The Haunting Of Winchester Mansion by Alexandria Clarke

The Haunting Of Winchester Mansion by Alexandria Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book wasn't really scary, but I got attached to the characters, which rarely happens to me, and read it till the end. It's a prequel that ends with a cliffhanger. No one likes it when a book ends with a cliffhanger, but I got all three books for free, so it doesn't anger me much :))) I'll be reading the second book to see how it's all going to end. As with all haunted house stories, this one features mysterious deaths, and who doesn't like a good detective ghost story?
As I said already this book isn't very scary, it's more like a Supernatural episode (Winchester Mansion, wink, wink), but I used to like Supernatural, and will dedicate a few hours of my time to The Haunting of Winchester Mansion. I hope I'm not going to end up disappointed.

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The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fascinating. Beautifully written. I love the way Jessie Burton writes, and will probably buy her other book, too. Her writing flows like a river without obstacles, it's smooth and even, and her outstanding research added even more colors to her already beautiful writing.
The story though wasn't my cup of tea. I still can't understand what was the purpose of this book. What was the story about? I'll try to keep the review spoiler-free, so won't go into details, but I didn't care for the story. Never once. And I didn't care for the characters. This was Amsterdam in the 17th century, but the characters, especially the main heroine, acted too modern to be believable.
The ending didn't give any closure to the story. The mystery was never really resolved. It seemed as if after 400 pages the story was just beginning. There were a couple of good twists, but the rest was rather predictable.
Overall, I'll advise this book to those who want to learn to write in English, but to me the story wasn't memorable.

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I Will Review Your Self-Published Books

I'm so sad for us, indie authors, but I know why it's happening. I was googling book reviewers, and it turns out most of them are not accepting self-published books anymore. The reason is the low quality of SP novels. And yes, it's true. Not always, but most of the time indie authors publish badly written, badly plotted, badly edited and badly formatted books.

And no one wants our books, because people want to enjoy their reading time, not trudge through a low quality novel. It's their right. 

In the last few years I have started and abandoned midway a lot of books, something I had never done in my entire life. Most of those books had been on a free promotion. And I have another 300 books on my Kindle that I've got during free promos. I know I won't be finishing most of them.

But there are authors among the indies, who are incredible, who have fantastic books. And they all need to get started from somewhere. So, I've decided to find those indies and help them get their first reviews. I know I'll have to go through a lot of mediocre books, but I've recently finished my new book and have a bit of free time.

If you want me to review your book, leave a comment under this post. Please DO NOT email me. Leave a comment about your book. If it's published, post the URL.

I am doing this to support the indie authors, which means I won't be giving your book less than 3 stars.

Does this mean I am going to give 4 and 5 stars left and right just because I want to support indies? Of course not. It would be dishonest. If I feel I can't give your book more than 3 stars I will tell you. If you still want me to post my negative review (can't believe someone will, but who knows?) then I'll post it.

1. Your book needs to be edited

I know that good editors cost a lot, and that the indies cannot afford them, but you either have to find someone with a reasonable price, or edit your book yourself. Don't tell me it's impossible. If necessary, go through your book 100 times, but find the typos. I've done that, and you can, too. One or two typos is okay, but 100 is a disaster.

2. Your book needs to be properly formatted

I hate unformatted books with wrong indents, margins, and chapters. If you don't know how to format a book in MS Word, message me. I'll explain you everything, or might even format your book for you FREE of charge.

3. Get a good cover

Designers are expensive, so go to istock websites and search for beautiful images. Some will cost you just $5-10.

If you can't do this much, then you're not ready to be an author. 

4. You shouldn't have a lot of reviews

If your book has more than 20 reviews, then please DO NOT contact me. Better choose a promo website.

5. No romance
Please, DON'T. I don't read romance. NEVER.

6. I will post my review ONLY on Amazon.com.


That's all, folks! Good luck!

ABRACADABRA: The Witchcraft Academy

Yes! It's live!

The Academy of Lost Knowledge teaches witchcraft and sorcery, and just like any other school of magic, it is full of old secrets and chilling mysteries. 

When thirteen-year-old Aram Nazarethian finds the road to the Witchcraft Academy, he plunges headfirst into the world of sorcerer wars and wizard conspiracies.

Together with his new friends Aram will have the adventures of his life, while trying to find a cold-blooded murderer and stop the peril that might turn upside-down the world of magic.

“Abracadabra” is a spin-off of “Witch Hollow” series. If you liked the stories of witches of Hollow, then you will surely love this one too. Unlike "Witch Hollow" series, the story is happening not just in Ireland, but in a school of witchcraft, where the students arrive from all over the world.

The protagonist, Aram Nazarethian, is from Armenia. His two friends are Nikolai from Russia and Theodore from Great Britain.

Soon they are joined by Karishma from India, Gwenlian from Ireland, and Meilin from China. 

There's a lot of magic, magical creatures and fun adventures. The teachers at the Academy are humans, elves, dwarves, and dryads. They celebrate Halloween and Beltane, Christmas and Valentine's Day. The have all kinds of festivals and games; they play Pixie Polo and race on magic carpets.

Come to the Witchcraft Academy and become a magician, then study hard and receive a wizard's or a sorcerer's degree. 

The Academy of Lost Knowledge is a place you will never want to leave!

My new book is finished. Let the self-hate begin!

I thought that after 5 years and 9 books, things would become easier. I was wrong! Nothing has become easier; on the contrary, it's become even harder. I hate my writing more than I did in the beginning. Maybe because in the beginning I didn’t really know what good writing in English was, but after 5 years and hundreds of amazingly written books by genius authors I can only return to hitting my head against the keyboard and wish to destroy every single word written by me.

I’m still mediocre at best. My sentences are awkward and clumsy; my writing is simple, even poor. I wrote and re-wrote passages of my book many times, but it’s not getting better. I want to burn the whole manuscript and bury it under a thick layer of concrete.

I know that I will publish my new novel. Probably on the 1^st of January, 2018. Until then I’ll put it away, and will return to it in 10 days. Maybe after a bit of rest my muse will have pity on me. Maybe she won’t.

So, Abracadabra will come out on the 1^st of January. And I’ll try not to destroy the book until then.

Stay well,

Irena