Welcome to my stop on the Annebelle's Story book Tour. My reviews both books, Sprite and Kin are below. This is organized by Leigh Michael herself. Leigh's Blog is Here
Bio of Leigh Michael
Well, just for starters, Leigh Michael is a wife, little sister, mom (of an adorable goldendoodle), friend, author, advertising copywriter, triathlete, marathoner, and mac n' cheese lover.
She's worked within the advertising world for nearly a decade before sitting down to write her debut series,Annabelle's Story.
Summary Below in Scrollbox
Annabelle Walsh thought she had it all. She was the star of her swim team, had a loving family, a great boyfriend, and to top it off, she’d be starting at UCLA in the fall. One day, she’d be referred to as Dr. Annabelle Walsh.
She was living every girl’s dream – until her life was turned upside down. All starting with finding out that she's not just a human, but also a water spirit. Half-human, half-sprite to be exact. Although not just any sprite, Annabelle is prophesied to be the only one who can save both the sprites and mankind.
With a mix of current events, anecdotes from Greek mythology, tidbits of folklore, and Leigh’s own imagination, we join Annabelle in her journey to restore order beneath the sea. Each step of the way her mind, body, and soul are pushed to the limit begging the question, how much can one half-human, half-sprite take?
Wow,
I was not expecting this thrilling ride, but loved it. I had not read any major
water type books, most I had read was a book with many magic types and it had
one mermaid (who had legs on land) and a water elemental in it. I loved it, and
the small taste I had into the water type supernatural. Well, this book is
amazing, as I had not read anything before about water sprites, or even selkies
before, for sure not mermaids or mermen, (I know, weird, but I never read or
watched the Little Mermaid either, neither did my daughter, so no exposure
there either.
The
world building in this is amazing too, like finding Nemo meets the supernatural’s
of the water. I mean when the jet streams are described that what popped into
my head, the way they seemed like a tube of fast water, like a superhighway of
the water. I found it very interesting, and kept me hooked.
I
loved the characters, Annabelle is a very pleasant girl, and I love Adrian, he
is such a sweetheart. I won’t say much about who is what, as I want to leave
you with the thrill and fun of the surprise.
What
I will say, is there is twist and turns you won’t expect. And that you will be
glad that the 2nd part of this story KIN is already out, as it’s a
bit of a cliffhanger, so picking up the next book is a must.
I
had to take a quick break to write this before picking up KIN, so I would not
accidently put something that’s in the 2nd story, lol.
I
highly recommend this book, it’s a sweet and exciting story. I can’t wait to
see where it goes from here. KIN here I come.
5 out of 5 stars for me.
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The conclusion to Sprite (Annabelle's Story Part One).
In Kin, Annabelle's struggles don't ease one bit. She's continually put to the test, both physically and emotionally. With help from Adrian, Natasha, Clemente, Shamus and some surprise additions, she trudges forward toward retrieving Triton's lost shell and fulfilling the ABA prophecy.
My Review:
Wow,
I did not think that Kin would top Sprite, but it did. Really its just a big
book, broke into 2 parts, and it was great that I had Kin ready to read, as it
was a bit of a cliffhanger, and was glad to continue this amazing journey with
Annabelle.
I
do not want to spoil anything, so will keep this spoiler free. I Loved the
surprises too, and hope you will as well.
I
loved learning about all the different water types in the folklores, and the author’s
imagination. The research she must have done for these 2 books had to have been
extensive.
These
books are so well written too. Such a pleasant read, both of them.
I
really liked Annabelle, still, and just loved Adrian even more. We get some
major twist in this, that will have you on the edge of your seat. Its great.
I
highly recommend both these books, Spite and Kin.
Give
them a try. 5 out of 5 stars for me.
Be sure to check out this post at author Leigh Michael's Blog, on what is real, and what is from her head. Its quite interesting. Go Here
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Blake had been my boyfriend for just about a year now. To say he was hot wouldn’t do him justice. He had sun-kissed skin that always made me jealous of my own. And those big brown eyes with little specks of ember that were hard to break your gaze from. On top of that, he had sandy blonde hair, chiseled abs, and a killer smile. He was every teenage girl’s dream.
At times, I wondered how he was with me. I suppose some people thought I was attractive, but Blake just seemed out of this world. I had light brown hair, bright blue eyes just like my dad, and like I said, skin that refused to tan.
“Go on,” Dad said. “I’ll see you at home.”
Before darting off, I gave him another quick hug, repositioned my swim bag over my shoulder, and then headed in the direction of my car.
Along the way, a few of my teammates and their parents gave me quick shout-outs of congratulations and birthday wishes.
Did I mention that today had been a fabulous day?
“Hey you,” Blake said when I was just a few steps away.
Unable to contain myself, I leapt the remainder of the way into the air. With a fluid motion, he caught me and swung me around in a full circle before gently bringing me back down to my feet.
“Did you see me kick that last girl’s ass?”
He pinned me with his oh-so-sexy grin. “Sure did. It’s times like these that I’m proud to call you my girlfriend.”
Then before I could respond, his mouth was on mine. It was one of those kisses that made you forget your name. I’m not talking about a make-out session in the middle of the parking lot of my high school. It was just a quick kiss. Casual — but in a good way — like he’d been meant to do it his entire life.
I’d be an understatement to say Blake simply infatuated me. And the best part, we weren’t going to endure one of those horrible long-distance relationships after we graduated. Blake not only had dashing good looks, but he also had brains. In August, we’d both be starting at UCLA.
To be honest, I don’t know if this made my parents relieved or more anxious about me leaving.
A shiver ran up my spine. “Who’s that?”
“Who?”
“Behind you.”
Before Blake could turn around, the man who I caught sight of was gone. One second he was there, and the next he wasn’t. As if he vanished. It was very odd.
“Uh, he’s not there anymore,” I responded, puzzled. “He just looked really strange, that’s all.”
“What do you mean? Where was he?”
I shook my head. “Over near the entrance of the school. He had this weird straw hat, white linen-type pants, and a bright floral shirt. Considering it’s the dead of winter, he just looked really out of place.”
A protective look crossed Blake’s face, but he quickly composed himself. “Well… I think that’s our cue to get you home. There are all types of weirdos out there lurking. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, now would we?”
There was no chance for a response before he continued, “I’ll see you tomorrow for your birthday celebration?”
“Of course, the concert starts at eight and I think the girls want to hang out a little beforehand at like five or six. We gotta celebrate our big win from tonight too.”
“Girls will be girls, I suppose,” he said while opening my car door.
In response, I gave Blake one of my looks that he’s coined “the perfect eye-roll.”
“Just text me in the morning after you talk to your friends.”
I rolled up to my tiptoes for one last kiss. “Sounds good, goodnight babe.”
“Night, Belles.”
It was another nickname I’ve grown to love, but this one originated from Blake.
With a sigh, I tossed my bag into the car, climbed in, and looked up to give Blake a quick wave goodbye before closing the door.
Oddly enough, he was nowhere in sight.
CHAPTER TWO
I made the final turn onto our long driveway, still wondering why Blake had disappeared so quickly.
Over the short mile drive home, I managed to get myself a little worked up about it. These were the times I was more than willing to use my teenage hormones as an excuse for blowing things out of proportion.
It seemed weird though, and even a little rude, that Blake wouldn’t make sure I was safe and sound inside my locked car before dashing off. I mean, I literally just finished pointing out that strange man I saw. Why he couldn’t manage to wait a few more seconds was beyond me.
Telling myself I was overacting that Blake would probably have a good excuse for his quick departure, I rolled my shoulders, took a deep breath, and re-centered myself.
Much better.
Back in my “this was an amazing day” mindset, I took notice of our driveway and the surrounding property. I preferred snow, especially being that it was around the holidays, but it looked like I’d rained during our swim meet. The Christmas lights my dad hung along the driveway were reflecting in the puddles. It looked really pretty.
And thank goodness it did. My mom had nagged my dad for weeks and weeks to string lights down the driveway, and it wasn’t a short one. But to make her happy, he spent all last Saturday hanging them on the twenty-plus trees that lined the drive. Like I said, we were a close-knit family.
Speaking of family, it looked like everyone had beaten me home. The front lights were on, so were the living room, and also Lindsey’s bedroom.
She wasn’t able to come to my swim meet because she had a soccer game. With a flip of the coin, Dad went with me to the championships and Mom went with Linds to her game. I know Linds felt really bad for missing it, but she was the captain of her team. Oh, and also their leading scorer. They needed her. I was excited though to plop myself down on her bed and tell my little sister all about my day.
With that thought in mind, I parked off to the side of the house, jumped out of the car, and reached across the seat to grab my bag.
It was dark, but the lights on the trees and from the house were more than enough to see. Besides, it was only a short, quick walk from my parking spot to the front door.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a movement. In one of the puddles, I could have sworn I saw some floral print.
And then…
Darkness.
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