I didn’t want to ruin the experience.

Now I have read the sequel, Fire Blessed, and I’m still not telling.

I can’t tell you how it was that the author took a story that sucked me in so completely, expanded it and made the next installment even better without spoiling it for you.

I can’t give away just how the characters, that I wished had more substance in the first book, are fleshed out in this one. (But now there are characters of such complexity that I can’t decide if I love them or hate them.)

I can’t hint at the scheming going on behind the scenes. If you haven’t read UnBlessed you must come to it at it’s proper time. (But oh the scheming!)

And I can’t possibly tell you exactly how it leaves you at the end. (But I’m ready for book three!)

What can I tell you?

I can tell you that I’d absolutely recommend that you read it for yourself!

Would I recommend it? Start with UnBlessed (or it just wouldn’t be right) and have this one at hand for as soon as you reach the last page!

Kings and Queens by Terry Tyler

Jun24

I learned something new about my husband of eleven years on our last road trip. He, who can solve an issue in a chemical reaction, spout dates and facts from WWII at will and re-plumb a water line as a matter of course, had no idea how many shenanigans King Henry VIII had been involved in.

I discovered this when I, historical fiction fan that I am, offered to read Kings and Queens, a contemporary retelling of the saga that was Henry VIII, aloud to him on our last road trip.

We spent hours reading and talking. John shouting “THIS IS SUCH A TRAIN-WRECK!” and me giggling at “aggressive” business tactics while reminding him that all those employees that were “fired” in this book had their heads removed in real life. I often interrupted the story to tell him how impressed I was to see how different events had been changed to work in the modern setting, while he impatiently banged on the steering wheel because he wanted to know what happened next. We took breaks from the book after each wife to head to the internet and brush up on our history and had hours of fun!

Would I recommend it? Henry VIII’s life was nothing if not a compelling train-wreck of a story, and Terry Tyler’s re-telling of it is no different whether you are a Tudor history buff… or not!

The Cull – Blood Demon by Eric J. Gates

Jun18

Alright.

I know.

It’s the fourth book and you already know that I love them. But I just have to tell you…

They keep getting better!

Would I recommend it? Well, no.

What I’d recommend is that you start with Bloodline, move on through Bloodstone and Blood Feud and then I’d definitely, really, for surely, absolutely recommend this one too!

Will O’ The Wisp by C.S. Boyack

Jun3

I want to say that reading this book is akin to watching a horror movie, but my actual knowledge of horror movies is severely limited because they scare the bejeebers out of me.

This is some of the best cover art I’ve seen in a bit, it fits the book absolutely perfectly. In fact my heart started pounding again just looking at it.

So you tell me.

If a book…

-Says, per the book blurb, that ” It involves a strong element of suspense…” (Or translated into layman’s speak- your elevated vitals will have you feeling like you just ran a marathon while reading this book).

-Has a main character and sidekicks that have you yelling at them “What are you doing?!? WHY? Why would you do that… no… what?!! Have you no sense of self-preservation!?”

-And was a non-stop page turner despite the fact that you wished for more character development in some cases and a bit better plot flow in others.

Does all that make it like a horror film?

I think it may be the next blockbuster.

It’ll probably be great.

I’m never watching it.

Would I recommend it? It was scary and icky and Dear Lord had I read this as a kid I would never have gone into the woods at night again – but wow was it a page turner. I think if horror is your thing this could be the book for you. But if you, like me, would rather get off the couch and actually run to elevate your vitals, you might want to take a pass on this one.

This honest review was given in return for a free copy of the book from its author.

The Cull – Bloodstone and Blood Feud by Eric J. Gates

May13

I like thrillers. A good dose of running-in, guns blazing while the world blows up, just as the good guy outsmarts the bad is good for the soul… Ok maybe not good for the soul, but certainly good fun.

But in your typical thriller those good guys, can be a little, well, male. They seem to like to swear a lot and there’s a lot of talk of, to put it not near as bluntly as they seem to, boobs. Throw in the manly stuff that men do and women roll their eyes at and I’m sure it’s all quite realistic when you are down in the trenches with the fellows. But that eye rolling us women do? That’s realistic too.

In The Cull, a series that’s as suspensefully gun blazing as one could wish for, the two main characters are ladies. Ladies, I might add, that can get by on a reasonable amount of swearing. And between their super brains and super computers, general kickassedness and sass, those typical male protagonists hardly stand a chance in a contest of pure awesomeness.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that unlike many women featured in thrillers, these girls have two things going for them. First off they have, so far, not fallen head over-heels for some hunk they are partnered with. Because once someone starts doing that, then they require rescuing and before you know it the whole world is going to shit they are stuck on a ledge over a giant void and they choose that moment to start kissing.

Seriously…

And these ladies from The Cull actually excel at what they do because of their skills instead of getting by on dumb luck and hunky male backup. Two women, getting the job done with a bit of giggling that the men don’t understand.

Perfect.

Despite the look of their covers…

…I’d call them thrillers for women.

Also, if you are going to have a psychopathic vampire in your book, I appreciate that they are given a sense of humor and a good Irish Brogue so they can use the phrase “me darlin” often.

Would I recommend them? Yes!

Bloodstone is the second of The Cull series. Not as edge-of-your-seat-I’m-never-going-to-sleep-again suspenseful as the first but still plenty of drama and lots of plot thickeners. Good suspense, in a way that had me avoiding responsibilities to keep reading and yet still let me sleep at night.

Blood Feud continues the storyline and as the characters continue to develop so does the reader’s knowledge of their “grey” sides- nothing is black and white after this one! I read this waiting in line at the DMV and found myself in the unusual position of wishing the lines were longer!

There are two more books coming and I’m ready and waiting to hear what these ladies do next!

Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer (And a Chance for Real Mail!)

Apr29

Are you a used book shop browser?

Always, I have been convinced that hiding amongst the throngs of books on the shelves are tiny gems waiting for me to discover them. Perfect little books I wasn’t even looking for that will jump off the shelf and beg me to take them home. And it happens! If you spend enough time browsing book shops those books will find you. Now, I know there are many people who don’t like buying books – but I’m not one of them. I like to have the books I love on my shelf. I, not unlike a dragon with it’s hoard of gold, like to have piles of my favorite books around to count, organize and admire. And, quite unlike a dragon but more importantly, I like to have them available to put in the hands of people who I think may like them as much as I do.

Sadly, small children have cut down my used book store browsing time to exactly nothing.

But, luckily for me I have like-minded relatives. At a recent family gathering, my cousin handed me a cute little book with baby chicks on the cover and told me she thought I might like to read it. She found it in a used bookstore and started reading it standing in the aisle. Many minutes and a good way into the book later, she thought that for a dollar she ought to just buy it.

I’m glad she did.

Would I recommend it? Yes. In fact, because this is a book that begs to be shared, and because I’ve been blogging for five years without ever giving something away, and because everyone loves to get mail, I’m going to take this cute little book in my hand…

… wrap it up in a nice little package and mail it to one of you who would like it.

So, if a book about chickens, and moving, and starting over sounds appealing, (And it should. It made me chuckle and sigh and there is one passage about moving that will stay with me forever) just leave a comment saying so before next Wednesday and I’ll mail it out to a randomly chosen person. (Open to those that live down the street or across the ocean. So long as the post office will recognize your address I’ll send it!)

Update: Still Life with Chickens is now winging it’s way toward Anna Eastland!

The Cull – Bloodline by Eric J. Gates

Apr22

“Am I going to have to stage an intervention?” asked John as I tore myself away from the book and hopped into the kitchen arms flapping talking about vampires, secret services and possibly never sleeping at night again.

“No.”

“Honey?…”

“No, it’s just that I think I know what’s going on, but I’m not quite sure, but it’s all crazy, and then… but… AHHH!”

And then I dove back into my spot on the couch in front of the fire, burrowed up to my chin into my hooded sweatshirt and used the rest of a singularly icky April day to finish the rest of the book.

Would I recommend it? Yes, and don’t tell John but I’m going to have to read the next one…

Two For the Heart by Ekta R. Garg

Apr15

Stories in pairs?

I didn’t understand why a book containing two short stories was called “Stories in Pairs” but I thought I’d give it a try.

Two for the Heart-

I read the first one. It didn’t seem to have extraordinary depth, but neither was it so shallow as to be trite – it was solid. A very sweet, solid little tale.

I went on to read the second one and was startled as my heart was rear-ended by a bus. A bus loaded with anger, grief and love, a deep well of emotion the first tale had not prepared me for.

When I finished, I finally understood the connection and the concept of stories in pairs and spent some time paging back through both of them, re-reading, and thinking. Days later I am still thinking.

Ekta Garg describes “Stories in Pairs” on her website like this:

I designed my series “Stories in Pairs” keeping today’s reader in mind. Each year you’ll get six pairs of stories to enjoy on your digital device of choice. The stories will come out every two months, starting with the major stories.

The major stories will release every February, June, and October, and the stories will share two things: a theme and a link. The theme will appear in the title of each book. The link? You’ll have to read the stories to find it. But I promise I’ll always include one.

That brings us to the other three pairs of stories in the year. Two months after the release of the major stories I’ll give you the More… stories. In these books you’ll find out more about the characters in the previous pair of stories. You’ll get a peek at the characters’ lives outside of the parameters of the original stories: deleted scenes, backstory, and possibly even alternate beginnings or endings to the stories. The pairs of the More… stories will release in April, August, and December.

I will admit, I was skeptical about this “Stories in Pairs” buisness at first. I get stories about people, but then I have to wait two months to find out more? Why aren’t they all in the same book? What kind of scam is this? Why is this so different? I think I should probably hate it on principle!

But, I didn’t hate Two for the Heart. Not in the slightest. And, of course, I was curious what else the author had to say about these characters so I opened up More for the Heart and read that too. After reading More for the Heart I got it.

“Stories in Pairs” is about much more than a couple married for convenience and family wrapped in tragedy. It’s about the connections we make, with the people we see, those that we don’t know, those that we think we know and those that we know as well as ourselves. Solid little stories set up to make you look up at those around you and think.

Would I recommend it? These aren’t for everyone but if they sound even a bit interesting to you, I urge you to give them a try. Despite my original skeptical reaction it’s a good kind of something different going on here.

This honest review was given in return for a free copy of the book from its author.

Outsourced by Eric J. Gates

Apr2

4,377 pages.

That was a number large enough, and out of context enough, as to be almost meaningless – until this morning. Now, I can tell you what 4,377 pages means.

4,377 pages means that if you think that the book you’ve been staying up too late reading can probably just be finished quickly because you are 77% of the way through – you are wrong.

4,377 pages means that even if it’s spring break and you can hear the kids happily playing upstairs, giving you no pressing need to get out of bed, you should not give in to the desire to know what happens next.

And 4,377 pages means that when you do finish it, because of course you will – it’s the dramatic conclusion, you will still be in the kitchen looking for your first cup of tea when there is a knock at the door. And even though you were expecting your friend, it will still be a little bit shocking.

FYI 4,377 pages on my Kindle app is a 364 page book. Had I been holding a paper copy I would have known that it’d be best not to finish the last 84 pages of a book before I brushed my teeth when company was on the way.

Thankfully, she’s a good friend.

Would I recommend it? When you read it, plan in some time for that ending. After all, if you consider that the story needs to wrap up a mass murdering assassin, a device that’s not quite within the realm of normal, which is being sought out by high ranking government intelligence, and two authors that have become mixed up in it all, 997 pages seems pretty minimal.

Extra thanks to Barb Taub (She’s a recurring theme lately, have you noticed that? Do you follow her blog yet?) for reviewing the book and to Eric J. Gates for hosting a giveaway with her.

While I did receive this book for free in the giveaway, this honest review was given just because I liked it!