Location: Australia
Member Since:
Jan. 22, 2013
Amanda Drummond
Where to find Amanda Drummond online
Smashwords book reviews by Amanda Drummond
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Into the Night
on April 13, 2013
WOW this is one of the most amazing and most wonderfully original debuts i have read in ages. i admit i found the beginning a tad slow and i would giggle quietly to myself at every mention of smell because no other book i have read describes smell quite as much as this one But it did not take long before i was anxiously turning the pages to discover what happens next. This story is a story of modern day gladiators and of course killing wild animals is boring so instead they go up against some of the scariest paranormal creatures ever to haunt nightmares. highly recommended for lovers of The hunger games and paranormal fiction (duh). The characters were deep with even the minor characters having their quirks and back-stories while the main characters had secrets so deep they managed to keep them from each other and me as the reader, the story would often take turns so unexpected that i tripped in my haste to follow them but i was always pleasantly surprised as to where they led. While Logan's stupidity at taking the job in the first place surprises me it is Almost believable given his circumstances. the ending was cruel even if deep inside me i did expect it... although mixed with this cruelty there was one kindness there is a sequel.
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To Stand Beside Her
on May 29, 2013
This review is also available on my blog confessions of a broke bibliophile for the most part this did not read like the first book of a self published author. From the beginning we are thrown into the action as Kay is trying to escape from the guards, this immediately caught my attention and i connected with her almost straight away, however this was not her story. it was Leila's cue her arriving in the next scene in a comparably dull entrance and unfortunately in my opinion this did not change all that much through out the book. Leila was the quintessential "perfect" character that i must say i kind of hate, although this somehow was contradicted many times as well. she was the "best" courier seen as the "ghost courier" (that even while Kay was running for her life in the first scene, she still found the time to look up to) and yet she has apparently been caught so many times (view spoiler), and apparently has 0 awareness i was expecting some sought of reaction when the king moved her when she was sleeping but nup nada nothing. however when she is caught she always manages to escape... usually with her feminine wiles, because despite being able to blend in she apparently seems to be the most beautiful girl any of these men have ever seen, and i am still wondering what is so special about her? then we come to King Nalick... who while i think he is charming and all the rest i don't see what Leila thought was different about him compared to all the other kings vying for her hand in marriage, this i think is where this novel fell down for me one of the big requirements Leila said about marrying him is there would have to be love... and i was waiting for them to actually fall in love i wanted some courtship, instead the next day she tattoos herself (which basically seems to be the human version of branding in this book) into his family. it is because of me not believing in this relationship that the ending which while admittedly was bittersweet i did not find to be the sad ending i was warned about. this all in all was just not what i was expecting i was expecting a kick ass heroine with great fight scenes ala Yelena in poison study... which may have been the problem ... i was comparing it to one of my favorite books. i found the fight scenes lacking and clinical simply telling us what she did without any sought of description into how and they became almost non events. finally i would like to say something about the writing style which while original i am starting to see more of at the moment. the writing style was a weird mix of 3rd person and 1st person with it being written in the 3rd person as if you were a mind reader this is not a writing style that i personally choose to read as i feel it lends itself to a story being told and not experienced, however i can understand why she did this as the story has so much to do with what characters are thinking. while this book was not quite what i was expecting and not exactly my cup of tea i see potential in McMichael and i imagine this book will be enjoyed by many people.