Archive for July 13, 2023

ASIN: B07D7FMDZG

Publisher: Matador (May 21, 2018)
Publication Date: May 21, 2018
Language: English

 

Praise for THE GENES OF ISIS

“The book is exquisitely written, with good characterization and a compelling plot… Thoroughly recommended.” —Jennifer’s Reviews

 
“The novel is creative, sophisticated, brilliant! I couldn’t ask for a more Egyptian-esque book!” —Lauren, Books Beyond the Story
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Akasha is a precocious young girl with dreams of motherhood. She lives in a fantastical world where most of the oceans circulate in the aquamarine sky waters.

Before she was born, the Helios, a tribe of angels from the sun, came to Earth to deliver the Surge, the next step in the evolution of an embryonic human race. Instead they spawned a race of hybrids and infected humanity with a hybrid seed.

Horque manifests on Earth with another tribe of angels, the Solarii, to rescue the genetic mix-up and release the Surge.

Akasha embarks on a journey from maiden to mother and from apprentice to priestess then has a premonition that a great flood is imminent. All three races – humans, hybrids and Solarii – face extinction.

With their world in crisis, Akasha and Horque meet, and a sublime love flashes between them. Is this a cause of hope for humanity and the Solarii? Or will the hybrids destroy them both? Will anyone survive the killing waters of the coming apocalypse?

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MY REVIEW

Ancient Egypt has always fascinated me. I’ve watched many documentaries and fictionalized movies about it. And I’ve read up on it. It also fascinates me that a connection to aliens has been delved into. Their advanced technology would explain how the magnificent pyramids came to be.

Genes Of Isis pulled me in immediately. Set in Egypt thousands of years ago, the people are different and they’re ruled by beings that are more than human, aliens from the sun. In order to save humanity they only have a few choices to select from. One is a cataclysmic flood, unleashing the water that fills the skies. I kept trying to picture that. A sky filled with water.

I was caught up in the biblical aspects of the story. The mythological and alien. And the humanity. There’s loss, tragedy, political strife, hope, romance and the wonder of what we are here for.

The synopsis hooked me but I was worried if the plot could keep me intrigued and not get bogged down from the weight of the world the author created. I need not have feared. The short chapters, the intricacies of living in this long ago Egypt and the characters, human, more than human and alien all kept me zipping along. If the author chooses to continue with this story, I’d be happy to venture into this world again.

4 STARS

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You can purchase The Genes of Isis at the following Retailers:
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Photo Content from Justin Newland

JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism. His stories explore the themes of war and religion, and speculate on the human’s spiritual place in the universe. 

 
Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies. 
 
The historical thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (Matador, 2018), is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall. 
 
The Coronation (Matador, 2019) was another historical adventure and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution. 
 
The Abdication (Matador, 2021) is a supernatural thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith. 
 
His work in progress is a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it’s an epic tale of England’s coming of age. The Mark of the Salamander (to be published September 2023) takes us across the open seas of discovery with Sir Francis Drake while The Midnight of Eights culminates the series with the repulse of the Spanish Armada. 
 
Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin appears on LitFest panels, gives talks to historical associations and libraries and enjoys giving radio interviews and making podcasts. 
 
Born three days before the end of 1953, he lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
      
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WEEK ONE
JULY 10th MONDAY JeanBookNerd EXCERPT
JULY 11th TUESDAY Cover2CoverBlog EXCERPT
JULY 12th WEDNESDAY Casia’s Corner REVIEW
JULY 13th THURSDAY FUONLYKNEW REVIEW
JULY 14th FRIDAY A Bronx Latina Reads REVIEW
 
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JULY 17th MONDAY Rajiv’s Reviews REVIEW
JULY 18th TUESDAY fundinmental REVIEW
JULY 19th WEDNESDAY TTC Books and More REVIEW
JULY 20th THURSDAY Insane About Books REVIEW
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JULY 24th MONDAY Laura’s Bookish Life REVIEW
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JULY 27th THURSDAY Living in a Bookworld EXCERPT

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If you’re like me, you have a pile of books beckoning to you from your lists. Carole hosts this fun feature where you can share some of those older books and perhaps nudge you to finally read them. If you want to join in on the fun, head over to Carole’s Random Life In Books and leave a link to your post.
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The Wild Inside

by Jamey Bradbury

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Genre: Psychological Thriller / Horror

Synopsis

A promising talent makes her electrifying debut with this unforgettable novel, set in the Alaskan wilderness, that is a fusion of psychological thriller and coming-of-age tale in the vein of Jennifer McMahon, Chris Bohjalian, and Mary Kubica.

A natural born trapper and hunter raised in the Alaskan wilderness, Tracy Petrikoff spends her days tracking animals and running with her dogs in the remote forests surrounding her family’s home. Though she feels safe in this untamed land, Tracy still follows her late mother’s rules: Never Lose Sight of the House. Never Come Home with Dirty Hands. And, above all else, Never Make a Person Bleed.

But these precautions aren’t enough to protect Tracy when a stranger attacks her in the woods and knocks her unconscious. The next day, she glimpses an eerily familiar man emerge from the tree line, gravely injured from a vicious knife wound—a wound from a hunting knife similar to the one she carries in her pocket. Was this the man who attacked her and did she almost kill him? With her memories of the events jumbled, Tracy can’t be sure.

Helping her father cope with her mother’s death and prepare for the approaching Iditarod, she doesn’t have time to think about what she may have done. Then a mysterious wanderer appears, looking for a job. Tracy senses that Jesse Goodwin is hiding something, but she can’t warn her father without explaining about the attack—or why she’s kept it to herself.

It soon becomes clear that something dangerous is going on . . . the way Jesse has wormed his way into the family . . . the threatening face of the stranger in a crowd . . . the boot-prints she finds at the forest’s edge.

Her family is in trouble. Will uncovering the truth protect them—or is the threat closer than Tracy suspects?

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I added this back in March 2018.

This has my kind of read written all over it!

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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.

 

Being described as “10 years worth of therapy in one book,” Becoming Flawesome is a celebration of our whole selves, warts and all, and the glory that is to be found in living in our truth…

 

Title: Becoming Flawesome

Author: Kristina Mand-Lakhiani

Publisher: Hay House Publishing

Pages: 280

Genre: Nonfiction

 

Perfection. We all dream of living by it, feeling it, being it…


And it is in the name of perfection that we demonise our flaws, make ourselves ‘less-than,’ and render ourselves vulnerable to the shame of not being good enough.

We live in a society that subliminally encourages us to wear metaphorical masks, slay our inner sadness, and ignore our imperfections, or as Kristina refers to them, her ‘dragons.’ Even within the world of personal development and spirituality, toxic perfectionism lurks in the shadows.

 

In Kristina’s upcoming book Becoming Flawesome #BecomingFlawesome, she reflects on her own story, her battle against perfectionism, and what it took for her to return to what she now deems to be her most authentic self. Being described as “10 years worth of therapy in one book,Becoming Flawsome is a celebration of our whole selves, warts and all, and the glory that is to be found in living in our truth.

Every chapter is closed with reflection points and exercises to encourage the readers to dive deep into the essence of who they truly are, what their values are, and how to navigate an oftentimes overwhelming world.

In this book, Kristina breaks the mould as she takes the reader on a journey through:

 

  • The dark, controversial side of ‘personal growth,’ and the insecurities that thrive on it

  • Self-care vs self-love, and why you need both

  • What authenticity actually is, beyond the buzz

  • The ‘Hermione Syndrome,’ and how to diagnose if you’re secretly suffering from it

  • How to create aligned lifestyle habits that stick

  • Why the more you judge others, the more you judge yourself

  • Societal masks, and how to remove them from your psyche 

  • Imposter syndrome in the world of high-flyers 

  • Emotional literacy: how to cope with strong, painful emotions healthily 

 

Amazon

 

Mind Valley Books

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Book Excerpt  

 

The Key to Living an Imperfectly Authentic Life

Introduction

Let’s Begin

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a good book has to start with a proper introduction.

And by “proper” I mean that it has to prime the reader for the journey, raise excitement and set expectations, explain the process, and make reading the book an experience both profitable and smooth. After all, we are about to spend some time together on this journey.

Therefore, I was not surprised when on the first meeting with my publisher I was asked if I would consider writing a proper introduction to my book. You see—the original manuscript started with a story of me pondering my future book while standing in the shower, warm water running down my back, and my finger absentmindedly drawing random patterns on the fogged-up glass.

I started this book during the long years of successive COVID confinements, and I was planning to self-publish it because I wanted the freedom to make decisions about the book—how to write, what to write, what stories to include, what kind of experience to offer to my reader. So, naturally, it wasn’t following any universally acknowledged truths or conventions.

Yet, by the time I had to present my book-baby to the world, I felt that I wanted to give it the best possible future, and I had to face the big decision between my heart and my brain: Will it be self-published (heart), or will I work with a traditional publisher (brain)? Going the traditional way meant facing more choices between my quirky and obstinate self-expression and conventional ways of doing things.

This book is about finding your way back to yourself, about understanding who you really are, accepting your dents and scratches, your quirky uniqueness and even your flaws. It is about thriving in being unapologetically you, most flawesomely.

This book has been through the hands of several editors ever since I put the last stop on its original manuscript. This journey has been both emotional and transformative for me. I had to face my biggest dragon by far—my obstinate need for pure self-expression—over and over again.

When do you follow convention, and when do you stick to your own principles and values?

There is no simple answer to this question, except: you have to learn to balance.

If you follow all the rules that your peers expect you to follow, you bet all there is on a slim chance of the grand prize, but you do it at the price of your own unique self-expression. At times, I felt like I had to “sell my soul to the devil” for a chance at success.

But if you obstinately stick to your own unique quirks and principles, you might end up being unheard and misunderstood so universally that there is no point in writing a book. For it is the readers who make a writer. Without the readers, a book is just a private diary.

Reader, will you judge me if I tell you that this book is a delicate balance between convention and my own uniqueness? Of course, I want you to succeed. But I cannot give you the proper introduction to my book because every book is a journey. This book has been my journey, and

now it is yours. I walked my path to my true self, to understanding what makes me truly me . . .

and what of that unique quirkiness is simply noise. You see, your flaws and your dragons are there for a reason—they make you who you are, but they also hold the key to your biggest value, to your mightiest strengths, if you choose to look your dragons in the eye.

Now I am hoping that you will take this journey with me to your unique destination—to finding the path back to you. I will be your companion on this journey, but it is yours to take.

So why wouldn’t I tell you what’s ahead? Imagine if Gandalf told Bilbo Baggins that on his journey, he would encounter trolls, go through a perilous enchanted forest, and face a dragon in a far-away mountain. Wouldn’t that be a bit of a spoiler?

I want you to take this journey back to you without any spoilers, with an open heart, and trust that the destination is going to be worth your effort. Because becoming flawesome is the best gift you can give to yourself.

So, if you are ready, let’s begin!

 

 

 

More…

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

Kristina Mand-Lakhiani is an international speaker, entrepreneur, artist, philanthropist, and mother of 2 kids. As a co-founder of Mindvalley, a leading publisher in the personal growth industry, Kristina dedicated the last 20 years of her career from teachers like Michael Beckwith, Bob Proctor, Lisa Nichols, and many more. 

She started her career in a government office in her native Estonia and, by her mid-20s, achieved a level of success mostly known to male politicians at the end of their careers. It was shortly after that Kristina and her then-husband Vishen founded Mindvalley. From a small meditation business operating out of the couple’s apartment in New York, the company quickly grew into a global educational organization offering top training for peak human performance to hundreds of thousands of students all around the world. 

Kristina believes life is too important to be taken seriously and makes sure to bring fun into every one of her roles: as a teacher, mother, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and world traveller. Kristina helps her students to virtually hack happiness by taking them through her unique framework – “Hacking happiness” – a unique framework of balancing your life, taking in every moment, and paying close attention to the small daily choices.  

Kristina is also the author of three transformational quests – “7 Days To Happiness“, “Live By Your Own Rules.” and “The Art of Being Flawesome”. Kristina talks about personal transformation, authenticity, understanding and accepting oneself, and a path to happiness.

In July 2023, with the help of Hay House Publishing, Kristina releases her very first book – “Becoming Flawesome” #BecomingFlawesome. In her book, Kristina shares her own journey from being on top of a personal growth empire like Mindvalley to stepping aside, conscious uncoupling from her husband, and walking her path towards being more honest with herself. 

Website / Facebook / LinkedIn

 

 

 

 

Sponsored By:

 

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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.