Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Secret of Narava by Isabo Kelly - Review tour and giveaway


(Science Fiction Romance Novella)


This review is done in conjunction with the publisher's virtual tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. Tirgearr Publishing will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of their whole library, which includes the next six books which are publishing soon (one at the end of the month, the last five over five days the first week of December, including their year end special publication). Total retail value of $150, so comment today AND follow the tour (if you click on the tour banner above, it'll take you to a list of his tour stops) -- the more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new publisher AND win an awesome prize!



Their discovery could lead to war . . .

Paleontologist, Dr. Ti'ann Jones, uncovers a mystery that could alter the course of her planet's future, putting her and her people in grave danger. She's forced to call in security to protect her dig site. But the man who shows up threatens Ti'ann on a much more personal level. She's spent the last three years trying to forget Nathan Longfeather and the incredible things he did to her body, but it's apparent he's already forgotten her.

Nathan thought guarding an archaeological dig site would be an easy and welcome break from his normal high-tension contracts. But when he comes face-to-face with a woman he hasn't been able to forget for the last three years, he finds himself torn between the job and dragging Ti'ann back to his ship to remind her of those brief erotic nights they spent together. Nights she seems to have forgotten.

As the truth of Ti'ann's discovery is revealed, Nathan's job gets a lot more serious, and keeping Ti'ann and her team alive becomes his top priority. In a time when anything to do with Narava's native species, the Shifters, leads to violence, Ti'ann and Nathan face enemies from both sides of the conflict and will have to find a way to prevent a planet-wide war. If they can survive, they might just have a future…together.



I haven't read a lot of science fiction romance (though I'm a big fan of fantasy!), so wasn't sure what to expect from this. The good news is, I enjoyed it!

I didn't realize that this was part of a series when I started it, so the good news is this: even if you've not read any other books in this series, you won't be lost.  There were some political things that happened that were a bit confusing, but otherwise it stands alone just fine.

The story starts quickly and seldom slows down and I was never bored.  I enjoyed the characters very much -- Ti'ann's relationship with her best friend Krin was both amusing and heart-warming and perfectly portrayed.  And the sizzle between Ti'ann and Nathan all but crackled off the page.  This is one sexy story, from the heated glances and tension at the beginning to the smoking hot love scenes from the middle to end.  But Ms. Kelly didn't ignore emotion for sex.  The heart was there right along with the heat.

The only "bad" thing I found is something that may not bother others, but I'm an admitted grammar freak, so the occasional wrong word use jolted me from the story (angle instead of angel, heal instead of heel, peak instead of peek, etc).  I'm betting the vast majority of readers wouldn't have even noticed, but it did give me pause.

Still, that was a small thing and overall this is an amazingly good story that has it all: good plot, excitement, love, heat and a satisfying (albeit a little bit of a cliffhanger... when is the next story out?)  ending.  I'm so pleased I got to read "The Secret of Narava"!

4.5 Flowers - This was a very good book! I'd recommend it to my friends.


Isabo Kelly grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and has found a way to live in cities that attract tourists ever since. Though she started making up stories at an early age, Isabo originally chose science as her first career. She persued this by moving to Honolulu, Hawaii for her undergraduate degree in Zoology where she was lucky enough to work with dolphins for two and a half years.

From there she returned to Las Vegas and worked at various jobs, including the aptly titled position of Shark Lady (which included the care and feeding of live sharks, other tropical fish and reptiles) at the Natural History Museum. It was during this time that she started her first novel.

When the opportunity arose to move to Germany with her family, Isabo jumped at the chance. She spent a year and a half traveling Europe and developing her skills as a writer.

http://isabokelly.blogspot.com/
http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Kelly_Isabo/the-secret-of-narava.htm

20 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting our author, Isabo Kelly, today.

    And thanks to JM Thomas for her lovely review. We've updated Isabo's book page with the review and a link back to this page for future readers.

    More information about Isabo can be found at --
    http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Kelly_Isabo

    Please note that anyone commenting today on Isabo's page, and through the rest of our tour, will be entered into our grand prize drawing at the end of the tour, 16 November. Post on more than one author's hosted page and receive additional entries. Be sure to include your email address!

    Today, Isabo is giving away a $10 Amazon gc to one lucky winner. Tirgearr Publishing will also be giving away a spot prize to the most unique comment or question.

    The grand prize includes a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of our full book list, which includes the final six books being released before the end of the year. Total retail value of $150! The winner will be randomly drawn on the 17th and announced on our website and media sites.

    Additionally, Tirgearr Publishing is hosting a 50% off sale on all of our titles through the 18th. If you haven't been a spot prize winner or the grand prize winner, you'll still have time to grab some amazing stories at HALF OFF!

    See our website for details --
    http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com

    Enjoy the tour!

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  2. Thanks very much for having me here today. And MJ, thanks so much for the lovely review! I'm thrilled you enjoyed the book. It took me a long time to see this one published so it's wonderful to know all the hard work is paying off for readers.

    Since you mention the next book, I'm happy to say it is underway. We're hoping to have it released late 2013. I say hoping because I'm pregnant with my second baby, due mid-January, and second baby will probably have a lot to say about what sort of writing schedule I can keep :-) Wish me luck on getting one of those cooperative babies who sleeps a lot (my first was not that kind of baby).

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  3. Great review, thank you.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

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  4. Ooh, terrific review--thanks for the heads-up about this book. It does sound like something I'd enjoy! And thanks for the heads-up about the word-usage errors.... I do notice things like that, and while it bugs, if the story's compelling enough, I can overlook ;)

    Isabo, congrats both on the book(s) AND your upcoming little one! How fabulous, and yes, wishing you an easygoing bundle of joy!

    f dot chen at comcast dot net

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    1. Thanks very much! And thanks for stopping round to comment.

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  5. Thank you for the review!

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

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  6. HAHAHA....good luck with that 2nd baby that doesn't cry...or get hungry...or won't nap...!!! Congratulations BTW.

    How do you decide on location and time setting for your books? How different is it to write fantasy vs syfy vs paranormal?

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

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    1. LOL Thanks, Karen. Yeah given how much this baby is dancing, I'm not holding out much hope for a fully cooperative napper. :-) Which is why I'm a writing madwoman at the moment. Have to get in as much as possible before baby arrives!

      As to your questions, I'm a world building addict so location and time period tend to come about based on whatever character presents her/his self demanding a story. I always have to start with character and then I developed the world around them.

      For how different the genres are to write, actually because they all involve a great deal of world building, I find them more alike than different. With fantasy, I focus on the 'magic' in the world. For sci-fi, the technology in the background. For paranormal, that combination of magic and scary elements. But the stories are always about people at their heart so that gives a consistency when jumping around between the genres.

      I find paranormals the trickiest to write, though, because they have to conform to contemporary life--readers have to think they could actually happen in our world and the settings have to fit what people could actually check up on. With fantasy and sci-fi, I get to make all that up! :-)

      Thanks for commenting and for the great questions!

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  7. MJ Thomas - A note about word context . . . we've gone through Isabo's book for possible spelling corrections. There were two. One 'peaked' should have been 'piqued' and one 'heal' should have been 'heel'.

    The copy of the book sent for review was an ARC only so any of the spelling or word context issues noted were changed prior to publication. However, we have just reloaded this book with these two spelling corrections, as above. Thanks for the note or these would have slipped by! :-)

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  8. Great stuff, Isabo!

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  9. Sounds really good!! Thanks for the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Natasha. And thanks for stopping in and commenting!

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  10. Awesome review and fantastic giveaway!

    Nicoleta D.

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  11. Realy enjoyed the review looking forward to reading this book it sounds amazing .Have a great week.

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  12. Realy enjoyed the review looking forward to reading this book it sounds amazing .Have a great week.

    flanagan@mebtel.net

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  13. Great review. Looking forward to reading this book.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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  14. Thanks to everyone who came out to read the review and comment yesterday. I had a great time. And thanks again to my lovely host for having me here and for such a wonderful review!

    And now for the gift certificate winner...

    Congratulations, flchen1!! You've won a $10 gift certificate. I'll be sending you an email now. If you don't hear from me, let me know here on the blog so I can try again. Congratulations again!

    And good luck in the Grand Prize drawing to everyone following the tour! Enjoy the other Tirgearr Publishing authors!

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So... inquiring minds want to know: what do you think?