Category Archives: Reviews

It’s The End Of The Line for Dead Meat…Day 9 by Nick Clausen @NickClausen9

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Nick Clausen has done an amazing job with the Dead Meat series and I am totally invested in sticking with it til the end to see how he wraps it up. That being said, I have my fingers crossed that my favorite characters will still be alive when it is all said and done.

Dead Meat - Day 9: A Zombie Apocalypse Thriller

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Well, this is the final day of the zombie apocalypse and I have had my fingers crossed that my favorite character, Dan, will make it to the end. TODAY, his mission is to find his father. Will he be dead dead? Will he be a zombie, making it possible for Dan to cure him?

I can picture Dan with the water gun. How about having a little fun in zombieland?

As we near the end of our journey, Nick Clausen has never failed in the world building and dangerous times…and it is nail biting, spine tingling, with characters to love and hate. He kept me on my toes with the pacing and suspense as I wondered who he would kill off next. Would be favorite characters(s) be left alive when their journey ends?

My rating: I have been doing so much reading since Covid entered our lives that I think my ratings have changed and it is even harder to get my attention, keep it, and make me race through the pages…because I HAVE TO KNOW! Nick Clausen was able to do that with Dead Meat: Day 9. This series has been unpredictable and unputdownable and five stars is well deserved!

Now, I’m curious…what’s next Nick?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dead Meat: Day 6 by Nick Clausen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

The dead have awakened. The world is ending. This is the final day.

Here comes the thrilling conclusion to the Dead Meat series. Find out who makes it through and who doesn’t—and whether mankind can still be saved from the undead who have by now taken over most of the world.

But zombies aren’t the only thing threatening human lives, as the world is standing at the brink of all-out nuclear war …

ABOUT NICK CLAUSEN

Born 1988 in North Jutland, where I still live with my wife, who also happened to be my earliest childhood girlfriend. From 2017 I have lived as a full-time writer. Up until then, I had different jobs beside the writing. I have been studying as a carpenter for three years, and have also read two years of psychology at Aalborg University. It turned out that the writing had a much more powerful pull on me.

Nick Clausen

I decided early on that I would be an author when I grew up. In fact, the decision came to me already when I read my first book, Snevampyren by Dennis Jürgensen. My first “real” stories I wrote at 14-15 years of age. They were rejected by the publisher, but still got praise. There were some years when I was busy with being a teenager and trying to get an education before I suddenly remembered that I should be an author.

That day I made a promise to write 1,000 words a day until I got a book published. I sat down and started writing. I continued to write every single day for a year and a half. I sent the finished manuscripts to different publishers, and the rejections piled up. Twelve of them by the end. But each time I could feel it was a little bit better. The criticism became more positive. The thirteenth story was called Tidevandet, and it was adopted by the publisher and came out a year later.

I have always enjoyed writing, although in the beginning I put a lot of pressure on myself. My approach to the process has become much more free over the years. For example, I no longer plan my stories. That way, I feel that I’m experiencing the story while writing it and the characters feel like real people. I do not know where the ideas come from, but I’ve never had trouble finding them.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

MY NICK CLAUSEN REVIEWS

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  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
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  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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New Release – The Silent Witness by Carolyn Arnold @Carolyn_Arnold @HibbertStiles

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Carolyn Arnold sure can write. I do not want to miss a book. She fills her novels with marvelous characters and plenty of thrills and chills to keep me on my toes.

The Silent Witness (Detective Amanda Steele #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Carolyn Arnold writes some fantastic stories and the tagline for The Silent Witness is an appropriate description of what’s inside, an absolutely unpudownable crime thriller. The first chapter set the hook and I was along for the ride.

It’s 4:03 am and everyone is asleep…until…

Zoe is only six years old when her parents are murdered. Amanda Steele is called on to handle the case, and she thinks of her daughter, who was Zoe’s age when she died in a car accident, along with her father, Amanda’s husband. She is more determined than ever to keep her safe, she just didn’t picture it happening quite the way it did. It makes things complicated for her, but once she settles into the decision, she never looks back.

Amanda spends more time with her work partner,Trent Stenson, than anyone, though she does have a boyfriend, Logan Hunter. She finds it hard to find a lot of time to spend with him. Isn’t that any cop’s story? Logan is a construction worker and has been through some perilous times with Amanda, but that is another story.

Sherry Hill is the police chief, Amanda’s boss. I love when I find a character with my name. That doesn’t happen very often. I do love that she’s a…not very nice person. Gives her more depth and makes for an interesting character. Why is she like that? And why in the world would she tell the media about…everything?

The clues are slow in coming, but Amanda is determined, diligent, and so am I. The case gets more complicated and more dangerous the deeper we dig.

At the end, Carolyn Arnold asks if the twists and turns glued me to the pages. My answer is an emphatic YES! I expect nothing less from her work and I have read a lot of it. The Silent Witness is a tale that keeps on giving suspense, thrills and chills, with characters that I love and love to hate, and what else could I want, except MORE.

“We just follow the evidence to wherever it leads without being swayed or bullied.”

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of The Silent Witness by Carolyn Arnold.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

It’s 4 a.m. when her mom shakes her awake. “Get up baby, we’re going to play hide and seek.” The little girl presses back into the dark space, holding her breath as she hears the shots ring out. She knows she’s next…

When the bodies of a local family are discovered on a quiet street in the small town of Dumfries, Virginia, Detective Amanda Steele takes charge of the case. Brett and Angela Parker were shot three times each, leaving no hope of survival, and their tidy suburban home has been ransacked. But there is no sign of their beloved six-year-old, Zoe.

Zoe is the same age as Amanda’s daughter was when she died, and Amanda can’t bear the thought of another little girl in danger. She’s organizing a search for the child, when she notices something strange about the ottoman at the foot of the Parkers’ bed. She opens it to find Zoe, mute and traumatized, but alive.

With Zoe completely uncommunicative, Amanda must find another way to untangle what destroyed this seemingly perfect family. It’s clear that the killer is searching for something the Parkers had, and until she has this monster behind bars, Amanda fears that he may return for Zoe. When she learns that Brett Parker cut short the family’s recent lakeside vacation, she wonders why. What happened at that lake house, and did it ultimately get them killed?

Amanda heads out to Lake Chesdin on the feeling it might be key to the case, and when she finds a cell phone in the murky waters next to the Parker cabin, she knows she’s made a breakthrough. But then terrible news reaches her from Dumfries; Zoe has been taken from her school playground.

Someone wants to silence the Parker family for good, can Amanda catch them before the little girl she’s desperate to protect pays the price?

A completely gripping and addictive crime thriller that will keep fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan and Robert Dugoni entertained into the early hours.

ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD

CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.

Carolyn Arnold

Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives just west of Toronto with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.

Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:  Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

And don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.

MY REVIEWS FOR CAROLYN ARNOLD

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
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Review – Worlds Apart by Carmen Webster Buxton @CarmenWBuxton #sciencefiction

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I fell in love with Carmen Webster Buxton’s Wakanreo Science Fiction Series, so I am very eager to go on another adventure with her. Carmen….take me away….

Worlds Apart (ThreeCon)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have read some of Carmen Webster Buxton’s work, of which her Wakanreo series was my favorite, so far. She builds worlds that are easy to visualize with her creative writing and her characters quickly draw me into their lives, as I struggle right along with them.

We start out with a wild west gunfight, but it’s out on the plain, not at the OK Corral. Out of the sky comes a flash…and Praxiteles’ life is changed forever.

Praxiteles is a Mercouri, an unsophisticated man who lives a primitive life on the plains. The Mercouri are language refuges, colonists who left the city instead of giving up their language. Praxiteles is naive, loyal, trustworthy, and committed to the debts he owes.

I love watching him grow and learn, adjusting to his new circumstances, his new world.

I got lost in the fabulous world Carmen Webster Buxton created with her ability to show me through words the planets and characters. I lived and loved as Praxiteles and Rishi lived and loved. The peripheral characters were as interesting and vital to the story as the principles. I am looking forward to spending more time in their world and am curious to see what will happen next.

Love can conquer all in their world, but it wasn’t easy getting there.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Worlds Apart by Carmen Webster Buxton.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

“Meet cute” is one thing, but “meet dangerous” is something else. Praxiteles Mercouri’s people live a low-tech, nomadic existence on the plains of the planet Celadon. When they are attacked by well-armed merciless marauders, they are saved from annihilation by the timely intervention of a visitor to Celadon, the very wealthy Rishi Trahn. In the ensuing celebration, Rishi overdoes the potent local wine. A sense of duty makes Prax agree to her request that he go with her to her world, Stone cold sober the next morning, Rishi is appalled at her own actions. But while she feels terrible for taking Prax away from his people, she doesn’t feel bad enough to send him back. Now if they can just get past his gratitude and her scruples.

ABOUT CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON

Carmen Webster Buxton

Carmen Webster Buxton spent her youth reading every book published by Ursula LeGuin, Robert Heinlein and Georgette Heyer. This combination of far-future worlds, alien cultures, and old-fashioned courting customs influenced her writing, especially in her ThreeCon series.

Carmen was born in Hawaii and experienced a peripatetic childhood, as her father was in the US Navy. Having raised two wonderful children, she now lives in Maryland with her husband Charlie, and a beagle named Cosmo. She writes science fiction (often including a romance, and mostly set in the far future), and the occasional fantasy.

Carmen has published many books:

WAKANREO SERIES
Alien Bonds
Alien Vows
Alien Skies

HAVEN SERIES
The Sixth Discipline
No Safe Haven

THREECON SERIES (can be read in any order)
The Nostalgia Gambit
Saronna’s Gift
Shades of Empire
Tribes
Worlds Apart

ALTERNATE HISTORY
King of Trees

YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION
Turnabout
Drifters

FANTASY
Where Magic Rules
Bag of Tricks
Hidden Magic

THE NAMELESS WORLD SAGA (coming in 2021)
The North Edge of Nowhere
Oaths and Promises

Carmen often blogs about ereaders, digital publishing, writing, and speculative fiction. Visit her blog to see what’s coming out next! To ask questions or to provide feedback on her books, send email to carmen.webster.buxton (at) gmail.com.

Website / Twitter / Facebook

MY CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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Shark’s Story – Saving Logan by Jane Blythe @jblytheauthor

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TODAY IS RELEASE DAY! Be one of the 1st to get your copy.

Woo Hoo…If the tent is rockin’, don’t come a knockin’.

Saving Logan (Saving SEALs, #4)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Shark”s story…I have been waiting for it. For some reason, this character really caught my attention in the previous novels. He is the perfect example of the strong, silent type. Action starts from the opening pages and never lets up. My favorite….so far.

Logan hopped a ride on the chopper, to join his team in Afghanistan, after his mother’s funeral. He is a pro at keeping his feelings to himself, but Claire picks up a vibe from him. Could he be the one after her? What, if any, are his intentions? She is gorgeous, but it is not her looks that get Logan’s attention. He can sense the fear radiating off her. He feels the need to know more. After all, he is a protector.

His Seal team mates, and the women who love them, are his friends, his family, but there is something about Claire that draws him in. He uses his size and gruffness to create distance from people and convey a sense of menace. It doesn’t take a lot of effort on his part. It seems to come naturally.

I love how he got his nickname in school….Shark. Should I tell you? Can you guess? Hint: what do sharks do? Cruise around and…

When the helicopter went down, Claire’s badass side came out. I am impressed, and surprised, and I love it. Her and Logan are the only two who survive and neither one trusts the other. They need to figure it out…and soon. They would have to work together to survive long enough to be rescued. Logan knew his Seal team would come looking, they just had to last long enough for the team to find them.

Claire Bear…walls collapsing…feelings coming out….taking over…BUT, it’s all in or nothing with Logan. He tries to use his ‘shark face’ on her, but she can see right through it. We do have some of the back and forth angst, the push and pull, but they have only known each other for days, not weeks or years. Still, the intense situation can put things in perspective.

When Logan and his team were sitting around a scrounged up barrel that created a makeshift fire pit, I immediately thought of a Seal Team TV episode. From them on, it was easy to visualize the action, making the suspense and thrills even more intense.

Terrorists, HIM, the traitor…I don’t understand their ideology and motivations. Does HE truly believe, or does he want revenge for some slight he feels?

Shark’s story was worth the wait. AND, with Jane Blythe’s tease about Chaos coming home and finding a woman in his bed, she has me eager for the next Seal team story. This was my favorite, no bones about it.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Saving Logan by Jane Blythe.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

They’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive.

When Claire Barrett decided to dedicate her life to helping those who serve in the military deal with the horrors they experience, the last thing she expected was that she would wind up lost in the middle of Afghanistan. The only other surviver of the helicopter crash is a sexy SEAL with dark, empty eyes. She isn’t sure that she can trust him, but if she wants to survive she doesn’t have a choice.

Logan “Shark” Kirk knows that Claire is afraid of him, and that she’s keeping secrets. He has to wonder if she knows why their helicopter was shot down. As she fights alongside him, his respect for her grows, along with it feelings he’s completely unprepared for. Things between them heat up, but with Claire in the sights of a terrorist cell, their fight for survival has only just begun.

ABOUT JANE BLYTHE

Jane has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series, Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.

When she’s not writing Jane loves to read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies. She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears. She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

MY REVIEWS FOR JANE BLYTHE’S BOOKS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Early Review – The Easy Part by Amanda Siegrist @amanda_siegrist

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Release date: 9.21.21, but you can preorder for $3.99 and be in the front of the line.

There is nothing Easy in Amanda Siegrist’s romance novels, so buckle up and let’s go….

The Easy Part (Perfect for You, #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Nothing is easy in Amanda Siegrist’s romance novels. They are filled with angst, miscommunication, doubt….and LOVE. Though the books may be part of a series, they can stand alone.

I have been reading some intense, dark, deadly, and dangerous novels, so a happy ever after story from Amanda Siegrist will be a wonderful change of place. Some recurring characters in the Perfect For You series add a little bit of spice, but The Easy Part is Jezebelle and Brick’s story.

They have known each other for some time, but when Jezebelle’s mother comes to town, determined to take her back home with her, she and Brick come up with The Agreement…he will be a fake fiance for five days. Yeah, sure, they can try and fool themselves, but I know what’s coming…and maybe you do too.

He had the look of a bad boy, a bartender with tattoos. I think we can agree that mommy isn’t going to like that at all. Not when she has a hoity toity rich boy she wants her to marry. People may tend to underestimate Brick because of his looks, but he has a surprise in store for them, specifically for Bradley and Jezebelle’s mom.

Sure, she is hurting for money and her acting career is hit and miss, but she loves New York City. Staying with Brick, to back up their Agreement, gives her some breathing space…and she will need it. Brick is going all out to win her over and make their little game a fact. He wants her…permanently.

We don’t hear guns blazing and find dead bodies everywhere, but we do have a black eye or two. No vampires or werewolves, but we do have a wicked mother…in law. Smiles and tears, love and laughter, and family. That’s what makes the world go round.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of The Easy Part by Amanda Siegrist.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

From USA Today bestselling author Amanda Siegrist comes a series full of humor, angst, a sassy heroine, and a sexy, sinful hero that will sweep you off your feet.

The Agreement: Pretend to be her fake fiancé to placate her overbearing, selfish mother.
Timeframe: Five days.

Brick likes things carefree and simple, especially after the falling out with his brother. The moment Jezebelle walks into his bar looking sad and troubled, he’s determined to do anything to turn her frown upside down. Even if that requires posing as her fake fiancé to get her bossy mother off her back. Pretending to love her will be the easy part—because he does. Walking away will be futile. But he doesn’t see a way he can keep Jezebelle for real, not when her mother’s diabolical ways prove she can make his life more than just complicated, but downright impossible.

Jezebelle can’t believe her luck when Brick hatches this crazy plan. One, because she’s always had a secret crush on him, and any reason to get closer to him makes her heart stutter with anticipation. Two, because it might actually work to keep her mother at bay. Of course, her mother isn’t a woman who takes no for an answer. She’ll do everything in her power to get her way. The last thing she wants is for Brick to get hurt. The best thing she can do is walk away and forget he ever held her heart. If only it were that easy.

Warning: This is not a full romcom. While it has moments of humor, it also has a twist of angst. Okay, now you can dive in, you’re prepared!

The entire Perfect For You series: (Each book can be read as a standalone.)
The Wrong Brother (Book 1): Dane & Gabriella
The Right Time (Book 2): Jaxson & Mia
The Easy Part (Book 3): Brick & Jezebelle

ABOUT AMANDA SIEGRIST

Amanda Siegrist

Love! Gimme some love and heaps of romance. I have a sappy heart that just loves two people meeting, going through the cycles of a relationship, and ultimately, falling in love. Give me a good book like that and I’m a happy camper:)

I write contemporary and romantic suspense, but I am partial to suspense. I just love a good mystery.

Besides writing, I love baking, crafts, and baseball…oh, and meeting new people. *smiles*

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

MY AMANDA SIEGRIST REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
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Giveaway & Review – Our Moon Festival by Yobe Qiu @byyobeqiu @iReadBookTours

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Join us for this tour from September 7 to September 27
 

MY REVIEW

Our Moon Festival is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that shares a glimpse into the moon festival in Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese cultures. The oversize book is easy to share while reading with your children. Multicultural families make everyone feel welcome. The little ones (and us older ones) will get a glimpse into other cultures and may even be curious enough to want to know more. Isn’t that what all us book lovers want, more readers?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Our Moon Festival by Yobe Qiu.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars
Book Details:
 
Book Title:  Our Moon Festival by Yobe Qiu
Category:  Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7),  30 pages
Genre: Children’s Picture Book 
Publisher:  Yobe Qiu LLC
Release date:  January 2020
Content Rating:  G
 
Book Description:
 
“Our Moon Festival” is a beautifully illustrated children’s book celebrating the unique ways the Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese communities celebrate the Moon Festival. The story highlights different families and their traditions as they observe Zhong Qiu Jie, Tết Trung Thu, and Tsukimi!
 
 
 
Meet the Author:
 
Yobe is an educator, entrepreneur and mom who lives in NYC. As an educator, she focused on teaching families to embrace love, diversity and different cultures. Through the years working in the classrooms and closely with other educators, she noticed the lack of multi-cultural resources that represented children of color. That is when Yobe decided to create multicultural children stories that feature Asian children, families and cultures! Yobe loves spending time with her daughter, reading to children and taking long walks during the day!

Connect with the Author:  Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
 
Tour Schedule: 

Sep 7 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway
Sep 7 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / giveaway
Sep 7 – Kam’s Place – book review
Sep 8 – Splashes of Joy – book review / giveaway
Sep 8 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
Sep 9 – I’m Into Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 10 – Writer with Wanderlust – book review / giveaway
Sep 13 – fundinmental – book review / giveaway
Sep 14 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Sep 14 – The Adventures of a Traveler’s Wife – book review / giveaway
Sep 15 – Chit Chat with Charity – book review / giveaway
Sep 15 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Sep 16 – Deborah-Zenha Adams – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 16 – Bound 4 Escape – book review / giveaway
Sep 17 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review / giveaway
Sep 20 – Fictional Vixen – book review
Sep 21 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – book review / giveaway
Sep 21 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 22 – 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS – book spotlight 
Sep 22 – The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway
Sep 23 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
Sep 23 – Laura’s Interests – book review / giveaway
Sep 24 – Westveil Publishing – book review / giveaway
Sep 27 – The Phantom Paragrapher – book review
 
Enter the Giveaway:

OUR MOON FESTIVAL Book Tour Giveaway


 

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Review For New Release – City of Prey by Blake Pierce #BlakePierce

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City of Prey (Ava Gold Mystery #1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have read quite a few of Blake Pierce’s first in a series novels that he offers for free. He writes some wonderful mystery, suspense, thriller fiction, and I am happy to be here to share City of Prey with you. The simplicity of the cover still manages to give me a creepy feeling, a sense of foreboding.

Blake Pierce quickly got my attention. My spidey senses were tingling as soon as HE walked in the door.

Let’s step back in time…the 1920s in New York City, to be precise. Women had their place…at home, in the kitchen. Not so for Ava Gold. At her husband’s funeral, when the captain asked if there was anything he could do for her, she blurted out, “…I’d like a job.”

Ava’s father had been a boxer, until he broke his hand. He’s a trainer…and he taught Ava, so beware. This may be the 1920s and women were thought to be helpless, but not Ava. Once she starts working, he helps her with her ten year old son. She doesn’t realize it, but he has the utmost respect for her.

I could rant and rave about how the women were treated, but I want you to feel the same frustration and disgust that I felt at the stupidity of it all. Of course, I believe so much of this still goes on today, so it should be easy to imagine.

Ava has to deal with racism and sexism and understands neither. She loves Jazz and singing. She’s not afraid of Harlem and ignores those that frown at her independence. She is a natural investigator, whether because of her husband’s insight while discussing police business with her, or her own abilities to think like the criminal she is chasing. Investigating was not as sophisticated in the 1920s, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t those who stand above the rest, not willing to accept the easy way out. Piece by piece she puts the puzzle together to catch him.

I had a few issues with City of Prey, but overall they were minor. I loved the character of Ava and those who surrounded her had their place. History shows, it takes characters like these, willing to step outside the box and push the boundaries, to help us all progress.

City of Prey by Blake Pierce touches on racism, prohibition, and women’s rights.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of City of Prey by Blake Pierce.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

In the rough streets of 1920s New York City, 34 year-old Ava Gold, a widower and single mom, claws her way up to become the first female homicide detective in her NYPD precinct. She is as tough as they come, and willing to hold her own in a man’s world.

But when a psychotic serial killer unleashes a rampage, murdering young women across the city, Ava will have to search the dark canals of the twisted killer’s mind if she has any hope of hunting him down. With psychological profiling still in its infancy, and mocked by most, Ava will be even more alone as she follows her instinct, and hunts him down in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

Just when it seems the stakes couldn’t be higher, Ava comes to an awful realization: she herself may be the next target.

Amidst the speakeasies, jazz clubs, mafia-run prohibition rings, horrific mental asylums and dangerous back alleys of the city, can Ava achieve what all the men cannot: enter the sick mind of a killer, and stop him before more women die?

A heart-pounding suspense thriller filled with shocking twists, the authentic and atmospheric AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES is a riveting page-turner, endearing us to a strong and brilliant character that will capture your heart and keep you reading late into the night.

Books #2 and #3 in the series—CITY OF FEAR and CITY OF BONES—are now also available.

ABOUT BLAKE PIERCE

Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising thirteen books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising seven books (and counting); of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising two books (and counting); of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); of the new ADELE SHARP mystery series; and of the new EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series.

ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery–Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery–Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery–Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery–Book 1), WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige–Book 1), NEXT DOOR (A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery–Book 1), THE PERFECT WIFE (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller–Book One), and IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery–Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

MY BLAKE PIERCE REVIEWS

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Review For New Release – Mr Ultra Mega Love by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff @MimiJeanRomance

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From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes MR. ULTRA MEGA LOVE, book one of a twisted romance serial with bad language and a cape.
AMAZON US; | AMAZON UK; | AMAZON CA; | AMAZON AU
NOOK; | APPLE BOOKS; | PAPERBACK

MY REVIEW

I’ll preface this review by saying that Mr Ultra Mega Love by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff is so much more than I anticipated. I had judged the book by its cover and my previous reads in her paranormal worlds. I got more than I bargained for and that is always a good thing.

Mimi Jean’s books have a lot of humor, but Mr Ultra Mega Love starts out with Joy, an 18 year girl, who is a valedictorian and one of the sweetest girls you would ever know, is lying on the locker room floor being beaten by 4 other girls. That woke me up! This is so much more than bullying. That start had my emotions are all over the place, so I am eager to see where the story will go. I was soooo hooked and only 10% into the book.

The family has tried to go on, but the stink of the town hovers in the air, flashes through the eyes of every person they pass in the streets, whispers start and stop as they walk by. They cannot forget, and neither can the town.

We are focusing on Hudson, Joy’s brother, who is haunted by what happened. He is a NERD, afraid of his own shadow. His best friend, River, convinces him to come to the same college she has been attending for two years. He ran away from the town and towards River as fast as he could. I love the play on names…Hudson and River. Two years can make a difference and River had turned into a hot babe. Hmmm…I wonder….

Mr Ultra Mega Love by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff is not what I was expecting after looking at the cover…it is so much more. Mimi can sure pen a novel that wakes me up and has me anticipating what will happen next.

Well, what happens next, is a douchebag starts manhandling River, and this time he will not stand by and watch anything happen to someone he cares about. He sure didn’t anticipate the results and it is amazing how cruel and thoughtless people can be. The chaos affect…gotta be careful what you do because you cannot always anticipate the outcome.

Question: If you were given a box, and inside was a button that would kill a murderer, would you push it?

After his transformation…when he takes a leak…OMG. I was laughing out loud.

I love that Mimi Jean Pamfiloff took such a refreshing, humorous, tragic turn with Hudson. It is thoughtprovoking in a way that has me unsure if all that happened was good or bad…or just WAS.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Mr Ultra Mega Love by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

ABOUT THE BOOK

WILL HE EVER GET THE GIRL?

My name is Hudson Ulysses Ferris, better known as Huff. And I’m an ultra-nerd with mega-hang-ups. You’ll see why after you walk a day in my Converse. (My past isn’t pretty.) But hey, that’s no excuse for avoiding everything I want in life, including a fresh start at an out-of-state university.

My first night there, I meet the girl of my dreams (so cool). She’s taken, of course. But even if she weren’t, she’d never date a scrawny loser like me. Then my best friend, River, is manhandled by some dipsh*t twice her size (not cool), and for once, I act like a man. It costs me big because that dude and his friends leave me for dead.

But I don’t die.

And when I wake up the next morning, I look different. I feel different. The bruises and cuts don’t even hurt.

What the heck happened last night?

Because I just lifted a bus to save a puppy, and suddenly all the girls are looking at me. Except one. She might actually be afraid of the transformation that saved my life. Just my luck.

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MEET MIMI

Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.

Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.

She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.

CONTACT MIMI:

Follow Mimi on Facebook
Join Mimi’s Fan group on FB
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For random shout outs and inquiries: email Mimi.

MY MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF REVIEWS

MY M O MACK REVIEWS

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Library Review – Into The Water by Paula Hawkins #Librarylove @PaulaHWrites

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I grabbed Into The Water by Paula Hawkins from the library and I am so glad I did. It was a 2017 Goodreads Choice winner. I actually wrote this review last year and saved it for a ‘rainy day’.

Into the Water

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins touches a lot of serious, sensitive topics, and she handles them so well. Her portrayal of what secrets and misunderstandings bring about could be a warning to us all. Secrets do not stay buried.

I feel for all the lives forever changed.

I had some confusion switching to so many points of view, especially early on. My head was spinning, there is soooo much happening, so many angles, but Paula Hawkins wraps the story up nicely.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon The Girl on the Train returns with Into the Water, her addictive new novel of psychological suspense.

A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.

Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother’s sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she’d never return.

With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.

Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.

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WOO HOO – Dinosaur Lake VI by Kathryn Meyer Griffith @KathrynG64

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I am so excited to make another visit to Crater Lake in Oregon!

Dinosaur Lake VI: The Alien Connection

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

It is so exciting to be back in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with Henry Shore, but I do so with a heavy heart. Kathryn Meyer Griffith is wrapping up the story in Dinosaur Lake VI, and I will sorely miss the characters I have grown to love. She has surprised me with the story, taking me to a place I never anticipated and I do so love when an author can do that.

Henry is back at Crater Lake National Park…this time as a visitor, touring the wintry back roads in a camper, reminiscing about his past adventures. He had to catch a fish for dinner, because Ann had not stocked the pantry and they were deep in the backwoods, unable to easily drive into town. He thought of their dinosaur friend, Oscar, who he sorely missed, but they all the dinosaurs were gone now. I feel so much sorrow for Henry.

A snow storm was coming, so it was time to leave the park while they could get out.

I am so invested in the characters and how their lives have changed throughout the books. When Justin came to visit Henry, everything came rushing back for him…and for me. Henry needs a mission and Justin has just the thing.

I cannot tell you a lot about the book, because if you haven’t read the previous ones, and think aliens and dinosaurs are for you, I do not want to spoil them for you. I want you to experience them for yourself and I highly recommend the series. But I will tell you it is…

Original, exciting, action packed, loaded with characters that can steal your heart. Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s descriptive writing makes it easy to get lost in the world she has created. We do have some evil dinosaurs and a couple of alien space ships. I did not anticipate how she would wrap the series up, but she did it in a splendid fashion.

I love what Kathryn Meyer Griffith did with the Dinosaur Lake series and could see this easily being made into a TV or movie series.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dinosaur Lake VI by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

Henry Shore has spent the last decade hunting for, fighting, protecting people from, and exterminating rogue dinosaurs in his beloved Crater Lake National Park, and the towns around it. Once the Chief Park Ranger there, now he’s retired and, since all the dinosaurs are supposedly gone, he’s trying to live his best retirement life. Except, for Henry, that doesn’t seem to be possible…because of a new sorrow he’s had to shoulder, and a new insidious breed of super-smart, highly intuitive dinosaurs that have suddenly emerged to again menace humanity. Henry is asked to track them down; and he’s dragged back into the fray. Besides being asked to battle this new threat, Henry has also been invited by his paleontologist son-in-law, Doctor Justin Maltin, to join a top-secret government team of research scientists at Area 52 investigating the original and apparently ancient origins, of the earth’s earlier plague of dinosaurs–and two mysterious alien spaceships stored there. What Henry becomes a part of turns out to be so much more than even he could have imagined. A true alien enigma. There’s something mysteriously mindboggling at Area 52 and Henry will help uncover its mystery, and, in doing so, will have the most incredible experience of his life–and that’s saying a lot for a seasoned dinosaur hunter.

ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH

Since childhood I’ve been an artist and worked as a graphic designer in the corporate world and for newspapers for twenty-three years before I quit to write full time. But I’d already begun writing novels at 21, over fifty years ago now, and have had thirty-three (romantic horror, horror novels, romantic SF horror, romantic suspense, romantic time travel, historical romance, thrillers, non-fiction short story collection, and murder mysteries) previous novels, and thirteen short stories, published from various traditional publishers since 1984. But I’ve gone into self-publishing in a big way since 2012; and upon getting all my previous books’ full rights back for the first time in 35 years, have self-published all of them. My six Dinosaur Lake novels and Spookie Town Murder Mysteries (Scraps of Paper, All Things Slip Away, Ghosts Beneath Us, Witches Among Us, What Lies Beneath the Graves, All Those Who Came Before, When the Fireflies Returned) are my best-sellers.

Kathryn Meyer Griffith

I’ve been married to Russell for over forty-three years; have a son, two grandchildren and a great-granddaughter and I live in a small quaint town in Illinois. We have a quirky cat, Sasha, and the three of us live happily in an old house in the heart of town. Though I’ve been an artist, and a folk/classic rock singer in my youth with my late brother Jim, writing has always been my greatest passion, my butterfly stage, and I’ll probably write stories until the day I die…or until my memory goes.

2012 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS *Finalist* for her horror novel The Last Vampire ~ 2014 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS * Finalist * for her thriller novel Dinosaur Lake.

*All Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s books can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ld4jlow

*All her Audible.com audio books here: http://tinyurl.com/oz7c4or

Novels and short stories from Kathryn Meyer Griffith:

Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS*Finalist* in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II: Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (The First Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (The Second Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Ghosts Beneath Us (The Third Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us (The Fourth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (The Fifth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (The Sixth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), When the Fireflies Returned (The Seventh Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman in Crimson, Human No Longer, Six Spooky Short Stories Collection, Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story, Dinosaur Lake (2014 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS*Finalist* in their Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars, Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Dinosaur Lake VI: The Alien Connection, Haunted Tales, Memories of My Childhood, and Christmas Magic 1959.

Stalk Kathryn Meyer Griffith:

MY KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!