#BooksFromTheBacklog – Mindbenders by Ted Krever @Tedkrever

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.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

This weeks book to share is Mindbenders by Ted Krever. I added this to my Goodreads TBR on 6.5.12.

Mindbenders

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

If you could hear the thoughts of every person for three blocks around–the regrets, rationalizations, commercial jingles, the lies that hide what they can’t bear to think—how could you ever trust anyone? And if you could make them believe anything you wanted, how could you ever trust yourself?

Max Renn is a legend of the Soviet mind control program, a genetic experiment, the product of three generations of psychics bred by the state for their power. Before his first mission, the Soviet Union collapses and he disappears.

We meet him twenty years later in the Everglades, keeping as far from people as he can get, until his best friend–his only friend–is murdered and he is forced to assemble a team of people like him to fight the international conspiracy behind the murder.

“A dead-on thriller for the decade . . . . I can’t imagine anyone reading this and not wanting more” — Thomas F. Monteleone, author of the NY Times bestseller The Blood of the Lamb and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel

“Ted Krever has been a writer to watch, now he’s a writer to read. Do not miss MINDBENDERS.” -F. Paul Wilson

“Ted Krever is a great storyteller but more importantly, the stories he creates and writes are ones that I want to read. In this ADD era, where even e-mails are considered too long, Ted’s work commands my attention. It is definitely worthy of yours, too.” -David Leaf, biographer and award-winner writer/director/producer of such films as ‘The Night James Brown Saved Boston,’ ‘The US Vs. John Lennon’ and ‘ BEAUTIFUL DREAMER: Brian Wilson and The Story of SMiLE.’ (less)

I love the subject matter and have read more than one book about mind control and government programs. Add in the Everglades and this one was a no brainer.

3.58  ·  Rating details ·  170 ratings  ·  39 reviews

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Spooktacular Giveaway – Origins by Celia Breslin @CeliaBreslin @RoxanneRhoads

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Spooktacular Guest Blog – Binge-worthy Shows for Halloween

Halloween month is the perfect time to binge on surreal, spooky, otherworldly shows.  Here are some of my top picks for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

* Wacky witches and a good vs. evil struggle:  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

* Zombies in a quarantine zone, aka Seattle:  iZombie

* Vampire Diaries spin-off, a school for all the preternatural folk: Legacies

* Surreal setting and quirky people with powers: Legion

* One sexy devil and a kickass cop:  Lucifer

* Harry Potter-esque fantasy with magicians/college students: The Magicians

* Flawed superheroes and some “wibbly wobbly timey wimey”:  The Umbrella Academy

Happy viewing and Happy Halloween!

Xo,
Celia



ORIGINS
Tranquilli Bloodline
Book 3
Celia Breslin

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Champagne Book Group

Date of Publication: September 9, 2019

Number of pages: 250
Word Count: 94,000

Cover Artist: Melody Pond

Tagline: The Chosen One is home. Bad little vampires beware…

Book Description:

In HAVEN and DESTINY, San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli finds love and fights her vampire family’s enemies. Now, in ORIGINS…

En route to reunite with her estranged father in Italy, Carina is kidnapped by a human organization intent on vampire genocide. Beaten, starved, and forced to fight fellow captives, she finally manages to escape. Along the way, she encounters the group’s leaders—their identities shock her to the core.

Once home, Carina warns her family of this new threat, but dear old dad is missing. In his absence, the Tribunal, the governing body for all vampirekind, lies in disarray, with an old enemy making a bid for her father’s throne. What’s worse? The usurper wants her for his queen…and slave.

With a human-vampire war looming on one side and a vampire-vampire battle brewing on the other, Carina will have to rally her troops, take back the throne, and fulfill her destiny as the Chosen One. If not, her whole world will fall, taking everyone she loves with it.


Kobo       Amazon      Champagne





The car stopped. I couldn’t convince myself to step out. What if this was a freaking, injection-induced hallucination? What if I was still back in the damn prison? Besnik helped me out. The mansion’s mammoth double doors eased open. The man illuminated in the doorway chased away the numbness, pumped my heart so hard it might pound right out of my chest. He opened his arms wide, calling me. My lips curled upward in the first true smile I’d cracked since the last time he’d held me in his arms. That man, my man, loved me more than any other on this whole damn planet. “Alexander.” I ran to him. Alexander’s arms closed around me, his hold so tight I could barely catch a breath. Tremors ran through his hard body, again and again. “Carina,” he croaked, voice sandpaper rough. “Carina.” Nuzzling his neck, I planted fevered kisses along his tan, heated skin. He’d fed recently to be this warm under my lips. Temptation had me licking his pounding pulse, nipping at the vein. Couldn’t resist it. My fangs slid home. Energy exploded between us, our mate bond bursting to life and tearing away whatever magical wall had separated us for far too long. My bite, the catalyst, his blood the cure. Awash in the force of our reunion, Alexander staggered then clutched me closer while I pulled out of his neck and laved the rapidly healing holes. As our power continued to bubble and stitch us back together, he whisked us into the grand entryway, planted my ass on an ornate, antique cabinet, and devoured my mouth like a starving man. His hands roamed everywhere, searching, cataloguing, as if to reassure himself this wasn’t a hallucination, that I was really here, in his arms, relatively unharmed. The more he kissed me, the more those wonderful, golden threads of our connection resurrected inside me, around me, between us, and I felt like freaking Sleeping Beauty awakened from her magical slumber by a kiss from her fated handsome prince. The silly thought made me giggle against Alexander’s seeking mouth, and then I was crying while my love cupped my face between his hands, wiped away my tears with his thumbs, and pressed tender kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose… “Alexander.” I fisted his shirt tight. Please, God, let him be real. “I… I don’t want to wake up.” Please, don’t let this end. His smoky blue eyes bored into mine, his brown hair spiked in every direction, a bit longer than in my memory. It’s not a dream, baby. You’re here. You’re home. Oh my God, I can hear you. I swiped some willful bits of hair away from his forehead, touched his full lips, ran my fingers along his strong jaw, taking in the whole handsome, bad-boy package. You’re back in my head. I’d never been happier to have someone inside my mind. Silence was seriously overrated. And back in your arms.
About the Author:
                                                                           
Celia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, and the Fae. Her stories are action-packed and typically include one of the many varieties of romantic entanglements: fated mates, second chance, rescue romance, opposites attract, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and more.

When not writing, you’ll find Celia exercising, reading a good book, hanging with her family, or indulging her addiction to Joss Whedon’s TV shows and movies, as well as everything in the Marvel Universe franchise. Of course!
                                        
Web site: http://www.celiabreslin.com/    







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Giveaway – The Long Night by M G Darwish @infrangilis @XpressoTours

The Long Night: Blood Will Be Served
M.G. Darwish
(Fortier, #2)
Publication date: September 9th 2019
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Suspense

The Vampire Alfred, is known as the Fortier. Vicious, renowned and feared.

Alfred Zeidan is proclaimed Fortier, the Strongest amongst the vampires. After ending a century old feud between the two most prominent vampire houses, he sets out to rid his race of a shadow that has long haunted them.

The Elders have been the deciding factor in the fall of so many civilizations that date back to Carthage and the Romans. So many have fallen to them, but now Alfred as the Strongest takes on this challenge.

No one has ever considered a world without the Elders running it, would it spread chaos in the Underground? Or will it shift the balance of the supernatural completely? One thing is for certain: Alfred intends to see this through. Will he succeed? Or will succumb as those before him?

Excerpt 1 They mentioned the City Morgue and the name Lexa Sonej. She wasn’t a native. Only then, any doubt I had about the existence of the Beast perished. Only the Beast could inflict wounds similar to mine. Time to visit the dead. I leapt over the roofs of houses until the City Morgue came into sight. That was the safest way to travel on the surface, you see. Humans are always looking below. I jumped down right at the entrance. It was late, so probably the best time for me to examine an unattended body. Perhaps I could find a trail or two. I noticed a light emitting from inside. The coroner could still be around. With luck, he probably used another door and left it unchecked so that he could leave too. So, I went behind the building and sure enough, found another door. The gate was locked, but it didn’t matter. I jumped, high enough to pass right over it. I opened the door into pitch darkness. He probably knew the place so well that he had it completely memorized. Lucky for me, I didn’t need light to see anyway. I could smell the rotten corpses. Even when humans freeze the bodies, they emit a smell – undetectable to humans but not to me. I followed the smell, using it to find the clear route to where I needed to go. I strolled through a narrow corridor, staying completely silent; no breaths, footsteps, nothing. I am more comfortable amidst darkness than I am in light, for the dark accepts all, while the light judges harshly. A large double door stood before me. This was the way to the corpses, of that I was sure. I gently opened it and slid inside. The coroner was looking at me straight in the eyes. “What are you doing here?” he said, sharply. His heartbeat increased. “I’m looking for Lexa Sonej,” I said to him. I figured it was best to avoid spilling his blood, and if I could somehow get his help, it would save me quite the trouble. “Well, you’re in the wrong place, buddy,” he said, then cracked up. “Only dead men linger here.” His beats returned to normal, I wonder if he knew how correct his statement was about to be. “Need to examine the body, if you don’t mind.” “You with the cops?” he asked, as he narrowed his brows. “Not exactly.” He probably hated cops. I could even smell traces of drugs in his possession. “Her family hired me to find the killer,” I added. “A PI, eh? Well, you definitely look the part, but you should tone down the Sherlock look. Holy shit, it’s not the sixties,” he laughed before he got up from his chair and walked towards what appeared to be little cupboards with numbers on them. “Sherlock died in 1957.” “A smartass too apparently,” he whispered as he pulled open one of those cupboards, revealing a bed with a body on it. I’ve never seen such a barbaric thing in all my life. “You have quite the stomach I’ll tell you that,” he said to me, then paused for a second. “Most people freak out or even puke their guts out when they see a body like this.” “A body like what?” “Like this,” he said as he removed the covers. I didn’t budge, but that sight was not right. Her throat was hollow, completely empty and void, she had sewing marks on both of her arms and towards her stomach. “She was dismembered?” I asked. The coroner nodded. “That’s very observant. We had to sew back the parts just for the burial. His poor family almost feinted at the sight of her. What kind of an animal does this in your opinion?” he asked me. His pulse didn’t change, so he was merely making small talk. “No animal can do this,” I said, leaning closer towards the corpse. “Then what can?” “A beast,” I said.

Goodreads / Amazon


Author Bio:

M.G. Darwish is an award nominated author who writes dark, twisted and action-packed fiction. He tries his best not to base his characters on anyone he knows in real life to avoid that extra weird conversation about how they were brutalized and killed in the book. Oh and he’s terrified of a penguin uprising more than ghosts and demons.

He is best known for his Secret of the Moonlight which was featured on Wattpad.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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#BooksFromTheBacklog – Dark Before Dawn by Stacy Juba @stacyjuba

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.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

This weeks book to share is Dark Before Dawn by Stacy Juba. I downloaded this from Amazon as a freebie on 6.5.12.

Dark Before Dawn

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

When teen psychic Dawn Christian gets involved with a fortuneteller mentor and two girls who share her mysterious talents, she finally belongs after years of being a misfit. When she learns her new friends may be tied to freak accidents in town, Dawn has an important choice to make – continue developing the talent that makes her special or challenge the only people who have ever accepted her. This novel is aimed at young adults, and at adults who enjoy paranormal YA such as the Twilight series, House of Night, and The Vampire Diaries series, Meg Cabot’s The Mediator series, or Lois Duncan books.

I love a good paranormal young adult story and when I saw they compared it to the Twilight series, House of Night, and The Vampire Diaries series, Meg Cabot’s The Mediator series, or Lois Duncan books, I thought it was hard to go wrong.

3.80  ·  Rating details ·  167 ratings  ·  54 reviews

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Top 10 Werewolves & Giveaway – Jasmine Moon by Celia Breslin @CeliaBreslin @RoxanneRhoads




Hi Everyone!

Halloween is the perfect time of year to binge-watch supernatural shows. For your viewing pleasure, here are my top ten favorite movies and TV shows featuring wolf shifters in either a primary role or as fun supporting characters.

In no particular order…

MOVIES and TV

1. The Underworld movies.  Seriously badass Lycans.

2. Wolf (1994), starring Jack Nicholson.  Can’t go wrong with Jack Nicholson.

3. An American Werewolf in London (1981). A classic.  Humor + Horror.

4. Ginger Snaps (2001).  Teen angst. Dark humor + horror.
TV

5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Seth Green as Oz, the musician/werewolf who loves Willow.

6. Vampire Diaries. Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood, a broody bad boy with heart.

7.  True Blood. Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux = soooo sexy.

8. The Originals. Joseph Morgan as Niklaus Mikaelson. A vampire/werewolf hybrid, 100% badass. So are the other hybrids on the show.

9. Supernatural. Entertaining werewolves on both sides of the “good vs. bad” fence.

10. Legacies. A Vampire Diaries spin-off chock-full of werewolves and other teens from the preternatural community.



Jasmine Moon
Black Hills Wolves
Celia Breslin

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher:  Decadent Publishing

Date of Publication: June 3, 2016

ISBN:  9781683610458
ASIN:  B01GKB9WMO

Number of pages:  108
Word Count:  36,400

Cover Artist:  Fiona Jayde

Book Description:

Tech mogul and workaholic Wolf Evan Luparell has little time for distractions but takes a break for his brother’s wedding in South Dakota. When asked to escort another wedding attendee from the airport to Los Lobos, he agrees. Then he meets the curvy spitfire, and she ignores him.

Designer and Wolf Mina Carver didn’t mean to be rude to the handsome, glowering man claiming to be her ride, but she was busy working. Now she must endure a ride to the Black Hills with the cranky but sexy Dominant Wolf. Unexpected mating energy sparks between them, but still—should she dismiss, or kiss him?

Kisses win and they agree upon a no-strings fling. But with each wedding activity throwing them together, and their powerful chemistry and mate compatibility complicating matters, can two workaholics truly have their fun then walk away?

Amazon UK       Amazon US     BN     Bookstrand

Google Play       iTunes     Kobo     Smashwords
    
Excerpt:

Evan tipped his head and eyed the ceiling. Prompt replies, punctual people. Striking deals and hitting deadlines. These items made his world tick. Not loitering around a miniscule airport pulling a Waiting for Godot moment on infinite repeat for a no-show, flakey designer from California.
God grant him patience and balls of steel when he showed up without the designer and the all-important wedding dress, because his future sister-in-law Darci would certainly be unhappy. […]
He took a deep fortifying breath and froze. Airport smells assailed his senses—the sharp tang of bleach and lemon-scented cleaners, […] coffee, donuts, fried fast food, and under it all, the distinct musk of wolf.
Female wolf.
She smelled damn good. His wolf perked up, and his legs propelled him toward the empty baggage claim, where one bright-pink suitcase covered in Hello Kitty stickers sat, unclaimed, on the unmoving L-shaped conveyor belt. Her scent, stronger here, socked his gut, and his gaze shot to the corner.
The chaos around the woman stunned him silent. Large, paper coffee cup, half-eaten banana, and a quarter of a powdered doughnut perched on a brown paper bag next to her. Crumbs splattered the linoleum and the woman’s long-sleeved blue blouse in a thick layer of white, sugary dust. On her other side, two pink garment bags lay like corpses, along with a bubblegum-pink unzipped duffel as long as her outstretched, denim-clad legs. Some of the bag’s contents—pads of drawing paper and large swaths of fabric—protruded over the opening, the fabric splaying over her legs in a rainbow-colored blanket. Her feet peeked out of the mess, encased in sparkling pink UGGs. Good grief, sequins? She smacked her shiny boots together in a poor imitation of Dorothy and bobbed her head from side to side in time to some music only she seemed to hear. Her shoulder-length red hair, the color of ripe dark cherries—his favorite fruit—gleamed under the harsh airport lighting and curtained most her face from his view, save a pert nose and small chin, both speckled with a generous amount of freckles.
He’d always liked freckles.                     
Clearing his throat, he stepped closer, but she didn’t flinch in surprise or look up. Her attention remained on the tablet on her lap, the stylus between her pale, freckled fingers swiping without hesitation over her screen. […]
He positioned himself right in front of her wiggly, booted feet. “Excuse me, J—”
“Sh.” She raised her arm and flicked her hand in the universal get lost gesture.
He gaped at her. “Excuse me?”
Another wave of her hand while her stylus streaked across her tablet screen with the other. “Not interested.”
Nice voice. Low and husky. Her attitude, on the other hand… “But—”
“Go away.” Her velvet voice carried a stubborn edge.

In other circumstances, he would’ve admired her strength. But he’d wasted copious amounts of time hunting for the clearly inconsiderate and irresponsible female. “Fine. Get your own damn ride to Los Lobos. Jasmine.”

About the Author:

Celia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, and the Fae. Her stories are action-packed and typically include one of the many varieties of romantic entanglements: fated mates, second chance, rescue romance, opposites attract, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and more.

When not writing, you’ll find Celia exercising, reading a good book, hanging with her family, or indulging her addiction to Joss Whedon’s TV shows and movies, as well as everything in the Marvel Universe franchise. Of course!









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Giveaway & Playlist – The Darkest Gateway by Jeri Westerson @RoxanneRhoads


Shivery Playlist for a Creepy Halloween
by Jeri Westerson

I must confess, my playlist isn’t the typical fare of “Monster Mash” and “Love Potion Number Nine.” It’s about the soundtrack I like to listen to when I’m writing my paranormal tales. These are for my series Booke of the Hidden that takes place during all of the month of October and culminates on Halloween. The series wraps up with the fourth book, THE DARKEST GATEWAY. Tea proprietor Kylie Strange finds and opens the mysterious Booke of the Hidden, and must capture deadly creatures she’s unwittingly unleashed, while juggling the advances of an alluring and dangerous demon and a very human and handsome sheriff. So I need different tunes to get me in the mood.

So let’s start with “Devils” from Say Hi. Because my urban fantasy deals with a supernatural Booke and a demon guardian who gets intimately close to Kylie, the song deals with the devil getting hold of everything in the singer’s life, even “he make it to my heart”—just like Kylie. 

The next one is Valerie Broussand’s “A Little Wicked”, because Kylie and Erasmas Dark, the demon, do get a little wicked. Especially when she can’t decide between the handsome sheriff or the demon. Who would YOU chose? 

And then there’s “In the Shadows” by Amy Stroup. This mysterious and evocative tune really takes you there. There may be humor in these books, but there is still something not quite right, not…quite…human going on. It’s a song that gives me the shivers. 


And just to lighten things up—and because the First Werewolf comes out of the Booke and bites one of Kylie’s friends—there’s the incomparable Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”. Who doesn’t like a werewolf with a pina colada in his hand “…and his hair is perfect.” 


And finally, a haunting song that will spirit you away, right to the dark shadows of Samhain, Halloween, with all the dangers and powers that shimmer and awaken this night. Loreena McKennitt’s “The Mummer’s Dance” recalls strange and secret Celtic festivals in a darkened wood lit only by moonlight. 




The Darkest Gateway
Booke of the Hidden
Book Four
Jeri Westerson

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
                           
Publisher: JABberwocky Literary

Date of Publication: October 2, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-625674-25-8
ASIN: 978-1-625674-23-4

Number of pages: 301
Word Count: 90,181

Cover Artist: Mayhem Cover Creations

Tagline: “Whoever said country life was dull didn’t know Moody Bog.”

Book Description:      

With the arrival of Samhain, the supernatural Booke of the Hidden is set to release a barrage of deadly creatures onto the hapless village of Moody Bog, Maine.

Tea proprietor Kylie Strange knows the showdown is coming and wants to end the Booke for good. But the only way to accomplish this is a journey to the Netherworld and get the help of the only being powerful enough to destroy the Booke: Satan himself. And, though the brooding and elusive demon Erasmus Dark has captured Kylie’s heart against her better judgment, she ignores his repeated warnings that the mission guarantees her doom.


Series Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/vI5d1tFsBYM

Except:

I moved to the very edge of the road and waited.
The sound grew louder. It couldn’t be anything except hoofbeats. They clopped, not in a gallop but in a leisurely canter. And soon, there was the Dullahan coming around the curve. His head looked even greener and slimier under his arm than it had before, if that were possible.
His weirdly roving eyes spotted me easily. He kicked his red-eyed horse’s sides and hurried toward us. All the while, he swung that spine whip. With each revolution around his headless neck, the weapon grew longer and longer.
I kept the spear close to my side. I didn’t want that whip to catch it the way it had gotten the crossbow the last time.
He was almost upon me when he shrieked, “Kylie Strange!”
“That doesn’t work on me, you idiot!” I yelled.
The face frowned under his arm. It cast its googly eyes toward Erasmus and opened his mouth to yell his name.
“He’s a demon, remember? We’ve been through this before. Boy, you sure have a short memory. Must be because your brain is decaying faster than the rest of you. Looks like a bad case of melting Roquefort you got there.”
His dead face either grimaced or it really was melting. “Then I don’t need to say your name,” he said in a high screechy voice.
He spun the whip. Before I could get out of the way, it came at me and wrapped around my body, trapping my arms at my sides. I barely got out a yell before I was yanked off my feet.
The horse started galloping and I was flung out behind it almost parallel to the road. I couldn’t bring the spear up. I was whipping around in the air and getting a little seasick, but it was better than being dragged behind on the asphalt. There wouldn’t have been much left of me after that.
The bones of the spine whip were digging sharply into my skin. I tried wriggling free. If Headless decided to fling me off a cliff, there wasn’t much I could do about it. I knew Erasmus must be around somewhere, but this was up to me to figure out…if I could.
The Dullahan galloped around a sharp curve and I was thrown and dragged through the limbs of pine trees shouldering the road.
“Dammit!” I yelled, spitting out pine needles. “I am so going to kill you!”
He lifted his head up with his other arm. It swiveled and glared at me. “Not if I kill you first, Mistress Strange.”
“No need to be so formal,” I grunted, struggling. I slammed into some holly bushes and OW!

The face cackled and turned away, tucked back under his arm again. Then I looked up and saw what he was cackling about. The next curve of the road didn’t have any nice prickly holly bushes or spikey pine boughs. It was just granite all the way up the rock face. “Shit!”

About the Author:

Los Angeles native JERI WESTERSON is the author of twelve Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mystery novels, a series nominated for thirteen national awards from the “Agatha” to the “Shamus”. Her fifth novel BLOOD LANCE was named one of the Ten Hot Crime Novels for Colder Days by Kirkus Reviews, and her sixth, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST, was named Best of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. For BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN, her urban fantasy series, Publishers Weekly said, “Readers sad about the ending of Charlaine Harris’s MIDNIGHT, TEXAS trilogy will find some consolation in Moody Bog.” The fourth and final in the series, THE DARKEST GATEWAY, releases October 2, 2019. Jeri also writes the humorous SKYLER FOXE LGBT MYSTERIES under the pen name Haley Walsh. Jeri’s short stories were included in several mystery anthologies, including Shaken: Stories for Japan (for the 2011 Earthquake Relief Fund). Jeri was also featured on two local NPR shows, “My Awesome Empire” and KVCR-Arts. She has served two terms as president of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, twice president of the Orange County Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and as vice president and California Crime Writers Conference co-chair for the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime. See more about Jeri at JeriWesterson.com, BOOKEoftheHIDDEN.com, and SkylerFoxeMysteries.wixsite.com/novels.








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Wherewolves by John Vamvas & Olga Montes @WHEREWOLVESbook

.

I read this a long time ago, 1.16.15, rated it on Goodreads, but forgot to write the review. Sooooo, here we are. I love the Goodreads cover, so that is the one I am sharing.

WHEREWOLVES

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I read this back in 2015, but never wrote the review. I have a ton of notes, so that must mean I would be sharing too much. Don’t want to spoil anything. Ya know, a group of kids goes in the woods, I think we all know that some are going to be left behind.

  • S ize up the situation, surroundings, physical conditions, equipment
  • U se your senses
  • R ember where you are
  • V anquish fear and panic
  • I mprovise and improve
  • V alue living
  • A ct like the natives
  • L ive by your wits

Most of the characters left a lot to be desired, so it was hard to feel sorry for them. They are seriously damaged

I didn’t see where the story was going and I do love the twist. Brutal. I wanted blood and guts and gore and I got it.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Wherewolves by John Vamvas & Olga Montes.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Using a fun, explosive style, full of new slang and fresh dialogue, WHEREWOLVES is the story of a group of high school seniors, most “military brats”, who are headed for an army-type survival weekend.

The underdogs, Jeffrey and Doris, do not want to go as they fear for their safety among the disdain and cruelty of the popular students. Sergeant Tim O’Sullivan, their teacher, as well as their dysfunctional parents pressure them into going, but it is an unforgivable act by their peers that propels the pair to go. Likewise, Elie, a student resented because of his Arab roots, is even more determined to prove himself this weekend. In the background, a news report cautions of a wanted couple with alleged super-human strength supposedly brought on by a new drug on the streets.

In the woods, the students hike, hunt, camp, and soon act in unity as the forest brings them closer together. But does it? O’Sullivan leaves them alone for the night. The students bond, chant, tell campfire tales, and quickly lose their fears and inhibitions. HOO-AH! Though sexual tensions are high, it soon turns to violence and everything quickly turns sour.

When the kids start disappearing one after the other, the remaining begin to unwittingly “act like the natives” carving spears, ready to face whatever is out there. What has gotten into them?

Amid the blood-curdling growls and the gruesome deaths, the story’s underlying layers are revealed. We see how misconceptions, prejudice, greed, fear, and hatred bring out the worst and best in them.

What is out there? Can it really be werewolves?

ABOUT JOHN VAMVAS

John Vamvas

John Vamvas grew up in one of Montreal’s (Canada) roughest boroughs. His high school teachers always told him that he’d be in jail or dead by eighteen. Thank God for the Arts. Actor, playwright, screenwriter and now novelist, he has been writing with his writing partner/wife, Olga Montes, for over twenty years. He loves words, especially dialogue, and has a lot of fun coming up with new ways to say the same thing.

Website

ABOUT OLGA MONTES

Olga Montes

Mother, preschool French teacher, avid reader, Olga dreamed of being a writer as a child and spent many high school lunch hours working on her writing with her English teacher. She has a college degree in Professional Theatre and a university degree in Spanish and French grammar and literature. She was on her way to becoming a translator for the UN when she heard of an open audition at one of Montreal’s biggest theatres. She almost didn’t get the role, though, because the director and co-star, John Vamvas, was scared of falling in love with the actress and ruining the play. That was 1992. She and John have been writing and working together on stage, screen, and in life ever since.

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Beneath London’s Fog by Iona Caldwell @IonaCaldwell7 @SydeFyre

Hey guys. Are you ready for a trip to London…but it won’t be the trip you imagine.

Beneath London's Fog

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The eerie cover of Beneath London’s Fog by Ilona Caldwell makes me think of Jack the Ripper and ghosts. Are you creeped out yet?

Jonathon has made himself a prisoner in Raven Hollow Manor, along with his daughter, Holly. He lost his love, Anna, but her ghostly presence lingers.

His past is coming back to haunt him when a serial killer goes wild in the foggy nights of London.

He is able to transform himself and I loved it. He becomes a cat, a Great Dane, or a mist in the night. Being immortal allows him to see without being seen. He is very protective of Holly and struggles to allow her some freedom. He is easily able to ‘spy’ on her, assuring her safety. After all, he knows first hand the monsters that lurk in the shadows. His oasis is by Anna’s gravesite. He reads Poe and Robert Frost to her.

Holly knows that he is an immortal. Authors have the freedom to create the immortal they want to portray, and I love Ilona Caldwell’s version.

I begin to wish for his happiness, for him to move on and create a new life, without Anna.

Enter…Walter Deverough, a detective on the hunt. I wonder….I feel we’ll be seeing a lot more of him.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and SHE will scorch the earth with her need for revenge.

We, also, have Leland…a hero to the end.

Fast paced. Suspenseful. A vampire of a different color. Great world building as I pictured him walking the streets of London, damp and weary. Ilona Caldwell draws pictures with her words.

I voluntarily reviewed and ARC of Beneath London’s Fog by Ilona Caldwell.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Jonathan is the immortal master of Raven Hollow Manor – a decrepit mansion riddled with superstition, murder and restless ghosts. Beneath it lies a restless malice.

Its previous owner driven mad, violently kills his guests with a rusted ax, creating the perfect venue for Jonathan to seclude himself in a prison of his own device.

When the streets of London begin to run red with blood; the bodies exhibiting disturbing signs and baffling wounds, the identity of the killer remains elusive to police.

The bodies are just the beginning of Jonathan’s troubles. A mysterious letter accusing Jonathan of committing the murders appear, raising suspicion in the police. Hidden beneath the mangled bodies, Jonathan soon realizes he is being forced to face demons he thought died in a forlorn past he attempted to escape. 

One thing Jonathan knows for certain: He must deal with the demons of his past if he is to survive his future. Not only him but those he has come to love as well

ABOUT ILONA CALDWELL

Iona Caldwell

My name is Iona Caldwell. I’m the author of the British Occult Fiction, Beneath London’s Fog set to be published by FyreSyde Publishing October 2019. When I’m not busy weaving worlds of the arcane and dark, I’m spending time out in nature. I love books. My biggest inspirations are H.P Lovecraft, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Edgar Allen Poe. I blog about many things but mostly everything bookish.

​All of my novels are stand-alone novellas, each with a cast of people I hope my readers will come to love as much as I have.

​I do accept reviews but they’re very selective and I urge you to check my review policy first. ​

Website / Twitter / Instagram

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One Sentence Review – Voices of Reason by Gwendolyn Druyor @GwendolynDruyor

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The title of Voice of Reason by Gwendolyn Druyor sure didn’t make me think of werewolves, until I saw the cover. Go ahead., read it..I dare you.

Voices of Reason: A WereHuman Novella (Hardknock Trilogy Book 1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love to love a bad guy and Alpha Prime is one I would never want to cross paths with unless….I loved this complex novella of good and bad, but is anyone all good or all bad, not these fabulous, unique characters.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Born a demon, it took humans to transform him into a monster. 

Tracy Hardwick is a wodnik, a water demon who absorbs his victim’s souls. His parents used his gifts for their own gain. They made him kill until he landed on death row. 

The prison sold him to an evil corporation who wiped his mind and surgically altered him to be the perfect killing machine. He became their ultimate weapon.

Now, Tracy’s mind is busting through their wipe. He’s waking up. And so are all the souls of his victims. They’re talking to him, telling him what to do. They don’t want to go back to sleep. He doesn’t want to kill anymore.

But if he doesn’t kill, the corporation will wipe his mind again.

Tracy’s going to have to listen to the voices in his head. 

Or he’ll remain a monster forever. 

Download Voices of Reason now and enjoy some time with a madman.

Connect with Gwendolyn

Visit www.gwendolyndruyor.com for more about the author and her many diverse endeavors. And her dogs. Don’t forget to check out her dogs. 

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Giveaway – Courting Darkness by L R Braden @LaurenRBraden @SDSXXTours

Courting Darkness
The Magicsmith Book 2
by L.R. Braden
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
A great story of murder, mystery . . . and well-developed characters.”—Margie Hager, Netgalley Reviewer on A Drop of Magic
A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass, action, hot men, and a whole lot of magic.” —Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Diamond City Magic, Magicfall, and Horngate Witches series
Deeper into the shadows. . .
The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex. She’s been summoned to the fae court, and she’s got her hands full trying to prepare. But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s been a death at the gallery, and the man she hoped would be a part of her future is the prime suspect.
Bitter enemies pull her into the middle of a paranatural war for territory that has her dodging police, swords, teeth, and claws—not to mention the truth. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and the less certain she is about the innocence of the one man she wanted to trust.
She thought she was done with murder and monsters, but she’ll have to enter the belly of the beast if she hopes to save her friend.
A Drop of Magic
The Magicsmith Book 1
The war isn’t over . . .
With the world clinging to a fragile peace forced on the Fae by humanity after the Faerie Wars, metalsmith Alex Blackwood is plunged into the world of the half-fae who traffick in illegal magical artifacts. Her best friend’s murder and his cryptic last message place her in the crosshairs of a scheme to reignite the decade-old war between humans and fae.
Worse, violent attacks against her and the arrival of a fae knight on a mission force Alex to face a devastating revelation of who and what she is. To catch a killer, retrieve a dangerous artifact, and stop a war, Alex will have to accept that she’s an unregistered fae “halfer” with a unique magical talent—a talent that would change everything she believes about her past, her art, and her future.
Her world is crumbling around her, and Alex will have to decide who to trust if she and the world are going to survive.
A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass, action,
hot men, and a whole lot of magic.”
Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Diamond City Magic, Magicfall, and Horngate Witches series
Born and raised in Colorado, L. R. BRADEN makes her home in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her wonderful husband, precocious daughter, and psychotic cat. With degrees in both English literature and metalsmithing, she splits her time between writing and art.
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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