Sheila Gallagher

Smashwords book reviews by Sheila Gallagher

  • The Impaler's Revenge on May 31, 2013

    It is illegal for vampires to be in Romania so when President Stanescu asks Liana Cantacuzino to meet one and bring him to Romania she is less than hospitable to him. She does not know why he is coming to Romania. She does what she must to protect him but does not like it. When it is discovered there is a new, stronger vampire being developed she finally finds out why Maximilien Hess was brought to Romania in Ioana Visan’s The Impaler’s Revenge, book 1 of The Impaler’s Legacy. Ioana Visan builds a world of vampires living amongst humans, except in Romania. She gives us the information about her world on a need to know basis. As Liana gives the history of the Little Council and vampires in Romania to Maximilien we learn along with him. I also learned why Liana has the feelings she does. This is good world building. I know enough to understand this world but I have not gone through big, long explanations. I like Liana. She is not haughty nor is she a kick-ass broad. She is somewhere in between and that makes her likable. She is also aware of the power and prestige of her position on the Little Council. She can do much. I also liked Maximilien (do not call him Max.) He knows what is at stake but will not tell Liana until he realizes that they do not have much time if they are to avert a world-wide crisis. When they team up, it gets interesting. That is also where book 1 ended. I am anxious to see what happens next. I know what I want to see happen but I do not know if it will.
  • Bone Dressing on July 04, 2013

    Sydney lost her parents when she was young and has been in foster care for half her life. While she has good foster parents, Quince and Jackie, she is forever in trouble in Michelle I. Brooks’ BONE DRESSING, book 1 of her BONE DRESSING series. Mr. Askew has been gunning for Sydney since she entered high school. She figures he is just an ass but an encounter in the cemetery where her parents are buried leads to the discovery that Mr. Askew is more than meets the eye. How will Sydney outplay him? Can she? Will her actions bring a world of hurt to someone close to her? BONE DRESSING is the beginning of a Young Adult paranormal series. Much happens here and the world building is done on a need to know basis. I like Sydney. She is a kick-ass broad who must discover the past to fix the present and, possibly, the future. She fights every step of the way when Remy (Beau), Sarah, and TJ appear to her in the cemetery. She refuses their help and Remy is ready to let her go her own way but his little sister Sarah is not so Remy stays. Sydney finds out the hard way what Remy, Sarah, and TJ want with her. These are good characters. I especially like Remy and how Sydney softens around him. Sarah may seem like a child but she has backbone and can reach Sydney in ways others cannot. Sydney’s best friend, Patricia, is an enigmatic character. Just when I thought I knew her, I discover I did not. Mr. Askew, Sydney and Patricia’s teacher, is a villain I loved to hate. He is arrogant and nasty. He also knows the past that Sydney must piece together. How they fit is unclear. At times the description overtakes the story line but I could picture the scenery so I was looking as the same thing Michelle I. Brooks was. I fell into the story. I questioned everything. Not a lot is revealed as to why things are happening. I understood what was happening but could not figure out why. The end of book one leaves me thirsting for book two. I cannot wait to delve more into this series.
  • Party of Five on July 08, 2013

    Queen Lernea and her sister Parcifal have been exiled from their kingdom of Nimno by Lernea’s new husband. Winceham Higginsbottom Abbermouth III, a dwarf, steals their money. As they chase after him to get their money back, they come to a bar where pirates come to extort the shopkeepers and the bar keep. They try to keep the pirates from extorting the townspeople but it goes wrong in Vasileios Kalamavakas’ PARTY OF FIVE, book one of his PARTY OF FIVE series. The barkeep’s son wants revenge for the death of his father on the pirate captain, Culliper, and Lernea and Parcifal have pledged their help. Winceham is made to join them by Ned, the son. Along the way they pick up a woodkin elf, Theo, whose village has been destroyed by the pirates. PARTY OF FIVE defies classification. There is a little bit of everything here. It has science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, paranormal, and pirates. It is unique and I am not sure how I feel about it. I like the quirkiness of it. There is humor in it, also a plus. The characters are interesting but I am still having trouble putting them all in their places. There are times when I felt that I was coming into the middle of a scene and knowing some backstory about the characters would have helped. Simpler names would have helped. I will not even try to pronounce Theo’s full name. The plot is convoluted for a short work. It took me until the third section of the book to begin to determine what the plot was. The world building here is convoluted. I think Mr. Kalamvakas is trying to build his world on a need-to-know basis but it does not work. There seems to be no consistent rules in the first two sections. The world building does get better in the third section but it still needs work. Having some of the world building done and explained would have made the story easier to understand earlier in the book. PARTY OF FIVE is the set up for this series. As the story went along it got better. I hope the rest of the series picks up from where PARTY OF FIVE leaves off and the confusion and convolutedness settle down. I can see a good series here once we understand this world, its characters, and what the ultimate goal for this band of five (not yet a merry band) is.
  • Watcher's Web on July 13, 2013

    Jessica is returning home when her plane crashes and she is thrown into an alternate universe. She is rescued but is not sure who to trust. She had been communicating with a man through her mind but will not let others know for fear that they will think she is crazy. She has been able to read people’s minds and emotions growing up so she knew she was different. Now she must decide whether to reach out to this man in her mind or place her trust in another survivor of the plane crash in Patty Jansen’s, WATCHER’S WEB, book 1 of her RETURN OF THE AGHYRIANS series. Where is she? Who can she trust? Can she come back to earth? Patty Jansen does a good job with her world building. We learn the rules and history on a need-to-know basis along with Jessica. She is 17-years old. She knows what it is like to be an outsider. She works to learn the customs and language but it is not easy. She feels she is responsible for the accident but has no one to help her through her guilt. She is around an alien people and cultural. When she once again meets the other survivor, Brian, she knows he is hiding something but she cannot figure out what it is. As Jessica learns who to trust and who not to trust, she has been in communication with a man, Daya. She has been able to connect with him through her mind. Now they will meet but Brian, also known as Iztho in this world, has sown seeds of mistrust so she does not know who to believe has her best interests at heart. It does not help that both men use sex as a way to control her. As Jessica struggles to survive in this world and make it back to her own world she learns to control the special gift she has. She also learns that she has a history that may connect her to the people in this world. Jessica has to decide if she wants to stay or go. I could not tell if the story was it supposed to be for YA or adults. Sometimes it was more YA and other times it was adult. I would say this story is for 16 and up. I like the characters. The story kept me interested so that I want to know what Jessica’s future holds. Does she stay or does she go? At times the pacing of the story was slow, especially at the beginning. By the end there is a lot of action and adventure that kept me involved and wanting more. There are questions I want answered so I will be reading book 2 to find out what happens.
  • The Beast Within: A Sci-Fi Short Story on Aug. 17, 2013

    Amy Starr is in a disabled ship after being hit by an asteroid. She knows she will die soon but suddenly she is communicating with someone but who is it and where are they? THE BEAST WITHIN by Elysa Hendricks is a good short story. Amy is in a difficult situation. She is desperate to live but knows her death in imminent. When she has the opportunity to live she has to make a quick decision. Which is better—knowing what will happen or choosing the unknown? I liked Amy and her dilemma. I wondered what she could choose. I do not know which I would choose but it made me think about my choices.
  • Black Heart on Aug. 17, 2013

    A serial killer is stalking women of the vampire community in BLACK HEART by Morgan Dreiss. Now he has turned to werewolf women. His signature is to dress them in white dress then dump them on the street minus their hearts. Annie Goldstein is missing. Is she one of his? Her lover, Nasira, will stop at nothing to find her but will she be in time? I liked BLACK HEART. It is different. I hoped Nasira would find Annie but there was no guarantee she would. Much of the story was told through Nasira’s eyes but we got the story from Annie’s eyes when she is kidnapped. I liked how the story then went back and forth between the two women. As the reader I knew what was happening on both sides but it did not stop me from worrying if Annie would make it. What a horrid man the villain was. I was happy with the ending. It did not cause me to lose any sleep.
  • Bride For Sale on Aug. 18, 2013

    Erica was jilted and shut her heart away. Now she's doing a favor for a friend, modeling a wedding dress. I liked Erica. The story was cute. It was just way too short. It would have been fun to have the "rest of the story."
  • Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks on Jan. 20, 2015

    Collection of short stories that are interconnected. Werewolves live in this town as do werecrows. They have a treaty but it sometimes gets pushed. I enjoyed these stories. I wasn't sure what to expect but I am glad I read it. There is humor, suspense, and action here. I liked the werewolves, not too crazy about the humans and some of the other weres, and not so sure about the werecrows. Each story is a little vignette with a few people from each group. The story finishes but the characters may turn up in another vignette later in the book. The world building is good. It is an interesting place. Some of the stories could have sequels to them. I want to see more of this world and I want to see what happens when the moon returns.