Cat, Kassie, Sian and Loi are anything but damsels in distress.
Fed up with a lack of decent male specimens they cast a love spell in the hopes of finding their soul-mates. And inadvertently land themselves on another planet. Oops.

The Arrival, follows the girls' adventures as they stumble through a foreign and often hostile world where humans are NOT at the top of the food chain.
Friendships are forged and love teeters on the horizon while the threat of civil war looms thanks to the girls' very unexpected 'gifts'.
Will the girls master these gifts in time to survive a war in which, not only are they the ultimate weapons, but also the ultimate prize?

Nicole's website is Damsel In a Dirty Dress. Received in ebook format from netgalley and read on an ipad on kindle software. Formatting was generally ok, with correct page breaks etc, but random font size changes which was just mildly annoying.

Premise of the book is good - 4 women in a fairly tight group, all fit and with various skills, including a mixture of archery and martial arts, are fed up with the lack of decent available men (they can beat the ones in their martial arts classes every time), conjure up a spell to find their soul mates. This takes them to another planet, where they find themselves with magical skills in a world full of sorceress, dragons, griffons, and some men they are immediately attracted to.

The initial day or two when the girls meet the guard goes a bit slow, but when they start heading towards the castle to meet the Elena - who predicted the girls' arrival - it speeds up. The rest of the book details the time spent as the girls have a month to learn about and control their new skills as "Elementals" before they fight against the mortal enemy of the realm. They also have to get used to their attraction to the men identified as their soulmates.

The premise of the book is good, and some of the passages (such as the ball, the visit to the local town) show a lot of potential. However, as per other reviewers, the multiple POVs (changing 1st person in Catherine, to 3rd party for the rest of the characters), often multiple times within the same chapter, is annoying and distracting, and ultimately slows the book down. McDonald can write both perspectives well, but doing both this way detracts from the story.

Others have discussed about the ending, and I'm sure that you can find out more if you searched for it. I wont do a spoiler here, but will say it's a little disappointing for the story to end where it does.

Cat, Kassie, Sian and Loi are anything but damsels in distress.
Fed up with a lack of decent male specimens they cast a love spell in the hopes of finding their soul-mates. And inadvertently land themselves on another planet. Oops.

The Arrival, follows the girls' adventures as they stumble through a foreign and often hostile world where humans are NOT at the top of the food chain.
Friendships are forged and love teeters on the horizon while the threat of civil war looms thanks to the girls' very unexpected 'gifts'.
Will the girls master these gifts in time to survive a war in which, not only are they the ultimate weapons, but also the ultimate prize?

Nicole's website is Damsel In a Dirty Dress. Received in ebook format from netgalley and read on an ipad on kindle software. Formatting was generally ok, with correct page breaks etc, but random font size changes which was just mildly annoying.

Premise of the book is good - 4 women in a fairly tight group, all fit and with various skills, including a mixture of archery and martial arts, are fed up with the lack of decent available men (they can beat the ones in their martial arts classes every time), conjure up a spell to find their soul mates. This takes them to another planet, where they find themselves with magical skills in a world full of sorceress, dragons, griffons, and some men they are immediately attracted to.

The initial day or two when the girls meet the guard goes a bit slow, but when they start heading towards the castle to meet the Elena - who predicted the girls' arrival - it speeds up. The rest of the book details the time spent as the girls have a month to learn about and control their new skills as "Elementals" before they fight against the mortal enemy of the realm. They also have to get used to their attraction to the men identified as their soulmates.

The premise of the book is good, and some of the passages (such as the ball, the visit to the local town) show a lot of potential. However, as per other reviewers, the multiple POVs (changing 1st person in Catherine, to 3rd party for the rest of the characters), often multiple times within the same chapter, is annoying and distracting, and ultimately slows the book down. McDonald can write both perspectives well, but doing both this way detracts from the story.

Others have discussed about the ending, and I'm sure that you can find out more if you searched for it. I wont do a spoiler here, but will say it's a little disappointing for the story to end where it does.

Read my review, an author interview, two teasers, and an excerpt here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2013/02/blog-tour-feasted-on-arrival-b... ( )

In a nutshell, "The Arrival's about four young women from New Zealand who cast a harmless "love spell" to find their soul mates and are transported to another world, where they find they have impressive magical powers. While it took me some getting used to as the story's told from various points of view, I thought that the story line was well developed and fast paced. I certainly enjoyed the interaction and relationship that develops between the girls and the Griffon guards, with Catherine (Cat) and the Captain of the Guard, Prince Alex as the main protagonist in the story. I think you'll find that the book appeals to both male and female readers. I found the story thoroughly believable that the Girls have Elemental magic in this new world in which they find themselves. I felt it works well and not too much time's spent on the girls mastering their abilities.
What a cliffhanger at the end and I certainly look forward to reading part 2.
Jack Murphy ( )

Read my review, an author interview, two teasers, and an excerpt here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2013/02/blog-tour-feasted-on-arrival-b... ( )