Casey L. Bond has a new book that hits the shelves on March 19, 2021. 

Sometimes witches hunt their own..... GRAVEBRIAR

 

With Shield and Ink and Bone

review by Katy Grant

In the time of Vikings, the world is cold and brutal. Born into a family of warriors, Liv Eriksson and her brother Hodor have trained since childhood to fight for their shields, allowing them the right to join the longships in battle raids. To prove their strengths and ability to fight, each must defeat one of their parents in hand to hand combat, no quarter given. On the eve of their victories over their elders, at the winter celebrations, a visiting Jarl is murdered.

The melting snow and the first sign of flowers heralded the change of seasons. But it also brought death across the seas. Clan Wolf sailed in under the cover of fog destroying and killing everything in their path, leaving Liv’s life ebbing away as the waters flowed over her. Fenris Wolf had killed to avenge his father’s death but reveled in the slaughter and destruction.  He began to believe himself to be invincible, to see himself as the Jarl of all the lands. He would conqueror other tribes, wipe the villages clean and take their lands for his own.

As Liv lay dying at the edge of the fjord, it is her hatred, her need for vengeance that gives her the strength to call out to the gods to save her long enough to kill Fenris Wolf, the beast who invaded her home leaving nothing but death and destruction behind.  It was Skuld, the Norn who weaves the future, that would come to her aid. She would give Liv power filled with magical abilities that would strengthen Liv well beyond human capacity. Skuld could see that Fenris Wolf would bring Ragnaök, down upon them; she demanded vengeance and she would use Liv to get it.

Liv took the ashes of her family to form the ink for her runes, their bones to form her armor and staff that would protect her and strengthen her power, for there is power in blood, bone, and ink. But she would need help. Liv would gather the other clans together, use her powers to make them strong enough to battle Clan Wolf and their Jarl. Through her leadership and guidance, the clans would have a chance to stop the Wolf in his tracks. 

Skögar Village was under attack by Clan Wolf. Calder had to save his people, force the raiders away from the village. She was there beside him on the deck of the longship, a spirit, one he could see through. Calder had lost the fire he had carried to the longship to burn the sails, as she reached out touching the sail, it ignited and flamed.  With the firing of the sails, Calder was able to draw the rest of the Clan Wolf away from his village before they had completely destroyed it. Even as Calder sets out to raise the warning of Clan Wolf’s treachery, he wondered about the spirit. Instead he finds a living breathing Liv who shares the tale of death and destruction of her clan. Calder took Liv back to his Skögar where she would convince his people and another powerful Jarl to join forces in trying to stop Clan Wolf’s reign of terror.  It would be Liv who lead of the army they gathered. She was the volva, the witch, they all feared, but she had the power to turn the tide of the battle to come.

It is a time of hardships, crippling winters, magic, gods, witches, greed, and love. Casey L. Bond brings it all together in this Viking fantasy that offers a bit of a twist to the Norns of Norse Mythology,  There are well laid out battles, with the heartache of death and annihilation, but there is also hope. In spite of the harsh environment, constant threat of death, and raiding battles, many were farmers who fought for their families and their land.  This young adult novel introduces the reader to young people who had a voice in clan life, taught to fight in great battles, and were such an important part of the village. Told mostly from Liv’s point of view, her love of her family, the heartache of losing them her need for revenge and then the realization that there is more to life then vengeance. There is a dusting of Calder as we learn of his life and how he connects to Liv that adds to the story. With twists and turns, love blooms on grounds that are soaked in blood.  The reader sees the villain, tastes his hatred and greed, building the plan to stop him isn’t always a straight line. Liv changes as she battles to save the people she has grown to love; she finds a reason to fight to live but it may be too late. 

Even the Norns can learn from the humans that live under their rule. There are three Norns, weavers of the gods and men, who can change the present and the future, according to Casey L. Bond. In this tale there is power in the blood, bone and ink, but there is also rousing spirit in a good tale. The story is packed with life, not as we know it, but of days long past, even as it lives and breathes with the pages of the book. Thank you, Casey.

 

Phoenix Rise    by Karina Espinosa

    review by Katy Grant

With the collar, that controlled the power of her Phoenix, placed around her neck Octavia was powerless to resist the commands of the evil monster that is Morningstar. He forced her to watch as her family was burned alive by her hand. Now a prisoner in a gilded cage, or at least a beautiful bedroom with two grumpy minions to watch over her, she had refused to eat anything for the last two weeks. Patience gone, Morningstar insisted she join him for dinner, but it would bring him no pleasure. He had missed the knife placed next to her fork, so was caught unawares as she casually picked it up and took her own life.

As punishment, for daring to defy him, Octavia awoke in a damp, dark dungeon curled up on a dirt floor. It was here that she met Michael the other prisoner. He called out to her, encouraged her to eat, to regain her strength, he spoke to her of Cecilia, her great great great grandmother, whose power of the Phoenix she had passed on to Octavia, at her death. After two weeks in the dungeon, she finally agreed to do as Morningstar wanted. She would make a bargain with him, hers and Michael’s freedom in exchange for her help, but as they shook hands, Michael tried to stop her. Only when she drew her hand away did she see the mark left on her hand. The mark that would connect them until Morningstar got what he wanted, and if she didn’t uphold her end of the bargain, he would take her. She didn’t know then who she had made a bargain with.

Many of the characters from Phoenix Burn return, with a few more intriguing guests added. Even after escaping Morningstar’s clutches with the help of her friends, she is still caught in his evil web. She would need help to learn how to control and extend the power of her Phoenix. It was the shape shifter, Killian that offered the suggestion that they find another Phoenix to teach her. But it was Tristian who would guard her with his life. The composed, cool, unrufflable vampire wouldn’t rest until he had Octavia free of Morningstar’s control. But to do that it would take some help from a witch, Killian’s pack of shape shifters, Maverick, Echo and a little help from Heaven. This is the second in the trilogy that offers more in site, pain and understanding of what is being demanded of Octavia. It answers the question of who Morningstar is and why he has sought her out, but leaves us still with questions of how to stop him and rid herself of his mark that controls her almost as effectively as the collar. There is Tristian’s care of her family after the fire, the beautiful burial sites he tends so lovingly tends, and his growing feelings for her and hers for him. A Vampire and a Phoenix two creatures that legends tell us are the most hated enemies.

The finish to this tale legends are made of, romance, and evil will conclude in Dark Phoenix expected to hit the streets…Friday, November 13, 2020.

Reviewed offered from an Advanced Reader's Copy for my personal opinion of the story.

Phoenix Burn (Ashes Trilogy Book 1)

 

            Phoenix Burn  (From The Ashes Trilogy Book 1)

                                                                         by Karina Espinosa

My review of Advanced Reader copy. 

Phoenix Burn  (Ashes Trilogy Book 1)

    by Karina Espinosa

The girl’s night out, ended for Camila on a lonely roof top garage when a man with a gun shot and killed her. When she later awoke in a pool of her own blood with the bullet lying on the ground next to her, she knew she had to disappear if she wanted to stay alive and keep her family safe.

  Six months later she has a new name, Octavia, and fake ID while working at Nightcrawlers, a club. Laying low, trying to find who wanted her dead was her main goal in life, that and trying not to break her neck in the stiletto heels she wore. The patrons at the club were usually drunk, and loud. Asked to work the VIP room, one night, was better until one of the elite seemed to take an instant dislike to her, sending her back downstairs. She managed to avoid him until, the night that several huge men came barging in, and began trashing the joint. Trying to reach an exit, one of the men cut her off. As she lashed out to hit him, he morphed into a monster that slashed his claws across her stomach.

Here we go again.

This time she woke up in a bed, dressed in a t-shirt, not hers, and a bandage on her stomach. The penthouse apartment was modern, chic, and expensive. But the man in the kitchen was Tristan, the guy, from the VIP room. Why was she here and who was he? It didn’t take long to find out. She had been caught in the middle of a dispute between vampires and shifters, those who morphed into a variety of animals. Nightcrawlers was a club for the vamps and the brutes that had trashed the place and injured her were shifters.

When the Killian, the Alpha of the shifters, came after her, expecting to claim her as part of their pack, Tristan offered him a deal. Octavia for a truce between them. Realizing she had only been used as a pawn between the two groups.  Octavia lit up, literally when they began to argue over her. She burst into flames, as the legendary Phoenix materialized behind her. As soon as Tristian saw what she had become, the deal was off. What was she? Why was she suddenly so important to both the Vampires and Shifters? And she still didn’t know who wanted her dead and why?

Something or someone new has been added to the cast of horror characters when the Phoenix rises. In this first book of the trilogy Phoenix Burn by Karina Espinosa, readers learn some of the history of these vastly different beings. After so many centuries Tristan, leader of the Vampires, has become colder more distant, caring only for his own kind. Maverick is gregarious and flirtatious, while Echo is a police officer, smart, tough, and friendly. Each with a distinct personally beyond their bloodless state. In spite of himself Tristan is drawn to Octavia and finds himself wanting to help her and possibly more.

   Killian, Alpha of the shifters, is about family. When a human is bitten, they become a shifter, so it is important to locate them quickly to help them transition and become part of the larger pack.  The packs live in the more wilderness areas. When the packs gather it becomes a homespun party of rough house games, pranks, good food and warm. There is a history between the Shifters and Phoenix, but that isn’t the only reason Killian is interested in Octavia, he is drawn to her. But not all of the shifters feel so warmly towards her.

The characters are a rich part of this story, they had me laughing, crying and wanting to strangle someone.  I quickly began to care about them, so different and yet each had developed personalities that fall in with the characteristics of their beings and with different lifestyles that suit them. The storyline draws, in part, on the history between the Vampires and Shifters, while the Phoenix may be a bit of an enigma for some and will be an intriguing addition to the story. To round out the tale there is a murderer on the loose and mysteries to solve, heartbreak, death, ancient hatreds, romance and adventure.

In the end I felt like I was sitting in the old movie theatre on a Saturday watching a chapter serial that leaves me hanging: the hero has gone over the cliff! Now I will have to wait to see if they will live or die! Thankfully, Karina Espinosa has taken pity on us, as the sequel appears to be set for release on October 16, 2020.

               

Things That Should Stay Buried by Casey L. Bond is now available. 

Check out your local bookseller as well as online at Amazon.com.

Stories rooted in the past, lost to time, became legends but some legends won’t stay buried.  Stories of mythology have been with us for eons. Today Casey L. Bond mixes mythology with a tale of Beauty and her Beast, look to the booksellers, then look to the skies for the world is about to change

  Casey L. Bond’s latest trek into the world of legends is available today. Look to Goodreads.com, Amazon.com and Pinterest for things reminiscent of the night sky and the gods & goddesses of the Zodiac .

Reviews

Amazon.com – Things That Should Stay Buried by Casey L. Bond

Pinterest : https://pl.pinterest.com/AuthorCaseyBond/things-that-should-stay-buried/

Goodreads.com - https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4545950-katy

Trailer : https://www.facebook.com/jpetersonbynum/videos/3609265855772542

           Things That Should Stay Buried by Casey L. Bond

Title: Things That Should Stay Buried

Author: Casey L. Bond

Genre: YA Epic Fantasy/Mythology

Editor: Stacy Sanford/ The Girl with the Red Pen

Cover & Trailer Designer: Melissa Stevens/ The Illustrated Author Design Services

Publication Date: August 28^th, 2020

Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR 

                          August 28, 2020    

Thirteen is now twelve. Awakened from a deep slumber that had lasted for thousands of eons, filled with anger at the one who had caused it. Ready to take back the Earth, and its people, they once ruled. The immortals are too powerful on which to wage war. Life as we knew it, gone forever, but humankind will not go peacefully into the night.  Something happened during those long years the immortals slept; humans were no longer so easily controlled. 

      

Aries once believed that he and the others were destroying the Earth with their cruelty to their people and their thirst for greater power. He had meant for all of them to sleep, for all eternity. Now he must face not only the wrath of the other immortals but find a way to rule in peace alongside them, on Earth. Earth now divided into twelve portions, each immortal ruled over those born under their zodiac sign, separated from family and friends, humans were lost in this new kind of world.

Larken’s life had had a rough beginning born two weeks after her fraternal twin, being too frail to support life outside her mother’s womb so soon.  It was Kestrel who was sick, pampered and mean. He grew to hate his sister; she could see it in his eyes but never understood why. Even so, she loved him, looked after him.  Something changed when he was 10 years old. He died, suddenly and just as suddenly returned to life but, different.

The ending of high school is supposed to be a happy time, a new beginning but for Larken it was a bad time. She was to go to the prom with her boyfriend, but he dumped her a few short weeks before prom night to date a freer spirit. On a track run just days before prom night she fell and injured her ankle. Her brother Kes comes to her aid, as he has since he was ten, and heals her broken bone.  That night Kes warns that he has seen a sign, a harbinger, that change is coming to their world.  He promises to protect her, for he fears the danger that is coming.  But from what or whom?

The immortals are rising, they have been awakened. They will divide the Earth into the twelve portions and the humans with it, those born under the signs of the Zodiac will be taken to live under the rule of their immortal Zodia.  Kes born under the sign of Aries, will be separated from Larken who was born under Taurus, but Kes fears if Larken is sent to Taurus he will exact revenge so, extracts a grudging promise from Aries to take her into his realm and protect her with his life.

Kes has seen something in Larken. She had kept the secret of his return to life, he had shared with her all those years ago. There was something unique about her, there was a strength of purpose that made him believe she would be the one to bring the immortals and humans together, but first she will have to prevent Taurus and other immortals from killing her. Aries found that same strength in Larken, a caring gentleness for life that drew him to her. When Taurus realized that Aries was growing to love Larken, not only did it enrage him, he feared the power that love of a human might bring Aries. War was now inevitable, but it would first begin with the immortals fighting each other.

Casey L. Bond offers us a different look into the night sky when she brings the zodiac stars to Earth and turns our world upside down. There is the good, the bad and the ugly. The benevolence of the gods, clouds over as they realize humankind will not easily bend to their will. There are some who believe change must come for all, but with the power afforded the immortals, sitting down to the table to talk out the problems isn’t going to happen. The gods and goddesses have a long history of falling in love with humans and Casey intertwines a love story not only between an immortal and a human but sibling and parental love as well. But grab a tissue this battle won’t go down without some heartbreaking losses.

Casey L. Bond is an author whose books have traveled the realms from magical worlds to mythology and paranormal. Her books offer stories and characters that can transport the reader to a world of good reads. So light a candle, turn out the lights, curl up in a soft spot, open one of her books and enter her worlds.

Title: Things That Should Stay Buried

Author: Casey L. Bond

Genre: YA Epic Fantasy/Mythology

Editor: Stacy Sanford/ The Girl with the Red Pen

Cover & Trailer Designer: Melissa Stevens/ The Illustrated Author Design Services

Publication Date: August 28^th, 2020

Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR

Blurb:
Some destinies are written in the stars. Others must be bought with blood…

The Zodia are real. Clawing their way from a long-forgotten tomb, they emerge, ravenous to claim everyone born under their star signs. Plotting to resurrect kingdoms no human knew existed, they are driven by a hunger for vengeance against the one who buried them: Aries.

Larken is a natural born sprinter, but even she can’t outrun the darkness closing in. A shelter-in-place order has been issued, causing widespread panic. Some brush the alarm off as a drill, until people begin to disappear... vanishing without a trace. Left with only one option, Larken’s brother does what he must to save her life... and calls forth Aries.

Considered a traitor by his own kind, only Aries has the power to stand against the Zodia. But he can’t do it alone. Mystically bonded to Larken, the pair must band together for the fight to come if either hope to make it out alive. Neither anticipated the passion that would ignite between them. Yet, in a world suddenly thrust into chaos, it may be the key to their survival.

The Zodia are out for blood with their attentions inexplicably focused on Larken. When long buried truths finally come to light, will their love be their salvation or their curse?

“A mesmerizing and haunting twist on a familiar tale you don’t want to miss. “ - Cameo Renae, USA Today bestselling author of the Hidden Wings Series

“Casey L. Bond reaches for the stars to bring us Things That Should Stay Buried. The Zodia are beautiful, dangerous and to die for.”- New York Times Bestselling Author Chanda Hahn

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53481286-ttssb

Author Bio:
Casey Bond lives in West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters. She likes goats and yoga, but hasn't tried goat yoga because the family goat is so big he might break her back. Seriously, he's the size of a pony. Her favorite books are the ones that contain magical worlds and flawed characters she would want to hang out with. Most days of the week, she writes young adult fantasy books, letting her imaginary friends spill onto the blank page.

Casey is the award-winning author of When Wishes Bleed, the Frenzy series, and fairy tale retellings such as Riches to Rags, Savage Beauty, Unlocked and Brutal Curse. Learn more about her work at www.authorcaseybond.com.

Author Links: 

Website: www.authorcaseybond.com
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