Monthly Archives: September 2017
Meritopia by Joel Ohman #Review
In this thrilling conclusion to the bestselling Meritropolis trilogy, Charley and company chase the Czar to Meritopia, a utopian city set among celestial heights in the mountains. Just to get near the city, Charley will have to brave terrifying new animal combos roaming wild among the stark wilderness, and if he succeeds in summiting the peak, there’s no assurances that he will even be able to gain access. Meritopia might deign to be a perfect society based on merit, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s invited. But Charley’s not the kind of person who waits for an invitation to do what needs to be done and this is his last chance to zero the System and avenge his brother’s death.
Interview with the Author
Q – What or who was your inspiration to write in this genre?
I’ve read a lot in the YA dystopian genre so I would say it’s a mix of a lot of different things. I really just wanted to explore this question of, “What gives a person their worth?” Is it their usefulness to society? Is it because someone loves them? Is it because of how they look? Is it because of their health or ability? As a Christian, I believe that everyone has worth because they are made in the image of God so I wanted to explore some different takes on this question. I think that the post-apocalyptic/dystopian/scifi-ish genre was the best vehicle to tackle some of those deep philosophical questions in a fun and interesting way.
Q – Okay, so you’re a Christian… Well, I don’t like reading Christian fiction so interview’s over, I guess—
Not so fast. I am a Christian, but this is most definitely NOT Christian fiction, at least in the technical sense. There are certainly some Christian themes like courage in the face of evil, grace to love and forgive even when someone doesn’t deserve it, and the biggest themes of identity and worth, the value of a person, as mentioned above, and it’s a very CLEAN book, which a lot of parents have told me they really appreciate. That being said, this is very much a secular young adult dystopian fiction series, and one that I think hits a lot of the tropes and conventions in the genre, but in some new and interesting ways that might just surprise you. For those who care to look there are also some deeper philosophical underpinnings floating just below the surface of a book that is almost pure action. Just wait until you meet Charley, he’s more of an “act first, think later” type of person, if you know what I mean—in other words, your typical teenage boy…
Q – Are there any books that have inspired you at any time while you’ve been writing?
I read a LOT in many different genres so there are many different things that have shaped my writing over the years, but I wouldn’t say there was any one particular book, or books, that I was consciously looking to for inspiration while writing Meritropolis. Looking back though I can definitely see different threads of influence in almost everything I have read over the years that contribute to make Meritropolis what it is: the strong protagonist of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, the philosophical bent of C.S. Lewis’ fiction where there are layers upon layers of meaning, the bleak dystopian setting of Hugh Howey’s WOOL series, and many more.
Q – Where can we learn more about you and your other books?
If you visit my website at JoelOhman.com, I’ve currently got some free Kindle eBooks that I’m giving away to everyone who subscribes to my newsletter.
In book 3 of this awesome series Charlie and friends are chasing the Czar, the creator of the System. I’m zeroing the Czar they hope to zero the system. They have to get to the city of Meritopia but will their scores be high enough to get through the gates? On their travels the find many more strange animal combos, some helpful and some even more dangerous than what they’ve faced before. Can Charlie control himself and do what he feels he needs to do to avenge his brother or will his animalistic rage get the best of him?
This is an action packed story from start to finish and I couldn’t put it down. I love the characters and some I loved to hate. I would definitely like to read more about this world and hope the author will continue this great series.
Independent reviewer for Romance Authors That Rock. 5 hearts
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2129906879?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/B071RSV7RY/R19N1L7MOYJXDD?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl
Sweet Sacrifice by L.D. Rose #Review
Former Navy SEAL Sebastian “Bash” Lockard died in Afghanistan after leaping on a grenade to save his comrades. Little did he know his act of heroism would grant him a ticket into Heaven’s elite army as one of the few and powerful Archangels. Struggling with his new existence, Bash still retains his human memories, leaving behind a wife he loves with all of his heart. Although he’s forbidden to see her, he can’t resist her lure, or the mortal desires he harbors for her.
As a young widow and nurse, Irene Lockard still mourns her husband two years after his untimely death. His absence is everywhere, and when her best friend weds, she hits an emotional rock bottom. As if summoned from the skies above, Sebastian appears before her, and they share an unforgettable night. But when he once again vanishes, she wonders if she’s truly gone mad with grief.
The only way Sebastian can remain with Irene is if he makes the ultimate sacrifice. But will she overcome her fear of losing him again to another war?
A standalone dark paranormal romance and book nine in The Soul Mate Tree series
Most people who consider themselves romantics believe that their loved ones watch over them after death and that we all have a guardian angel. Often those beliefs are fueled by grief and, upon reaching acceptance, we can believe that our loved ones are in a better place, perhaps, but that we are on our own. For Irene Lockard, losing her Navy SEAL husband, Sebastian, reaching the acceptance stage of grief has been difficult and the chance encounter with a patient in her hospital, whose daughter claims that an angel saved them, surviving her husband’s death may not be the hardest thing she’s ever done.
I am a huge fan of second chance Romance novels. Typically, those come in the form of high school sweethearts reuniting after many years or widows finding love with their Beloved’s best friend. For lovers to be reunited after the death of one of them brought a whole different take to this concept. I love the idea of a Navy SEAL becoming an angel because I believe that all of our military are our country’s guardian angels. And for true love to not be lost beyond death warms the cockles of my heart.
There is some violence, as one might imagine in a book concerning angels fighting demons. The sex scenes are hot and well-written, and explicit enough that I recommend this book for readers over 18. I will definitely have to find other works by this author.
Reviewed by HR Duby for Romance Authors that Rock
Finding Kyler by Siobhan Davis #Review
Two fractured hearts and a forbidden love they can’t deny.
You shouldn’t want what you can’t have…
Faye Donovan has lost everything. After her parent’s tragic death, she’s whisked away from her home in Ireland when an unknown uncle surfaces as her new guardian.
Dropped smack-dab into the All-American dream, Faye should feel grateful. Except living with her wealthy uncle, his fashion-empire-owning wife, and their seven screwed-up sons is quickly turning into a nightmare—especially when certain inappropriate feelings arise.
Kyler Kennedy makes her head hurt and her heart race, but he’s her cousin.
He’s off limits.
And he’s not exactly welcoming—Kyler is ignorant, moody, and downright cruel at times—but Faye sees behind the mask he wears, recognizing a kindred spirit.
Kyler has sworn off girls, yet Faye gets under his skin. The more he pushes her away, the more he’s drawn to her, but acting on those feelings risks a crap-ton of prejudice, and any whiff of scandal could damage the precious Kennedy brand.
Concealing their feelings seems like the only choice.
But when everyone has something to hide, a secret is a very dangerous thing.
******
Full of scandal, dysfunctional families, teen soap-opera-style angst and drama, secrets and lies, mean girls and catfights, lust and love, book one in the unputdownable Kennedy Boys series will have you flipping the pages’ way beyond bedtime!
Only recommended to readers aged 17+ due to mature content and language.
Read an exclusive, advance sample of this book here: http://eepurl.com/cpxkFP
Finding Kyler is a forbidden romance and I am kind of biased about them. There is nothing more romantic than a love you shouldn’t have. That is where real devotion is shown, ladies! In this case, our hero and heroine try to deny their growing emotions for each other. After all, they are cousins. Seems kind of reasonable to do what they did since this isn’t a boss-worker or a student-teacher relationship. Their relationship is a little more complex than that and things will get even more complicated or maybe less complicated once certain secrets are revealed. I so want to give you a head up but I fear I will give away the secrets of the whole trilogy and that would be bad.
What I can say is that you will absolutely adore Faye. She is a sweet girl that can be quite stubborn. She lost her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known for a life of luxury at a foreign city with her uncle and 7 cousins. Seems kind of exotic and not such a bad deal, right? After all, it is way better than staying all alone when you are underage. Too bad her new environment isn’t as welcoming as she would have liked it to be. She is drawn into a whole full of problems, secrets, deceiving and every sin and mistake there is into this world. Honestly, there are some very twisted things that are talked about. Well, I guess that seeing them as dark or twisted depends on your point of view. Nevertheless, I don’t think it is bad to talk about it. I believe there is some truth to those kinds of situations we should all be aware of so we can beware of them or know how to handle them.
I don’t wish to speak a lot about Kyler. I kind of want you to treat him as an enigma you want to figure out when you read the book. I just want you to know that there is more to him that you may think. So, don’t be too harsh on him at first and give him a chance to show you the good man he is and can be.
Reviewer of Romance Authors That Rock
5 ❤
Dragon Gold by Macy Babineaux #Review
It’s here! The highly-anticipated conclusion to The Dragonlords of Xandakar series!
Austin Pryce is young and wealthy, a financial guru living in a multi-million dollar house near San Francisco. His entire life, every decision is a stroke of good fortune and every investment bears fruit. It’s almost as if he has a golden touch. Or perhaps something or someone wants to keep him happy and rich, away from the events of a troubled world and a destiny that awaits him.
Fiora Whitefang is a wolf shifter, orphaned as an infant, raised in a secret brotherhood sworn to a strange mission she doesn’t understand. She’s supposed to live in Austin’s world, to watch over him without his knowledge, protecting him from some unknown threat. And yet, after several years of guarding him from the shadows, she has grown to think of him as spoiled and soft, hardly worth protecting at all.
Meanwhile, a world away, a dark force has swept across the land. A group of heroes has banded together to try to stop it, but they face an unimaginably powerful evil. A leader from another world, a dragon from legend, will need to travel to his home to bind the heroes together and lead them into battle. Along the way, he will need to learn who he truly is, and relearn everything he thought he knew about love, family, and fate.
“Dragon Gold: A Tale Untold” is the fifth and final book in the Dragonlords of Xandakar series. It has a little bit of steam, and of course, a happy ending.
This book is great. The stories develop quickly and draw the reader right in. The characters come alive and really make the reader want to keep reading. This is a great book for anyone who enjoys paranormal stories, especially if you like dragon shifters. I am going to have to go back and read the first four books myself.
I’m giving this book 5 hearts
Reviewer for Romance Authors That Rock
Smoldering Nights by Lisa Carlisle
This novella is now called Smolder, and has been revised and expanded with new content. It was originally published as Smoldering Nights in 2012. Start the Underground Encounters series today!
First in the Underground Encounters series.
Nike loves visiting the goth club Vamps—she can exchange her firefighter uniform for a slinky fantasy outfit. There she runs into the man she’d been admiring from afar at a rock-climbing gym. He’s been the star of all her sexual fantasies, so is it any wonder they end up in his private room upstairs? Just when things begin to heat up, Michel’s enemies appear.
Michel isn’t an ordinary mortal. And someone from his past is on the hunt for vengeance. Michel and Nike are forced to run and hide out in a coastal cottage in Maine. They can’t resist their attraction and spend the nights exploring each other’s bodies while trying to sort out how they feel. Can they overcome their differences while evading the predators chasing them?
The only two female firefighters in town just happen to like to hang out at a goth/punk club on their night off. Ok. I’m interested. Add sexy vampires and supernatural beings and I’m definitely interested.
Problem is, it ended too soon. Great build up. Awesome sex scenes. Way too short of a story. I didn’t have time to really get invested in the characters before it was over. I definitely never developed any feeling against the bad guy. He was just there.
As an independent reviewer for Romance Authors that Rock it only got that fourth star for those hot steamy sex scenes. Great bones, needs more meat.
The Mercenary by Petra Landon
She’s a prisoner of the Imperial Forces. He’s a nomad with a private mercenary army. Can a desperate girl’s risky gamble and a fierce warrior’s love turn the tide of war and alter the balance of power in their slice of space?
In a distant corner of the galaxy, Quadrant Five burns in the flames of a deadly war. The Budheya people are one of the worst affected. Once the most advanced civilization in the quadrant, they now struggle under the cruel yoke of Ketaari occupation.
Saakshi
Imprisoned by the Ketaari Imperial Forces, a young Budheya girl is sent to a distant space station to work in an alehouse. For a girl who has known only hardship in her short life, things could be worse. Until an old foe walks into the alehouse.
Zoran
Zoran is Hadari’Kor – notorious across star systems for their prowess in battle. Their fierce reputation allows them to retain their independence, even as others are forced to choose sides in the war. Drawn to a weary-eyed server girl, Zoran is forced to confront age-old traditions and question his role in the war.
The Prisoner & The Mercenary
Alone, friendless and far from home, Saakshi makes a desperate gamble to trust a formidable and enigmatic stranger whose hot gaze haunts her dreams. The fallout from this improbable pact reverberates across space. As a relentless enemy hunts her, Zoran must fight to protect Saakshi through a minefield of shifting alliances. When passion ignites amidst the embers of a smoldering war, will a warrior’s quest for justice bring a mighty Empire to its knees …
Author’s Note : A spirited and resilient girl, a fierce warrior with a conscience, a fiery passion that flares amidst the debris of a deadly war and a love that will alter the fate of an entire quadrant forms the tale of The Mercenary, a standalone story that sets the scene for The War Chronicles – a collection of SciFi Romance & Space Opera tales with romance, swashbuckling adventure & a sprinkling of action.
Definitely my newest addition to Authors and series I must keep an eye out for new releases from!! The story of a prisoner who is basically on a work release program and meets the tall dark and extremely well built man of her dreams appealed to my every favorite fantasy! Set in space and on the edges of civilizations where roughness is a definite advantage, it takes what appears to be a small helpless female and shows us how strong and resilient she really can be.
The author captured my imagination and my emotions both with the cultural differences they had to overcome as well as just the usual miscommunication between men and women. I was captivated from page one and couldn’t put it down until I finished. While it’s not technically a cliff hanger style ending, it is definitely a serial ending, leaving you with promises of more of the same. As an independent reviewer for Romance Authors that Rock, it was an easy 5 hearts for this author and her worlds!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2124747711?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
https://www.amazon.com/review/RTMWXMZ64R949/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
Daywalker’s Stone by Martha Woods
Do you love PNR?
Do you like strong female protagonists?
Alex is a hopeless romantic. It seems she is looking for love in all the wrong places. Welcome, a pack of ravenous vampires who are seeking to find the legendary power of a vampire who is able to walk around in broad daylight.
It almost seems as if fate crosses the paths of Dominic and Alex, as Dominic is drawn by Alex’s innocence, creative and rebellious young spirit. But when supernatural powers that are beyond their control start to unleash. They will have to fight of century old prophecies conjured up by a coven of ancient witches.
Will Alex regret searching for love?
Don’t miss the first volume of the Second Sight Series. Grab your copy instantly!
This is the first book in the Second Sight series and ends in an HEA. This story starts out funny with Alexandra on a bad Tinder date. On her way home, she is attacked by a vampire, but cared for by 2 other vampires. These 3 vampires have been watching Alex’s ancestors because the sire, Bronson, was in love with Alex’s great, great grandmother who was a powerful witch.
Guardian Wolf : Black Mesa Wolves by J.K. Harper
Book 1 in the Black Mesa Wolves series by USA Today bestselling author J.K. Harper
Being a Guardian for the Black Mesa Wolf Pack meant everything to Lily Bardou. Until the night she made a fatal mistake. Since then, she’s kept her wild side tightly leashed, denying her responsibilities to both her pack and her own sensual needs.
Until Kieran Rendall stalks into her life.
Kieran’s wanted Lily for two long years, and he’s finally done waiting. Convinced she’s part of his destiny, he’s back in town with a plan: to help Lily let go of the past—and to unlock her caged passions.
Ocean’s Justice and Ocean’s Trial by Demelza Carlton #Review
Cast adrift on the Indian Ocean, eighteen-year-old Maria is saved by the crew of the steamship Trevessa.
She can’t tell them her tragic tale, so the superstitious sailors make up their own stories – and some would sacrifice her to the seas to save themselves from the coming storm.
Scottish engineer William McGregor boarded the Trevessa in search of adventure. He finds a crew convinced their ship is cursed, as he fights to protect the mysterious girl and bring her safely to shore.
When the sharks start circling and the storm closes in, are sirens more than just a myth
Ocean’s Justice”, by Demelza Carlton, is the story of a mysterious woman by the name of Maria who is discovered at sea by the ship Trevessa. On the vessel, she meets a passenger named William McGregor, and even though the idea of having a woman on board the ship does not sit well with the crew, she is taken in and looked after by said passenger. As the relationship develops, we learn more about Maria’s background and true nature…even as others on board have other plans for the young woman.
With the help of a young fisherman named Tony, she fights to find her place among a people so different to her own.
Yet danger lurks beneath the surface of the turbulent harbour waters as her past races to catch up with her; threatening her future and her friends, and forcing her to choose between her old love and the new
I Died Yesterday by Andy Graham #Review
Revenge. Respect. Regret.
Sometimes doing the ‘right’ thing brings out the wrong in people.
I Died Yesterday – A evening with an old friend becomes a morning after that lasts for ever.
Chopper – A young man’s pursuit of his dream unearths a nightmare.
A Decision at Dusk – If you could bring someone back from the dead, would you use the power to help or hurt?
Sunflower – When the establishment fights back, they break more than the rules.
A View – Some noises are best left uninvestigated.
These stories are not happy, but they leave their mark. Some are set in our world; some are set in an alternate world (that of the Lords of Misrule series). This anthology combines dark humour, psychological terror, horror, and a splash of brightly coloured gore. It packs an emotional punch made even more harrowing by the paper-thin divide between reality and fiction.
I am an independent reviewer. This book is a collection of 5 horror short stories. Each short story feels like reading through a fun house mirror. The story seems to put the reader off balance. I kept trying to figure out the plots, but the gore for the sake of gore seemed to be the most prevalent theme. The first short story tried to shock the reader at the end, but the horrible descriptions of running over a 5 year old’s head with a car made any additional shock pale in comparison.
>This collection was so bizarre that only those readers with a definite love for horror and gore will like to read this book. The stories are vastly different in the characters involved, but that is the only positive part of the stories in my opinion.
>I am a reviewer for Romance Author’s that Rock. This book is appropriate for an adult audience. I am giving this book 3 stars.
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