Monday, September 30, 2013

Review: Ghost Hold (The PSS Chronicles #2)


Ghost Hold (The PSS Chronicles #2)

by Ripley Patton

Olivia Black is back.

Only this time she's not the one in need of rescue.

Samantha James, rich, popular, and an award-winning composer at age seventeen, is the next target on the CAMFers' list. And in order to convince Samantha to come with them, Olivia and Passion must pose as cousins, blend into the most affluent high school in Indianapolis, and infiltrate a mysterious cult known as The Hold.

Olivia doesn't expect it to be easy, even with the PSS guys backing them up. But what she discovers over the course of the mission will call into question everything she ever believed about herself, her ghost hand, and especially about Marcus, the guy she is undoubtedly falling in love with.



*****
5 Stars

I once read a comment made by an author that went something like this "We work for months and months to write a book and you readers come along and read it in a hour" it wasn't said in anger more in amusement. Well here I am one of those people that read and read until I got to the very end finishing this book in day. I'm a fast reader naturally, but when a book is good and I really like it I tend to go into the zone and don't even realize I've been reading the book for as long as I have or that I'm almost done with it, that happened with this one.

I wouldn't have been able to guess at 85% of the things that happened in this book. Everything that kept happening had me being surprised, or at least not thinking that it was going to happen that way.

I still really like Olivias character, though she needs to work on keeping her feelings to herself when it comes to certain things. Though at the same time that is just who she is.

I wasn't to sure how I would feel about Passion, but I have to say I really think she was a good add to the book. I was defiantly surprised by her back story.

I have almost jumped from the love/hate train to the hate train when it comes to Marcus, but I'm holding out a little longer with him. I still don't know what to think about him, and I want to like him, but at the same time I want to punch him in the face. He seems like he wants to help everyone and especially Olivia, but at the same time he keeps things hidden from everyone.

The plot was good, there was just enough things happening at all the right times to keep you interested in reading. I had thought at one time there was going to be a love triangle, but thank God it didn't happen. There is action, romance, and some mystery. I wasn't expecting something like The Hold, but it really makes sense when it comes to the PSS, when there is something people don't understand they can hate it like the CAMPers, or they can love it like The Hold. It was defiantly an interesting concept.

The ending. . . .yeah I was all shocked with it. I probably shouldn't have been because just about everything in the book blindsided me, but I really didn't think something like that would happen. I have to say everything does wrap up pretty nicely, and I like that. But I'm still reeling from everything that happened, and I really want to know what is going to happen next. I don't want to spoil anything for others so I'll only say this, I was pretty sad about a lot that happened, and I need to know what happen to Passion and Jason.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I really enjoyed this one and I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Review: The Rise of the Red Shadow


The Rise of the Red Shadow
by Joseph R. Lallo

Every story must begin somewhere. For the warrior who would come to be known as the fearsome Red Shadow, the story began in a forgotten glade deep in the land of Tressor. It was there that a pair of trackers, eager to retrieve a lost slave, instead found an orphaned malthrope. Had it been a human, it might have been treated with compassion, but in the eyes of human society a malthrope was a monster, a mix of fox and man believed to be a murderer and thief by its very nature. The beast was to be sold for a handful of silver, but fate intervened in the form of an old blind slave named Ben. Under the learned hand of the one human who believed in his potential, the young malthrope would instead be given the wisdom to take his first steps on the long journey to his destiny.

The Rise of the Red Shadow chronicles the early life of one of the most mysterious figures of the Book of Deacon trilogy, the creature called Lain. It tells of his years working and learning on a Tresson plantation until a dark day of vengeance and bloodshed finally set him free. From there you will follow as he finds his place in the world, learning what it is to be a malthrope, and turning to the purpose that will guide him for the rest of his days. It is a story of love, hate, and lessons hard-learned, revealing the painful choices one must make to become the hero the world needs.


*****
5 Stars

For someone that read and really enjoyed "The Deacon Trilogy" it was like stumbling upon a treasure when I found this book. Leo, Lain, Red Shadow or what ever you want to call him was my favorite character in these books. I'll start with this, you don't have to read "The Deacon Trilogy" first to enjoy this book. But than again I'm pretty sure that is how prequel work anyway.

I have to admit that though I loved the trilogy, the main reason I keep reading was because of Lain. Something about him just caught my attention and just never let go. I will also say that I might be just a tad bias in this review. I just really love Lain, you don't come across a character like him very often.

I liked the way we were able to follow him literally from the very beginning of his life. How we are there from every single thing that happens. You see why he is the way he turned out to be in the Trilogy, how if maybe under different circumstances he would have been something completely different. If I had to pick one word to describe his life it would be sad, and than I would cheat and add very, very sad. I'll agree with another reviewer that said she would have liked to see Myranda through his eyes and to hear his thoughts about her.

The story itself was really amazing, being able to see how the legend was formed was great. I like how it would fold in on itself at times and bring back certain things. Since I had no clue of the depth of his history I wouldn't even begin to guess at what would have happened. On top of that I was still really surprised by the ending.

Now what I would like even more was more books with him being the main character, but that is just me being greedy cause I know its not something that could easily happen or really happen at all.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, read The Deacon Trilogy first or this one it doesn't matter, but this is one you really don't want to pass up.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Review: The Marksmith


The Marksmith
by C.V. Dressman

Deep within the wrinkled folds of time, an unjust act by a just king brought about the desolation of a kingdom. For an age the secret of that discarded sin has lain chained beneath a sea of sand. Now, as a shadow seeps from the festering land and hope fades into the world of dreams, no secrets shall remain.
Crone has long been a thrall. He has long desired freedom. When the whispered words of a dream compel him to act upon desire, the archer Crone and his companions find themselves pawns in an unfinished game for power.
Hunted by the empire he defied and dark forces intent on keeping the secret of Divine Sin sequestered, Crone must choose his fate. It may well shatter the spirit of friends and burn the soul of an entire world to ash...for in the gathering storm of war, the Marksmith learns that freedom may be the harshest master of all.



**1/2
2 1/2 Stars

About half way through this book I started to get the feeling that this book was birthed from short entries written when the author found the time. Now I'm not sure if this is what really happened, it just seemed like it.

Everything seems to be told in spurts. A few paragraphs here talking about one thing, and marker to separate everything than a few more paragraphs talking about thing else, or just fast forward in the future some. Having the story told this way made the characters very one dimensional. I had a hard time finding any reason to like anyone because I never got the chance to really know them. Reading a book like this is hard, if you don't care for the characters you don't care about what they are up to.

I also found myself confused a lot. Not really sure of everything that was going on. There seemed to also be a lot of pointless sex going on. . .but at least this was tastefully done. It is in no way anywhere close to an erotica, and I was happy about that.

The concept of the book was good, though I found myself not really liking the characters to much after a while the plot was good. I am a sucker for quests like Crone found himself on. But I still found myself confused a lot during the entire read, like the test that Crone goes through at one point in the book had me scratching my head wondering what the hell was going on.  The ending was interesting, didn't see a lot of it coming so that was nice.

The book is told from a few different point of views, this is something I really love, and it was done well. I could easily figure out who was who. This at least made me very happy.

I'm not one that usually complains about grammar or editing issues, because really how am I to point these things out when I am horrible with them myself. But there are a lot of very glaring issues the farther you get into the book. Words not capitalized at the beginning of a sentence, or the one I found the most instead of had it would be hand. A quick go through and these things can get cleaned up nicely.

Would I recommend this book? Eh, its a maybe. . .it would really depend on the person. The author has talent, I'll give him that, he just needs to work on his character development and a few other things.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Review: Waiting for Daybreak


Waiting for Daybreak
by Amanda McNeil

What is normal?

Frieda has never felt normal. She feels every emotion too strongly and lashes out at herself in punishment. But one day when she stays home from work too depressed to get out of bed, a virus breaks out turning her neighbors into flesh-eating, brain-hungry zombies. As her survival instinct kicks in keeping her safe from the zombies, Frieda can’t help but wonder if she now counts as healthy and normal, or is she still abnormal compared to every other human being who is craving brains?








****
4 Stars

I'm not to sure how I feel about this book. I liked it a lot, and found a lot of parts humorous even knowing that they probably weren't suppose to be. But I'm that jerk that laughs when you fall so I find a lot of things in life funny when others don't.

I have to start of with my biggest complaint. The zombies. I'm pretty strict about my zombies, and in all can say that I'm a lover of the classic kind, I can handle some runners thrown in but for the most part I want my zombies dumb and slow. Here I wasn't sure what to think of them, and honestly liked how Frieda was calling them the Afflicted, because I started to think of them as "zombie like creatures". They liked to eat brains, but hey they talked and you know could open doors and stuff if they were up to it. But as soon as the "Z" word came out I didn't like it, not one bit. Every time I saw the word zombie, I just made it into the word Afflicted. If I hadn't done that I would have really started to not like the book and it is a good book so I didn't want that to happen. I'm just strange when it comes to my zombies. 

The story itself isn't your classic survivor story. Sure there is plenty about her scavenging stuff to live, and some close calls, but other than that not like any zombie story I have read before. Frieda is really a piece of work, and I can honestly see how see was able to survive. I mean if you have to convince yourself everyday of your life not to panic over things, it turns out pretty much the same when you can see your neighbor hood going to hell.

I can say I expected Mike to show up eventually, I also guessed correct as to when he would make his appearance. It made sense to me that a hot man would show up eventually. What I didn't except was him being just as emotionally damaged as Frieda, and all that before the end of the world came. I can't say I really like how they interacted with each other though. 

Snuggles. . .you my feline friend were a very nice touch. I love cats.

I didn't see the end coming at all, I seen some form of it. . .cause you know it is a zombie book and all, but just not the way it did. It is nice to be surprised when reading a zombie book, there are only so many ways they can go and to see someone throw a little bit of a curve ball in there is nice.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you like zombie books you should like this one. Its a quick and easy read as well.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Blog Tour: The Escape - Spotlight


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The Escape
by Amber Fast

When tragedy strikes the life of twenty one year old Annabelle Martin the only thing she knows to do is run. She takes her best friend Harper Reed and moves to a small town in Tennessee. The two began starting a new life in the country not expecting to fall in love. When Anna met Paisley he was everything she had ever wanted in a man, Harper fell for his best friend Ryder and life was perfect for them, until something terrible happens. Will Anna ever get to experience her happily ever after or will the tragedy of her past haunt her forever?

Book Links:



Excerpt:

The sound of the highway was all I could hear, it’s all I wanted to hear. I was going to run and, never look back. I couldn’t look back, not now. The events that recently took place in my life will forever haunt me. I was going to the country and I would never return to New York. I was lost in thought and enjoying the quiet that I hadn’t heard in days when I hear Harper singing along to Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. Boy if she only knew the notes she hit could make dogs bark. I let out a little giggle and reached over to pull the headphones out of my best friend’s ears.
“We're almost there Harp!” Harper sat straight up in her seat pouncing up and down.
“I am so excited Anna! A new life, a new start, and I know it’s going to be hard for you, but were going to make the best of it!”
I sat there in silence for the next couple of miles. All I was seeing were flashes of a nightmare I was hoping to forget. As we pulled into the Union Station Hotel all me and Harper could do was look at each other and smile in utter shock. It was beautiful!
“Damn Annabelle you went all out didn’t you?” Harper said with a huge smile as she jumped out of the jeep.
“Well it’s going to be home until we can find a place to buy, might as well make it a nice one,” I said with a smile.
We opened the door to the suite and I’d swear Harper was going to have a flat out panic attack. “Anna, oh my gosh, this is amazing, look at the bathroom, the beds and oh my gosh look at the view of Nashville. I don’t know about you, but I am in Heaven.”
I gave my best friend a smile. “I’m glad you love it.” I knew she would. I wanted to be excited, but given the circumstances of me being here to begin with I found it hard to be happy.
Harper must have sensed the hurt in my voice, she walked over to me as I sat on the bed. “Oh Anna how could I be so insensitive? I know you hurt so badly, and I wish more than anything I could take it all away sweets.” Man I loved my best friend I don’t know what I would do without her.
“I’ll be fine harp,” I smiled as I stood up. “I’m ready for a bath and bed, lots of house hunting to do tomorrow!”
As I walked to the bathroom, Harper jumped up, and with a giggled shouted, “And maybe some country boys!” I looked back gave her a wink and shut the bathroom door.
I laid in the tub and just let the jets beat on my back as I tried to relax. I can't help but replay that vision in my head over and over again. Oh how I wished I could just stay here in this tub and never get out. I was sure that I would never heal. I would never be the old Annabelle Martin. The care free one that never had a worry, captain of the volleyball team, more friends than I could count girl. I had to start a new life, and become a new me that's the only way I knew to move on and try to forget my past.
When I came out of the bathroom I could hear Harper on her cell. “Yes mom we’re fine. This is what Anna needs, and I'm going to be here to help her through it” Just then she noticed me standing there. “OK mom, Anna is out of the tub I have to go, love you,” she clicked the end call on her phone. “Oh my gosh Anna, that woman makes me nuts! Anyway get dressed and all dolled up I’m going to jump I the shower then we are going out!”
I looked at Harper I knew she was only trying to have a good time, and take my mind off things, but not tonight I just couldn’t do it. “Harp I was kind of hoping we could order a ton of room service, stuff our face, watch movies and maybe Google some local real estate agents tonight. Would that be OK?” Harper let out a huge smile.
“I would so rather stuff my face with my best friend. Sounds great sweets I’ll be right out.”
I waited until I heard water running, and ran out on the balcony to catch my breath, I knelt down against the glass doors, and the tears started to pour. “Why me? Why did I have to be the one this happened to? I had such a wonderful life back in NY until it was all taken away from me. What did my family ever do to deserve this?” I sat and let the tears flow until I thought they couldn’t come any more. I heard Harper come out of the bathroom and quickly wiped my face and went in. “OK sweets you ready for a movie? Magic Mikes on. I know how you love that Matthew McConaughey, and well I’ll just keep my eyes on Mr. Tatum,” she giggled. I couldn’t help but giggle back after all she is right I love that Mr. McConaughey. We ordered room service, stuffed our faces, and watched some movies before drifting off to sleep.
I'm sweating, screaming, and throwing my hands. “No this can't be real no! No!” I screamed. I then felt the familiar touch of my best friend.
“Anna sweets are you OK? You must have been having a nightmare.”
“No Harp. No I'm not. It's real, it's all real.” I threw my head in Harper’s arms and sobbed.

About the Author:

1097490_607566049265653_2003693262_nMy name is Amber Fast I call West Virginia home. I have four amazing kiddos. Payten, Hannah, Landen & Izabella. I married my best friend on 11/11/11. I have a passion for writing and singing. My first book called "The Escape" was published on August 13th 2013. I am currently working on my second book titled "The Million Dollar Affair" I read all different genres but I write Erotica Romance :)


Author Links:

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Review: The Book of the Forsaken

The Book of the Forsaken
by Yannis Karatsioris

An ancient being, our storyteller, traps three characters in his web in order to get hold of a special book. Daniel, Cassidy and Igor are three unique individuals, considered outcasts for different reasons. They are about to meet and stick together, as coincidences and forced situations lead them to a journey all around Europe. As everyone is after the Book of the Forsaken, the coming Game is about to take place on the dark side of the moon. But there is a cost to that knowledge. Let alone to the wish to partake.










***
3 Stars

I can’t say that I loved this book, but at the same time I also didn’t hate it. I’m floating somewhere in the middle still not sure exactly what to think about everything.

I found myself pretty confused a lot of the time, being as the book is told from quite a few different point of views. This isn’t, in my opinion done very well. You get a taste for each “puppet” at the beginning of the book so I was able to figure out who was who after a while, but every now and again I was thrown through a loop as to who I was following. . .this is a pet peeve of mine so I can understand that I might be the only one out there that is would bother.

I think the thing that got me off the love boat of this book is that I felt more like the story was being dictated to me, which I understand is the point. But I personally like to feel like I’m a shadow following the different players around, with the ability to read minds at times. I like to feel like I’m part of the story, here I felt like I was being told everything and it just didn’t mash well for me.

I did find myself liking Cassidy, mainly because of the way he just gave nicknames to everyone.

Other than that it was an interesting concept, if not confusing at times and I can say that I’m not entirely sure exactly what was happening. I did also like the different powers each one of given, though had a hard time understanding how they got them.

I also really liked how it was told as different parts where everyone met up with each other. Especially in the beginning when the actions of one made things work well for another.

Would I recommend this book? I feel like this book is one that only certain people will love. Personally I can say I’m not too interested in reading more, but can see how others will like it.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Review: As the World Dies: The First Days


As the World Dies: The First Days
by Rhiannon Frater

The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde. 

Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni’s stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.

They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town.  There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form.  

Fast-paced and exciting, filled with characters who grab your heart, The First Days: As the World Dies is the beginning of a frightening trilogy. 


*****
5 Stars

This is one of the best zombie books I have ever read. This is the third time I have read it and each time I find myself liking it even more than the first. I figured it was about time I finally wrote a review for it.

The thing that I like the best about this book is the fact that nothing is sugar coated. Things are going to happen and you are not going to like them. Every other book I have ever read never once took into account that adults are not the only zombies out there, because there are children zombies it makes it seem more read to me, the only ever zombie thing that has done this is the TV series The Walking Dead. Its sad, but a sad fact of what would really happen if something like this ever really did happen. There is gore but it isn't enough to make your stomach turn, just enough to get the point across.  

The story itself is petty much like any other zombie book out there, the survivors trying their hardest to make it through life. Things seem more intense because you honestly never know if one of the characters you have grown to like is going to make it.

I like how things moved in the way they did. And the way everyone pulled together to make "the fort" what it was. I also liked the added elements of inner turmoil as well. Not everyone can get a long with everyone and it was nice to see that this is shown. It wasn't just a bunch of people living in harmony with each other. 

Jenni is hands down my favorite character, and to me her story is the saddest. She is insane but at the same time completely amazing. I looked forward to when things would be told from her point of view. Katie started to get on my nerves after a while, but at the same time I could understand what she was going though so I was able to put up with her.

The only thing I didn't like was the format, but honestly the copy of the book I have is old so I can't say if it is something that has gotten fixed at this point, so it won't get a bad mark from me. 

Would I recommend this book? Hell yeah, if you like zombie books you will love this one.

On a side note, I seen that the book has quite a few different covers. The one I put up here is the one that my copy came with, and its the one I like the best. If you look for this book on Amazon it will show a different cover so don't be confused by this.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Author Interview with Chad Huskins

I've had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite authors of this year. I stumbled upon Chad Huskins by complete accident, and let me tell you it was one of the best things to happening. It's not very often that I get so caught up in a series that I find myself re reading it for no other reason than just because. He is one of those authors that I want to shout about on a street corner to get people to read his work. But since I would probably get in trouble if I started doing that I settled for an interview, as well as book reviews to make me happy.

I have to say this series isn't for the faint of heart. Its not necessarily scary, at least not classic scary, more of the "Holy shit this stuff really happens" scary. It made me as a parent want to grab both my kids and attach them to my side so that I would never have to even think that something like this could happen to them, especially after reading the first book. Having gotten that out of the way I still think everyone should pick these books up and read them, because even if its not something you generally like to read its a real eye opener on certain things, as well as filled with the most unique characters you will ever come across. I'm an avid reader, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't have my nose stuck in some book and I can say I have never in my life read about any characters that come close to being how Spencer, Kaley and Shan are in these books.

Time to get to the good part. . .


-When and why did you start writing?

"I was thirteen or fourteen years old when I started writing.  It came on the heels of my reading Sphere by Michael Crichton.  Sometime between then and reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I thought, “I want to do this.”
I have my friend Doug Cline to thank for that.  It was during one summer vacation where he was leaving for a while, off to some family trip or other, and for me that was like prison.  I mean, as a kid you can’t drive, so being stuck at home all summer while friends are off doing other things…it’s miserable.  So when I asked him what the heck I was supposed to do while he was gone, he picked up a random book lying beside his bed and threw it at me, and said, “Here, read a book.”  It was meant as a total joke.  Another friend of ours, Shane Weiman, had given him the book after he was finished, and Doug just tossed it off to me.  I don’t know why it appealed to me, but I thought, “Hey, yeah, I’ve never read a book, not a long novel or anything, so I’ll give it a try.”  I’ve read it a dozen times now and still have that copy. 
I also always kind of knew I would do something in the arts.  You just kind of know it, you know?  Like, I was either going to be an actor or a writer or a standup comedian, something.  There’s just no way for me to work the rest of my life as an accountant or lawyer or doctor.  More power to people who do that, it’s just not me.  Even though I research all those jobs for my writing and find them all very fascinating, I just could never do them on a daily basis.  It would drive me to jump out a window. 
I knew that I would be involved in stories since I was a kid—I was obsessed with the stories of things, the background on how it all was made.  Everything from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to X-Men to Star Wars.  I wanted to be a part of that somehow, I wanted to contribute.  The obsession only got worse as I got older and read more books."

-What is the hardest part of writing a book for you?

"I have the opposite problem of most writers.  Most writers will talk about writer’s block, or not having enough time.  Well, I make time, and I never get writer’s block.  In fact, if you’ll excuse the expression, I have writer’s diarrhea.  The ideas just won’t stop coming out, and I’m rushing to get them on paper.  I end up opening multiple files on my computer to handle it and jot it all down, and then I start finding books online or at the bookstore that can help me with the research."

-What do you think is the best part of writing a book?

"Best part?  It’s gonna sound dumb, but it’s the truth.  The best part of writing a book is the writing of a book.  I’m kind of disappointed when it’s all over with.  You know, it’s like, it was a fun ride, I made all sorts of new friends—the fictitious ones that I made up, of course—and I vanquished a terrible enemy, but even an enemy can be missed. 
Creation is cathartic in so many ways.  I’ve read that when you do anything repeatedly, no matter what it is, it is meditation.  As long as you enjoy it, that is.  Sewing, fishing, writing, baking.  As long as you enjoy it and do it repeatedly, you get into the “zone” and your mind goes off someplace else.  You’re both there and not there.  Bruce Lee talked about this in martial arts, but he wasn’t the first by far.  He said a fighter is “not thinking, yet not dreaming, either.”  I’ve done martial arts for thirteen years now and can say you definitely get into that state.  Everyone else is looking at a writer toiling away, or a martial artist getting abused, or someone who habitually sews, and they ask, “Jesus, why do that to yourself?”  And we’re like, “Do what?  Are you insane?  This is fun!  I’m in the zone here!  I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!”

-In your opinion what makes a good story?

"I think most people would say characters, and I would agree with them.  Even the really best books that have no humans in them whatsoever, such as The World Without Us by Alan Weisman—which is a really good book, by the way—you find that much of the landscape is personified as characters.  Descriptions like “the Golden Gate Bridge moans loudly in the wind”: the moaning indicates that the bridge is a person in agony, and lamenting its neglect.  And in that book, even the readers themselves are kind of a character, sort of like ghosts viewing the world they’ve left behind as the author details what would happen to the world if humans just vanished or died out suddenly. 
My point is, you can’t get away from character.  It’s the crux of anything.  It’s their struggle you’re dealing with and what the readers want to know about.  It’s not about will the bomb go off or not, it’s about what will happen to the character if it does.  Will he or she die?  Even if they live, will they always blame themselves for not getting there in time?  In the end, you’re reading about a person.  You’re vicariously living through them, and therefore making yourself a participant.  Characters are so central because it’s the only way to invite the reader in and make them a character, as well."

-What made you want to write a book about a psychopath?

"Well, as I said, I couldn’t be a doctor or a psychologist, but I sure do love reading books about those professions.  I’m an “armchair psychologist,” I have no degrees or even an ounce of training, but I do buy and own psychology books.  So eventually I came across the topic of psychopaths, and just like I suspect most psychology students did, I found them interesting.  How can you not?  They don’t feel anything, and since they don’t feel anything, they don’t really believe that you can feel anything, either.  I wondered, “What must that be like?” 
Like I say in the book, it’s like convincing a blind man that there is such thing as the color red—he can take your word for it, but he can’t connect with it, at least not the way that you can.  They say that blind people can sense the heat off certain things and tell you what color something is: well, that’s analogous to how a psychopath tries to determine emotions in others.  They can’t sense motions or feel them, so he or she has to synthesize them in order to play the game—and that’s actually what pretty much all of them believe, that since they can’t feel something, neither can you, and therefore you’re just playing a game.  And the psychopath is determined to play the game better to get ahead. 
Interestingly, though, most psychopaths never kill.  It’s emotional people like you or me or most of the people reading this that kill.  Emotional people do it in a moment of passion.  Psychopaths are good at emotionally manipulating people and rarely have to resort to that sort of violence, and the scary part is that they’re more likely to be someone you trust implicitly, that smiling sweetheart that you couldn’t imagine would hurt a fly. 
An interesting misconception about psychopaths is that they’re crazy.  Psychopaths aren’t crazy or stupid.  In fact, they’re usually quite intelligent and aware of themselves, and, worst of all, quite cunning.  They’re manipulative and they’ll use this skill to their advantage. 
However—and this is a big however—because of all the things I’ve just said, their intelligence and emotional disconnect and whatnot, when psychopaths do kill, it’s not unusual for them to be exceedingly good at it.  They’re just so calm that they make few mistakes, because they calmly planned ahead, and in the aftermath they go over everything with a fine-toothed comb, get their story straight, line up an alibi, and if taken into interrogation they are able to calmly spew out the lies and misdirections to confuse authorities. 
For all these reasons I thought it would be interesting to have a psychopath be an unexpected protagonist—I hesitate to say “hero” or even “anti-hero” because Spencer’s not either of those things.  He’s a villain, through and through, with absolutely no redeemable qualities.  And yet the readers root for him.  I set out to do that, and that’s the number one compliment I hear from people, that they found themselves rooting for a monster.  Mission accomplished, I guess."

-What kind of research did you have to put into this book?

"A lot!  But I enjoy research so it’s never been a burden for me.  In fact, research is kind of my hobby, and it’s usually out of this research that a story idea emerges.  I mean, I had read so much about psychopaths, human trafficking, and how Interpol was helping to break down on trafficking and child exploitation internationally, that eventually all these dark things started to coalesce into a story.  All these hidden things that everybody is disgusted by and nobody wants to talk about, which is understandable because it is so disgusting."

-It always makes me feel a little guilty for liking Spencer, but how did he come to be?

"Well, as I said before, I was interested in including a psychopath because that’s as dark a topic as human trafficking or the exploitation of children.  But as for his character specifically, like his crazed philosophy on darkness and coldness…well, I have to be honest and say that I didn’t know how to write a psychopath since I don’t know any, at least none that I’m aware of, so I just took thoughts that I’d had in my youth at their most bleak and intense—you know, those thoughts you feel when the world starts looking all phony and it doesn’t seem as though any adult is actually ever genuine with you?—then I took those thoughts two steps darker and made that Spencer’s overall philosophy. 
Spencer is a “positive nihilist.”  He believes that nothing we do has any meaning, therefore the only thing that has any meaning is what we do.  In other words, since you are doing something at any given moment, you are imbuing that moment with a purpose, and that’s both the beauty and the tragedy of life.  To Spencer, that alone gives your actions meaning.  Regardless of whether or not there is a God or a Heaven or a Hell, it doesn’t matter.  He doesn’t care about any Divine Plan that God may have, if there is one.  I think that Spencer sees the existence of a Divine Plan for you or me as meaningless as he would find a father who has already decided that you’re going to grow up and become a lawyer like him.  You have the right to buck him, even if he did give you life. 
For Spencer, this means the universe is his playground, and he needn’t ever feel guilty for doing what he wants in it.  As he says in the book to one of the girls, “If there is a God, then how could someone like me exist?  He either doesn’t exist, or else He’s an absentee landlord.” 
He’s a complex character, who, in his early criminal career, was taken under the wing of a man named Hoyt Graeber, who Spencer dubbed the Great Criminal Philosopher, a man who taught him all about auto theft, chop shops, drug running, and, inadvertently, added to Spencer’s misanthropy and “positive nihilism.” 
So, if you find yourself guilty for liking Spencer, don’t worry, you’re not alone.  Everybody that’s read it so far has said that.  I think it’s due to many things: he’s the somewhat lesser of two evils—well, three evils—and even though he’s only trying to save Kaley and Shannon to get even with the people who took them, he is still trying to rescue them, which for some is close enough to a hero. 
I also think people just like his weirdness, his nihilistic attitude that allows him to do whatever the hell he wants and feel no guilt about it at all.  I think that’s a dark desire in all of us, just to do whatever we want.  It doesn’t mean we’re all Spencer Pelletier, it just means we like to visit his headspace from time to time.  Before, I said writing is cathartic.  I think reading is, also.  Spencer Pelletier is kind of cathartic. 
Oh yeah, he also rips dangerous people apart with sadistic glee, and shoots human and supernatural monsters with equal indifference.  He’s supremely unimpressed by your goals in life, or the goals of the things living in the Deep, and only means to take what he wants out of life.  To be that fearless of enemies and driven to succeed is every person’s dream."

-Was it hard to write out Kaley and Shan’s story, especially in the first book?

"At times it could be, and for various reasons.  First of all, I was a thirty-one-year-old man when writing it, and I have no idea what it’s like to be an eleven-year-old girl, or to have a sister, or to grow up in a place like the Bluff in Atlanta with a meth-head for a mother.  So yeah, that was challenging. 
However, I have unfortunately been around people with those kinds of problems before, both friends and family, and I’ve seen what it did to them as children.  I’ve seen brothers and sisters sticking together in order to survive their parents’ neglect, and I’ve seen many of them repeat their parents’ behavior.  The vicious cycle, and all that.  So, there was something to draw from there. 
Now, as for what the two girls go through in the book…yeah, I did have difficulty writing about what they went through, but I wanted to underscore that this world we live in has as much horror as beauty, and I also wanted to show that it’s possible to survive this kind of trauma. 
I remembered that when Sylvester Stallone said they were making the first Rambo movie, the ending was supposed to be that Rambo forces the Colonel to kill him.  They even filmed it, but at the last minute Stallone bucked the idea, saying that since the whole movie was about veterans returning from war and being mistreated, that the moral of the story would be that the only way out was for them to die.  He didn’t like that.  He said he wanted to show the veterans that watched the movie that it is possible to survive post-traumatic stress, it is possible to get on with life without killing yourself or succumbing to the same darkness that traumatized you. 
I wanted to show that no matter what these girls went through, they could survive.  They became my heroes, and they proved to me that together they could survive anything.  It convinced me that I could survive anything.  Again, writing being cathartic."

-When you first started writing Psycho Save Us did you ever imagine you would end it in the way you did?

"Kind of.  For most writers, I think the story is always in flux, and the change of what appears to be a relatively minor detail along the way could cause huge and sometimes devastating changes later on. 
I typically have an ending in mind, but it’s kind of amorphous, like I’m looking at it through a fog.  It’s not until I start writing that the fog begins to lift, and I say, “Aha!  Of course, there’s my ending.”

-In both books you take things that most people pretend don’t exist and masterfully weave a story of horror and pain out of it.  Did you ever expect to write books like this?

"No, not at all.  I’ve mostly written science fiction and “world-building” epic fantasy stuff, like Game of Thrones.  I actually started off writing lighter, funnier stuff like Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s series, then I slowly transitioned into sci-fi after I became fascinated more and more with science, space, and technology. 
The genesis for Psycho Save Us started some ten or fifteen years ago when I was walking through my living room and my dad was watching TV.  There were two African-American girls missing from Atlanta, and their pictures were on the news.  I remember thinking, “I’m about to go off and play some video games, and they’re out there being tortured, maybe murdered.”  I remember thinking that the only thing preventing them from rescue was just one thing, just one piece of information: an address.  It stuck with me for years.  I remember thinking that if the girl’s had telepathy, even just enough to contact one person, they’d be rescued. 
I never found out what happened to those girls.  I don’t know if they were found alive or dead or not at all.  But I still think about those girls, and wonder if they’re okay.  I guess thoughts like that have to be placed somewhere, and a writer’s best place is to put them into a story.  Exorcise the demons and whatnot, and hopefully find some meaning out of it all, or at least call everyone else’s attention to it.  Sometimes I think that’s all writing is, just waving your hands around trying to call someone’s attention to a simple idea, or a cause you’re passionate about, or a notion you feel people haven’t thought enough about."

-You have two books out in the Psycho series, are you working on a third one, and if so, when can we expect to see it hitting the shelves?

"Yes, the third book is called Psycho Redeem Us, and it will wrap up the Spencer/Kaley/Shannon story and their bout with the Prisoner, the Others, and all other weirdness that lives in the Deep.  You can probably expect that out in two to three months.  I’m actually wrapping up the first draft now and sending it to my editor soon.  Kirkus Reviews has chimed in on Psycho Save Us, and they’ve giving it a great review, so that’s pretty exciting. 
I’ve also written a dark sci-fi book called The Phantom in the Deep, which is getting some good reviews in now.  That’s set in the future, and it’s about the lone human survivor of an alien holocaust living in an asteroid field in the far end of the Milky Way, making his last stand." 

-Can you tell us a little about or give a synopsis of Psycho Redeem Us?


"I can say that it completes a "trilogy", in that it wraps up the story I've been building since the first once, but that doesn't mean these characters are completely finished.  The third book ties everything together, reveals who and what the Prisoner is, as well as the Others and the Deep in which they dwell.  It also gives insight as to why the girls and Spencer were inadvertently pulled into this colossally horrific scenario. 
Thank you so much for letting me chat with you.  This was a lot of fun." 

So as you can see there is a lot to these books. I can honestly say I'm just about crawling out of my skin waiting for Psycho Redeem Us to come out. I just really need to know how the story is going to end, but I also don't want the story to end either.

I can also say part of my love for these books stems from the way a psychopaths mind works. Really I have had some what of a off handed interest in this stuff for a few years. I would never say I was an expert in it but it is very clear in the writing that Chad did his research for this.

Time for the reviews, if you find that you need to read these books at this point just click on the title of the book and it will zip you on over to its Amazon page, I do these things because I love you. . .but also because I want you to read these books.






Two young girls with a gift for telepathy are abducted off the streets of Atlanta by vicious human traffickers, and their only help may be Spencer Pelletier, a psychopath recently escaped from prison, in this latest gripping horror-thriller from Chad Huskins.



*****
5 Stars



Wow.

I can't make myself write a synopsis of this book because it wouldn't do it any justice. Reading this book was like seeing a car accident and not being able to look away. It was sick and twisted and disturbing but I couldn't make myself stop reading it. I needed to know what the out come would be. And it almost feels wrong saying it was a good book because it was so messed up, but it was, it was one of the best books I have read this year. I felt for all the characters, was saddened by the fact that there are people like Spencer running around for real, and to know what Kaley and her sister Shan went through is something that really happens.

If there was any editing or grammar errors my brain didn't register them at all. I was so drawn in by what these poor girls where going through that I couldn't notice anything else.

The book was told from multiple points of view and they all flowed together seamlessly. You were never left floundering.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, as sad as this book is, it also puts into perspective the things you try to not notice that are all around us all the time.







Psycho Within Us continues the chilling tale of the Dupré sisters, along with the psychopathic Spencer Pelletier, as he hunts down members of the Russian mob. Kaley and her sister Shannon are trying to piece back together their lives, but once again find themselves drawn into the pain and madness of Spencer's mind. But is it his doing? Or is there something darker lurking between worlds? A Prisoner searching for cracks in his cell.



*****
5 Stars

This book is pretty intense, so many different things are thrown at you. In the back of my mind I knew that what I was reading is considered fiction with a splash of fantasy thrown in, but I just couldn't get over the fact that a lot of the things mentioned and seen are things that actually happen. It has the same feel as the first book to me. . .like seeing a car crash and knowing I should look away before I saw something I really didn't want to but at the same time not being able to take my eyes off of it. 

Spencer was a seriously messed up person, but at the same time I couldn't help but like him and root for him and hope that things would work out and he would make it to the end alive. It almost makes me feel like I'm a bad person, but at the same time I got the feeling that just maybe there is something deep inside of him that is doing what is he doing for more then selfish reasons and that in his own twisted way cares about Kaley and respects her just enough. That we really aren't seeing the entire picture when it comes to him.

Kaley. . .I don't even know where to start with her. She feels like she is constantly changing while trying her hardest to hold onto the things that make her who she is. Her story is a sad one, and you almost feel at times shes going to fail and just give up, but she always pulls through somehow and has an amazing inner strength.

Everything is told from many different point of views, and this is once again done amazingly. You hear from different people that are all moving in the same direction and experiencing different things that all affect each other in different ways. It all twines together seamlessly. 

If anything I feel like this book was more gruesome then the first one. In the first one you are exposed to something horrible and in this one you see what being exposed to that horribleness can do to a person. You see the way kids can be cruel to each other just to make themselves feel better. What a little girl will do to try and save the things that matter to her. Its like looking at the underside of life the dark part of things that we all pretend aren't really there. 

The one thing I want to learn more about is Kaley and Shannons "charm" I want to know how it works and what exactly the others are. I got just enough to want to learn more about them. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes, both of these books are amazing in their own ways. I will be waiting to hear more from the Psycho Series.


Clearly I really love these books, which I'm sure I mentioned somewhere earlier, or you just guessed. When Chad came to me about the interviews I know I walked around with a huge smile on my face, and I'm pretty sure I called my husband at work and said "Oh my God!" about thirty times before I even got to telling him why I freaking out.

An interesting tid bit (really its kinda pointless), I don't often read out loud parts of books to my husband but sometimes I need to share why I'm smiling like an idiot or why I just laughed and sacred the cat. Like I said I have just re read these books and in the second one, Psycho Within Us, there was a part that I needed to read to my husband, honestly I probably shouldn't have laughed at it but I'm that person that laughs at you when you fall, but anyway I get his attention and read it to him and of course look up with bright eyes waiting for his reaction and he just turns to me and says "You read this to me the last time you read that book." Needless to say it was a let down on my part. I didn't get the reaction I wanted from him, but hey it must have been some awesomesauce if I read it out loud twice to my husband, who hates to read by the way.

Well that is all I got in me for now, if you find yourself interested in these books you should really check them out, or put them on your to read list. They are great reads and you won't regret it.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Review: The Queen's Blade (Book 1 of The Queen Blade Series)


The Queen's Blade (Book 1 of The Queen Blade Series)
by T.C. Southwell

A doomed kingdom, a young queen’s sacrifice and a killer who will bring an empire to its knees...

In a world where men share kindred with beasts, the Idol of the Beasts predicts a child who will end the Endless War after centuries of strife, but first the enemy king must die and his son be brought to the Jashimari Queen in chains…

After numerous failed attempts, killing King Shandor seems impossible, until an assassin offers to do the deed. His success places the Crown Prince at Queen Minna-Satu’s mercy, and Blade becomes the instrument of her wrath. Forged in the fires of fury, his heart died long ago in the desert kingdom. His glance is as icy as his smile is disarming, and the fires of passion will never stir his blood. He is the Master of the Dance in Jondar, the best to ever hold the title. 

Driven by hatred and with the skills of his trade, he will usher in a time of strife and pain that will live in legend, and forever bear his name. He is the instrument who can change fate. He is the Queen’s Blade.


****
4 Stars

I had to sit down and really think about why I liked this book so much. After much thought, with some sleep in between it came down to the fact that Blade, the assassin in the book, wasn't untouchable. Most books with assassins in them have them being totally untouchable, and if they did get hurt they played if off as if it was nothing. It was nice to read a book about someone that yes could kill you in your sleep, but couldn't hold his own in a bar fight.

I also really liked the concept of the familiars, I really enjoyed how when someone was described they looked some what like what ever familiar they had. Sometimes it was fun for me to try and figure out what the familiar was before being told just from the description on the person being talked about.

The story itself went in a completely different direction than I thought it was going to go in. I wouldn't have guessed at half of took place in it. And yes after a while I was able to figure certain things out, but something else would pop up to surprise me a few chapters later.

Its told from many different point of views. I can't say if there was someones head we were in more than another, everyone was pretty equal in this. Though I can say I liked being in Blades head more than anyone elses, though the Queen was a close second. 

If I had to pick one thing I really just didn't like it would be the way the book ended. All the lose ends seemed tied up, at least the important ones, and the ones that weren't I didn't expect to get anything from this book. But anyway I feel unsatisfied with the way it ended in general, the book was good enough for it to end a different way and still get readers to come back for the second one. Its hard to explain this without giving something away. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I have recommend it before and I will keep recommending it.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Review: The Lady Astronomer


The Lady Astronomer
by Katy O'Dowd

Lucretia's life as an astronomer is quickly turned on its head by her eldest brother when he is commanded by the king to build the grandest telescope in the land. Her nights spent on rooftops gazing at the stars are replaced by adventure as the family move to be nearer the king. In a race to build the Forty-foot telescope on time, misfortunes take their toll. The lady astronomer finds court life to be more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Can she find the strength inside to overcome the obstacles threatening her destiny? Only the stars will tell.








****
4 Stars

If I had to pick one word to describe this book it would be whimsical. The very first chapter of this book is told from the strangest point of view. Pretty much everything that happens has an almost playful feel to it, like I can't take it seriously, though that line of thought doesn't last forever.

I get into little groves when I read, depending on the feel of the book is how I end up reading it. I read this one really fast because to me whenever anyone talked to someone it seemed that they would have been talking really fast to me. And that they just moved at a very high pace. I can't say why it seemed this way to me, but I really just pictured everyone walking really fast while they talked even faster. 

I'm tempted to call this book silly, but doing that would take to much away from it. It isn't necessary the most serious read you will come across, and a lot that happens is just plain strange but for the most part there is just this under laying feeling that you have to keep reading this book. It made me smile, a lot, and you know I came very close to shedding a few tears as well. Its not everyday that a book and evoke such strong emotions out of me.

I don't feel like there was really a point to the book, more that the author sat down and just wrote what ever came to mind. But it works really well. I'm honestly having a very hard time writing a review for this book, mainly because it was a good read, but I can't really say exactly what it was about the book that I liked so much.

I can say that I didn't like how everyone was a Mr. or Mrs. K, or some other letter. It made it very hard to keep track of who was who.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you are looking for a quick fun read this would be a good one to pick up.
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