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Book Reviews

Nightcrawler Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Nightcrawler

Author:  John Reinhard Dizon

Published:  January 2014 by Black Rose Writing

Genre:  Action, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Purchase: Amazon

 

 

 

 

Nightcrawler is about the exploits of Sabrina Brooks, the heiress to the Brooks Chemical Company. Bree is trying to pick up the pieces after her father’s death, and is now in a position to live up to a personal commitment to use her resources to benefit the oppressed. She is intrigued by the notion of conducting a guerrilla campaign against drug gangs in New York City, and accesses top-secret archives detailing Government contracts for developmental research of chemical weapons. She uses her wizardry in chemistry to concoct weapons for her own use as a vigilante known as the Nightcrawler. NYPD undercover officer Hoyt Wexford becomes friends with Bree, and begins to suspect she knows the identity of the Nightcrawler. Her sudden interest in a series of terrorist attacks in the New York area makes him believe she may be investigating a group called the Octagon. He tries to follow her but is too late to prevent a showdown between the Nightcrawler and the mysterious Reaper. Hoyt rescues Bree and learns her secret identity, and together they plan to stop the Octagon once and for all in preventing a chemical attack in NYC on the Fourth of July. This is a pulse-pounding thriller straight out of world headlines, with an unforgettable heroine fighting impossible odds against fiendish arch-criminals. For suspense fans looking for some chick lit with international intrigue, Nightcrawler is one not to be forgotten.  (Blurb from Goodreads)

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I liked the idea of this book; a kick ass female super hero.  Sabrina is rich and her father recently passed away, leaving her to decide if she should run his chemical company or walk away from it.  She always liked the idea of law enforcement and she decides to use what she has available in the company to take down the bad guys, even if it is illegal.  She throws on a suit as a disguise and calls herself the Nightcrawler.  Throw in a little romance with a police officer trying to find out who the Nightcrawler is, and you have yourself a good story.

Nightcrawler was a pretty good read.  I had a few problems with it though.  The flow of the book felt a little choppy.  Although I can’t quite put my finger on why, that’s just how it felt to me.  Also, former terrorist attacks on the US were mentioned; 9/11 and the Boston Massacre.  Now, it took me a few mentioning’s of the Boston Massacre to realize that the author was actually talking about the marathon bombings that happened last year.  At first I thought he was talking about the actual Boston Massacre that happened in 1770, and didn’t quite understand the relevance.  I can understand his confusion though, because after the marathon bombings the news called it that (Boston Massacre) a few times (I know, I’m from Boston.)

Overall though, it was a good story.  Maybe if someone could do a re-edit and fix the wording (change massacre to marathon bombing) and help the story flow a little smoother, then it wouldn’t be good; it would be awesome.

 

My Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

 03

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****       

The Tower (Deck of Lies #2) Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  The Tower (Deck of Lies #2)

Author:  Jade Varden

Published:  2012 by Jade Varden

Genre:  Young Adult

Purchase The Tower from Amazon

 

 

 

This is the second book in a series, and the story continues right away.  Who killed Laurel?  River is still the prime suspect and Rain still believes he is innocent.  She decides that since most others are out for his blood, she’ll have to be the one to prove his innocence.  On Rain’s quest for clues the police take interest in her.  They think that she might have been involved in Laurel’s death.  That she might have been an accomplice to River.  Rain’s flabbergasted and scared, but she doesn’t let it stop her from moving forward to try to find the real murderer.  But in her pursuit she finds more than she’s looking for.  Maybe she would have been better off in the dark….

As I mentioned this is the second book in a series; I definitely wouldn’t recommend reading it as a standalone.  (But the first one is really good, so go read it!)  The story picks up right where it left off.  I was hoping for more Rain and River interaction, but he was jail.  Also, Rain’s father was his lawyer, so her going to see him was out of the question.

There were a lot of names and family history going on in this book, and I had to keep backtracking and thinking about who was who.  I probably just should have written it down, but that was something that I didn’t really like in the book.  I like to read to enjoy, not think too much about what it is that I’m reading.  You know?

A lot more facts about Rain’s life were revealed, and we were left with another cliffhanger!  I did really enjoy the story though, and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****       

Exodus 2022 Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Exodus 2022

Author:  Kenneth G. Bennett

Published:  2014 by Booktrope Publishing

Genre:  Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Purchase Exodus 2022 from Amazon

 

 

Joe Stanton wakes up in a panic.  Something is terribly wrong.  His daughter, Lorna Gwin, is missing.  He runs out of the hotel room that he and his girlfriend Ella are vacationing at, in a rampage screaming for his daughter, causing chaos and a huge scene.  The issue is that Joe doesn’t have a daughter.  He doesn’t have any children.  Joe’s worried he’s either going crazy or has a brain tumor that caused this hallucination; his girlfriend, Ella, who’s a nurse, has similar worries.  However, Joe’s not the first person that this has happened to.  The others who were affected didn’t live long.  Will Joe survive long enough to find the answers?

I love that I couldn’t guess what was going to happen or even why it was happening to begin with.  It’s kind of hard to write a review without giving anything away, but I definitely don’t want to leak any spoilers because it’s awesome when you figure out what’s going on.    Sometimes science fiction novels are hard for me to follow, but that wasn’t the case in this story.  And although it is a science fiction book, it felt relatable, as though it could be classified as urban fantasy as well.  I think this book will appeal to readers who like both genres.

There were twists and turns in every chapter.  The characters were relatable, and the villain was hate-able.  Every time I tried to put the book down to go to bed, I told myself, read just one more chapter, and then it would be 2am.  I didn’t want this story to end, and I’m wondering if there will be a sequel?

Romance, suspense, fantasy, drama; Exodus 2022 has it all.  So if you like science fiction, and even if you don’t; I highly recommend this book.

 

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

 5

~Pam

***I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Also, while I am professionally associated with Booktrope, I am not being compensated in any way for this review.***       

The Queen of Swords Review

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Image provided by the author

Image provided by the author

Title:  The Queen of Swords

Author:  Nina Mason

Published:  2014 by Vamptasy Publishing

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Purchase The Queen of Swords from Amazon

 

 

 

 

*****This Review Contains Major Spoilers*****

 

Graham and Cat are star-crossed lovers.  Graham is a vampire and Cat has been his mate three times; all with different bodies.  The problem is that someone keeps killing her.  This third time that Graham has found Cat, he’s sure that he’s going to protect her by not allowing a relationship between them.  But Cat is a witch and feels the pull towards Graham.  She spells Graham to keep him with her and get more answers…but will she ever let him go to protect her own life?

Overall I liked the book.  I stayed up late a few times just because I had to see what was going to happen.  Some of the feel of the book reminded me of Diana Gabaldon, who I love, so that’s a compliment.  I had no problem envisioning the world that Nina Mason created.

There were a few things that I didn’t like.  Graham and Cat have a few disagreements (as does any couple.)  But two specific times I just felt like Cat got over it way too quickly.  Now, I don’t like to hold a grudge, and I don’t want Cat to either.  One instance is on their wedding day when Graham is kind of a jerk.  Like seriously, I would be so pissed if my husband acted like him.  Granted my husband isn’t a centuries old vampire, but still.  I get that Graham is emotional from all that just happened to him, but I just didn’t like the book to end on that note.

I wish there were a little less memories and a little more ‘in the now’ as well.  I just felt like the book slowed down when the characters were recalling things and that the story went so much faster when the characters were in the present.

Other than that, I really did enjoy the book and I think that Nina Mason did awesome on her debut novel.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author, in exchange for an honest review.*****   

Dying for a Living Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Dying for a Living

Author:  Kory Shrum

Published:  2014 by Timberlane Press

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Purchase Dying for a Living from Amazon

 

 

 

 

“This is Ms. Jesse Sullivan.  She will be your agent today.”

He turned his narrowing eyes from her to me.  “She’s the zombie?”

Was it my job to remind him “zombie” is a derogatory term?  Yes.

“Necronite,” I corrected.  I threw the muffin wrapper in the bedside trashcan.  “I’m the Necronite here to die so you can keep on a-livin.” (location 56 on Kindle.)

 

Jesse is a death replacement agent.  Only Necronites can take this position as it requires the agent to die in order to save the client.  Necronites come back to life after a day or a few days, depending on their injuries.  One day on the job, a client tried to cut off Jesse’s head, which would prevent her from coming back to life ever again.  This stirs up a bunch of events that lead to Jesse getting in trouble and investigated by the government.  And to top it off Jesse begins to hallucinate and starts to see an angel named Gabriel.  Or perhaps Gabriel isn’t a hallucination after all…..

I love Jesse; she is a girl of my own heart.  She’s not afraid to assert her opinion, and it’s usually in a sarcastic manner.  She made me smile and laugh out loud.  She likes to dress comfortably, and you can usually find her in mismatched sneakers (she usually loses one when she dies).

There are two possible love interests in Jesse’s life, Ally, her personal assistant, and Lane, who Jesse has a ‘no strings attached’ friends with benefits relationship with.  They both care about Jesse a lot, but she tries to avoid relationships with both of them for her own reasons.

I love learning random facts while reading for fun.   Do you know that feeling when you go to sleep and then it feels like your falling and you jerk awake?  That’s called a myoclonic jerk.  Your brain sends a signal causing the jerk, because it’s mistaking your slow breathing for dying.  The ‘jerk’ makes your muscles and heart contract for the purpose of waking you up.  I bet you’re a little creeped out now after reading this; I know I was!  (This was brought up by Jesse when explaining to others how a Necronite’s body and brain reacts differently than the average human.)

I only have praise for this book.  The editing was good, the characters were awesome.  It was fast moving and interesting.  But also, it was unique.  It wasn’t another vampire or werewolf book that’s already been done.  Dying for a Living is a one of a kind novel, and a really good one at that.  So if you’re into urban fantasy go read it, just don’t call Jesse a zombie; she takes offense.

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 04

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****