Blog Tour Review: Captain Bonny Morgan, The Cassandra Prophecy by Robert "Doc" Gowdy

Title: Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophecy

Author: Robert "Doc" Gowdy

Rating:

Who Should Read It? ONLY if you are prepared for X-rated sci-fi should you read this.

What I Have to Say:
I really wish that I had liked this book, that I had better things to say about it. Because the fact is, it was a well-written, action-packed, exciting story. And I think that, for the right audience, it could be great.

I, however, was unfortunately not the right audience. And everything I say should therefore be taken with a grain of salt, as I am an impartial judge.

I'll start with the good. The Cassandra Prophecy takes place in an intriguing, exciting future world full of space pirates and inter-galactic disputes; feisty, ballsy women that are part of ancient organizations and that carry around exciting secrets. The characters were fun and exciting and well-developed, and more than that, they were likable and engaging. As was the story.

The plot was well-developed, and I wasn't ENTIRELY sure what was going to happen until the very end, though I did have quite a few ideas and did guess most of it. I was intrigued and excited and actually found it hard to put the book down. It was stylistically solid and extraordinarily creative.

Sounds like I loved it, right? Unfortunately, it was also hard for me to keep reading without cringing every two seconds. I wish that I had taken more care to notice the word "erotic" in the summary, because that's what it was. Every two seconds women were having hot lesbian sex (in front of everyone, and the men would just laugh) - either to fulfill contracts or because they had suddenly fallen in love or, well, just because. It seemed like every possible thing that could happen in the book had to in some way involve descriptions of naked women and naughtiness.

And that's just not for me. It almost felt like the author had decided to fulfill some weird male fantasy by populating the world with lesbians owning lesbian sex slaves (that loved being slaves, of course) that all just had sex in front of all of the men (who never seemed to get any action). I couldn't help but feel annoyed at having to filter out all the lude, crude sex scenes to get to the good stuff.

And so, in the end, it's hard for me to say that I liked it. Maybe you will, if you're into that kind of thing. But it unfortunately just wasn't a book for me.

Summary:Called to action by a mysterious ancient Order-an ancient Order in cahoots with the Empress Flaccilla of the First Galactic Empire of Emperor Tulla-to help bring about the fulfillment of a long forgotten prophesy, the beautiful galactic pirate, Captain Bonny Morgan, sets out on her mission to successfully bring the prophesy to reality. By kidnapping the Empress's daughter, Princess Cosette, Captain Morgan sets into motion an adventure awash in political intrigues, hidden agendas, unexpected revelations, and bold, daring gambits by those involved at every level of the conspiracy. Setting out to find her kidnapped sister, Princess Lysette, joined by her beautiful, mischievous, and extraordinary slavegirl, Tink, crisscrosses the galaxy in a bawdy, erotic, and often hilarious attempt to find Cosette. Along the way, Lysette and Tink fall in with a variety of extraordinary allies in their attempt to find Cosette, meeting the Lady Brit, Jon Black, Pirate Queen Colleen O'Malley, Gunns Mannigan, Buster O'Malley, the beautiful pirates Kana and Blaze, and Bully, the roguish owner of the pirate tavern, the Pretty Red.

Cover Story: I actually really love this cover. I just wish I would have paid more attention to the attire of the female before choosing to read this book.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me for review via a third party source; this in no way affected my review.

Review: the Elf of Luxembourg by Tom Weston

Title: the Elf of Luxembourg

Author: Tom Weston

Rating: 1/2

Who Should Read It? Readers who are more interested in plot based stories than character based stories. This is a great book for those who love mysterious, magical stories that are full of history!

What I Have to Say:
The Elf of Luxembourg takes place in the present and the past simultaneously. In the present, we follow two very different, American sisters, as they visit their aunt and uncle in Luxembourg. They (very) slowly come to discover that there is quite a bit more to Luxembourg than they ever could have thought. In the past, we follow Cuchaquicha on his quest to refind his wife and give his message to the gods, after he has been taken into slavery by the Spanish and the vampires (aka the Germans).

What ensues is a story of magic, mythical creatures, mystery, and betrayal. And what's more: history. While I wouldn't go so far as to call this historical fiction, Tom Weston weaves historical fact after historical fact into his telling. He combined it with so much magic and folklore that I was left curious as to what was actually true and what wasn't - and as I always say, any book that makes me want to learn something can't be bad.

The best part of the book (in my humble opinion) was the story of Cuchaquicha. The things that he goes through to try to find his wife and get his message to the gods are exciting and mysterious and will have the reader turning page after page, wondering whatever is going to happen. The story of Alex and Jackie was also suspenseful and exciting - I spent the entire book wondering how the two stories were going to intertwine.

The writing style of this story was also very unique. The title "the Elf of Luxembourg: being a love story" really says it all. It's not outwardly a love story at all, except, through his style, it is obvious that the author loved his book and put a lot into it. It also has subtle undertones of love being something entirely different than what we think about on the surface, and through this new idea of love, it really is a love story. His style is poignant and to the point, and very thing descriptive. I think if you like the cover and the title, you will most likely enjoy the style.

Unfortunately, though, I found the characters lacking in development. I never really got to know any of the characters. Sure, I understood that Cuchaquicha was a good man, and I was able to see the kind of person that he was, but I never really got to know him. And Jackie and Alex, I felt like I knew them even less. They were two flaky, slightly annoying girls who supposedly loved to shop (though we never saw them shop), and that was all I ever felt that I knew. I never was able to get into their heads and see how they saw things. I have no idea how they reacted to the twist, and since I didn't really get a feeling for them, I couldn't even imagine. I also never really understood what made them special and unique. We were given just one word to explain it, and that word was never really explained. I found this frustrating.

Because of this, though the story was quite good and engaging, I felt as if it was lacking in a way. Because the characters could have been anyone, and I like to engage with the characters, to care about them.

Overall, though, I loved this book, and on the whole I had trouble putting it down. If you like magical, exciting stories and don't mind uninteresting (or, rather, slightly underdeveloped) characters, then this book is definitely for you. It's full of vampires and elves and and magic and even a mermaid. It takes an already exciting city and turns it into somewhere even more mysterious. Readers will enjoy his unique writing style and the massive amount of history thrown in!

Summary: What's an older sister to do? It's not all fun fairs and ice-cream. Well, it is - but that's beside the point. When one is in Luxembourg, there is a certain standard to maintain, and vacationing with Elves and Vampires is just so old school. But can Alex convince her younger sister, Jackie, of that? No, of course not, so she may as well get used to it. But deep beneath the ancient city of Luxembourg there lies a secret. The Vampires believe it is protected by the Elf. The Elf believes it is protected by a prophecy concerning Alex and Jackie. And the sisters? They believe shoes in Luxembourg are too expensive. Why are the Vampires going toe-to-toe with an Elf for the pleasure of the sisters' company? Why does the Elf think Alex and Jackie can sing? And just who let Sir Walter Raleigh and the Conquistadors into this story? To answer these questions will take all of the sisters' cunning, bravery and imagination, as well as some souvenir shopping. Because this is the Elf of Luxembourg and this is an Alex and Jackie Adventure.

Cover Story: I am a HUGE fan of puzzles, and I therefore love this cover! It's super cool, and it fits with the book wonderfully, as I spent a lot of time trying to puzzle all of the different pieces together.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by Pump Up Your Book! for review. This in no way affected my review.