Location: United States
Member Since: Aug. 17, 2011

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Mia Darien

Biography

Mia Darien is an indie author of speculative fiction, and a New England Yankee transplanted into Alabama clay. No matter her geography, she continues to stubbornly and rebelliously live the life of her choosing along with her family and pets. She doesn't miss the snow.

Where to find Mia Darien online

Website: http://www.miadarien.com
Twitter: @MiaDarien
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://www.miadarien.com

Books

This member has not published any books.

Smashwords book reviews by Mia Darien

  • Zombie Tales: Primrose Court Apt. 205 on Sep. 22, 2011

    I enjoyed this story for its psychological view and was intrigued by the character. The author has a good grasp for a Voice for the character. My only issue with it, which I can't really call an "issue" was that it didn't really feel like a story set in another world but a straight out introduction to that world. It didn't have a stand-alone story feel to it and the zombies' appearance at the end felt like a sort of afterthought to the rest of it. I realize, however, that this is part of a larger story world, so I didn't mind it that much and I'm interested to read more in this series/world.
  • Ancient Echoes Book One of the Elese Saga on Sep. 25, 2011

    I will admit that I actually found the story very slow to get into, but I definitely was caught up later on (maybe about half way through) and then propelled more quickly to the end. I think perhaps my struggle was that it can be hard to "connect" with adolescent Main Characters, but I thought that the author did well to convey the age/situation in the Voice believably and I think I will be continuing to follow the tale.
  • Don of the Living Dead on Sep. 26, 2011

    I read this book after reading the three Primrose Court short stories and I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed those stories, although I kind of wish they had been more connected to this story other than just sharing the world but both those three and this one were very good. The main character I found to be very realistic and I liked the ending. My only real complaint is that it could have used a more thorough editing. It jumped tenses several times and had several noticeable spelling/word use/grammatical mistakes that were enough to draw me out of the story at times. And certain pop culture references will not be lasting, but I can understand their use. On the whole, however, this was an engaging and gripping read that I would recommend to any friends who like zombie fiction, and can handle the grossness that is common to the genre. I'd give it a shout out that fans of the movie 'Shaun of the Dead' will find a treat in this. Unless they are looking for lunatic Brits. It doesn't have any of those.
  • Unbecoming on Oct. 20, 2011

    I rarely give any review five stars, but this one called for it. I can't really find anything wrong with it. It was the right length for the story it was telling and fleshed the characters out succinctly. The author has interesting word choices that really work for the tale. This one was intense and a little heart-breaking. Good job, Mister Crowder. I will definitely be checking out more of your work.
  • Flash Gold on Jan. 24, 2012

    That was fantastic. I don't give 5 Stars very often, but this deserved it. The steampunk elements blended seamlessly into integral parts of the plot and character. Kali was wonderful and Cedar was just the kind of hero I like. The plot was a fun, fast-paced racing romp and adventure. For anyone who wants to write a smart, sassy tough chick and anyone who wants to write a sympathetic Alpha hero, with wonderful interaction, this is how it's done!
  • Ruined City on Feb. 18, 2012

    When I read the description of this story, I immediately liked the idea. I liked the dark fantasy, the "post apocalypse" feel of it (though that's not precisely the case), and the idea of the intertwining perspectives of the after effects of a single terrible event. The book didn't disappoint. I liked it. It could have done with a bit more editing in terms of the Tense, as some Present Tense stories shifted in and out of Past Tense at points and that got distracting. A couple stories also had this odd... removed feeling in the narrator, when it should've been more immediate for the topic and Voice. Otherwise, though, I really don't have any complaints. The author has a very interesting concept and shows it over the course of a span of time, showing it in a multi-faceted way that makes for some interesting reading. I just wish some of the stories had been longer, so we could see more!
  • Bred on March 27, 2012

    This book was really good. My housework got done late today, because of this book. It wasn't quite perfect. There was some world building and politic details that played big parts in the finale scenes that I thought should have been foreshadowed earlier. And despite the professional editor, there was quite a few edits missed. The beginning wandered a little bit, for my tastes. Oh, and I am not happy with the author about one of Thamus' actions. (You'll know it when you read it.) *shakes menacing finger* ...and YET. The narrator, the characters, the world, the plot were all engaging and active enough that I didn't care about the "defects" and was glued to my ereader. I really liked all of it. I found some of the characters complex and some straightforward, yet only as I wished. (Characters I wanted to be straightforward were, and characters I didn't mind being twisty were.) The world was quite fascinating. I really liked what the author did with the Prologue and Epilogue set-up, although I didn't "get it" until the Epilogue. And I had to laugh, my apologies to the author, at the Glossary. It was useful, though still missed a couple titles I wanted better explanations for, but there was one part that looked like something Branning meant to go back to and fix before publishing and didn't. Namely, the wrong name of a father's character beside the son's name with a ? beside it. The name with ? was the name of one of the gods, but the father was correctly named in his own listing. Don't worry, I've done it myself. Still, having been there, I did have to giggle. Anyways. Despite my minor issues with some of it that might have meant a 4 or 4.5 otherwise, any book that holds on to my attention the way this one did once I was about a third of the way in deserves a 5. This author has another novel, which is awesomely free, that I totally just grabbed and will read soon.
  • Wizard of Ends on Oct. 10, 2014

    This story is a little tough to write a review for, or at least figure out a proper rating. Here’s my initial and overall thought: this story would have been REALLY AWESOME…if it had been about twice as long. Now, anyone who reads my Author Ego’s books knows that I don’t write long books and I like quick resolutions, so I’m generally the last reviewer to come down on someone about this, but I can’t avoid it here. The story starts off in the action from the first page, but then lots and lots of things happens very close together in a short span of pages. It’s just all so much and so fast. We don’t get as much time as I’d like for the characterization that really makes a story epic, but the basics were all there. Lashlor was a good character (even if he was obnoxiously passive at times) and the others were good too. The king and queen come across as rather rash and naive, but the rashness could just be because of how fast the story goes. But…it’s well written, the basics of good characters and good plot and fun setting and magic are all there. But it’s just way too much too fast, and would benefit from being notably longer, and yet…despite that, I did enjoy it a lot. So…I guess better too fast than too slow. I’m going to give this 4 Fireballs, because I did like it. If it had been longer and still as gripping, it would’ve gotten a 5.