Onyx & Ivory by MIndee Arnett – a Review

Onyx & Ivory by MIndee Arnett – a Review

 

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Description:
They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden, punishable by death or exile. And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by nightdrakes in broad daylight—the only survivor her childhood friend, her first love, the boy she swore to forget, the boy who broke her heart.

The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.

With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime

 

 

Review:

Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett is a fantasy duology.  We meet our heroine, Kate Brighton, who is a Relay Rider, for the imperial courier service.  Three Years ago, Kate was considered part of royalty, as her father was the right hand man for the High King of Rime.  When her father was killed because he tried to assassinate his king, Kate became an outcast, with nicknamed Traitor Kate, because she refused to accept that her father was a traitor.   Kate is one of the best relay riders, and when we meet her, she is pushing her horse to the brink in order to make it back before nightfall, when the barrier walls go down.  No one wants to be out in the open at night, as the monster Nightdrakes kill anyone they find.   We also get to meet Kate’s best friends, Bonner, a blacksmith who has developed revolvers; and Signe, her bff, who  also helps Bonner, by creating the gunpowder needed.  Signe was very outgoing, fun, sassy and good friend to Kate.  These two know that Kate harbors a secret that can never be revealed.  She is “Wilder”, those with magical powers, who are looked upon as a danger to the kingdom; all those suspected of being a wilder, are captured by the Inquisition and put to death. 

On one of her relays, Kate overhears a battle ongoing, and rushes to help; only to find a new species attacking the prince of Rime and his soldiers.   Daydrakes are new, and Kate using her revolver manages to kill many of them, and saving the prince.   Corwin Tormane, our hero, and Kate’s former boyfriend from her royal days, is surprised to see Kate.  She has never forgiven him for allowing them kill her father, instead of sending him out in exile.   But both still find themselves with the old feelings, which will be the start of a slow built rekindle of a romance.

Corwin, travels with his best friend and right hand man, Dal and the prince’s soldiers.  They ask Kate for her help in discovering more about these new revolvers, in order to help them fight off the Nightdrakes and these new Daydrakes (sort of dragons who cannot fly).   She reluctantly introduces them to Bonner and Signe, and soon all three will accompany Corwin and company back to Rime, where she hasn’t been in three years.

Upon his arrival home, Corwin and his older brother Edwin will be forced to undergo trials, to determine who will be crowned King.  It was interesting to see all the illusions and dangers both brothers have to face to survive.

What follows is an exciting adventure, where Kate will return to the Kingdom where she grew up, and try to find the truth about her father.  What she will find are some surprises about him, and learn more about The Rising, which is a rebellion of “wilders” in hiding, who want to come out and live normal lives, not in fear of being put to death, because they were born with certain powers.  Most wilders do not use their magical powers to hurt anyone, unless in defense of their lives.  Kate can sway animals, Bonner uses his magic to help make the revolvers, and some have elemental magic.   But the powers that be in Rime, including Edwin, and the governing monarchs fear and hate wilders and plan to eliminate them all. 

Kate, Bonner, Signe will find themselves in danger, when a surprise powerful enemy in Rime’s government kidnaps them to use their powers.  Corwin, Kate, Dal wil have to fight to save themselves, as well as the Rime kingdom who will not listen to reason, and tries to kill them.  This leads to an ultra exciting climax that will lead into the next book of this duology.   There were a number of surprises and twists along the way that made this story even better.  Kate was a fantastic heroine, and I loved her and Corwin together, hoping they will continue to rekindle their love for each other.  The secondary characters were great, from Dal, Signe, Bonner, and even some of the villains were very well done.  Mindee Arnett has done an excellent job with the world building, and I for one cannot wait for the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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An Interview with Mindee Arnett

An Interview with Mindee Arnett

Interview blue:black

mindeeThe Reading Cafe is happy to welcome Mindee Arnett our guest today. She is here today to discuss her new book, The Nightmare Affair, (our review below this post), which was just  released this past Tuesday.

Here is a snippet about Mindee:
Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

Now let us meet Mindee.

Hi Mindee.  Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions today. We are always looking forward to reading about the author behind the book.

Mindee: Thanks so much for having me. I’m happy to participate.

TRC: Will you please tell us about yourself?

Mindee: Sure. I’m a Whedonite, Whovian, and all around fangirl, although I’ve never done any real cosplay, I’m ashamed to say. I’m also a horse nut and animal lover.

TRC: Have you always been interested in writing?

Mindee: I’ve always been interested in storytelling, for sure. As a child, I would make up very elaborate and plot-driven stories for my toys. My She-ra dolls would battle monstrous villains and fall in love with He-man or Bow. My Breyer Horses were often captured by evil horse wranglers who would tie them up, only to have the other horses come rescue them. Very epic stuff here, I’m telling you.

My interest in writing grew naturally out of my love of reading. My mother is a voracious reader and so is my sister, and they were a huge influence on me as a young reader.

But the idea of writing my own stories down didn’t occur to me until the 6th grade when my teacher assigned us a weekly story assignment. She would give us writing prompts and then turn us loose. This was an eye-opener for me. A real life changer. I owe her a huge debt.

TRC: What is your writing process?  Do you like to write at specific times, in a special place?

Mindee: I’m not very particular about time or place. With my busy life style—full time (non-writing) career, kids, husband, animals—I have to be able to write anywhere and anytime I have available. The only process I follow is that I have to do a “warm-up” before starting. I always read/review the previous day’s writing and make any edits that occur to me. This warm-up gets me in writer mode and helps me remember the tone and voice that I’m going for in a particular scene. Unfortunately, this means that starting a brand new story is always the hardest for me. It takes me forever because I have to do it cold, but I get there eventually.

TRC: Is The Nightmare Affair your first novel? Can you please describe your reactions when you found out your book was going to be published?

Mindee: The Nightmare Affair is actually my fourth completed novel. And by completed, I mean beginning-middle-end. My previous novels were complete in this sense, but none of them went through the same rigorous editing/revising that Nightmare did.

My reaction when I first found out was complete and utter joy and complete and utter disbelief. To this day, I’m still experiencing that. I’m so happy it’s happening, but it all seems unbelievable. Totally surreal.

TRC: The Nightmare Affair is the first book in your The Arkwell Academy Series.  Can you please tell us how you come up with the idea of this series?

Mindee: The series evolved naturally through the events of the first book, but I can’t talk about that much for fear of spoilers. I will say that I wanted to write a mystery/detective series set in a fantasy world. A lot of The Nightmare Affair was inspired by my love of Veronica Mars. Dusty is a little like a fantasy version of that character, only she’s way more of a wannabe than Veronica.

the nightmare affair
TRC:
Would you please tell us the premise behind The Nightmare Affair?

Mindee: 16-year-old Dusty Everhart is a Nightmare who must identify a murderer at her magical high school by following clues in her crush’s dreams.

Links to order The Nightmare Affair: 
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository/ Kobo

 

 

TRC: The Arkwell Academy is YA Contemporary Fantasy. What exactly is Contemporary Fantasy?

Mindee: I consider a contemporary fantasy to be one set in the modern world but which takes place primarily within a separate fantasy world. So it’s a world within a world scenario. Like Harry Potter, for instance. Harry is set in the modern world, but the wizarding world is isolated from it. The modern world only serves as a surrounding frame. This is also true of The Nightmare Affair. The modern world surrounds Dusty’s world and it has an influence on it, but Arkwell is complete fantasy. The only actual human in the story is Eli. The rest are all magical creatures.

TRC: You also have another YA series due in 2014, Avalon (formerly Finding Eden) is the first book in this Sci-Fi Thriller series.  Can you please tell us the premise of this series?

Mindee: Avalon is about a teen mercenary, Jeth Seagrave, who is leader of a group of talented thieves, and who find his life on the line when he takes on a high risk job for his crime lord employer in order to earn a way out of the life for him and his sister. It was pitched as Firefly meets White Cat.

TRC: What are you currently working on?

Mindee: I recently turned in the first draft of book two of The Arkwell Academy series as well as edits for Avalon. I’m now working on an Avalon prequel right now and hope to start book two in that series soon.

TRC: What books, authors or people in your life have influenced your writing?

Mindee: I’m a huge fan of both Stephen King and J.K. Rowling. But one of the authors who influenced me most is Jennifer Roberson. I adore her Cheysuli Chronicles series as well as her Sword Dancer series.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Mindee: Again, thanks for having me! (And I mean that in a totally non-ghoulish kind of way)


LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Sushi and Mexican. Either one and I’m happy.

Favorite Dessert: Chocolate cake.

Favorite Author: Stephen King

Favorite Novel: Harry Potter (What? It’s really just one looooong novel, right???)

Favorite Movie: Too many to mention. I love everything from Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (original only) to Wonder Boys, Pride and Prejudice, and The Avengers.

Favorite TV Show: Firefly, followed closely by Veronica Mars, Doctor Who, and the BBC Sherlock. I also love Justified, Supernatural, and Castle.

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Dark all the way!

Thank you Mindee, for answering our questions. The Reading Café wishes you the best of luck with The Nightmare Affair.

If you would like to learn more about Mindee, you can find her at the following links:
Website: http://www.mindeearnett.com/
Twitter:
Facebook:
Goodreads:

 

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The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett – a Review

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett – a Review

the nightmare affair

Description:
Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target

Review:

The Nightmare Affair is Mindee Arnett’s first YA Fantasy Novel.  The base of the story takes place at Arkwell Academy, a school for the magickind.  Our heroine, Dusty, is 16 years old, and has inherited from her mother the ability to create nightmares into a person’s dreams.

Dusty is just started learning this, and begins to practice on high school hunk, Eli, when he is asleep dreaming, when something terribly goes wrong.  The dream turns into a real murder that takes place at the school, with one of the students murdered.  Dusty is then told that she is more then a Nightmare.  She is now a Dream-seer, someone who can see the future.  The heads of the school arrange for Eli to be transferred to the school, as Dusty and Eli must work the dreams together.  Eli is not thrilled to be forced to change schools, as he does not have any magic, just tied to Dusty as part of her Dream-seer visions.  

Both of them avoid each other as much as possible, until they begin to become more earnest in resolving this murder, as another one happens.  Slowly, and I mean very slowly, you can see a romance building up between them, but first they try to be friends.  Arnett has created some good characters in Dusty, Eli, Selene (Dusty’s best friend), and Paul (Dusty’s possible boyfriend, before Eli); not to mention all the teachers teaching the students the magic, and some of the students themselves. 

I found the story interesting, with the mystery involved as to who the murderer was.  Did Dusty’s Mother have anything to do with the murders?  Will Dusty and Eli realize they are meant for each other besides sharing dreams?  What happens to Paul? 

I enjoyed the magic stuff, and there was a lot of danger and tense moments.  I thought it was a light read with humor, and at the same time, kind of scary.  A few times I did think some things were a bit silly or childish, but overall I enjoyed this story, as it was different, and a fast fun read.  I will not spoil things, as there are a number of twists, surprises & violence, as well as a very exciting ending. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher through Netgalley

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