January | 2017 | fuonlyknew

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Archive for January, 2017

My 2016 Reading Challenges Wrap Up

Posted: January 3, 2017 in Books, Reading Challenge, reviews
Tags: fuonlyknew, Laura Thomas, My 2016 Reading Challenges Wrap Up

It was a fantastic year of reading! I’ve already signed up to do some of these again and found a few ones.

Check out my challenges for 2016.

My Completed Reading Challenges for 2016

Click on the badge above to see the rules and sign up!

I had such fun with this last year, I’m going to do it again!

A. Address To Die For

B. Braking For Bodies

C. Candidate For Murder

D. The Deepest Black

E. Eyeshine – Murder In Stoker Hills

J. Joshua and the Arrow Realm

K. Kaitlin’s Tale

L. The Lobby

M. Memory House

N. No Such Thing As Werewolves

O. Over Easy

P. The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum

Q. Masquerading Magician

R. Red Dot

W. Who Walks The Night

X. Onyx Webb

Y. Young Adult Fiction – Killer Box Set

Z. Mutation Z

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2016 Horror Reading Challenge

I had such fun this year. I went for Horror Hound – 16- books.

And I actually read and reviewed 63. Guess you can tell I love my horror. LOL

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I found this challenge, hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews, on my friend Stormi’s blog @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! . Thanks Stormi! I read so many cozies that the Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge is definitely one for me! Click On Yvonne’s blog link for rules and to sign up.

I went with Level 3 – Super Sleuth – Read 13-20 books.

And I actually read and reviewed 23. I did it!

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Reading challenge banner

I also completed my Goodreads Challenge to read 125 books. I completed my challenge and actually read 210 books.

You can see all of my reviews HERE.

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And I set a personal goal to read more books from my own TBR shelves.

I was able to read and review 68 books.

Here’s my list.

The Martian, Rattlesnake, Outage 1-3, The Woman In Crimson, The Grown Up, Mutation Z 1-6, The Lie, Onyx Webb 1-6, Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper 2-5, The Gleaners, Memory House, Descent, Forest Of Memory, Extinct, The Scorpio Races, Mercury retrograde, Creepy Christmas 2 books, A Hidden Element, Pandemic, Diary Of A Haunting, Witches, Tortures Of The Damned, Below, The Flip, Stillwell, The History Major, Who Walks The Night, Death Catch, Insects, Dawn Of The Spiders, Pale Rider, Allies & Enemies, The Army Of The Night., The Dead Of Winter, Every Color Of The Night, Uninvited Guests, Listen To Me Speak, Psychopathia, West Of Dead, Station 331, 332, and 333, Weird 1-3, Shallow Graves, Wally The Warm Weather Penguin, They Rise, Space Cowboys & Aliens, Chasers Of The Light, No Such Thing As Werewolves, NightShoft, The Northwoods.

This includes series reads, short stories, and children’s books spanning all genres.

I believe that comes to 68 books. The only problem is I probably added a bunch too. LOL

You can find the reviews on my Review Page HERE.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

When The Reaper Comes by John L. DeBoer ~ Excerpt and Giveaway

Posted: January 2, 2017 in Action/Adventure, giveaways, suspense, thriller
Tags: Author John L. DeBoer, giveaway, suspense, thriller, When The reaper Comes

When The Reaper Comes

by John L. DeBoer

Genre: Thriller,Suspense, Action

As the NSA gets a strong lead on one of the most prominent faces of ISIS, the Islamic State embarks on a bold course of action—an attack on American soil.

Former Navy SEAL Adam Taylor, on a break between assignments for a global paramilitary security firm, is visiting his folks in his home town when he gets a new mission—provide security for a rock star who is in town for a St. Patrick’s Day concert. Unknown to Adam, a team of American ISIS soldiers will soon arrive with a plan to wreak havoc on the Jersey shore, and Adam will get caught up in a deadly game of wits between the terrorist menace and those tasked to protect the citizens of the homeland.

Goodreads * Amazon

Abdel Hadad looked down at the drawing Yusuf Khouri had made. He pointed at the X at the rear left corner of the Paramount Theater. “That’s as close as we can get?”

“Without being obvious and thus,” Khouri smiled, “without getting caught.”

“It’s a pretty substantial structure,” Basara said, also standing at the dinette and staring at the diagram on the table. “I checked it out yesterday.”

“I know that,” Khouri replied. “But the point is to cause panic, not bring down the building. When the audience and their entertainment all stampede out of the theater like spooked cattle, that’s when the real action starts. From here” – he put his finger on the sheet of paper – “here, and here.”

“That’s a six-foot fence around the service parking area, dude,” Basara said, shaking his head.

Khouri fixed him with a hard look. He knew Basara was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but his flippant, negative attitude had become annoying. “Muhammad, I live here, remember? I know about the fence. I also know it’s wood. I loosened two boards early this morning. We’ll have a clear field of fire. That’s my job, anyway. You and Abdel will be at the corners.”

“Okay, Yusuf,” Hadad said. “Callahan and the band will come out the service entrance to their bus in the fenced-in lot that you’ll have covered. And Muhammad and I will mow down the people and any cops streaming out the exits. All well and good. But we’re supposed to get away after, right? I don’t mind being killed in battle, but I didn’t sign up for a suicide mission.”

Khouri nodded. “Nor did I, Abdel. The beach is the escape route. Our car will be parked two blocks north and one block west here at the Berkeley Hotel, on 6^th Avenue.” He pointed at a square on the paper. “We’ll get away in the panic and confusion. Just a few off-duty cops are used at these concerts for security at the entrances and for directing traffic after. They’ll have standard-issue handguns only. Sustained fire on the place will keep their heads down. By the time reinforcements arrive, we’ll be gone. We’ll take off our ski masks, ditch them under the boardwalk, and head north.”

Basara snorted. “Yeah, just three dudes with AK-47s strolling on the beach in the moonlight. This ain’t Tripoli, man.”

Khouri looked at Hadad as he gestured with his thumb at the other man. “Is he for real?”

Hadad shrugged. “L.A.”

Khouri turned back to Basara who was frowning at him, lips tight, obviously not pleased at being dissed. “Look, Muhammad, if you want to back out, now is the time. I’m sure the sheikh will understand.”

Basara glared at him, fists clenched, jaw muscles working, before his shoulders relaxed and he shook his head. “Hey, man, it’s just my way of talking about problems, that’s all. I didn’t mean anything by it. Of course I don’t want out. I’m in this the whole nine yards.”

After graduating from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, I did my surgical residency in the U.S. Army at Madigan Army Medical Center, Ft. Lewis, Washington. I then spent three years in the Medical Corps as a General Surgeon before leaving the Army for

private practice. Thirty years later, I retired to begin a new career as a writer. I enjoy cooking, tennis, politics, films and film history, the wonders of the cosmos, and, of course, reading.

Thrillers is one of my favorite genres, so thrillers is what I like to write. My wife and I (mainly Diane) raised two sons we’re proud of and who are pursuing careers having nothing to do with the medical field! After living in Pennsylvania for a number of years, Diane and

I settled in North Carolina, where the winters are easy to take and the only weather we get antsy about is the occasional hurricane.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

My Monday Minis Reviews #51 ~ Ink and Bone and Ink and Bone

Posted: January 2, 2017 in Fantasy, horror, Monday's Minis, Mytery/Thriller, reviews, YA
Tags: 4 Star Review, Ink and Bone, Lisa Unger, Rachel Caine

Welcome to My Monday Minis Reviews where I share short reviews of books I’ve read. For today I’ll be sharing two books with the same titles but different authors and story lines.

Ink and Bone

by Lisa Unger

Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Horror

My Review

After reading the synopsis for this book, no way was I not reading it.

A father and son shot, left wounded in the Hollows while the daughter, Abbey, is dragged away by her abductor.

A young woman, haunted by dreams and ghosts, paints her body with tattoos, slowly losing control of her gifts.

The Hollows, buried in winter snow, not giving up it’s secrets.

A mother struggling to stay sane, makes a last desperate attempt to find her daughter.

I enjoy it when a story pulls me in right from the beginning and the author did just that. I lost track of things going on around me and kept reading …. kept reading, until I was done.

The character’s are strongly developed and drive the story, and the plot is busy and exhilarating, reminding me of a dangerous winding road. You race around each bend, never knowing what waits in the road to send the story out of control.

A real page turner for anyone looking for a thriller with some suspense and horror, plus a bit of the paranormal thrown in.

4 Stars

Synopsis

An instant page-turner (Lisa Gardner) that straddles the line between thriller and horror…sure to appeal to a wide range of readers, including Stephen King fans. (Booklist, starred) A young woman’s mysterious gift forces her into the middle of a dangerous investigation of a little girl’s disappearance.

Twenty-year-old Finley Montgomery is rarely alone. Visited by people whom others can’t see and haunted by prophetic dreams, she has never been able to control or understand the things that happen to her. When Finley’s abilities start to become too strong for her to handle – and even the roar of her motorcycle or another dazzling tattoo can’t drown out the voices – she turns to the only person she knows who can help her: her grandmother Eloise Montgomery, a renowned psychic living in The Hollows, New York.

Merri Gleason is a woman at the end of her tether after a ten-month-long search for her missing daughter, Abbey. With almost every hope exhausted, she resorts to hiring Jones Cooper, a detective who sometimes works with psychic Eloise Montgomery. Merri’s not a believer, but she’s just desperate enough to go down that road, praying that she’s not too late. Time, she knows, is running out.

As a harsh white winter moves into The Hollows, Finley and Eloise are drawn into the investigation, which proves to have much more at stake than even the fate of a missing girl. As Finley digs deeper into the town and its endless layers, she is forced to examine the past, even as she tries to look into the future. Only one thing is clear: The Hollows gets what it wants, no matter what.

Amazon

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Ink and Bone

by Rachel Caine

Genre: YA Fantasy

My Review

A book about the Great Library of Alexandria, and a fantasy to boot. I was sold and knew it would be a good fit for me.

Owning books is forbidden in this world. You can view and read books through the use of alchemy, but can’t actually own a book.

I don’t know about you but I love my physical books. I just know I’d break the rules and something terrible would happen. And so it goes with this story. Jess breaks the rules with his illegal cache of books. How interesting as he’s assigned to spy on those who break those very rules. When something wondrous and potentially dangerous is created it could change the world. Chaos ensues and it’s not just books that will be burned.

Ooh, now how does that grab ya? Once I got familiar with this world I was quickly swept away. Lots of intrigue and suspense kept me enthralled right to the finale.

This is an exciting beginning to a promising fantasy series. I’ll be visiting it again.

4 Stars

Synopsis

In an exhilarating new series, “New York Times” bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.
Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family. Jess has been sent to be his family spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library s service.
When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe knowledge is more valuable than any human life and soon both heretics and books will burn.”

Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

What’s New On My Bookshelf #187 ~ It’s a brand new year!

Posted: January 1, 2017 in Freebies!, giveaways, reviews, What's New on My Bookshelf
Tags: fuonlyknew, Laura Thomas, my weekly book news, The Sunday Post

bookshelves photo: Bookshelf bookshelves.jpg

This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.

I’m also linking up with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Sunday Post

Some chit chat.

Happy New year!

I don’t know about you, but, boy, am I ever ready for 2017. I sure hope it’s a good one.

I have so many plans for change this year, in my personal life and with my reading and blog. I’ll be out there looking for a new job. Cross your fingers and toes for me! And I plan to make some changes with books and my blog.

I want to try to winnow down my TBR. Been working on that already. In order to accomplish that ginormous task, I need to stop taking in as many review books. I plan to be a bit more selective and still take in ones from authors I’m already reading.

I also plan to TRY to quit grabbing freebies. I know there will be some I can’t resist, but I need to tone that down or my TBR will just keep growing.

And I want to work on my blog some. I won’t be changing the look. I’ve had it a long time and it’s me! But I plan to add some new post features, one of them being a Kid Korner meme so I can review all of the fun children’s and young reader’s books I’ve enjoyed.

I’m also going to focus more attention on my Monday Minis Reviews, Freakin Fridays, and Saturday Screams review posts and keep them more regular. That helps out a lot with my TBR mountain too.

Got more ideas but I need to see how they fit in before I commit.

How about you? Got any big changes you plan to make?

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New books this week.

And this audible book. I had to have it after watching the wicked movie.

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I completed all of my reading challenges. You can click on the banners or go HERE to view them. Sure had fun this year.

I was stuck on the letter Y but finally found a book that fit.

Had fun with this in 2015 and did it again for 2016. I chose Horror Hound and pledged to read 16 books, and I had a feeling I’d have no trouble with this one. I read and reviewed 63 books.

I went with Level 3 – Super Sleuth : 13-20 books and read and reviewed 23.

And no problem completing this either as I love my cozies.

I completed my Goodreads Challenge. Pledged to read 125 books and actually read 210.

And had my own personal TBR challenge and read and reviewed 68 books.

I’ll be signing up for the Goodreads Challenge again this year along with doing my personal TBR challenge. I also signed up again for the 2017 Alphabet Soup Challenge and found a new cozy challenge to try.

Click on the banners to check out my pledges and sign up if you want to join in!

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And here are some freebies for ya. Click on the covers to get your copies. Remember to make sure they’re still free before you hit that buy button.