The Tangled Bridge by Rhodi Hawk

Title: The Tangled Bridge
Author: Rhodi Hawk
Genre: Fiction/Horror/Thriller
Series: Madeleine LeBlanc #2/A Twisted Ladder Series

Trade Paperback, 528 pages
Published October 30, 2012 by Tor Books 

Buy the Book
|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Publisher

|SUMMARY| 
 Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc is desperate to escape the madness that has followed her family for a century.  She’s struggling to adjust to her new-found power and to stick to the pact that protects her sanity. 

But an innocent little boy is being hunted—by Madeleine’s half brother and her great-grandmother, Chloe, and by the demons they control.  The boy is a threat to their bloodline, to their very nature, but Madeleine cannot let his young life be callously destroyed.

Thrust into an age-old battle of dark versus light, Madeleine dives deep into the history of her family and into the vast paranormal underworld of New Orleans, a world seemingly controlled by her great-grandmother.

|REVIEW|

**Contain spoilers from first book!**

The Tangled Bridge is the sequel to Rhodi Hawk’s A Twisted Ladder that follows Dr. Madeleine LeBlanc as she comes to term with her new ability, and her dark family’s history. The People in Madeleine’s family all have the ability to influence/manipulate people’s will/mind, something they call ‘ Pigeon Games’.  In the previous book, Madeleine not only learns that her father isn’t really sick but can see in the briar (a dark and twisted place where the river devils resides) but she too has the knack. Madeleine’s life got more complicated in A Twisted Ladder when she discovers her brother Marc, who committed suicide has a child, and Zenon her long time neighbor is also her half-brother. Zenon tries to kill Madeleine by using pigeonry on her, but instead Madeleine used it on Zenon first causing him to stay in a vegetative state. Madeleine thought with Zenon being bedridden she’d be safe but it turns out Zenon is able to walk the briar, and is still taking over people mind without being in a physical body. Zenon and Great-grandmother Chloe is out to find Marc’s child, destroy all the Lumens (especially a certain young boy…Lumens are a group of people opposite of the briar children, Lumens are people full of light/life), and have Madeleine join their side or die.It is up to Madeleine to stop Zenon and Chloe, all while trying to stay alive and not succumbing to the briar/pigeonry.

 In this follow up sequel we learn more about the LeBlanc family, and readers get a more in depth look at the briar, river devils and pigenory. Madeleine is a strong character, she is always fighting against using pigenory for the wrong reasons, and although Severin (Madeleine’s river devil), Chloe and Zenon are pushing Madeline towards using more of her ability and walking the briar she never gives in and keeps fighting. Severin, Madeline’s river devil is one creepy little girl, every time the author describes her and what she does in the book…it gives me goosebumps! The Tangled Bridge, like the first book has chapters alternating back and forth from present day Louisiana and 1900s Louisiana.

I enjoyed this book as much as the first, although there was less mystery/action this time around. Madeleine spends most of her time protecting Marc’s baby’s location and one of the Lumen boy from Chloe/Zenon or in the briar learning to hone her power or getting Chloe/Zenon off her trail. Overall, The Tangled Bridge was a great addition to the series, and it’s as creepy and chilling as the first book. The ending leaves a possibility of the series continuing, because Marc’s child is the last of the briar children. 

FTC disclaimer:  Tor Books  provided me with a copy of The Tangled Bridge, and in return I provide an honest review. 

  

The Tangled Bridge book tour continues, be sure to check out the following blogs!!

Nov 8: Short & Sweet Reviews (A Twisted Ladder review)

Nov 9: Short & Sweet Reviews (The Tangled Bridge review)

Nov 10: http://book-brats.com

Nov 12: http://paranormal-bookclub.com/ (giveaway)

Nov 13: http://www.omnimysterynews.com/ (guest post)

Nov 14: http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/

Nov 15: http://butterflyometerbooks.blogspot.com/

Nov 16: http://bibliophilicbookblog.com/

Nov 17: http://www.basiasbookshelf.com/

Nov 18: www.joyousreads.blogspot.com

Nov 20: www.seeingnight.blogspot.com

Nov 21: http://qwillery.blogspot.com

A Twisted Ladder by Rhodi Hawk

Title: A Twisted Ladder
Author: Rhodi Hawk
Genre: Fiction/Horror/Thriller
Series: Madeleine LeBlanc #1

Trade Paperback, 544 pages
Published September 1st 2009 by Forge Books 

Buy the Book
|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Publisher

|SUMMARY| 
Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc has spent her whole career trying to determine the cause of her father's schizophrenia. She always felt that she could unravel its origins and cure the man who left her and her brother, Marc, to practically raise themselves on the Louisiana Bayou. But when Marc takes his own life on a fishing boat in the middle of Bayou Black, Madeleine embarks on a journey into her family history---to a time when the antebellum era was crumbling, and the line between servant and master was starting to fade. And the more she pries the more she reveals her family’s dark past, rife with conjured demons and river magic gone awry. Madeleine’s only hope to save herself is to face the ghosts of the past, the dangers of the present, and the twisted ladder that links them all together.

|REVIEW| 

A Twisted Ladder starts out with the main character, Madeleine Leblanc’s brother Marc committing suicide. After Marc’s death, Madeleine discovers that her brother been going through a lot prior to his death, piecing together information about her family history, and the truth behind her father’s diagnosis of Schizophrenia. Madeleine begins to see that ‘personal’ demons are real, and the question is whether or not you can overcome it and beat it at its own game. 

I didn’t really know what to expect when beginning A Twisted Ladder, I thought it was going to be a paranormal read but it’s more of a fiction thriller-mystery. A couple of the characters exhibit an ability to manipulate others’ mind by projecting their wills on unexpected individuals. The author takes a known mental disorder, Schizophrenia and warps it into an idea that is the main subject of the novel. I found the entire book fascinating, and was on the edge of my seat as I flip through the book. The chapters alternate between present day Louisiana and Louisiana in the 1900s (Madeleine’s great grandparents/family). The flashback scenes brought a little more back-story to Madeleine’s family, but I think it would have been fine without it. There were a couple of graphic scene in the book, but I didn’t think too much of it. It didn’t take anything away or give anything to the story. 

Overall a good start to a new series, the beginning started out strong and continued that way till the very end. The book read like a mystery-thriller as readers follows Madeleine as she unearth secrets from the past and present; and as she help uncover a murder involving two women who has gone missing. In the last few chapters, the author throws a bunch of twist and turns that I didn’t see coming. I really loved the setting; the back drop of Southern Louisiana adds a beautiful-eeriness to the story. The ending was quite a shocker, and I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2, A Tangled Bridge. I recommend this to anyone looking for a suspenseful mystery-thriller. 

FTC disclaimer:  Tor Books  provided me with a copy of A Twisted Ladder, and in return I provide an honest review.

Stacking the Shelves [1]

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Review:

Stray Souls by Kate Griffin

**Thank you Orbit Book**

Bought:

The Shattered Dark by Sandy Williams

A  Trace of Moonlight by Allison Pang

Sanctum by Sarah Fine

Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff (you guys this was in Amazon's bargain bin for $4!!)

Dead Spots by Melissa F. Olson

|click book titles to purchase or to learn more about the books|

I haven't done a book meme in forever, thought I'd start again :).  I'm super excited to read all of these, especially Dead Spot, I read the first chapter and was hooked!

Leave Links to your Stacking the Shelves or IMM, would love to check it out! :D

Interview with Sandy Williams + Giveaway

Please welcome Sandy Williams to Short & Sweet Reviews. Sandy Williams is the author of The Shadow Reader, and her second novel The Shattered Dark just recently released everywhere books are sold. 
 

Hi Sandy! Welcome to Short & Sweet Review, thank you for being here today! :D

Thanks so much for having me, Van!

Can you give a short description of the McKenzie Lewis series for those who haven’t read it yet?

Sure! The Shadow Reader books are about McKenzie Lewis, a human who not only has the ability to see the fae, but she can track them when they fissure (teleport) from place to place by reading the shadows their fissures leave behind. The fae found her when she was sixteen years old, and she’s been working for the fae king for the past ten years. She’s tried to balance her life as shadow reader with her life as a college student, but that’s failing miserably. Then, in THE SHADOW READER, McKenzie is abducted by rebels who are determined to overthrow the king. THE SHATTERED DARK deals with the ramifications from the ending of the first book, and things get tougher for McKenzie when she learns that Paige - her best friend who can't see the fae and doesn't know of their existence - has been pulled into the war.

Was it harder to write the second book, or easier since foundation for the world and characters were already laid down?

Oh, so much harder! It wasn’t the book’s fault. When I wrote The Shadow Reader, I had no distractions at all. I wrote the majority of it in a tiny apartment outside of London because my husband was working over there at the time. Fast forward a couple of years later, though, and not only were we back home in Texas (with laundry and home maintenance and a part time job and all sorts of other responsibilities), but I was pregnant for the first time and with twins! For the first three months of the pregnancy, I was too sick to do anything but lay on the couch. The last three months, due to a condition called PUPPs and another condition called cholestasis, I didn’t sleep more than a couple of scattered hours a night. That’s all right for a week or two, but three months of no sleep is not good. I couldn’t function. So, most of THE SHATTERED DARK was written after I delivered. Writing a book with new born twins wasn’t easy either, but I did it! Hurray!

McKenzie didn’t do a lot of physical fighting in the previous book; will we see her busting-a-move in the Shattered Dark? ;)

McKenzie knows her limitations. She knows that she doesn’t really stand a chance in a fight against a fae, who have spent their whole lives sparring with each other. But she doesn’t back down from a fight if there’s no other way out, or if the people she loves are threatened. She does what needs to be done. That said, she does find herself in more and more situations where she and others are in danger, and while she’ll never be an ace swordswoman, her skills do improve.

Without revealing anything from book 2, what was your favorite scene to write?

Gah. This question is so hard to answer! The second book is pretty action packed, and I love so many of those scenes. I’m also quite fond of the ending, though the ending certainly… complicates things. I guess, at this moment, my favorite scene is in Rhigh. McKenzie is pissed at a certain fae, but she has to have his help to escape the city. There’s some banter, a ridiculous plan, and then there’s the point when that plan goes to hell. It was so much fun to write!

If your series were made into a television show or a movie, who can you see playing McKenzie, Kyol, and Aren?

Okay. Maybe this is the hardest question to answer. LOL. It’s easy to find people who look like McKenzie, Kyol, and Aren, but it’s much more difficult to find people who look and act like them. So, I guess I’ll just answer based on looks.

For McKenzie, Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries.

For Kyol, Bradley Cooper when he’s super serious and sexy. It’s kind of a bad match, though, because he’s not usually serious, and he has a gorgeous smile. And since Kyol isn’t full of smiles, I don’t think Bradley Cooper could actually do a good job playing him. Does that make sense?

For Aren, a slightly older Taylor Kitsch is almost a perfect match.

What is your writing routine like?

When I’m not behind on my deadline (which is, like, never), I write three days a week. I have a part-time nanny watch the boys, then I leave the house around 9:30 and head to my local Target, sit in the Starbucks there, and write until about 3:00pm on a good day. At 3, I force myself to go to the gym so I can be home by 4, take a shower, then watch the boys and cook dinner. Since I’m already behind on book three’s deadline, the nanny comes out four days a week, I oftentimes skip the gym (bad Sandy!), and I work Saturday mornings. This is much better than what I had to do last year when I was so, so far behind on THE SHATTERED DARK. I wrote every day, and at all hours of the day to try to get that book shiny. My husband took off work to watch the boys and my mom and mother in law stayed with me to give us extra help, too. It was craaaaazy!

Tell us three interesting things about yourself that can’t be found in your biography section.

1. I was a Star Wars junkie in junior high and early high school. I even skipped school to watch The Phantom Menace when it came out. Sadly, the prequels kind of ruined the movies for me. I still love the story and many of the books that came out afterward (the Heir to the Empire trilogy was great!), but I can’t get that damn Jar Jar Binks out of my head.

2. I used to show horses when I was in junior high. I did showmanship, English pleasure, western pleasure, and had just started a tiny bit of jumping when I sort of grew out of that phase.

3. Rolos are my favorite candy. :-)

What other projects can we look forward to reading from you in the future?

I’m dying to finish the science fiction romance I have halfway written. I love that story so much! Think of it as an urban fantasy set in space with lots of flirtation and kissing and things blowing up. It’s going to be great!

Do you have any advice to aspiring writers?

Read. Reading my favorite authors taught me everything I know about writing.

Finish this statement: You’ll enjoy The Shattered Dark if you like…

You’ll enjoy The Shattered Dark if you like stories that are packed with action, deceit, and an excruciating romance.

**Lighting Questions**

Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook!

All time favorite movie?

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Coke or Pepsi?

Diet Coke!

Favorite Paranormal Creature?

Vampires!

E-reader or physical book?

E-reader

Favorite Holiday?

4th of July

 

 |AUTHOR'S BIO|

Sandy graduated from Texas A&M University with a double major in political science and history. She thought about attending law school. Fortunately, before handing over her life’s savings, she realized case studies weren’t nearly as interesting as novels and decided to get an MA in Library Science instead. She worked as a librarian until her husband whisked her off to London on an extended business trip. She’s now back home in Texas, writing full-time, raising newborn twin boys, and squeezing in time to play geeky board and card games like Settlers of Catan, Dominion, and Runebound.

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Shadows Before the Sun by Kelly Gay

Title: Shadows Before the Sun
Author: Kelly Gay
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Charlie Madigan #4

Mass Market Paperback, 335 Pages
Publication: July 31st 2012 by Pocket Books

Buy the book
|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Bought for myself

|SUMMARY|
After filling out mountains of paperwork, Detective Charlie Madigan sets out for a death-defying trip into heavenly Elysia to rescue her partner Hank and bring the siren home. Of course, she doesn’t expect to leave behind an all out siren revolution or return home to find that jinn crime boss, Grigori Tennin, has begun a massive search for the divine being, Ahkneri. Tennin’s tactics set off a chain reaction that puts Charlie in the crosshairs of the shadowy creature known as Death and awakens Ahkneri from her long sleep. And when Vengeance rises, Atlanta will never be the same.

|REVIEW|   

Shadows before the Sun is the fourth installment in the Charlie Madigan series by Kelly Gay. The book starts out with a murder in the Druid King’s territory, one of his enforcer was apparently murdered by a Jinn, or so he thinks. Charlie combs the crime scene but eventually passes it over to another detective, as she prepares to leave to Elysia to retrieve her partner Hank. Hank was taken back to Elysia as a traitor to the government for escaping (the grid) when he was younger. The day before Charlie is to leave to Elysia, she gets word that Hank been executed. Charlie doesn’t believe it for a second and sets out to find the truth and bring Hank home.

You guys know that feeling when you been on a trip for days and right when you get home you’re fill with joy, so relax and comfortable being back in your own house? That’s what it feels like jumping back into the Charlie Madigan series. Even though it’s been a year or more since I read the last book in the series, once I open the book and immerse myself in the world and characters that Mrs. Gay created…it felt so good like I never left. I postponed reading the book right when it came out because I heard many of the original characters didn’t have much page time as previous books. Although, I was bummed about not seeing more of Hank, Rex, Emma, Brimstone, and Pen, readers got to know more about Sandra the Oracle. The majority of the book involved the Oracle tagging along with Charlie on her mission to save Hank, saying that her fate is intertwined with the two of them. I really enjoy the budding friendship between Sandra and Charlie. 

The book is told from Charlie’s point-of-view, but there were occasionally snippets of Hank’s third person point-of-view scattered throughout the book. I thought this was interesting, but I prefer only one pov. This was an awesome addition to the series, and each book just gets better and better. This book had me laughing and crying from start to finish. This is one of my favorite UF series around, with one of the best world-building and characters ever written. I always look forward to a Charlie Madigan book, and hope that there will be more to come. This was truly an AMAZING-emotional novel; I can’t wait to see where Mrs. Gay will take Charlie and the gang in the next book. 

I highly recommend everyone to pick up this series, you won’t regret it. If you enjoy the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep, Kate Daniel series by Ilona  Andrews, Horngate Witches series by Diana P. Francis, or the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire…then you’ll definitely enjoy this series!