The Hands of Tarot, Review and Guest Blog!

I am beyond excited to have author, SM Blooding on my blog today!

She has recently released a riveting, steam punk novel titled:

The Hands of Tarot

She killed his father.
She imprisoned and beat him.
And now she thinks he’s her trophy.
Synn El’Asim will do almost anything to prove her wrong. But he’s only proving her right.
Queen Nix awakened his Mark of power and inducted him into the House of Wands. She knew what she was doing. The son of the two most powerful Families standing against her is the ultimate prize.
What she didn’t take into consideration was that maybe he was too strong for her. 

Maybe.
But the Families aren’t. They’ve been weakened and it’ll take a lot more than one young man with a powerful Mark to take on the Hands of Tarot.

Before I get into my gushing review, SM Blooding would like to share a very special post with us! If you don't already know, she is part of a paranormal investigation team: The Colorado Paranormal Rescue!

How awesome is that! 

And just what does that entail, you ask?

A Day in the Shoes of A Paranormal Investigator

By SM Blooding

If you’re reading this post, you’ve probably watched Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Paranormal State, Most Haunted, among others. When you’re watching those shows, being a paranormal investigator sounds and looks AMAZING! You get to go to crazy locations, see and feel the creepiest things ever! Every day as a paranormal investigator has just got to be the best trip ever!

Not really.

I’m an electrician. I trace the man-made EMF (Electro Magnetic Frequency) so we can eliminate that.  There are a lot of people who are sensitive to the kind of energy that flows off of wires, or out of boxes, or off the TV, microwave, or water heater. EMF can make a person feel like there’s someone watching you, it can make a person feel sick, and if the EMF is high enough and the person is sensitive enough, you can see things that aren’t there. So when we know where all man-made EMF is, it’s much easier to trace EMF of potential ghosts or spirit energies.

The craziest experience I ever had was at the Colorado Prison Museum. We investigate during the day usually. Doing it at night makes things more “exciting”, but what it really does is eliminate the man-made EMF. I don’t need to eliminate it.

I’d done my initial EMF sweep. It was surprisingly high. Prisons are made of CMU blocks and cement. My initial thought was that the prison would be completely dead. However, it wasn’t. The windows all had a reading, as did some of the walls. There was a bed that had a reading, but only for a few minutes. After I came back, the EMF reading in the middle of the bed was gone. I was getting pretty excited.

We were in the middle of one of the cells. I had an EMF reading of 1.2, which was the base reading. We decided to try and EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) session because it was quiet. We were standing there, and asking questions of the air. A lot of time is spent talking to air, asking questions…of the air and waiting to get a reply that you’ll only hear after you’re playing back your audio.

I got a hit on my EMF. It jumped to a 15 in the middle of nowhere.  We asked a few questions. How old was this person? Was he guilty or innocent? And then the EMF dropped to zero. Zero! I tried to find it again, and followed the energy source out of the cell and down the hall. It moved around the other patrons that were in the hallway and disappeared down the stairs.

That. Was. AWESOME! My oober geek was on fire!

Evidence review is rather boring. You listen to events you already lived through and hope you find that EVP that you can’t explain away as someone’s noisy jacket - @_@ - noisy shoes, whispering investigators, dogs, or the house settling. If there’s any doubt, throw it out. Otherwise, you just look like someone trying too hard to be cool. Paranormal investigators are only “legit” if they’re exciting. *shakes head*

Well, we found an EVP. We’d asked the spirit in the cell I followed into the hall if he were guilty or innocent.

He was guilty!

OH! CHILLS! It. Was. AWESOME!!!!

Those are the moments that keep you going. Well, that and when you’re really helping someone feel safe in her house again. That keeps us trudging through the investigations where you’re literally just talking to air. LOL! You’ve got to have a group you enjoy hanging out with because you’re talking to them a LOT! 

SM Blooding lives in Colorado with her pet rock, Rockie, and their new addition, Mr. Bird, who’s a real bird. She likes to hike the beautiful Rocky Mountains, and is learning to play the piano and guitar. Currently, she’s trying to MURDER them both. Friends call her Frankie.

She’s dated vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, weapons smugglers and US Government assassins. Yes. She has stories.

Visit her on:

Twitter / Facebook / Website/blog / Goodreads 

~ MY REVIEW ~

I have to start by saying, this book was one that I had a good feeling about. I knew I had to read it the first time I saw a blog post about it. Everything about The Hands of Tarot, caught my attention and gushed originality. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. Swept up by this story from the first, wonderfully written page, I could not put it down. 

The Hands of Tarot has some of the best world building I have read yet. You can picture the air ships and Sky City, even the land beasts the characters encounter. The most important thing to me about a book, is that it transports you into another world when you read it. This book certainly did that for me. Man, do I wish we had air ships! SM Blooding has done an impeccable job with the creation of this world. It is exciting and slightly terrifying all at the same time. Magic and science mingle together perfectly and each character leaps from the pages.  One of the most memorable characters, Nix, both disgusted and intrigued me. The terror she unleashes on Synn is unimaginable, yet I was somehow transfixed by her. Strange. My favorite character was Keeley. Her Mark was one of my favorites, giving her the ability to heal. Synn made a strong main character. Let's just say, Synn has quite a 'coming of age' so to speak. From the second he gains his Mark, he is thrust into a whirlwind of bad. But, he manages to come out fighting and transforms into a leader. His journey is as original as it is brilliant. It is one I would follow over and over again. 
The beginning, middle and end of this book were equally as amazing. The pace never slows and by the time you reach the end you realize you are sitting at the very edge of your chair, nose practically pressed to the screen. (Or book if you don't have an ereader...) You are left craving more. 

The Hands of Tarot is a mix of steampunk, fantasy and science fiction. I can not implore you enough to READ THIS BOOK. 

It is riveting and I have NO DOUBT you will love every page.

I look forward to reading more in this series and other titles by SM Blooding. She is an amazing writer and has a mind most of us only dream about having. 

The Hands of Tarot is available in print and digital format from:

Amazon – Kindle /  Amazon – Paperback  /  B&N – Paperback  / Autographed copy