Category Archives: Reviews
What Is Your Definition of Art – Work of Art by Ken La Salle @KenLaSalle
Deception Bay by Chris Patchell @chris_patchell
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I have been reading Chris Patchell for some time now and am always eager to get my hands on another one of her books. Deception Bay is another mystery that had me wondering what was buried beneath the waves and hooked from the beginning.
MY REVIEW
I know some people don’t like a prologue, but I love to be teased and it hooked from the opening pages, and Chris did that very well.
It didn’t take me long to figure out some of the mystery from the prologue. I’m still working on the whys,and I don’t have any idea of the who, so the mystery is still very much alive.
Austin’s heading home, to Whidbury Island to see about his mom, who has been in an accident. He has a panic attack on the ferry and meets Ellie.
The cat…he named it CAT, after Inspector Clouseau’s valet. I have always loved the Pink Panther series and the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. CAT does sneak attack him when he comes into the house, freaking him out, and it makes me laugh every time I think about it.
From Wikipedia
If he wasn’t a writer, I might mistake him for Rockford, from the Rockford files. He’s constantly getting beat on.
But who would want to hurt his mother? His mother had issues before she was hurt, so I have a feeling he came to visit but may never leave.
He is forced to face his past and the inner demons that he can’t seem to get past. He grows, changes, forgives and solves a couple of mysteries too.
Three deaths, past and present.
Well, all in all, a wonderful tale of romance, murder and mystery, and love, forgiveness and laughter.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Deception Bay by Chris Patchell.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
She’s armed. He’s dangerous. Together, can they stop a killer from tearing a small island community apart?
When wise-cracking cozy mystery author, Austin Martell, left his hometown on Whidbey Island for the bright lights of New York, he vowed he would never go back. But some promises are impossible to keep, and when Austin discovers that his mother has suffered a serious accident, he has no choice but to return. Austin soon learns that her accident may be no accident at all, and secrets that were laid to rest after his brother’s tragic death off the coast of Deception Bay, have now begun to surface.
Austin finds himself in the center of a real-life murder mystery, when Police Chief Ellie Sharpe uncovers a curious connection between the author and the death of a local businessman. Born and raised on Whidbey and trained as a New York cop, Ellie is smart, and tough, and determined to solve the mystery behind the killing before more people die. Sparks fly as the two pair up to figure out who is responsible for the murder. The closer they come to discovering truth, the more desperate someone is to keep the sins of the past from coming to light.
Someone close to Austin harbors a deadly truth. Can Ellie unmask a killer before Austin becomes one more secret buried beneath the waves of Deception Bay?
ABOUT CHRIS PATCHELL
Chris Patchell is the bestselling author of In the Dark and the Indie Reader Discovery Award winning novel Deadly Lies. Having recently left her long-time career in tech to pursue her passion for writing full-time, Chris pens gritty suspense novels set in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her family and two neurotic dogs.
MY CHRIS PATCHELL REVIEWS
One Sentence Review – Loved This Alaskan Adventure with Kitty Hawk by Iain Reading
2017 Alphabet Reading Challenge Update #ReadingChallenges
Review – Angel of Shadow by D H Nevins @dhnevins
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Giveaway & Review for Arachnosaur by Richard Jeffries #RichardJeffries @SDSXXTours
Arachnosaur
by Richard Jeffries
Genre: Horror
I hate spiders. They totally creep me out and I love it, which is why I had to read Arachnosaur by Richard Jeffries. lolSoldiers facing off against terrorists. Death, blood, bullets and savagery.
Key struggles to make sense of what was happening to him, a concussion messed with his mind. Could he believe what he was seeing? The squad had been slaughtered. How many were left besides him? He wanted answers.
And….we know something worse is coming his way.
Key and Daniels are opposites, but work well together as a team. Key is methodical and Daniels a bit reckless. Can they save the world from the egomaniacs who think they can control their new weapon? Foolish, foolish men.
I love the combination of military intrigue and giant spiders. So much of it read as if it could be real. The writing was detailed and the action was non stop.
The world…well…I loved to visit it, but don’t want to live there.
I would love to be on their next adventure.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Arachnosaur by Richard Jeffries.
4 Stars
Desert Swarm
After his superior officers are killed in action, Corporal Josiah Key
assumes command of the 3rd Battalion, Marine Raiders. In the tiny
village of Shabhut, Yemen, while trying to put the blast on ISIS
forces, an even deadlier enemy emerges: ancient, unreasoning
creatures who tear into both U.S. troops and terrorists without
mercy, leaving brutally dismembered corpses in their wake.
assumes command of the 3rd Battalion, Marine Raiders. In the tiny
village of Shabhut, Yemen, while trying to put the blast on ISIS
forces, an even deadlier enemy emerges: ancient, unreasoning
creatures who tear into both U.S. troops and terrorists without
mercy, leaving brutally dismembered corpses in their wake.
They are known as the Idmonarchne Brasieri,
giant prehistoric spiders roused from millennia-long slumber by
power-mad terrorists. These aptly-named ‘Arachnosaurs’ are
hungry. They’re angry. And they have declared war against all of
humanity . . . whose days might just be numbered unless Key and his
unit can stop them.
giant prehistoric spiders roused from millennia-long slumber by
power-mad terrorists. These aptly-named ‘Arachnosaurs’ are
hungry. They’re angry. And they have declared war against all of
humanity . . . whose days might just be numbered unless Key and his
unit can stop them.
Richard Jeffries holds
a degree in Creative Writing, obtained before he went to work for
American intelligence. He has seen the world—and things in it—which
inspired the writing of these novels. Now retired from covert ops,
Jeffries divides his time between rural Connecticut and London. In
his spare time he pursues his lifelong interest in Kung Fu and
classical piano.
a degree in Creative Writing, obtained before he went to work for
American intelligence. He has seen the world—and things in it—which
inspired the writing of these novels. Now retired from covert ops,
Jeffries divides his time between rural Connecticut and London. In
his spare time he pursues his lifelong interest in Kung Fu and
classical piano.
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!
for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!
Monday Mini Review – Angel Fall by Susan Ee @Susan_Ee
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Angelfall by Susan Ee is one heavenly story I won from Toi Thomas.
MY REVIEW
I am so glad I won this book because I loved it and I probably never would have found it on my own. The angels brought death, destruction and the apocalypse. Sixteen year old Penryn will team up with Raffe, an angel warrior caught up in angel politics. They will save each other again and again, as they struggle to find a way through the new world they live in. Forbidden love, complex characters and world building full of desperation and danger make me want to now who will be left standing. I was immediately drawn into this dark and desperate world of angel against angel, angel against human, human against angel and human against human, as Penryn and Raffe try to change what’s left of the world they live in.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.
Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
Monday Mini – The Gift by Tegon Maus @TegonMaus
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MY REVIEW
I have seen Tegon Maus’ books around and heard such good things that I had to find out for myself. I was not disappointed.
The story is about Enon, a Jonda and mind reader, and Elisabeth, kidnapped royalty.
Enon would either be a hero or a dead man. The fighting is fierce, but he makes a good showing, even managing to hook up with a woman who has his number. Their verbal banter is more often funny than hurtful.
Would betrayal take the king’s life? Isn’t there always someone hiding in the shadows wanting the kingdom?
The world created is fraught with danger and enemies at every turn. Will the frightened little man become an unwilling hero? Well, all I can say is the journey is long and arduous, and not all will return.
Tegon Maus can sure spin a tale, drawing me in, making me crave more.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Gift by Tegon Maus.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Transformed by a primitive magic beyond a civilized man’s understanding, I was given a horrible gift that no man should possess… It held me, twisted me, turning me at its bidding. I was enslaved by its power, compelled to devour the souls of the dead until I became the monster of my fears. I have seen things I wish never to see again. I have done things of which I wish never to speak. Yet I must if I am to find the answers to fulfill my hope. I have walked upon blue ribbons of molten stone to peer into the depth of a man’s soul. I watched as a promise made at birth brought my friend Enon to sacrifice everything to become whole again – all in an effort to save the life of his child. I have cried without shame for the loss of all I hold dear and for fear that the future will hold more than I can bear. I am Tucker Littlefield. Know all that I say now is true-spoken.
Alien Alligators are in the Aquifer by Gary A Barnes #GaryABarnes
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I love the cover for Aquifer by Gary A Barnes. That alone would have had me grabbing this, but add alien alligators…I love a good creature feature and we have one here.
Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA
MY REVIEW
I was looking for a Q for my reading challenge and this popped up. An alien alligator? Oh yeah.
In the Ozark Mountains, in the 1950s, in the hillbilly town of Ellington, Doc was enjoying the slow pace, after life in the busy city. Life is just what you would think, live off the land, uneducated people, no money, but they lived their life to the fullest.
Dr. Thomas Clayton came from there and was back as a herpetologist to do an ecological study. What are the ramifications of pollution on the frog population?
Amidst the croaks of the frogs and the song of the cicadas, a blinding flash, a sonic boom, and…we’re off.
Tina’s home life is comfy cozy, with all the characters sharing, eating, playing. I remember catching fireflies and putting them in a jar with holes punched in the top. Do you? It’s always fun to read a book that brings back pleasant memories. Makes the book seem real…sorta. If you believe in aliens and mutant creatures.
I love how two collegiate city slickers meet the Ozark hillbillies and learn they have more in common that they could have possibly believed.
I was freaking when tina and Larry were sitting n the rock at the lagoon.
The slow building suspense allowed me to get to know and love the characters. To get the feel of the terror that is coming, feel IT coming now…NOW? I do wonder how many of them will survive.
Of course, we gotta have one lizard lover. Don’t hurt ’em. Let’s coexist. Well, maybe they don’t want to. Maybe we are their breakfast, lunch and dinner. MMM…hungry.
I love these B type creature features.
Plenty of time was spent in world building and character development. It was great to watch them grow and change, as they spend more time together, learning from each other.
I knew the ending and loved it anyway. If you are looking for a great alien, creature feature, look no further. We have all the requirements here. All the gory, grisly deaths, mixed with loss, love and romance.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Dr. Thomas Clayton was born to an unwed teenage daughter of an Ozark share-cropper. He was adopted at birth without ever knowing the identity of his biological mother or of his backwoods roots. He now unwittingly arrives in the Ozark community of Eminence as part of an environmental research team studying the pollution affects of the logging industry. Clayton has nothing but contempt for the hillbillies of the area, while they in turn suspect that he is part of a Federal conspiracy to take over their land.
Shot down by the military, an alien spaceship crashes into the Ozark Mountains. The alien crew is killed, but the destruction of the spacecraft allows an aggressive alligator-sized amphibian to escape into the continental aquifer which extends from Canada to Mexico. The amphibians quickly multiply and begin devouring the livestock and ultimately the citizens of Eminence. A military unit from Ft. Leonard Wood attempts to eradicate the aliens only to be destroyed themselves by the aggressive creatures.
With the destruction of the military and the impending destruction of the citizenry, Clayton and the town folk join together to obliterate the creatures using only the resources available to a backwoods farming community. Failure would doom the entire nation as the amphibians could travel through the aquifer to wreck havoc throughout the country.
With the annihilation of humanity in the balance, Clayton discovers the key to destroying the aliens. But using it would require him to intentionally spread the pollution he has sworn to prevent. In an explosive pyrotechnic battle with the creatures, Clayton wrestles with the morality of blatantly destroying a new species or somehow capturing it for preservation before it destroys mankind. Does he prevent the spread of pollution or proliferate its spread to save the world? In the process, Clayton makes a stunning discovery that brings him full-circle to his Ozark roots and the family he never knew.