A Midsummer Night’s Demom by Brenda Sparks Review

A long career with the agency had Ky Robinson’s abilities honed to a titanium point. He was tops in his field, usually working with his partner Tarina, in rounding up and eliminating the rogue debauchee, a vampire who clings to the old ways of obtaining blood. This time though Ky is on his own.

Tracking the rogue vampire to a seedy bar, Ky finds more than he bargainfor. with only moments to spare he saves the debauchee’s intended victim but loses the rogue. While tending to the victim Daelyn, Ky believes he has found his heartmate, his other half who completed him body and soul.

As Ky and Daelyn work toward finding the debauchee who is still at large, they are also trying to find their way with each other. With very different backgrounds and seemingly insurmountable problems surrounding them can they find the rogue and put a stop to his cruelty while at the same time finding each other?

A quick , enjoyable read, more a novella size than a full novel. Plenty of action, good characters and an engaging story helped though it did seem to lag in a few spots for me.

Rise Up by C.S. Fuqua Review

 

Rise Up is a mixed bag collection of 24 short stories by C.S. Fuqua. The stories include the sci-fi fantasies of Time Now, All the Brave Soldiers and Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget; the supernatural thrillers Demons and  Sand;  family themed story Sibling Rivalry and my 2 personal favorites Luau and DTs.

Each story is scripted in such a way to draw you into the story right away and keep your interest until the sometimes surprising end.

I have always enjoyed short story collections and this one does not disappoint. Well worth reading! Some of my favorites include:

All the Brave Soldiers:    Medical advancements aren’t always a cool thing.

The Pinpoint Tune:  Practical joker meets practical nurse

Time Now:  How many times would you change the past to change the future?

The Tenor’s Wife:  Obesity can shorten a life, though not in the ‘weigh’ you think.

Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget:  A gadget after my own heart (or car)

Demons:  Finding the demon inside can sometimes set you free

Luau:  A tasty introduction to a native party

Rise Up:  Music can change emotions and feelings, among other things, if done correctly

 

Esmeralda by Judith Leger Review

Esmeralda by Judith Leger Review

Glory has been raising her daughter alone since the loss of her husband in the war. Thankfully she owns the farm where her and Cassie, her daughter, live. Mr. Lanter is her hired hand and while Glory doesn’t particularly like him, he does his job. Not many would live this far from town so she is happy he continues to work for her. Sheriff Will Moore, an old friend of both Glory and her deceased husband, stops by to check on her.

Cassie’s best friend Esmeralda has been watching over Glory’s family for as long as she can remember. Many people claim that Esmeralda has magical powers or that she is a witch but Glory knows better. Esmeralda is just an old weather beaten wooden statue that is slowly rotting away to nothingness.

When a scream pierces the mountain air, all that Glory knows or thinks she knows, is about to change.

A creepy short story very reminiscent of what was once upon a time found in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents collection. The storyteller pulls you in and keeps you focused until the hair raising end. Well worth the read!

I received my copy through the author in exchange for my honest review.

 

Elusive (Book 1 On the Run Series) by Sara Rosett Review

Elusive (Book 1 On the Run Series) by Sara Rosett Review

Zoe has always been a free spirit, preferring to take chances instead of always doing the safe thing. Thanks to her aunt though, she has always valued owning property. Its one of the only long term responsibilities she has. When Zoe and her husband Jack divorced, the housing market was at its lowest point in years. Instead of losing money by selling the house they shared, they instead both still live in it, Jack has the upstairs and the front door and Zoe has the main floor and the back door. Its not ideal, but they’ve worked hard at ignoring each other and have so far made it work. It helps that Jack is sooo very predictable, down to what time he showers after his mid day run.

Zoe spends her time doing copy editing from her house as well as a variety of odd jobs to make ends meet. She is so not the 9 to 5 kind of gal even though it would surely help her out of her financial problems. She’d rather walk the neighbor’s dog than clock in and out of the county office where her good friend Helen works.

Jack is partners in a small start up business GNR, Green Recyclable Servies, with Connor, a man that Zoe can’t stand. Connor takes care of all the accounts and lately things have been moving fast. GNR is on the fast track to becoming one of the fastest growing new companies, with very impressive increases in their market value.

Jack walks into his office and the first thing he notes is a banking error…not just a small error but a millions of dollars error. And to make matters even worse, his gun, the gun that no one, not even Zoe, knows about is sitting on his paperwork. He realizes suddenly just how quiet the office is and goes to check things out….

Zoe is shocked and upset when the local police show up at her door looking for Jack, or any information she may have about him. They think he fell in a river during a storm and was swept away. As the police are looking for his body, Zoe goes to GNR to let Connor know what is going on.

Suddenly, everything that Zoe thinks she knows has been swept away. Left reeling, she takes off on what will turn out to be the ride of her life.

An entertaining tale with a great storyline, good characters a touch of humor and plenty of action. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I received my copy through LibraryThing Giveaway and my review was unsolicited.

A Song After Dark by Grant Palmquist Review

Seventeen year old Norman has been invisible his whole life. His parents have shielded him from life, never allowing him to make any decisions or have any friends that might lead him astray from the path they have chosen for him. But Norman is tired of always toeing the line, tired of having no friends and never being able to make his own decisions. Norman has no idea how life changing missing his school bus ride home one afternoon will be.

Zach, one of the popular kids whom Norman has always wanted to be accepted by, is behind the school smoking a joint. When Zach is friendly with Norman and suggests that they hang out one day, Norman is stunned. When Zach gives Norman a ride home and gives him his cell number so Norman can call him and they can ‘hang’ together sometime, Norman is elated…things are finally turning around for him!

Norman’s parents think Zach is terrific because he comes from the right background and gets straight A’s but they don’t know him the way Norman does. As Norman and Zach get to know each other better, Norman is at first all behind all the things Zach suggests. Norman starts to wonder though about Zach after a series of events make him question Zach’s friendship. As Norman starts to draw away from Zach, things heat up and Norman is left wondering just how far Zach is willing to go, and how far he already has gone.

A well written psychological thriller about two young men, friendship and how far one must go to find acceptance.

I received my copy through LibraryThing Giveaway and my review was unsolicited.

Oak Island Revenge Review

Oak Island Revenge by Cynthia D’Entremont Review

Oak Island lies off the shore of Nova Scotia, close to the little town of Western Shore. Famous for the still missing pirates treasure rumored to be buried on Oak Island, most of the boys of the area have spent time searching for the treasure despite being forbidden to go there, including Jonah and his friend Beaz.

Jonah has decided that this summer is going to be different! In the two years since his older brother passed away, his mom has barely let him out of her sight. He and Beaz have found an old abandoned row boat that they have carefully patched up. They are finally going to dig for treasure out on Oak Island!

With the disappearances of their school teacher and one of the older female students, Jonah and Beaz’s summer just got a lot more interesting.Jonah knows more than he’s saying but is working hard to make sure that he doesn’t actually lie to his parents.

He’s growing up and having to make decisions about how much honesty is best and when to keep his suspicions to himself.

Jonah doesn’t realize that what he knows could change people’s lives forever, and not always in a good way.

An interesting coming of age mystery novel set in a beautifully described 1958 small Nova Scotian town. The characters are well written, the interaction between characters is at times amusing and very believable. It reads like a dark version of an old Hardy Boys book. Great read for the 10 to 15 age group.

I received my copy through GoodReads FirstReads and my review was unsolicited.

 

Someone Bad and Something Blue by Miranda Parker Review

Angel Crawford, former reporter for the Atlanta Sentinel, became a bail recovery agent for a number of reasons. First she needed job (she discovered it wasn’t always the wisest thing to quit a job without having a backup plan) and then when she discovered she was pregnant, she needed one with the kind of flexibility of hours that a recovery agent has. Plus no one else offered her one!

With her daughter in kindergarten, the man that she likes, Pastor Justus Morgan finally asking her for a date and what looks to be an easy recovery on her hands, the unexpected happens! After a blow to the head from a woman she only wanted to ask a question or 2 too, she is in the hospital getting stitches. To her surprise her boss Tiger won’t back her up and insists that he will deal with the problem and that she must go on vacation. A paid vacation where she can finally work on the private investigator license that she has decided she wants. Eventually agreeing to taking the vacation, she didn’t agree to stop trying to talk to the woman who hit her, nor to find out what people, including her boss are trying to hide from her.

Being a single mom with a daughter who needs her, a new boyfriend, a friend’s wedding  and her PI studies, Angel still has time to look into the woman, and the man who paid her. The more she looks, the more she finds, this is not going to be an easy fix. But Angel has never feared to tread where she is not wanted, not when it means getting to the truth.

I had a few issues with this novel. It seemed disjointed at times and hard to follow. The characters themselves where interesting, humorous and believable, the storyline a little too convoluted and unbelievable at times. I have wondered if perhaps I had read the first book in the series, A Good Excuse to be Bad, if that would have made it a little easier to follow. The flow was off a little at times as well, bounced around a little too much for me. A good read, I  will definitely read the next Angel Crawford novel.

I won this copy on GoodReads FirstReads and my review was unsolicited.

Creeping with the Enemy Review

Creeping With the Enemy by Kimberly Reid Review

When you combine the sleuthing ability of Nancy Drew, the nosiness of Donna Parker and add in a undercover cop for a mom, a friend who is definitely not what she seems and the ongoing daily strife of being a poor scholarship student at prestigious Langdon Prep, you come up with Chanti, the heroine of Creeping with the Enemy.

Chanti’s only been in Langdon Prep for a short time but trouble has already found her more than once. The guy she likes, Marco, has been told in no uncertain terms that he is NOT to date or just plain not to have anything to do with Chanti, and it wasn’t even her fault! They text each other and try to spend some time at school together but it seems there is always someone watching. Bethanie, whose parents are very strange and of all things call her E for short, is her only friend at Langdon Prep but Chanti already knows she’s not who she says she is. Chanti can’t help but snoop when she is in Bethanie’s room and there are some things there that just don’t add up.

As if this and the new school aren’t enough, the new guy, Cole, with no last name, suddenly shows up and saves Bethanie not once but twice. Chanti’s sure there is something not right with this guy but can’t get anyone to listen. Is he just a nice guy like Bethanie claims or is there something more sinister going on.

With Marco angry at her, her mom questioning her every move and ,Chanti’s sure, lying about the phone calls, problems at school and in her low income neighborhood maybe she should back off on Cole, trust Bethanie’s judgement and let it go.
With things heating up and people disappearing, its up to Chanti to dig deep and find out whats going on before someone gets hurt!

I enjoyed this novel alot. I was a big fan of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Donna Parker etc. growing up and its great to see a new generation of teen sleuths come along to draw in the young readers. Now I am reviewing this for the young 10 – 16 age range, not for adults. The characters were terrific, varied and definitely 3 dimensional. Good kids who try hard but sometimes they do the wrong thing, but they take responsibility for it. A storyline that has a good flow, some twists and turns and a few surprises. Its nice that some of the characters from the first in the series are also in this novel. Very real situations but nothing graphic. I would definitely recommend this one to any young readers I know.

I received this book through GoodReads FirstReads and my review was unsolicited.

 

Fathye Reclaimed by Lisa Sanchez Review

A curse had been put on Gabriel so that he would know nothing but pain and sorrow. Fathye, his soul mate,had been hanged along with several other innocents during the Salem Witch Trials and though he was a powerful warlock he had been unable to save her. At the loss of his beloved Faythe Gabriel has survived the past 3 hundred years in an emotional vacuum. Until Taylor…

Taylor, a girl of our time, has come to accept that supernatural beings do exist. Smart, sexy and savvy, she is at once out of her depth when she is sent back in time 3 centuries, back to Salem, back to the Witch Trials. If only she could remember who she was and why she was walking around in the dead of night in a creepy forest. The deja vu feelings she is having are not helping nor is the pain from the wound on her head!

Suddenly it all makes horrible sense to Gabriel…the beautiful outcast Faythe, from 3 centuries ago is actually the 20th century Taylor! This time though Gabriel vows to protect Taylor/Faythe even if it costs him his eternal life.

While this is book 3 in the Hanaford Park series it is a great stand alone novel (I myself have not yet read books 1 and 2 but would very much like to). I was, I admit, expecting a little supernatural, witches and warlocks romance novel with a hopefully well written story and interesting characters. What it is is so much more!

A humorous, well scripted novel involving found, then lost, love; witches and warlocks; time travel and a way of looking at the Salem Witch Trials that makes you go hmmm. The characters are quirky, humorous, likable and believable. The storyline is well paced and interesting and definitely has some twists to it.

I received my copy through the GoodReads FirstReads program and my review was unsolicited.

Freak by Jennifer Hillier Review

Freak by Jennifer Hillier Review

FREAK – any abnormal phenomenon or product or unusual object; anomaly; aberration.

Abby Maddox was Ethan Wolfe’s long term girlfriend. She has always claimed she had no idea that Ethan was a serial killer. After Ethan was exposed as a serial killer, Abby went on the run. Several weeks later she was picked up by the police. Cornered, she sliced Jerry’s throat with the idea of getting away. She claims not to remember actually using the knife on him but swears it was self defense. Abby is serving her second year of a nine year sentence for the attempted murder of Jerry Isaac.

Dr. Sheila Tao, a psychology professor at Puget Sound State University, was in a serious relationship with Morris Gardner. Ethan Wolfe was her student and she had been having an affair with him for a few months. At first she had had no idea that the young lover she had taken was in actuality the Tell-Tale Heart killer, Seattle’s notorious serial killer. She managed to survive being a prisoner of his for 3 weeks, and now, a year later, she and Morris have worked on their relationship and are discussing marriage.

When retired Seattle PD detective Jerry Isaac is asked by his old partner to meet him at the Sweet Chariot Inn he didn’t argue. After viewing the dead and mutilated body of what was once a beautiful, vibrant young woman Jerry can’t figure out what her murder has to do with him, or why he was even there.

Abby Maddox claims to know something about this newest homicide but wants certain concessions to her prison sentence and will only speak with Sheila Tao and Jerry Isaac.

Is this the start of another serial killer, one looking for Abby Maddox’s approval? Is Abby telling all she knows about the murder or is she holding something back?

A gripping, chilling thriller that will hold your attention and make it very difficult to put down.  Just when you think you have things figured out something unexpected happens and it twists another way. Great characters, smooth suspenseful story and enough happening to keep you intrigued. Some may find it too graphic, I myself thought it worked extremely well with the story.

I received my copy through GoodReads FirstReads program and my review was unsolicited.