Marie Sinadjan
Bio
Filipino spec fic author and book reviewer based in the UK. https://linktr.ee/mariesinadjan • www.mariesinadjan.com
Stories (303)
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Book Spotlight: Lost in the Crowd: Benji's Story by Sarah McKnight
Life is good at Benji’s house. At least, that’s what everyone seems to think. Benji Lance, on the other hand, isn’t so sure. The legendary party host may not be as content with his chill, unsupervised life as he lets on, and the weight of pretending is really starting to take a toll. With a new school year underway, Benji is assigned a project that will force him to face his feelings and uncover an elusive secret buried within his family’s history. But can Benji make it to the end of the year without shutting down, or will he learn how to confront his feelings head-on? The expectations on Benji are a heavy burden to bear, and every day brings him closer to his breaking point.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: Lady of Dragons by Shelby Elizabeth
"You will be bound, dragon and human." Finlay McDonough wants nothing more than to be a Dragon Knight: a warrior bound with a dragon partner, intent on ridding the kingdom of its dragon-killing monarchy. Well, she might want one thing just a bit more … Evander, her childhood friend, now keeper of the dragon sanctuary. Scouting with Evander one day, Finlay’s attempt to save a dragon goes horribly wrong, and she inadvertently ties her fate to the dragon’s—their souls bind, lending Finlay powers like those of the Mages the Knights are sworn to destroy. After passing the trial to train as a Knight, Finlay discovers a devastating truth about a beloved dragon. To save them, she’ll need to risk her dream of becoming a true Knight, her chance at a happily-ever-after with Evander . . . and maybe her very identity. Fantasy romance with a fierce heroine, gentle love interest, sassy dragon companion, and more than a dash of adventure awaits.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: Lady and the Tramp and Me by B.L. Berg
Life doesn’t always turn out the way you think it should, does it? For instance, what happens when you get a puppy you don’t want? For Simon that answer is simply: nothing good. His life as a happy bachelor is torpedoed when he reluctantly accepts a puppy of indeterminable breed who names himself Tramp and seemingly never ever stops growing – personality included. Any principles for raising a dog are put to the test, and so is Simon’s state of mind when his sex-life is sabotaged, his sports car rendered useless, and Tramp is spending all of Simon’s money. And then there’s the women… quite a few of them, but one in particular. The angry one in the park who likes dogs and who wonders if Simon is a stripper because he flashes her his ass. But in reality, he looks like he’s just escaped from an asylum. And that’s just the beginning…
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Review: A Backstage Betrayal by Michael Ball
THE THEATRE MAY SEEM GLAMOROUS, BUT SECRETS WAIT BEHIND THE CURTAIN 1926. Running a theatre may appear to be all about the showbiz, but times are hard at The Empire. Following a turbulent period Jack Treadwell, erstwhile proprietor, his mother Lillian, and his playwright wife Grace, know they need to get things back on track - and how better than with the annual pantomime, a new venture, and an all-singing all-dancing talent contest, showcasing the best performers around. But could Lillian's new admirer, Grand Duke Nikolai Kuznetsov, be bringing disaster in his wake? Will The Empire be caught up in the scandal surrounding West End star, Stella Stanmore? And what are their enemies in Highbridge planning? While Jack and Grace fight to ensure the show does go on, a royal visitor raises the stakes and a young widow, Sally Blow, dares to dream that the talent contest might be her big break. As the talent contest draws closer, tragedy strikes. Amid the glitz and glamour there are strange goings on and a plot afoot. Is everything Jack and Grace have worked so hard for about to come crashing down? And could this be curtains for The Empire?
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: Kingsrise by Anne Mattias
Two stabbings. The victims: a man named Arthur and a mysterious knight. Detective Inspector Niamh Khalid finds herself drawn into a world of myth, magic, and betrayal. Can she solve an impossible case and keep her brother safe? Things aren’t looking too great for DI Niamh Khalid. Her brother Lance has been arrested, her superior officer is breathing down her neck, and she is investigating an attempted murder, with no suspects and no clues to the identity of the victim. Then, Lance and his friends discover another dead body: a young man, dressed as a knight. Soon, a series of terrifying incidents threaten to derail Niamh’s investigation. Lance is clearly hiding something, and Niamh’s journalist ex-fiancé is back in her life, asking awkward questions. When criminal barrister Merlin Rhys seeks her out with a stunning revelation, Niamh begins to appreciate just how strange and frightening a mystery she and Lance have become involved in. Can myth and magic be real? Can they help Niamh solve her case, and save both her brother and her world?
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: Killer Bodies by Heleen Kist
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR In a prestigious Edinburgh apartment building, gym receptionist Evie whiles away long hours doodling the deaths of residents who've annoyed her. On her birthday of all days, a man slumps off the exercise bike - dead. She tries to get help, but someone has locked the doors and the phones are out of reach. When another resident collapses inexplicably, Evie realises the deaths resemble those she drew ... and her sketchbook is missing. Was she framed... ... or is she next? Killer Bodies is a darkly humorous locked room thriller that will leave you wondering not just WHO killed all these people or WHY, but also HOW!
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: Inked by Rachel Rener
When Zayn, your smoking hot boss, tells you never to touch the cache of deluxe tattoo ink locked away in his office, you listen to him… until the day you run out of your own ink, your squirming client is on the verge of peeing his pants, and your boss is nowhere to be found. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? I fully expected Zayn to yell at me when he returned to the shop. What I didn't expect was the fresh cobra tattoo on my client’s butt magically springing to life. Or the interdimensional filing cabinet hiding in the back of Zayn's office. And, oh, did I mention that my gorgeous, magic-ink-hoarding boss is actually an incubus? Now – through (mostly) no fault of my own – we have to venture into a strange and distant land where a never-ending list of lethal flora, fauna, and fae await us. When you add in my Jewish mother’s string of poorly-timed, hysterical phone calls, there is one thing I’m grateful for: there’s no cell service in the fae realm.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: In Which a Demon King Does Not Have a Romantic Interest in His Human Gardener by Rori Thornton
Demon King Jurao returns from his successful thirty-year Union Campaign and discovers something amiss - the castle gardens have a secret caretaker. Using his authority over the sentient plants, he discovers the gardener is... a human! But after hearing the man out, Jurao decides to appoint Braelin as the official Royal Gardener for all his hard work. Now he just needs to figure out why everyone seems to believe he is romantically interested in the human...
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: Imperfect Illusions by Vanora Lawless
A drafted empath. A dreamwalking poet. A world at war. Chicago, 1917. Idealistic, aspiring poet, Elliot Stone can make people feel euphoria or horror with a simple touch. But that's only part of his magical abilities. He can also wake in the dreams of people he cares deeply for. Stubborn, fiercely independent Warren “Sully” Sullivan is an illusionist with a secret: he feels the emotions of others as visceral sensations. A lifetime of fending for himself and parsing feelings that aren’t his own has left him guarded. An intoxicating, intense connection on their last night of freedom should be nothing more than a one-night stand. And it is. Until Elliot awakens in Sully's nightmare with an overpowering urge to save him, regardless of his carefully crafted moral code. As tragedy draws them together in real life to battle enemies with twisted magic, weakness is a disastrous liability. When keeping safe means revealing his to Elliot, can Sully take the risk?
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Review: The World Maker Parable by Luke Tarzian
Guilt will always call you back... Rhona is a faithful servant of the country Jémoon and a woman in love. Everything changes when her beloved sets the ravenous Vulture goddess loose upon the land. Forced to execute the woman she loves for committing treason, Rhona discovers a profound correlation between morality and truth. A connection that might save her people or annihilate them all. You are a lie... Varésh Lúm-talé is many things, most of all a genocidal liar. A falsity searching for the Phoenix goddess whom he believes can help him rectify his atrocities. Such an undertaking is an arduous one for a man with missing memories and a conscience set on rending him from inside out. A man whose journey leads to Hang-Dead Forest and a meeting with a Vulture goddess who is not entirely as she seems.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Review: Sair Back, Sair Banes by Anthony Engebretson
A dark shape now stood in those choppy dark waters. A horse. A black one, large as she’d ever seen, with a mane that poured down its neck. Genevieve hoped a trip to the Scottish village of Fonniskie would help her reconnect. But her vacation turns out to be less than relaxing: the nearby loch holds a dark secret, and Genevieve finds herself haunted by a relentless persuer whose obsession means he will do anything to possess her—even kill. Blending ancient folklore with modern alienation, Anthony Engebretson’s eerie debut novella will make you question what it really means to be human.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Spotlight: Heir to The Sun by Karen Lykkebo
After a volatile relationship, all Aura wanted was to start a new life far from her ex-boyfriend, Dave. A sleepy café in a small town seemed the perfect place to reinvent herself, and when a mysterious woman befriends her, enchanting her with fairytales and offering an escape to another world, Aura could have got into more than she bargained for. But when Dave unexpectedly shows up, angry and determined, Aura’s left with little choice but to run. This time, she runs far, far away, across an invisible border to another world; a world of magic where everything is possible. A world, where Aura is known to everyone but her, as The Princess of Light. And although her new title comes with the daunting responsibility of saving the world, the prize of doing so could give her what she’s always A family. As Aura engages on a magical journey of discovery, her hopes to break free from Dave once and for all soon start to fade as she realizes that breaking up with The Angel of Darkness is easier said than done. And even the light needs darkness to cast shadows... Will Aura have the courage to embrace her new world, or will the shadows of her old life keep her in darkness forever?
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
