BookReview: The Goat Children by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek

The Goat Children
by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek

Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication:  March 23rd, 2016 by CHBB Publishing
Format: ebooks
Source: ARC
Connect: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

When Keziah’s grandmother, Oma, is diagnosed with dementia, Keziah faces two choices: leave her family and move to New Winchester to care for Oma, or stay in New York City and allow her grandmother to live in a nursing home miles away.

The dementia causes Oma to be rude and paranoid, nothing like the woman Keziah remembers. Each day becomes a greater weight and love a harsher burden. Keziah must keep Oma from wandering off or falling, and try to convince her grandmother to see a doctor as her eyesight and hearing fail, but Oma refuses to believe anything is wrong. Resentful of her hardships in New Winchester, Keziah finds herself drawn to Oma’s ramblings about the Goat Children, a mythical warrior class. These fighters ride winged horses, locating people in need while attempting to destroy evil in the world. Oma sees the Goat Children everywhere, and as Keziah reads the stories Oma wrote about them, she begins to question if they really exist.

I have previously read a few fantasy works from the author and I absolutely love them. I was a bit worried when I pick up this book because the story is a bit different than the author's other work, but I have to say that I'm glad this book didn't disappoint me. 

Keziah volunteered to look after her Oma who was diagnosed with dementia. It was hard for Keziah to look after Oma, especially since dementia caused Oma to be paranoid about things around her. When her Oma was in a better mood, she would tell Keziah about Goat Children, the mystical creatures.

Keziah loved her Oma and choose to stay with her Oma even though Oma treated her badly because of dementia. Keziah is a growing up teenager who should be experiencing a normal life with school, friends, and romance. But instead, she had to look after her Oma. I've never had to deal with anyone with dementia before, so I didn't know how it would be. But I sympathized with what Keziah had to go through. But still, it was nice to see how Keziah love her Oma. I love reading the memories Keziah had with her Oma back from when she was little.

The author did a great job in writing The Goat Children. The story is a bit slow at certain parts, but I love the pace. What I like about The Goat Children by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek is that there are bits of fantasy. The world of the Goat Children fascinates me. It sounds magical what with the wing horses and the fight to destroy evil. I think I wouldn't mind reading a book about the Goal Children if the author decided to write about them.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my review.

#BookReview Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth

Cogling
by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Steampunk, Sci-Fi, Romance
Publication: January 25th, 2016
Format: ebooks
Source: Author/Publisher
Connect: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

When fifteen-year-old Edna Mather tears an expensive and unfamiliar pocket watch off her little brother's neck, he crumbles into a pile of cogs right before her eyes. Horrified, Edna flees for help, but encounters Ike, a thief who attempts to steal the watch before he realizes what it is: a device to power Coglings—clockwork changelings left in place of stolen children who have been forced to work in factories.

Desperate to rescue her brother, Edna sets off across the kingdom to the hags' swamp, with Ike in tow. There, they learn Coglings are also replacing nobility so the hags can stage a rebellion and rule over humanity. Edna and Ike must stop the revolt, but the populace believes hags are helpful godmothers and healers. No one wants to believe a lowly servant and a thief, especially when Ike has secrets that label them both as traitors.

Together, Edna and Ike must make the kingdom trust them or stop the hags themselves, even if Ike is forced to embrace his dark heritage and Edna must surrender her family.

I didn't read a lot of steampunk. But I wanted to give this book a chance since I have previously read Jordan Elizabeth's work in Gears of Brass Anthology and enjoyed it. I was glad I did. I wasn't expecting this book to be this good. I was definitely blown away.

In Cogling, children were kidnapped and forced to work in factories. Their dreams were taken away. These children were replaced by a Coglings—clockwork changelings, to fool their families. Edna Mather watched her brother turn into a pile of cogs before her. When Ike, a thief who wanted to steal her watch, explained to her about coglings, Edna asked for Ike's help to rescue her brother.

I love the author's voice and writing style. The author did a great job describing the world in the book. The setting was perfect. It felt almost like a movie. There are the human, hags, ogres, foxkin and other interesting creatures. 

I was amazed at the characters development in the story. I wasn't a big fan of Edna at first, but she grew on me. She's strong and won't stop at anything until she gets her brother back. Ike is definitely swoon-worthy. He may be a thief, but he had a good heart and was always looking after Edna. But, my favorite character in the book is Rachel. She was this pampered rich young lady, who Enda worked for. But she sort of grew up and she surprised me with her transformation.

Cogling is a great fantasy-steampunk read for the young adult. I may not be the target audience, but I enjoyed this book wholeheartedly. There are some romance, friendship, adventure, conspiracy and fighting with a few twists along the way. If you love a good fantasy read, you should definitely read this book.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my review.

Review: Gears of Brass Anthology by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek and More

Gears of Brass Anthology
by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, Eliza Tilton, Heather Talty, Susan Kaye Quinn and More

Genre: Anthologies, Fantasy, Romance, Steampunk
Publication: November 9th, 2014 by Curiosity Quills Press
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: ARC, NetGalley, Own

A world like ours, but filled with gears of brass, where the beating heart is fueled by steam and the simplest creation is a complex clockwork device.

Within this tome, you’ll find steampunk fairy tale re-tellings, as well as original stories that will send your gears turning.

Welcome to the steampunk realm, with eleven authors guiding your path. Within the pages, you’ll come across clockwork inventions and steampunk-ified fairy tale retellings. Eleven authors will guide you through worlds filled with airships, top hats, and corsets.

I received a copy of Gears of Brass through NetGalley, but only for the first chapter, A Clockwork Dollhouse by Jordan Elizabeth. I enjoyed the first story, and bought a copy to read other stories. 

Gears of Brass was a collection of fifteen stories. Each story in this anthology is unique in a different characters, plots and writing style. There are some really good stories that I really enjoyed and some that was quite okay, and some that wasn't so great. There are stories that made me wanting to read more. The Key Girl by Grant Eagar for example made me wish that there are continuation to the story. 

I've experienced a lot in this book. There is a bit of romance, mythologies, murder, mystery and so much more! My favorite stories from Gears of Brass would be A Clockwork Dollhouse by Jordan Elizabeth, A Princess Zephris by Heather Talty, My Golden Anabel by Natalia Darcy and Time Spun Souls by S.A.Larsen.  

If you're looking for a light and short read with the element of Steampunk and fantasy, this is the book for you. And if you never read any Steampunk read, and would like to give the genre a try, I would definitely recommend Gears of Brass.