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This is my list of things to do this week. It will help me to keep on track.
To Review:
Aftereffects: Zombie Therapy by Zane Bradey
The Emerald Quest by Renee Pawlish
Taken by Charlotte Abel
To Read For Review:
Fire with Fire by Penelope King
Killings in Boulder Valley by Brendan Siebel
Martin Little, Resurrected by Ella Medler
In The Works:
Progeny by R T Kaelin
Burning Bridges by multi-authors
Zed by Stephen Herfst
Looks like a busy week for me! It’s a good thing I love reading. I will be adding to this list as each task is finished. I needed some way to stay on track and thought that posting it on my blog would be fun and affective.
Please feel free to comment.
Hear Me Roar
Posted: May 13, 2012 in UncategorizedTags: Armageddon, Catholic Church, Christ, suspense, thriller
Title: The Eye of the Lion – Genesis/Volume 1
Author: Leo Bolanos
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
Book description borrowed from Goodreads
In a near future, an amazing archaeological finding will shock the world. This event will lead to an illegal genetic experiment of unimaginable consequences.
At the same time, the shadows of the Armageddon close over mankind. The faith of the world rests on the shoulders of a man who should never have existed…
My Review
This story begins with the ruminations from the diary of a 98 year old man and he has an amazing story to tell.
Haile is one of a team of investigators working for a private security company put together by Colonel Carter. The colonel built the team from the best of the best. The opening scene has Haile and the rest of his surveillance team in place to spy on a meeting between two men. The meeting takes place in a open cafe in Paris. Doctor Elias Waiss, the founder of Netgen, a genetic technology business, arrives with a mysterious briefcase. Shortly after, the man known as V arrives and joins Waiss at his table. Haile is shocked when he recognizes V as none other than His Excellence Cardinal Bruno Voquessi, the power behind the throne in the Vatican. A fortunate opportunity presents itself and they are able to get a glimpse inside the briefcase. It is a small cryogenic chamber that contains what looks like a lock of human hair. Haile realizes something is very different about this investigation and asks the Colonel for more information.
“Colonel, I need you to tell me what’s going on. If we want to finish this job successfully I need all the information you can give me.”
The Colonel nodded again. I know, Haile” he replied with a paternal tone to his voice. “Of course I know that… but this time I can’t reveal the client’s identity to you. For your own safety. This job is… different.”
He was staring at me as he said it, and I couldn’t help shivering. This was the first time in seven years that I had heard the Colonel utter these words and I realized something that made me shudder: The Colonel was afraid.”
After the meeting he is left with more questions than answers.
There appears to be two investigations going on and two teams, which is unusual.
An unknown archaeology teacher, Edward Kelly, makes a discovery which puts him in the spotlight and threatens to rip the world apart. He claims to have found a tomb containing the mortal remains of Christ. A fire started in the crypt kills Kelly and all that it contained is lost, or is it? Afterwards, he is said to be a fake and eventually he is forgotten. But, there are rumors circulating that he may still be alive.
Plots within plots, the Catholic Church, Templar Knights, World War and the end of life as we know it, all are contained in this book of intrigue. You are in for a shocking experience. There are moments that set your heart racing and stunning revelations in this fast paced thriller. I loved it and was so happy to find out that there will be more books in this series. The author answered all of my questions, and I had plenty while reading, and wrapped it up nicely while leaving an opening to continue this adventure. I can not wait to read more.
I gave this 5 STARS and strongly urge you to read it. You will be glad you did.
About The Author
Leo Bolanos is a novelist, screenplay writer, 3d artist and filmmaker. He lives and works in Mexico City. He is now in preparation of his feature film debut, Great Hunter, which well also be a novel.
The Eye of the Lion is the first part of his epic trilogy of Joshua, the lion.
A Fractured Soul
Posted: May 6, 2012 in Paranormal or fantasy, UncategorizedTags: demons, Paranormal romance, series, YA
Title: A Demon Made Me Do It
Demonblood Series #1
Author: Penelope King
My review
When an Amazea demon curses Lucky her soul is split in half. During the day she lives as Liora, a 17 years old human and by night she lives as Lucky, an Aequitas demon whose duty is to dole out justice and torment those that deserve it. While they share one body, each one lives in their own realm with totally different lives. Not particularly caring for each other, they have developed an uneasy truce.
Enter Kieron, a demon that moves through both worlds.When Liora meets him she begins to hope that she has a chance at a normal relationship and happiness. The s*#t hits the fan when Lucky finds out that they have been hanging out together. She doesn’t trust Kieron and feels that he is a threat to both of them.
The author makes you feel a strong connection to all of the characters, which I find new and refreshing. She tells the story from Liora’s and Lucky’s points of view and writes it so well that you have no trouble following along. Actually, you can’t help but keep reading as you are drawn deeper into the story and discover a world of incubi and demons of all kinds.
The ending is exciting and satisfying with plenty of room for more. I am anxious to read Fire with Fire, Book 2, which is out now.
Also available: Witchy, Witchy (Spellbound Trilogy #1)
4 STARS
This book is appropriate for mid-teens to adults. I would recommend it to anyone that loves YA/ paranormal romance and fantasy.
About the author
Penelope King is a native Californian who now lives in beautiful South Carolina. She says “ya’ll” more often than she’d like to admit, eats more fried food than is probably healthy, and still hasn’t gotten used to the scary thunderstorms that seem to appear out of nowhere.
She stays up way too late and does the bulk of her writing in the witching hours. She rarely misses a sunrise, and needs to include a special “thank you” to Starbucks caramel frappuccinos.
When she’s not writing, she’s reading any and all YA out there, swimming, kayaking at the river, doing Zumba and kickboxing, or watching a trashy reality show. She can BBQ better than most men, and if she had to marry a food it would probably be pizza, but she’d cheat on it with sushi.
You can find her at:
Title: So Wonderful as Want
Author: Joyce DeBacco
This book was hard to review without including spoilers, so here it is, and no, there are no spoilers.
The story begins in 1911, in Caloosa, Florida, and takes place over 20 years.
Sitting on the pier with her cousin Virginia, watching the storm clouds gather, Dinah dreams of getting out. She wants to marry a gentleman and move into town. Anything is better than living out here in the back of beyond. The skies open up and they make a dash for shelter, joined by a young man who follows them out of the rain. Virginia is smitten with Zach, the handsome blue-eyed river rat, while Dinah gives him the cold shoulder.
I fell in love with Joyce’s writing. It is so descriptive. Here is a little taste.
The brief afternoon storm drifted out to the Gulf, and the sun returned to glorify the earth. Hissing and steaming, the thirsty soil drank greedily of the life-giving moisture, while the air, a heady combination of sun-baked earth and wildflowers, packed a one-two punch to anyone who dared take its lushness for granted.
Back to the story. Zach is just passing through but events occur that keep him in Caloosa. As he is heading out of town he hears shouting on the river and discovers two men and a young boy in danger of drowning. he manages to get all three to dry land, but only one survives. The two victims are Dinah’s father and younger brother,the survivor is her uncle.
Having lost her mother at an early age, Dinah is now alone. With nothing to keep her there, she decides to head out with Zach, but her Aunt Clara has other plans and convinces her to stay.
Zach decides to settle in Caloosa and moves into Dinah’s spare room in exchange for helping with repairs and such. He tries his hand at several jobs but nothing fits and he decides to look up an old aquaintance for help in getting into college. He is accepted into college and so begins his journey.
Meanwhile, back in Caloosa, a tinker comes calling on Dinah and he is selling more than his wares.
Months later Zach returns to discover Dinah is pregnant and her Aunt Clara believes he is the father. This is where the saga really takes off.
I felt many things for Dinah. She never holds back and gives as good as she gets. As Zach puts it, “That girl can flatten a man’s ego faster than a ton of bricks.” At times I wanted to hate her and other times I wanted to shake her and slap some sense into her.
Zach made me laugh. The back and forth between him and Dinah is hilarious. From Zach, “To tell the truth Dinah, my life would be rather dull without you to complicate it.” Growing up with three sisters, he knows how to get a rise out of her.
Joyce writes with such feeling and her knowledge of the south and the era is evident in her words. My emotions ranged from laughter, to sorrow, to frustration and even anger. I followed Dinah’s journey over the course of 20 years. There was never a dull moment and I would be happy to read more. I would like to know what happens to Dinah over the next 20 years. I feel she is just getting started.
Having really enjoyed this book, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a genuine taste of life and adventure. I gave it 4 STARS.
Here are a few excerpts that tugged at my heart.
The baby wrapped his chubby arms around her neck, wrinkled his button nose, and laughed, revealing six tiny teeth the size of seed pearls.
She wanted more of the world; all he wanted was her.
About Joyce Debacco
After reading women’s fiction for many years, Joyce knew she wanted to create stories of her own. As the mother of four grown daughters, she’s familiar with the problems women face finding love, raising children, and stepping back when necessary. All of her books place an emphasis on love and family dynamics. She is happiest when she’s secluded in her office creating new worlds and people to populate them. When she’s not taxing her brain with plot, structure, and grammar, she likes to sew, particularly quilts. When she really wants to rest her brain, she sprawls out in front of the TV and tries not to fall asleep. Please visit her website, http://www.joycedebacco.com for information about all of her books.
DIVERGENT, Need I say more?
Posted: April 7, 2012 in Dystopian, UncategorizedTags: Beatrice, Chicago, Divergent, Hunger Games, Insurgent, Reading, Tris, Veronica Roth
Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Source: Bought for my pleasure
My Review
When reading a book I do not cheat and read ahead or peek at the ending. I had a difficult time not skipping ahead with Divergent. I could not read it fast enough and had to make myself slow down and absorb the story.
Imagine yourself at sixteen having to choose the course of your destiny. Today is the Choosing Day and Beatrice(Tris) has to choose which of the five factions she will join. She must make the right choice because there is no going back.
This story brought up many questions as I read it. Could we survive in a world where a person’s natural instincts separate them into individual factions? Would our lives be better if we lived only with other like-minded people, or would human nature take over and one faction come to believe that theirs is the only right one? Would being separated save us or destroy us?
This story flowed so smoothly that I was unaware of even being pulled into it. The characters and scenarios were so real that when I reached the end I felt like I had woken up. I wanted to go back to sleep and pick up where I left off.
I am anxiously awaiting the release of Insurgent in May, the next book in this series. I recommend this book to dystopian fans and anyone looking for action and adventure.
My rating: 5 STARS
Not Your Typical Small Town
Posted: April 1, 2012 in UncategorizedTags: Chester, Drug overdose, Joshua, West Virginia
Title: A small Case of Murder (A Joshua Thornton Mystery)
Author: Lauren Carr
Source: Net Galley
Recently widowed Joshua Thornton, a retired Navy Jag Commander, has packed up his 5 children and the family dog, returning home after almost 20 years to open his own legal practice.
Chester, West Virginia is like most small towns, where everybody knows each others business. That all changes when Joshua’s children discover an old, unopened letter dated on the day of his parents death 30 years ago. Joshua’s curiosity about the contents of the letter opens up a can worms and the bodies start to pile up.
Chester may be a small town, but this becomes a huge investigation with mysterious car accidents, drug overdoses, a missing body and flying bullets. This book has it all.
With plenty of build up and a well developed cast of characters, Lauren Carr has written a great who-dun-it. She gives you a huge wrap-up and just when you think it is over, she delivers an ending reminiscent of Perry Mason.
I wanted to stand up and cheer, and I will be rushing to get her next book in the series.
I gave this book 4 stars.
For more about the author and her books: