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The Liesmith's Sins #1
Shadows of Ourselves
Sky Davenport can tell when you’re lying. He can feel it.
His strange ability to feel untruths has left Sky callous and deeply guarded. Using his gift to root out liars for cash, he keeps himself and his alcoholic mother afloat, counting down the days until he has a way out. The arrival of a mysterious boy named Hunter changes everything. He endangers—and then saves—Sky’s life, and awakens new powers he didn’t know he possessed. And now he can’t get rid of them.
But the boys have bigger problems: a mystic bond has chained their powers together, and a dangerous enemy stalks them ruthlessly through the frozen streets of the city. If the madman gunning for Hunter’s life doesn’t kill them, then the hectic cocktail of paranormal beings living unseen among the mortal world just might. Not to mention their own inner demons—always hovering, ready to destroy the fragile trust growing between them.
For a chance at breaking the bond, Hunter and Sky will have to stick together—which may mean confronting their dangerous attraction...and awakening an ancient magik that could destroy all of the barriers Sky’s worked to build.
The only things that’s certain is this: if they fail, they die. No second chances.
His strange ability to feel untruths has left Sky callous and deeply guarded. Using his gift to root out liars for cash, he keeps himself and his alcoholic mother afloat, counting down the days until he has a way out. The arrival of a mysterious boy named Hunter changes everything. He endangers—and then saves—Sky’s life, and awakens new powers he didn’t know he possessed. And now he can’t get rid of them.
But the boys have bigger problems: a mystic bond has chained their powers together, and a dangerous enemy stalks them ruthlessly through the frozen streets of the city. If the madman gunning for Hunter’s life doesn’t kill them, then the hectic cocktail of paranormal beings living unseen among the mortal world just might. Not to mention their own inner demons—always hovering, ready to destroy the fragile trust growing between them.
For a chance at breaking the bond, Hunter and Sky will have to stick together—which may mean confronting their dangerous attraction...and awakening an ancient magik that could destroy all of the barriers Sky’s worked to build.
The only things that’s certain is this: if they fail, they die. No second chances.
- GenresFantasyLGBTM M Romance
Unknown Binding
First published May 27, 2016
9 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Apollo Blake
75 books14 followersKai Bishop was born and raised in New Brunswick, Canada, where he became fascinated with fantasy and sci-fi from a young age. He writes and publishes under the names Apollo Blake and Cosmo Knox. A massive lover of books, film, video game, and comics, he decided to become a writer when he was twelve years old, and never looked back. His favorite genres are urban fantasy and paranormal romance, he loves both outlining and discovery writing and switches between them from project to project, always listens to music when writing, and his favorite part of the writing process is drafting. He loves animals, sketching, gaming, cooking, and journaling, and spends most of his spare time reading, making music, and looking after his cats and dogs. He is sometimes sane, but mostly not, and almost always overthinking, which actually helps with the writing a lot.
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You can find me on Instagram here:
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 12, 2018
In general, I'm not a fan of urban fantasy. And this book, while not technically YA, reminded me a lot of YA books, which I no longer read (or at least not very often). One of the things that bothers me for some reason (in all paranormal books) is the inclusion of EVERY supernatural creature out there. I like to keep it simple.
But I did like the angsty characters—why am I such a sucker for self-hating protags that aren't annoying about it? ABUSE THOSE SUBSTANCES BUT DON'T BE A WHINER. YAS. Admittedly this *may* be a bit of a fucked-up attitude but I can't help what I like to read. I wished some of the side characters had a bit more substances to them, given the length of the novel, but they were a rather diverse bunch, which was nice.
I really enjoyed the New Brunswick setting. I should read more books set in Canada. But like, how dare you tell me Canada isn't wholesome? *cries forever*
I am friends with the author but this doesn't affect my rating.
11/17/16
This is free right now!
But I did like the angsty characters—why am I such a sucker for self-hating protags that aren't annoying about it? ABUSE THOSE SUBSTANCES BUT DON'T BE A WHINER. YAS. Admittedly this *may* be a bit of a fucked-up attitude but I can't help what I like to read. I wished some of the side characters had a bit more substances to them, given the length of the novel, but they were a rather diverse bunch, which was nice.
I really enjoyed the New Brunswick setting. I should read more books set in Canada. But like, how dare you tell me Canada isn't wholesome? *cries forever*
I am friends with the author but this doesn't affect my rating.
11/17/16
This is free right now!
October 25, 2017
I wanted to like this book. I did like it well enough to grit my teeth and finish reading it. But I will never read another book by this author, unless I am being paid to help edit it.
This could've been a five star story. That's the painful part. Had the author employed a competent editor, I'd certainly have been able to give it more stars. I got my copy for free. On amazon it's 99 cents. But there are so many typos, flipped words, wrong words, misused words, repeated phrases and repeated internal dialogue laid out in choppy paragraphs that I feel like the author ought to've given me money to read it. That is not a good business model. Brought closer to perfection by using the skills of a good editor, the author could charge more per book. The talent is there. But the execution is terrible. All the power, none of the finesse.
This could've been a five star story. That's the painful part. Had the author employed a competent editor, I'd certainly have been able to give it more stars. I got my copy for free. On amazon it's 99 cents. But there are so many typos, flipped words, wrong words, misused words, repeated phrases and repeated internal dialogue laid out in choppy paragraphs that I feel like the author ought to've given me money to read it. That is not a good business model. Brought closer to perfection by using the skills of a good editor, the author could charge more per book. The talent is there. But the execution is terrible. All the power, none of the finesse.
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July 11, 2018New cover edition :) This cover will probably be released as a special paperback at some point. I designed it to be an alternative Wattpad cover to see if it draws in extra reads there, but I love it, and I wanna see it in person at some point. I'm having trouble making a matching one for book 2, but I think I just found the perfect model for Hunter, so all I have to do is buy the stock soon.
Anyway, enjoy the aesthetic!
Anyway, enjoy the aesthetic!
May 26, 2017
Maybe I deserved some magik in my life, for once. Some strength.
I am the sky; watch me rage with storms.
* * *
You may notice I stuck this one in my "gems" shelf. That's because this is one of those terribly underappreciated and unsung books you want to catch on like wildfire. I mean it when I say it's one of my favorites I've read in a long time, and first of all I highly recommend picking up this hidden treasure. (Hopefully, it and books like it won't be hidden for long!)
The concept is an eye-catcher, intriguing as hell at first glance. A "liesmith" named Sky (which makes my opening quote even better~), a young man with two powerful gifts. His favorite is art, painting beauty and capturing essences of people and emotion on paper - and his least-favorite, being able to feel when people around him lie. Which hurts like hell. Sky spends his days earning money for his abusive mother (emotionally and physically - warning for that; this is a story about finding yourself and healing, but there are some hard bits to read on the abuse front. Incredibly powerful and important, though), taking on "clients" and telling them who's lying... until he and his BFF Riley fall into a mess of magik-wielding "charmers," creature-shifters, vampires, a hot guy who can fling fireballs... and one looming Very Big Bad.
All Sky wants is to escape this chaos (at first) - and that goes double after accidentally "bonding" with hot-fireball-guy he thought was a one-night stand. Sky's been through the emotional wringer enough in his life to be super uncomfy with the idea of being tied to ANYONE, much less any of this mess - so that's first on the list: break the bond.
Like everything in this book, it doesn't work out as planned. But it's a hell of a ride.
Sky himself got my attention in ways a lot of protags - especially first-person, especially YA or threshold, we're playing on hard mode for me here - don't. His narration is a glorious blend of often hilarious acerbic-snark, perceptive observation, particularly around abuse and human nature - and, if I can wax f*ckin' poetic for a second here (figured he'd appreciate that), a deceptively vulnerable artistic soul yearning for freedom, acceptance and love. It's hard to write a memorable and sympathetic main character in a sea of main characters trying to find their place in the world, even a magical world. Sky knocks it out of the park.
Blake's writing style is an amazing combination of rich and poetic, and quick and biting. The description of the Charmers' club itself - the pounding music, strobe lights, undulating bodies, described *much better* than I'm doing here - literally is what made me pick up the whole book after reading the free sample. Sometimes you just read a description so delicious, it makes you want to read everything an author has ever written, see how they see the world, or dive into one of their creation and never surface.
There is so much here. It's the first book in a series, and I thank every star in the sky for that, because I want to know *everything* about this world. I want to know the reincarnation and magic-preserving mechanics, I want backstory on every single character (Dezba. Jackson. Everyone!); this world and its population are just so freaking interesting and intriguing, I'm thirsty for knowledge in a way I haven't been in a long time.
So recommended. Please pick this up, if only because I need people to *yell about* it with!
I am the sky; watch me rage with storms.
* * *
You may notice I stuck this one in my "gems" shelf. That's because this is one of those terribly underappreciated and unsung books you want to catch on like wildfire. I mean it when I say it's one of my favorites I've read in a long time, and first of all I highly recommend picking up this hidden treasure. (Hopefully, it and books like it won't be hidden for long!)
The concept is an eye-catcher, intriguing as hell at first glance. A "liesmith" named Sky (which makes my opening quote even better~), a young man with two powerful gifts. His favorite is art, painting beauty and capturing essences of people and emotion on paper - and his least-favorite, being able to feel when people around him lie. Which hurts like hell. Sky spends his days earning money for his abusive mother (emotionally and physically - warning for that; this is a story about finding yourself and healing, but there are some hard bits to read on the abuse front. Incredibly powerful and important, though), taking on "clients" and telling them who's lying... until he and his BFF Riley fall into a mess of magik-wielding "charmers," creature-shifters, vampires, a hot guy who can fling fireballs... and one looming Very Big Bad.
All Sky wants is to escape this chaos (at first) - and that goes double after accidentally "bonding" with hot-fireball-guy he thought was a one-night stand. Sky's been through the emotional wringer enough in his life to be super uncomfy with the idea of being tied to ANYONE, much less any of this mess - so that's first on the list: break the bond.
Like everything in this book, it doesn't work out as planned. But it's a hell of a ride.
Sky himself got my attention in ways a lot of protags - especially first-person, especially YA or threshold, we're playing on hard mode for me here - don't. His narration is a glorious blend of often hilarious acerbic-snark, perceptive observation, particularly around abuse and human nature - and, if I can wax f*ckin' poetic for a second here (figured he'd appreciate that), a deceptively vulnerable artistic soul yearning for freedom, acceptance and love. It's hard to write a memorable and sympathetic main character in a sea of main characters trying to find their place in the world, even a magical world. Sky knocks it out of the park.
Blake's writing style is an amazing combination of rich and poetic, and quick and biting. The description of the Charmers' club itself - the pounding music, strobe lights, undulating bodies, described *much better* than I'm doing here - literally is what made me pick up the whole book after reading the free sample. Sometimes you just read a description so delicious, it makes you want to read everything an author has ever written, see how they see the world, or dive into one of their creation and never surface.
There is so much here. It's the first book in a series, and I thank every star in the sky for that, because I want to know *everything* about this world. I want to know the reincarnation and magic-preserving mechanics, I want backstory on every single character (Dezba. Jackson. Everyone!); this world and its population are just so freaking interesting and intriguing, I'm thirsty for knowledge in a way I haven't been in a long time.
So recommended. Please pick this up, if only because I need people to *yell about* it with!
March 19, 2018
loved the build up of the storyline though the seemed rushed towards the end. Overall a good long read and hope theres more to come with these characters they grew on me.
December 2, 2017
A good premise and interesting characters, but the villain was rather flat after the build up and the main character waxed too often into poetic, angsty internal monologuing, which cut the action and made me lose focus at times. I wish the climax had been more...interesting, and there just seemed to be some contrived feud ex machina. Still, I liked Sky and could see myself reading more of his adventures.
January 24, 2018
2.5 stars rounded up.
There was a lot of potential in this book that mostly wasn't delivered on. Plus, I have a hard time taking any book that has the main character refer to the love interest as "problematic" seriously.
There was a lot of potential in this book that mostly wasn't delivered on. Plus, I have a hard time taking any book that has the main character refer to the love interest as "problematic" seriously.
December 26, 2017
I enjoyed this book, but it suffered from needing more editing. Otherwise I would have rated it much higher. Writing was excellent.
October 22, 2017
I don't know why but I really liked this book. The plot is a bit haphazard but I found the relationship between the 2 main characters very captivating. CNs for child abuse, domestic violence.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews