Seven Jane

The Isle of Gold tells the tale of Merrin Smith: orphan and adventure seeker. She was brought to Isla Perla as a young child and raised in brothel where she harboured dreams of the sea. Following her dreams, she signs on as crew of the "Riptide" and begins a journey to the mythical island Bracile in order to save the love of her Captain Winters..but fate has other plans for our young heroine.

One part seafarer tale, one part mythology and plenty of magic, this young adult adventure was without a doubt one of the best books I'd read in 2018. Seven Jane is an extremely talented writer with beautiful prose and a knack for descriptions that make the world of The Isle of Gold shine.

It took awhile for this novel to really capture my attention since it started slow. The Isle of Gold initially felt like a retelling of "Treasure Island" before transforming into a "Pirates of the Caribbean" inspired romp (but without a terrible final movie thus far since this is an ongoing series).

I loved how well researched the sailing portions of this novel were and Seven Jane paid just as much attention to the world as the character building which is so incredibly important, but often ignored by YA writers. Often, writers develop either plot or world-building and neglect the other, but Seven Jane incorporates research, emotion and prose to create something altogether special.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers who love sea mythology, sailing adventures and YA romance as this book excels at each of these things. I'd also suggest it to readers who love pirate tales and movies since there's plenty for a landlubber to enjoy since Merrin ends up on a pirate ship headed for what is effectively a mythological island to take back some pirate treasure.

Received via Seven Jane and NetGalley in exchange for an completely unbiased review.… (altro)

This ain't your mama's holiday short story collection. Not by a long shot. A Midnight Clear gathers six horrifying holiday season tales. Every story is different and adds a delightfully creepy edge to the holiday festivities.

I loved every story in this collection! The tales are wickedly varied and fun. Demons, Werewolves, insane Elves, winter gods, curses and general Yuletide mayhem. My favorite story of the collection is Sam Hooker's The Dauntless. An elf is on trial for murder because he was part of the annual expedition to deliver holiday coal to Cthulhu in R'leyah. The trip did not end well. Other stories in the collection are provided by: Aley Leyva, Laura Morrison, Cassondra Windwalker, Dalena Storm and Seven Jane. This is my first experience with all of these writers, and I am definitely reading more by each and every one of them!

Usually with story anthologies, I find I like most of the tales, but find a few that just aren't for me. This time I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed each story. All are well-written, interesting and incredibly creative. A werewolf bitten by a human? A holiday murder in the Stanley Hotel? I didn't expect fun stuff like that! Dark humor. Creative horror. Madness all around! Happy holidays!

This is the one time I can say I happily read a Christmas theme book before Halloween. It fits right in with the season.

Lovely story collection! Full marks from me!! Not a bad tale in the bunch!

**I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book from Black Spot Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. No elder gods, monsters or demons were angered in the writing of this review. I hope.**… (altro)

Seven Jane's The Isle Of Gold is a truly magical novel that will transport you far away, and long ago, to the Golden Age of Piracy. Disguised as a man, orphan Merrin Smith joins the pirate crew of the Riptide. Captained by Erik Winters, the Riptide is setting sail for the mystical island of Bracile in hopes of finding Winters' love, Evangeline Dahl who disappeared two years ago. Merrin wants to help find Evangeline, but more than that, she's convinced that answers to her own life lay there. Though at first the established crew are hostile or indifferent towards Merrin, they eventually warm to her. She finds particular friendship with Tom Birch, Brandon Dunn, Jomo the cook, and even Winters himself.

As Riptide sails, she avoids all other ships, taking neither prizes nor treasure. It is a focused mission for sure, and in this way, didn't feel like a pirate tale to me at all. Not to say they didn't find treasure. They found what could be argued the greatest of treasures. Family and friendship. Love. Experiences otherworldly and unheard of. They face legends and myths and lived to tell the tale (mostly). As such, there are times where the story seems surreal, and yet it is written well enough to allow for thorough imagination. I found it easy to picture the story in my mind.

My favourite characters were Jomo, with his fierce appearance and love of trinkets, especially red ones, and quartermaster Dunn, with his wealth of legend and lore. I was so sad to learn the truth about Dunn and glad things worked out for him in the end. It's hard to lose an essential part of yourself. Thankfully, he wasn't a bitter person over it. I'd love to know the story behind how he ended up on Isla Perla, and sailing with Winters. This was also a different take than any I've seen before on a popular sea myth. Saying more would be telling, but I loved how that ended. Much happier than I'd expect.

***Many thanks to Netgalley & Black Spot Books for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for JBN Tours.… (altro)