Latest Book Reviews
On this page you can find my reviews for books from my fellow authors. If the book sounds like something you would like to read then please click on the links provided and support them.
If you would like to get your book reviewed shoot me an email and let me know by clicking HERE and put Book Review in the subject line.
If you would like to get your book reviewed shoot me an email and let me know by clicking HERE and put Book Review in the subject line.
The Princes of Tangleforest by Dorlana Vann
Time for another book review - YEAH!!
This time I am reviewing The Princes of Tangleforest, a YA novel by Ms. Dorlana Vann. It's been a LONG time since I read a book that was geared towards young adults but this one was a good one get back on that YA horse.
Here's the synopsis:
"Skater and reformed geek, Tanner Dobbs, soon learns that his new school, Tangleforest High, is ruled by the Princes. This group of brains used the techniques of Neuro Linguistic Programming to “persuade” the student body that intellectuals are cool, with an added bonus suggestion: “The Princes are the smartest and therefore the most popular.”
Julia Webster used to be part of the Princes’ crowd until they became obsessed and increasingly dangerous to themselves. Now she finds herself an outcast from her former “nerd” friends as well as the students who had ostracized her since elementary school. She’s worried when new kid, Tanner, is invited to join the Princes. She figures Tanner hides his smarts in order to fit in and worries that the popular status the Princes offer, even though geeky, might entice him.
When Tanner catches a glimpse of his golden-haired neighbor, Poppi, he thinks perhaps the Tangleforest community isn’t so terribly bad. But after climbing up to her window, he discovers she is locked in her bedroom by her wicked witch of a grandmother. Unfortunately, his only chance of saving the princess may be to become a nerd prince."
Ms. Vann is a wonderful writer and crafts a very delightful tale in the vein of Rapunzel (which she sights as an inspiration) but also adds to the story in some pretty nifty ways. Things that you think are one way end up being completely different at the end and I found that to be awesome. Kids of all ages should take delight in this book.
Highly recommended!
You can purchase your copy for the insanely low price of $.99 by visiting the following:
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Amazon (Kindle)
For more information on Ms. Vann and her other works please visit http://www.dorlanavann.com/
This time I am reviewing The Princes of Tangleforest, a YA novel by Ms. Dorlana Vann. It's been a LONG time since I read a book that was geared towards young adults but this one was a good one get back on that YA horse.
Here's the synopsis:
"Skater and reformed geek, Tanner Dobbs, soon learns that his new school, Tangleforest High, is ruled by the Princes. This group of brains used the techniques of Neuro Linguistic Programming to “persuade” the student body that intellectuals are cool, with an added bonus suggestion: “The Princes are the smartest and therefore the most popular.”
Julia Webster used to be part of the Princes’ crowd until they became obsessed and increasingly dangerous to themselves. Now she finds herself an outcast from her former “nerd” friends as well as the students who had ostracized her since elementary school. She’s worried when new kid, Tanner, is invited to join the Princes. She figures Tanner hides his smarts in order to fit in and worries that the popular status the Princes offer, even though geeky, might entice him.
When Tanner catches a glimpse of his golden-haired neighbor, Poppi, he thinks perhaps the Tangleforest community isn’t so terribly bad. But after climbing up to her window, he discovers she is locked in her bedroom by her wicked witch of a grandmother. Unfortunately, his only chance of saving the princess may be to become a nerd prince."
Ms. Vann is a wonderful writer and crafts a very delightful tale in the vein of Rapunzel (which she sights as an inspiration) but also adds to the story in some pretty nifty ways. Things that you think are one way end up being completely different at the end and I found that to be awesome. Kids of all ages should take delight in this book.
Highly recommended!
You can purchase your copy for the insanely low price of $.99 by visiting the following:
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Amazon (Kindle)
For more information on Ms. Vann and her other works please visit http://www.dorlanavann.com/
Shadowing A Henchman's Tale by Kat Zantow
This is a hard review for me to write.
I was offered a chance to read this book via Twitter by Ms. Zantow and, of course, I never turn down a chance to read a free book, so she sent it to me and here we are. The plot is as follows:
"The moon has not changed in the fifty years of the dark lord Magna’s rule—but everything else has.
All too often, the servants of Dark Overlords are dispatched with a lazy flick of the hero's sword. But in Shadowing, the job benefits of fire, mayhem, and shapeshifting almost make up for it. In between burning down villages, the minion's primary directive is taking out heroes. When a man in golden armor and his faithful companions sneak across the border on a quest to assassinate the Dark Lord Magna, long live the Magna, it's up to the Shadows to cut his quest short. As always, things do not go quite according to plan, and one henchman ends up lone-wolfing it across the permafrost lands, following the stench of valor.
A story of sword and sorcery, tooth and claw, and wyvern wing."
Shadowing is a true fantasy epic, complete with Heroes, elves, swords, Dark Overlords, shape shifters, etc.... which, taken all together, I thought would work for me but, as it turns out, it didn't for whatever reason. I know the age old adage that you can't please everyone but I really WANTED to like this book but it just didn't hit me like I hoped that it would, which is not a knock on Kat or her story telling abilities per se.
My problem was/is that I couldn't get into the book at all, even at a short 83 pages. Even at such a short amount of pages it took me a while to finish it as I kept putting it down and then picking it back up later and I found myself actually wanting it to end just so that I would be done with it. When I did finish it I had a hard time telling my wife what the story was about when she asked because it really made no impression on me.
As I said, no one likes all books and this happened to be one that I really didn't like for whatever reason. Will you like it? It's a good possibility. Would I give Ms. Zantow's next work a shot? Most definitely as, being a writer myself, I know how difficult it is to to even START a book so if someone takes the time to write something then I owe it to them to take the time to read it. So, check the book out and judge it for yourself because books, like art and music, are in the eye of the beholder. Not everyone likes Thriller and it's the top selling album of all time. I didn't like Avatar and it's the top grossing movie ever!
4 out of 10 stars.
Find the book HERE and check it out - only $.99 on the Kindle.
I was offered a chance to read this book via Twitter by Ms. Zantow and, of course, I never turn down a chance to read a free book, so she sent it to me and here we are. The plot is as follows:
"The moon has not changed in the fifty years of the dark lord Magna’s rule—but everything else has.
All too often, the servants of Dark Overlords are dispatched with a lazy flick of the hero's sword. But in Shadowing, the job benefits of fire, mayhem, and shapeshifting almost make up for it. In between burning down villages, the minion's primary directive is taking out heroes. When a man in golden armor and his faithful companions sneak across the border on a quest to assassinate the Dark Lord Magna, long live the Magna, it's up to the Shadows to cut his quest short. As always, things do not go quite according to plan, and one henchman ends up lone-wolfing it across the permafrost lands, following the stench of valor.
A story of sword and sorcery, tooth and claw, and wyvern wing."
Shadowing is a true fantasy epic, complete with Heroes, elves, swords, Dark Overlords, shape shifters, etc.... which, taken all together, I thought would work for me but, as it turns out, it didn't for whatever reason. I know the age old adage that you can't please everyone but I really WANTED to like this book but it just didn't hit me like I hoped that it would, which is not a knock on Kat or her story telling abilities per se.
My problem was/is that I couldn't get into the book at all, even at a short 83 pages. Even at such a short amount of pages it took me a while to finish it as I kept putting it down and then picking it back up later and I found myself actually wanting it to end just so that I would be done with it. When I did finish it I had a hard time telling my wife what the story was about when she asked because it really made no impression on me.
As I said, no one likes all books and this happened to be one that I really didn't like for whatever reason. Will you like it? It's a good possibility. Would I give Ms. Zantow's next work a shot? Most definitely as, being a writer myself, I know how difficult it is to to even START a book so if someone takes the time to write something then I owe it to them to take the time to read it. So, check the book out and judge it for yourself because books, like art and music, are in the eye of the beholder. Not everyone likes Thriller and it's the top selling album of all time. I didn't like Avatar and it's the top grossing movie ever!
4 out of 10 stars.
Find the book HERE and check it out - only $.99 on the Kindle.
I Loved You First by Reena Jacobs
As you can tell by the title of the book, I Loved You First is a story about love and, me being the sucker for romance and love that I am, I was eager to read it when she gave me the opportunity to do so. I'm so glad that I did!!
Straight up, I absolutely LOVED this book. The story of a girl named Alex and her love for her best friend Seth - it sounds so simple at first but the wrench in the plan comes from the fact that Seth is gay. Alex knows this but it doesn't change her feelings even though, deep down, she knows that the chances of Seth loving her the way she wants to be loved by him are very slim.
I want go into any spoilers as to what happens in this book but I will say that I Loved You First is everything that love is: it's sweet.... it's painful.... it's laughter.... it's crying..... it's real..... it's confusion..... it's something that you can't forget.
Anyone that has ever been in love with a best friend, or been in love PERIOD with someone they KNEW they could never be with, will relate and be able to appreciate this book for the greatness that it is. The characters and situations are real and easy to identify with. The story itself makes for a page turner - I think it took me no more than 2 hours to read it.
Get this book!
10 out of 10.
Paperback, 142 pages Published July 29th 2011 by Reena Jacobsmore details... ISBN 9781463529 primary language English url http://ReenaJacobs.com
Straight up, I absolutely LOVED this book. The story of a girl named Alex and her love for her best friend Seth - it sounds so simple at first but the wrench in the plan comes from the fact that Seth is gay. Alex knows this but it doesn't change her feelings even though, deep down, she knows that the chances of Seth loving her the way she wants to be loved by him are very slim.
I want go into any spoilers as to what happens in this book but I will say that I Loved You First is everything that love is: it's sweet.... it's painful.... it's laughter.... it's crying..... it's real..... it's confusion..... it's something that you can't forget.
Anyone that has ever been in love with a best friend, or been in love PERIOD with someone they KNEW they could never be with, will relate and be able to appreciate this book for the greatness that it is. The characters and situations are real and easy to identify with. The story itself makes for a page turner - I think it took me no more than 2 hours to read it.
Get this book!
10 out of 10.
Paperback, 142 pages Published July 29th 2011 by Reena Jacobs
Reaching Discontent by Hagler
Time for another book review (yeah!!). This one is called Reaching Discontent by a writer named Hagler. I got offered the chance to read this book by one of the author's friends who happened to read the review I gave of A Spy At Home and, as such, here's my review.
Reaching Discontent is the story of an ex-boxer turned English teacher named Iron who lives in post apartheid Cape Town, South Africa. I would like to mention that the location of this book was a real plus to me and it seemed like a whole other in itself in the book. Having never been to South Africa (or even remotely close) the descriptions of the people and the city were real pleasant.
Moving on, as stated previously the title character is named Iron and he's a former boxer (the reason why he stopped is something I won't spoil for you but fits well into the story) turned school teacher. Students at the school he teaches at get involved in drugs and that's when things start to take a turn for the worst for Iron.
At times I found the book a bit lengthy but, at the end, I think it ended up being just right. Once the story really gets going it takes off and the course of the book takes place in the span of one weeks time (which, when I got to the end I was like "Damn, really?!?!") and shows just how fast a life can get thrown off track, especially when someone is trying to do the right thing.
My only "issue" with the book was that I didn't find it a page turner by any means, especially at the beginning. There were times when I put it down and took a few days off in between readings but you may not have that issue.
So, what is my rating. I give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars. You get a very engaging story and the characters are not one dimensional - each of them have their own demons and the actions they take have consequences, sometimes dire, to those they love.
Recommended reading!
About the author:
Hagler grew up in a small rural town in the heartland of Afrikaner dominated South Africa before moving to Cape Town to attend university and attain a degree in English and History. He lived in Cape Town for more than eighteen years, from the age of eighteen, and during that time travelled the vast rail network, witnessing and enduring some of the types of crimes perpetrated in the novel. As the chairman of the local Neighbourhood Watch he helped keep the streets of his suburb crime free and made sure that the gangs lost their foothold
in Cape Flats. Hagler currently lives in New Zealand where he works as an academic publishing representative.
Reaching Discontent speaks with the voice of a moderate Muslim, a man who could be termed devout, but is a normal
human being striving to come to terms with his identity as a nonwhite Muslim in an increasingly hostile world.
Find the book on Amazon by clicking HERE.
www.hagler.co.uk
Reaching Discontent is the story of an ex-boxer turned English teacher named Iron who lives in post apartheid Cape Town, South Africa. I would like to mention that the location of this book was a real plus to me and it seemed like a whole other in itself in the book. Having never been to South Africa (or even remotely close) the descriptions of the people and the city were real pleasant.
Moving on, as stated previously the title character is named Iron and he's a former boxer (the reason why he stopped is something I won't spoil for you but fits well into the story) turned school teacher. Students at the school he teaches at get involved in drugs and that's when things start to take a turn for the worst for Iron.
At times I found the book a bit lengthy but, at the end, I think it ended up being just right. Once the story really gets going it takes off and the course of the book takes place in the span of one weeks time (which, when I got to the end I was like "Damn, really?!?!") and shows just how fast a life can get thrown off track, especially when someone is trying to do the right thing.
My only "issue" with the book was that I didn't find it a page turner by any means, especially at the beginning. There were times when I put it down and took a few days off in between readings but you may not have that issue.
So, what is my rating. I give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars. You get a very engaging story and the characters are not one dimensional - each of them have their own demons and the actions they take have consequences, sometimes dire, to those they love.
Recommended reading!
About the author:
Hagler grew up in a small rural town in the heartland of Afrikaner dominated South Africa before moving to Cape Town to attend university and attain a degree in English and History. He lived in Cape Town for more than eighteen years, from the age of eighteen, and during that time travelled the vast rail network, witnessing and enduring some of the types of crimes perpetrated in the novel. As the chairman of the local Neighbourhood Watch he helped keep the streets of his suburb crime free and made sure that the gangs lost their foothold
in Cape Flats. Hagler currently lives in New Zealand where he works as an academic publishing representative.
Reaching Discontent speaks with the voice of a moderate Muslim, a man who could be termed devout, but is a normal
human being striving to come to terms with his identity as a nonwhite Muslim in an increasingly hostile world.
Find the book on Amazon by clicking HERE.
www.hagler.co.uk
Dark Matter Heart (A Cor Griffin Bloodsuckers Novel) by Nathan Wrann
Dark Matter Heart by writer and filmmaker Nathan Wrann is a delightful and quick read.
The book opens with our lead protaganist, a young teenager named Cor Griffin who has moved to the Pacific Northwest from Los Angeles in the hopes of controlling his "allergies" as well as to escape some other issues that he may or may not have been a part of (I will not spoil that for you). All Cor wants is to make it through high school and be as invisible as possible - no new friends, no sports; just getting through and moving on.
Of course that doesn't happen or else it would have been a very short and uninspiring book. Cor meets a new friend and, as is usually the case in life, he finds a girl that catches his eye and his heart.
All is not well as Cor also catches the eye of a man called The Creeper who, to again avoid spoiling things, makes Cor's life "difficult" to say the least.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The story, though dealing with vampires, isn't your usual vampire tale and don't think that just because it involves teenagers that it's going to be on some Twilight stuff because it isn't (which is a GOOD thing).
Highly recommended and I look forward to the next volume in this series.
Find more on Mr. Wrann and this book by visiting any one (or all) of the below links:
Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/DMHKindle
Barnes & Noble nook: http://bit.ly/DMHnook
iTunes Bookstore: http://bit.ly/DMHitunes
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/DMHsmash
Trade Paperback:
Createspace: http://bit.ly/DMHcsp
Contact:
Nathan Wrann
[email protected]
http://www.daltongangpress.com
http://www.twitter.com/nathanwrann
http://nwrann.tumblr.com
The book opens with our lead protaganist, a young teenager named Cor Griffin who has moved to the Pacific Northwest from Los Angeles in the hopes of controlling his "allergies" as well as to escape some other issues that he may or may not have been a part of (I will not spoil that for you). All Cor wants is to make it through high school and be as invisible as possible - no new friends, no sports; just getting through and moving on.
Of course that doesn't happen or else it would have been a very short and uninspiring book. Cor meets a new friend and, as is usually the case in life, he finds a girl that catches his eye and his heart.
All is not well as Cor also catches the eye of a man called The Creeper who, to again avoid spoiling things, makes Cor's life "difficult" to say the least.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The story, though dealing with vampires, isn't your usual vampire tale and don't think that just because it involves teenagers that it's going to be on some Twilight stuff because it isn't (which is a GOOD thing).
Highly recommended and I look forward to the next volume in this series.
Find more on Mr. Wrann and this book by visiting any one (or all) of the below links:
Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/DMHKindle
Barnes & Noble nook: http://bit.ly/DMHnook
iTunes Bookstore: http://bit.ly/DMHitunes
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/DMHsmash
Trade Paperback:
Createspace: http://bit.ly/DMHcsp
Contact:
Nathan Wrann
[email protected]
http://www.daltongangpress.com
http://www.twitter.com/nathanwrann
http://nwrann.tumblr.com
Drama... Another Man's Girl by Syndey Lyttle
Drama... Another Man's Girl by author Sydney Little was brought to my attention when I received an email from her asking if I would review it. Of course I said yes - I never turn down a free book - and it was then mailed to me and here we are.
As the title suggests, there is a lot of drama. The story centers around a young woman named Chass and the two men who she ends up being involved in the middle of - her wealthy workaholic boyfriend named El and an even wealthier man named Shane who is balancing the line between going legit and staying in the streets.
To be honest, I've never been a big fan of urban/street fiction as I always felt that, by its very nature, it limited itself in regards to the audience it attracts. As a writer I want my work to appeal to as many people as possible and, when every other sentence is peppered with "n**ga this" and "motherf**ker that" it takes something for me. But, I understand that some people are okay with that and that's cool; I am not one to judge one's taste.
Having said that, Drama...Another Man's Girl has it's moments. The erotic/hotness factor is through the roof when it comes to chapters dealing with sex. There were some twists that I didn't see coming that added to the overall satisfaction of the book, especially dealing with Chass' best friend and the teaser for the sequel more than made up for any shortcomings that I felt the book had.
Character wise, I found it hard to relate to them most of the time which kind of made me not care for them very much. This may not be a problem for some people but, for me, that was an issue of mine. Some of the things that the characters did seemed kind of unbelievable to me but that's a small grievance of mine. It took me a while to REALLY get into it; at first I had to more or less force myself to read it but, as the story progressed, I started reading faster as I did want to know what was going to happen.
Overall, I'm not disappointed in the book but I'm not overly blown away by it. I feel that it's very solid and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel because this book ends with a SERIOUS cliffhanger. Mrs. Lyttle is a very talented writer and those talents will only continue to flourish as she goes on.
3 out of 5 stars.
6.14.11
As the title suggests, there is a lot of drama. The story centers around a young woman named Chass and the two men who she ends up being involved in the middle of - her wealthy workaholic boyfriend named El and an even wealthier man named Shane who is balancing the line between going legit and staying in the streets.
To be honest, I've never been a big fan of urban/street fiction as I always felt that, by its very nature, it limited itself in regards to the audience it attracts. As a writer I want my work to appeal to as many people as possible and, when every other sentence is peppered with "n**ga this" and "motherf**ker that" it takes something for me. But, I understand that some people are okay with that and that's cool; I am not one to judge one's taste.
Having said that, Drama...Another Man's Girl has it's moments. The erotic/hotness factor is through the roof when it comes to chapters dealing with sex. There were some twists that I didn't see coming that added to the overall satisfaction of the book, especially dealing with Chass' best friend and the teaser for the sequel more than made up for any shortcomings that I felt the book had.
Character wise, I found it hard to relate to them most of the time which kind of made me not care for them very much. This may not be a problem for some people but, for me, that was an issue of mine. Some of the things that the characters did seemed kind of unbelievable to me but that's a small grievance of mine. It took me a while to REALLY get into it; at first I had to more or less force myself to read it but, as the story progressed, I started reading faster as I did want to know what was going to happen.
Overall, I'm not disappointed in the book but I'm not overly blown away by it. I feel that it's very solid and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel because this book ends with a SERIOUS cliffhanger. Mrs. Lyttle is a very talented writer and those talents will only continue to flourish as she goes on.
3 out of 5 stars.
6.14.11
A Spy At Home by Joseph Rinaldo
Mr. Rinaldo contacted me via my blog and offered me the chance to review his novel A Spy At Home and, being the lover of books that I am (especially free books), I took him up on that offer. I'm glad that I did.
The title threw me off - I was expecting some kind of Jason Bourne type of thing (don't ask me why) - but the story is SO MUCH MORE than simply being about a spy and really can't be categorized as being in one genre. This book is one part about the spy life but also touches more upon the family life than anything.
Told from a first person perspective of Garrison, a CIA agent, we learn about him and his family. Garrison knows all there is to know about how to read people and situations but, after being away from his family for so long due to his assignments across the globe he's sent out on, it's like he knows nothing about his wife Louisa and his son Noah. The family aspect is the real kicker to the story as the CIA aspect really plays in the background though it's the spy aspect that lays the foundation for why some things play out the way that they do. We learn pretty early on that, while on assignment, Garrison did something that would be frowned up on by the government (of which I will not spoil) and it's certain to make some readers not relate to him or possibly not like him at all depending on what side of the moral compass you fall on. I think what he did is believable and I had no problem buying why or how it was done. But, like I said, I will let you figure that out as I would like to focus more on his family.
Garrison's son Noah (how they come about getting him is a great part of the story) was born with Downs Syndrome. Later on in the book he also comes down with Alzheimers and how Garrison and his wife Louisa deal with this and try to help their son is at times heartbreaking but is, to me, 100% authentic in how it's written. I would love to go on and on about this and the other parts but I would be doing you the reader a disservice by even remotely spoiling it for you.
A Spy At Home is a wonderful book and grabs you from the first few lines. I've never read a book like this before. Joseph Rinaldo takes the spy genre and strips away all the gadgets and exotic missions, exposing us to the real life that awaits them when they come back home and learn how to deal with the most important mission/assignment they could ever have - FAMILY.
A MUST READ!
Get your copy and learn more about the author by visiting www.josephmrinaldo.com
6.14.11
The title threw me off - I was expecting some kind of Jason Bourne type of thing (don't ask me why) - but the story is SO MUCH MORE than simply being about a spy and really can't be categorized as being in one genre. This book is one part about the spy life but also touches more upon the family life than anything.
Told from a first person perspective of Garrison, a CIA agent, we learn about him and his family. Garrison knows all there is to know about how to read people and situations but, after being away from his family for so long due to his assignments across the globe he's sent out on, it's like he knows nothing about his wife Louisa and his son Noah. The family aspect is the real kicker to the story as the CIA aspect really plays in the background though it's the spy aspect that lays the foundation for why some things play out the way that they do. We learn pretty early on that, while on assignment, Garrison did something that would be frowned up on by the government (of which I will not spoil) and it's certain to make some readers not relate to him or possibly not like him at all depending on what side of the moral compass you fall on. I think what he did is believable and I had no problem buying why or how it was done. But, like I said, I will let you figure that out as I would like to focus more on his family.
Garrison's son Noah (how they come about getting him is a great part of the story) was born with Downs Syndrome. Later on in the book he also comes down with Alzheimers and how Garrison and his wife Louisa deal with this and try to help their son is at times heartbreaking but is, to me, 100% authentic in how it's written. I would love to go on and on about this and the other parts but I would be doing you the reader a disservice by even remotely spoiling it for you.
A Spy At Home is a wonderful book and grabs you from the first few lines. I've never read a book like this before. Joseph Rinaldo takes the spy genre and strips away all the gadgets and exotic missions, exposing us to the real life that awaits them when they come back home and learn how to deal with the most important mission/assignment they could ever have - FAMILY.
A MUST READ!
Get your copy and learn more about the author by visiting www.josephmrinaldo.com
6.14.11
Bitemarks by Drew Cross
5.5.11
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I first became aware of Drew Cross via an interaction on the site Getfanged.com *shameless plug* and, through a conversation, we agreed to "swap" books and I would read/review his book while he did the same for mine.
Drew's book, Bitemarks, is the story about police officer Shane Marks who has a lifestyle that is a little "different" from most and one that a person wouldn't normally come out and say upon introductions. I won't ruin it but through the course of the book Shane is on the trail of a killer who is essentially the same as him only with a slight penchant for murder, hence the "killer" that I mentioned a few words above. I was able to run through this book in about 3 hours as it is a remarkably good book and a page turner to say the least. While in the middle of reading it I kept thinking to myself on how "fun" this book was which isn't something that I often say when reading a book, especially one that deals with murder and suspense. The interaction between Shane Marks and his partner Marcus are great and are one of the many highlights of the book. Another thing that I enjoyed was the detail that Drew uses when writing; he writes in a style that I could only call artistry, the words seeming to flow effortlessly with amazing clarity. I highly recommend this book and look forward to future works from Mr. Cross. Go get this book! 5 out of 5 stars! Get your copy at the following: US - Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D668008011&field-keywords=Drew+Cross UK - Amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/BiteMarks/dp/B004WE7RIS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM&qid=1302771639&sr=1-2 Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53362 About the author: Drew Cross is a 30 year old former model and ex-police officer (but regrettably never a model police officer!) from Nottingham, England; he is married with two small children (The Zeds - Zac aged 4 and Zara aged 3) and a weimaraner dog. When he's not reading, writing, toddler-wrangling or dog-wrestling, he enjoys martial arts, running, cooking various global cuisines and meditating. He has an interest in Eastern philosophy and the Goth subculture, and hopes one day to break the habit of writing about himself in the third person! |
Reunion by Jeff Bennington
Posted 3.23.11
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I just finished reading Reunion by Jeff Bennington and, in two words, very impressive.
As one reviewer stated, Jeff asks some hard hitting questions in regards to what happens to the lives of those that are forced to live through a massacre such as a school shooting which takes place in the novel. Not only the students but how does it affect the town as a whole and everyone that lives in it? Not to divulge too much I will say that Reunion is a wonderful page turner and never feels cliche or formulaic. I hate to use the words "slow burn" because that sometimes throws people off and makes them think that the story is boring right up until the end, but that is not the case here. From the opening chapters you can tell that this story is well thought out and is leading to somewhere. There is a twist in it (that I would love to reveal but won't dare to) that truly hit me out of left field that really changed everything (in a good way, of course, hence the 5 star rating) about what I had read previously and what my expectations were going forward. I would recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of thrillers that are mixed in with a little bit of horror (not the gruesome kind). I am eagerly looking forward to Jeff Bennington's next book and feel that he is an author that is definitely on the rise. 2011 334 Pages Nexgate Press ISBN# 9780615450865 Visit the author's site at http://www.jeffbennington.com/ |
Review of Faith & The Undead by Benjamin Rogers
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Faith & The Undead, the debut novel from author Benjamin Rogers is a fresh bite (pun intended) on the classic zombie tale. Though it has all the classic elements that you expect (and want) to find in any zombie story Benjamin also throws in the faith based element that gives the reader a little extra something to think about.
Faith & The Undead is a surefire page turner from the first to the last page, grabbing you by your throat and never letting go. As a zombie fan, one that had thought he had seen or read it all thanks to Mr. George Romero, Benjamin Rogers hit me a haymaker. I was impressed by his faith based orientation of the zombie apocalypse and how God and the Devil play their parts in all of it. Splashes of comedy are thrown in and there are little things thrown in here and there (especially at the start of each chapter) that really hooked me in. I would love to go into more detail as I really could go on and on but I don't want to spoil anything for the reader. The first book in a proposed trilogy, I can' recommend this book enough and I look forward to the release of volumes 2 and 3. Benjamin Rogers is truly an exceptional author and Faith & The Undead is a testament to that. Even if you're not a fan of zombies I still encourage you to give it a read! You can find more info on Benjamin Rogers and Faith & The Undead by clicking on the below banner! |
Review of Dawn of the Shadow by Peter Kelly
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I first became aware of author Peter Kelly through Twitter. I followed him and he sent me a message telling me that I was his 150th follower and, due to that, he offered me a free copy of his book Dawn of the Shadow and who am I to turn down a free book.
Dawn of the Shadow is a superhero origin story which immediately piqued my interest because, me being a 7 year old in a 33 year old's body, I love! So, about the book. It opens with a prologue set 50 trillion years ago with an ongoing war between two races called Sumerians and Cromanuts. Fast forward 50 trillion years to present day Philadelphia and our main protagonist, a 21 year old college student named Pete, is riding bikes in the woods with some of his buddies and it's on this ride that Pete's life, and those who know him, change forever. For the sake of not spoiling the story, Pete stumbles upon, quite literally, an underground "bunker" where he accidentally flips a switch and undergoes some "changes". Of course I'm leaving out some things but those things are best left for the reader to find out on their own. First things first, the book was a pageturner - I was able to finish it in about 4 hours as I was always wanting to know what was going to happen next. Major plus right there! If you're a fan of comic books then this book will be something that you'll want to read and I anticipate that, since this is the origin or "dawn" of the Shadow that their will be more adventures to come for him, which I am looking forward to. There are some things that I didn't see coming (which is another plus) and the author is clearly passionate about and is a fan of the genre. Not only is this a story about a young man becoming a hero and fighting a villain he is also fighting the darkness within him (a la Spider-Man 3 though I am not listing that as a knock) which provides for some of the most interesting parts of the book. The book is not without it's flaws, though. Before writing this review I looked at some of the other reviews that people had posted for it on Amazon.com and I found that I have the same problems as they did with the book. The book is clearly not a draft that is print ready as it is filled with a lot of errors that took me out of the story sometimes. For example, one of the main characters, our antagonist actually, is named Bocchio. There are a couple of times in this book where this character's name is misspelled - sometimes as Bocchip and sometimes as Boccchio. There are awkward sentences and phrases (which I assume are there to minimize the cursing - for example "jerk" for ass) scattered here and there which break up the smoothness of the story. One of the main characters uses the word "Hecko" to answer the phone and I can not for the life of me tell you why that is. At first I thought it was a typo when I first read it but it happens, at a minimum, three or four times again in the story. Also, it's a story where the main characters are all in their 20's (or older) but there's one point where one of them is told that a file is "restricted" and one of the characters has no idea what that word means - I found that quite odd since this character is in college. This is a very solid effort by Peter Kelly but some of the exgood ideas in the book are burdened down by the unnecessary errors that permeate through the book which reads more like a first draft than anything else. With a little bit of editing/proof reading this has the potential to be a very promising series. You can find this book on Amazon Kindle by visiting http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036TH352 |
Review of People of the Sword by Neil O' Donnell
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I was sent a free copy of People of the Sword by Mr. O'Donnell after stating on Twitter that I was looking for books to review. He graciously emailed me the book and here we are. When I first started reading the book, I can't lie, I wasn't that into it. The subject matter instantly brought to mind the Lord of the Rings series and, as such, that's all I thought about while I was reading and it turned me off and I actually stopped reading it after about 50 pages. I didn't touch it again for almost a week - wanted to give my mind time to reset and view it through fresh eyes - and I'm glad that I did because the book is very highly enjoyable!
What the author has crafted with People of the Sword is a VERY rich and entertaining world that is full of lots of characters. It's evident upon reading that the author has put a LOT of time researching and crafting this book as a lesser author would've taken all the characters and elements of the story and created a half hearted mess but that's not the case here. If I were pressed to describe this book I would do so by saying that, if Lord of the Rings and Clash of the Titans had a baby, People of the Sword would be the result. Mr. O'Donnell has populated this world with knights, goblins, witches, druids, less than pleasant statues, deep mythology, and so on and so forth that really gives the reader something new to look forward to in each chapter. One of the other things that I liked about this book is that, within all the fantasy elements of the book, there is a message behind it. There are several instances where characters realize that they have misjudged a race of people based off of stereotypes that had been handed down and they find that they have things in common with these people and, in several instances, risk their lives for them. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and I highly recommend it to everyone. The ending (slight spoiler) opens the door for a sequel and I can't wait to read it. Neil O’Donnell’s novels and short stories primarily focus on the genre of Fantasy. Drawing from his background as an anthropologist, Neil uses writing to reveal how societies and individuals impact one another through contact, conflict and mutual needs/understanding. For this anthropologist, writing is a platform for teaching without lecturing. Having battled Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) throughout his life, Neil also found writing to provide a means of combating OCD. Now, aside from his fiction work, Neil utilizes writing outlets (blogs/manuscripts) to reach others battling OCD, letting them know they are not alone and that there is help available. Barnes and Noble http://flamingnet.com/index.cfm Amazon.com (ebook and paperback formats) http://www.a-argusbooks.com/StorePeopleSword.htm Borders.com |
Review of ~D.I.V.A.~ by Tiffanie Minnis
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~D.I.V.A.~ Domestically Involved in Violent Affairs, the debut novel from Tiffanie Minnis, is a literary ride that grabs you from the opening pages until the last word; the fact that it’s based off of true events only adds to the emotional punch that you receive.
The main character in the story, a young woman named Michaela Davis, leads us through her life story, one forged in pain and abuse. As she progresses from a little girl who was abused into a grown woman, she begins to flip things around – becoming violent towards men she’s in relationships with and, at the same time, transforming into the very thing she hates the most – an abuser. Domestic abuse is a universal topic that everyone can relate to in some way but it’s not often that you hear about the woman being the abuser in the relationship. Michaela, even though she knows that she is wrong with what she’s doing, the conflicts that she has experienced that have been drilled deep into her psyche, keep rearing it’s ugly head and causing her to lash out to where, at times, it’s the only thing that puts a smile on her face. Reading ~D.I.V.A.~ and becoming attached to Michaela, you automatically want to rip her character from the book and into reality, grip her tightly and just give her a hug, letting her know that it’s going to be okay. Even though she’s broken, Michaela still calls out for you to love and root for her due to her experiences and makes you wonder just how she would have turned out if she would’ve been loved from the start. Michaela instantly brings to mind the character of Caine in the movie Menace II Society. You know that deep down he’s a good kid but has been steered on the wrong path and ultimately has to pay the toll for the road that he has chosen to travel upon. The reader can only hope and pray that Michaela doesn’t follow his tragic example as she struggles to find God and, along the way, herself. I highly recommend ~D.I.V.A.~ and look forward to the planned sequel to see what life further has in store for Michaela. B You can find more information on Tiffanie Minnis and ~D.I.V.A.~ by clicking HERE! |
