Saturday, September 20, 2014

Review of Ensnared (The Dolan Prophecies Series #1.5) (Novella) By Allana Kephart & Melissa Simmons @MELANDLANAWRITE @GHBTours





Book Info-
Title- Ensnared
Series- The Dolan Prophecies Series #1.5 (Novella)
By- Allana Kephart & Melissa Simmons
Expected Publication Date- August 22nd, 2014
Genre- New Adult Dystopian

Blurb- 

Patrick and Maeve Dolan left the safety of their New York human settlement on a sultry summer night and never returned. Ambushed by the Winter Court guards during their search for information on how to free humanity from faery rule, they are now ensnared in the Winter King Landric's web, and he has some questions of his own.

The Winter King is curious about the way the Dolans run their city. In a surprising turn of events, he's determined to learn all about their 16-year-old son, Eirnin. Landric separates the couple, threatens and tortures to the best of his ability, but the Dolans won't give up the information he's after.

Murphy, one of King Landric's guards has been a ward of the Winter Court for as long as he can remember. Trained from childhood to be as quiet and obedient as possible, he's always been the perfect servant. At least, until Princess Lumi strolled into his life and made him question everything he believes in.

When the princess vanishes without a trace in the middle of the night, Landric is determined Patrick's people had something to do with it. Without the only connection to kindness and humanity they had, Murphy and Patrick both find themselves falling into very different kinds of insanity.

Will Murphy follow his heart just this once, choose his own side and find Lumi? Will Patrick's hope dwindle before he can escape and save his family? Or will their unyielding resistance be the death of them all?


Excerpt- Patrick's Perspective:

She pulls back a bit, bites her lip, looks down at her feet and then back up at me. She seems to be steeling herself to say something difficult, but when she opens her mouth to spit it out, I hear a gruff male voice from behind us and force myself to stay calm. "Well, what do we have here?"

I look into my wife's wide brown eyes and try to project calm for her; sending up a prayer to whatever god is listening that we get out of this alive. I pull my gun and turn around, making sure I am standing solidly in front of Maeve and shielding her from view. There are four men standing in a semi-circle around us, all dressed in black work pants and dark blue tank tops, with Winter brands proudly displayed on their arms. They have rifles slung over their backs and handguns at their hips. Some have daggers and other assorted knives in sheaths on their waistbands. I try to assess who is the biggest danger to us as I take in the scene and attempt to calculate any possible escape routes from this unmitigated disaster.

The same voice as before laughs. "Uh oh, better back off. Big guy's got a gun." He looks around me and must see Maeve, because his voice becomes decidedly flirty. "Well, hello." I step to the side to block his view, but when I glance back I see Maeve roll her eyes heavenward with her knife gripped tightly in her hand. I feel pride take hold of my heart. I've always loved how fiery my wife is.

I smile at them and take a step forward while slowly maneuvering a throwing knife from the sheath on my wrist that doubles as a cuff of sorts. I do my best to stay calm as I say, "What can we do for you boys?" I hear Maeve hiss at me when I take another step, trying to keep myself between her and the men.

So far it seems only one of them is capable of speech. "You? Nothin'. Your little friend, though..." I hold myself back from growling and lunging at the man, and then one of the others grunts, "You're trespassing onto the Winter King's property."

I clench my jaw and force a cold smile on my face; making a 'tsk'-ing noise. "Now see, you shouldn't be speaking of my wife that way." I flick my wrist and send the dagger flying; embedding it in the big mouthed man's throat. Satisfaction floods in and I make myself focus again as he drops to the ground with a gurgling gasp. I bring my gun up in front of me and keep it trained on the three remaining faeries standing in between us and freedom. "Personally, I think the Winter King is the one who's trespassing."

"So we're having things that way," one of them says; not even glancing at the fallen faery, and then they all charge forward.

My Review-

I received a free copy of the book from the authors for my honest opinion.

Patrick Dolan has spent months in a cell in a dungeon inside the palace of King Landric at the Winter Courts. King Landric has had Patrick beaten by his guards on a couple of occasions; one reason is because Patrick is a man with pride. Patrick has always been in charge of his own destiny and did his duty as a father and husband. But when Patrick and his wife Maeve are taken hostage or prisoner by King Landric; Patrick tries his best to save his wife or at least get the King to let her go and keep him. But the King is smarter than that. He is under the assumption that he can use Patrick and Maeve against one another to get what he wants or so he thinks. Patrick and Maeve both are way smarter than he knows. But the King is a stubborn man and can hold out for a long time if he thinks that he will get what he wants. But the Dolan's have more at stake than he does because they are fighting for or because of love. The Dolan's love each other and their children more than their own lives whereas the King cares only for himself and would even kill his own children to get want he wants.

Patrick and Maeve live in a world where the Fae have come in and taken over. The humans are no more than dirt to them. They take humans hostage and treat them no better than they would an animal. But to the King of the Winter Court it doesn't matter if you are human or fae if you disrespect him or do not abide by his laws and do as he says then he will kill you or have you killed.

Patrick makes a friend while he is a cell in the dungeon. The King's daughter Lumi is always getting into trouble with her father. She doesn't like doing as he tells her so she sneaks out of her room all the time and going on little adventures. On occasion some sees her and is taken to her father and he punishes her. But it doesn't stop her from doing the things that she likes to do. The Princess has a great big heart and knows that a lot of the things that her father does is not right. She also doesn't like the way her father treats his people and she will try to help them when she can. Lumi is probably one the thing that helps Patrick to stay sane while he is locked up in the dungeon. Lumi sneaks out and visits Patrick and brings him food. While she is out on one of her little adventures to visit with Patrick she meets a new friend, a guard, Murphy. Murphy becomes infatuated with the Princess and wants to protect her from her father.

I love the world that the authors have created in Ensnared with the Fae taking over the world. I love that the two main characters Patrick and Maeve are soulmates and would do anything to save the other. I really love Maeve's attitude and how she stands up to the King because the love of her life is being treated. I mean it is like her heart is being torn from her body. Maeve is one sassy lady. Ensnared is one of those books that will stay with you for a very long time. Ensnared will grab a hold of your heart will have it going in all different directions. One minute it will have you hurting for Patrick and Maeve and them in the next it will have you laughing out loud with the things that Maeve will say. Maeve is one of those characters that you wished you could meet in real life.


Patrick Dolan-
Human- Resistance Leader based in what used to be NYC. He is the husband of Maeve, father of Fianna & Eirnin. 
Physical Description: 6'4" tall, broad shoulders, trim and muscular. Black hair that he usually keeps above his shirt collar and blue eyes. 

Maeve Dolan-
Human- Wife of Patrick, mother to Fianna and Eirnin. 
Physical Description: 5'4" tall, petite and slim. Chestnut brown hair to her chin in a classic bob and big brown eyes. 

King Landric-
Fae- Winter King.
Physical Description: 5'11" tall, thin, ghastly pale. Hair the color of dirty straw and eyes are navy blue.

Murphy-
Human- Guard/Ward of the Winter Court. 
Physical Description: 5'11" tall, thin, muscular. Dark brown eyes, close cropped light brown hair, slightly tan.

Khan- 
Fae- Winter Prince/Heir to throne.
Physical Description: 5'10" tall, broad shouldered and skinny. Medium brown hair, medium blue eyes, tan. 

Hugh Kennedy-
Human- Spy for the Winter Court. Favorite pet of King Landric. Friend to Winter Prince, Khan. Hugh is the one who helped lure the Dolans into the Winter King's trap.
Physical Description: 6'1", broad shouldered, muscular. Ice blue eyes, blonde hair.



This is a breakdown, chapter-by-chapter of the perfect soundtrack for Ensnared.





"Rolled a lucky pair of dice, ended up in paradise, Landed on a snake's eyes, took a bite and ended up bleeding... No way to make the pain play fair, It doesn't disappear just because you say it isn't there"


"Cause I am lost And I am used And I am desperately a wreck here without you I am deaf, too tired to sleep Oh I am horribly alone and incomplete"


"So when the hurting starts And when the nightmares begin Remember you can fill up the sky You don't have to give in You don't have to give in Never give in"


"You give me something That makes me scared alright This could be nothing But I'm willing to give it a try Please give me something Because someday I might know my heart"


"Say what you wanna say And let the words fall out Honestly, I wanna see you be brave"


"The damage is done, The police are coming Too slow now, I would have died, I would have loved you All my life"


"Time after time, I walk the fine line Something keeps bringing me back And time after time, I can't see the signs I don't know which way I need to go"


"Every whisper Of every waking hour I'm choosing my confessions Trying to keep an eye on you Like a hurt, lost and blinded fool, fool Oh no, I've said too much I've said enough Consider this Consider this, the hint of the century Consider this, the slip That brought me to my knees, failed"


"I can still see the light at the end of the tunnel shine through the dark times even when I lose my mind But it feels like no one in the world is listening and I can't ever seem to make the right decisions"


"I won't explain or say I'm sorry, I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar Give a cheer for all the broken Listen here, because it's who we are"





Favorite fictional characters

Mel's Top 5 Favorite Fictional Characters

1- Hermione Granger (Harry Potter Series)
2- Patch (Hush, Hush Series)
3- Kami Glass (The Lynburn Legacy)
4- Magnus Bane (Infernal Devices, Mortal Instruments)
5- Tessa Gray (Infernal Devices)

Lana's Top 5 Favorite Fictional Characters

1- Jonas (The Intangible Series by J. Meyers)
2- Saber Cortez (The Imprint Series by C.L. Foster)
3- Jesobel Vine (The Vale Chronicles by Chelsea Starling)
4- Literally everyone in 'Heart of War' by C.L. Foster & E.R. Rada
5- Filo (Flicker Series by Kaye Thornbrugh)



About the Authors
Allana Kephart has been making things up and bending people to her will from a very young age. She loves animals and reading and spends a large amount of time thinking up ways to torment her characters. She shares a brain, a love of coffee and the color purple with her alter ego/best friend/co-author, Melissa Simmons.

Melissa Simmons is an avid reader who married her soul mate and is the proud mother of a spoiled cat. She spends her days helping promote independent authors and doing what the voices in her head tell her to. She shares a brain, a love of coffee and the color purple with her alter ego/best friend/co-author, Allana Kephart.





Allana Kephart: Melissa Simmons:
Allana Kephart:        Melissa Simmons:

     



http://www.girlsheartbookstours.com
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