Amy Hearst - The Gladiator's Goddess

8. The Gladiator's Goddess by Amy Hearst (2014)

The Gladiators' Gifts Series Book 2

Length: 83 pages

Genre: Short Story
Started: 7 March 2017

Finished: 8 March 2017

Where did it come from? From Apple I-Books

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 19 September 2016

Why do I have it? I like short stories and have read and enjoyed The Gladiator's Girl by the same author in the past.

Nardine has been a slave ever since her mother sold her at the age of eleven. Her master runs a school for gladiators in ancient Rome known as a ludus. Although she occasionally serves the master and his family whenever they travel to gladiatorial events; Nardine primarily divides her duties between the kitchens and the infirmary as both a cook and a physician's assistant.

She had always counseled her friend Celeste to be extremely careful about falling in love with a gladiator, as that sort of relationship could only lead to heartbreak in the future. Nardine knows this feeling from personal experience as she has lost her heart exactly twice in her lifetime - first to a gladiator named Matthias, then to another one called Gaius - and she has inevitably lost both men to the horrors of the arena. While losing Matthias was certainly heart-wrenching, Nardine is utterly devastated by the sudden death of Gaius.

Nardine privately believes that she has long been unlucky in love, so she truly cannot fault her mistress Cornelia for believing that she is actually cursed. However, despite suffering through such tremendous grief, Nardine also begins to believe that she has ultimately been blessed as well: she is finally pregnant. Yet a life of bondage is definitely no future for a child, so Nardine resolves that escape is the only viable option, no matter what the punishment will be if she fails.

Fleeing from his sorrowful past, Abedi has long wanted to be a gladiator. Now he is living his dream, and at one of the most prestigious schools in all of Rome. Yet despite relying on his strength, bravery and quickness while fighting in the arena, Abedi also cannot deny that there is always the possibility that he will be injured or worse.

Ultimately, Abedi will be tested to the very limits of his abilities and endurance. However, after meeting the beautiful Nardine working in the infirmary - the answer to his prayers - he will find the challenges that he has faced in the arena are only the beginning. Indeed, it is the promise of finally having a family of his own, an enduring love, and the prospect of freedom that will sustain Abedi throughout his time in the arena.

Actually, this book is quite a bit longer than the first book in the series. Although having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story as well. As I have said before, I usually enjoy reading anything having to do with ancient Greece and Rome, and it was intriguing to read more stories based in this particular historical period. In my opinion, this was a fast-paced and well-developed story despite its relatively short length and I would certainly give this novella an A!

 A! - (90-95%)

May you read well and often

Amy Hearst - The Gladiator's Girl

Reread. The Gladiator's Girl by Amy Hearst (2013)
(Revised Author's Edition 2014)

The Gladiators' Gifts Series Book 1
Length: 48 pages

Genre: Short Story 

Originally Read: 7 January 2015

Reread Finished: 5 March 2017

Where did it come from? Originally I downloaded a copy of this book for free from Amazon in November of 2013. I also acquired another copy of this book from Apple I-Books in September of 2016.

So, back on January 7th, 2015, I read this book for the first time. I had actually acquired a free download of it from Amazon on November 15th, 2013. While I don't understand why it took me so long to read the book, I eventually did and then deleted the ebook afterwards.

I acquired another copy of this book from Apple I-Books on September 19th, 2016. Actually, I had wanted to reread this book for quite some time, and was happy to finally do so in March of 2017 - from March 4th, to March 5th! My reread of the story only took a day, but despite the main characters names being changed and the book getting a totally redesigned cover, the story is exactly as I remember it.

May you read well and often

Sapphire Phelan - To Teach an Ancient God

Reread. To Teach an Ancient God by Sapphire Phelan (2008)
Length: 21 pages
Genre: Short Story
Originally Read: 30 August 2010
Reread Finished: 2 March 2017
Where did it come from? Originally I received a copy of this book to read from Sapphire Phelan. Then, back in October of 2016 I downloaded another copy for free from All Romance Ebooks.

So, back on August 1st, 2010, Ms. Phelan was kind enough to send me a copy of this book to read. Since I usually enjoy reading anything having to do with Greek mythology, I was excited to read this book. Finally, I was able to read it on August 30th, 2010 and then I deleted the ebook.

I downloaded another copy for myself on October 9th, 2016 and reread the book on March 2nd, 2017. I'm just glad that I got a second chance to read this story before the above website went out of business. Actually, it only took me about ten minutes to read this book.

May you read well and often

Reading Wrap-up For February at Emeraldfire's Bookmark

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Emeraldfire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog.

Anyway, I started out February with about two hundred unread books lying around the house and ended the month with...umm...uncountable amounts of books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from authors, Netgalley and Amazon.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Collision: The Battle For Darracia by Michael Phillip Cash
- Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! :))

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Webster's New World Pocket French Dictionary by Chambers Harrap Publishers
- Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me, considering. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 2
Pages Read: 482
Grade Range: A+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was February. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

May you read well and often

Book Spotlight For Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi

Hello Everyone! I hope that you're all having a wonderful day today. As this is her long-awaited Release Day, I'm delighted to welcome award-winning Contemporary Romance author Christine Nolfi author of Sweet Lake: A Novel - Book 1 of The Sweet Lake Series - to Emeraldfire's Bookmark. This is also my twenty-ninth Book Spotlight post ever, but I still hope that I do Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi justice.

About Sweet Lake: A Novel:

Linnie Wayfair knows just how many people are counting on her. But knowing doesn’t make doing any easier.

Everyone in Sweet Lake, Ohio, wants her to muster all her business sense and return the Wayfair Inn to its former glory. Her parents hope she’ll forgive her scoundrel of a brother and reconcile the family. The eccentric Sweet Lake Sirens want her to open the inn - and her heart - to new possibilities. And her hilarious lifelong friends Jada and Cat are dropping none-too-subtle hints for her to ignite a romance with Daniel Kettering, the sexy attorney who’s been pining for her for years...

Now a shocking turn of events will open old wounds and upend the world Linnie has carefully built. She has to make changes quickly - and the results, though not entirely what she expected, might be what she’s been yearning for all along.

Purchase your copy from Amazon!

Meet Christine Nolfi

Award-winning author Christine Nolfi provides readers with heartwarming and inspiring fiction. Her novel Treasure Me, Liberty Series Book 2, is a Next Generation Indie Awards finalist. The Midwest Book Review lists Second Chance Grill, Liberty Series Book 1, and the other Liberty books as "highly recommended".

Look for Sweet Lake, Book 1 of her new series, on February 28, 2017 and The Comfort of Secrets, Book 2, on July 18, 2017. Visit her at www.christinenolfi.com

Connect and Socialize with Christine!

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Amazon Author Page

May you read well and often

Christine Nolfi - Sweet Lake: A Novel

5. Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi (2017)
The Sweet Lake Series Book 1

Length: 306 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Started: 8 February 2017

Finished: 26 February 2017

Where did it come from? Many thanks to Christine Nolfi for sending me a copy of this book to read from Netgalley.

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 16 December 2016

Why do I have it? I like contemporary romance and have read and enjoyed Treasure Me by the same author in the past.

Like the populations of so many other small towns across the country, the residents of Sweet Lake, Ohio, pride themselves on knowing everything about their neighbors' business. Sometimes they even know more about their neighbors business than their neighbors do. However, the town of Sweet Lake certainly lives up to its name - it's a close-knit, caring community that takes care of its own. Such is the case with Melinda Wayfair.

The most prominent family in Sweet Lake is the Wayfair family; who have been the sole proprietors of the Wayfair Inn for generations. While the inn has been passed down from father to son for as long as there have been Wayfairs living in Sweet Lake, the Wayfair Inn has recently fallen on hard times. After her father suffers a serious medical crisis and is forced to retire, her scoundrel of a brother suddenly decides to run off and make movies in California. Linnie Wayfair is absolutely livid.

Freddie may believe that he's only fulfilling a lifelong dream and not harming anyone else, but Linnie would respectfully disagree. In her opinion, not only did Freddie leave when he was needed most - essentially deserting the family business to go do his own thing - he left without telling his family anything about where he was going. Linnie is also horrified to discover that Freddie has left all his responsibilities to the Wayfair Inn behind him - and squarely on her shoulders.

She knows that there are so many people depending on her, but realizing that the entire population of Sweet Lake is expecting her to become the savior of the Wayfair Inn is truly daunting. Everyone in Sweet Lake is looking to Linnie to employ all of her business acumen - mustering every ounce of her good business sense to restore the Wayfair Inn to its former glory. Her parents hope that she will find it in her heart to forgive her prodigal brother and reconcile the family. The eccentric Sweet Lake Sirens want Linnie to open the inn - and her heart - to new possibilities.

Meanwhile, her lifelong friends Jada and Cat continue dropping not-so-subtle hints for her to ignite something with Daniel Kettering, the sexy attorney who has been pining for her for years. Her friends might not be able to wait to see Linnie in a romantic relationship, but she feels that she just has way too much on her plate at the moment. Now, a shocking turn of events will open old wounds and flip Linnie's world totally upside down; threatening everything that she has worked so hard to make her own. She finds herself having to make alterations to her plans for the future - and to make those changes quickly - and the results, while not quite what she might have expected, just might be exactly what she has needed and has been yearning for all along.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Ms. Nolfi creates such loveable and funny characters - characters that I found myself really connecting with and caring about in a fundamental way. In my opinion, this was a beautiful start to a wonderful new series, and I'm avidly waiting to see where the story will go from here. I give this book a definite A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

May you read well and often

Michael Phillip Cash - Collision: The Battle For Darracia

4. Collision: The Battle For Darracia by Michael Phillip Cash (2014)

The Battle For Darracia Saga Book 2

Length: 176 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Started: 25 January 2017
Finished: 6 February 2017
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Michael Phillip Cash and to Red Feather Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read.

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 13 May 2014

Why do I have it? I like science fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

The Battle For Darracia Saga continues as a majority of the key characters find themselves at a soul-defining crossroads for themselves and their entire planet. The tensions between the social classes on the planet of Darracia have now reached their respective boiling points. Peace talks between the Darracians and their nearest neighbors the Quyroo people have essentially collapsed with the assassination of the Quyroo ambassador. Crown Prince V'sair's villainous uncle Staf Nuen has also attempted to stage a coup to seize his brother's throne, but although King Drakko was assassinated and Staf Nuen escaped, his conspirators were captured and brought to justice.

As Darracia is being rocked by the waves of violence and societal turmoil, certain members of the royal family find themselves separated from each other and spread throughout the galaxy searching for a meaning to the death of a much beloved and benevolent monarch. Shaken by his father's assassination - and unsure how capable he will be in ruling a kingdom that he views as still belonging to the late king - Prince V'sair struggles to hold the fractured kingdom together. Despite being surrounded by many of his father's most trusted advisers, V'sair still feels extraordinarily isolated and alone without so many of his loved ones by his side.

V'sair's mother, Queen Reminda's own faith in the elusive Elements that have guided Darracians for centuries has been shaken to its very foundations. Although she grieves the loss of her husband, she remains steadfast in her support of her son as he contemplates his upcoming coronation. V'sair's stepbrother Zayden has spent much of the past year since his father's death searching for his uncle's whereabouts. He is on a self-imposed mission of vengeance - ranging from one side of the solar system to the other - determined to bring Staf Nuen back to Darracia to face justice; or die trying.

Reminda's handmaiden Tulani is trying to navigate both of her worlds, attempting to find the best way to bring them together. While she essentially grew up in service to the Darracian royal family -  Tulani is still a Quyroo - and her family lineage requires that she leaves service to the Darracians to begin training among her own people. Tulani's grandmother Bobbien is in fact the High Priestess of her tribe, and she wants her granddaughter to succeed her. Tulani loves her grandmother very much and feels obligated to fulfill Bobbien's wishes; but she is also devastated to be leaving behind Reminda and V'sair - the only family she has ever really known.

The villainous Staf Nuen has gone into hiding after orchestrating the initial coup. Having lost his wife, only son, and youngest daughter in the coup, Staf Nuen realizes that his own life is essentially forfeit if Zayden ever finds him. Although that coup wasn't entirely successful - and his cohorts were dealt with appropriately - Staf Nuen is still determined to form other nefarious alliances with certain diabolical new allies elsewhere in the galaxy.

However, like the vibrant comet zipping across the horizon, all the various factions of Darracian society are heading into a direct collision course. They are heading along a path that will test the power of their belief in themselves, their planet, and ultimately, in the power of the Elements that have guided them for centuries. This is a battle that will test the boundaries of their faith and challenge the balance of power.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. While the plot definitely reminded me of Star Wars, the story was intriguing and highly original. I avidly wanted to know what happened next. I look forward to reading the conclusion to this trilogy; and give this book a definite A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

May you read well and often