4 Book Review

I first want to say that, Two Readers Reviews, is a gorgeous website and you should definitely pay it a visit.  That said the marvelous and splendid Missy, recently read Released and wrote me a sparkling review, which I of course couldn't wait to share with everyone.

Missy's take - 

I have been so in love with dystopian novels lately. It all started with The Hunger Games last year. Released just made my love for dystopians continue to grow!

Released takes place in a world where demon animals roam the Earth. There are several different types and we learn about them as the story moves along. The most common are the demon hounds. These demon creatures hide everywhere and survive off of eating humans.

Our MC, Abby, is one of the few living humans left. She along with her brother Carter and his best friend Max, decide they are going to leave the safety of the home that they have been staying in and head to New Mexico where radio transmissions have promised safety and help by the military. Abby is a fantastic lead. She was both strong and weak. She kept the weakness inside though and only let her strength show. Although I have obviously never been in the situation she is in, I can totally see myself feeling and reacting in similar ways. I felt like I was really able to connect with her as a character.

The world the author created was both intriguing and incredibly frightening. All of the people they manage to find make them suspicious of their motives. In a world with so few people there is still an issue of trust.  You have to be extremely smart and prepared for any situation in order to survive.You never really know who or what is out to get you at any one time.

The story moved very along smoothly. Nothing seemed forced. There was action at all the right times and it had me on the edge of my seat just about the entire time. The action scenes were fantastic and there was such great detail that you almost feel like you are right there fighting off the demons with them.

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic read. If you are looking for a the kind of book you can read in one sitting then this would be the one! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. We are also left with a nice cliffhanger too. The next book in the series is due out this fall!

Awesome Giveaway! Win Released or Hollowland by Amanda Hocking!

I wanted to start spreading the word about this really awesome giveaway!  The grand prize is a copy of my book Released and a copy of Amanda Hocking's book Hollowland!  Enter now folks, this is an amazing dystopian giveaway!

Link to Giveaway

Meet the Characters in Savor!

I thought it might be fun to share some images of what I envision some of the characters in Savor to look like.  I got some great advice from a fellow indie who told me using images helps her write and it definitely works for me because I am a very visual person.  These are the images I used to help create my characters.  It will be fun to hear your thoughts, especially after you read the story and tell me what your imagination has created.  Enjoy!

For my Leading Lady meet Claire!

Claire's vampire bestfriend, the abnormally bubbly Robin,

Claire's nemesis, the beautiful but deadly Ana,

And now for some studs!  There is a romantic love-mystery in this story so I am not going to reveal any spoilers!  Sorry! :o)  But at least they are nice to look at.

Dmitry is a vampire fascinated with humans and incredibly intelligent.  He is definitely an ally you want on your side.

Luka is Dmitry's brother, he is Ana's boyfriend and her partner in her evil deeds, but is he driven by his love for her or is he truly that evil?

And last but not least, the mystery man, whose name I will not reveal mwhahahahahahaha

Curled Up with Books: Reviews Released

Curled Up with Books: Review: Released by Megan Duncan: "Review: Released by Megan Duncan (Agents of Evil #1) Publisher: CreateSpace Format: ebook, 260 pages Source: received from Author for hones..."

4 Mugs!

The wonderful Caffeinated Diva, wrote a wonderful 4 Mug review of Released!  Please check out here awesome blog, because she is super!

Released is the first book in the Agents of Evil series and it is a fantastic start to it!  I was pulled in from the very beginning and it was one of those books that was very hard to put down.  In the midst of a nightmare, Abby, Carter and Max are survivors in a world being taken over by the literal hounds of hell.  People are being slaughtered by the thousands and survival is an every day struggle.  The story was exciting and full of twists and turns that kept you guessing.  While the biggest danger was from the demons now roaming the land, there was no small amount of danger among the surviving humans which added even more of a twist.  But there was also sweetness and romance mixed in with the action and the battles, and that rounded out the story and made the characters so believable and likeable.

The characters were so perfectly developed for the story.  I loved the fact that they were completely normal kids, having suffered and seen so much more horror than anyone their age should have to have been through.  They weren’t developed to be anything more than an average kid, complete with flaws and all the struggles of normal teenagers.  That in itself made them even better heroes as the story unfolds.  I love a story that draws me in and makes me feel emotions right along with characters and this story gave that to me, especially Max and Abby.

I loved the ending, which I will say nothing about other than that it was the perfect cliffhanger for the next story.  Questions were answered, but more were left unanswered which just left me wanting more.  I highly suggest picking up this book and giving it a read!  The second book, Chaos, will be out this summer!

4 Star Review!

I woke up this morning to a breath-taking review from the "thief of my heart", Mindy of Magical Urban Fantasy Reads.  Thank you so much for your review Mindy, I really appreciate it and I can't promise that I won't beg you to review Savor and Indulge too. :o)

So, everyone please read this awesome review and check out Mindy's blog.  The site is beautiful!

My Take:  This book totally ROCKED! I knew as soon as I started reading that I would like this book. Abby is a diehard heroine, not by choice but for survival and she is truly a fighter!

Abby, her brother Carter, and Carter’s best friend Max are the only living humans in their town. Max lost both of his parents to the monsters that have taken over the world, and Abby and Carter lost their father when he tried to save Max’s parents. The monsters that killed them left the 3 teenagers to survive on their own.

Abby, Carter and Max quickly come to realize that it will not be possible to survive by hiding out in their houses forever. Unfortunately, their only hope of survival was a radio transmission telling survivors to seek refuge at an Air Force Base in New Mexico, but the radio message stopped transmitting 2 weeks ago! So, with little hope, they set out on a 1500 mile journey to the Air Force base, praying they can find food, water, shelter and safety.

After the tragic loss of their parents, the three survivors never dreamed they would face even greater challenges and horrors on their journey to New Mexico. But where they ever wrong! Heck, even I didn’t imagine where the book would lead! There were moments while reading that I wanted to yell, “PLEASE! Follow your gut instinct!” And, yet, I too was completely caught off guard in some parts! It came to a point where I finally realized that Abby, Carter and Max will truly do ANYTHING to save each other even if it means doing something they thought they would never have to do.

There is another character named Taya that comes into the mix later, and I love her too! All four of these characters balance each other perfectly. I love how Abby’s security blanket is her shotgun and that Carter uses a bow! Carter is the brain of the group and Abby and Max are the strong fighters. Taya adds more fun to the mix.

There is a part in the book that had me really pondering. I was thinking, “Would my thoughts be similar to Carters?” Here is the discussion…
"“So why do you think this all happened?” Taya asked completely out of the blue, directing the question to Carter.
“Huh? You asking me?” She nodded at him. “Well there are lots of theories really. Some people believe God is punishing us, some believe they are aliens taking over our planet, some…”
“What do you believe?” Taya interrupted.
“Honestly I am not concerned about the how or why. I just want them gone.”"

I would be more than thrilled to find out what happens in the next book.  Megan Duncan is a really good entertaining writer, she kept me entertained from start to finish.

Indulge!!!

As promised here is the cover for Indulge, Book 2 in my Warm Delicacy Series!

  I hope you all love it.  I think Robin did an amazing job and I can't wait to see what you all think!

Another Great Review

The wonderful/amazing/awesome Kristen of Seeing Night Reviews, just gave Released a 4 out of 5 rating!  I loved her review and thank you so much Kristen for reading my story!  I will definitely keep you posted on Chaos, book two of the series and even Savor, the first book in my vampire series if you're interested.  :o)

I have posted Kristen's review below.  I also recommend everyone check out her blog because it is great.  You can find the link above, drop by and tell her hello!  :o)

I really loved the idea of Released by Megan Duncan, a post apocalyptic story with demons destroying human kind. I’m not really a zombie person so I was really looking forward to this nice twist.

Released in the first book in the Agents of Evil series and the debut for Duncan. She really hit the spot in her story, with adding a bit of everything, family survival, growing up, romance and friendship.

The story was really straightforward and the pace started right of at the first page. Duncan starts you right in the middle of what the three leads are dealing with, Abby, Carter and Max. Abby is my favorite kind of heroine with sass, bravery and can really kick some butt. Carter is smart and in control and very protective of his sister Abby. Max is the muscle and long time friends of the other two.

The romance was a nice touch in such a hard situation for the three. Max and Abby have a nicely paced relationship and it wasn’t a major focus in the story. The relationships and characters overall were fantastically written and drew me so into the book, I was sad to be done. The story’s pace was solid and not too quick and it never overwhelmed or got boring.

I do wish the story was longer but I’m sure Duncan wanted to save more of the surprises and action for the second book coming out soon called Chaos. I’m excited to see what happens with the group, the ending left me so curious and satisfied. Some parts were predictable but it really didn’t faze me at all, I was just thrilled to read something so different. I recommend this book and will be begging Duncan to let me read the next when it’s ready. ☺