Son of a Gun by Lee Ness

Title: Son of a Gun
Author: Lee Ness
Pub. Date: 4-Dec-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

When I was asked to review Son of a Gun, by Lee Ness, it was pitched to me as in the vain of the Jason Bourne books by Robert Ludlum. Since I loved that series, I was stoked to read this book and I was not disappointed. There was lots of action, plot twists, and characters to love and some to hate.

John King is a nobody, he does not exist and he likes it like that. In the world of espionage, he operates within, he is known simply as Eidolon, an apparition, and he is the best.  As an assassin for hire he uses this to his utmost advantage. He works alone, stays in the shadows and even his face is not known.  Continue reading “Son of a Gun by Lee Ness”

2018 Reading Goals and Resolutions

Read 70 books for the Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge. That equals 1.35 books a week. For me, that is a lot of books considering I work full time and writing reviews and maintaining this blog requires time that eats into my reading time.

Read at least one book a month from my TBR pile. You might not think this is not much of a goal, but there are so many great books released every year, I have a tendency to read the new ones first. It will be a real challenge to ignore the new ones and read from the TBR stacks that are overflowing onto the floor.

Read my Book of the Month, each month, before the end of the month. Here is another challenge that looks easier than it will be. I select my Book of the Month and when it gets here I set it in the TBR stack thinking I will get to it next. Then another book comes along and the BOM book remains in the TBR stack. No more. I will read my selected book each month. Right?!

Do more reviews of books by Indie and Debut authors. I am always surprised at how much new talent comes along each year. Therefore, I want to make a better effort to read more books by new authors and Indie authors. They especially need reviewers to read and write about their books.

I can’t buy new books unless I read books from my TBR stacks. In other words, if I read two books from my TBR stacks then I can buy two books to replace the two I have read. This way my stacks will not get any bigger than they already are. Books I get for gifts and gift cards for books do not count. This will be the hardest of all the goals/resolutions. It will be a miracle if I can make it to the end of January.

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Title: The Sun is Also a Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Pub. Date: 1-Nov-2016
Rating: 5 Stars

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon is another one of those books that has been on my to-be-read list since it first came out.  Why, oh why does it take over a year to get to such a good book? After reading books like this I almost always beat myself up for not getting to it sooner.

In this story, the author is asking the reader to believe in fate and love at first site. Daniel is in the right place at the right time to meet Natasha.  Only Natasha is scheduled to be deported back to Jamaica that very evening. Therefore, Daniel has only a few hours to convince Natasha that two people can fall in love in an initial meeting and he has the science to prove it. Natasha is very skeptical, and rightly so, especially since she is Jamaican and he is Korean and she knows her parents would never approve of a relationship with Daniel.  Continue reading “The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon”

Snow by Mikayla Elliot

Title: Snow
Author: Mikayla Elliot
Pub. Date: 31-Jul-2017
Rating: 4.5

As a lover of fantasy and paranormal I have read a lot of vampire stories some good, some bad. Snow by Mikayla Elliot most definitely falls into the good category. It is a different take on the standard vampire tale.

Neva is a young woman who is working in her parents’ bakery until one day she is whisked away to the castle of a nearby Lord as a potential wife. Once at the castle she is turned into a vampire by Lord Thedryk. She is told she is the person that the vampire world has been waiting centuries for to be reborn.  She is the one that will change the course of all vampires forever.  Because of this, she is the target of the vampire Zachariah who wants to stop her fulfilling her destiny. Before she even has a chance to figure out what her destiny will be she must deal with Zachariah.  Continue reading “Snow by Mikayla Elliot”

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Title: The Rules of Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman
Pub. Date: 10-Oct-2017
Rating: 5 Stars

I could not wait to get my hands on this book. Therefore, I was super excited to see it was a selection at Book of the Month. I loved Practical Magic and just knew that The Rules of Magic would be the same. I was right!

The Rules of Magic is the prequel to Practical Magic and in it we meet Jet and Franny, when they are young, along with their brother Vincent. The story starts in New York when the three siblings are still children living under what they consider harsh parental rules. They can’t wear black, red shoes, or have any books on magic, among other things. They know they are different but their parents refuse to discuss their heritage with them. Then one day an invite from their Aunt Isabelle arrives and the trio sets off to Massachusetts on their summer break for a visit.  Continue reading “The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman”

The Devil and the Muse by Mandy Beverly-Jackson

Title: The Devil and the Muse
Author: Mandy Beverly-Jackson
Pub. Date: 12-Jun-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

The Devil and the Muse by Mandy Jackson-Beverly is the second book in the Creatives Series. I did not read the first book in the series, while I would have liked to, I found it not necessary. The author did a good job of catching the reader up to date. It helped that a description of the characters was included in the very beginning of the book. I referred to it several times until I got caught up on the cast and their roles in the story.

The Allegiance is a group of individuals headed by immortals under the protection of the goddess The Lady and the Rose. Their purpose is to protect and nurture Creatives and other magical beings from those who would do them harm. Creatives are those individual that have a unique gift of being able to see events that lie hidden underneath a painting. In the past, Creatives have been hunted down and killed as witches. Now the Creatives are using their power to help a group of girls who have been kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed by the soldiers of an evil vampire named Kenan who is the devil incarnate. The Allegiance must work quickly if they are to save these young girls.  Continue reading “The Devil and the Muse by Mandy Beverly-Jackson”

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pub. Date: 8-Aug-2010
My Rating: 5 Stars

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare has been on my to-read list for a very long time. I do not entirely know why it has taken me so long to get to this book. After all, the book has all the elements I enjoy, strong plot, memorable characters and excellent world building.

Tessa Grey arrives in England not long after her grandmother dies. Her brother, Nathaniel, has arranged for her passage and upon arriving at the dock she is meet by the Dark Sisters.  Her brother has been unavoidable detained and has sent them in his stead or so Tessa is lead to believe. The Dark Sisters quickly imprison her in their home and set about teaching her how to use her powers that she herself did not know existed.  Continue reading “Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare”

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Title: The Queen of the Night
Author: Alexander Chee
Pub. Date: 2-Jan-2016
Rating: 3 Stars

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee is one of those books that I should have fell in love with from the opening pages. From the synopsis it sounded to me like most everything I love about historical fiction. Sadly, I was disappointed.

Lilliet Berne is a famous Paris opera singer with a checked past. She has survived untold hardships to arrive at the place she is today. There are only a few people who know the whole truth of who Lilliet really is, a sum total of four, and it seems one of them is out to expose her. She knows this because a new opera has been written just for her, the crowning glory for an opera singer, and her life is the story. All her secrets will be exposed to the world. Continue reading “The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee”

Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble

Title: Beneath Copper Falls
Author: Colleen Coble
Pub. Date: 10-Jul-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble is a crime thriller/romance for lovers of fast paced novels. This is the sixth book in the Rock Harbor series, but fear not, it can be read as a stand-alone. Since I have not read the others in the series, I can honestly say that I suffered no ill effects.

After leaving an abusive relationship, Dana Newell has returned home to the UP of Michigan and has a job waiting for her as a 911 dispatcher. She is excited to see her brother, her friends and have her life return to normal. She moves in with her brother and starts the process of rebuilding.  Continue reading “Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble”

A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

Title: A Plague of Giants
Author: Kevin Hearne
Pub. Date: 3-Oct-2017
Rating: 5 Stars

A Plague of Giants is the first book I have read by Kevin Hearne and I fell in love with the story and the author.  It is high fantasy, and the first book of a proposed trilogy. The author used a unique way to tell the story, one you will either hate or love, and it worked so well.

The story is about two invading forces of Giants, one in the north and one in the south. They invade the land of Teldwen, made up of six nations.  This invasion has become known as the Giants’ War. The story is told by Fintan, a Raelech bard, who has been gifted with magical powers (called a keening) that allows him to project his voice across vast distances and gives him an eidetic memory to be able to recall all the details of an event so that he can accurately relate the event.  Continue reading “A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne”