Friday, October 30, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Fighting for Home by Kim Richards - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular
Fighting for Home
Descendants of the Amazoi
Book One
Kim Richards
Genre: fantasy/historical fantasy
Publisher: Kim Gilchrist
Date of Publication: July 2020
Print ISBN: 978-1-952564-00-0
Digital ISBN: 978-1-952564-02-4
Number of pages: 241
Word Count: 87,616
Cover Artist: Dawné Dominique DusktilDawn Designs
Book Description:
In 300 B.C.—the Greco-Roman Age—tribes of warrior women thrived near the Black Sea. The area is now modern-day Turkey. The Greeks called them Amazoi (meaning Mankiller).
Inspired by their story, Fighting for Home sings the tale of one tribe as they battle to save their way of life. Healing magic is real! Ilenea and Saphira, the wolf sisters, battle close to home with others of their generation. A healer priestess named Essla travels to a temple of Artemis at Anthela with her male slave, bringing a call to arms for the pending war. She meets and falls in love with a Roman General.
Whatever the outcome, this war changes everyone.
Excerpt:
Thup. Thup. The second archer cried out as two of Xanthi’s arrows buried themselves into his thigh and hip. He let his own arrow fly. Leaves rustled where his arrows disappeared among the tree branches. He fumbled with an arrow, trying to notch it quickly when he heard the rustle again.
The archer looked up as Xanthi leaped from the bushes with her spear in hand. There was no time for him to raise his bow before the bronze point burrowed its way through his leather cuirass, seeking the tender flesh beneath.
At his wretched cry, the shield man to the left took a wild swing with his sword. He caught Xanthi just below the left collarbone. It sliced through her leather jerkin, taking breast flesh with it.
Crying out from the pain, she fell to her knees as blood poured from the gash. One hand pressed against the wound as her other fumbled for her knife.
Xanthi’s man turned his attention from her. He should’ve advanced. Celete used it to her advantage and swung her axe up the inside of his shield. It’s blade cleaved his stomach wide open. His guts spilled out over her hand—hot and sticky. He toppled sideways, landing in the dirt before Xanthi. With a roar befitting any lioness, she clawed at his face for what he did to her.
About the Author:
Kim Richards lives in Northern California with her husband and pets. She loves the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Her hobbies include reading, writing, sewing, LARPing, and listening to music.
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00APPEHK4
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kim_richards
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimrichards5576/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kim_richards
Website: www.kim-richards.com
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Monday, October 26, 2020
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Grown-Up Pose by Sonya Lalli
Grown-Up Pose by Sonya LalliMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.
I have seen many mixed reviews around this one, but I am really glad I gave it a chance. I really enjoyed it.
This was also a really quick read and I read it in one sitting which is always nice. I thought the pacing was great as it kept my attention throughout. There were some more humorous moments and also serious moments.
I do wish this would have explored mental health a little deeper, as I feel it almost skipped over everything that happened with Imogen. It does set up nicely for a second book around her character though which I would love to see.
Yes, our main character, Anu, could be very unlikable at times. However; I also found her relatable at the same time. She was very young when she got with her husband and had their first child. She really never found herself or who she wanted to be. She is on a journey to do just that within this story.
Overall, I really liked this though.
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Friday, October 23, 2020
Thursday, October 22, 2020
The Brightest Night by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Brightest Night by Jennifer L. ArmentroutMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.
I was excited to get the audiobook for this one as I am a huge fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout and her Luxen series. The Brightest Night is the third book in the spin-off series, Origin. This cannot be read as a standalone, as it picks up right from where the previous books leave off.
The narrator was great. I really loved the contrast between characters. She is very easy to understand as well which is a must for me when looking at narrators.
The Brightest Night does involve so much more around our favorite characters from the previous series. It is crazy to see how much characters like Katy and Daemon have grown. I loved having more of them in this story.
Where I loved the previous two books in the series, sadly, this was probably my least favorite. It was just too slow paced. There was not much going on for most of the story. It was really character driven with little action. I needed more to keep my interest. It actually took me much longer than normal to finish this one. I knew I was going to push through though since I committed to this series.
Evie is really discovering who she is and how to work her powers. She is also developing her relationship with Luc. There were a few extras thrown in, but again, I just wanted more.
The second half definitely picked up and the twist at the end leaves you excited for the final book in the series. It had me looking to see if there was a release date announced for the final book.
Overall, I still enjoyed this one (just not as much as I was expecting). I will continue with the series and will continue to read everything from JLA.
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The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright
The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo WrightThis one is not for me, but sounded really interesting. I still wanted to give it a try and was really excited, but it did not capture my attention like I wanted too. This is just a personal preference. I know others will love it.
I even tried the audiobook on this one, but again, it just was not for me. I could not connect with the story.
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Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Monday, October 19, 2020
Only Truth by Julie Cameron
Only Truth by Julie CameronMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 Stars
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.
I was excited to get the audiobook for this one. The narrator has a very raspy voice that did bring a great feel to the story. I do wish there were some more variations when voicing some of the males as it was hard to follow when they were all together. Otherwise, the narration is great on this one. Her voice really made you feel during the emotional parts of the story.
Triggers for mental health, animal abuse/killing, rape, and more.
I really like how this will make you question Who is it? I started making predictions after chapter two, but there is really never anything to really pin point the twist towards the end.
This also changes between the POV of Isabell and our psychopath. I really loved what this change brought to the story. Our killer was very sick and creepy. It pulled together the slower parts of the story and really kept this one moving.
I do feel the ending was a little rushed. I would have liked a little more climax around everything happening. We get more of the backstory once the reveal, but I would have liked a little more around the current day.
This is a very dark story and I really enjoyed it. I am excited to see what the author brings to us next.
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Saturday, October 17, 2020
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb
The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy WebbMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.
I was excited to get the audiobook for this one. The narrator has a very raspy voice that did bring a great feel to the story. I do wish there were some more variations when voicing some of the males as it was hard to follow when they were all together. Otherwise, the narration is great on this one. Her voice really made you feel during the emotional parts of the story.
I am a little confused on this one though. I was expecting a gothic thriller, but this was more a story around love and grief.
When this initially started, I was instantly intrigued. You start to get to know the characters.
This does have triggers for a loss of a loved one, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. I was really drawn into the emotional side of this story as you learn more about them and their pasts. However; I was not expecting most of the story to follow long this path.
The mystery was pretty slow. There are only a few things thrown in here and there around anything spooky or mysterious happening. At first, these scenes really kept my interest and my want to read. After half of the book though, I did find the story dragging a little. I needed more to happen and started to lose interest.
Sadly, I kept wanting to DNF this one but pushed through hoping it would pick up. I think I would have enjoyed this one much more if I was not expecting a spooky read.
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Saturday, October 10, 2020
Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker
Don't Look for Me by Wendy WalkerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.
I read my first book by Wendy Walker last year and was super excited for this one. The audiobook for this one was really good and I highly recommend it. The narrator did a great job and I was able to follow along with a little over 2.0 speed.
Now, that is how you do an intro! I was hooked on this one from Day 1. I was already shocked and asking What? right from the start. The added past of Molly and her family brought that extra dynamic to the story.
This goes back and forth between Molly and her daughter, Nic, points of view. I am normally not a huge fan of dual POV, but this one really worked. I was interested in seeing both sides of the story.
I was expecting for a certain someone to be a part of what happened, and they were not. My mouth dropped with this twist. I have no clue how I did not piece all of that together, but I was very happy that I did not. I also did not see the added twist towards the end.
I did think some of the middle was a little repetitive and I was waiting for something more to happen. However; it all came together in the end and why certain things were happening the way they were.
Overall, I really liked this one though and Wendy Walker is quickly making my must read list.
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Thursday, October 8, 2020
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
After the Flood by Kassandra Montag
After the Flood by Kassandra MontagMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
2.5
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.
Science Fiction tends to be a genre that I rarely reach for, but this one sounded really good. The cover also really grabbed my attention.
I really loved the beginning of this one. I was immediately hooked around the story with Row and it was really what kept me reading throughout. I really enjoyed the parts that involved Row and the mystery around what happened to her.
I do feel this went on a little too much at times. I needed a little more movement in the middle. However; the author did a great job of throwing enough in at the right moments to pull me back in. Every time I would get to a point of wanting to give up on this one, something would happen to pull me back in.
I was happy that the story with Row picked up at the end too.
Overall, this was better than I was expecting.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Monday, October 5, 2020
Friday, October 2, 2020
First Love by James Patterson
First Love by James PattersonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Have you ever read one of James Patterson’s contemporary romances!?
They are all so good! I think I have read them all now! This one was pretty good and definitely brought the tears! It was a bit predictable and some of the scenes were out there, but I still really enjoyed it. I know this one is one of his older ones, but I really hope he has more coming out in the future.
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
The Return by Nicholas Sparks
The Return by Nicholas SparksMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
2.5 Stars
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.
Nicholas Sparks really helped when it comes to my love of reading. His last few books have missed the mark for me, but I will still read anything he puts out. I was super excited for The Return and read it the day it released. Sadly, this one just did not live up to what I expect from him either.
This had way too much dialogue. The story was just dragging along. I was not connecting with anything going on and nothing was keeping my interest. I ended up skimming some of the chapters to see if the story would pick up a little.
This was almost two stories in one. I wish it would have followed Callie from the start. I was lost and bored with Trevor and the bee stories. It did not bring anything to the story and took too long to get to the meat of everything. I really started to get interested when the story with Callie started to develop.
Overall, I am glad I pushed through this one as the last ¾ of the book was much better. I would have DNF this if it was any other author though. I would give the first half two stars and the second half three stars.
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