Showing posts with label Allison Pang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allison Pang. Show all posts

Friday, December 20, 2019

Book Review/Giveaway - A Symphony of Starlight by Allison Pang







A Symphony of Starlight

Abby Sinclair

Book Four

Allison Pang

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Date of Publication: 10/8/2019

ISBN: 978-0-9985343-4-3
ASIN: B07YDZFDFV

Number of pages: 304
Word Count: 97k

Cover Artist: Ravven

Tagline: Sometimes you have to go to Hell to give the Devil His due…

Book Description:          

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions . . . and sometimes unicorn puke.

In the span of a few months, mortal TouchStone Abby Sinclair has been trapped in a painting, had her memories stolen, and been Tithed to Hell, killed, and brought back to life by the OtherFolk. Now she’s pregnant and torn between her incubus lover, Brystion, and her elven king of a husband, Talivar. Otherworldly love triangles notwithstanding, she’s more than content to set the political drama of magic and mayhem aside and quietly settle into motherhood. But nothing is ever that easy . . .

Years ago, Abby’s best friend, Melanie St. James, virtuoso violinist and DoorMaker to the CrossRoads, lost her soul to the Devil in return for an enchanted violin. Now the magic of her violin is fading, and the Devil is calling in her debt to serve Him as His TouchStone. In an effort to escape the terms of this reckless bargain, she flees to the CrossRoads with her lover, Nobu.

But reneging on a deal with the Devil isn’t the wisest of moves, especially when He knows Abby is the only one who can bring Him what He wants. And when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Abby and her friends to find a way to stop the violin from consuming Melanie’s soul before it’s too late, even if the journey takes them straight into Hell itself.




eBook On Sale for .99




Excerpt:

“Well, I’m running out of ideas.

What about the thread?” I asked Kitsune. “You gave me a spool of red thread
once to help me find Talivar or my destiny or something like that.”
           
 Ion and Talivar blinked at me. “Destiny, is it?” Talivar said wryly.
          
 “It led me to the tent with your horses,” I explained. “I’m not sure it worked the
way it was supposed to, but you did show up afterward, so who knows?”
            
Kitsune brightened. “Ah yes. The red thread of Fate. A useful spell at times, though I
don’t know if it will work for us here. Depends on how entwined you and Melanie
are. It might not even lead you through the Gate at all.”
            
She paced, her fur seeming to shimmer slightly, and then one of her tails somehow
plucked a spool from the air and deposited it at my feet. I picked it up,
Brystion craning to see it curiously.
           
 “And what is that all about?” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t like the way it feels.”
           
 Kitsune cackled. “Mortals are bound by Fate more so than OtherFolk. It’s often wrapped
so tightly around them they don’t even notice it. You were never one for such
things, aye?”
            
He grunted at her and rolled his eyes. For a heartbeat, I could see his natural
form, the dark skin, the antlers, the hooves . . . the bells braided in his
hair with red thread. My mouth quirked, but I said nothing. Perhaps the incubus
was bound more by Fate than he liked.
           
I rolled the spool in my hands, taking one end of the thread. It shivered between
my fingers, almost like touching a live wire, jolts of power zipping beneath my
skin.
            
“Focus, ”Kitsune snapped. “What is it you really want? Where do you want to go?”
           
 I shut my eyes. Melanie, I thought. I need to find her. I need to fix this. I
need to save her.
           
The thoughts repeated over and over in my head, and as before, the spool jumped
from my hand and rolled across the ground toward the Gate. Talivar skirted out
of the way as it hurtled toward him, swearing softly.
            
The Gate lit up in an instant, the spool shunting through and disappearing in a
splash of silver and gold, the red thread trailing like a tail behind it.
            
The fox limped over to the Gate, sniffing at the corner. The corruption on her side
grew more pronounced, but her three tails lashed wildly, coating her fur with a
silver light. “Abby! Let’s go! Before it closes!”
            
She shifted slightly, her paws becoming humanoid, and she snatched at the hand
holding the thread and pulled me hard, the pair of us tumbling through the
Gate. “Wait!” We swept through the entrance, but my voice was enveloped in some
sort of film, a quiet I couldn’t seem to break through.
            
I reached for the others, but it was as though I was looking through water, a
barrier stretched between us that I couldn’t quite reach.
            
The thread. I clenched my fist. I was still holding the goddamned thread. What
happens when the thread keeping the Gate open goes through, Abby? What?
            
“It fucking closes,” I said. “That’s what.”
            
I struggled against Kitsune’s clawed grip. “We have to go back . . . The others . . .”
            
“There is no time.” Her voice was hollow and empty as she staggered beside me. Her
tails dragged limply across the ground, the dark magic beginning to move along
her fur again. “Must make it . . . Inari.”

And then she was tumbling forward, the track we were on abruptly disintegrating
beneath our feet. I snatched at her, and the two of us fell, fell, fell, the
red thread wrapping around us.





My Thoughts: Oh I was so excited when I saw another book coming out for the Abby Sinclair series! This is book 4 of the series and I really suggest reading the first 3 before this one to get a better understanding of whats going on. A Symphony of Starlight tidied up some of the loose ends and I have just really enjoyed this series. Phineas (the tiny unicorn) has been one of my favorite characters with his attitudes and underwear shenanigans. 


About the Author:



Allison is the author of the Urban Fantasy Abby Sinclair series, the IronHeart Chronicles and the writer for the webcomic Fox and Willow. She likes LEGOS, elves, LEGO elves…and bacon.

She spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube grunt and her nights waiting on her kids, cat, and an obnoxious northern breed dog, punctuated by the occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write. Mostly she just makes it up as she goes.






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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Review - A Trace of Moonlight by Allison Pang

A Trace of Moonlight by Allison Pang
Released: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Pocket Books
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 400 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5
Abby’s pact with a daemon—whether or not she remembers making it—is binding, so she’d better count herself lucky that (in the words of a daemon who knows better) there’s nearly always a loophole. But her friends’ reckless attempts to free her, well intentioned though they may be, set off a disastrous chain of events. In no time at all, Abby turns her incubus lover mortal, then gets herself killed, cursed, and married to an elven prince whose mother wants her dead. On top of everything else, she’s lost the Key to the CrossRoads to her mortal enemy, who promptly uses his restored power to wreak havoc on the OtherWorld and put its very existence in jeopardy. Only one person can make things right again, but to find her, Abby must place her trust in allies of mixed loyalties, and conquer her nightmares once and for all.
I really LOVE this series so much! Phineas is my hero! A Trace of Moonlight opens with Abby having no memories in Faerie but moves quickly and regains her memory and the action takes off from there. Without going into alot of detail an all out war breaks out when the Eildon Tree on the Crossroads is set on fire because it sort of kept peace amongst all the different creatures with it's hidden magic. Now sworn enemies must join forces to find the one person who they think may can save the tree and the future of the Crossroads but will they be in time? I'll never tell! LOL

The love triangle between Abby, Ion, and Talivar is a bit disturbing but I guess it's necassary to the story. I just dislike Abby having sex with both men and acting like it's supposed to be okay with everybody. Maybe she does really love both men even if in different ways and they obviously both love her even if they do have their own separate agendas but I still think she needs to choose one or the other and not keep stringing them both along. Heck I say dump um both! Who needs them when she has Phin for crying out loud? LOL

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Review - A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang

A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang
Released: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Pocket Books
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 400 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5
Author Site: Allison Pang
Just when her new life as a TouchStone—a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds—seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away . . . let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed.
Oh my freaking gosh! Book one (A Brush of Darkness) was wonderful but I enjoyed A Sliver of Shadow even more! We are introduced to Tresa who tries to trick Abby into becoming her touchstone and when she fails she casts a spell that backfires in a huge way causing the Faery Queen to think war had broken out and she closed the crossroads leaving many stranded and possibly dying.

So on top of taking care of Benjamin, keeping the peace amongst her suitors, running a business, and trying to make sense of being a touchstone Abby now has added this to her plate. But the fun doesn't stop here folks because Abby also begins to discover things about her past and family and let me tell you I was thrown for a loop!

I feel like A Brush of Darkness kinda just introduced us to a few of the key players in this awesome story but A Sliver of Shadow tossed us right into the action and doesn't give us a moment to catch our breath before tossing more upon us! I am practically bouncing off the walls in wait for A Trace of Moonlight which will be out in October. Oh boy oh boy oh boy that sounds like a long time away! More Phin please!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.


My Teaser:
"Hows Phin?"

"He's fine." A flutter of amusement tinged the prince's voice. "I've got him in your backpack. He insisted on taking a pair of your panties as a security blanket."

I rolled my eyes. "Guess he's earned it." Although how someone earned the right to roll around in my underwear I couldn't say, but he'd been through quite a bit, so I figured I'd give him a pass. Just this once.

A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang

Just when her new life as a TouchStone — a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds — seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away…let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed.

The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faerie is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding elven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen’s magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she’s making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Review - A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang
Released: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Pocket Books
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 242 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5
Author Site: Allison Pang
Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage.
AWesome Debut! I knew this was gonna be a wild and wicked read from the first sentence which is from our heroine describing what she is smelling. "Cat piss and cabbages." No further details there I will just let your mind wander! Seriously there is barely a dull moment in the entire book and it is filled to the brim with all kinds of otherworld folks from angels and daemons to fae and unicorns. I have always dreamed of unicorns but I am not so sure Phineas and I would get along as he is the size of a small dog and loves plundering in womens underwear!

The plot is pretty basic as plots go...there are missing people, a mystery to solve, a sexy incubus naturally needing... ahem some loving while helping solve said mystery but Allison writes in a way that even though the plot is basic her characters came to life for me and they were funny and sassy and Brystion was just all out yummy. The ending wasn't all that huge of a cliffhanger but enough to encourage me to pick up the next book and ladies and gents I am off to do that now!