Book Review: Nia, by Mella Reese

Nia, by Mella Reese

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Black Rose Writing (March 3, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1612960103
Rating (1 to 8 *): ****





Book Review: Nia, by Mella Reese


Princess Nia didn't want to be Queen. In fact, no one wanted her to be Queen. She was in some danger of becoming just that, however, if her stepmother didn't produce an heir. Nia was content to practice the healing arts her mother taught her, even though they made her father and members of his council uncomfortable. Unfortunately, she has a lot of opportunities to use her skills, because her war-loving father seems to always be in a conflict with someone. It is after he wins one such conflict that Nia receives a gift she never expected or even wants: a guard who has pledged his life to protect her 24 hours a day and refuses to leave her side. Now, she not only has to take care of her own matters, but deal with a constant shadow as well.

Nia manages to form a friendship with her guard, Garreth, and the shadow who was once unwanted becomes an important part of her life. He is nearly as important to her as her betrothed, Andras, the love of her life. Both of them become instrumental in her quest to avoid the crown, but also to prepare Nia in the event the unthinkable happens and she must become Queen. However, as is always the case in politics, there is danger and intrigue around every corner.

Nia is part one of a three part series, so the princess's story is nowhere near over. At the end, while there is some resolution, it is really just the beginning of a new chapter, and it left me wanting to know what happens next in her life, politically and romantically. Author Mella Reese makes a few mistakes that are common in first novels--rushing the story by skipping through time a little too quickly, telling a little too much of the story in retrospect, and telling vs. showing. Some more development of the story would make for a more robust story that is longer and closer to the typical fantasy novel length. Yet, her characters are engaging with realistic interactions, which is always the most important part of a story for me. It will be interesting to see how she handles the rest of the series.

Learn more about Mella Reese and Nia by listening to the podcast of Mella's interview on the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book BlogTalkRadio show!

From our friend, Linda Weaver Clarke:

Interview with Romance Author Dana Precious and Book Giveaway


Book Give-Away June 6 - 13: To win Born Under a Lucky Moon, leave a comment about this interview with your e-mail. U.S. and Canada.

Born Under a Lucky Moon is a warm comedy. Its the tale of two very important (but distant) years in the lives of Jeannie Thompson and her (embarrassing, crazy) colorful family members to whom things just seem to happen. It is a story of surprise marriages, a renegade granny, a sprinkler system cursed by the gods, and myriad other factors Jeannie blames for her full-tilt, out-of-control existence. But it's also about good surpriseslike an unexpected proposal that might just open Jeannie's eyes to her real place among the people she loves most in the worldthe same ones she ran away from to begin with. To win a book, leave a comment at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com/.

This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book

This week on the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book BlogTalkRadio show, I will interview Vincent Hobbes and Nathan Palmer, co-producers of the horror anthology The Endlands.

Do you believe in a place outside human knowledge-a place where myth and legend collide-where the unthinkable is the mundane?


There is a thin veil between reality and make believe. When you take a moment, and push the veil aside, perhaps you will see this place, a place not of the imagination. Everything you see here is real.

Nothing is what it seems-noises are not what you think. Nothing is off limits-no place is safe.

You might find yourself lost in the past, or trapped in the future-amidst vampires and werewolves-or in a most peculiar lost and found department.

This is where unimaginable creatures roam wild-where humanity is absent, and dreams turn into nightmares. If you are looking for refuge, this is not the place to stop.

Welcome to the Endlands. 12 authors. 17 stories.

Find out more at http://www.hobbesendpublishing.com/.
Tune in this Wednesday at 3:30 Pacific Time at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2011/06/08/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book. As always, the show will be archived for later listening.

Book Review: When the Getting was Good, by Susan G. Bell

When the Getting Was Good, by Susan G. Bell

Paperback: 424 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse (June 4, 2010)
ISBN-10: 9781449081225
Rating (1 to 5 *): *****




Book Review: When the Getting was Good, by Susan G. Bell

Kate Munro is the sole female trader at a prestigious New York bank, and when she completes a trade that nets a profit of millions of dollars, she gains a lot more attention from her peers on Wall Street than she ever intended. Her joy over her success is not long-lived. Morehead "Woody" Woodson, a powerful bond trader from another firm that she shut out in her infamous trade, has been hired as her boss. Kate has enough worries being a woman in a sexist industry, but now she's worried that the egotistical Woody will want to retaliate for the humiliation he faced at her hands. Woody immediately changes the whole atmosphere in the trading room, bullying traders and salesmen and turning people against each other. Things really get hot when Kate receives a tip that Woody's trading practices at the firm are under investigation—and her own job may be at stake.

Susan Bell's When the Getting was Good is a great story that calls into question just how much a job can take over your life—and how healthy that is. It's about thinking everything is falling apart around you, when really it's just clearing out so you can get some clarity and focus on the things that are truly important. It's also about relationships, and how those relationships are everything.

Don't let the little bit of pink on the cover fool you—this is not chick lit, although it certainly speaks to the plight of women in the workplace—particularly at that place and time, which although it has evolved since then, is still not the most welcoming to women. While it is a story people who have worked in the financial industry can appreciate, it's really a story many different people will enjoy.

This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book

This week on the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book radio show, I will interview Adra Young and Tracie Christian, "The Live Ladies of Literature". Adra's book series,The Everyday Living of Children & Teen Monologues are based upon the real life situations of what take place in the life of kids today.Tracie's  books are based on the lives of four young ladies attending a Historical Black College.

Visit them on teh web at www.myliveladiesofliterature.info
Listen to the show on Wednesday, June 1st at 3:30 Pacific Time at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2011/06/01/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book. The episode will be archived for later listening.

Mella Reese interview rescheduled

We had some technical difficulties on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book yesterday (different ones than last week...this time my fault instead of BTR's!), so we had to reschedule Mella Reese's interview to Friday, May 27th at 3:30PT. Tune in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2011/05/27/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book-special-edition to hear about her fantasy novel, Nia, and her battle with Cushing's Disease.

This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book

This week on the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book radio show, I'll interview Mella Reese, author of the fantasy novel Nia , a heart-warming story of a princess who doesn’t want to be queen, and the man who will give up his own life to protect her. 

From the Back Cover

Suddenly this kneeling, filthy man caused all of my attention to pivot upon him when he grabbed my hand. I was just opening my mouth to warn him that he would surely be killed...no one was allowed to touch me, Princess Nia, without permission. My protesting words were replaced with a swift intake of breath as the soldier produced a strange-looking dagger and drug it lightly over my finger. I stared in wonderment as he gently squeezed my fingertip to produce just one red ball of blood, my blood. Then the man kneeling before me swiped the blood from my finger with his own and plunged it into his mouth. "Your blood is now my blood. Your world is now my world. Your life is now my life," were the words he chanted...

Tune in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2011/05/25/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book! As always, the show will be archived for later listening.