Archive for June, 2017

 

Keep in a Cold, Dark Place
Michael F. Stewart
Publication date: May 18th 2017
Genres: Horror, Middle-Grade

My Review

I can’t resist a good horror tale, and I very much enjoy ones spun for kids. I sure wish there had been more like this when I was young. But, you’re never too old to enjoy a gem like this.

Being a sweet, kind-hearted lass, Limpy doesn’t know any better when she places the box of eggs she discovered in the sun to warm. When one of the eggs hatches and out pops a cute little critter, she’s overjoyed. But then another egg hatches, and another. And what started as a kind act turns into horror.

Picturing what hatches from one of the eggs, I immediately thought of an evil Tribble or, if you’ve seen Critters, one of those rolling furry things with the sharp pointy teeth. But that’s just when it and it’s litter mates first get started. They eat. They grow. They change. And they are always hungry, always eating. And they don’t discriminate. From produce to living things, such as, perhaps, a cat, it all looks good to them. What could be next? Maybe a human child? Or an adult? That’s more food.

I ate this story up faster than you can say Keep In A Cold Dark Place. There’s a sense of foreboding right from the start. Limpy is a delightful and resourceful young girl. The creatures are cute, then not so cute. And the writing flows nicely, the author keeping the atmosphere building and the tension high.

A scary good story for young lovers of horror and us older fans of things that go bump in the night.

  4 Stars

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Synopsis

Reaching for her dream, Limpy unleashes a cute, fluffy, NIGHTMARE …

Keep in a cold, dark place. That’s what’s written like some ancient law on every bag of potatoes the family farms. And it’s where Limpy fears she will always remain.

It’s also carved on a box of spheres she discovers in the cellar. Spheres that hatch.

Cute at first, the creatures begin to grow. Then the chickens disappear. The cat is hunted. And something sets the barn ablaze. To survive, Limpy will need to face her greatest fear. The whole family will. Or they may end up in a cold, dark place indeed.

Goodreads / Amazon

 

Author Michael F. Stewart

Michael F. Stewart is winner of both the 2015 Claymore Award and the 2014 inaugural Creation of Stories Award for best YA novel at the Toronto International Book Fair.

He likes to combine storytelling with technology and pioneered interactive storytelling with Scholastic Canada, Australia, and New Zealand’s, anti-cyberbullying program Bully For You. In addition to his award winning Assured Destruction series, he has authored four graphic novels with Oxford University Press Canada’s Boldprint series. Publications of nonfiction titles on Corruption and Children’s Rights are published by Scholastic and early readers are out with Pearson Education.

For adults, Michael has written THE SAND DRAGON a horror about a revenant prehistoric vampire set in the tar sands, HURAKAN a Mayan themed thriller which pits the Maya against the MS-13 with a New York family stuck in the middle, 24 BONES an urban fantasy which draws from Egyptian myth, and THE TERMINALS–a covert government unit which solves crimes in this realm by investigating them in the next.

Herder of four daughters, Michael lives to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library’s first Writer in Residence. To learn more about Michael and his next projects visit his website at www.michaelfstewart.com or connect via Twitter @MichaelFStewart.

Michael is represented by Talcott Notch.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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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 go HERE

Welcome to The Kid’s Korner.

I decided to do this feature as I have so many great children’s books to share. From picture books, to books for beginning readers, to middle graders, I have plenty of fun ones.

I’ve read plenty of A.J. Cosmo’s children’s book and he always keeps it real.

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 Nuts

  by A.J. Cosmo

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Genre: Children’s Book

Ages 4– 9

Grade Level: 1 – 3

My Review

Right from the beginning this story felt so familiar. It began with Wally the squirrel and his sister and parents driving to his grandmother’s house for a family reunion. I remember playing the car games. I Spy and counting objects we passed by. And it never failed, someone always asked, “Are we there yet?”  Remember those family road trips?

The more I read, the more fun I had. If it weren’t for the colorful, fun illustrations I would have forgot this was about a family of squirrels. That’s how much I connected with them. And those illustrations. You should see the expressions on the squirrels faces. Too cute.

And the author gets quite creative with their names. There’s Wally and his sister, Pistachio. His mother, Brazil and father, Almond, Grandma Praline and Uncle Peanut. A few more relatives are introduced. Can you guess what their names might be? Every time I read their names I grinned. It’ll be fun for your kids to see how many “nuts” they recognize.

Wally thinks it’s all about the presents. Everyone exchanges names and brings a gift. He’s impatient to eat so they can start opening them. But family reunions are much more than that. Something Wally will soon learn.

I’ve read many of A.J.’s books and Nuts is one of my favorites. He includes special messages in such clever ways. If my son ever gets around to giving me grandkids, you can bet I’ll share this with them. I can almost hear the snickers and exclamations of excitement when they see the pictures and read about Wally and his family.

   5 Stars

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Synopsis

Ever felt like your family was crazy?

All Wally wants to do is open presents, but before he can he has to endure his nutty family!

Written for siblings of autistic children, this fully-illustrated heart-warming, story teaches tolerance and understanding for everyone.

Amazon

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE

FortuneTeller banner

The Fortune Teller

by Gwendolyn Womack

FortuneTeller cover

GENRE: Romantic Thriller

Blurb

Semele Cavnow appraises antiquities for an exclusive Manhattan auction house, deciphering ancient texts―and when she discovers a manuscript written in the time of Cleopatra, she knows it will be the find of her career. Its author tells the story of a priceless tarot deck, now lost to history, but as Semele delves further, she realizes the manuscript is more than it seems. Both a memoir and a prophecy, it appears to be the work of a powerful seer, describing devastating wars and natural disasters in detail thousands of years before they occurred.

The more she reads, the more the manuscript begins to affect Semele’s life. But what happened to the tarot deck? As the mystery of her connection to its story deepens, Semele can’t shake the feeling that she’s being followed. Only one person can help her make sense of it all: her client, Theo Bossard. Yet Theo is arrogant and elusive, concealing secrets of his own, and there’s more to Semele’s desire to speak with him than she would like to admit. Can Semele even trust him?

The auction date is swiftly approaching, and someone wants to interfere―someone who knows the cards exist, and that the Bossard manuscript is tied to her. Semele realizes it’s up to her to stop them: the manuscript holds the key to a two-thousand-year-old secret, a secret someone will do anything to possess.

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Enjoy the excerpt

To my reader: I can see what time you live in, and I feel your eyes upon me. We are from different eras, you and I, and by the time you are reading these words, my ancient world will have long been buried. I am one you call a seer—someone who can divine the future and divine it well.

The power of intuition will have ebbed in your time, so you may not believe this story, or worse, think it a fable. But I assure you, my tale is true. I will begin by telling you about my life before, when I was a girl in Alexandria, Egypt.

In my youth, I did not know I had the sight. Only at certain times did the faintest glimpses of what was to come strike me like glimmers of light. Suddenly, I could see when the rains would come, whether my brother would marry, if my father would buy me the wesekh collar from the market. This kind of simple knowledge would present itself, but for the most part, I thought nothing of these inklings.

Copyright © 2017 by Gwendolyn Womack. All rights reserved.

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Author Gwendolyn Womack

Copyright JennKL Photography

Copyright JennKL Photography

Gwendolyn Womack is the author of the RWA Prism award winning novel The Memory Painter. She writes metaphysical thrillers and love stories that travel history, exploring divination, reincarnation, magic, and time travel. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and is currently working on her third novel.

Website / Twitter / Facebook

 

Buy Links for The Fortune Teller:

Amazon / B&N / iBooks / BAM! / Independent Bookstores

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click on the banner below to follow the tour and comment.

The more you comment, the more chances to win!

Goddess Fish Promotions

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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This is a Tag Team Event hosted by myself and Sherry.

 It’s always a pleasure to share more books by Ashley Fontainne. I’ve read many of her books and plan to read everything she writes.

For today, I’m sharing my review of Ruined Wings. I’m very excited for Ashley as this has been optioned for a movie.

After reading my review, head on over to Sherry’s blog at fundinmental and check out her review.

Enter her giveaway for another chance to win!

And Ruined Wings is free. Click on the links below the synopsis to grab the eBook.

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Ruined Wings

by Ashley Fontainne

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Genre: Fiction

My Review

This story isn’t an easy read. The author writes a bare bones, honest and hard to take look into the painful lure and eventual fall to the call of drugs.

Callie is a rising track star. Her future is bright and she has exciting plans. But fate intervenes. And when she loses her brother and father to a car accident her world comes crashing down.

Not strong enough to handle her grief, Callie chooses drugs to numb her pain. And thus begins a long painful journey as the girl with with everything going for her slides to the rocky bottom.

Drug addiction is ugly. Loved ones become someone else. And as the drugs tighten their grip, they’re led to do despicable things to get more drugs. The love of their family and friends turns to anger and disgust.

Ruined Wings should be required reading in schools, for students and their parents. I used to look at those addicted to drugs as lost causes. Not having known them before the drugs stole their lives, I didn’t realize how quickly anyone could become hooked.

Ashley Fontainne takes you through it step by painful step. She doesn’t try to paint a pretty happy ending. I wanted to hug Callie. Tell her everything would be okay. But only Callie could save herself.

Thanks for shaking me up and opening my eyes, Ashley.

  5  Stars

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Synopsis

“Ruined Wings is raw, real and a terrifying journey into addiction. A must read for every parent.” – Elaine Raco Chase, bestselling author.

Seventeen-year-old Callie Novak is on the cusp of changing her life as she warms up for the final heat in the Women’s 1600 meter track and field competition. While she sets a new state record, her family’s worse nightmare is just beginning.

When tragedy strikes the Novak family every reader will feel the pain of grief, the perils of drug abuse, the despair that leads to a shocking downward spiral and the strength that’s needed to overcome addiction.

Purchase Links

Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Kobo / Audible

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Author Ashley Fontainne

 

Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within us are her favorite reads.

Her muse for penning the Eviscerating the Snake series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Ashley’s love for this book is what sparked her desire to write her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy. With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero Balance. focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries answered that question: far and wide.

Her short thriller entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards contest and is currently in production for a feature film.

Her paranormal thriller entitled The Lie, won the GOLD medal in the 2013 Illumination Book Awards for fiction/suspense and is also in production for a feature film entitled Foreseen.

Ashley’s decided to delve into the paranormal with a Southern Gothic horror/suspense novel, Growl, which released in January of 2015. The suspenseful mystery Empty Shell, released in September of 2014. Ashley will be teaming up with Lillian Hansen (Ashley calls her mom!) to pen a three-part murder mystery/suspense series entitled The Magnolia Series. The first book, Blood Ties, released the Summer of 2015.

Whispered Pain released in October of 2015 and Night Court released December 13, 2015.

Ashley also hosts The WriteStuff, a popular BlogTalk Radio show, each Friday night at 10 p.m. CST.

Blog

Author Website

Foreseen Movie Website – See the trailer

Number Seventy-Five Movie Website

       

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Ashley is giving away one Audible Copy of Ruined Wings

Entry is easy. Just leave your email address so I can contact you if you win, let me know which format you are entering for, and answer this question:

Have you ever done something you knew you  shouldn’t, but couldn’t stop yourself?

Now hop on over the Sherry’s post on fundinmental for her review and another chance to win!

Giveaway ends June 27th.

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Books by Ashley Fontainne

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And coming September 4th, 2017.

Blood Loss (The Magnolia Series Book 2) by [Fontainne, Ashley, Hansen, Lillian]

Click on the covers to see on Amazon.

And click on the links below to see my reviews.

Growl

The Lie

Night Court

Suicide Lake

Tainted Cure

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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 go HERE

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by Ambrosia  @ The Purple Booker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read.
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

My Teaser for this week is from

Passport To Murder

A Professor Prather Mystery #2

by Mary Angela

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Genre: Mystery

 My teaser from page 107 in the Paperback.

“I think Jean Erickson knew more than she was telling us. She was acting odd, wasn’t she?”

“It’s hard to tell how someone would act after being accosted by a curly-headed woman on a mission,” said Lenny.

This book has tickled my funny bone several times already. Sure is a fun one!

This book releases on September 15th, 2017 and my teaser is from the ARC copy.

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Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

Start with an unlucky number. Throw in a romantic location. Include a dashing Frenchman and an uncompromising professor. And you have all the ingredients for a passport to murder.

This semester, it seems that Professor Prather’s dreams are about to come true. Ever since she was a young girl, she’s imagined going to France, and her French colleague, André Duman, has finally made that trip possible. Over spring break, she and André are to lead a group of students and faculty to Paris to explore the City of Light. But before she can utter her first bonjour, a professor dies, and they are stuck in Minneapolis. She returns to Copper Bluff with an unstamped passport and a mystery to solve.
When André becomes the prime suspect, Emmeline puts her research skills to good use, determined to find out who really killed the professor and spoiled their spring break plans. With thirteen travelers assembled, the possibilities are varied and villainous. Luckily, her dear friend and sidekick, Lenny Jenkins, is close by. Together, they will sort through the conflicting clues even if it costs them time, trouble, or tenure.

Book 2 in the Professor Prather Mystery series.

Amazon

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How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

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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 go HERE

I’me very excited to share this anthology with you. Got lots to share.

Enjoy the interview with the authors.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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URBAN WOLF Anthology: A brief interview with the authors

 

Wolf in the City by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

 

Linda,how do your characters meet in Wolf in the City? 

They meet on a dark back street in Los Angeles where even cops and gangs fear to tread, and are surprised as heck by seeing another “being” there.

 

Your characters actually come from different paranormal species.

Explain!

The wolf in this city (Jared ) is a sexy werewolf. The female he meets (Kit) is a feisty young vampire. As a most unlikely pairing, they might have to join forces and exchange some body fluids in order to see if bridging the “species” gap is in any way a viable option. Really though . . . who can better understand the problems an “Other” faces than someone who is also “Other”?

 

Is this a love at first sight love story or more of a slow burn?

Weres and vamps have long been enemies . . . so the relationship that unfolds burns slowly, but fiercely.

 

Which do you prefer writing—antiheroes or straight up heroes?

My characters, whether wolf or immortal, all have an innate sense of justice and are on a mission to help to right some of the supernatural world’s wrongs. So though the main character Weres, vampires, and immortals in my books might be anti-heroes according to human society they try to blend in with, they are ultimately dangerous good guys.

 

Wolf, Interrupted by Jillian Stone

 

Jillian, how did your characters meet in Wolf, Interrupted?

There’s been a lethal mauling in one of London’s Underground tube stations. Following up on a routine police report, Detective Inspector Abelseth Durant questions a startlingly attractive young woman who seems to know more than she lets on.

 

We’re curious why you titled your novella Wolf, Interrupted. Explain!

Both the hero and heroine in this novella have put their wolf on hold. After his brother betrayed him, Abelseth Durant became a lone wolf and walked away from his pack. Now he has returned to London and is working a case that almost certainly involves the wolfen underworld. Fearful of her she-wolf, Elle Hathaway has tamed the wilder side of herself by taking a lycanthrope suppressant. Now her supplier is dead and a handsome, but rather bothersome detective is sniffing around asking questions.

 

Is this a love at first sight love story or more of a slow burn?

Both! Never in her life has Elle felt such a fierce attraction to any man. She blames it on the fact that the suppressant is wearing off. Abelseth Durant finds it hard to get the lovely, mysterious young woman out of his head, and he’s almost positive she’s pure uninitiated wolfen—let the sparks and the fur fly!

 

Just how heroic is your hero or heroine? Or are they antiheroes?

Even though Elle is a reluctant wolf she’s less fearful that she realizes and her bravery is soon put to the test. Abelseth Durant has the kind of strength of heart a woman wants in her hero—he’s a wolf prince who never has to remind himself to man up. Plus, he’s deadly sexy!

Thank you both for the wonderful interview. Wishing your tour is a smashing success!

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Urban Wolf 

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Wolf, Interrupted

By Jillian Stone

and

Wolf in the City

by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

 

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: GothicScapes

Date of Publication:  June 12, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-9858714-5

Word Count:  56,000 antho total –ebook

Cover Artist: Jillian Stone

 

Synopsis

Lose yourself in Urban Wolf, two sinfully sexy paranormal shape-shifting romance novellas in one limited edition anthology.

Under a full moon in the big city, sinfully sexy urban wolves face all too human conflicts with courage and heart. Both novellas capture the danger, romantic thrills, and excitement of the red-hot shifter genre, including finding a soulmate and everlasting love. If you’re a fan of werewolf romance, you won’t want to miss this limited edition anthology.

Amazon

 

Urban Wolf Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/133813643829013/

 

Tagline:  Never try to deny the she-wolf inside.

 

Wolf, Interrupted by Jillian Stone

Elle Hathaway has spent most of her young life in fear of herself. At least the part of her that grows fangs and claws. With the help of a lycanthrope suppressant, she’s made it through puberty, university, even her first job without so much as a shift. Then one night, deep in the tunnels of the Underground, her life changes forever.

Detective Inspector Abelseth Durant is investigating the lethal mauling of an unknown victim in the Covent Garden tube station, and Ms. Elle Hathaway is a person of interest. Sensing her wolf nature, he is mystified by the lovely young woman, and when Elle is abducted by a rival pack, Abelseth realizes he is being pulled back into London’s wolfen underworld.

Shaken out of blissful denial, Elle teams up with the handsome inspector to evade the renegade pack. But as her situation grows dire, Abelseth knows the only way he can truly protect the strong-willed beauty is to convince her to shift and claim her as his mate. There’s just one little problem with his plan—the reluctant Ms. Hathaway.

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Enjoy the Excerpt from Wolf, Interrupted by Jillian Stone:

Detective Inspector Durant was a hottie and he knew it. What remained in his favor, she supposed, was that he didn’t seem to pay much attention to his looks, hence the unkemptness, nor did he appear overly impressed with himself.

He sat quietly in front of her, consulting his smartphone.

“Looks like New Scotland Yard has gone paperless. Rather high tech of them, wouldn’t you say?”

“I thought we might start with your police report. You can confirm, make corrections, elaborate—whatever comes to mind.” He glanced up at her. “If you need clarification, feel free to ask me anything.”

Elle immediately thought of two good questions: Have a girlfriend? Looking for one?

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Tagline: Fur meets fang on the streets of L.A.

 

Wolf in the City by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

Deep in the heart of L.A., in an area that cops and gangs fear, lone wolf Jared James stands guard, hoping to keep others from suffering a similar fate to the one he has endured. He is on a mission to find the monster that made him what he is. Meeting Kit, a feisty vampire with a mission of her own, will either help or hinder his chances to accomplish that goal . . .  but could possibly bridge the divide between two species, and make the long nights much more interesting.

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Enjoy the Excerpt from Wolf In The City by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom:

The watcher he had detected early on appeared on the stone ledge above him, offering Jared another surprise. The female entity was human-like in shape, and almost could have passed for human. But wasn’t.

She was tall, her silhouette extremely narrow. And she had been flexible enough to swing herself up to that ledge. Dressed in body-hugging clothes dark enough to blend with the night, Jared’s unwelcome visitor gave off no viable scent for him to plug into his mental databanks.

Definitely not human. But what?

What kind of anomaly had no scent or heat signature?

What other type of being appeared to be human, but wasn’t?

The night, Jared decided, had just gotten a whole hell of a lot more interesting.

With the shadows at her back and a hood covering her hair, the female’s face wasn’t visible. The part about failing to notice how close she had actually been to his position on the corner gave Jared a twinge of dissatisfaction. This watcher could have had the upper hand if she’d wanted to, for the five seconds it would have taken before the brutality of Jared’s full strength kicked in… and if she had been three feet taller, a hell of a lot broader, and also carried a machine gun.

Though she was drenched in shadows, Jared saw her raise one hand. The object she displayed glittered wickedly in a slender shaft of moonlight, garnering Jared’s full attention. Across her palm lay one of the knives he had taken from the pair of ruffians he’d left humiliated in the alley. The same damn weapon they had waved at him.

Jared shoved a hand into his pocket.

Both knives were missing.

Growls of anger bubbled up inside him.

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About the Authors

Jillian Stone

Jillian Stone is a national award-winning, multi-published author who has written four  Gentlemen of Scotland Yard novels published by Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, as well as the Phaeton Black, Paranormal Detective series published by Brava, Kensington. Currently, she is writing Contemporary Romance, including Wolf, Interrupted, a novella in the anthology release Urban Wolf.

Website / Amazon / Pocket Books / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Linda Thomas-Sundstrom is the author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels and novellas, both dark and light, for HarperCollins/Harlequin Nocturne and GothicScapes, with more than 30 stories that trespass into the supernatural realm.

Linda is the author of contemporary, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy books for Kensington, Amazon Montlake, GothicScapes, Harlequin Nocturne, and Harlequin Desire. She currently has 30 stories that trespass into the supernatural realm, with ton of ideas for more.

Website / Facebook / Goodreads

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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 go HERE

Hi ya’ll!

It’s been ages since I missed a Sunday Post. I love sharing what I’ve received and what I’ve read.

And I especially like my freebies feature where I browse sights and find freebies to share. I love including all genres and age groups so there’s something for everyone.

But, I was out of town most of the weekend, and since I add the freebies Saturday night so they’ll still be free Sunday and I wasn’t home, I decided to hold off and just provide a smile for ya!

Thanks for stopping by!

And check out the links below. I have all of my giveaways and reviews linked for you to check out. And a page with some free books too.

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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 go HERE

State of Hope
Summer Lane
(Collapse #10)
Publication date: June 9th 2017
Genres: Dystopian, New Adult

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE SMASH-HIT PHENOMENON FROM #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR SUMMER LANE.

This is it.

Cassidy Hart and her comrades have returned to their home: California, the final battlefield in the fight against the global terror, Omega. Commander Chris Young is in critical condition, the United States Navy has acquired new weapons, and the militias have just made a discovery that could change everything.

Faced with tragedy, heartbreak, and destruction, Cassidy is tempted to give up.

But she is a fighter. Defeat is not in her blood.

When confronted with the possibility of resurrecting the leadership of the United States of America, she will do anything to make the dream of stability a reality. She and Lieutenant Uriah True, along with the legendary strike team, the Angels of Death, undertake a dangerous and outrageous mission, unlike anything they have ever attempted. They will find themselves in the very epicenter of Omega’s stronghold.

Yet doubt remains. No one can be trusted in this dark new world, and their hope may not be as black and white as it seems. Disappointment and rejection cloud Cassidy’s judgment.

Friends will be lost. Tears will be shed. Sacrifices beyond the imagination will be made. The grim reality and bitter destruction of war will inflict one final sucker punch. The militias desperately attempt to hold their ground, and the Freedom Fighters will do everything they can to destroy the greatest evil this world has ever known. The apocalypse has taken everything from Cassidy, but she will not stop until her heart ceases to beat, and until there is no breath left in her body.

She holds onto hope – hope of a future, hope of victory, and hope of love.

There is no going back. It all ends here.

Are you prepared?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Enjoy this glimpse inside.

When I gather my gear before deploying with Beckham and the rest of the troops, the full realization of what is about to happen next rips through me. It tears my heart in two, thinking about the people we’ve lost leading up to this final fight. And it terrifies me to know that there is a very good chance we will not emerge from this battle victorious.

If anything, I promise myself that we will damage Omega enough to weaken them, so that future generations will have the courage to fight back, too. So that they can remember what it is to stand, to have courage, and to lay your life down for your friends, your family, and the things that you believe in.

At the very root of our humanity, something greater binds us all together. If not spirit, then it must be the will to survive. Because that is what is at the heart of everything we do: the desire to continue to survive for the sake of our children and for the sake of the history of this country we love and call home. For the sake of the good memories of this place, for the sake of the rolling hills and the towering mountaintops. For the sake of freedom and love and family and unity and security. For all of us.

I know, as I strap my rifle across my back and slide my knife into the sheath on my hip, that what happens in the next few weeks will bring our doom or our victory. Either way, our destiny is waiting. The last fight looms ever closer on the horizon, like a hellish red glow moving on the wind.

I set my backpack on the floor and take a knee, resting my arm on my leg.

“God,” I whisper. “If you’re listening, and you’re good like Father Kareem says you are…watch over us. I’m not a praying girl, and I’m not good at asking for help…but please. We need something, and it’s got to be more than a rabbit’s foot or a lucky charm. We need something bigger than that. I’m begging you…I’m begging anyone.”

I lift my head, looking at the ceiling, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks.

If this is how I die, I have made peace with it.

If this is how the Freedom Fighters perish, we will rest in peace, satisfied with our sacrifice and our devotion to the cause of freedom. As I leave the house behind, and I see my friends gathered around Beckham’s convoy, waiting to take us to the airfield where we will depart for Monterey, one thought strikes me. I cannot shake it, and it cycles in my head, over and over again, until I say it aloud.

“Don’t give up hope,” I say.

I hold onto this shred of goodness with every ounce of my being because I know it is the only thing that has any chance of keeping me alive until the end.

 

Author Summer Lane

Summer Lane is the #1 bestselling author of the national smash-hit books of the Collapse Series, Zero Trilogy, Bravo Saga, Collapse: The Illustrated Guide, and Unbreakable SEAL. She owns Writing Belle Publishing, and is also an extensively experienced journalist and creative writing teacher. Summer operates Writing Belle, an online magazine where she has worked with hundreds of authors from around the world and helps bring exposure to their work. Summer takes great pride in being an entrepreneur, creative spirit and business owner.

Summer lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, Scott (who can fix anything!), and their German Shepherd, a sweet girl named Kona. Summer loves to travel, read and cook. She uses the experiences of her traveling adventures as inspiration for her books. Some of her favorite places in the world include the forest (any forest, anywhere!), Hawaii (the tropical setting is beautiful!) and Southern California (so many story possibilities!).

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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Welcome to The Friday 56 hosted by Freda’s Voice.

 

This is a really fun meme!

The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!

My 56 for this week is from:

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead

  by Barbara Bourland

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Genre: Mystery

 My 56 from the Hardcover.

It wasn’t unusual to see so many people occupying the same space, not in New York, not now, but for women like Catherine Ono and Hillary Whitney to live all the way out here, in this house on the bad side of the park, as long ago as 2002, thought they likely had the money to live elsewhere…he didn’t understand, which meant there had to be something he was missing.

This book is surprising me so far. Quality writing and quite the intriguing plot. I like that!

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Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

When stylish Hillary Whitney dies alone in a locked, windowless conference room at the offices of high-concept magazine RAGE Fashion Book, her death is initially ruled an unfortunate side effect of the unrelenting pressure to be thin.

But two months later, a cryptic note in her handwriting ends up in the office of the NYPD and the case is reopened, leading Det. Mark Hutton straight into the glamorous life of hardworking RAGE editor Catherine Ono, who insists on joining the investigation. Surrounded by a supporting cast of party girls, Type A narcissists and half-dead socialites, Cat and her colleague Bess Bonner are determined to solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection. But their amateur detective work has disastrous results, and the two ingenues are caught in a web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturizer that changes their lives forever.

Amazon

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Leave your link and I’ll drop by your 56.

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You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

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http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2017/04/nothing-left-to-lose-by-dan-wells.html

Nothing Left To Lose

Series: John Cleaver (Book 6)
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Tor Books (June 6, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765380714
ISBN-13: 978-0765380715

My Review

Another thrilling installment in the series. I go into each story hoping for more intrigue, complexity and angst and Dan Wells doesn’t disappoint.

John still battles his urges as he continues to hunt down the Withered. In each book I learn more about these monsters and what drives them. Terrifying they may be, but you’re given insight into their side of the story, which left me feeling conflicted about them, kind of.

The authors choice to tell this in first person POV from John’s perspective was a wise one.  He keeps evolving, growing mentally stronger but still needing some releases for his dark urges. As a budding serial killer who has rules to keep him from killing the innocent, I find him one of the most compelling characters I’ve come across.

There’s an interesting twist that makes for an edgy read. And it’s a gut wrenching finale in the last third of the book as good and bad become entwined in a fight to survive. I wish I could tell you the last scene of the book. All I could think was, it’s about time.

5 Stars

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Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Dan Wells continues his acclaimed John Wayne Cleaver series, popular with fans of Dexter

Hi. My name is John Cleaver, and I hunt monsters. I used to do it alone, and then for a while I did it with a team of government specialists, and then the monsters found us and killed almost everyone, and now I hunt them alone again.

This is my story.

In this thrilling installment in the John Wayne Cleaver series, Dan Wells brings his beloved antihero into a final confrontation with the Withered in a conclusion that is both completely compelling and completely unexpected.

Don’t forget to catch the film adaptation of the first installment in the series, I am Not a Serial Killer, in theaters August 26th.

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Excerpt

Run from Rain. It was one of the last things Brooke had told me, one of the last leads she’d dug up from the recesses of her memory. Ten thousand years of dead girls and a supernatural killer, and all of them were terrified of “Rain,” though we’d never figured out who or what Rain was. Another Withered, we’d assumed. Maybe one of the last ones left. And now, after months of searching, I’d found another piece of the puzzle. I ran outside, looking for the dazed, dirty woman who’d said the words, but she was gone. Homeless, maybe? Unbalanced, almost certainly. Or maybe it was something more sinister—was she a victim of Rain, somehow? Someone who’d been enslaved to a paranormal monster, or who’d been attacked and managed to escape, or maybe just someone who’d seen an attack and been broken by the thought of it. Withered attacks could be horrifying, mindshattering things, upending everything you thought you knew about the world and the way it functioned. Or maybe she’d survived a different kind of Withered attack—not by Rain, but by Nobody. Nobody killed by possessing young girls and using their own bodies to commit suicide; Brooke had lived through it, but she’d gained an untold horde of Withered memories as a result. That’s how she could remember things like “Run from Rain.” Now here was another girl with the same dark memory and the same broken, disorganized mind and . . . in ten thousand years, Brooke can’t have been the only person to survive an attack from Nobody, could she? Maybe this lost girl was another. Whoever the girl was, at least one connection seemed obvious: a Withered named Rain, in a city where someone had drowned without water. It couldn’t be a coincidence. I had to stay in Lewisville and I had to learn everything I could about this killer, starting with the body of Kathy Schrenk. And the best way to do that was to wait. There was a bus stop nearby, on the heat-blasted side of the cracked asphalt road, and I sat there in the sun and waited. My backpack containing all my worldly possessions was back in the bus station where I’d showered after hitchhiking into town; storing it had cost me a dollar, which probably meant that I couldn’t eat dinner that night, but it was better than bringing the whole dusty thing with me to the mortuary. Nothing said “ignore and/ or suspect this person” like showing up in a clean, well-kept place with an old, dirty backpack bursting with clothes. That marked you as a drifter, and I needed these people to trust me. Now more than ever.

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Praise for JOHN CLEAVER SERIES

“Top-notch writing and well-structured suspense elements keep the story moving briskly.”―Publishers Weekly

“Fans of Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter series will welcome Wells’s gripping debut.” ―Publishers Weekly on I Am Not a Serial Killer

“Wells’s debut is an unabashedly gory gem. This deft mix of several genres features a completely believable teenage sociopath (with a heart of gold), dark humor, a riveting mystery, and enough description of embalming to make any teen squeamish, even if they won’t admit it. Buy multiples where it won’t be banned.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on I Am Not a Serial Killer

“This dazzling, un-put-downable debut novel proves beyond a doubt that Dan Wells has the gift. His teenage protagonist is as chilling as he is endearing. More John Wayne Cleaver, please.” ―F. Paul Wilson, New York Times bestselling author

“The beauty of the prose, mixed with the depth of characterization, gives the haunting, first person narrative a human touch. Regardless of your age or your genre preferences, you will find this story both profound and enthralling.” ―Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author

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Author Dan Wells

DAN WELLS writes a little bit of everything, but he is best known for the Partials Sequence and the John Cleaver series, the first book of which is now a major motion picture. He is a co-host of the educational podcast Writing Excuses, for which he won a Hugo and now helps run a yearly, week-long writing conference. In addition to novels, novellas, and shorts, he has also written and produced a stage play, called “A Night of Blacker Darkness,” and works as a staff writer on the TV show “Extinct.” He has loved in the US, Mexico, and Germany, and currently resides in Utah with his wife and six children and 439 boardgames.

       

 You can purchase Nothing Left To Lose at the following Retailers:
   

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Win the complete John Cleaver series.

(Six books in total)

Click HERE to enter.

Follow the tour HERE.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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