Review: Conjured

Conjured

by Sarah Beth Durst
Hardcover, 304 pages

Published September 3rd 2013

by Walker

Summary from Goodreads:

Eve has a new home, a new face, and a new name—but no memories of her past. She’s been told that she's in a witness protection program. That she escaped a dangerous magic-wielding serial killer who still hunts her. The only thing she knows for sure is that there is something horrifying in her memories the people hiding her want to access—and there is nothing they won’t say—or do—to her to get her to remember. 

At night she dreams of a tattered carnival tent and buttons being sewn into her skin. But during the day, she shelves books at the local library, trying to not let anyone know that she can do things—things like change the color of her eyes or walk through walls. When she does use her strange powers, she blacks out and is drawn into terrifying visions, returning to find that days or weeks have passed—and she’s lost all short-term memories. Eve must find out who and what she really is before the killer finds her—but the truth may be more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.

Thoughts:
Conjured is actually a mix of fantasy, horror, romance and mystery all wrapped up in a pretty little package. The problem is that the package is a little hard to open and there's so many layers of wrapping paper to tear off that you can't help but feel exasperated or even irritated. For me such a long and tedious journey to discover what's really going on will ultimately left me feel bored.

Yup, I'm a very impatient reader. Not even halfway through the book, I was ready to give it up but the promise of a show of magical powers especially from Eve just intrigued me and the ending although quite heartbreaking is just gruesome in my opinion. I can't help but think that this is just a more morbid version of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It basically has almost the same plotline. Magical circus and a pair of powerful witch/wizard lovers. That book was brilliant and less bloody, this is just confusing and not suitable for younger readers.

Verdict: 2 stars.
In my Fantasy Reading Challenge 

Blog Tour (Guest Post & Giveaway) Indigo by Fiauna Lund

Today I'm so lucky to have the lovely Fiauna Lund; author of Indigo doing a guest post on her dream cast for her book.

About the author:

Fiauna Lund is a grown woman with an overactive imagination, a passion for writing, four children, and the dirty house to prove it.

Reading and writing have always been passions for Fiauna. During her childhood she spent hours exploring the woods of rural western Pennsylvania where she first began creating stories about faeries, pixies, magic, and mystical creatures.

She met her husband, Aaron, while attending Utah State University, and later earned a degree in human services from Columbia College which allowed her to study the uniquely challenged and inspiring people who serve as her collective muse. She now resides in Farmington, Utah. When she's not reading, writing, or running, she spends her time caring for her four adorable children and one rambunctious dog.

 Web | Twitter 

When I write, like many other authors I know, I imagine my book as a movie. Most of us are, after all, extremely visual. My writing muse happens to be very visual as well. In the past I’ve written with a clear vision of which actor I would cast in which role. With Indigo, however, I really didn’t. So when asked which actors I would cast in Indigo the movie, I really had to think . . . and then turn to the Internet, scouring entertainment sites for all the right beautiful people to cast in my book-turned movie. It sucked. I hated it. Poor me. (Wink, wink.)

Of course, we’d start with Brit Kavanagh. We need a beautiful and compelling leading lady. We know she has long dark hair and green eyes, just like her mysterious mother. In this role, I would cast Lily Collins. (Of course, we’d have to brighten up those eyes a bit.)

Every leading lady needs her handsome love interest. For Gentry O’Neill we need someone with a dark complexion and pale eyes. This role was not hard to cast once I really thought about it. For Gentry O’Neill, we’ll cast Douglas Booth. (Again with the eyes. Contacts will get the job done.) 

Bailey Morgan and Kevin White took some searching. I came up with Chelsea Kane and Ross Lynch.

The precocious, sometimes-endearing Savi will be played by Clare Foley. What a cutie. (We’ll make sure those lovely locks light up the screen in a bubbly shade of strawberry blonde.) 

The easiest role to cast, by far, was the role of Evan O’Neill. We need someone who looks wise but not old, with all the charm you think of when you dream of Ireland. For Evan, I am casting Liam Neeson.

So there you have it. Our A-listers for Indigo, the movie. Of course we’re missing several key roles, like Gerard, Shannon, Matthew and Maggie. Let me know who you would like to see cast in those roles; I’d love to see who you have in mind.

(All images from http://www.imdb.com)

Indigo
Fiauna Lund
Expected Release Date: September 1, 2013
by Rhemalda Publishing
Website | Goodreads 

Info:
When Brit Kavanagh was a baby her mother disappeared, but not before she gave her daughter wings—sewn into her skin with needle and thread.

Seventeen years later, Brit’s quiet, protected life is turned upside-down when her father dies, leaving her in the care of relatives she hardly knows. Almost from the moment she arrives in her new home, Brit is haunted by the terrifying apparition of a banshee and disaster strikes wherever she goes. From a near-drowning experience to a house fire at a crowded party, no one around her is safe.

Brit is desperate to unravel the mysteries behind her wings and the curse of the banshee before someone else gets hurt. The only person who can help her is Gentry O’Neill, a handsome lifeguard who knows more than he’s telling. With Gentry’s help, Brit must embark on a journey of discovery that will lead her through her mother’s troubled past, her father’s dark secrets, and the horrifying truth of her own existence.

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FF Friday #14 : Feature Blogger

Hi, everyone! It's time for another FF Friday. And this week, I'm the feature blogger! Yay! Due to the fact that I live in Asia and its night time here, I was about to get ready to sleep when I received a tweet informing that I'm one of the featured bloggers this week. Oh, gosh. Sorry for the awful picture you guys. But here it is.

Bookshelf tour. Give us a tour of your bookshelf.

To tell you guys the truth. I have a lot of bookshelves. But this one is in the bedroom and mostly it contained my lovable hardbacks, favourite books and a few new ones.

Thanks for dropping by and commenting. I love you guys!

Waiting on Wednesday #40: Fragile Spirits

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

Fragile Spirits (Souls #2)
by Mary Lindsey
Expected publication: January 23rd 2014 

by Philomel

Summary from Goodreads:

Paul has always known he was a Protector, fated to serve a Speaker who could hear the voices of spirits lingering after death and help those souls find peace.

Vivienne ignores the voices of the dead.

Paul has always followed the Protector’s rule book, preparing diligently for the day when he’d be matched with his Speaker and fulfill his destiny.

Vivienne never does what she’s told.

So when Paul is matched with Vivienne, they both find the pairing less than satisfactory. But a kidnapping, a malevolent spirit and power stronger than both of them may just prove that they are two halves of the same whole.

Babble:
Wow! It certainly took a long time for the second book to come out. I have to read back my review of the previous book just to refresh my memory. Although the first book did not exactly wowed me (despite the beautiful cover), I have not completely given up on this series. Hoping that the introduction of a whole host of new characters will liven things up.