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LATEST HAPPENINGS
Hello. Welcome to another edition of Sherry’s Shelves. I’m binge watching The Closer right now. Do you watch it? I love Brenda Lee. She’s is such a unique and quirky character. AND, she’s always gets her man…or woman. The sun is shining and it’s in the 70s. I am so looking forward to summer. The only problem I have is my bum wing. It’s not getting any better, but I am doing physical therapy. I look around outside and see all the work that needs to be done and it bums me out that I can”t do it. I hope all it takes is time, but I think another doctor visit is in order.
This is not my first taste of Liesel K Hill’s work and it won’t be my last. If you are into dystopian worlds, serial killers and murder, Street Games may be for you.
I am excited to be back in Kyra’s dystopian world in Damaged Hope, Street Games #3, by Liesel K Hill. Kyra is the strong female character I love to read about.In is cheap.this desp0perate, dystopian world, life
Kyra’s not herself. She’s in BIG trouble. Some want her dead, some want to use her, and one wants to love her. She is stubborn, obstinate, confident in her ability to survive the Mire. Every time she turns around, she’s getting her ass kicked, covered in cuts and bruises. She can’t quit…she searches…
Gabe is a cop that has become enamored with Kyra.
Missing and dead children, prostitutes, one killer or two, a slow burning relationship, and fantastic world building.
Tense, dangerous, teeth gritting moments.
Nothing is smooth sailing. The characters will put it all on the line for each other. Not all will survive and not all questions will be answered. The pacing keeps the thrills coming, one after another some high, some low, and I want more. I must know the end of Kyra’s story.
“It’s all a game. Brothers and killers. Rivals and customers. The Mire and mobsters. Alleys and streets. All games. Games we must conquer, or else disappear into the gaping maw of this city.”
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Damaged Hope by Liesel K Hill.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
“Kyra [is] smart, resourceful, and gritty. She’s got steel in her spine. This is the woman I think we need to see more of in fiction.”-Rebecca A., The Missing Lynx
After surviving the horror of the Carmichael District, Kyra continues to look for her brother, but she can’t seem to avoid crossing paths with the Mire’s psychotic serial killer. Avoiding him and surviving the darkness of the Mire grows ever more difficult. And now he may be targeting her.
For Gabe, the mystery surrounding his brother’s disappearance twenty-five years ago deepens as the suspect in custody is questioned, but speaks in riddles. If Gabe can decipher Hammond’s strange clues, perhaps he can finally bring his brother’s body home and obtain some closure. That is, if he can stay one step ahead of the murders in the Mire.
Kyra and Gabe face new, darker challenges in their search for missing brothers. Every victory brings setbacks and complications. They have little to push them forward now except determination and hope. Even if it is a Damaged Hope.
If you love you some crime, murder mystery and suspense with detectives and serial killers thrown in, don’t miss the action-packed third installment of Street Games!
L.K.
Hill is a novelist who writes across three genres. Her crime and
historical fiction are written under her initials, L.K., while her
scifi/fantasy and dystopian are written under her full name, Liesel K.
Hill. She lives in northern Utah and comes from a large, tight-knit
family. She plans to keep writing until they nail her coffin shut. Or
the Second Coming happens. You know, whichever happens first. ;D
The end is near and when the final sentence was read, I was content with the ending of The Divine Space Pirates in The Price of Paradise by C S Johnson.
The clash of family and characters with strong personalities flare and the final battle of the war will be set in motion. I can guess at a lot of what is to come, but the most important thing has me stumped…how will they save Earth from themselves?
Hope. Man’s eternal optimism. Life will go on. And then I thought of a line from Jurassic Park, “Life will find a way,” says Jeff Goldblum. In reality, as in fiction, it reeks of truth.
Can your biggest enemy become your friend? Can hatred be overcome?
The national narrative had focused so much on surviving that it forgot about living. This is one of those stories that give rise to what ifs. So many realistic scenarios spun from our past history that carry a ring of truth, with plenty of fiction so things work out like I want them too.
All the characters grow and develop through each book and many become warm loving people who will stand strong with guns and fists to fight for their freedom. I loved the world created. It is books like The Divine Space Pirates that makes me wonder what the future holds for us. Ecologically, suffering the politicians, big business corruption, greed…I could go on, but you know what I’m talking about.
I am very satisfied with the ending.and love that C S Johnson included an epilogue. Puts the cherry on top.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Price of Paradise by C S Johnson
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Aerie and Exton are
still at war with the Revolutionary States, but there is much to
celebrate. Now that they are together again, Aerie finally has what
she’s always wanted: A loving home. But her past, and her parents, are
far from letting her move on with her new life. When Merra further
escalates the war with her treachery, Aerie is faced with an impossible
choice: Save her mother, or betray Exton.
Years after his
father’s murder, Exton finally has the killer at his mercy. But General
St. Cloud has a surprise for him—the truth about Silas’s death. While
Exton struggles with the ghosts of his past, his allies face dire
threats at Panama, where a battle has ensued over a shipment of weapons.
The stakes are raised even higher as the dictator of the fair world
himself, Grant Osgood, launches the GPI, his Global Planethood
Initiative, in hopes of finishing off the Perdition and demolishing the
defectors’ hopes for liberty.
With the fate of the planet on the line, Aerie and Exton know each of their decisions could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Can they pay the price that war—and true love—demands?
ABOUT C S JOHNSON
C.
S. Johnson is the author of several young adult novels, including
sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles series,
the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy.
With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in
Atlanta with her family. Find out more at http://www.csjohnson.me.
Sue Coletta writes some fabulous thrillers that blow me away and I am so happy to have a copy of Blessed Mayhem. This serial killer reminds me of Hannibal Lector, but without the penchant for eating his victims.
The cat burglar and the serial killer collided in a most unexpected way. HE took it as a challenge…and with Shawnee, it certainly will be. He is looking forward to breaking her will, but Shawnee bends for no one.. Sparks fly whenever she is around and I love the snarky dialogue. She is a risk taker. She’s not a cop, but she works for them, running their cyber crime unit. If you get on her bad side, she would just as soon kick your ass as look at you.
Sue Coletta has taken a different route with Mr Mayhem and Shawnee Daniels. I love it! I find it very refreshing and challenging, and exciting, because I don’t know where she’s going to take me.
And…What’s up with the crows? That is a whole ‘nother issue.
Shawnee walks through a nightmare, at times the past and present merging together, making it hard for her to pull herself back from the brink of insanity. She guards her secrets closely, but sooner or later she is going to have to explain Maggie…and Jessup.
She tries more than Levaughn’s patience with her antics. He works as a detective for the police department. He knows about her burglaring, but thought she had given it up. I think she is hooked on the adrenaline high, and a safe, normal life won’t work for her.
She’s like an M&M, hard on the outside, soft on the inside. Her love for Berkley, her sleeping pill is his purr. Her motto, she’d face Lucifer himself to save a child. And she can’t say no to Levaughn, needing him to hold her, love her, when life becomes unbearable.
I can see Mr Mayhem’s resemblance to Hannibal Lector. I can see Shawnee’s resemblance to Clarice. I love that Sue Coletta took Blessed Mayhem so far out there, I had to reign myself in after the last page was read.
I don’t know if it is just me, but I wanted to be ‘shown’ more. Shawnee is so hard on the outside, I wanted to be ‘shown’ more of her love for Levaughn, her best friend and lover. I also wanted to be ‘shown’ more of the badass side and the evil that befalls her in her battle with Mr Mayhem. I wanted to get lost inside their heads. Maybe I just wasn’t ready for the story to end. If I did half stars, I would rate this 4.5, but seeing I don’t, I round up…5 Stars it is.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Blessed Mayhem by Sue Coletta.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
2017 Winner of Readers’ Choice Award in Mystery/Thriller, hosted by Rosie’s Book Reviews!!
A chance encounter …a deadly predicament …a lethal decision.
The
infamous Mr. Mayhem is not your average serial killer. Reminiscent of
the beloved Hannibal Lecter, minus his thirst for flesh—because eating
humans is just plain rude—Mr. Mayhem storms on the scene with style,
grace, elegance, and a zest for life unlike any other. Impeccable
manners also help. He may commit murder, but there’s no reason to be
impolite about it.
Accompanied by his loyal crow companions,
Poe, Allan, and Edgar, his crimes strike fear in the hearts and minds of
folks across Massachusetts’ North Shore. When Shawnee Daniels—cat
burglar extraordinaire and forensic hacker for the police—meets Mayhem
in the dark, she piques his curiosity. Sadly for her, she leaves behind
an item best left undiscovered. Or is it serendipity by design?
Color
him curious, but he yearns to examine the psychology behind her life
choices, tough girl routine, witty banter, and unique double-life. In a
different time and place they may even become friends. But
unfortunately, their predicament defines the risk.
The stakes are too high to stop now.
For reasons authorities cannot fathom, these seemingly unrelated murders will go down in history as the most impressive killing regime of all time. His coup de grace, if you will. Even if it means permanently erasing Ms. Daniels from the equation. All the pieces are there if the authorities look hard enough. The question is, will they? The only new wrinkle is Shawnee Daniels, and she may be his toughest opponent yet …if she’s clever enough to play the game.
ABOUT SUE COLETTA
ABOUT SUE COLETTA Member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers, Sue Coletta is an award-winning, multi-published author in numerous anthologies and her forensics articles have appeared in InSinC Quarterly. In addition to her popular crime resource blog, Sue co-hosts the radio show “Partners In Crime” on Writestream Radio Network every third Tuesday of the month from 1 – 3 p.m. EDT/EST (see details at www.suecoletta.com). She’s also the communications manager for the Serial Killer Project and Forensic Science, and founder of #ACrimeChat on Twitter. She runs a popular crime website and blog, where she shares crime tips, police jargon, the mind of serial killers, and anything and everything in between. If you search her achieves, you’ll find posts from guests that work in law enforcement, forensics, coroner, undercover operatives, firearm experts…crime, crime, and more crime. For readers, she has the Crime Lover’s Lounge, where subscribers will be the first to know about free giveaways, contests, and have inside access to deleted scenes. As an added bonus, members get to play in the lounge. Your secret code will unlock the virtual door. Inside, like-minded folks discuss their favorite crime novels, solve mindbender and mystery puzzles, and/or relax and chat. Most importantly, everyone has a lot of fun. Sue lives in northern New Hampshire with her husband, where her house is surrounded by wildlife…bear, moose, deer, even mountain lions have been spotted. Course, Sue would love to snuggle with them, but her husband frowns on the idea.
Britney King loves to deliver a twisted, psychological thriller that makes it almost impossible to put down. Her is another fantastic addition to my reading list and I can hardly wait for more.
The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. Joe Klaus
With an opening like that, I grit my teeth and clench my hands tightly around my ereader, anticipating another fabulous psychological thriller from Britney King…and I was not disappointed.
When I read the Prologue, I thought, “I wonder what she is setting me up for.”
Britney King is very creative when it comes to her villains. Many times she has me rooting for them, making me love them and wanting things to work out for them.
Be careful thinking the grass is greener on the other side. It may be infested with evil.
Sadie…she is finding out that once you are in, you are never out. Now, how can I turn my back on her. I am bopping along, at a steady pace, watching her be manipulated, twisted, and perverted into keeping some nefarious secrets.
Secrets, betrayal…how can she live like that?
Britney King has a way of taking a normal neighborhood and with her casual air creates a location of danger and death. Somehow her imagination comes up with way of surprising me, jerking me out of an I know this attitude.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Her by Britney King.
4 Star
GOODREADS BLURB
“After four, I quit counting. What’s the point if you know it isn’t going to stop?”
Sadie is jealous. Why wouldn’t she be? Her life is falling apart. Meanwhile, her new neighbor is everything she is not.
Ann
is perfect—the kind of woman everyone loves to hate—and a best friend
to die for. She hosts over-the-top dinner parties, takes parenting to an
entirely different level, and makes ambition look sexy as hell.
Sadie
learns quick: the best way to cure jealousy is to befriend it. She also
learns there’s more to her new friend than meets the eye. She’s
patient, she’s kind, and possibly a serial killer.
It isn’t
until Ann’s proclivities hit a little too close to home that Sadie has
to ask herself how much she’s willing to overlook in the name of getting
what she wants.
Exquisitely paced, Her is an unnerving and electrifying psychological thriller about jealousy, passion, and the dangerous places desire can take you. Full of enough tension and twists to make even the most seasoned suspense reader break out in a cold sweat, it keeps you guessing until the very last page.
ABOUT BRITNEY KING
Britney
King writes psychological, domestic, and romantic thrillers set in
suburbia. She is currently writing three series and several standalone
novels.
The Bedrock series (psychological/domestic/romantic thriller)
features an unlikely heroine who should have known better. Turns out,
she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy, dangerous,
forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on
revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White
Female, and Basic Instinct.
The Water Trilogy (psychological/domestic/romantic thriller) follows
the shady love story of an unconventional married couple– he’s an
assassin–she kills for fun. It has been compared to a crazier version of
Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, the hit series Dexter.
Around The Bend, is a heart-pounding standalone (romantic
suspense/domestic/psychological thriller), which traces the journey of a
well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks to
the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted
to keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she
wasn’t.
The With You series (romantic suspense/contemporary romance) is a
coming of age, friends to lovers, second chance (plus a few) love story
about unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves,
together and apart. It has been compared to Love, Rosie.
Britney lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.
She enjoys hearing from readers and would love it if you would
connect with her at britneyking.com or the plethora of social media
accounts she posses.
To receive an email whenever the author releases a new title, sign up for the VIP newsletter at britneyking.com/subscribe-to-new-rele… copy and paste into your browser).
To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her mailing list at britneyking.com or just copy and paste bit.ly/britneykingweb into your browser.
Her characters may be hard to pin down, but she’s not. She loves talking to readers, so feel free to email her at britney@britneyking.com—she does her best to respond to everyone.
When PI Cassie Tam is hired to investigate the death of a local virtual
reality junkie, she thinks it will be easy money. In New Hopeland, VR
junkies die every day, and the local PD already declared it an
accidental overdose on synthetic stimulants. But the more she digs,
the more that things don’t add up.
To make things even more complicated, her client, the deceased’s
sister Lori, is a Tech Shifter – someone who uses a metal
exoskeleton to roleplay as an animal – and Cassie has always been
wary of that community. That wouldn’t be a problem if Lori wasn’t
fast becoming the first person she’s been genuinely attracted to
since splitting with her ex.
When PI Cassie Tam and her girlfriend Lori try to make up for their recent
busy schedules with a night out at the theatre to watch the Tech
Shift performer Kitsune, the last thing they expected was for Cassie
to get a job offer. But some people are never off the clock, and by
the end of the evening, Cassie has been drawn into a mundane but
highly paid missing pet case. Unfortunately, in New Hopeland City,
even something as simple as little lost dog can lead you down some
dark paths.
Until now, Cassie wasn’t aware that there even was a rabbit hole,
New Hopeland City may be the birthplace of Tech Shifter gear, but it
isn’t the only place that likes to blend technology with folklore.
Now, a new nightmare is stalking the streets…
When PI Cassie Tam is attacked on the way home one night, she expects the
police to get involved. What she doesn’t expect is to be forced
into acting as bait to lure out a lunatic in a tech-suit
that’s literally out for blood. But past actions have consequences, and doing so may be
the only way she can get a clean slate from the city’s law makers.
If only that didn’t mean having to face down a wannabe vampire.
Matt Doyle is a speculative fiction author from the UK and identifies as pansexual
and genderfluid. Matt has spent a great deal of time chasing dreams,
a habit which has led to success in a great number of fields. To
date, this has included spending ten years as a professional
wrestler, completing a range of cosplay projects, and publishing
multiple works of fiction.
These days, Matt can be found working on multiple novels and stories,
blogging about pop culture, and plotting and planning far too many projects.
The cover wasn’t the only thing that had me eager to read David Barnett’s My Hungry Friend. The title makes me wonder…Who’s hungry and who will be eaten. LOL
Running the gauntlet of the homeless that are collected on the block, he makes the biggest mistake of his life.
“Everything’s got a price,” she said.
And he was going to pay it!
Is it real, or all in his head?
Will he take anyone down with him?
I wondered.
Spiders…one of the creepiest critters to crawl the face of the earth. Just thinking of, writing about them, makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck and chills run up and down my spine. That is the kind of scary I like. Not Jason coming at me with a chain saw.
The subtle creepiness and anticipation of what is to come gives me plenty of time to watch his world crumble.
The writing is great and the story is haunting.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of My Hungry Friend by Daniel Barnett.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
When Mike Roberts kicks over a homeless woman’s cup of change, she whispers a cryptic warning:
“Mind the cracks . . .”
Now
the Boston he knows and loves is unraveling around him. But his life is
not the only thing at stake. His mother, a once acclaimed writer lost
in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, depends on him to have a home. And
then there’s her caretaker, Cassie, who might want something more from
Mike than the friendship they’ve long shared.
As his city
balances on a razor’s edge, Mike will have to hunt down the daughter of
the woman he wronged and uncover their terrible family secret . . . or
be plunged into a world of crawling horrors and unspeakable hunger.
A world from which no one has ever returned.
ABOUT DANIEL BARNETT
Daniel Barnett lives in Portland, Oregon and is a lover of stories–especially ones where things go bump in the night. His work has appeared in Crowded Magazine, and his short story The Sadie Hawkins placed in the top 6 for the 2015 Aeon Award. When he isn’t writing or reading, he’s discussing fiction with others. Whether they want to or not.
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Hello. Welcome to another edition of Sherry’s Shelves. Spring is in the air, but I wish it would quit raining. I don’t think I have ever seen this many days of no sun and I am sick of it. LOL I know, come August, I’ll probably to asking, “Why doesn’t it rain. Everything is so dry and I don’t want to spend the time watering.” Have you noticed any changes in the weather patterns in your neck of the woods?
It has only been recently that I have begun to read outside my favorite genres, and it is because of authors like P M Terrell. I first fell in love with her writing when I was reading the Black Swamp Mystery series and I never looked back.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath and let your mind go. Imagine you are a pioneer woman, captured by the Indians, bound hand and foot and taken far from home. Imagine floating in a canoe, smelling the trees, feeling the wind on your face and listening to the boat knife through the water. Around the bend the prairie spreads out in its vastness and a herd of bison grow larger. There is a white buffalo. Have you heard of it?
Songbirds Are Free by P M Terrell is told from two points of view. One is Mary’s, the other is Jim’s. A relative who never gives up in his search for her.
Captured by Indians, Mary chose to live and wait patiently to escape, adopting the life instead of dying and her determination to survive and return to her family is amazing.
Songbirds Are Free is a piece of P M Terrell’s personal history, spiced up with her ability to write a story that will have you white knuckled, sometimes pissed off, sometimes sad, sometimes even spreading a smile or two across my face as I travel with P M Terrell in Mary’s fictional footsteps.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Songbirds Are Free by P M Terrell.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Songbirds are Free is the story of Mary’s years in captivity and her eventual escape. It is a journey that will take her from present-day Nashville deep into Indian Territory–through Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan before she is able to successfully escape her captors. It is the story of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. It is the story of one woman’s effort to survive a brutal existence and travel hundreds of miles alone to be reunited with her family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
p.m.terrell
is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning,
internationally acclaimed author of more than 21 books in four genres:
contemporary suspense, historical adventure/suspense, computer how-to
and non-fiction.
Prior to writing full-time, she founded
two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Among
her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret
Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her
specialties were in white collar computer crimes and computer
intelligence, themes that have carried forward to her contemporary
suspense.
She has been a full-time author since
2002. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book
Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a
national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. The Tempest
Murders was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards,
cross-genre category.
Her historical suspense, River Passage,
was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so
historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville
Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.
She is also the co-founder of The Book
‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of
the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She
is the organizer and chairperson of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual
event held in Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase
literacy and reduce crime. For more information on this event and the
literacy campaigns funded by it, visit www.bookemnc.org. She is also the founder of The Novel Business, mentoring authors in the business end and selling of books.
She sits on the board of the Friends of
the Robeson County Public Library. She has also served on the boards of
Robeson County Arts Council, Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers and became
the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights
Crime Solvers in Virginia.
I haven’t read any Young Adult for a while, so when I was offered a copy of Diamond Moon by Celia Breslin I jumped on it. This may be the 12th book in the series, but I didn’t have any trouble beginning out of order. That being said, I loved it enough to recommend beginning at the beginning so you don’t miss any of the good stuff.
It’s been a while since I have read any Young Adult Werewolf stories, and I was ready for this sweet little novella, Diamond Moon by Celia Breslin.
Darci’s parents had died and all she had left was a map leading to a mystery town. She is half human and half werewolf. Her desire is to be all human, so hopefully whoever is in the mystery town can help her to quit shifting. Last time her heart stopped. How long before it kills her?
Thus, the adventure begins.
She’s going solo. She is creeped out by the forest, which usually brings her comfort and puts her at ease. Maybe that is a sign. Is someone or something out there?
We meet Ross. He is all wolfy male, wanting to escape the city and find more meaning for his life. He walks away from his computer job to build houses, though he still keeps his hand in technology.
Okay, I think we all know where this is going, but I am having a great time getting there.
I quickly fell in love with Mister Sun God Sexy. I love his Big Bad Wolf attitude and his pet attack cat.
A lot is packed into this short story and I loved it.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Diamond Moon by Celia Breslin.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Human-wolf hybrid Darci Diamond spends every full moon locked in auntie’s basement in Southern Oregon. Her excruciating shifts terrify her, the last one causing her heart to stop beating. Seeking a cure, she journeys to Los Lobos.
Ross
Luparell returns to the struggling Tao pack, using his millions made in
the tech industry to build homes for pack families in need. He never
imagined he would also find his one true mate. But when a hybrid with
the biggest green eyes he’s ever seen lands on his doorstep in the
middle of a wicked summer storm, there’s no denying it. She’s the one.
She wants a normal human life, free from pain-filled shifts. He won’t give up on her Wolf, and will do whatever it takes to help her accept her true nature. But can he convince her to trust him with her heart?
ABOUT CELIA BRESLIN
Writer, urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Mega Joss Whedon fan. Lover of dark chocolate and exercise (no kidding). I write about the sexy and mysterious creatures of the Otherworld. Vampires, werewolves and all manner of Fae hold an extra special place in my heart.
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