Ivory Guard by Natalie Herzer ~*~ Giveaway

Title: Ivory Guard

Series: The Guard Duet #1

Author: Natalie Herzer

Published: April 2015 (first published February 5th 2014)

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Shelf: review

Rating: ★★★★★

Back Cover Blurb:

Life will make you stumble

One peaceful afternoon Lillian finds two angels in her living room - wings and gloriole and all - telling her she is an Ivory. Half human and half angel she is born to fight for humankind and to guard the hellholes where the membrane between worlds is at its weakest.
She, an important warrior? Yeah, riiiight.

Life can make you fall

Raz might be an angel but he doesn’t do compassion. His job is to train her, to make her a leader and that’s what he will do. So Lillian will just have to suck it up when she discovers the deadly truth behind his words. When she does exactly that, he has to admit there’s more to the bookworm than he thought. Much more. But there’s one thing he shouldn’t forget – in his world feelings come with a price. Is he willing to pay?

Love will give you wings.

My Review:

This novel is very approachable and imaginative. Herzer’s writing style is very welcoming and draws you in from the beginning. Her vividly real descriptions place you firmly within the action of this fast paced tale while invoking many emotions. The author has developed a very solid history and mythology upon which her story is firmly built. I appreciate how she draws on religion and runs with it, making it her own. I also appreciate how Herzer presents it gradually rather than swamping you all at once. You learn along with the main character, getting to know the world and how it works bit by bit. She weaves this all together to create an entirely unique, completely seamless world for her readers to enjoy, yet it is one that you can plausibly see and understand.

Herzer has developed a cast of characters that you can easily relate to. I love how they think and talk like real people. There was more than once that I couldn’t help but laugh at the main character, thinking ‘I’d so do that’. Even the angels aren’t stuck in some long ago timewarp. I must say, however, that I never thought I’d laugh at God, but… Well, just read it. You’ll see. It’s brilliant. Through these characters she looks at coming of age in a very intriguing way without it being the sole focus of her tale.

As a whole this story was past paced and exciting yet still personal. Herzer throws you for some completely unexpected loops on this journey but it is a journey that I wouldn’t miss for anything and one that I can’t wait to continue.

|  Goodreads  |  Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  Amazon CA  |

About the author:

I'm a 26 year-old author suffering from itchy feet which recently carried me to South Africa.

Much like my beloved travel bug, my love for words has always been there, but is thankfully a lot easier to satisfy. When I'm not off wandering my own imaginary worlds, I love to curl up on the couch and get lost in a good book.

Though I guess in the end books are just another form of traveling, seeing places and finding friends.

|  My blog  |  Facebook Page  |  Facebook (to befriend)  |  Twitter  |  Amazon Page  |  Goodreads Profile  |  Goodreads - Ivory Guard  |

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The Hunt is On by Natalie Herzer

Title: The Hunt is On

Author: Natalie Herzer

Series:  The Patroness #2

Published:  December 6th 2012

Page Count:  204

Genre:  Paranormal (with some romance)

Shelf:  Books I bought

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Maiwenn Cadic has her hands full.

The Turn is a few weeks ahead and the world seems to be literally coming apart at the seams - natural disasters and weird phenomena keep everyone on edge. An unusually high number of missing persons is thought to be just another side effect but is making Maiwenn nervous.

When all fingers point to the Queen of the Undead, Maiwenn is once again forced to join forces with Kylian, new leader of the Paris shapeshifter pack.

Sharp-tongued and sharp-fanged conflicts follow...

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.

My Review:

Herzer’s writing draws you in in such a way that you don’t realize it until the book is over and you don’t want to let go. You feel a connection to the characters and their plights that beyond compare to other literature. As an author, Herzer has the ability to make her story very suspenseful and intense without lots of blood, guts and/or explosions. Her story and characters do this for her. She melds brilliant scenery with intensely captivating characters and a breathtaking storyline to keep you completely hooked.

I love Herzer’s take on the end of the Mayan calendar. It’s definitely not something I’ve ever seen before and it gives a brilliant basis for her novel. The mythology behind this story is flawlessly developed. It is unique to this series but never waivers. It also works in some very interesting portions of history and various religious and cultural mythologies for a solidly built yet intensely exciting experience.

I love that the characters have fun and are fun individuals, regardless of their current circumstances. This breath of fresh air in these individuals makes them seem all the more real. They are able to live their lives and continue struggling through what they must face and they do so together. I also really appreciate the versatility of the characters. No one is type cast, and forced to remain in that role. I also love all the weres in the story. They aren’t just your typical wolves, nor all they all of the same ‘breed’. There’s some of everything, but they do form a pack. It’s absolutely amazing to see how Herzer works them all together.

As a whole, this was one of those novels that, although leaving you with a sense of an ending for the time being you want much more and also don’t want to let the characters go in the interim. I’m definitely in love with this story and the characters and cannot wait to continue on their journey with them.

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Blue Moon Rising by Natalie Herzer ~*~ Giveaway ~*~

Title:  Blue Moon Rising

Author:  Natalie Herzer

Series:  The Patroness #1

Published:  February 19th 2012

Page Count: 232

Genre:  Paranormal

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Maiwenn Cadic doesn’t have a quiet and normal life. This week won’t be any different.

Being the Patroness of Paris and protecting its inhabitants is a full time job but unfortunately it doesn’t pay the bills and so Maiwenn tries her best to make a living as a down-on-her luck private eye for odd cases.

When five shapeshifters end up dead, she knows it’s bad news and has to call in The Council. They immediately send their assassin Kylian ‘The Killer’ Tremaine – a typical shapeshifter who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and seems to see everything female as a damsel in distress which Maiwenn is really not.

Together they will not only have to overcome their prejudices and obstacles in the form of a trigger-happy bounty hunter and a hungry rogue, but they will also have to trust each other in order to solve the murder before more bodies pile up.

16+, some content may not be suitable for younger readers.

My Review:

This is definitely one of those novels that you hit the end and wish that it weren`t over. Not because of some massive cliff-hanger, or because of some sense of something missing, but rather because you`ve become so attached to these amazing characters and their very unique story that you don`t want to let them go.

This novel definitely puts an entirely new spin on the world of the supernatural and on the end of the Mayan calendar while keeping readers completely enchanted with the fast paced story. The twist on the were-community was also something that I`d never seen before but was well worked into the story. Herzer caught my attention in the prologue and I couldn`t put the book down until the very end. Her brilliant descriptions draw you in so that you walk through the scenes right alongside the characters. Most of the time I felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book.

I absolutely love the characters that Herzer has brought together to fill out this wonderful story. Although each character conformed to the basic principles of their supernatural race, each was unique as a person. As a reader you are drawn completely into the world and lives of these characters. You live, laugh, love, (and fight) right along-side them. Although they are unique as individuals you can also see them come together as a family unit. Herzer has definitely taken the time and effort to develop every aspect of her characters, both main and supporting, in order to create a very cohesive whole for the reader.

Overall, this was a brilliantly crafted novel that draws the reader in on many different fronts. Herzer combines history, mythology, the supernatural, and a great deal of her own creativity to create a world that will keep you captivated and leave you wanting more.

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