Blurb:-
She is different, unique, and one of a kind. Even in this weird new world. In a world ravaged by an inter-species war and almost devoid of Witches, she has to hide, keeping her heritage a secret. Only two people knew the truth about her: her father and her mentor; her savior, Seth. A highly trained assassin, she kills with impunity if the target deserves such a sentence. Unfortunately, far too many do. The lawlessness that stretches from coast to coast allowing unspeakable acts to go unpunished.
Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, and a host of other species now run free upon the earth and some of them were downright evil. She tasks herself with dealing with wrongdoers whenever she can. She is strong, fearless and powerful. An anomaly, probably the only Witch/Wolf hybrid left alive. She shields herself from detection. If anyone knew she has Witch DNA they would all come after her and she couldn’t take such a horde on and live.
Her assignments as the ‘go to’ assassin for The Council give her plenty of opportunity to wreak justice upon those who deal in death and destruction. Her targets mostly found dead with black lips and tongue; a result of her spells and not just the poison everyone thinks. So, when the new Head of the Council, Basilius, a Demon, tasks her with taking out the most powerful Vampire alive she can’t refuse. Can she?
The Black Rose will strike again for the good of humanity. It’s what she believes she’s been born to do and she will tackle this as she does all of her missions; with deadly intent. There’d be no difference this time. Would there? Or is the dangerous Vampire, Cassius Allarde, not all that he seems?
Come follow Rose’s journey as she fights to find out the truth. About the Demon, the Vampire and the Witch hunt that destroyed most of her kind. Book 1 in A K Michaels new series, The Black Rose Chronicles. If you like your dystopian books with the added bonus of supernatural beings in abundance then this book is for you.
The Black Rose Chronicles, Deceit and Lies by A.K. MichaelsKat's rating: 4 of 5 stars
*** Gifted in exchange for an honest review ***
*** I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5 ***
Rating breakdown:
Plot Line : Strong - looks a good interesting adventure,
Characters:Good, from what we learn of them in book 1 we know that Rose is going to be a kick ass gal that doesn't take any crap.
Cassius - he looks as if he will be a good match as a partner for Rose.
Seth - well he was a hard one - I have yet to make my mind up about him.
The Head Honcho of the Council - Bad as they come - a Demon who has his own agenda - yep detested him I hope Rose kicks his butt!
Cover: OK so I will do my gripes first - The Cover, sorry but its too busy not enough definition on the images and the font is lost in it.
This is the first in the new dystopian series from Author A.K. MichaelsSet in a world torn apart by the supernatural wars, and the Witches have been all but made extinct. Rose has had it hard, being half witch half Werewolf, she has been hidden and trained to be an assassin, shes a good one and her witch powers are useful in masking her identity.
The world building is enough to set the scene for the story but I am still unclear how some countries have faired better than others in this war.
Being a novella series its a hard measure to put enough into the first book without it ending up being boring, and I am sure as the series progresses the war and the world as it now is will become clear.
The story starts out with a bang... coming home from her last assignment she is ambushed by 3 vampires... silly vampires! Ms Michaels has a flair for writing Paranormal fantasy fighting well, it reads a lot like a movie script and Rose reminded me of Kira Yukimura from Teen Wolf with her sword play.
Cassius sounds like a Vampire who would have done well in the SEB - Ava's other PNR series, hes been around long enough that he may have actually been involved in the SEB too!
The Council seems to have a bad un in charge - but we will have to wait till book 2 to learn more about this demon, but I don't like him - hes a bad egg
Its a good start to a new series, It ends on a cliffhanger so we will be waiting for the next book to find out what happens next.
View all Kat's reviews
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Excerpt:-
Hearing a laugh from her left, her head spun in that direction, a large bear of a man sauntering out. A dirty, unkempt beard covering his face, so all she saw clearly were his eyes. Eyes that were not in the least friendly, and held the red tinge of a hungry Vampire. She sighed before addressing the obvious leader. “I know you’re not on your own so why not call out your little friends and we can get this party started?”
“Party? Hey, guys, we’ve got a livewire here.” The man guffawed, bending over for a moment as laughter erupted. “So you want to party with us, little lady?”
She shook her head sadly as two other men appeared, staring at her with lust and hunger on their faces. “You misunderstood my definition of party, big guy. Let me explain. This can go one of two ways. You and your men,” her arm arced around to take in the other two standing in the shadows, “can leave me in peace and let me pass. Or, and looking at you I’m guessing this is the way it’ll play out. I kill you all. Simple.”
The main man stood straighter, showing off his bulk as he stepped closer. “You’re goin’ to kill us? All three of us? You’re aware that we’re Vampires, aren’t you? But just what the fuck are you? I can’t quite make up my mind.”
“Yes, yes, and none of your damn business.” She snapped out, waiting to see who’d make the first move. The large one, the leader, flicked a finger at one of the others still in the shadows.
Her eyes flitted towards him, her arm moving with lightning speed and retrieving her katana. Brandishing the long blade in front of her as the smaller Vampire sped towards her. She tracked his movements, knowing a nano-second in advance his intentions. She stood calmly, waiting until he was within reach, then weaved her sword in an impossibly fast arc towards him.
The razor sharp blade relieved the Vamp of his head, quickly, cleanly, and with ease. His body collapsed to the ground with a soft thud, his dark blood seeping into the hard-packed earth beneath him. She didn’t give his body a second glance as she took up a defensive stance, her knees bending and her sword now before her, held in both hands as she smirked at the leader.
“What the fuck?” He cursed, motioning again at the other Vampire to attack.
This one was faster but she was ready, her blade slashing through the air to slice across his thigh as she spun around to miss his grasping fingers. The sword passed all the way through, causing him to fall onto his other knee. Her blade glinted in the moonlight as she quickly slashed down fiercely, decapitating him in an instant. Pulling her blade free before she eyed the larger man, seeing his fury seething inside.
“What are you?” he ground out between clenched teeth.
“Again, none of your business.” She grinned at him, her eyes flashing with anger. “You’ve missed the most important question. Not what I am, but who I am.”
He didn’t respond other than to roar as he flashed towards her. She stepped forward, away from the two dead bodies and waited. As he drew nearer she dashed to the side impossibly fast, twirling her blade above her head as she went. A hiss of anger from the Vampire as she sliced downwards and into the back of his knee.
She gave him credit. He didn’t slow down, only cursing loudly as he whirled around to come after her again. Once more she danced out of his reach, her blade inflicting even more damage as he tried to get his hands on her. Not happening.
“I’ll fucking rip you apart and drink you dry!” His rage clear in the roar as he stumbled up onto his feet.
“Nope.” She shook her head.
This time she wove out of his grasp, bringing her blade backwards, the tip of her blade sinking in and piercing his lower back, severing the spine and causing his large body to collapse. Not a death blow. He was a Vampire and if left alone the wound would heal, but she wasn’t leaving him alive to hunt her down. Stepping over to him she flicked her hair over her shoulder as he stared at her.
“Who are you?” he finally asked.
Staring down at him totally emotionless she answered. “If you’d asked that first then maybe, just maybe, you and your men might’ve survived this little dance. Me? I’m The Black Rose.” She winked at him before raising her blade to end him. Seeing the recognition in his eyes a second before she tore his head from his body. “Another one bites the dust.” She sang as she wiped her blade on his clothes before returning it to its sheath.
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Author Bio:-
A K Michaels, Ava, is a best-selling author whose books have won awards within the Paranormal Romance scene. She was born in Scotland quite a number of years ago and was married at a young age, and is mother to three much loved children. After the birth of her last child she went back to higher education to study, before gaining employment within the banking industry. She worked in that role for a number of years before leaving; both the job and the country.
She lived abroad for a few years before returning to Scotland and finally taking up her dream - writing.
She is the author of the Defender's Blood series, The Witch, The Wolf and The Vampire series, Supernatural Enforcement Bureau series, Highland Wolf Clan series, Sabrina's Vampire series, and her latest series The Black Rose Chronicles, together with a Wolf Erotica Novella, Lori's Wolf. Her books fall into the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy genre and she loves writing those particular kinds of stories where she can let her imagination run wild!
She now spends her time reading - everything from Sci Fi to Crime, Erotica to Fantasy, Thrillers to Paranormal Romance. She loves spending time with her family and, of course, writing!
She has twitter, Facebook and a mailing list.
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