An intriguing tale of romance and plant powers.

Finding Gaia is not your average romance tale; it involves immortality, unique nature altering powers, and two lovers who have experienced the extreme polarities of the human race. There are bits of romance, intimacy, and action as the pair and their allies come face to face with evil researchers, jealous outsiders, and haunting memories gathered through the centuries.

Jason Truitt (born Jason Moore) is the handsome CEO of Gaia Global, an environmental corporation composed of research facilities and eco-friendly businesses. His closest associates, Trish Merewald and Don Hobart, are a husband and wife team who serve as the chief technology officer and chief scientist respectively. Trish is an aggressive feminist from a dysfunctional family who means well with her coarse words. Don is her kind, food-loving husband who is passionate about work and is frequently seen in the glow of a computer screen. Not only are they the finest members of his staff, but they also serve as Jason’s friends–the only two in the world who know of his secret abilities.

Anna Yale (born Rosanna Yale) never had an easy life. Over hundreds of years, she lived through tremendous events that no ordinary person could endure. Deeply traumatized by her experiences, she would take refuge in isolated places only to re-emerge with a new identity to prevent arousing suspicion. Anna, like Jason, is immortal and immune to all diseases. However, there is one talent that sets her apart from him–she can manipulate vegetation. Usually harmless items such as seeds and vines can become deadly weapons under her control. Thankfully (for the most part), Anna practices the virtues of humility and forgiveness and will not act on her emotions.

First and foremost, there are aspects of Finding Gaia that are NSFW, and are a bit mature for younger readers. There’s quite a bit of language in the story–but not so offensive that it takes away from it. It makes the dialogue realistic. Aside from that there were few things I felt were a bit rushed in the story; such as Anna attempting to overcome one of her rather horrid experiences that affected her romantic progression with Jason.

On the plus side, Anna’s control over vegetation was intriguing to follow, and I admired how she perceived the glories of nature. To feel the life that streams through plants and trees seems to be a beautiful connection. Watching Anna progress from being a badly bruised individual was rewarding, and I enjoyed a good percentage of the exchanges between her and Jason. Their old-fashioned ways were adorable at times, frustrating at others–but understandable due to the perceived atmosphere of the tale.

Finding Gaia was received as a courtesy for review and is available for purchase at Gumroad, Smashwords and Amazon.

Source: Finding Gaia

When Vicky’s father is arrested on a charge of stealing over a million pounds from the bank where he works, she is determined to prove his innocence. Helped by her brother and his best friend, Vicky decides to try to find the real thief by hacking into the bank’s computer system.

Hacker – Let me first off start this book review with a lot of gushing. Malorie Blackman is, and probably always will be, one of my favorite authors of all time. There seems to be nothing that she cannot write and always does it with brilliant efficiency, and Hacker is no exception. If I had read this book when I was younger, I believe that my three stars would definitely have been closer to four, or even five stars because this book caters to the younger audiences extremely well. Her writing style flows easily and allows the plot to be simple yet complicated all at the same time.

At only 200 pages, this book is definitely worth picking up if you want a few hours to just chill for a little while. It’s entertaining, gripping and really allows you to switch your mind off and focus on the story in your hands. As per usual, Blackman has created a realistic world with realistic characters that you can imagine extremely well, and the emotions that are dealt with were just so perfect. I felt like a thirteen year old all again, feeling like the world was on top of my shoulders while I garbled with emotions that I couldn’t quite understand. I will not be embarrassed to admit that Malorie Blackman bought me to tears in this book a few times, which simply shows how talented she is.

Victoria is a well-thought out character who has a true voice in this book. You can feel the emotional and physical journey that she goes on, and her POV seems spot on with how other thirteen year olds would think, feel and act. It is for this brilliant characterisation that I give Blackman my props. I also felt that the other characters in this novel felt true enough, and they really interacted extremely well. It is, by far, her unique talent at writing characters so well that I love her so much. She truly gets people and understands how they act, no matter their age.

Blackman’s Hacker creates a nostalgic view of 1993.

The plot is fun, gripping and completely nostalgic. This book was written in 1993, and it was about characters a lot younger than I am today. It reminded me of books that I used to read when I was thirteen, and I knew instantly that this would’ve been a book that I would have loved, so I’m a little sad that it took me so long to read it! It was also nostalgic in its technology. There was never any mention of WiFi, and the idea of mobile phones was nonexistent, but I feel that this “dinosaur” age of the book really added to the story. It simply wouldn’t have been as exciting or action-packed if the characters could have just pulled out their mobile phones and called or text someone to help.

Overall, Hacker was fun and quick to read. It was enjoyable and truly took me on a journey. It was descriptive, emotional and character driven. There was action, crime, mystery and drama, and it all flowed extremely well. It was one that had me in tears at one moment and in giggles the next, while also covering a rather sombre and interesting message at the same time. It is the perfect Middle Grade fiction book for teens who are looking for something fun and interesting, and nostalgic, or well, it would probably be seen as “alien” to some teens today! It is definitely one that I would recommend to people my age as well, however, because who doesn’t love to read a book that takes us right back to our teenage years? It is simply an enjoyable read.

Malorie Blackman’s Hacker is another amazing review by…

Unearthly – In the beginning, there’s a boy standing in the trees. . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she’s part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is though, it isn’t easy.

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

This novel had me hooked from the very first page. I was captivated instantly, and this feeling never went away as I continued to read the rest of the book. Cynthia Hand truly has a way with words that brings the story to life on the pages and really manages to get that story to stick with the reader. Even when I had finished reading, when I had walked away from the book to do something else, my mind would wander back to the story as I imagined what would happen next or why certain things happened the way they did and what that could all mean. It is something like this that I always love about stories and it therefore, can be no surprise, that Unearthly is a book that will stick with me for a long time and that I cannot wait to get my hands on Hallowed.

Clara Gardner was such a brilliant protagonist. She was lost, confused yet sure of herself all at the same time. She knew where she needed to be, she knew that she had a path to follow, but at the same time, she didn’t know why. She had so much to learn, she had so much strength to find within the story too. I loved that she didn’t just bow down and do as she was supposed to. She was a strong character within the story and one who had a great personality that I truly admired. I could see her as being a real person and I absolutely loved that, and I loved the journey that she took and how it all took shape around her.

I absolutely adored Tucker. He was the one who got my heart beating. Even when Clara didn’t like him, I was loving everything about him. The way he joked, the way he teased, the way you could just tell that there was more to him than he was letting on. The way he was so caring and protective of his sister and so friendly with all of his friends. It was so easy to see that he was a genuine guy and I loved it. I wasn’t, on the other hand, too fond of Christian. I found him to bit a bland, he seemed like a nice guy, that he was doing things for the greater good and I liked the shared smiles he had for Clara but I just didn’t feel for him the way I felt for Tucker. Whether this was because of his personality, or because of the way the story panned out, or even just because of the way Cynthia Hand wrote the story, but I just did not like Christian. I understood his purpose in the story, but I just didn’t see eye to eye with him.

As far as stories about angels go…

The other characters in this novel were all really well written as well. I enjoyed finding out more about Clara’s mother and her past. I could see how she wanted and needed Clara to make her own decisions and to live her own life but at the same time felt obliged to step in. I loved Jeffrey and how much, in spite of it all, he loved his sister and just wanted to look out for her. I adored Angie! She was so… perky and intelligent and excitable and I love that Clara found her just when she needed her and they were able to help each other out so much. And last, but definitely not least, I loved Wendy too. I loved how she was so insecure yet strong and ready to defend Clara to the ends of the earth. I loved how they interacted with each other and just, she was so lovely!

As far as stories about angels go, this is definitely one of my favorites! I loved this take on angels and angel-bloods. I found it really interesting and it was nice to find out about all of the new stuff alongside Clara. It really helped the digesting process of it all. Nothing was thrown at the reader and it was never too much at once. It worked out perfectly and I absolutely adored it. I definitely want to find out more about this world and to know exactly what will happen in the next installment of this series. It is definitely a world that is built extremely well and keeps the reader on their toes. I would recommend it to anyone who has never read an angel story and to people who want something a little different and really unique. And, at least in this book, not too bogged down with the idea of religion within the story as well.

Cynthia Hand has down a marvelous job with this book and I honestly cannot wait to see what happens next, and since I have heard many great things about the next book, my fingers are literally itching to go and read the next book straight away. This is a story that truly keeps the reader captivated and one that would probably be really easy to read and finish in one sitting if said reader had the time! It was an inspirational story, with a unique touch and one that I will remember for a long time and will be used to judge other angel stories that I read from now on. It has also put Cynthia on my radar as one of my favourite authors and I honestly cannot wait to see what else she has in store.