Tag Archives: science fiction
Down The Rabbit Hole – Untamed by A G Howard @aghowardwrites
Giveaway – Dragon Born Saga by K N Lee @KNycole_Lee @SDSXXTours
Review – Angel of Shadow by D H Nevins @dhnevins
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Monday Mini Review – Angel Fall by Susan Ee @Susan_Ee
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Angelfall by Susan Ee is one heavenly story I won from Toi Thomas.
MY REVIEW
I am so glad I won this book because I loved it and I probably never would have found it on my own. The angels brought death, destruction and the apocalypse. Sixteen year old Penryn will team up with Raffe, an angel warrior caught up in angel politics. They will save each other again and again, as they struggle to find a way through the new world they live in. Forbidden love, complex characters and world building full of desperation and danger make me want to now who will be left standing. I was immediately drawn into this dark and desperate world of angel against angel, angel against human, human against angel and human against human, as Penryn and Raffe try to change what’s left of the world they live in.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.
Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
Monday Mini – The Gift by Tegon Maus @TegonMaus
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MY REVIEW
I have seen Tegon Maus’ books around and heard such good things that I had to find out for myself. I was not disappointed.
The story is about Enon, a Jonda and mind reader, and Elisabeth, kidnapped royalty.
Enon would either be a hero or a dead man. The fighting is fierce, but he makes a good showing, even managing to hook up with a woman who has his number. Their verbal banter is more often funny than hurtful.
Would betrayal take the king’s life? Isn’t there always someone hiding in the shadows wanting the kingdom?
The world created is fraught with danger and enemies at every turn. Will the frightened little man become an unwilling hero? Well, all I can say is the journey is long and arduous, and not all will return.
Tegon Maus can sure spin a tale, drawing me in, making me crave more.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Gift by Tegon Maus.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Transformed by a primitive magic beyond a civilized man’s understanding, I was given a horrible gift that no man should possess… It held me, twisted me, turning me at its bidding. I was enslaved by its power, compelled to devour the souls of the dead until I became the monster of my fears. I have seen things I wish never to see again. I have done things of which I wish never to speak. Yet I must if I am to find the answers to fulfill my hope. I have walked upon blue ribbons of molten stone to peer into the depth of a man’s soul. I watched as a promise made at birth brought my friend Enon to sacrifice everything to become whole again – all in an effort to save the life of his child. I have cried without shame for the loss of all I hold dear and for fear that the future will hold more than I can bear. I am Tucker Littlefield. Know all that I say now is true-spoken.
Alien Alligators are in the Aquifer by Gary A Barnes #GaryABarnes
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I love the cover for Aquifer by Gary A Barnes. That alone would have had me grabbing this, but add alien alligators…I love a good creature feature and we have one here.
Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA
MY REVIEW
I was looking for a Q for my reading challenge and this popped up. An alien alligator? Oh yeah.
In the Ozark Mountains, in the 1950s, in the hillbilly town of Ellington, Doc was enjoying the slow pace, after life in the busy city. Life is just what you would think, live off the land, uneducated people, no money, but they lived their life to the fullest.
Dr. Thomas Clayton came from there and was back as a herpetologist to do an ecological study. What are the ramifications of pollution on the frog population?
Amidst the croaks of the frogs and the song of the cicadas, a blinding flash, a sonic boom, and…we’re off.
Tina’s home life is comfy cozy, with all the characters sharing, eating, playing. I remember catching fireflies and putting them in a jar with holes punched in the top. Do you? It’s always fun to read a book that brings back pleasant memories. Makes the book seem real…sorta. If you believe in aliens and mutant creatures.
I love how two collegiate city slickers meet the Ozark hillbillies and learn they have more in common that they could have possibly believed.
I was freaking when tina and Larry were sitting n the rock at the lagoon.
The slow building suspense allowed me to get to know and love the characters. To get the feel of the terror that is coming, feel IT coming now…NOW? I do wonder how many of them will survive.
Of course, we gotta have one lizard lover. Don’t hurt ’em. Let’s coexist. Well, maybe they don’t want to. Maybe we are their breakfast, lunch and dinner. MMM…hungry.
I love these B type creature features.
Plenty of time was spent in world building and character development. It was great to watch them grow and change, as they spend more time together, learning from each other.
I knew the ending and loved it anyway. If you are looking for a great alien, creature feature, look no further. We have all the requirements here. All the gory, grisly deaths, mixed with loss, love and romance.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Dr. Thomas Clayton was born to an unwed teenage daughter of an Ozark share-cropper. He was adopted at birth without ever knowing the identity of his biological mother or of his backwoods roots. He now unwittingly arrives in the Ozark community of Eminence as part of an environmental research team studying the pollution affects of the logging industry. Clayton has nothing but contempt for the hillbillies of the area, while they in turn suspect that he is part of a Federal conspiracy to take over their land.
Shot down by the military, an alien spaceship crashes into the Ozark Mountains. The alien crew is killed, but the destruction of the spacecraft allows an aggressive alligator-sized amphibian to escape into the continental aquifer which extends from Canada to Mexico. The amphibians quickly multiply and begin devouring the livestock and ultimately the citizens of Eminence. A military unit from Ft. Leonard Wood attempts to eradicate the aliens only to be destroyed themselves by the aggressive creatures.
With the destruction of the military and the impending destruction of the citizenry, Clayton and the town folk join together to obliterate the creatures using only the resources available to a backwoods farming community. Failure would doom the entire nation as the amphibians could travel through the aquifer to wreck havoc throughout the country.
With the annihilation of humanity in the balance, Clayton discovers the key to destroying the aliens. But using it would require him to intentionally spread the pollution he has sworn to prevent. In an explosive pyrotechnic battle with the creatures, Clayton wrestles with the morality of blatantly destroying a new species or somehow capturing it for preservation before it destroys mankind. Does he prevent the spread of pollution or proliferate its spread to save the world? In the process, Clayton makes a stunning discovery that brings him full-circle to his Ozark roots and the family he never knew.
Monday Mini – Surgical by Geoffrey Germann #GeoffreyGermann
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I had reviewed the first book, Prepare, in this superhero series and loved it (see it here), so when Geoffrey Germann sent me Surgical, Book II, I was eager to read more about the superhero, Darren Kiel.
MY REVIEW
Terror from the opening pages.
Darren Kiel is a vigilante, a super hero. Who doesn’t love someone who works undercover saving those unable to save themselves, never needing or wanting credit or acknowledgement?
Darren is an introvert and has been alone for so long, he is craving interaction with another human. He works in disguise so only has fleeting contact and can never let anyone know who he really is. After 200 days a man could lose his mind.
Until…
He becomes part of a superhero, scifi team: Darren has the suit, Faye has the cloak, Walter is the brains and the means, Brigham is the gopher, and Ives is the techie, the inventor. The characters are unique individuals, well developed, flaws and all. I would love to be a part of their team.
It makes me wonder what super heroes are lurking in our world, invisible to us. Could it be your next door neighbor?
The technology is very realistic and who knows what the government keeps secret from us. Maybe some of it is being used today?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Surgical by Geoffrey Germann.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The leader of a lynchpin Eastern Bloc nation has been increasingly erratic, belligerent, destabilizing the entire region. On the cusp of reversing the personal campaign that is destined to bring war, he is assassinated. His death comes with no warning, draws no blood, and leaves no trace; a puppet with its strings cut.
A new assassin, a new terrorist, can kill anyone, anywhere, anytime. He is undetectable, untraceable, unstoppable. He will bring governments, nations, and continents to their knees one leader at a time.
His next target is Walter Rocaena.
To fight this enemy Walter will need extraordinary help, but he hasn’t seen Darren Kiel in over a year. Can Walter find him in time and, even if he does, how can anyone stop an assassin that can kill with a thought without ever being near the target?
Even if it is possible, can they do it before civilization itself unravels?
Myths and Magic: An Epic Fantasy and Speculative Fiction Boxed Set @_TerriBruce
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Myths and Magic has16 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels by 16 New York Times, USA Today, and Award-winning and Break Out Authors!
With there being 16 stories by 16 authors, it will take me some time to work my way through them all, so I wanted to give you a taste of what is in store for you.
MY REVIEW FOR IRENE BY TERRI BRUCE
Irene and the Witch – Afterlife Book 3.5
Irene is dead, stuck in Purgatory, trying to return to Earth as a guardian angel.
Her traveling companion, Andras, is a 12th century Spanish knight, dead since 1911. Most of the time he is invisible. It takes tremendous effort for him to appear in ghostly form. Makes me think of when Bobby was a ghost in the Supernatural TV show.
They have a psychic link.
Are there things worse than death? You betcha.
Ya want to know what it’s like being in a crystal ball? Ask Irene. Even dead, her impatient recklessness has her in trouble.
Can a ghost burn, feel pain, be tortured, die again?
Irene worked through her fear, knowing they would all die if she didn’t persevere, push through, overcome.
I have been loving this series ever since I read Hereafter. I knew it would be a different kind of ghost story and Terri Bruce’s imagination and creativity have taken me into a world both wondrous and frightening, and I am so happy I am only here as a visitor.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Irene, which is included in the Myths and Magic: An Epic Fantasy and Speculative Fiction Boxed Set. I will be reviewing more of the books, so keep in touch and we’ll talk more.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
16 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels by 16 New York Times, USA Today, and Award-winning and Break Out Authors!
There is adventure out there … if you’re brave enough to risk it.
Explore worlds of darkness, danger, and magic in sixteen exclusive fantasy and science fiction novels, available for a limited time. There are tough choices to be made and dastardly villains to outwit in this breath-taking collection that will have you at the edge of your seat.
Plucky heroes and devastating anti-heroes face off against demons, spirits, shifters, witches, and more in this limited-edition arrangement that features a satisfying combination of epic fantasy, science fiction, romance, urban fantasy, sword and sorcery, and more!
This killer deal won’t last forever, so grab your copy today!
ABOUT TERRI BRUCE
Terri Bruce has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember and won her first writing award when she was twelve. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she lives with her husband and three cats. Her second novel, Thereafter (Afterlife #2), will be released May 1, 2014.
Website/Blog / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
MY REVIEWS FOR TERRI BRUCE
The TimeKeeper – Emerald’s Ring by Jaylee Austin @jaylee_austin @RoanePublishing
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MY REVIEW
I didn’t realize when I got this that it was the second book in the series, but it really didn’t make a difference in my enjoyment of the story or make it difficult to follow.
Harmonia is a djinn, a TimeKeeper. She is of the water. She is head strong, stubborn, and determined to find her own answers to her questions. She is destined to join the sidhe and djinn. She holds the key to saving them all.
They have their own political problems and discriminations, just like us humans. Her marriage may be political, but could it be based on love too?
Tristan had no intention of marrying for political reasons either, but Harmonia wormed her way into his heart. Can they overcome their personal issues?
One wants to save the humans, the other want to enslave them.
Humankind is in danger and she must protect them. It will be a new world for the people and only she can do it. But…who to trust? The Gods?
Shapeshifter, Gods, djinn, sidhe, assassins, magic, nymphs, dryads, trolls and so much more. I love all the magical creatures.
You won’t get all the answers and there is more to come. I, for one, would like to be there to learn the end.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Emerald’s Ring by Jaylee Austin.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Harmonia Shae, a time traveler, faces a revengeful fallen sidhe queen set on enslaving humankind. A Sihir magician traps Harmonia’s freewill inside a talisman forcing her to submit to three summonses.
On the brink of death, she finds an unwanted champion in Tristan Avery. Upon awakening, she is in his house. Frightened, she scrambles to escape his overbearing need to protect her. Time is short, she must find the ambassador of the gates and return to her cousin’s house to formulate a plan of action to undo the cataclysmic effects she is compelled to inflict on an unsuspecting city once she completes the queen’s commands.
The wild cowboy sidhe, Tristan Avery finds the dark haired beauty unconscious and poisoned with copper. Determined, to find out why she is here, he follows her every move. When a calamitous earthquake hits Sedona, he is sure she is connected to the mystifying vibrational energy storming through the ley lines of magick. As minder of the Kingdom of Sidhe, he becomes entangled in a battle to safeguard Sedona and defend the women he’s vowed to protect.
Harmonia and Tristan can’t stop the tempestuous hot relationship developing between them as they each hide their own secrets. Will these two overcome the obstacles and find love?
ABOUT JAYLEE AUSTIN (from Amazon)
Rocket, my loving terrier, comes barreling in my office and jumps on the coffee table determined to out wait the computer. He crosses one paw over another and watches me with his chocolate eyes. He waits for a pause and then decides it’s his time and leaps into my lap. I haven’t figured a way to create a bed on my desk. He’s the kind of dog that likes to feel the warmth of human contact. He’s my pal and part of my daily writing routine.
On any weekend you can find me surrounded by faeries, dragons, and angel figurines inspiring me with creative ideas. I live in Apple Valley, California and during the day I teach Language Arts, hopefully inspiring other young writers. Since childhood creating stories has always been a favorite hobby of mine. As an adult I’m grateful to write and share my thoughts with others. Happy reading and may the magic of life fill you with dreams of hope.