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Book Reviews

Burning Embers Review

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Title:  Burning Embers

Author:  Hannah Fielding

Published:  2012 by Omnific Publishing

Genre:  Romance

Click here to buy Burning Embers from Amazon.com

 

Burning Embers takes place in Africa in the 1970’s.  The story starts out with Coral, mid-twenties, at sea on her way to Africa.  She is escaping an engagement gone bad, and visiting her family home where she grew up.  Coral meets a mysterious French man on ship, and then keeps running into him.  His name is Rafe, and she is warned by many that he is a playboy; a womanizer.  The warnings aren’t enough to keep Coral away, however, but should she have listened?

Coral wasn’t my favorite.  I just didn’t connect with her.  Some of her reactions just didn’t seem right.  For instance, she ran into her ex-fiancé after a few months and she didn’t feel any emotion.  That just doesn’t make sense.  I understand that he wasn’t the right guy for her, she probably didn’t’ love him like she thought she did, but I still felt like she should have felt something, you know?

The story was told from Coral’s point of view, but one or two times it was told from Rafe’s.  I felt like it wasn’t really necessary and kind of ruined the flow, especially since it was only his point of view one or two times.

Overall though, it was a good book.  I read it in a few days, and for the most part it kept me interested.  That’s why I am giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

 

My Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

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

 

Hope Rises from the Ashes Review

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Image from Goodreads

Title:  Hope Rises from the Ashes

Author:  L. F. Falconer

Published:  2013 by Outskirts Press

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Feels like a Historical Romance, Hard to categorize 🙂

Click here to buy Hope Rises from the Ashes from Amazon.com

 

 

 

****This is the second book in a series, so if you like to be totally surprised you might not want to read this review.  ****

 

The story starts out with Collie and a young boy hiding under a wagon while the boy’s father is being devoured by a huge lion with wings.  Collie and the boy, Natt, manage to escape alive.  They soon meet up with two Tillaman warriors who give them a ride to their town.  Since her money is lost in the wagon that the lion attacked, Collie ends up agreeing to allow one of the warriors to pay for her food and her place at the inn as long as she’ll be his mistress.  This goes against Collie’s morals, but she doesn’t want to be put out on the street, and her heart is already broken thinking her first love is dead.  The situation goes from bad to worse though, as the man who is supposed to be protecting her, turns out to be a monster himself.

I should have read the first book, but even though I didn’t I was able to follow the story.  And wow, what a story!  It had me hooked from the first page.  The story is a little dark, so if you only like to read about flowers, unicorns, and rainbows, this probably isn’t the book for you.  Seriously though, this book deals with not only heartache, but physical abuse.  However, Collie is a strong woman and pulls through.

The point of view changes back and forth from Collie to one other.  I’m usually not a fan of the point of view switch-a-roo, but it was done from chapter to chapter and done for a reason which I don’t want to give away if you’ve read the first book.

Also, the genre is a little hard to categorize.  It feels mostly like a historical romance, but there is a little fantasy in there; a dragon, a flying lion.  But even with those aspects of fantasy, the story feels closer to reality than fantasy.  The author even states in the beginning, “Thus, I deliver Hope Rises from the Ashes (again, a story that rides the cusp of genre.  Purists beware.)”

Although this story is pretty dark, it is really good.  I didn’t want to stop reading; I had to find out what happened next.  Pick up a copy and get lost in Collie’s world for a while.  In the end, you’ll be glad you did.

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

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

Into the Crossfire Review

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Image provided by Pump Up Your Book

Image provided by Pump Up Your Book

Title:  Into the Crossfire

Author:  Cindy McDonald

Published:  2013 by Acorn Book Services

Genre:  Suspense, Fiction

Click here to buy Into the Crossfire from Amazon.com

 

 

Jack Haliday is married to the woman of his dreams, has a sweet four year old little girl, and is working as a detective after being retired from the Navy SEALs.  His life is going pretty good.  At least it was until a criminal, Gunner, from a past case that he was working on comes and turns Jack’s world upside down.

Wow, what a page turner; I didn’t want to put it down.  The book starts out with the quote, “In our darkest moments we must focus to see the light,” by Aristotle Onasis.  And boy, does that quote hold true for Jack Haliday, and another character in the story as well, Rayne.  Jack’s life starts out almost perfect and then bam, drastic changes, and not in a good way.

But Jack doesn’t stop and mope in despair.  He heals, and he fights.  And he’s not the only one.  He and his daughter, Lil, make some powerful friends along the way, and these friends help protect Jack’s family and help Jack extract revenge on Gunner.

It sure is hard to review a suspense novel because I don’t want to give anything away!  This story is great though.  The point-of-view changes a few times, but it honestly didn’t bother me because the story was so good.  There are so many twists and turns that will keep you on your toes.  If you’re looking for a quick read that will get your adrenaline pumping, pick up Into the Crossfire.  Let me know what you think!

 

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

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

 

About the Author:

Image from Pump Up Your Book

Image from Pump Up Your Book

For twenty-six years Cindy’s life whirled around a song and a dance: she was a professional dancer/choreographer for most of her adult life and never gave much thought to a writing career until 2005. She often notes: Don’t ask me what happened, but suddenly I felt drawn to my computer to write about things I have experienced (greatly exaggerated upon of course—I’ve never been murdered!) with my husband’s Thoroughbreds and happenings at the racetrack. Viola! Cindy’s first book series, Unbridled, was born—there are four books to that series so far.

Cindy is a huge fan of romantic suspense series, and although she isn’t one to make New Year’s resolutions, on New Year’s Day 2013 she made a commitment to write one, Into the Crossfire is the first book for her new series,First Force.

People are always asking Cindy: do you miss dance? With a bitter sweet smile on her lips she tells them: Sometimes I do. I miss my students. I miss choreographing musicals, but I love my books, and I love sharing them with you.

For more information, book trailers, and excerpts for all of Cindy’s books please visit her website:www.cindymcwriter.com.

Connect & Socialize with Cindy!

TWITTER | FACEBOOK

 

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Obama Confidential Review

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Image from Goodreads

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Title:  Obama Confidential: Strange, Odd & Bizarre Letters to the 44th President

Author:  Marc Berlin

Published:  2013 by BB Books

Genre:  Humor, Political, Satire

Click here to buy Obama Confidential from Amazon.com

 

 

I should have read the book description, dammit.  Okay, so I usually don’t really read the synopsis of books I’m going to review, and if I do I skim it really fast because I like to be surprised.  Well, in skimming this one, I thought that it was going to be legit letters to the president.  I probably should have put more thought into that though, huh.  Obama is still in office, so they obviously wouldn’t release letters that new.  I’ve been really busy, and I’m really not a complete idiot; you see, a few years back I bought my father in law this book that did have legit letters to past presidents.  (Called Dear Mr. President: Letters to the Oval Office from the Files of the National Archives).

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

 

 

So, that’s what I thought I was getting anyways, except to President Obama.  Well, it wasn’t.

Obama Confidential: Strange, Odd & Bizarre Letters to the 44th President are all completely fake letters.  Make believe.  Not real.  It’s supposed to be a work of satire and on the cover it says, “Laugh out loud funny!”  said A. Lincoln.  (Catch that name?)  Well, I did not laugh out loud, not even crack a smile.

This book just wasn’t for me; I actually stopped halfway through because I just did not enjoy it at all.  I was so bored.  The only time I want to read fake correspondence would be through fictional characters of a good fictional book.  Random made up letters to President Obama just don’t do anything for me.

Sorry Mr. Marc Berlin, I know a massive amount of work must go into writing and creating a book, and I should have paid attention to what I was getting into.  But all in all, I wouldn’t recommend.

 

 

My Rating:  1 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

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

Frost Burned Review

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Title:  Frost Burned

Author:  Patricia Briggs

Published:  March 5, 2013, by Ace

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

Click here to buy Frost Burned from Amazon.com

 

 

 

Mercy’s having a bad day.  She gets in a car accident with her stepdaughter while shopping on Black Friday.  Then she can’t get in touch with her husband, Adam, or anyone else in the pack.  Turns out the whole pack has been kidnapped.  It’s up to Mercy to keep Adam’s daughter safe, and find out who is behind the kidnapping without getting hurt or kidnapped herself.

This is one of my favorite series, and the only reason I waited months to read it was because I’ve been so busy.    Patricia Briggs doesn’t disappoint in this book.  Even though it had been a while since the last book in the series, I felt like I knew the characters immediately.

I don’t have too much to say about this book, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  This is one of my go to series.  The main character, Mercy, is a mechanic, and one of a kind.  If you enjoy werewolves, fae, and vampires, but not in a corny way, pick up the first in the series, Moon Called, and give it a try.

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam