefully) excited authors waiting to see whether they'll make it to the next round. I can't wait to get reading! From here, I'll test each book out by reading the first few chapters to decide whether or not I want to read on. After all, a good book will pull me in from the start and will never let go! I hope to have my favourites up by Tuesday the 31st of March . From there, I will read each of the remaining novels as if I'd bought it from a bookshop. This means if I lose interest or start to see huge issues with book, then it's tough love from me. You're out. Mini reviews will be posted for each of the top five within the month. I'll post with an update if I get delayed for any reason.  Once read and reviewed, I'll pick a ruling winner. Good luck, everyone. As I write this, I only have 8 entries downloaded onto my tablet. If you haven't yet sent me a mobi/kindle fi...

I am no longer accepting entries. My self-publishing contest is finally here. If you're self published and would like to enter, then  click here  for details. If you’d like me to hurry up and get reading, then please spread the word! The sooner the spots fill, the sooner I can get started. I’ll update this list as I accept entries. If your name is up here and you haven't sent me a copy of your novel, please send a mobi file as soon as you find a spare moment. 1. Chains of Prophecy by Jason P. Crawford 2. Broken Dolls by B.R. Kingslover 3. The Scary Girls by J.D. Kaplan 4.   A Time Apart  by Rebecca Caudill 5.  Bloodline  by Tara Ellis 6.  Hunters of Satan's Monsters  by Horace S. Mallette 7.  War of Destiny  by Theresa Van Spankeren 8. The Army of the Night by Paul Collis 9. Losing It by Elizabeth Armstrong 10.  Murder Becomes Manhattan by Jeffrey Eaton 11. Embryo 5 by J.A. Schneider ...

TREASURE DARKLY by Jordan Elizabeth 3 Stars Verdict: A western romance. Doesn't look like it, does it? Seventeen-year-old Clark Treasure assumes the drink he stole off the captain is absinthe…until the chemicals in the liquid give him the ability to awaken the dead. A great invention for creating perfect soldiers, yes, but Clark wants to live as a miner, not a slave to the army—or the deceased. On the run, Clark turns to his estranged, mining tycoon father for help. The Treasures welcome Clark with open arms, so he jumps at the chance to help them protect their ranch against Senator Horan, a man who hates anyone more powerful than he.  Sixteen-year-old Amethyst Treasure loathes the idea of spending the summer away from her bustling city life to rot on her father’s ranch, but when a handsome young man shows up claiming to be her secret half-brother, her curiosity is piqued. He’s clever, street smart, and has no qualms jumping into the brawl between the Treasures an...

The spots are now full. Thanks for all the social media support, guys! Here’s the deal. For every 10 self published books I read, there tends to be one real gem. With that in mind, I’m opening my review doors to ten individuals who aren’t afraid of a bit of friendly competition. I'm hoping to find a fantastic self-pub author and help spread the word about their novel. Theme: Supernatural Fiction I'm going to be fairly flexible about what counts as supernatural fiction. All it needs to contain is some sort of supernatural or magical aspect as one of the key features of the novel. If it's more akin to fantasy, then you'll be better to wait until the next contest. If you're not sure, then enter anyway. I should be able to tell from your blurb. You can post genres below that you would like to see in the future. To Enter You must be self-published . You can enter by using the contact form on the right or posting a comment on the bottom of this post. ...

Most of my reviews are thanks to NetGalley.com, a site that allows me to ask for free review copies in exchange for an honest review. I'm well within my recommended feedback percentage, and I've got the badge to prove it. I recently realised that one publisher has never disappointed me, from cover to blurb to content. Introducing Curiosity Quills Press . So many brilliant titles, where to start? Their covers are so gorgeous I can't help but take a peek at the blurbs when browsing for new titles. It helps that their favourite genres match up perfectly to my own: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy Horror, Speculative Fiction, Paranormal and Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Neo-Victorian, Mystery etc. So here's a showcase of some of their past titles I've reviewed, and a couple of titles I will definitely be reading in the near future. ~*~ Recent Reviews: Fifteen by Jen Estes Verdict: Witty and imaginative time-travelling story for teens. I really loved ...

BITTERSWEET   by Kimberly Loth 4 Stars Verdict: A story of survival and maturation of a troubled teen. After reading the book, the blurb seems inaccurate, so I’ve edited it. It’s not my best work and might not sounds as enticing as the original, but I hope it fits the book better: Every Sunday Savannah Ray gets an email from her dead dad. She doesn’t know how the emails work but she’s finally ready to start looking for answers and she doesn’t mind either as she’s not ready to let go. To find those answers Now that her mum is fed up of her rebellious behaviour, she has to go to the one place she swore she’d never set foot in after he died—Haunted Valley, the amusement park. Once there and on the hunt for answers bullied by co-workers & customers, she is distracted by the charming Dallas and falls hard for him. When the answers she finds aren’t what she expected and Dallas betrays her, Savannah must make a choice—succumb to the insanity that destroyed her fathe...

ALTAR OF REALITY   by Mara Valderran 5 Stars Verdict : A romance novel with dystopian on the side. When sixteen-year-old Madeline suffers her first grand mal seizure, she finds herself in an unfamiliar reality, surrounded by strangers wearing familiar faces. Her best friend, Brandon, tells her that the world has fallen to chaos, the aftermath of World War III ten years ago. Madeline doesn’t remember anything from this life— especially not the explosion four years ago that killed her parents and landed her in a coma, or the Lord Commander; a zealot leader of the Southern Territories now searching for her. Madeline barely has time to process everything before waking up to the life she’s always known. As soon as she dismisses it all as a strange and vivid dream, she finds herself back there once more. Unsure if she’s truly caught in the middle of a brewing rebellion, or teetering on the brink of insanity, she finds herself flipping between the two lives. Her heart becom...

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Sue Monk Kidd 5 Stars Verdict: Beautifully written, steady-paced coming-of-age story in Southern America. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come. ~*~ Every line is original – beautiful and creative without a whiff of pretentiousness. The style felt heavy at times, especially earlier on ...

A WHISPER OF WOLVES by Kris Humphrey 3 Stars Verdict: Quick and cheerful middle grade read. Easy on the eyes. When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer – a guardian of the wild. After many years of peace in the kingdom of Meridina, rumours are spreading of a planned invasion – could the demonic Narlaw be returning from the darklands? It is up to the Whisperers and their animal companions to defend Meridina, protect Princess Ona and stop the Narlaw from destroying their world. When hunters from her village disappear without a trace, Alice suspects that something sinister is at work. With the help of Storm, her wolf companion, Alice fights to save her village. The Narlaw are on the attack and it’s up to the Whisperers to stop them… ~*~ This is a very high three stars from me, especially towards the end, but I just couldn’t bring myself to give it four. The main problem for the both of...

FIFTENN by Jen Estes  5 Stars  Verdict: Witty and imaginative time-travelling story for teens. Legend has it if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. Fifteen-year-old Ashling Campbell knows that’s not true because when she closes her eyes each night, she doesn’t dream about public nudity or Prom dates. Instead, she’s catapulted to the front row of her future self’s execution - fifteen years from now - where monsters have taken control of her hometown and she, or rather, her 30-year-old counterpart, is their public enemy number one. For three months and counting, it’s been the same dream… until an encounter with an antique dreamcatcher. Ash falls asleep to discover she’s no longer a mere spectator in these dreams - now she’s astral-projecting into the body of her future self. Each night, she goes on the run with a ragtag group of rebels - who have no idea she’s really a high school sophomore and not their noble warrior. She has to make it through each night...

There’s a type of sentence that keeps appearing lately and I really wish it wouldn’t. Within a few measly words, the author has openly admitted their shortcomings and tried to solve it using this crafty little technique. It’s not even sweeping the problem under the rug – it’s holding the rug up to guests so they can get a good look at what you’ve hidden before offering them a tea. More specifically, it’s when the characters acknowledge that they are either confused by what they’re doing, or when they’re struggle to put their actual situation into words so they more or less shrug at another character. Motivation : “I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I’m doing it anyway.” Concepts : “I don’t think anyone understands it.” These are two lines I’ve pulled from books I’ve recently read, ones that were a sinking ship anyway but at this point it feels like the author has given up. If the characters have no idea, what chance does the reader have? If you ever find yourself using this...

UNFORTUNATES by Lillian Graves 2 Stars Verdict: Needs a developmental edit. Seventeen-year-old Vanessa is about to get a new life—whether she wants one or not. With a best friend keeping a crazy big secret from her and her parents rubbing their perfect high school love story in her rocky relationship's face, she doesn't have any more cares to give. So when Adam, a ghost who calls himself an Unfortunate, tells her she is his Match - the one who can help him earn his second chance at life by committing random acts of kindness – she nearly blows a fuse.  No, scratch that. It shot straight off. I mean, why help a ghost who may just be in her head? What was in it for her? After the denial and resistance pass, Vanessa begins to realize not all of arrangement is against her favor. There is something rather cute about Adam and maybe, just maybe, if he is telling the truth and she brings him back to life, he could be her new date to prom. But can her selfish ways live up to h...

GIRL OF THE BOOK by Princila Murrell 3 Stars Verdict:  For young children moving from a Western lifestyle to an Eastern. Twelve year old Courtney Parker is devastated to have to leave her friends and South Africa behind when her father accepts a lucrative contract and the family relocate to Saudi Arabia. Jeddah feels like a different planet to Johannesburg. In spite of her initial reluctance to venture out of the comfort and security of their new home, she quickly forms friendships with Nizar Bukhari and Lana Alahmadi. However, not everyone is happy with the situation. Courtney must learn to adapt to an alien, seemingly unforgiving culture and stand up to the bullies that are making her school life hell. Nizar and Lana must both try to overcome their family prejudices in order for their friendship with Courtney to survive. Will they succeed? Will they be able to set aside their differences? Can they bridge the cultural divide? ~*~ The Rating Breakdown  ...