Book Blast! Tearing the Shroud by J.M. Bray

Genre: Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy, New Adult

Publisher: Escape Publishing (Harlequin AU)

The Summary

Fall in love, be possessed, hunt a sorcerer and save the world — and Vincent thought calculus was tough.

1984 — Vincent expected college to be about freedom and girls, but then the nightmares of sorcery, monsters and other worlds began. Not even the surprising attention from his dream girl, Julie, could shake them.

Before he's even nailed his second date with Julie, he's possessed by Coleman, a warrior from another realm. Coleman is hell bent on defeating the monstrous Kafla who threatens to tear into Vincent's reality, changing both his and Coleman's worlds forever. They have one chance to stop them: Vincent must allow Coleman to share his body and wage war against the sorcerer.

Now it's up to them, the women they love, and Vincent's rag-tag bunch of role- playing and gaming friends to save the world, or see 1984 descend into the apocalypse.

About the Author

J.M. Bray lives in Southern California with his college sweetheart and their two dogs. After a lifetime together, they are happier than the moment they met.

When not writing or working his "day job", he loves to cook, play the guitar, and travel with his wife. Every chance he gets, he races an old Porsche named "Tuffy" at tracks in the southwest.

Connect With J.M. Bray Through

Twitter, Website, Blog, Facebook Author Page & Facebook Connect Page

Get Your Copy From

Amazon, iTunes

Jumping Ship by Janice Ross

A pre-release novella to the Island Hopping Series

66 pages

My Thoughts

Jumping Ship was an easy read, delivery exactly what the blurb described whilst alluding to a further mystery. What happened to Pet and Mikey? How did Sakkara come to be abondoned? Something disastrous must have happened in the three months since Pet and Mikey’s escape. Three short months to disaster... Book 2 will hopefully be much more revealing and I am looking forward to it.

I think perhaps the summary gives too much of the story away, it could almost have been a synopsis. Nothing much happened beyond what was outlined. That’s not to say that Jumping Ship  is not worth reading, it is. It details the plight of Pet and Mikey in a sweet, simple and profound manner. 

I enjoyed Janice Ross’s writing style, she didn’t get bogged down in too much extraneous detail and delivered the story in a concise linear order. 

My Rating

❀❀❀+

Disclaimer

I obtained an ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley) with a view to providing an honest review. The thoughts expressed above, are entirely my own. I don’t really like the concept of rating novels as they are subjective and subject to change. A five star book today, may be re-evaluated when compared to future novels.

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The Summary 

The year was nineteen seventy-five. Pregnant seamstress, Petrina Dugal, became a runaway at the age of twenty-six. She ran away from a brutish husband, Roger, and a well-loved South American home in Georgetown, Guyana; at the heart of her rebellion – an enigmatic lover named Michael Chen. Pet and Mikey allowed love to blossom in front of her police officer husband and an intrusive community. Were they not aware of the dangers? Or did the pursuit of love trump obligations?

Pet and Mikey’s journey to their new life took them through a multitude of the Caribbean’s treasure trove of islands – Antigua, Martinique, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, and Saint Lucia. More than a month later their voyage landed them at JFK airport, in New York USA. And they disappeared, as though their existence was a myth. During this time, barren couple, Pearl and Edward Bailey stumbled upon a newborn baby girl. Her cries could only be heard by a true mother, which Pearl immediately became. Bundled up with their new child, they discovered a parcel of artifacts and a scribbled note that read: Sakkara.

Sakkara Riley grew up with two loving parents – adoptive parents to be exact. She never knew the circumstances surrounding her discovery, until the age of sixteen. The personal artifacts that were handed over had haunted her from that point on. After eight more years, including much research and probing, she was given the opportunity to begin her journey of self-discovery. 

“Jumping Ship” provides the introduction to Sakkara’s attempts to commune with her true heritage.

About The Author

Janice was born in Guyana, South America and migrated to the USA in 1980. Although her citizenship certificate now reads the United States of America, she considers herself a citizen of the world. Sure she has not physically been around the world and back, she’s travelled in her mind and dreams.

Janice is an author. She enjoys writing about social issues and personal experiences. Her latest release, Jumping Ship is a dedication to her country of birth and an introductory novella to the Island Hopping Series – due out in 2014. It’s poised to be a colorful and emotional experience of life, love and family.

Janice enjoys reading. And is drawn to stories with distinct characters that she can love or hate - characters she can form alliances with or characters that she can swear off and despise. She is also weak for a good cultural tale, preferably in the form of historical fiction - whether present day or in the past. Janice love to be taken off guard by clever language or settings.

Janice is also a devout supporter and promoter of other authors through social media. She hosts a weekly show, Cultural Cocktails, on the largest social radio network, Blog Talk Radio.

Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter @JGRWriter

Cultural Cocktails Blog Talk Radio

The Missings by Peg Brantley

The Missings by Peg Brantley. 

This novel has been difficult to define. I did enjoy the story and at times I even found myself intrigued by the investigation into “The Missings”. The plot line should have been engaging enough to hold my attention, but I found myself struggling to get through it all. It is only now that I sit at my computer that I feel I am able to explain my response.

There was no mystery. Every piece of information was made available to the reader, early on. We all know someone with repetitive story syndrome... Reading this book, was exactly like that, your listening to a story you’ve heard before, you know what’s going to happen and you try to stifle a yawn so as not to appear rude.

“The Missings” read like a rather long synopsis. A body has been found, chest cavity open, internal organs removed; The detectives decide there are two likely scenarios. Option one is quickly discounted, option two is the path they follow. The culprit is decided upon and found easily. All that remained for the author to outline was the gathering of the evidence. 100 pages of detail.

Ok, now that, made it sound worse than it was, and I don’t think it is quite fair. There was a lot involved, including some little diversions with individual characters along the way, that gave the story substance. In this instance not enough weight was given to the characters, their relationships and their motivations. I wanted to understand them, I needed to relate to them, their lives were so deep and complex. But I was just an onlooker listening to something akin to a news item. Distant, dry and impersonal.

My Rating

❀❀+

Disclaimer

I obtained an ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley) with a view to providing an honest review. The thoughts expressed above, are entirely my own. I don’t really like the concept of rating novels as they are subjective and subject to change. A five star book today, may be re-evaluated when compared to future novels.

The Summary

Aspen Falls, Colorado.

Secrets.

Secrets within a community.

Secrets within a family.

Detective Chase Waters finds himself working the most interesting case of his career—one that comes closer to home than he could ever imagine. 

Are the mutilated bodies of young men and women the result of cult… or commerce?

The Author

A Colorado native, Peg Brantley is a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Sisters In Crime. She and her husband make their home southeast of Denver, and have shared it with the occasional pair of mallard ducks and their babies, snapping turtles, peacocks, assorted other birds, foxes, a deer named Cedric and a bichon named McKenzie.

Connect With The Author On

Website

Blog

Twitter

Goodreads

Crime Fiction Collective

The Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thomson

Available from Sourcebooks

My Thoughts

The Lies You Wanted to Hear spans decades in the lives of Matt and Lucy retelling the complexities of their relationship. The story details their introduction, growing affection, sacrifices, disappointments and betrayals... I came away from this book disturbed by the knowledge that people do crap things to those they are supposed to love. It was quite depressing really.

There was nothing wrong with the writing and there was really nothing wrong with the content. There was an allusion to danger, that the author portrayed quite vividly. I turned the pages dreading what was going to happen, the potential for serious escalation was there, but it just didn’t eventuate and I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or disturbed by that.

The Lies You Wanted to Hear is actually a great discussion book. In fact there are topical questions to explore with your book club listed in the final pages, that are designed to encourage the reader to analyze their responses to what they have read - which is fantastic; if that’s what you’re after.

This book and I were just not a good match. I read for pleasure, to escape the everyday concerns and enjoy some light fantasy. If I want to wax poetic about moral versus ethical issues, I’ll attend a philosophy class. If I feel the need to debate the levels of sin, determine who’s lies/crimes are greater, I’ll visit my pastor. If I want something heavier, I’ll put myself in the head in a detective and maybe solve a crime. Want I don’t want; what I’ll never need; is to involve myself in the righteous misery that some people think they are justified to inflict on each other.

My Rating

❀❀+

Disclaimer

I obtained an ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley) with a view to providing an honest review. The thoughts expressed above, are entirely my own. I don’t really like the concept of rating novels as they are subjective and subject to change. A five star book today, may be re-evaluated when compared to future novels.

The Summary 

A deeply moving, beautifully-written picture of how the smallest crack in a relationship slowly, over decades, becomes a canyon too wide to bridge.

When Lucy meets Matt on a blind date, Matt is instantly hooked; he sees Lucy as the fun, sexy, and wickedly smart girl of his dreams. Although she’s still getting over an old lover, Lucy is won over by Matt’s sweet, thoughtful nature. But 20 years later, alone in an empty house trying to imagine the lives of her two young children, Lucy comes to realize that the little lies you tell can create more damage than the truth you’re hiding.

"A gripping debut....a morally complex and thoroughly grown-up novel. " - Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy

"Hard to believe Thomson is a first time author, given the achievement of this novel. ... I'm still not entirely convinced that these characters are fictional; that's how much they lived and breathed on the page." - Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lone Wolf and The Storyteller

"No spouse or parent who picks up this book will be able to put it down. Nor will anyone else." - Andre Dubus III, NYT bestselling author of Townie and House of Sand and Fog

The Author

James Whitfield Thomson grew up on the North Side of Pittsburgh and attended Harvard College on scholarship. After graduation he served three years in the Navy as navigator of a supply ship off the coast of Vietnam. Jim earned a Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, writing his dissertation on the detective novelist Raymond Chandler. Following a brief stint teaching literature in academia, he joined a start-up venture as a salesman. The company’s rapid success allowed him to retire early and devote himself to writing. He has published stories in a number of literary magazines including Agni and The Ledge and has been a Massachusetts Council for the Arts grant recipient. Jim and his wife, Elizabeth, live in a Victorian farmhouse outside of Boston and have five globe-trotting children. Lies You Wanted to Hear is his first published novel. You can find him on Facebook or at www.jameswhitfieldthomson.com

Cover Reveal; Waken by Angeka Fristoe

Check out this Cover - Half Human, Half Bird (?). Well blended and TOTALLY AWESOME!!

Waken (The Woods of Everod, #1)

by Angela Fristoe

Expected Release: January 2014

Moving to her parents’ hometown of Everod is the last thing Janie Lyndon wants. After years of abuse and eventual abandonment, she’d rather forget they ever existed. Haunted by nightmares of her mother killing her, Janie just wants to be normal.

The gorgeous Davin Andersen is out of her league, but for some reason he seems to actually like her. The emotions he draws from her are almost enough to make her ignore all of the weird things he says. Almost enough to ignore the way the entire town seems ready to pounce on her as if she were fresh meat.

Almost, though, isn’t enough when Janie finally discovers what the town is hiding. The town of Everod has been waiting for Janie and if she hopes to survive, she’ll need to confront the truth of who and what she really is.

About the Author

Born in Northern Canada, Angela grew up on the Canadian prairies amid dreams of becoming the next Dian Fossey or a world famous flight attendant. Those, however, were never meant to be. Instead she moved to the United States where she divides her time between her family, writing, and her day job as an instruction coach.

Angela was the winner and double finalist in the Romance category of The Strongest Start Contest 2010 hosted by TheNextBigWriter.com. She currently has three young adult novels published through Little Prince Publishing and her fourth novel, Waken, has an anticipated release of January 2014.

Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Other Books by Angela Fristoe