A Book Obsession..: Sandy Williams

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Today I'm happy to be featuring Sandy Williams, author of The Shadow Reader Series. I really enjoyed the entire trilogy. Make sure to stick around until the bottom of the post to enter Sandy's giveaway, and also check out my reviews of the series:

The Shadow Reader

The Shattered Dark

The Sharpest Blade

Sandy's 2013 Goodreads Stats

I love Goodreads. Not all authors do, but I use it mostly as a reader, rating books that I like (I only rate books I like and recommend) and writing “reviews” that tell myself and everyone else what’s so great about them. I’m putting “reviews” in quotes because they’re usually barely comprehensible blathering about how fantastic the stories and characters and writing are. Honestly, I’m impressed and envious of all the bloggers/reviewers who are actually able to write great, interesting, and understandable reviews about the books they love. You guys do a great job! Last year, I wrote about The 5 Things I Adore About Goodreads in a guest post. I still adore all those things. I love receiving likes/votes and getting comments on my reviews as much as I love getting reviews of my published books. If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to follow my reviews. I don’t auto-approve friend requests, but if someone comments or likes my reviews often, I do notice. I check out their reviews, and if they read books I like and write reviews (not just rate the books), I often send them a friend request. I love talking about books. And I love looking at my end of the year stats. My reading stats aren’t impressive compared to bloggers and a lot of readers, but the reminder of what I read and what I liked is
great.

The book covers are tiny, I know, but I’ve read 27 books this year. Twelve of those were 5 Stars, Seven were 4 Stars, and two were 3 Stars. Since I’ve been on Goodreads, I’ve written reviews for 124 books. My most liked/voted for review is Shaedes of Gray by Amanda Bonilla with Bloodfever coming in second and a handful of books including Fortune’s Pawn, Mind Games, and Binding the Shadows tying for 3rd with 5 votes. My most commented on reviews are for Mockingjay, Fortune’s Pawn, and Bloodfever. But the thing that I really love about Goodreads is seeing the quotes from my books that are liked.

My most liked quote from The Shadow Reader, the first book in the series, is:

“Fine," he says, his words coming out breathless. "I'll save your precious sword-master, McKenzie. But I will never, ever give you back to him.”

This makes me so happy because it’s one of my favorite scenes and lines from the book, too! The most liked quote from The Shattered Dark is:

“The complete truth, McKenzie, is I’d do anything for you, but you ask for nothing. You won’t confide in me. You won’t rely on me. You’re so preoccupied trying to decide if you can trust your feelings that you won’t consider giving in to them.”

I love that one, too. And I can’t wait to see what quotes people like in The Sharpest Blade.

Author Info:

Sandy graduated from Texas A&M University with a double major in political science and history. She thought about attending law school. Fortunately, before handing over her life’s savings, she realized case studies weren’t nearly as interesting as novels and decided to get an MA in Library Science instead. She worked as a librarian until her husband whisked her off to London on an extended business trip. She’s now back home in Texas, writing full-time, raising newborn twin boys, and squeezing in time to play geeky board and card games like Settlers of Catan, Dominion, and Runebound.

She loves hanging out with other readers and talking about books. For recommendations, check out herGoodreads account. And if you have a favorite book or author, she’d love to hear from you on Facebook & Twitter.

Are you an aspiring writer or just fascinated by the publishing industry? She blogs about writing and publishing every Monday over at the Magic & Mayhem Writers’ blog. Interested in learning more about her and reading updates on her writing? She currently blogs here every Wednesday and Friday. Stop by and say hello!

Find Sandy Online:

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Blog

Book Info:

McKenzie Lewis's ability to read the shadows has put her--and those she loves--in harm's way again and again. The violence must end, but will the cost of peace be more devastating than anyone ever imagined? After ten years of turmoil, the life McKenzie has always longed for may finally be within her grasp. No one is swinging a sword at her head or asking her to track the fae, and she finally has a regular--albeit boring--job. But when a ruthless enemy strikes against her friends, McKenzie abandons her attempt at normalcy and rushes back to the Realm. With the fae she loves and the fae she's tied to pulling her in different directions, McKenzie must uncover the truth behind the war and accept the painful sacrifices that must be made to end it. Armed with dangerous secrets and with powerful allies at her side, her actions will either rip the Realm apart--or save it.

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Early Review: The Sharpest Blade by Sandy Williams

, by KT

The Sharpest Blade by Sandy Williams

Shadow Reader #3

Torn between two worlds.Torn between two lives.
McKenzie Lewis’s ability to read the shadows has put her—and …those she loves—in harm’s way again and again. The violence must end, but will the cost of peace be more devastating than anyone ever imagined?

After ten years of turmoil, the life McKenzie has always longed for may finally be within her grasp. No one is swinging a sword at her head or asking her to track the fae, and she finally has a regular—albeit boring—job. But when a ruthless enemy strikes against her friends, McKenzie abandons her attempt at normalcy and rushes back to the Realm.

With the fae she loves and the fae she’s tied to pulling her in different directions, McKenzie must uncover the truth behind the war and accept the painful sacrifices that must be made to end it. Armed with dangerous secrets and with powerful allies at her side, her actions will either rip the Realm apart—or save it.

It is always so hard to say goodbye to a much loved series so I typically go into a a final book with much trepidation, and THE SHARPEST BLADE was no exception. That being said, I was largely happy with the way things turned out, minus the very rushed ending. I'm a big advocate for epilogues, and I definitely feel like this would have been one of the books that would have largely benefited from one. Don't get me wrong, I was very satisfied with the ending, and it was really what I had hoped for. It's just you are still on the edge of your seat until the very last few pages, and it left me feeling more wrung out than content as there wasn't really any time for the ending to sink in. I guess I'm just wishing there had of been more time to savor and enjoy things.

In my previous review I had stated that I was torn between the two men in McKenzie's life, but early on I realized that I was actually pretty decided that I wanted her to end up with Aren. Unfortunately as luck would have it, it also became apparent early on that things would not be so cut and dry with who she would end up with, in fact, it was left open until the very end. That being said, I realize that the choice couldn't have been easy without cheapening things due to the circumstances of the bond between her and Kyol, but it didn't make the frustration any easier for this reader. To make matters worse, I almost feel guilty for choosing Aren as Kyol felt everything clear as day through the bond. I mean it's bad enough to see someone you love wanting to be with someone else, but to actually feel it would be awful. However, the biggest reason that I felt Kyol was the wrong choice for her was, when push comes to shove, he will always choose duty over her. While honorable, that doesn't exactly mean the best thing for her. But putting that aside, it was really enjoyable to see it all play out, and as for who she winds up in the end, you'll just have to read to find out.

Fans of the series will be pleased with THE SHARPEST BLADE as it wraps up the trilogy nicely. And for those who haven't discovered this amazingly unique urban fantasy series yet, I say, well what are you waiting for. You'll want to snatch these right up. Trust me, you won't regret it.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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