Hanzel and Gretel’s story has nothing on Bulwark and the Gingerbread House.
It all started with and accident and a large puddle of water appearing from nowhere…and the town went to hell.
Clay is the small town sheriff and is prime marriage material. Dayna is the local reporter and dogging his every step, causing many personal problems for Clay.
It had been fifty years since the ‘unusual’ killings.
There are plenty of scary moments when I wondered who would survive and, of the ones who would bite the dust, how it would happen. Not much good going on, but when it happened, it was great. Plenty of magical badness.
Need a good scare, this may be for you. Is it there? Is it all in your mind? There are two endings and for those who want a HEA, you’ll want to read the second one. Me…I loved the first ending…it keeps on giving…
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bulwark by Brit Lunden.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Clay Finnes is the sheriff of a small town in Georgia called Bulwark. Recently separated from his wife, all he can think about is what went wrong, and will Jenna ever come back to him. He’s troubled by a bothersome reporter trying to build a story from what he thinks is a normal day in his life. Clay has to admit that the fantastical stories, told by an accident victim as well as unusual sightings of wolves, things are getting a bit strange. A visit to the ominous Gingerbread House makes him realize that his life as he knows it will never be the same.
I love the simple, colorful cover for What You Did by Willow Rose. I am a sucker for a cover that draws me in. Also, the setting, Cocoa Beach in Florida. Been there, done that, and I love a familiar place.
I haven’t read the first book in the series, and I do love her books, so I know I am missing out. Willow Rose does fill me in, slowly, on what I missed.
Eva Rae is an FBI profiler, my kind of character. She’s been on the hunt for her long lost sister, but right now the three women reported missing will have to take priority. Her, and her cop boyfriend, Matt Miller both have some heavy baggage they carry around. He is a single dad and she is a single mom.
Four girls went to the prom…only one came home…and where Willow Rose goes from there is the reason why I grab every book I see of hers.
A couple of pages into Chapter 23, I saw what was coming and it will be devastating. Willow Rose tends to have lots of action in her books and a lot of it is very, very bad.
Her sister…things don’t go the way Eva thought. I don’t think there is any good way to predict what happens when a family member has been kidnapped. I was surprised, but that is a Willow Rose trademark. She definitely keeps me on my toes.
Eva Miller finds herself in a situation where all her training and experience in forensic psychology will be of no use.
The baby…so, so sad…this part is based on a true story, and, if you are anything like me, you will want to google it… but that’s all I can tell you so I don’t spoil it.
I love that Willow has her character writing crime novels too. Her serial killer book lays out the four typologies: lust, anger, power, and financial gain. Which one is she dealing with in this case? I’m not telling.
The action…from beginning to end…is filled with mystery, horror and fear that never ends.
The biggest downside to the novel…the cliffhanger!
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of What You Did by Willow Rose.
4 Stars
Former FBI-profiler, Eva Rae Thomas, faces the most personal case in her
career, as bestselling author Willow Rose’s new hit series continues.
Three girls disappear on prom night at the local high school. One of them
is the prom queen.
FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas is chasing her long-lost sister when
detective—and boyfriend—Matt Miller asks her to join the
investigation of the three girls’ disappearance. They were last
seen walking home together after the dance.
When the body of a young girl shows up in her backyard, Eva Rae knows she
can no longer watch from the sidelines, and soon she realizes not
only is she involved in this investigation, she’s also this killer’s target.
WHAT YOU DID is the second book in the Eva Rae Thomas Mystery
Series and can be read as a standalone.
The Queen of Scream aka Willow Rose is a #1 Amazon Best-selling Author
and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 60 novels.
She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror,
Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy.
Willow’s books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won’t
see coming. Several of her books have reached the Kindle top 10 of
ALL books in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than three
million books.
Willow lives on Florida’s Space Coast with her husband and two daughters.
When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and
watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
I do like my stories dark, the darker the better and Broken Doll is raw, intense, graphic sex, abuse…or..is it, when it is only a doll…a sex doll…WHOA…do not know what I was expecting, but this wickedly weird short story was not it and I do want more.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
My last memory is of the accident. The rancid smell of gasoline and the silence…the deafening silence. Then there was only darkness…and him. I am his captive. His broken doll. There is no escape. No hope. No one is coming to save me.
This is a twisted, dark horror novella. There is no HEA. You have been warned.
After
a climate change experiment goes terribly wrong, August Madison,
finds herself resurrected in a frozen wasteland.
With
most of the world’s population and food sources annihilated, depraved
nomadic gangs patrol the lawless landscape as outlasters claw for
survival.
Amid
the chaos, Graysen Marx, iron-fisted leader of the domed settlement
Liberty, emerges from the catastrophic event with his own
agenda.
When
August crosses his path, he sees an opportunity he must exploit.
She
sees an evil she must destroy.
Fans
of The Day after Tomorrow, The Handmaid’s Tale, Mad Max, and The
Hunger Games are sure to enjoy this enthralling post apocalyptic
dystopian adventure with a paranormal twist.
In
the second installment of the exciting Sum of all Tears series, a
core group of survivors from Liberty travel to Boston, endangering
themselves and those they left behind in a winner-takes-all showdown
that will leave readers breathless.
Fans
of The Day after Tomorrow, The Handmaid’s Tale, Mad Max, and The
Hunger Games are sure to enjoy this enthralling post apocalyptic
dystopian adventure with a paranormal twist.
Kim
Cresswell resides in Ontario, Canada and is the bestselling and
award-winning author of the action-packed WHITNEY STEEL series.
Her
romantic thriller, Reflection (A Whitney Steel Novel –
Book One), has won numerous awards including RomCon®’s 2014
Readers’ Crown Finalist (Romantic Suspense), InD’tale Magazine
2014 Rone Award Finalist (Suspense/Thriller), UP Authors Fiction
Challenge Winner, Silicon Valley’s Romance Writers of America (RWA)
“Gotcha” contest. Kim also signed a 3-book German
translation deal with LUZIFER Verlag for the first three books in the
series: Reflection, Retribution and Resurrect. Lethal
Journey won RomCon®’s 2014 Readers’ Crown (Thriller).
The
Assassin Chronicles TV series was in development with Council Tree
Productions. The TV series is based on Kim’s upcoming 4-book
paranormal/supernatural thriller series: Deadly Shadow (May
2018), Invisible Truth, Assassin’s Prophecy, and Vision
of Fire.
M.K.
Chester is an RWA award-winning author of historical and
contemporary romance. Her first novel, Surrender to the Roman,
is currently published with Carina Press. Her three-book historical
series, Bryeton Books, focuses on love, loss and redemption in small
town America at the turn of the 20th century, while her latest
release, Crashed, is the first book in the contemporary New
South Series.
M.K.
is a native Buckeye who lives in Tennessee. She’s married to a
veteran, recently became a MoM (Mother of Marine), and will soon
become a grandmother. She adores her Scottish Terriers and is
fighting MS.
Stranger Rituals Kali Rose Schmidt Publication date: July 9th 2019 Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
A fighter with a venomous grudge.
A monster with an immortal curse.
A girl with a terrible gift.
All three out for blood in a land torn apart by harsh gods and holy wars. Each entwined with the other, on their own quests for vengeance, and yet held together by strange links to sinister pasts. As their fates unravel, a dangerous romance blooms, and violent darkness beckons.
At turns both darkly humorous and utterly morbid, STRANGER RITUALS is the startling first novel in Kali Rose Schmidt’s dark new series.
She swallowed, and then moved away, ducking her face from his grasp, hating how he knew her weakness so well. She rose from her knees. The Djavul stared up at her a moment, then gracefully stood to his full height.
“What did they want?” she questioned.
Vojtech smiled. “You have a job to do.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know. That’s guarding you. It’s a thrill a minute.” She gestured toward the ruined soldier beside them.
Vojtech frowned. “I actually thought you were growing bored here. No attacks in three months, only this idiot sneaking around in the desert.” He shrugged. “It seems Olofsson is losing his fear of me.”
“Good.” Scarko’s words mingled with fury. “Let him. It’ll serve our purpose for the second Holy War.” She stalked back to the Warskian soldier’s head, lifted it by the scraggly, blood-drenched hair. “So, what did the gods want?”
Vojtech watched her carefully, hands clasped before him. “You’re to go to the city of Kezda. A boy there is immune, it seems, to Vrakan abilities. You are to kill him.”
Scarko dropped the head with a thud. “What?” she hissed. “Why me? I’m your guard. Send someone else.”
Vojtech smiled. “As much as I enjoy you bossing me around, the gods are not so easily convinced.” He wiped his hands on his black robes and sighed. “This boy is a street fighter,” he wrinkled his nose, “taking on Vrakan defectives from the Warskian army. While he isn’t able to die from the usual Vrakan methods—ice, wind, fire, shadows—I think your magic could kill him. That’s why you.”
Scarko left the head on the stone floor and stalked toward the stairwell, behind the Djavul.
“I’m sure he’d die by sword just fine. Tell the gods I won’t go. A street fighter—the nerve of them…”
She made to pass Vojtech, but he snaked a hand out and gently stroked her dark blonde braid, the color of damp sand. She spun around to face him, fury in her eyes. But it was equally matched in his.
“I am the Djavul of the Order of Saints, Scarko Kadezska. You will not blasphemy our gods here. You know as well as I do that we cannot resist their orders, and we should not. They have guided me thus far.” He took a step toward her, brushed a cold finger against her cheek. “You will do this, and you will return to me.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and turned, clomping up the stairs. She heard him chuckle softly as she pushed open the doors from the dungeon, the Shadows on guard making way for her, black thread entwined in their grey cloaks, same as hers.
“Watch him,” she said unceremoniously.”
Author Bio:
Kali Rose Schmidt is an author, mother, and villain lover. She likes bloody tales of monsters, yoga with the lights off, and anything that goes bump in the night.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.
The Fire of Dawn by V V Aky was published in April 1, 2012. I don’t remember where I got it from or how long it has sat on my Kindle, but, all I can say is, I wish I had more of her work to read. It appears this is the only book she has written. Also, be sure and check out her bio. I had to include it, seeing I found it so fascinating.
Look at this gorgeous cover!!!!!!!!!!!
Cover Design by Vincent Bogers and Derek Murphy. Amazing job guys!
BLEW MY MIND over this mesmerizing, riveting, totally engrossing vampire story that had me in tears over one character’s death and I was unable to stop reading until I got to the last word, and it is even better when the story is told in one novel, no waiting.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It’s the last day of the
summer holiday in The Hague when Leah Koopmans’s carefree life as a
teen is brutally flipped upside down. Her pale skin turns a dazzling
gold, her senses heighten, and her muscles possess an uncanny strength.
But with these exhilarating new powers comes a thirst that can only be
quenched by one thing: human blood.
While her body craves for
fresh victims and her heart drowns in guilt, she meets inhumanly
handsome Max Machiavelli, who claims that Leah is immortal like him.
Infatuation ignites into blistering passion when she joins his coven in
Amsterdam. But as the mysteries shrouding her sudden change to
immortality unravel, Leah quickly learns that her aversion to taking
life isn’t the only thing that sets her apart from this group of
herculean strangers.
From the picturesque canals of Amsterdam to Corsica’s limestone cliffs and the untamed Siberian wilderness; from first loves to fierce battles, The Fire of Dawn is an extraordinary tale packed with romance, betrayal, and bloodsucking suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the very last page.
ABOUT V V AKU
V.V. Aku has always believed
in beautiful stories. She found the man of her dreams and her way in
complex China, and wrote a fairytale of her own: The Fire of Dawn－a
scintillating tale about strength, self-discovery, and a girl who dared
to follow her heart.
Born and raised in The Netherlands, V.V. Aku (Veerle Ackerstaff) soon discovered that the world was a place worth exploring. After graduating high school, she set out to travel the globe until she finally touched down in China. On the border of Tibet she met Anzi Aku, a wild Black-Yi man who lives at the foot of the Himalayas. She has joined his clan and tries to find her place among the tribe and its shamans. When she’s not researching the clan’s mythology on vampires, she shamelessly gives in to the compulsion to write about the countless characters that haunt her dreams.
V.V. Aku is the
author of The Fire of Dawn and Black Dusk. She has been the creator of
stories since the age of three, and has a Post-Graduate Diploma in
English Language Teaching to Adults from The University of Cambridge
ESOL. After nearly a decade of working as an English language teacher
and TEFL trainer in China, Thailand, The Netherlands, and the UK, she
now devotes all her time to writing, her family, and practicing Kung Fu.
The Fire of Dawn is her debut novel.
The first chapter covers the end of Book II, Atlantis Awakening, so you could begin the series here, but you would have missed so much of the goodness, I recommend beginning with Book I, Atlantis Rising.
Ever since Keely had touched the wooden fish placed around her neck, she could see him…her blue haired warrior.
Who is she…the face Lord Justice keeps seeing?
I am lovin’ these fabulous love stories filled with magic and wonder. Each set of characters are unique in their own way, with secrets to be revealed. I love the feistiness of the female protagonists and their male warriors can TRY to control them all they want.
It was so funny when Brennan met Tiernan. Laughing through some very funny situations. I do like to enjoy my danger and torment. 🙂
I love Keely’s description of the Warriors…McHotties. I think that gives you a hint of Alyssa Day’s personality shining through her writing.
Funny, sweet, dangerous, uplifting, happy…OMG…the best one yet. I am blown away with this steamy, adult, sexually and magically explosive happy ever after.
But wait…it’s not over yet.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Atlantis Unleashed by Alyssa Day.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Eleven thousand years
ago, Poseidon’s warriors swore an oath to protect humanity from those
who stalked the night. Now those powerful forces are uniting. So are two
souls who are all that stand between justice and the eternal
darkness…
Lord Justice made the ultimate sacrifice for his
brother and paid for it with unimaginable torture. Now he’s back,
rescued from death, his sanity shaken, and his mission inescapable: to
search for the lost star of Artemis. But the beautiful human female whom
he has sworn to protect is shadowed by an evil that could destroy them
both.
The archaeological artifacts of Atlantis speak to Dr.
Keely McDermott, sharing visions of life long ago. The ancient
revelations have cast her into a world between past and present, between
reality and illusion–and, when she meets the fierce Atlantean warrior
assigned to guard her, between terror and temptation. As their two
worlds collide, so too will danger and desire…
ABOUT ALYSSA DAY
Alyssa Day is the pen name (and dark and tortured alter ego) of
RITA award-winning author Alesia Holliday. She is a multiple finalist in
the prestigious RITA awards for excellence in romance fiction and has
won several awards for her novels.
ATLANTIS RISING was the first
of Alyssa’s Warriors of Poseidon novels for Berkley Publishing, and was
featured on the cover of the March, 2007, issue of Romantic Times
BOOKClub magazine! Additionally, it rocked the bestseller lists, hitting
the Waldenbooks, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Bookscan, and the
prestigious USA Today bestseller lists! ATLANTIS AWAKENING came along
several months together and did the same thing – only better!! And then
her anthology SHIFTER, with authors Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, and
Virginia Kantra, spent three weeks on the prestigious New York Times
bestseller list!
Her publisher was thrilled, her family was
thrilled (they could eat!), her dogs were thrilled (bacon!!). Now she’s
happily writing her fingers off, deep in the world of Atlantis, the
Warriors of Poseidon, and a new exciting group of allies (??), the Fae.
Alyssa
has long been an avid fan of all things Atlantis, supernatural, and in
any way pertaining to lost civilizations. When she was six, she told her
mother that she would discover Atlantis one day—and now she has!
In
2006, Alyssa (writing as Alesia) was awarded the Romance Writers of
America’s RITA® award. The RITA is the highest award of excellence in
the genre of romance fiction. If we can get this new website on track,
you’ll see a picture on your right of Alyssa with her agent and editor
the night she won the RITA® award.
Woo Hoo. A big shout out and thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the chance to read Last Night, the second book in The Searchers series by Karen Ellis/Katia Lief.
OH NO! The beginning has me super angry. This is the type of book I have been avoiding. Smacks too much of realism and I don’t need anymore than I happen to catch flipping channels on the TV or clicking on the internet.
Ugly business and I see it ruining Crisp’s life. Will it make him become a monster? We’ll see.
A portrait of a white privileged teen girl, a promising, intelligent mixed race boy and a black homeless boy and what results from their coming together.
Kind of a coming of age story …I thought it would be about race when I first began, but it turned into teens…learning about life.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Last Night by Karen Ellis.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
NYPD detective Lex
Cole tracks a missing Brooklyn teen whose bright future is endangered by
the ghosts of his unknown father’s past, in this highly anticipated
sequel to A Map of the Dark.
One of the few black kids
on his Brighton Beach block, Titus “Crisp” Crespo was raised by his
white mother and his Russian grandparents. He has two legacies from his
absent father, Mo: his weird name and his brown skin. Crisp has always
been the odd kid out, but a fundamentally good kid, with a bright
future.
But one impulsive decision triggers a horrible domino
effect–an arrest, no reason not to accompany his richer, whiter friend
Glynnie on a visit to her weed dealer, and a trip onto his father’s old
home turf where he’ll face certain choices he’s always strived to avoid.
As
Detective Lex Cole tries to unravel the clues from Crisp’s night out,
they both find that what you don’t know about your past can still come
back to haunt you.
ABOUT KAREN ELLIS
Karen Ellis is a pseudonym of longtime crime
novelist Katia Lief. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and
International Thriller Writers. Her novel A MAP OF THE DARK will be
published by Mulholland Books/Little, Brown on January 9, 2018. Learn more at karenellisbooks.com
Stay in touch with Karen Ellis by joining her mailing list: http://eepurl.com/cS6h_r
I would like to thank Marcia Clark, NetGalley and Mulholland Books to have the opportunity to read and review The Competition, the fourth book in the Rachel Knight series.
I am really eager to begin to read this one because I am hoping to find out the answers to a past that has haunted her.
I can empathize with her ability to keep from letting the occasional curse word escape. LOL I can relate to her being cold all the time and dressing for warmth. I do too. I crave 80 degrees.
These characters have grown on me in a big way. This is my fourth book in the series and I have enjoyed watching Marcia Clark’s writing grow and develop. This is the best one yet.
The Competition deals with a sensitive subject…school shootings.
It took me a while to figure out the last villain standing and even more what would be the villains fate. It was so obvious in hindsight, but isn’t that always the way it always is?
Marcia Clark does a fantastic job misdirecting me.
I still have questions about Lilah and Romy, so I guess there must be another story to come.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Competition by Marcia Clark.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In Marcia Clark’s
most electrifying thriller yet, Los Angeles District Attorney Rachel
Knight investigates a horrifying high school massacre.
A
Columbine-style shooting at a high school in the San Fernando Valley has
left a community shaken to its core. Two students are identified as the
killers. Both are dead, believed to have committed a mutual suicide.
In the aftermath of the shooting, LA Special Trials prosecutor Rachel
Knight teams up with her best girlfriend, LAPD detective Bailey Keller.
As Rachel and Bailey interview students at the high school, they realize
that the facts don’t add up. Could it be that the students suspected of
being the shooters are actually victims? And if so, does that mean that
the real killers are still on the loose? A dramatic leap forward in Marcia Clark’s highly acclaimed Rachel Knight series, The Competition is an unforgettable story that will stay with readers long after the last page has been turned.
Roman Toguri finds himself burying the body of a nun in Boone, North
Carolina. As the skies darken and it begins to storm, he is forced to
shove the corpse into his trunk and take it home for the night,
unaware of the torment that playing God will bestow upon him.
Enter Hell with two bonus short stories: The White Shade, an ultra-violent
look into the mind of a mass shooter, and The Black Box, a
psychedelic dive into weird horror.
William Becker is an 18-year-old horror author with a mind for weirder sides
of the universe. With an emphasis on complex and layered storylines
that tug harshly on the reader to search for deeper meanings in the
vein of Silent Hill and David Lynch, Becker is a force to be reckoned
within the horror world. His works are constantly unfathomable,
throwing terror into places never before seen, while also providing
compelling storylines that transcend the predictable jumpscares of
the popular modern horror.
His first novel, WEEPING OF THE CAVERNS, was written when he was 14.
After eight months of writing, editing, and revising, the story
arrived soon after his 15th birthday. During the writing sessions for
his debut novel, he also wrote an ultra-controversial short story
known as THE WHITE SHADE that focused on the horrors of a shooting.
Living in a modern climate, it was impossible for THE WHITE SHADE to
see the light of day. Following a psychedelic stint that consisted of
bingeing David Lynch movies, weird art, and considering the depth of
the allegory of the cave wall, he returned to writing with a second
story, THE BLACK BOX, and soon after, his second novel, GREY SKIES.
