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Archive for the ‘Fiction Books’ Category

“The Redeeming,” Shiloh Walker

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

Pros: Delightful story of good, evil, and redemption
Cons: Beginning felt a bit simplistic
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Redeeming

The Redeeming

Review copy courtesy of a Twitter contest held by the author.
Available from Samhain Publishing.
Visit Shiloh Walker online.

 

Jonah is dead, but his guardian angel gives him a choice: go to eternal torment, or take responsibility for his choices and accept one last chance at redemption. Lilan is a daughter of Lilith, a demon born to drain men’s souls and steal children away. But she’s a demon with a soul, who feels torment over what she’s supposed to do, and that gives her one single chance at a human life. She has two months to prove she can live the life she says she wants—and that time is running out when she meets Jonah. Each of them is on a mission to save a young man’s soul, but will their attraction to each other prove a fatal distraction—or the key to saving him?

 
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Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Pros: Fast action, complex plotting
Cons: Took a little while to get to know some of the characters
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

 

Joe Ledger knows he’s a good cop. But when he has to kill a terrorist that he killed the week before, his world starts to change. He becomes drawn into the Department of Military Science, a covert agency that is responsible for protecting the United States from terrorist threats. Together he and his team are looking for the terrorists that are attempting to infiltrate the States with a new bioterror weapon that turns people into zombies. It’s a race against time; a plan that has been years in the making is in motion and there is a traitor in their midst. Can Joe and his team stop the terrorists, or will this be the end of Western civilization?

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“Chains,” Shiloh Walker

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Pros: Very intense; outstanding characters and relationships; skillful handling of delicate topics
Cons: Wanted a teensy bit more about how the women found satisfaction in their jobs as well as their relationships
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review copy courtesy of Penguin Group.
Visit Shiloh Walker online.

 

Fifteen years ago, three girls in their senior year of high school in Madison had almost nothing in common—until they experienced a terrible tragedy that bound them together and sent them fleeing from their hometown.

Renee was the icy-perfect prom queen from old money, dating the Mayor’s perfect son. After that night she fled her mother’s plans for her to become a pampered trophy wife, instead choosing to train as a chef and play at the lifestyle of a submissive. Night after night, however, she still has nightmares in which she can smell blood.

Lacey was the school’s sweetheart—as good-tempered as she was pretty and strong. She’s become a photographer, but she’s been told her work lacks heart, and she knows it’s true. Five years ago she found pleasure in the arms of Madison’s sheriff, but he walked out on her, and no one else satisfies her.

Sherra was the school’s bad girl, a pint-sized troublemaker. Now she writes best-selling horror novels to exorcise her own demons. The idea of being touched by any man terrifies her, and now because of the threatening notes and emails she’s been receiving, she’s stuck with an overbearing bodyguard.

All three women are headed back to Madison for their 15-year reunion, and for the kickoff of Sherra’s big booksigning tour. They’ve become friends in the intervening years, and they’ve each found their own measure of success, but they’re lonely and afraid. Now they’re going to have to face their fears, conquer them, and conquer the monster that’s stalking them.

 
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“Storm of Shadows,” Christina Dodd

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Pros: Fantastic characters and romance; gripping plot
Cons: One slightly overused series premise; some minor confusion over the prophecy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review book (uncorrected proof) courtesy of Penguin Group.
Expected publication date: 9/1/2009.
Visit Christina Dodd on the web.

 

From the back of the book:

When the world was young, twins were born. One brought light to a dark world; the other, darkness and danger. They gathered others around them, men and women destined to use their powerful gifts for good or evil. Today, their descendants walk the earth as the Chosen, and the ultimate battle is about to begin.

Rosamund Hill has spent her life buried in her parents’ work, as well as her own, and has been perfectly happy tucked away with her research. Then, in one day, two men turn her world upside down: slick, gorgeous Lance, and dark, brooding Aaron. Both of them want the same thing, information about a prophecy, and both of them are willing to nudge, seduce, and influence Rosamund to get it. Lance, however, is willing to kill—whereas Aaron finds himself becoming more and more taken with the frustrating academic. And more mysteriously, as he and Rosamund work to uncover the prophecy, his powers as one of the Chosen become stronger.

 
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“World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War,” Max Brooks

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Pros: Characters well-crafted, good use of pacing
Cons: Can get a little technical in places

 

From the back of the book:

We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z is the only record of the plague years.

 
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“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Pros: Jane Austen’s wonderful plot and text
Cons: Some elements felt forced

 

Elizabeth Bennett is a young woman trained in the arts of war; her enemies are the zombies rising from the earth of England. Added to her woes is the presence of Mr. Darcy, who has accompanied his friend from London to the village of Meryton. The two are quickly at odds with each other, despite Mr. Darcy’s growing feelings. Will misunderstandings and ideals keep the two from each other? Or will zombies get to them first?
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“Killer Summer,” Ridley Pearson

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Pros: Wonderful plot, characters, mystery, etc.
Cons: Wanted a bit more of a couple of characters; it seemed like a few details were missing
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review book (uncorrected proof) courtesy of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Also posted on Epinions.

 

Sun Valley sheriff Walt Fleming is just trying to reconnect with his nephew through a little fly fishing. Unfortunately it seems he can’t leave the job behind, and when he spots a suspicious truck driving past, he has to investigate. When he realizes he’s interrupted the kidnapping of a courier and the theft of the courier’s expensive cargo, he’s determined to figure out who’s behind it.

Walt’s nephew, Kevin, is still reeling from the death of his father and all the family shock waves that created. He’s working at the local inn when he meets Summer, the daughter of a wealthy movie-maker. Summer’s a headstrong girl who’s chafing at her father’s overprotectiveness and is determined to go her own way—with Kevin’s help. Unfortunately, the two of them are about to cross paths with a complicated heist and some dangerous people…
 
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“Forbidden: The Temptation,” Samantha Sommersby

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Pros: Basic story & sex scenes that some will enjoy
Cons: Inconsistencies; hand-waving plot developments; stilted dialogue; non-sexy “sexy” scenes; confusions; thin characters
Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

 

Jacob Madison was injured a year ago during a rock-climbing trip. He was saved by werewolves, and still hasn’t forgiven them for making him one of them, even though he’d otherwise be dead. Now it’s his turn to save someone, as he finds Allison hurt in a snowstorm. He’s determined to do it without turning her, however. They just start to find a bit of peace—and a whole lot of passion—in each other’s arms, when trouble comes knocking. There’s a rogue werewolf turned serial killer on the loose, he’s after one of Jake’s new “friends,” and Allison knows a lot more about the situation than she’s letting on.
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“First Rider’s Call,” Kristen Britain

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Pros: Wonderful epic fantasy in a fantastic world!
Cons: Some of the bad guys were unnecessarily foolish
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
Also posted on Epinions.com.

 

When I received a review copy of Kristen Britain’s long-awaited First Rider’s Call, thankfully I realized that I had a copy of her previous Green Rider sitting unread on a shelf, and started with that. It was a wonderful, layered, epic fantasy novel with delightful characters, gripping action, and engaging world-building. In it, Karigan G’ladheon found herself drawn unwillingly into peril and intrigue when she swore to finish delivering a dying messenger’s missive to his king. As much as she believed herself to be a normal girl, destined to become a merchant like her father, circumstances said otherwise: one of the magical brooches of the legendary Green Riders accepted her, and she began developing some unusual abilities. Soon she was hip-deep in dark magic and political intrigue alike.

In First Rider’s Call, Karigan is still resisting the call of the Riders, and has returned to her father’s merchant clan. Until, that is, the ghost of the First Rider, Lil, calls to her so irresistibly that she ends up riding halfway to Sacor City in her nightgown! Finally unable to bear it any longer, she returns to her duties—and just in time. A sentience has awoken in Blackveil forest near the hole in the wall, and it’s testing its boundaries and waking old powers. While it goes after those trying to repair the wall, using them to its own ends, it sends others after Karigan for some unknown reason. Meanwhile, Karigan tries to keep the Green Riders functional as their Captain goes mad, their barracks burn, and their powers fail.

 
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“Green Rider,” Kristen Britain

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Pros: Gripping epic fantasy with wonderful characters!
Cons:
Rating: 5 out of 5

Also posted on Epinions.com.

 

I just got a review copy of Kristen Britain’s First Rider’s Call, the sequel to her 1998 novel Green Rider. Usually when I get a sequel as a review copy, I’m stuck jumping in at the middle of the story and hoping the author gave each book some measure of autonomy. In this case, I blinked at the cover, thought “don’t I have a copy of Green Rider that I never got around to reading?” and ran off to dig it out. Next morning, I settled in to give it a read before starting in on the sequel. I’m so glad I had it sitting around, because I’m hooked on Kristen’s world and characters and can’t wait to find out what happens next!

 

Karigan G’ladheon is on her way home alone from school. She got into—or rather, won—a fight with the wrong nobleman’s son, and was suspended after he complained to influential family members. As she contemplates facing her wealthy merchant father and telling him of her failure, she comes upon a dying man, one of the Green Riders, the king’s own messengers. He insists she take an oath to deliver his message safely to the king, and gives her the golden winged-horse brooch he wears.

Nothing in Karigan’s life will ever be the same again after that meeting. She’s pursued by assassins and a mysterious “shadow man.” The Green Rider’s horse has a mind of his own, and doesn’t hesitate to take her where he wills. The ghost of the Rider seems to follow at her heels, and a few mysterious allies also pop up to lend a hand. Karigan is certain she’s hip deep in something that’s none of her business, but every indication is that whether or not she likes it, she’s already become a Green Rider.

 
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