My Review of A Scrying Shame by Donna White Glaser

This was a fun read! I really enjoyed this book!
Arie (whose real name we never learn because she actually goes by her initials R.E.--hence the "Arie") is our main character, and she was recently murdered. But don't worry! When we meet her, she has recently been resuscitated. No, she's not a ghost or anything like that. She's just one of those people who saw a light at the end of the tunnel and then got shoved right back down here into reality.
The problem is, she really liked being dead. But now that she's alive again, she can't stop thinking about how much she liked the other side. She's majorly depressed. She's lost her job, about to lose her home, and possibly her sanity. To her, death doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.

A bloody good read!

To try and make ends meet, Arie takes a job with a crew that cleans up crime scenes.  She moves in with her "Grumpa" (who is a riot) and tries to get her life back together. However, pretty quickly into the job, she discovers she has a skill she didn't have before she died--she can scry.
Now, I wasn't particularly familiar with that term, even though I know a lot about mediums and psychics, etc. Scrying is being able to see visions in someone else's blood. When Arie comes into contact with the blood of a famous author who is murdered in her condo, she starts to have visions that lead her to the killer. Even though it doesn't seem like a good idea to become involved, Arie becomes more and more entangled until she finds herself in a very dangerous position.
Along the way, we meet her hilarious best friend and a handsome police detective whom I couldn't get enough of. Arie is funny and quirky, which made her instantly likable. I love the way Glaser tells a story. Despite what could have been a heavy subject, this was actually a fun read, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
If you like stories with a little bit of everything--some supernatural, some mystery, some romance, some fun gal pal interactions--then you should check this one out. You can find it here and the price is currently $1.99 which is a great price for a good book with lots of five star reviews. Check it out and then let me know what you think in the comments!
Phew! I'm all caught up on my posts now! I actually have about 25 books in my TBR pile now (not to mention the 4000 other books on my Kindle that are TBRWIGAC (to be read when I get a chance). I hope to have another post by the end of next week!
Any recommendations for what I should read next?

My Review of Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole

I highly recommend you read Raven's Peak (World's on Fire Book 1) by Lincoln Cole, but I wouldn't recommend you do what I did--read it late at night and then try to go to sleep. It's no wonder I've been so tired this week....
The story opens with the Reverend (a.k.a. Arthur) being released from prison to try and find his adopted daughter who is believed to be dead. Cole quickly draws us into his world, and we find out that Arthur is actually a demon hunter, as is his daughter. The prologue ends with Arthur finding his daughter and trading his soul to a demon so that she can be released.

Raven's Peak--don't read it at night!

Fast forward a few weeks and we are introduced to our actual main characters--Haatim, a young man who is trying to balance his religious believes with the loss of his sister, and Abigail, who happens to be Arthur's daughter, the one he traded his soul for. And she is also a demon hunter.
Fate brings these two together, and they end up in the small town of Raven's Peak, Colorado, where a demon has come to play. Abigail and Haatim have to act fast if they are to save the innocent citizens of Raven's Peak from the demon. They will risk their lives and their souls for people they don't know to try to stop total destruction from either the demon or the Council, the organization Abigail works for who are insistent that the demon not escape, no matter the cost.
I really liked this book a lot. While I'm usually more of a vampire hunter kinda girl (paranormal romance is my jam, or whatever the kids are saying these days) I do like a good action scene. Abigail is ferocious and courageous. Haatim is like just about every mere mortal I know--terrified and ready to run away. I can identify with Abigail because I'd like to be her. I can identify with Haatim because I'm probably more like him. In the end, his actions would make any mother proud.
This is a well-told story that will keep you turning pages late into the night (which is a problem if you want to sleep after you put it down!) and Cole finely crafts the plot to keep it moving and interesting. The main story arch is resolved, but we are led into the next book in the series, so keep that in mind if you don't like cliff-hangers at all. I don't mind a new story to keep me hooked so long as the main story has a resolution.
This book was published by Kindle Press, so I was a little surprised that there were some editing mistakes. It was nothing major, but I know they provide editing so I'm surprised they missed more than one or two things. It didn't take me out of the story though.
If you like paranormal, horror, demonology, or anything scary, check out Raven's Peak here.  Also, Lincoln Cole does a lot of giveaways on his website. You can check out his freebies here.  (And no I don't know him and he didn't pay me to write this or add that in--I just happened to find some really great books on Instafreebie on his freebie site by other authors.)
I am currently reading my first shifter book since Twilight, and I am about equally impressed--you can take that however you'd like! I hope to have my review of Something Shifter This Way Comes by Josie Walker soon. One more review and I'll be all caught up!

My Review of Dead Close to Reality by Jennifer Bull

My reading is getting ahead of my blogging these days! That is kind of a good thing for me--but not so much for people who read this blog to look for recommendations. I will try to get caught up as quickly as possible because I've read some great books recently, and I want to share them with you.
A few weeks ago, I finished Dead Close to Reality by Jennifer Bull. This is another book I found through the Kindle Scout program. If you haven't checked it out yet, I suggest you do. If the books you nominate are selected for publication, you get them for free, but a lot of the authors will offer their books for free or at 99 cents as a thank you for nominating them, so I've gotten a lot of great reading material from checking out this program. And here's the thing about these particular indie authors: they're good writers! I mean, if you're going to go through all of the trouble to put your book in Kindle Scout and promote it, etc., you'd better have a pretty good piece of writing. I have not been disappointed in any of the books I've found through Kindle Scout despite the fact that most of them were not selected for publication through Kindle Press. Dead Close to Reality is another book I highly recommend. You can check out the Kindle Scout program here.
Cora is a student at the secretive Sandman Academy, and she has a lucrative internship beta playing a virtual reality game. However, when her classmates start turning up dead, Cora quickly realizes the deaths are linked to the company she works for.  Unable to trust anyone, including her uncle who happens to be a detective in the police department, she does her best to secure evidence showing the company is behind the deaths, until she finds the game is no longer her virtual reality--it's her actual reality. She must find a way to escape the clutches of the company--and the game--before she dies for real. (Then it's really GAME OVER!--Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Reality gaming just got real!

First of all, I thought this book was extremely creative. I am not a gamer, but I do own a VR headset. The way that Bull describes the game makes me want to jump right in and play alongside Cora.  I really hope this is our future because it would be awesome (minus the real death part!)
There were a lot of surprises in this story--one extremely happy one I won't give away. There were plot twists I didn't really see coming. I could tell a huge amount of planning went into crafting a story that would be entertaining and keep the pages turning.
The only thing that was a bit off-putting was that Cora ended up getting herself into a lot more trouble than she should have all because she refused to listen to anyone else. There were several times she could have been safe at home if she just would have listened to her friends and colleagues. While this was a little annoying, she's a college student, and it's understandable that she may have felt invincible as a lot of teens do.
This isn't my usual genre, but I still really enjoyed it. If you like gaming, mysteries, romance, or really anything creative and unusual, then you should check this one out.  I snagged it at a deal price of 99 cents and you can, too, if you hurry! Find it here. Let me know what you think!

My Review of Impulse Spy by Carrie Ann Knox

Something I love about the Kindle Scout program is that I am introduced to a lot of books in genres I wouldn't typically read. This is one of them. I don't usually read mysteries, but when I saw the cover, I was intrigued. I read the excerpt and really liked the first part of the story so much so that when I saw Impulse Spy by Carrie Ann Knox released at an intro price of only 99 cents, I had to pick it up to finish the story.
Quinn is a young woman who reads a lot of spy books in her spare time. Though she is very busy as a fourth year student working an internship, she spends a lot of her free time reading in coffee shops. That's when she stumbles into Sloan. At first, she thinks Sloan may be a Russian spy, but as she follows her, she realizes the truth is even more compelling.

Love this cover! 

Sloan is a private investigator, and before she knows it, Quinn is working right alongside her, trying to unravel the secrets of a big businessman with a gambling problem. When someone ends up dead, Quinn becomes even more entangled. You'll keep reading not only to find out whodunnnit but also to discover if Quinn decides to join Sloan's PI firm full-time.
I thought this book was very cleverly written. There were a lot of plot twists I didn't see coming. I also really appreciated the fact that Quinn is able to use her "disability" of a hearing impairment to make herself an even better spy. So frequently, we think of people's differences as weaknesses, but here Knox uses Quinn's differences as an asset, which is awesome.
This was a weekend read for me, so not a lot of time invested, but the story keeps you reading, and I stayed up late one night to finish the final chapters because I needed to know what happened. Again, I'm not a big mystery reader so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I found the characters so likable, I would've wanted to read their stories regardless of what they were doing.
Whether you're new to mysteries and want to give the genre a shot or you've read lots of books about murder, espionage, or embezzlement, I think this is a great story you're sure to enjoy.  You  can check it out for yourself here. The current price is $2.99.

My Review of The Freak Show Below by Jada Ryker

With a title like that and an exciting cover, who wouldn't want to check out The Freak Show Below?  The author, Jada Ryker, is extremely talented and has been published by Kindle Press. I thought it was amazing that she gave people who had nominated this book on Kindle Scout the opportunity to get the book for free upon release, so I downloaded it as soon as it became available. I'm so glad I did.

Absolutely love this cover for The Freak Show Below

This mystery had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning. The main characters are sisters, Kirbie and Laken Stone. Kirbie is tight-laced and very professional while Laken is a party girl who is recovering from an addiction to alcohol. I immediately saw myself in Kirbie--wanting to be the best big sister, setting a perfect example, etc. (I will say there is no Laken in my family!) Even though Kirbie is very by-the-book, she is incredibly likable, and the more we find out about the girls' past the more I felt for both sisters.
Laken has been tricked into signing a contract to work in The Freak Show Below at the local casino. Ryker does a great job of keeping us tantalized about what that means without giving it away until over halfway through the book. In the meantime, we meet lots of wonderful, freaky characters who have entered agreements with the scummy casino owner for one reason or another.  Some of these characters will instantly tug at your heart (like Henry!) and some of them will make you want to punch them in the face through your Kindle (like Stella!) As Laken got more and more involved in the Freak Show, I became more and more invested in hoping she got out before anything awful happened to her! I was praying Kirbie would find her quickly!
Of course, Kirbie wasn't looking for Laken all alone. Hunky HR manager, Evan, is there to help. I loved the chemistry between these two. It was cute and sexy without being overbearing.
Another aspect of the book that really drew me in is the story of Kirbie and Laken's sister, Spooky, and the tragic events that happened to her when they were all children. It was both heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.
I'm not going to tell you whether or not Laken has to perform in the Freak Show, but I will tell you the daring rescue mission is definitely worth the read, as is Laken's heroic attempt to escape. I certainly did not see the ending coming and was surprised by more than one turn of events in this one.
I felt Ryker did an amazing job of setting us up right in the action. Unlike a lot of books, there wasn't a long, drawn out backstory. A lot has happened with these characters before we are dropped into their lives, but she gives it to us a piece at a time. I really feel like a prequel could be in order as interesting as the backstory is. Despite knowing I didn't have all of the information just yet, I didn't feel like I had accidentally picked up book two in a series, though.
If you like quick-paced, clever, creative mysteries that will keep you entertained while you try to figure out lots of different puzzles, then this is a great read for you.  I actually think this is the first true mystery I've reviewed, at least recently, but I am now a huge fan of Jada Ryker's and will be checking out her other books as well.
If you'd like to read The Freak Show Below (A Kirbie Stone Mystery Book 1) you can check it out here. The current price is $2.99.

My Review of Eternal Flame: A Rose of Anzio Story by Alexa Kang

If you like time traveling historical fiction with some sweet young adult romance, then this is the right book for you! Eternal Flame: A Rose of Anzio Story by Alexa Kang has something for everyone. I couldn't put it down! (Luckily, I didn't have to go to work today so it doesn't matter that I stayed up until 1:00 AM finishing it last night!) It truly is one of those books you'll be thinking about while you're not reading it and will stick with you long after you've finished it.
The story is set in Chicago in 1989, and if you're a child of the '80s like I am, the references to pop culture will take you back. I love how Kang was able to wind so many different songs and television shows into each scene. Each one took me back to my younger days.
Our main character is a young lady named Julia who has recently moved into a large, old house. She's having boy troubles, and just when it seems like her world is falling apart around her, she finds the photo of a World War II soldier in a clock in her room, left their by the previous owners.  She winds the clock, and when she does so, she unknowingly opens a portal to 1944.
While Julia can't go back in time through the portal, the soldier in the photo, Ed, can come through. At first, he is shocked to find out he's been transported forty-five years into the future, but it is his home and his furniture in Julia's room. After the initial awkwardness is over, Ed and Julia become great friends. He can go back and forth through the time portal, but there are certain rules that dictate the time and date he can use it.
As Ed continues his visits, Julia begins to realize she has feelings for him beyond their friendship. When she realizes he feels the same way, they begin to focus on finding a way they can be together despite the fact that he is from the past.  Julia would love for him to choose to stay in the future with her, but Ed has a duty to perform, and like any good soldier, he is determined not to turn his back on his brothers in arms. To find out if they are able to make their love last for all time, you're going to have to read the book for yourself.
Since my grandfather served in World War II, I could really relate to this story. When Kang discusses life in the 1940s, she's spot on, as she is with her references to the 1980s. I loved being immersed in both of these two time periods as they are both very relevant to my life. Her characters are likable, and you can't help but want Julia and Ed to find a way to be together.  I also love how she incorporates time travel without it becoming overwhelming or too science-fiction-y.  I didn't feel compelled to find out "why" the portal worked, I just knew that it worked, and that was enough.
This is a really great read that hits a lot of genres in one way or another.  If you like historical fiction, romance, young adult, or time travel you will find something to love in this book. You can find it on Amazon here.  The current price is $0.99 but I think that is a limited time, promotional price that may change. This is definitely one of the best books I've read in a while, so if you're looking for some summer reading, I highly recommend Eternal Flame: A Rose of Anzio Story by Alexa Kang.

My Review of The Unknown Sun by Cheryl S. Mackey

The Unknown Sun is a Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Romance novel, not my typical genre, but it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try, and I'm glad that I did.
Moira is a young woman with a chilling past. Not once, but twice, she has been the sole survivor when terrible accidents have claimed the lives of her family members. Both of her parents and two of her sisters have died tragically in a car wreck and then a plane crash, leaving Moira basically all alone in a world she doesn't understand where everyone, including herself, wants to know why she didn't die.
When she is attacked at her home by a strange boy she vaguely recognizes from school, she cries out for help, but the twins that show up to save her are not ordinary themselves, and soon she finds herself in another world surrounded by strangers.
Despite knowing no one and nothing of this strange land, she soon discovers there are links between her past and this world. The twins, Airi and Bel, were able to save her through the use of a magic portal. It is up to Moira to work with the twins to save their world and activate similar portals throughout the land while avoiding the evil forces that seek to destroy them and claim the throne from their father.
As Moira works with the twins, she begins to discover she has much to offer. She transforms from the weak child she had been on Earth and finds her own power. She also quickly makes a love connection with Bel and learns to love his sister, Airi, as a best friend. She soon realizes that this new land will be her home and she must do what she can to protect it, no matter the cost.
There were a lot of things that I really liked about The Unknown Sun. First of all, Mackey has a gift when it comes to word choice and prose. Parts of the piece are actually written so beautifully it is as if one is reading a poem.  I really enjoyed savoring the word choice and letting the perfectly chosen words roll off of my tongue.
I also thought Mackey did an excellent job of building the world as we went along.  This is a distinct place, which is difficult to construct, and sometimes authors get so bogged down in building the land they forget to advance the story. That did not happen here. The pace continued as it should while the world was built around it.
I also felt like the story itself was very engaging. There were some creative ideas here that I hadn't considered before, starting with the idea that Moira had been the victim of these two accidents that had shattered her family.  There needed to be a reason, of course, and I feel like we find out enough information about those events later for it to make sense.
There were a few things that I would have like to have had better clarification on. For one thing, the new world involves a new language--although I'm not clear on how they actually also know English so well--and a lot of the words were confusing to me. I don't feel like I learned them well enough to know what they meant when I heard them later in the story. Some of them were very similar to each other.
I can say the same about some of the characters. There ended up being a lot of characters with strange sounding names, particularly towards the end, and some of them started with the same letter, so I couldn't always remember who was who, especially with characters that were mentioned but did not actually appear in the book. Towards the end, I finally decided I had given up on trying to remember who a couple of the characters were and I decided to go ahead and finish the book and if I needed to go back and figure it out later, I would. I didn't have to do that. It might be more important in a sequel, possibly.
On the subject of the sequel, this book was first published in 2014, and while the back matter promises a sequel, to my knowledge, one is not out yet. That seems like a really long time to wait for a sequel to me.
Finally, this story gives new meaning to the phrase "love at first sight." Bel loves Moira immediately and it only takes her half a second to realize she loves him, too. She is young, though, so maybe that is plausible.  I am a bit confused about their relationship, however, especially since we find out later that they may actually be related, and that doesn't seem to make a difference to them at all.
Overall, this was a good read. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy novels, particularly those set on other planets. It will also help if you like romance.  I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but you can purchase it here, and the current price is $2.99.

My Review of Dying Valentine by Calvin Demmer

This was an interesting, short read in the horror genre, as the title may suggest.  I found it both interesting and creative, if not a little confusing. But I believe the confusion was intentional--as in a sort-of red herring here and there--and while it did leave me a little befuddled, it certainly wasn't a bad read or a waste of the thirty minutes or so it took to read.

My dying Valentine, sweet bloody Valentine....

The story opens with our main character, Daniel, on his way to meet his girlfriend's parents. Unfortunately, he is involved in an accident on the way, striking a pedestrian, and through some bizarre twists and turns, he ends up back at his house with the victim (she seems to be fine) who does what all strange women who have just been hit by a car do--takes off her clothes and demands money
Of course, Daniel loves his girlfriend and isn't tempted by this apparently psychotic speed bump, but things go from bad to worse when his girlfriend actually shows up at his house.
Daniel does what every cool dude might do and introduces his girlfriend to the weird woman from the road--and then leaves. I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say it involves a blood bath. No really.
I will say that I absolutely did not see the ending coming--or even the few steps leading to the ending, for that matter. I was really thrown off by a few things that happened, and they didn't make sense at all, which, as I said, I believe was intentional. At least that's the theory I'm going with! There was a lot of intentional misdirection.
This is a very short read--only 25 pages according to Amazon--and it's only 99 cents. It will likely leave you shaking your head, which isn't a bad thing. It's definitely not like anything I've read before!
You can find Dying Valentine here, but you don't have to wait until February to read it!

My Review of The Defiled and the Second Son by BJ Leonard

Y'all, I did it! I finally found a book I really liked! It's been sooo long since I read a good one, a book that mad me think about it while I wasn't reading it, one that made me wonder what would happen next, where the characters stick with you and have you longing for the next installment. I'm so glad I found this book! I was beginning to lose faith in my ability to pick a good one!

The Defiled and the Second Son by BJ Leonard is enthralling!

The Defiled and the Second Son is science fiction,  a genre I don't typically select, but this one seemed interesting to me from the description, and it honestly seemed a bit more like a paranormal romance storyline--with aliens instead of vampires or werewolves.
Elan is a high school teacher who lives a pretty boring life until her new gardner, an extremely attractive stranger recommended to her by a neighbor, begins to hit on her. She is shocked and suspicious. And just when she begins to consider exploring her options with River, two other attractive men show up in her life and let her know of their interest in her as well.
It isn't long before Elan discovers she's actually been identified by an alien race as a precious commodity, a woman pure of heart who can be used to help repopulate their devastated planet. The only problem is that these aliens are on two different sides of a very real war. The Defiled, the dark side of the race, are willing to break all of the rules to claim Elan as their own, while the Legitimates must follow all of the rules and find a way to enlighten Elan so that she can recognize her own strength. Soon, Elan finds herself in a dangerous position as the two sides battle over her, and she isn't sure who to trust.
This was a great read for several reasons. The characters are real and engaging. The dialogue is great, the descriptions are poignant, and the plot moves quickly and keeps the reader driving forward. I found this book to be both creative and relatable. While it is similar to some of the paranormal romance novels I have read, the fact that we are talking about aliens makes it unique. Likewise, the thought that went into each of the characters, particularly the 11 Legitimate brothers, is impressive. I am very hopeful that Leonard continues this series and we can find out what happens to the third son when he comes to Earth to look for his soulmate.
The book references Twilight a few times, and I think if you enjoyed that series, you will like this one as well, though, in my opinion, this book is better written as far as the prose and word choice are concerned. You can read my slightly different five star review on Amazon here, and please check out The Defiled and the Second Son by BJ Leonard here. The current price is $2.99.

My Review of Amaranthine and Other Stories by Erik Hofstatter

I was drawn to this collection because of the name--Amaranthine. It means undying or unchanging, and it happens to be the title song of an Enya album. So the title caught my attention, but since I've been hunting for something haunting for a while, I decided a collection of short horror stories might be the way to go. It promised to be a quick read, and I hoped it would also be scary.
Sadly, I was disappointed in the latter, but at least it was over quickly.
The first story should've been my clue that this was not going to be horrific at all, but it was going to be nauseating in more ways than one. When the first story in a horror collection is titled, "The Birthing Tub," you prepare yourself for terror. What I got was a whole lot of queasiness. I won't ruin it for you in case you happen to like those things, but what was born was not a baby, and what was floating in the tub was not afterbirth.  Despite this disgusting opening story, I journeyed on, hopeful that things would get better.

The fluid in The Birthing Tub wasn't blood. Blood would've been better.

I will not recount every single story in the collection here, as there are nine, but I will hit some highlights. I really did like the story "The Deep End." I found it intriguing and liked the reference to the Morgens, a siren like character I had never heard of before. I also liked that the ending was left up to the imagination of the reader.  The title story was also interesting. "Amaranthine" is a very short story where the main character is a book binder who specializes in materials other than leather or paper.  In a way, it reminded me of The Others, one of my favorite movies, as a look back at one of the more morose, yet intriguing, mementoes of the past. However, unlike the haunting movie staring Nichole Kidman, this story doesn't quite linger the same way and you certainly can't relate to the characters in the same way.
There are some grammatical mistakes/typos, and some of them were quite distracting. There were not a lot of them, but the fact that they made it difficult to process what was happening brought me out of the book and left me confused. Those are the worst kinds of mistakes, in my opinion, and I'm not sure how they were missed as this book appears to have a publisher other than the author, though no editor is listed.
As I mentioned, this book is really short at 63 pages. I certainly wouldn't pay the asking $2.99 for it at that length, particularly now that I know that it isn't scary.  I happened to pick it up during a free promotion.  If you'd like to find out for yourself, you can find it here. You can also find my slightly different three  star Amazon review here, and if you found either of these reviews helpful, please vote "Yes" on Amazon.
My next review will be back to contemporary romance. I think this one may have turned me off of "horror" for a while....

My Review of Sallowed Blood by Stuart G. Yates

I have four thousand books waiting for me on my Kindle. For reals.  So--choosing my next book is always difficult. I decided to read Sallowed Blood by Stuart G. Yates  because I found the description intriguing, but even more interesting to me was an exchange between another Amazon reviewer and the author. Basically, the reviewer said, "Hey author, you need to have this edited again. There are some errors and you changed one of the character's names midway, and then changed it back." And then the author said, "Nuh uh." (I paraphrase both parts, of course.) Well, any author who is willing to argue with a reviewer has my attention! So I decided to read the book for myself to see who was right!
Any bets on who that might have been??
This story is about a boy named Daniel who is about fifteen years old. His mom has recently passed away, and his dad has taken to drinking. A lot. When his grandmother dies, that is the last straw for Daniel, until he finds out she was filthy stinking rich, and now he has a trust fund. And also a castle. Yeah, Granny left him and his dad a castle in Bavaria.

Daniel's grandma left him a castle. All mine left me was a copy of Little Women and a painting of a dog.

From the first night in the castle, Daniel is uneasy. He's hearing weird sounds. The staff is creepy, and there's some weird dude who keeps showing up telling his dad he wants to buy the castle and they shouldn't move there. But Daniel is a trooper and he is determined not only to stick it out but not to point out any of the weird sounds or creepiness to his dad, not even when one of the maids turns into a monster in front of his face and another one of he workers tries to kill him. Nope, why would you mention that to your dad?
Eventually, a tutor comes along and enlightens Daniel that there are a bunch of legends associated with the former owners of the castle dating back to medieval times.  They go exploring in caves nearby and villagers tell them to move.  Again, why tell your only living parent any of this?
People start showing up dead, and then Daniel's dad goes away for a while, leaving his son alone in the creepy castle where at least two people have supposedly died in the last two weeks. As any good parent does.
Daniel's Aunt Flo shows up--no it isn't that time of the month, that's really her name--and the story begins its climax with Daniel stumbling upon the secret to all of the evil noises coming from the pits of the house! Will Daniel survive? Will things with Aunt Flo get messy? Does Dad ever realize that his son has been accosted by the waitstaff? Well, to find out, you will just have to read this one for yourself.
Here are some things that I really liked! First of all, the backstory to the castle is great. I'm not sure if Yates made up the history he weaves into the story or if he's just an excellent historian, but either way, I found it intriguing.  I really liked reading about the medieval characters and the history of the castle. Also, I found parts of the plot to be very creative. I'd certainly never read anything like this before, and when it comes to the paranormal element, I think that's saying something. There isn't a lot that hasn't been done to death.
Here's where I had some issues. Remember that reviewer? She was sooo right. There were a lot of sentences missing words, grammatical errors, punctuation in the wrong place or doubled up, things a good proofreader could have caught. The story was also in need of some actual editing as parts were hard to follow. I'm talking about overly wordy sentences and things like Daniel handing a cup to a maid only to be gripping the cup a few minutes later--things that take you out of  the story and make you say, "what just happened?" There is a character named Mr. Spencer in the beginning of the book. About a quarter of the way through, he is referred to as Mr. Simpson, and then later he becomes Mr. Spencer again. This is confusing, particularly in a book where characters have similar names--like Martha and Maria. And then there's Daniel and Dad. Yes, the character may as well be named Dad as that is pretty much all he is ever called. The book is written in third person limited, not first person, so the character should really be referred to by his name, particularly in scenes where Daniel isn't present, but even then he is called Dad most of the time, which gets annoying after a while. (As any parent knows, having one's own identity is crucial to existence. My name is not Mommy!)
Another thing that bothered me is that Daniel cries. A lot. He is a 15 year old boy who has a crush on a 18 or 17 year old girl (the book gives her both ages, in that order) who cries at least a half a dozen times. I don't think most teenage boys cry that much--but if they are the kind of boy who does cry, then they are probably also the kind of boy who tells their dad they saw a monster in the kitchen!
I wanted to like Daniel, but I couldn't.  He was too pathetic for me. I did really like the character of Rex. I don't know if I liked Dad or not because he was a stereotype and not a real person, which is indicated by his name (which must be Dad.)
Overall, I would say, if you like a quick read, paranormal with historical background, and you don't mind the problems I've listed above, then check this one out. You can find it on Amazon here and at the time of this posting, it is still free, regularly $2.99.
One more thing, I know as an author it is difficult to read critical reviews. (I literally know that!) But I don't know that it is ever a good idea to respond back to a reviewer with negativity. In this case, maybe it was a good move on Yates's part because it caused me to read his book, but it also caused me to leave a three star review on his book, which may or may not be a good thing.  Sometimes, it's best to leave those types of things unsaid, or publish them elsewhere. Like on your blog.... If you'd like to read my three star review on Amazon, which is slightly different than this one, you can find it here. If you find my review helpful, please click "yes." It is alway nice to get positive feedback on my reviews!
I wonder if Mr. Yates will find it helpful.
Now, what am I going to read next....Perhaps something the negative reviewer wrote! She really did have a way with words.

My Review of Taming Beauty by Lynne Barron

With the upcoming release of the new live-action Disney film, Beauty and the Beast, there are sure to be a lot of retellings appearing on the bookshelves. This one, however, has been around for a little while. And if you're looking for a re-imagination of the well-known story, then I highly recommend you check this one out.
In this particular retelling, the beast isn't an actual animal but more of a brutish baron. Jasper, Baron Maleville, finds himself betrothed to the daughter of one of his archenemies in an attempt to underhandedly undo the scoundrel. However, as the wedding party arrives at his manor, it isn't the young and fetching sister he is promised to that catches his attention, rather it is her slightly older, slightly bawdier, sister Lileth. And while Lileth pretends to have absolutely no interest in the baron, it soon becomes very difficult for her to keep her growing attraction a secret.
I really enjoyed several aspects of this story. First of all, Barron writes with prose that transports the reader back in time. With her skillful turning of phrase that sounds remarkably suited to the time period of her writing, it is quiet easy to find oneself immersed in the story. While some authors are not capable of taking such a sophisticated approach to historical fiction, Barron does so in a way that is not only non-distracting from the storyline, it actually enhances the experience.
The character of Lileth, though she is very unlady like in many ways, is immediately likable, and I found myself cheering from her from the very beginning. She is no damsel in distress! Rather, she is witty, charming, and highly intelligent.  She doesn't really seem to care what other people think of her and has little time for the rules of high society of the period. There are points in the story when she does show vulnerability, which leaves her a very well-rounded character.
I was not as impressed with Jasper, though, partially because I felt the picture painted of him was a little difficult to follow. My mind kept wanting to make him a hideous beast, but he is described as attractive with some physical scars. Perhaps it was the influence of other "beast" characters that wouldn't let me fully see this character the way Barron intended, but I felt he could have used some more depth and transparency. I did find his backstory very interesting.
There are several other characters that were intriguing and fit in well with the story, including the younger sister who is betrothed to Jasper and the nieces and nephews who live in his home. Barron does a wonderful job of including these other characters and describing the setting where the story unfolds. Even the father who has so many flaws becomes intriguing and charismatic the more we learn about him.
There were some proofreading mistakes, which occasionally distracted from the reading--missing words, phrases that weren't quite complete, etc. But this did not ruin the story for me, and I was able to get back into the action fairly quickly after re-reading a sentence here or there.
Overall, I feel this was a very well-written piece of historical fiction with quite a bit of romance. If you're looking for something to tide you over while you wait for Beauty and the Beast on the big screen, I highly recommend this one. You can find it here on Amazon, and the current price is $2.99. I received my copy for free in exchange for a fair review. If you've read it, let us know in the comments what you thought of Taming Beauty by Lynne Barron.

My Review of Grave Girl by Amy Cross

I actually started reading this book the day that I downloaded it--which is unusual for me because I download about six books a day, and I’m usually in the middle of reading something else (and I was and put it down for this)--because the book blurb sounded so interesting to me. Sam Marker decides to change her life by becoming a gardener in a strange, sinister little town. Soon, she discovers she is working above the grave of the devil himself, and now it’s her job to make sure that he continues to slumber undisturbed.  Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it?  And I wasn’t disappointed!

First of all, this book is written in such a way that you have to have a bit of a sense of humor at the ridiculous and the obvious to truly get it. There are things that are said and done that are clearly tongue in cheek. Ms. Cross does an excellent job of creating characters that you can both love and hate at the same, who make intelligent decisions and stupid ones in the same breath, who you both cheer for and also think, “Well, you get what you deserve!” simultaneously.

As always, I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s clear from the very beginning that Sam is extremely intelligent, even though she makes one terrible decision after another. Eventually, those choices lead her to Rippon, a town that is in need of a gardener for the cemetery, and the only reason for this we are initially privy to is that it seems the last one has been murdered by some extremely powerful force that lives in the cemetery.  Sam accepts the job, leaving her party life in Leads behind, and it isn’t too long before she starts to see some very strange things--like a concrete angel that appears to be following her, a statue of death that seems to move as well, and a mausoleum that may or may not be a tomb for the undead.  

Anyone want to be a gardener in this cemetery?

Sam decides to push all of this craziness aside and begins her job with enthusiasm, even digging her first grave for the local busybody. The town mayor, local doctor, priest, and various other townspeople all seem rather peculiar, but Sam chalks it up to small town life. She has her own issues--she’s gone cold turkey off the booze, and she’s missing someone she loves dearly, a boy named Henry.

Eventually, of course, Same discovers the truth, that being a gardener in this particular town is more than digging holes and trimming trees, and the evil lurking beneath the town is rising to the surface, unless she can find a way to stop it.

As I said, the writing style is different. It’s not overly complicated or complex, but it tells the story in a way that is both clever and engaging.  I particularly enjoyed one of the twists at the end, when we discover exactly who it is that Sam has left behind. I didn’t see that coming.  There were a few proofreading issues--as always seems to be the case--but nothing catastrophic, and nothing that interfered with the storytelling.

In the end, something happens to Sam that I didn’t really like. I suppose the author thought it was necessary, but I disagree--it seemed a bit too hokey for me. But it was the only point in the story when I thought, “Seriously?”  

Two things that I didn’t love--there is a lot of the “f” word (you know, the f dash, dash, dash word!) And I mean a lot. If that puts you off, this may not be the book for you. Also, it’s written in present tense--third person present tense. This always throws me off a bit. I’m used to past tense. Everything is happening right now. Again, I adjusted, and it was fine, but if you have trouble reading in the present tense, then this might not be your book.

If you’d like to try Grave Girl for yourself, you can purchase it here for just 99 cents. I’m hopeful that this means there will be a sequel--and it is set up so that there could be. If you’d like to read my Amazon review, which is same sentiment, different words than this one, you can find it here. I gave it five stars. Recent readers will be shocked to know that I do, occasionally, give five star reviews. Please remember to vote that my review is helpful on Amazon if it is, in fact, helpful.

Now, I have to decide whether or not to finish the dreadful book I set aside for this one or find something else to read. I hate leaving books unfinished, but this one is just really, really bad….

My Review of Carousel by Jennifer Renson

When I was first approached by the author to read and review this fantasy/fairytale novel, I was intrigued. The storyline sounds very interesting: a prince is forced to leave his home as a child because of the threat of plague.  He leaves behind a carousel, which was gifted to him when he was born.  The carousel is cursed by a demon who has the power of turning dolls into real children.  Will the prince return in time to save the villagers from the demon? Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Unlike many of the books I read, this one is published by an actual publisher--not self published. I am an Indie author myself, so I know there are a lot of great writers out there who haven't even tried to get published traditionally, but when I see that a book has been accepted by a publisher, that tells me it should be very polished with very few proofreading errors.  It should have a great plot, and it should appeal to a great number of readers in the specific genre.
Unfortunately, that was not the case with this one. I was extremely disappointed in the number of proofreading errors.  There were not only misspelled words, there were misused words, words missing in sentences--all things you would expect a publishing house to catch. But they didn't.  That's not necessarily the author's fault, but if I saw this in my work after a professional editor had gone through it, I would be pretty darn upset. (I'm upset when I've paid someone who is not necessarily a professional to edit a book for me and I still see this issues.)

This Carousel just didn't make it around for me.

As for the story itself, it wasn't too bad, but there were somethings I honestly didn't quite understand. I don't want to give away too much, but for example, early on, we find out that the demon has snuck into the palace inside of the carousel. One of the horses on the ride is black and rotten. He oozes out of it.  Children love this ride!  They come over to the palace to ride it at parties, etc. No one ever noticed a black, oozing horse? I find this very hard to believe!  How is that possible? My daughter would notice if the carousel horse next to her had a dirty footprint on it. She'd definitely spot  a black pool of slime. So... that doesn't quite work for me. And when the whole story starts off on a premise that doesn't work, the rest of it kind of falls apart a bit as well.
There is another place where the characters find a large key--that they use for a door.  The description here was not enough for me to have any idea how that would work exactly. I found the entire incident extremely confusing....
I also wished there was more dialogue in the story. Sometimes I felt removed from what was happening to the characters, like I was finding out about it later instead of being in the moment with them.
I think the idea is a great one and that a lot could have happened with it. I was just slightly disappointed in the execution.  Since the author asked me to review and I don't feel that my review is extremely positive, I am declining to post it on Amazon. But you can see that the book does have all positive reviews on Amazon right now, so many other readers have enjoyed it. You can find Carousel here and the current list price is $2.99.
Right now, I am finishing up Grave Girl by Amy Cross, and I am really enjoying it so far. I hope to post that review soon. You can check it out here for only 99 cents.

My Review of The Wronged Wife: A Medieval Historical Romance about Misunderstanding and Jealousy by Margaret Brazear

Despite the lengthy title, this was a pretty quick read, which ended up being a good thing, because even though I loved the premise, I found the story to be fairly predictable and unbelievable with characters that were difficult to like. I was actually pretty disappointed since the first part of the book started off so strongly. I had high hopes for this one....
Occasionally, I like to read something tragic to remind myself that my life is pretty good. So when I read that this book was about a woman whose husband leaves her once he returns home from war and finds her pregnant, I wanted to find out more. Philippa and her husband, Richard, have always had a very close relationship. He goes off to fight and comes back over a year later to find that she is with child.  Without even bothering to ask what has happened, he beats her so badly that she loses the child and almost dies.  We find out quickly that it is his own brother who has done this to his wife. Richard takes his then five-year-old daughter, Madeleine, with him, and refuses to hear any other explanation from his wife. For seven years.
That's where we come into the story.  Richard learns that his brother has been stabbed by a woman and is dying. Upon visiting his brother on his deathbed, he finds out that the woman stabbed him because he was attempting to rape her. And that's when Richard realizes he has made a terrible mistake....
He immediately gathers up his daughter and returns to Philippa--who actually welcomes him in!  This is where the story began to fall apart for me.  Every action Philippa takes from the moment Richard shows up at her door makes no sense to me.  The story also starts to drag here, and when another plot point finally enters the picture, it seems contrived, like beta readers may have said, "Something else needs to happen!" so the author threw something together really quickly.  This leads to more actions that don't make sense on the part of both lead characters and an ending that is anything but mind blowing.
While I really loved the concept, I felt that it was poorly executed. I understand that women were treated much differently back then, but the story is set up to make it seem like Philippa and Richard have the type of relationship that isn't bound by the laws and restrictions of the time.  Yet, her reactions seem right in line with how a woman would be expected to react.
Another important detail I found lacking was character and setting description. While I agree that some authors spend too much time describing the scenery and the outfits of each day for every character, I felt like I was having trouble imagining what these characters and their homes looked like because there was so little detail included.  I had actually switched the time period to Regency in my mind inadvertently for the whole middle section of the book, and it didn't really matter.  We find out Richard has a beard somewhere towards the end of the book.... I have no idea what their houses looked like. Things like that are problematic when one is really trying to get involved in the story at the same level as the author.

Could Costa's Portrait of a Woman be our Phillipa?

There were a slew of punctuation errors as well, which drove me crazy. Same old story--commas missing before transitional phrases, periods at the end of quotation marks instead of commas, etc. Nothing egregious, just annoying.
The cover is lovely, however!
If you really like Medieval romance novels with tragic premises that don't quite turn out the way you'd expect, then by all means, give this one a try. You can purchase The Wronged Wife here for the current price of $4.99. You can also read my three star review on Amazon here. If you appreciate my review, please give it a "yes" vote on Amazon so that other people see my reviews. I don't promote my blog through my reviews, but it will help other people make an informed decision.
If you've read this book or anything else by this author, please let us know in the comments!

My Review of Little Love Affair: A Clean Civil War Historical Romance (Southern Romance Series Book1) by Lexy Timms

I am constantly on the lookout for good Civil War era romance novels, so I was thrilled to see this one free on one of my many email lists.  The story sounds great; a young woman, Clara, is struggling to take care of her family farm, her younger sister, and her mother, when her father dies and her older brother goes off to join the Union Army.  When two Confederate soldiers show up on their farm, she is torn between trying to help them survive and following her convictions.  Since it is a romance novel, it isn't unexpected that she would develop feelings for one of them, which leads Clara to even more questions about whether to follow her heart or stay true to her country. Sounds pretty good doesn't it?
It was--until about halfway through. Then, things started to slow down, mysteries started to unravel, and reality started to let go.
First of all, this is advertised as a "clean" historical romance. It's not. The fact that it isn't doesn't really bother me, but I don't think it's very honest of the author to describe it as such when it's not, and I read a lot of reviews that weren't really happy with the deception.
Secondly, the way the characters react to the revelation of one of the minor characters is extremely unbelievable. I won't give this part of the story away, although it's pretty obvious just a few chapters in, but Clara doesn't stay true to her own characterization when she finds out the secret, and it made me lose some respect for her.
I found many of the characters to be rather flat, including Jasper, the lead. We don't know much about him. The younger sister is completely helpless until the very end, and the mom seems like she is in a trance most of the time.  The beau who is attempting to court Clara reminded me a bit of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.
I like my Civil War books a little more heavy on the battle action. This one had very little mention of warfare at all. As a matter of fact, the author could have written it only with the knowledge that the Battle of Gettysburg happened in Pennsylvania in 1863. There's no mention of battle tactics, any other engagements, or really even anything about weaponry, etc. This lack of information removed me from the era quite a bit.

Not a lot of fighting in this war book

Another missing aspect was discussion of what life was like at that time as far as dress, transportation, home life, etc.  It's like anything true to the period was glossed over or left out so that the author didn't have to do any research. I like my historical romance a little more historical.  Using current vernacular and phrases was also annoying. People really didn't start using "hello" as a greeting until the twentieth century, but these characters use it a lot. That's just one blaring example.
As the story was starting to wind down, I was aware that I was only at about 70% on my Kindle.  I kept trying to figure out how this story, which was clearly ending, was going to last another 20%. Well, it didn't.  It ended at 80%. The rest was filler material--ads, requests for reviews, and then a chapter from another book which I didn't read because I was too upset about the other one ending so abruptly.  Granted, this book was free, so I can't complain too much, but if I had paid for it and only gotten 80% of what I thought I had purchased, I wouldn't be too happy.
If you really like Civil War era reads and you can get this one for free, then I say go ahead and give it a try. It is not a cliffhanger, so you don't have to read the rest of the series to reach a good breaking point, which is something I really do appreciate. If you'd like to read my three star Amazon review, you can find it here. If you find it helpful, please vote "yes" so that other people will see my reviews. If you'd like to try Little Love Affair, you can find it here. The price is currently free.
**Edit:  My nine-year-old is a huge 101 Dalmatians fan, and I just realized after a conversation with her that the two Confederate soldiers have the same names as the bad guys in that movie--Jasper and Horace. Coincidence? Now I'm curious....
What is your favorite era for historical romance?

My Review of Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith

When author David Meredith contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me to review his novel, Reflections of Queen Snow White, I was intrigued, and though it wasn't quite what I expected from the book blurb, it was a good read which didn't take too long to finish either.
Snow White has been struggling with the death of her beloved Prince Charming for over a year, and when her daughter, Princess Raven, begins to plan her wedding, Snow White is despondent and closed off. In an effort to find some solitude, Snow White explores areas of the castle she hasn't visited for years and comes face to face with a ghost from her past--the magic mirror.
When I read the book description, I thought the mirror was going to literally help her go on an adventure to find herself. That is not the case. Since the mirror is a reflection of her true self, it simply guides her on a journey of self-reflection. We travel back in time with Snow White as she explores the key relationships of her life--her father, her evil step-mother, Prince Charming, members of her court, and others.  Each time the magic mirror begins to spin her back in time, we get more of a glimpse into who Snow White was and who she has become. Ultimately, the magic mirror forces her to make a decision to either accept the fact that Prince Charming is gone and move on with her life or continue to wallow in her own despair for the rest of her existence.

Will Snow White ever find her smile again?

I really enjoyed Meredith's spin on this classic fairy tale. I've always loved Grimm's fairy tales, and Snow White is one of my favorite princesses. I feel Meredith did a nice job of using the language of the era, which is difficult to do.  His prose is flowery and descriptive, but not in a way that makes one grow confused or feel overwhelmed.  The pace was steady, and I feel that many of the characters were well developed, although I would have liked to have had more information about the evil step-mother, six of the seven dwarfs, and Princess Raven, who hardly has any interaction with the reader at all. I really liked the flashback scenes where we get more information about Snow White's life, though many of them are a bit disturbing due to the violence inflicted upon our main character.
I did not feel that Snow White came across as a strong female lead, despite the fact that the mirror tells her (and us) that she is strong several times. She almost always needs someone to come and rescue her with each predicament she finds herself in. Even when she attempts to handle things herself, it doesn't go as expected.  Far from the Snow White portrayed by Ginnifer Goodwin on Once Upon a Time, this Snow White is more in line with the soft-spoken fairy of Disney's original movie from the '30s.
There were also several proofreading errors that caught my eye, particularly when it came to punctuation.  I was constantly pulled out of the story when a lengthy sentence incorporating two independent clauses with a conjunction joining them did not have a comma. This might sound a bit picky, but it makes it difficult to read these types of sentences when they are not properly punctuated. This is another instance when I am wondering if there was an editor because none is listed and most of the mistakes seem to be in line with a careful proofread by a writer who may or may not be familiar with all of the punctuation rules or can't see them because we tend to read things the way we thought we wrote them....
There are some explicit bedroom scenes to go along with the violence already noted, so keep that in mind. I wouldn't recommend this for younger readers. I didn't find it horribly offensive but I read a couple of other reviews from readers who did.  Definitely not one to plan on reading aloud to your kids at bedtime!
I gave this book four stars on Amazon. You can read my review here.  If you find it helpful, please indicate so on Amazon as that helps my recommendations to be seen by others.  If you'd like to find read Reflections of Queen Snow White for yourself, you can purchase it here for $1.99.

My Review of The Zarion: Saving Mankind by JE Grace

This is a science fiction novel with a good dose of Christian faith--a rarity in my experience, and if you're into that sort of thing, then this might be the book for you. If you read my blog a lot, you'll notice I don't usually read sci fi, but when the author, JE Grace, contacted me and asked me to review her book, I obliged. It's not that I don't like sci fi--I love Star Wars--it's just not usually my genre of choice. I was intrigued by the premise, however, which equates the return of Christ as the savior of the world to a scientist in the future whose purpose is to save humans from aliens--or at least that was my understanding going in.

"Beam me up, Zarions!"

The main character, Davis, is slated to work for a shady company called Interplay. In fact, the book starts with his kidnapping and being instructed that he will be working for Interplay--which should have been a big heads up that something might not quite be right with this company. While Davis and his co-workers go about trying to solve some of Earth's most drastic problems--like running out of food--a sneaky member of their crew is sabotaging them. We find out later that this turncoat is not the only one, and that he, along with many other characters, is actually an agent of The Fallen.  This group of aliens, led by Lucifer, is trying to take over Earth.  As Davis begins to uncover what is happening around him, he also learns of a group working to save the inhabitants of Earth, the Zarion, and he also finds out his link to these benevolent beings is more than skin deep.
There is also a bit of romance in the novel, though nothing to make one blush, which gives another dimension to the story. Davis is intrigued by his colleague Janette from the moment he meets her. He'll have to wait a while to find out whether or not his feelings are reciprocated, and as a reader, it kept me interested to see what would happen between them.
There is a lot of action, lots of espionage, lots of intrigue. If you like sci fi, the description and dialogue regarding traveling into space, etc. sounds pretty right on to me.  In a lot of ways, it reminded me of one of those old movies you might catch late at night when invaders are coming to Earth and the strong hero-type astronaut guy has to come to the rescue.  The dialogue is sparse but sensible, and Davis and Janette are likable right away, though she is certainly not one I would describe as a strong, independent woman.
This book is not quite written in first person. It oscillates back and forth from Davis's perspective to the point of view of other characters. At first, this phenomenon only occurred between chapters, but then it got more frequent. Sometimes we get more than one point of view in the same paragraph. This makes it a bit hard to follow. Also, it is written in first person omniscient--which means Davis sometimes has the ability to know the motivation and private thoughts of other characters he is interacting with. Again, I don't mind omniscient, but  it does make the story hard to follow when Davis is talking but we suddenly know what another character is thinking. And, if he has some sort of mind-reading abilities, this is never mentioned in the plot line.
It is also written mostly in passive voice.  A lot of the action is explained to the reader, rather than shown to us.  There are whole scenes that are summed up after the fact, which took me out of the book a little bit. I didn't ever quite feel like I was in the moment with Davis, rather a bit more like he was giving me a summary of what had occurred much later in time.
I also noticed there is no editor listed.  There needs to be one--possibly another one--because there are a lot of errors, especially punctuation errors, but the mistakes aren't limited to that. There are some word usage errors, misspellings, etc.  A thorough read-through by a good proofreader should take care of that, but I would also suggest an editor go back and make some of the POV switches a little clearer.  My personal opinion--pick a POV and stick with it. Either first or third, but not both. I have read a few other books recently where this worked, but it's really tough to pull off, and I honestly didn't think it worked here as I was often confused about who was talking and how Davis knew certain things.
There is an overwhelming amount of coffee drinking in this book.... Just an observation.
I do like the concept, and as a Christian I appreciate the idea.  It's possible that this book could reach some sci fi readers who are not aware of our faith. There were some things that could have been better, but it was a quick read that kept me turning the pages. Other readers have given it four and five stars. You can read The Zarion: Saving Mankind for yourself on Amazon here. The current list price at time of post is $2.99.

My Review of Freefall: Custom Culture Book 1 by Tess Oliver

I have over a thousand books on my Kindle account waiting to be read, so when I go to pick a new one, it's really difficult to decide which one to choose. Lately, I've been picking some disappointments. I was really relieved when I started reading Freefall to have gotten a good one. I liked it a lot! If you like sweet romances you can read in a few hours that have just a little bit of tastefully written bedroom scenes, then you will probably like this one as well. I will warn you, however, there are a lot of F-bombs in this one.
This book is written in first person and alternates between the perspective of the main characters--Nix and Scotlyn.  Nix is a hot guy with a reputation for breakin' the ladies' hearts.  He owns a tattoo parlor and lives in a houseboat with a friend, Dray, who likes to fight.  We find out pretty early that neither Nix, nor Dray, nor their other best friend, Clutch, have had an easy life. In fact, very few characters in this book seem to have come from easy livin'.  As far as Nix is concerned, he lost his race car driving father as a child, and his mother is no longer in his life. He has a sister and a precious Nana who is starting to succumb to dementia.  It seems obvious pretty early on that Nix is not your typical macho guy with no substance. He loves his Nana and is doing everything he can to take care of her despite her failing health.
The other main character, Scotlyn, also has a rough past. Her parents and her sister, Olivia, were all killed in a car crash when she was a child, and while she walked away from the accident, she lost her voice that day--either from screaming or from shock. She isn't sure, and she hasn't had much of a life to live for since then, so she hasn't been too concerned with getting her voice back. She was living on the streets, strung out, doing other illicit activities when a man named Lincoln Hammond finds her and takes her in. When she enters the story, she is living with Hammond as his girlfriend. Hammond has hired Nix to cover Scotlyn's scars from the wreck with an intricate tattoo.

Maybe it's because Scotlyn's mutism instantly reminded me of Katy from Deck of Cards, but I found her to be intriguing in a very ethereal way.  It's almost as if she is just the ghost of a woman, and she needs Nix's love to transform her into a whole person again. In the meantime, she seems to flutter about in her existence, something between a ghost and a lingering dream.
There is another interesting and creative aspect that comes into play when Scotlyn and Nix meet for the first time, but I will let Ms. Oliver reveal that part of the story to you herself, should you choose to check this one out.
Needless to say, Nix and Scotlyn are destined to be together, and they know it from the start. This didn't come across as cliche or ridiculous in this story, as is often the case in poorly written "love at first sight" stories.  The more we begin to cheer for Nix to get the girl, the more is revealed about Hammond until we end up realizing he is a pretty nasty guy, and it is definitely in Scotlyn's best interest to get away from him posthaste.
Oliver is a great writer. This isn't a messy self-pub that makes a person shrink back from free or reduced price books.  She moves the story along at a steady pace, encouraging the reader to continue to turn the pages to find out what happens with each of her characters.  Even though the ending of the story was not what I was expecting and ended up being a bit too easy, it wasn't ridiculous or disappointing.  There are other books in this series, and I left the book thinking it would be nice to find out what else happens to these characters, a sure sign that I am emotionally invested in the book, which is the hallmark of any good writer.
Of course, there were a few things that bothered me a bit; there always are.  First of all, this needs one more proofread by someone with a scrutinizing eye.  There weren't a lot of errors, but there were a few, and they were usually the kind that take a reader right out of the story, like a missing word in a sentence, or the misspelling of a character's name.  The mistakes aren't blaring, but they are there.
Another thing that I found confusing was that a couple of the characters have two names.  Nix is also called Alex by his sister and Nana. The first time his Nana called him this, I thought she was talking about someone else.  I don't think the story was set up well-enough at that point for me to gather this was the same guy. Also, Scotlyn calls her boyfriend Lincoln (in her mind, remember she doesn't talk, although she does write notes....) and everyone else refers to him as Hammond. This is also a little confusing.  Nothing major, but enough to make me stop reading and go back--something I don't really like to do.
Also, for someone who was horribly injured in a car wreck, Scotlyn sure doesn't seem to mind writing notes to people who are trying to drive. There were lots of occasions when she and another character are driving down the road and she's writing the driver notes like it's no big deal. How in the world does Nix, or whoever, read these notes while he's trying to drive?  I get that it was necessary for the story to progress, but it didn't seem very realistic to me.  I guess it could have been happening at stoplights or something....
Finally, when the steamy scenes arrive, there is no mention of protection. This is the sort of thing that drives most romance readers/writers crazy, and I highly recommend Ms. Oliver consider slipping some plastic into her dudes' pockets. Some might say it takes away from the action, but I disagree. I've seen it done tastefully lots of times, and I feel it's the responsible thing to do.
Again, I really liked this one! I gave it a four star review on Amazon, which you can read here. If you read my review please remember to vote "yes," that it was helpful, so that others will have a better chance of seeing it and will also be able to use my thoughts to determine whether or not to read this one. You can purchase Freefall: Custom Culture Book 1 by Tess Oliver here. It's currently priced at 99 cents.  Best of all, this is NOT a cliffhanger--it's a complete story--so if you love these characters, like I do, and you want to keep reading, you can do so, and if you've had enough, you don't feel cheated with only a partial story.
If you've read it, let me know what you thought in the comments!

My Review of Romance: The Billionaire's Heart by Nancy Adams

Contrary to what you may naturally assume from the title of this book, Romance: The Billionaire's Heart, there is very little romance in this story. And by romance, I don't mean s-e-x (there's none of that) or even kissing (there's a few kissing scenes) there's literally not a lot of romance.  We don't get any sparks at all until about 70% of the story has gone by. So... right off the bat, if you're a romance fan, I think you're gonna have a few issues with this one. It really should be labeled as "clean" or "Christian" romance because the reader isn't really enlightened into Katelynn's religious devotion until really late in the story, and without that information, you'll be waiting a long time for something to happen that just doesn't.
The premise hit a little too close to home for me.  The main character, Katelynn, is a recent college graduate with her Master's in Political Science who decides to go into retail management instead.  As I was also a Poli Sci major (got my BA in '98) who ended up going into retail management, I was very familiar with the life our MC was embarking on.  Even if I knew nothing about retail management, I feel that the extremely detailed account of exactly what transpires in every facet of a retail store from opening to closing on a daily basis was enough overkill to find anyone bored to tears. I honestly have no idea why most of this was included in the story. It's not relevant to the plot at all. Likewise, very few of the minor characters we are introduced to have anything to do with the plot either. Luckily, you won't be vested in any of them as most of them are just names and brief descriptions of what they look like.
When Katelynn learns she will be learning the ropes from the son of the owner, billionaire Nate, things should start to heat up a little bit. She is clearly interested in him.  But we continue to learn about running the store and how they eat lunch together for a really, really long time before she decides to buy a new outfit and catch his attention. I guess that's all she needed to do because he finally asks her out--again 70%ish through the book.

Pucker up and wait! (picture via Pixabay)

I won't ruin the ending by telling you how the date turns out, but I will let you know that there is no ending, which ultimately ruins the book. That is, it's ruined if you care to find out what happens to Katelynn and Nate by the jarring cliffhanger ending anyway. If you read my blog at all, you know I hate books that just stop.  This is one of those.  There's no tying up of anything, just an abrupt ending. Then, there's a sneak peek into book 2, which is a much more succinct recount of book 1told from Nate's perspective. It still doesn't advance the story very much at all, and at the end, I wasn't scurrying to buy the next book.
There are also some proofreading errors that were annoying. Twice, for example, the number four is inserted into a word for no reason--as in "teen4ger."  I don't know how these kinds of errors aren't caught. Spell check will catch that. Something else that really, really bothers me is that, at one point, Katelynn, who is telling the story, actually address us as her "readers."  Excuse me? Is this a book or a blog?  Talk about taking people right out of the story. I don't know if this is some new literary device Ms. Adams is trying out, but I really didn't care for it. I was under the impression this was a narrative recollection of events in a character's life, not a magazine article. It was just very distasteful, in my opinion. I'd never seen it before and hope that I don't see it again.
Once again, however, I have to say, this book has a ton of four and five star reviews on Amazon. I really don't understand it!  A lot of people really like this book, apparently.  Maybe they are all twelve year old girls with strong religious beliefs. I don't know. I didn't get it. This was the closest I've been for a while to leaving a one star review. I didn't--I found enough redeemable qualities to give it a two star review, which you can read here.  If you find my Amazon review helpful, please vote "yes" for it, as that helps my reviews become more noticeable to readers, such as yourself, who may need to be warned as to what they are getting into. This book is one of six, I believe, so I think it's permafree. It was free when I got it last fall, and it's still free today. You can download it here and see what you think for yourself. It is a quick read, and if you happen to need some information about how to become a manager at your local Walgreens, by golly, this one might just be for you.