Reading Links…2/13/18

Traci Kenworth

 

Fantasy/Dystopian/UF/Paranormal/SF:

1. https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2018/02/04/dirty-dozen-and-returning-author-interview-andrew-p-weston-sci-fi/ The science fiction slot is filled with the IX Series, detailing the trials and tribulations of the legendary lost 9^thLegion of Rome who marched into the mists of Caledonia in circa 100AD and were never seen again. Needless to say, they didn’t just disappear, and the series has grown into something of a gem.
2. http://blog.janicehardy.com/2018/02/happy-release-day-new-novel-from-janice.html Grace Harper has spent her life on the run, ever since her mother’s unnatural death at the hands of creatures that shouldn’t be real. It’s hard to believe in vampires, but the things chasing her fit every legend she’s ever heard. She dubs them “Pretty Boys,” though their beautiful faces hide ugly appetites.
3. https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/rosies-bookreview-team-rbrt-alisonw_editor-reviews-fantasy-keepers-by-sacha_black/ This is the first in the Eden East Novels series and the first of the author’s novels. Eden is a Fallon – a royal Keeper whose role it is to ensure Balance in the world of Trutinor. The Keepers have different powers and are either Elementals, Shifters, Sirens or Sorcerers. Eden, an Elemental, is destined to be bound forever to another Fallon – a Shifter for whom she feels no attraction. But it isn’t up to her. Things change when there is a murder, and when Trey, a Siren who was Eden’s close childhood friend, reappears after a long absence, and confuses Eden further. They are forced together as they try to find the killers and avoid a fate that could have far-reaching consequences.
4. https://phsolomon.com/2018/02/09/an-arrow-against-the-wind-special-deal/ Within The Bow of Destiny, Athson struggles with grief both old and new as well as his uncertainty from his PTSD-like fits which seem to have resolved in some ways. However, he’s never quite sure of himself and doesn’t always trust his own awareness. He’s equally suspicious and doubtful of the quest. Within all of these difficulties, Athson is stuck in a spiraling struggle with his outlook on the adventure.
5. https://teripolen.com/2018/02/08/a-tempest-of-discovery-midnight-dynasty-1-by-sarah-m-cradit-bookreview-paranormal/ The Deschanels are back! From the USA Todaybestselling fantasy author of the House of Crimson & Clover novels comes a thrilling new paranormal romance series, Midnight Dynasty. Even more magic, romance, and mayhem await as readers dive back into this secretive, ancient, powerful world of The Saga of Crimson & Clover.
6. https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/rosies-bookreview-team-rbrt-fantasy-the-last-dragon-rider-by-errinkrystal-wildrosepress/ The central premise of the novel is a high-fantasy take on Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the story building up to “Sleeping Beauty’s” epic nap. This is neatly shown by how the novel is bookended by a child being read a bedtime story, the story being the novel, exactly as one would a fairytale. However, there are many other elements thrown in here to make the story unique: 

 

Romance/Women’s Fiction:

1. https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/rosies-bookreview-team-rbrt-literaryfiction-womensfiction-bear-medicine-by-gekretchmer/ Bear Medicine tells two stories.  The first is that of Brooke, a middle class, marathon-running, oddly unworldly wife of a domineering Oregon politician, who, when taking some ‘time out’ from family life, gets mauled by a bear in Yellowstone National Park.  In alternating chapters we read about Anne, in 1877, a young wife of a domineering husband, who gets separated while on an adventure trek with him, again in Yellowstone.
2. https://culturevultureexpress.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/candlemoth-a-holy-city-romance-by-pauline-west-book-review/ What struck me most about Candlemoth: A Holy City Romance (2015) by Pauline West was the realness of it. Page by page, it felt like a fictional look at real life and the real emotions people feel inwardly as well outwardly. Each character is very well rounded and we get to know even characters that aren’t the two central characters Lily and Ry very well.
3. https://maeclair.net/2018/02/06/love-letters-from-heaven-by-debbie-peterson-newrelease-paranormalromance-sweetromance/ pairs a modern-day woman with the ghost of a noble and heroic WWII army sergeant.

 

Christian:

 

Historical:

1. https://www.theresahuppauthor.com/blog/2018/02/05/forever-mine-is-now-available/ If you have a Valentine who likes to read love stories, family sagas, or American history, 

 

Scary:

1. http://www.briankeene.com/2018/02/04/hole-in-the-world-hardcover-preorders/ An hour ago, they were nineteen strangers on an airport shuttle, braving travel delays and a freak blizzard. Then they fell through a hole in the world. Now, they are nineteen strangers trapped in a dangerous dimension filled with prehistoric monsters, futuristic technology, and otherworldly mysteries. They’ll have to learn to work together if they want to survive and return home…but will any of them be left alive by then?
2. http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/searchlight-the-view-from-the-cheap-seats/ As much as we can learn from reading fiction from writers we admire, sometimes it’s the truth of the matter that speaks to us the most. Admired by millions, bestselling author Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Stardust, Neverwhere) is a living legend. For me, his Sandmancomic series is one of the best series I’ve ever read, and I can say that with the knowledge that I haven’t read every issue yet. I just know it’s going to continue to speak to me as sure as the sun rises in the morning. Though I’m not a great fan of his prose, I know a good writer when I read one, and he is without a doubt one of the best working today. The View from the Cheap Seats collects a selection of his speeches, introductions, and essays covering a wide range of subjects, and readers will find it just as inspiring to read as his fiction.

 

MG/YA:

1. http://pitchwars.org/39740-2/ Single mom Valentina wants to provide a good life for her son, starting with the perfect home. When the deal on her dream house falls through, rather than move back in with her parents and disappoint them and her son once again, she accepts the help of the intimidating-as-hell stranger she’s admired from her coffee shop seat for the last six months. She’s afraid to fall for the wrong guy again, so she makes Cole promise to keep their relationship strictly professional.
2. http://www.literaryrambles.com/2018/02/brenda-rufener-interview-and-where-i.html From debut author Brenda Rufener comes a heart-wrenching and evocative story perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, Girl in Pieces, and All the Bright Places.

 

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense:

1. https://amdobritt.blog/2018/02/03/the-first-review-is-in-for-blood-match/ Well, it’s release day. It’s been over a year since I released my last book and I’m a bit rusty. The initial review is in, however, and it seems that the book is off to a good start.
2. http://lizlovesbooks.com/lizlovesbooks/latest-reads-only-human-sylvain-neuval/ In her childhood, Rose Franklin accidentally discovered a giant metal hand buried beneath the ground outside Deadwood, South Dakota. As an adult, Dr. Rose Franklin led the team that uncovered the rest of the body parts which together form Themis: a powerful robot of mysterious alien origin. She, along with linguist Vincent, pilot Kara, and the unnamed Interviewer, protected the Earth from geopolitical conflict and alien invasion alike. Now, after nearly ten years on another world, Rose returns to find her old alliances forfeit and the planet in shambles. And she must pick up the pieces of the Earth Defense Corps as her own friends turn against each other.
3. http://lizlovesbooks.com/lizlovesbooks/latest-reads-dont-trust-me-joss-stirling/ When she arrives at work to discover every trace of the company she was working for has disappeared, Jessica’s life spirals into freefall.
4. http://vivdrewa.me/2018/02/06/this-was-another-great-carson-reno-mystery-deadly-decision-carson-reno-mystery-series-book-15-by-gerald-w-darnell/ When a Tennessee Highway Patrolman is mysteriously murdered, the clues are non-existent. Police have the name of a possible suspect, but he’s nowhere to be found. Carson gets involved at the request of the local sheriff, but when the best lead disappears; his assistance is no longer needed.
5. https://stacitroilo.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/excerpt-password/ Some passwords protect more than just secrets.
6. https://teripolen.com/2018/02/06/addict-the-cassie-tam-files-1-by-matt-doyle-bookreview-scifi-lgbt-tuesdaybookblog/ New Hopeland was built to be the centre of the technological age, but like everywhere else, it has its dark side. Assassins, drug dealers and crooked businessmen form a vital part of the city’s make-up, and sometimes, the police are in too deep themselves to be effective. But hey, there are always other options …
7. http://shelleywilsonauthor.com/2018/02/06/bookreview-savage-isle-by-beverley-scherberger-rbrt-tuesdaybookblog-thriller/ The blurb suggests a fast-paced read with plenty of thrills and horror, and the opening chapters don’t disappoint. I instantly connected to Laralee and felt her terror when the monkeys she was working with became the stuff of nightmares. The author opens with a graphic hook and then builds the tension so you can’t possibly put the book down.
8. http://lizlovesbooks.com/lizlovesbooks/latest-reads-the-bone-keeper-luca-veste/ Twenty years ago, four teenagers went exploring in the local woods, trying to find to the supposed home of The Bone Keeper. Only three returned. 
9. https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/rosies-bookreview-team-rbrt-karen-b-reviews-suspense-maggies-revenge-by-jacqbiggar/ Magdalena (Maggie) Holt, a DEA Agent undercover in a Cartel who is in danger and has become a captive, is working very hard to get back home and take down the man who has taken her a prisoner and intends to sell her to the highest bidder. She’s helped some women escape the hell that has become her reality, but will she survive long enough to help the women she is locked away with and herself?
10. https://margotkinberg.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/in-the-spotlight-vera-casparys-laura/ Welcome to another edition of In The Spotlight. Sometimes murder mysteries are as much psychological as they are anything else. Solving them involves untangling the relationships among the main characters and deciding who is to be trusted and who isn’t. That’s the sort of novel Vera Caspary’s Laura is, so let’s turn today’s spotlight on that story.
11. http://lizlovesbooks.com/lizlovesbooks/the-perfect-stranger-blog-tour-guest-post-from-megan-miranda/ Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

 

Short Stories/Anthologies/Novella:

1. https://4writersandreaders.com/2018/02/07/rrbc-spotlight-author-gracie-bradford-talks-about-favorite-sites-and-apps/ It is such a pleasure to introduce this “up and coming author,”Gracie Bradford, and her book about a child with brain cancer. The beagle, Lady Bird, takes on a leading role in this short story. Learn about the role of pet therapy in the healing process.
2. https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/rosies-bookreview-team-rbrt-ww1-ptsd-novella-freds-funeral-by-sandeetweets/ Fred Sadler has just died of old age. It’s 1986, seventy years after he marched off to WWI, and the ghost of Fred Sadler hovers near the ceiling of the nursing home. To Fred’s dismay, the arrangement of his funeral falls to his prudish sister-in-law, Viola. As she dominates the remembrance of Fred, he agonizes over his inability to set the record straight.
3. https://teripolen.com/2018/02/09/writers-reading-corner-sarah-brentyn-amreading-shortreads-literature/ It’s surreal yet believable that a community would behave this way. How far are people willing to go to hold on to tradition? To pacify their superstitions? I wonder what it would be like to grow up there, how it would change you, if you’d be able to form healthy attachments, what your relationships would be like. I wonder if the lottery will continue. I wonder what would happen if they stopped. I wonder how long it would take for everyone to agree or if they ever would. I wonder… 
4. http://lizlovesbooks.com/lizlovesbooks/force-of-nature-jane-harper-blog-tour-re-review/ Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.
5. http://lizlovesbooks.com/lizlovesbooks/killed-thomas-enger-blog-tour-review/ Henning Juul sits in a boat on a dark lake. A man with a gun sits opposite him. At the man’s feet is a body that will be soon be dumped into the water. Henning knows that the same fate awaits him. And he knows that it’s his own fault. Who started the fire that killed Henning’s young son? How is his sister, Trine, involved? Most importantly, who can be trusted? Packed with tension and unexpected twists, Killedis the long-waited finale of the internationally renowned series featuring conflicted, disillusioned but always dogged crime reporter Henning Juul, and one of the most chilling, dark and moving crime thrillers you may ever read.

 

Poetry:

 

Indie:

 

Craft:

 

Other:

1. https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/going-all-in-on-lisaburtonradio/ A tale of three suburban couples who, during a pummeling Connecticut Nor’Easter, start up a friendly game of Texas Hold’em. The impromptu get-together leads to the institution of rousing, alcohol-driven, bi-weekly poker nights. One evening on a lark, someone suggests an alternate payout – instead of playing for pocket change, the winner may choose a different player with whom to spend the night. Before long, everyone’s Going All In.
2. https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/tales-from-the-irish-garden-a-sneak-preview-jeremy-the-donkey-by-sally-cronin/ My brother is four years younger than I am and his name is Jeremy. When he was small we used to tell him a bedtime story about Jeremy the Donkey. I have expanded the story to become a chapter in the new Tales from the Irish Garden and I am using one of the illustrations that I askedDonata Zawadzka to create for me with this little donkey in mind.