{Review} THE HEAVENS RISE by Christopher Rice

ISBN #: 978-1476716084

Page Count: 336

Copyright: October 15, 2013

Publisher: Gallery Books; First Edition

Book Summary:

(Taken from dustjacket flaps)

It's been a decade since the Delongpre family vanished near Bayou Rabineaux, and still no one can explain the events of that dark and sweltering night. No one except Niquette Delongpre, the survivor who ran away from the mangled stretch of guardrail on Highway 22 where the impossible occurred ... and kept on running. Who left behind her best friends, Ben and Anthem, to save them from her newfound capacity for destruction ... and who alone knows the source of her very bizarre - and very deadly - abilities: an isolated strip of swampland called Elysium.

An accomplished surgeon, Niquette's father dreamed of transforming the dense acreage surrounded by murky waters into a palatial compound befitting the name his beloved wife gave to it, Elysium: "the final resting place for the heroic and virtuous." Then, ten years ago, construction workers dug into a long-hidden well, one that snaked down into the deep, black waters of the Louisiana swamp and stirred something that had been there for centuries - a microscopic parasite that perverts the mind and corrupts the body.

Niquette is living proof that things done can't be undone. Nothing will put her family back together again. And nothing can save her. But as Niquette, Ben, and Anthem uncover the truth of a devastating parasite that has the potential to alter the future of humankind, Niquette grasps the most chilling truths of all: someone else has been infected too. And unlike her, this man is not content to live in the shadows. He is intent to use his newfound powers for one reason only: revenge.

Mandy's Review:

Well, boys and girls, if this wasn't one of the biggest mind-f@&!$ of all-time, I don't know what is ... and I loved it.

First, let me start by clarifying something for you. The book summary implies that Ben and Anthem knew about Nicquette's surviving the crash through the guardrail. They did not. They lived for eight years or so thinking that she and her family had died in the crash. They were heartbroken. Ben eventually begins to uncover the truth, but doesn't fully realize it until he comes face-to-face with her father.

Marshall (WE ARE ... MARSH-ALL! Sorry, I thought of that every time I saw his name) is a good-looking, well-to-do young man, but he has a violent streak in him that makes him cray-cray. His exposure to the parasite at Elysium enhances the craziness within him. Marshall uses his powers to seek revenge on Nicquette, her family and friends, and those who looked over his trust fund.

Eventually, good does win over evil, but at a cost that was never foreseen.

As I mentioned above, I loved this book. I loved the mental trip it took me on. I loved the imagination and ingenuity of the author. Christopher Rice is certainly someone whose books I will be reading more of ... as should you.


*A hardcopy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} ETERNAL DREAMS: THE CURSE OF MEMORIES by Christopher Compton

ASIN #: B00D02Z1G8

File Size: 543 KB

Page Count: 228

Copyright: May 24, 2013

Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing

Book Summary:

(Taken from Goodreads)

Eternal Dreams is a fiction fantasy tale about six teenage friends who escape into a dream world to hide away from the horrors of their own lives, only to find that reality is catching up to them anyway. Drephoria, the name of the stunning dream world created from their collective minds, will test the limits of their friendship, break the balance between good and evil and prove the true value of memories and the imagination.

The first book in the trilogy, "The Curse of Memories," focuses on the central character Kail and his dark past, told through memories, while simultaneously introducing the rest of his friends (known as The Inseparable Six) and the other strange and deadly inhabitants of Drephoria. Pitted against the dark queen Malise and her legendary allies known as The Forgotten Four, Kail and his friends must rid their world of evil before they lose themselves forever. Nostalgic, thrilling, heart-breaking, and consistently memorable, Eternal Dreams is a fantasy at its finest.

Kathy's Review:

I know I’m jaded from having read so many of these YA-type stories, which all seem to begin in the same fashion … a group of friends stumbles upon something magical, and of course our main character has major powers he never knew about. So forgive me if I’m not impressed with the premise.

Going into a world of dreams that is created by their own minds is kind of cool, but really fails to deliver in any sort of meaningful way.

This book also suffers from Too Many Character Syndrome. Six friends are the center of this book. The author does a much better developing the male characters than he does the female, so my suggestion would be to lose the girls. Or make it two boys and two girls. Having exotic names such as Kail, Cora, Thalia and Kanoa doesn’t really help me distinguish them in my mind.

Not surprisingly, this book leaves a lot of loose ends at its conclusion, which suggests a sequel, if not a series. It’s not one that I would continue with because I haven’t invested in any of the characters, except perhaps Kail and Kanoa, at the book’s end.

I will say that the author’s writing itself is solid, but lacks some of the basic elements of a good novel. Cool idea, but just ok on the execution.

{Blog Tour: Excerpt, Review & Giveaway} CORRELATION by Mia Grace

ASIN #: B00GISKFWQ

File Size: 473 KB

Page Count: 200

Copyright: November 6, 2013

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

When the past and the present collide…

Hailey Kent knows how she wants to spend the summer before her junior year in high school: hanging out at the pool with Jenna, her BFF; riding her new trail bike on Vermont’s country roads; and flirting with Jenna’s hot older brother, Cody.

Hailey’s plans are shattered when a post-graduation accident puts her brother into a coma. Feeling guilty for not stopping him from going out that night, she seeks solace in exploring an old house and its overgrown gardens.

A mysterious correlation of events propels her back in time to the Vietnam War era, where she realizes she can use her knowledge of one boy’s fate to save his life.

But first, Hailey needs to convince him of her sanity.

Book Links:

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

Kobo

Goodreads

Red Adept Publishing (Includes book tour page)

About the Author:

Mia Grace grew up in the Midwest and now resides in the beautiful state of Vermont. Her young adult novels include FOUND DAYS, a coming of age story with a surprising twist, and CORRELATION, a young adult time travel that takes the reader back to the tumultuous Vietnam era. She's currently working on a young adult time travel series.

Book Excerpt:

Chapter One

“I can’t believe how bad we were!” Hailey Kent stood on the sidelines of the sunny playing field and brushed the loose dirt from the front of her Fenton High T-shirt. On the expanse of trampled grass before her, the two remaining pairs of sophomore girls moved in perfect synchrony toward the finish of the three-legged sack race.

Hailey swiped sweat from her forehead with a gritty forearm as she watched the lead couple. “Look at Lexie and Jess. They’re speed demons.”

“They’re coordinated,” Jenna Wells answered. “And they have a system.”

“We had a system. You just don’t know your right leg from your left.” Hailey rubbed the grass stains from her knees. “We’re going to have to hit your pool after this.” She stood up and shaded her eyes with one hand, peering toward the baseball diamond in the distance.

A familiar figure stepped up to bat in the softball game in progress between the seniors and the faculty. Cody. He stood poised over the plate, his practice swings confident as he faced the faculty pitcher. Her heart flip-flopped. “Is that Cody?”

Jenna followed the direction of Hailey’s gaze and scrunched her cute little pug nose at the sight of her older brother. “Yep. The weirdo was all psyched this morning about this game. Is David playing?”

Hailey’s delightful vision of Cody at the breakfast table faded at the mention of her own brother. “No, he’s skipping school today.”

Jenna’s chocolate brown eyes went wide in mock disbelief. “Skip a field day? His last one ever?”

“Don’t remind me.” Hailey turned back to the grassy field in time to see the last of her sack-racing classmates lurch across the finish line. “I have to give up my birthday so we can celebrate his stupid graduation. He’d skip that, too, if my parents would let him.” Just talking about it made her teeth clench.

Jenna picked up the sweatshirt she had tossed on the grass. “What did your mom say about the taco party?”

“I can do it next weekend.” Hailey mimicked her mom’s voice, “‘David’s only going to graduate once, but you can have a birthday party any time.’ Like turning sixteen is no big deal.”

“Maybe it’s for the best. More kids’ll be able to come next weekend.”

Hailey couldn’t resist smirking at her impish friend, who’d recently dyed a streak of ruby red in her long blond hair against her mother’s wishes. “Plus maybe you won’t be grounded by then.”

Their classmates were coming in from the sidelines to meet at the finish line, a clump of rowdy teenage girls in short shorts and Fenton tees celebrating the end of the school year with cheers and high-fives.

As she and Hailey strolled across the sunny lawn to join them, Jenna asked, “Do you think your folks’re going to get you that off-road bike?”

“I hope so. We’ve got to stay in shape so we can kick butt next year.”

Jenna gave her a playful grin. “Uh, we?”

Hailey grinned back at her. “Yeah, we—you and me, sister. We’re biking every day this summer. And next year, we’re smokin’ this race.”

Mandy's Review:

This book was a tad slow-going for me in the beginning, but once it got a couple chapters in it picked up and kept my interest. Although, I must say, I didn't understand why Ms. Wells would get so irritated so quickly when Hailey was asking her about the abandoned house and the family that lived there. She seemed like a nice lady who liked to talk about the "old days" but would then become disturbed whenever Hailey kept coming up with off-the-wall questions. Maybe that was just her personality ...

I do love a good time-travel novel (i.e. BID TIME RETURN by Richard Matheson) and CORRELATION fit the bill. It was a little jarring going from Part I to Part II, but once I realized what was going on I got back into it. The author did a good job of integrating the characters into past and present. I did hate that a particular character died at a young age (twice). I was looking forward to "meeting" him as an old man, but then that would've changed fate just a little too much, wouldn't it?

If you love time-travel stories that are a quick, easy read, then I think you would enjoy CORRELATION.


*An ecopy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this tour and in exchange for an honest review.

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Review} MR LYNCH'S HOLIDAY by Catherine O'Flynn

ISBN #: 978-0805091816

Page Count: 272

Copyright: October 8, 2013

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Description:

(Taken from back cover)

A holiday to visit his son promises more than one man bargained for...

This fortnight’s trip to Spain is the first time Dermot Lynch, a retired bus driver and recent widower, has left Birmingham in many years. When he finally arrives at the gates of his son Eamonn’s crumbling development, it is not what he had imagined. But despite its faltering exterior, Dermot finds something beautiful and nostalgic in the development’s decline - reminiscent of his childhood in Ireland. Soon he is the center of attention in the tiny clan of expats where paranoid speculation, goat hunting, and drinking are just some of the ways to pass the long, sunny days in this strange paradise. As the happenings within the gates take a peculiar turn, father and son slowly begin to peel back their pasts, and they uncover a shocking secret at the heart of this ad hoc community.

Charlene's Review:

When Dermot decides to holiday at his son, Eamonn’s, neither he, or Eamonn can foretell the changes about to take place in their lives. Living in a state of depression, Eamonn is pining away for his love, who left to think things over, and Dermot, still adjusting to the death of his wife, is searching for a deeper connection to his son. The deserted, neglected community cause both to take a long look at the past as they grow into an awareness of themselves and each other.

I loved the idea of this book. The interpersonal look into a man and his grown son, awkward at interacting, yet both in need of each other. Using flashbacks from both perspectives, we see how the men have reached the point in their lives and how they learned to cope. The community’s neighbors throw in a bit of color to the narrative, although I didn’t quite feel how they added to the overall storyline.

I felt the nostalgia and longing within the pages, but wrestled with the back and forth of the time line, along with less than necessary additions. Some of the plot seemed superfluous, as it had nothing at all to do with the relationship of the two men. I finished the book with more questions than answers, but Dermot’s personality shined through as the saving grace of this story. I’d say, overall, it was enjoyable enough, but a little too hurried in the end.


*A physical copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} THE FEMALE VETERAN by Ty Will

ISBN #: 978-1478705895

Page Count: 126

Copyright: June 20, 2013

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

On the heels of the Oscar-nominated documentary, "The Invisible War," comes a story that everyone who has a mother, daughter, aunt, sister or grandmother in the Armed Forces should read.

Over 3000 female veterans file MST (Military Sexual Trauma) reports every year. In 2010, a survey was sent out to all Armed Forces, the results showed more than 19,000 female veterans had been sexually harassed. That is more than 50 veterans a day!

About the Author:

Ty Will served in the Army Reserves from 1987-1989. She went into active duty from 1989 - 1992 then returned to the Reserves until she was honorably discharged in 1995. She served on a secret Drug Interdiction Mission and was awarded the Army Achievement Medal in 1991. Despite receiving this achievement, she has never actually received the medal, like so many other soldiers.

Mandy's Review:

Let me start my review by saying that I believe MST to be a real problem in the military, especially with the influx of women soldiers over the years. Granted, you piss a bunch of men off by invading the boys' club and things like this happen. I'm not making excuses, but something like this should have been anticipated and prepared for. Of course, with the military being previously testosterone-driven, I can see why it wasn't anticipated and why it needs to be remedied now.

Also, I agree that women veterans suffering from legitimate MST problems need a viable venue for receiving help. Throwing a woman suffering from MST in a room of men will only set her healing back. However, I also believe that you can only help people who want to be helped. People only going to therapy to seek attention aren't doing themselves any good and they're wasting people's time and money.

All of that being said ... I didn't like this book.

First of all, the "author" didn't write this book. She simply copied notes and reports from her various therapists, sometimes adding (what I'm sure she thought was funny) notes at the end of each. The comments weren't funny and I didn't laugh ... once.

Personally, I think this lady's issues began way before she joined the military. Her mood swings, cursing, and general personality just made me want to scream. For every rape story you hear about where the lady can't deal with, there's other rape stories you don't hear about where the lady dealt with it, moved on, and is living a happy life. I should know. I'm one of them.

Your life is what you make of it. If you choose to dwell in pain and misery, then that's what you're going to have in your life. If you choose to deal with your situation and problem and actually heal, then you can move forward and be happy again. It's YOUR choice. I don't feel pity for those who CHOOSE to dwell in their pain and misery. You can call me heartless if you want to, but I won't lose any sleep over it. After all, we are supposed to write honest reviews, right?


*A paperback copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.