Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Review: Epic Fails


Epic Fails
Epic Fails by Scott Rhine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



It's so secret that I think Scott Rhine is brilliant, and this anthology of fantasy shorts would be a great way for you to find out just how talented he is. My favorite was "The Loneliness Drug," a stream-of-consciousness treat for the mind. Ranging from serious to silly, there is something here for everyone.

I edited the stories in this anthology a few at a time over the past year or so, and they were awesome. I do not receive remuneration based on sales, and all opinions are my own.



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Sunday, December 22, 2013

Review: Carnival of Cryptids: An Anthology of Strange and Mysterious Creatures


Carnival of Cryptids: An Anthology of Strange and Mysterious Creatures
Carnival of Cryptids: An Anthology of Strange and Mysterious Creatures by Matt Posner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Cryptid short stories/horror
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of cryptid stories, short suspenseful pieces, any of the authors involved
Trigger Warnings: murder, killing

My Thoughts: This is a really fun book of short stories, all tied together with prologue, epilogue, and segments between the chapters. The first couple stories felt Lovecraftian to me; there was a steampunk story set in an alternate dimension, and even a parody of a cooking show (my favorite of the bunch). Not much I can tell you without spoiling things. The only problem is there were some nitpicky editing errors, such as “canon” being used instead of “cannon” and a man being consistently described as “blonde”. Still, not something the layperson would necessarily pick up on. Great bunch of stories for fans of cryptids, or just people who enjoy a well-told, short, suspenseful story, and all proceeds go to charity! Can't beat that!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in e-book format from one of the authors who has a story in this anthology in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: The Creatures of Myth and Legend

Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra. These are the names whispered by villagers and sailors and adventurers around the world. They fill the imagination with wonder and drive ordinary men mad in their quest to tame them. 

Join the Kindle All-Stars as they set off in search of the unseen. Journey with them into the heart of imagination itself, where the jungle grows dark and when something moves against you beneath the surface of the water, you dare not look. 

All Profits Donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Featuring: 
"Carnival of Cryptids Pts. 1-9" by Bernard Schaffer
"ABC" by Tony Healey
"Six-Gun Diplomacy" by William Vitka
"Where is Captain Rook?" by Jeff Provine
"The Cage" by Simon John Cox
"The Ogopogo Club" by Susan Smith-Josephy
"Oh, My Darling of the Deep Blue Sea" by Doug Glassford
"The Paring Knife" by Matt Posner

For lovers of cryptozoology, bigfoot, loch ness monster, sea monsters, cryptids, cryptid hunters, and more!



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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Review: Finding Family: A Mystery Novella


Finding Family: A Mystery Novella
Finding Family: A Mystery Novella by Giacomo Giammatteo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Suspense
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of the author's stories, those looking for more info on Dominic Mangini from A Bullet for Carlos
Trigger Warnings: domestic violence, alcoholism,

My Thoughts: This is a prequel novella in the Blood Flows South series, taking place before the events of A Bullet for Carlos (review linked here). It provides background for Dominic. A Bullet from Dominic should be released soon.

One thing that Giacomo Giammatteo does very well is to show how a basically decent man slowly goes bad out of need and desperation and desire to care for his family. I love the fact that his characters are so layered and multidimensional. If you have read and enjoyed A Bullet for Carlos, do not miss this one.

Disclosure: I picked this book up for free on Amazon during a promotion. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Dominic Mangini wanted what all 8-year-old boys want—time to laugh and play, loving parents, and enough food on the table. But in war-ravaged Sicily, food was scarce, and his parents were as scarred as the land. 

His father said they must move to America so they could start over and be a family once again. Dominic got a new start, and he got a new family—but not the kind of family he expected.



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Friday, December 20, 2013

Review: Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery


Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery
Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery by Giacomo Giammatteo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of suspense/thriller/mysteries with a noir feel
Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, sexual assault, threat of rape, violence, drug use, mention of girl being raped in the past, murder

My Thoughts: This is actually the second book in a new series, but due to some issues that needed to be ironed out, the first book, Old Wounds, will not be released until next year. The books do not need to be read in order, so it all works out.

This is another excellent book by Giacomo Giammatteo. Gino is a great character, multifaceted. In fact, I was incredibly impressed by how everyone had shades of gray. Even many of the villains were highly relatable. Mostly this is a fairly sober book, as it's about serious things, but Gino has a dark sense of humor that comes out in unexpected ways, such as when he is watching the airport and thinks, “No one was coming out holding signs that read, 'we're the kidnappers.' I felt pretty confident of that.” Or when he was on hold: “I was deeply involved with trying to decipher the hidden meaning of it [Mr. Tambourine Man]—all songs from that era [60s] had hidden meanings...” Tip Denton was a real hoot, very much a Texan at heart and always first to make a comment about anything. Julie is never seen, but described as having purple hair, multicolored nails, and always listening to music from the 60s. Just a great group of characters.

One thing did bother me, though. Having faith is all well and good, but I found Lucia's constant comments that, “The Lord won't let anything bad happen to such a good person,” to be naïve and unrealistic. Bad things happen to good people all the time, and telling yourself that sort of thing will just bring heartache when those bad things happen.

But that is such a small thing, and really didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book. If you like mystery/suspense/thrillers with a noirish feel, then you really can't go wrong with this one. Check it out!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Gino Cataldi is a man hanging on by a thread. Cancer took his wife, and drugs put his son in rehab. All he has left is his badge. 

When a teenage girl is kidnapped it brings back nightmares from the worst case he ever worked—the one that tore his life to shreds and forced him out of Philadelphia. 

Gino doesn't want this case but he knows he has to take it. Not just to save the girl, but to earn redemption for what went wrong in Philly.



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Thursday, December 19, 2013

@MajraBook @LadyReaderStuff #Giveaway Book Blast MAJRA by J. Simon (GC)












“In distant Sa'bahr, divinely inspired lunatics spend their lives inscribing every story ever told upon the backs of giant tortoises. The tortoises spend their lives weeping, for they cannot read the wondrous tales written upon their own backs...”

Aris has managed to live a quiet life, even in a stark desert land of glorious tales and beautiful lies, crazed artists and mad hermits. So what if he has a knack for tales? A mere messenger can't change the world. Mighty great works he'll leave to mighty great men.

Now the soldiers of Majra have come to pacify his “savage” people.
Few dare stand against them. Certainly Aris never meant to. Taking work with the invaders was a way to help his family, not gain insights into the alien ways of their singular truth.
Beset by beguiling widows and vengeful plutocrats, firebrand Sheyks and sword-tongued maidens, the choices Aris faces could save his land—or break it.






















J Simon is a small blue bird who has been published in magazines and anthologies ranging from Baen's Universe to Writers of the Future. 

This surely indicates a lapse by the Guardians of Taste, and inquiries are being made.  
There is also a very small chance that nuclear test fallout has transformed J Simon into a gigantic nuclear starfish poised to attack Tokyo, but these reports have yet to be confirmed.







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@AttwoodRandy @CuriosityQuills #Review HEART CHANTS by Randy Attwood

Heart Chants review
Author: Randy Attwood
5 out of 5 stars

Book Info: Genre: Suspense
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: those interested in Diné culture, those who enjoy a good story
Book Available: January 3, 2014 (subject to change)
Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, murder, rape


My Thoughts: This book provides a peek into the legends and lore of the Diné, or as they are commonly known, the Navajo. Their creation story is beautiful.
In the beginning was the wind. And when the earth came, the wind cared for it. And when the darkness came, the wind breezed across it beautifully. And when the dawn came and laid its lightness over the darkness, We, the People, were created. And the wind kissed our faces.
Phil McGuire's portion of the story focuses on two young women—Hsu Chi and Zonnie—whom he takes in to try to protect, Hsu Chi from anti-democratic Chinese gangs, and Zonnie from whoever or whatever has taken away two of her friends, also Navajo, from their college. Attwood has obviously done a great deal of research into the Diné culture, legends and lore and shows the reader exactly how beautiful that culture was, and how much the European settlers destroyed in their hubris. I do not know if there are any reparations to be made for the damage we did to the native cultures here, but I find it been heartbreaking how much knowledge has been lost. It would behoove us to find those who have kept this knowledge and preserve it before it is gone forever.

I found the talk Ko-yo-teh had with the old man at the filling station very funny, especially when the old man repeated the message he had sent to the moon in Navajo: “Watch out for these guys; they come to take your land.” Sad, of course, but also very funny. It fits in with the overall theme of the book, which is well represented by this quote:
I'm convinced the deepest passion mankind has is the need to inflict belief on another person. Belief in God, belief in these words as God's words, belief in this interpretation of these words, belief in these acts in the name of God. If it's not religion, it's politics.
Overall this is a fairly clean book, but I did note some editing errors, mostly extra, missing, or repeated words, awkward commas, and misused words, such as “rationale” for “rational” and “statute” for “statue”. Not enough to lower my rating or lessen my enjoyment, obviously.

Like all of Randy Attwood's stories, this one is absolutely amazing. I kept having goose bumps from reading it. Highly recommended for those who enjoy a good story, especially if you are interested in Native American stories and culture.

Series Information: Phillip McGuire Mystery/Suspense novels
Book 1: Tortured Truths, I edited this book. I did not write an official review, but it's an awesome story.
Book 2: Heart Chants

Disclosure: I received an early ARC e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Burnt-out foreign correspondent Phillip McGuire, who gave up journalism, is now happy owning and running a bar in Lawrence, Kansas. He's happy with his new house in the country. But he's not happy. When two Navajo female students are missing from Haskell Indian college, he agrees to shelter a third. And then a mysterious beautiful Chinese woman stumbles into his life. And all the while, Coyote is working on the largest sandpainting ever created and advancing his plan to reopen the gates to the Navajo's Holy People.

@GemmaFiles @ChiZinePub #Giveaway #Guest_Post "What I Learned from Writing the Hexslinger Series" - Gemma Files

Welcome once again! Today I have a great guest post from Gemma Files, author of the Hexslinger trilogy. You can read my review of the omnibus here, and from that post you can follow links to my reviews of the individual books in the trilogy. 

Also, at the bottom of this post is a Rafflecopter form; one lucky winner will receive a copy of the Hexslinger Omnibus, which includes all three books from the series plus three short stories set in the Hexslinger universe! Be sure to sign up.

Now, here is Gemma Files!



WHAT I LEARNED FROM WRITING THE HEXSLINGER SERIES, by Gemma Files

It was April of 2009, and my friend Sandra Kasturi—co-founder of ChiZine Publications—asked me if I was finally working on a novel yet, after fifteen years of sometimes award-winning short fiction sales in the horror/dark fantasy genre. “Well,” I said, hesitantly, “as a matter of fact...” “Great! What's it about?” “Um—it's a Weird Western with black magic, Aztec gods, and a big gay romance in the middle.” “Send us what you've got, and write a synopsis for the rest!” I did, they liked it, and by a month after that, this project I'd begun as a way to distract myself from the fact that having lost my job had coincided with my son's diagnosis of Austism Spectrum Disorder was suddenly a professional promise I needed to deliver on: get 100,000 words' worth of manuscript to CZP by roughly October, so it could be turned into a genuine book by sometime the next year.

Fast-forward to 2013. That one novel—A Book of Tongues—is now three, making up the Hexslinger Series, and the series itself has been reformatted and released in an ebook-only Omnibus Edition (the perfect holiday gift for anybody who likes gunfights, spells, human sacrifice and hot M/M action, hint hint). Thus rolled back together, the story I once blithely thought would take 100,000 words to tell is actually more like 400,000 words-plus, with three all-new stories set in the Hexslinger-'verse slapped on the end, adding almost 30,000 more words to the mix. That's three years of my life, and a sharp shift in the trajectory of my career. I am a known quantity, now. I have fans and followers who are genuinely invested in whatever I do next, not to mention an ever-growing pool of people who recognize my name and may have formed opinions about my work without us having met, or even—on occasion—without them having read anything I've written. It's everything I ever wanted.


And it all happened, in part—fifteen previous years of hard work and professional contact-making aside—because while delivering on my initial promise to CZP, I failed to write one book so egregiously that I actually ended up writing three.

The way it consistently happened was this: I'd get to about the 80,000-word mark, look at my synopsis—the same synopsis I was following throughout, never deviating particularly from its original arc—and go: “Oh crap, there's no way I'm going to be done by 100,000 words.” By the end, Sandra dryly observed that “apparently, the Hexslinger series is a trilogy—and apparently, the only person who that's a surprise for is, strangely enough, Gemma.”

In hindsight, this structural strategy does indeed make a lot of sense, since the longest-form narratives I'd written up to that point were all screenplays; indeed, I'd made my living teaching screenwriting (as well as film history, and TV series development) for almost ten years, before my job suddenly disappeared. Even the fanfiction “novels” I'd written were all done episodically, as only befitted things mainly based on TV shows—and I'd still keep on severely underestimating what organically felt as though it should go where, in some cases ending up with “chapters” that had up to six sub-sections (5.1, 5.2., etc.). So to look back on the Hexslinger series afterwards and realize I'd organized the overall story into three rough “acts,” each taking up a book on its own, was extremely funny. I'd say I won't be doing that again, but frankly? I think I'd be lying.

In a lot of ways, everything I did, I did wrong. Very little pre-planning, and equally little world-building, for which I've been rightly criticized. The extent of my magic-system development was to come up with the rather neat idea that although in the Hexslinger-'verse some random people tend to suddenly bloom up into demigod-level natural magicians when put in life-threatening situations, the reason they haven't banded together and taken over the non-magical world is that they simply can't, because they're instinctually driven to parasite off each other's energy: any relationship between two hexes tends to end in mutually assured destruction via obsessive, addictive, often sexually-charged magic-vampirism. However, I then undercut this “mages don't meddle” truism by almost immediately asking, “Yeah, but what if...?,” and spent the rest of the series playing catch-up.

Essentially, I've discovered, my book-writing process is that I get the emotional beats first, then mess with what's around them—plot, character, theme, infrastructure—while already in transit, until what I know in my gut “should” happen actually can. It's possible that this is a very horror way to look at things, or perhaps a very short story way; it's certainly haphazard, which is a drawback. But the great thing about thinking, and revising, on your mental feet is that just as your characters' own experiences start to change their perspectives, you too will find yourself asking questions about what you've already put in place, and wanting to know more. This is never a bad thing.
For example: I entered A Book of Tongues knowing that I wanted to write a queer main character (proudly gay gunslinger Chess Pargeter) involved in a queer relationship, which is definitely not something that gets a lot of mainstream representation. But by the end of the novel, I was already slightly put off by how much the rest of my story had slanted back towards the default, possibly because even writing a revisionist Western involves playing with typical Western tropes—it was a very white book, a very male book, one in which the few female characters were almost all monsters, whores or whorish monsters, and while I was proud of having tried to screw with the traditional Western image of “Indians” by making Diné hex Grandma school the heck out of my antihero Reverend Rook, Chess's toxic love interest, that still left the two most villainous-appearing people/creatures in the story depicted as women of colour.

So I took up the challenge, and in the Hexslinger series's second installment—A Rope of Thorns—I not only deliberately tried to widen my scope in terms of character development by introducing people like Yancey Colder (a gifted young woman caught up in the fallout from Chess and the Rev's shenanigans, whose actions would turn out to drive much of the rest of the plot) and Yiska (Grandma's protegé, a two-spirited Diné warrior who lives like a man), but also going back and hopefully adding layers to various previously introduced characters (specifically Songbird, the albino Chinese hex mainly introduced to provide exposition and threat in Book, who also ends up in a very different place from where she started out).

Let me be clear—I'm not patting myself on the back, here, since I'm absolutely sure I didn't do any of this without the committing sort of failure that tends to appear whenever a person of privilege addresses intersectional issues while trying to tell an entertaining, well-paced story. But I'm glad for the opportunity, and now that I've done it on the fly once, it's entirely likely that I'll at least think these things over before I try again. This, too, is part of what I learned from writing the Hexslinger series.

And finally, since I've probably gone on more than long enough—the most wonderful thing that this process taught me is that if I go exactly where I want to go, if I don't self-censor, if I don't tell myself “oh no, don't do that, it's self-indulgent and specious, and no one will ever want to come along for the ride”...sometimes, other people really will respond to it. I'll prove the mainstream, and myself, wrong in its/my assumptions. And in doing so, I'll create something that really does seem to have given far more readers than I ever expected a great deal of enjoyment.

These lessons were very much worth the entire journey, just as the result is very much worth the process, at least to me—but maybe to you too, if you give the Hexslinger Series Omnibus a chance. And best of all, you finally won't have to wait between installments.

Thank you, Gemma! Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or thoughts you want to share! 

Here is the giveaway, so good luck! Please note that there is not a PDF file available; you will need to indicate whether you prefer .epub (Nook) or .mobi (Kindle).

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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

@GemmaFiles @ChiZinePub #Review THE HEXSLINGER OMNIBUS by Gemma Files.

The Hexslinger Omnibus review
Author: Gemma Files
5 out of 5 stars

Book Info: Genre: Weird Western/Supernatural Horror/Steampunk
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of Weird West, horror, those interested in Meso-American religious practices
Trigger Warnings for series: murder (including mass murder), killing, execution, non PC language, fighting, violence, suicide, explicit M/M sex (first book only), human sacrifice, self injury, giant spiders
Animal Injuries: several horses are killed during a melee

My Thoughts on Omnnibus: The omnibus includes the Hexslinger trilogy as well as three bonus short stories, “Hexmas”., “Like a Bowl of Fire”, and “In Scarlet Town (Today)”. I have written individual reviews for each of the books in the trilogy, so for more detail on any given book, check that out. I will use this review to talk about the series as a whole, and also to review the three short stories.

One of the things I really liked about this series is the characters, and character development. Some of these people are really quite horrible human beings at the beginning, like Songbird and Chess Pargeter, yet they grow and change through the course of the series in such as way as to begin on a path to redemption. Others start out good people, like Ash Rook and Mesach Love, only to fall out of grace through one reason or another. I liked that the author was willing to make that sort of gamble. While I imagine there will be plenty of people for whom this series is definitely not their cup of tea, but for those who might like a Weird Western with some gay romance, well, this should fulfill that nicely.

As far as the short stories:
Hexmas” is set 6 or 7 years after the events of the main trilogy. Ed Morrow and Yancey Colder Kloves are homesteading in the desert on a plot that Chess helped set up, but a new neighbor—a hex woman from Iceland—is causing trouble for them due to her fear that Yancey is a hex and will try to destroy her. To make things even more tricky, Yancey is close to delivering her first child, and afraid the neighbor woman will kill the babe upon its birth. Chess, recently elected Sheriff of Hexicas, comes to visit just in time. This short is more lighthearted, at least at the beginning, than a lot of the trilogy, and that was nice to see. It was also neat to see how Ed and Yancey have been keeping themselves during the time in question. There is mention that Yancey has been using her dead-speaker skills to try to learn more about her heritage, both from her father's Jewish tradition, and her mother's Romani.

Like a Bowl of Fire” is set shortly after the events of the trilogy. Chess is traveling with Charlie, the young man he meets in the epilogue of book 3. They have traveled back east, where a local man has pointed them toward a section of land on which nothing will grow. Anything that goes there burns, be it a person or a plant. Chess and Charlie have to figure out why this is happening and try to stop it. During this short, we find out that Charlie has a special way with the arachnorses, the large spiders born from the giant spider in the third book, which are being trained as mounts. We also see how Chess has grown in his wisdom over the years.

In Scarlet Town (Today)” takes place about a year before “Hexmas”. The leaders of Hexicas summon Chess to help them solve a murder, which should be impossible due to the Oath that all hexes must take to live in Hex City. Chess uncovers a cauldron of bad feelings between the hexes and the so-called “naturals”, upon whom many of the hexes look down and consider inferior, while the “naturals” are resentful of their treatment but feel they are stuck there and unable to leave. Charlie does as much to solve this as Chess.

I really did enjoy all the short stories, which gave a more in-depth look at some of the people from the series, as well as catching the reader up on them since the end of the series. Fans of the trilogy might want to purchase the omnibus mainly so they can read these stories, if for no other reason. I really have enjoyed reading these stories and look forward to whatever this author might come up with next. Watch for a guest post from the author, and a giveaway, coming on Friday on my blog!

Series Information: The Hexslinger Series
Book 1: A Book of Tongues, review linked here
Book 2: A Rope of Thorns, review linked here
Book 3: A Tree of Bones, review linked here

Disclosure: I received a copy of the omnibus from ChiZine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Omnibus Synopsis: It’s 1867, and the Civil War is over. But the blood has just begun to flow.

For Asher Rook, Chess Pargeter, and Ed Morrow, the war has left its mark in tangled lines of association and cataclysmic love, woken hexslinger magic, and the terrible attentions of a dead god. “Reverend” Asher Rook is the unwilling gateway for the Mayan goddess Ixchel to birth her pantheon back into the world of the living, and to do it she’ll force Rook to sacrifice his lover and fellow outlaw Chess Pargeter. But being dead won’t bar Chess from taking vengeance, and Pargeter will claw his way back out of Hell, teaming with undercover-Pinkerton-agent-turned-outlaw Ed Morrow to wreak it. What comes back into the world in the form of Chess Pargeter is a walking wound, Chess’s very presence tearing a crack in the world and reshaping everything around him while Ixchel establishes Hex City, a city state defying the very laws of nature—an act that will draw battle lines between a passel of dead gods and monsters, hexes galore, spiritualists, practitioners of black science, a coalition set against Ixchel led by Allan Pinkerton himself, and everyone unfortunate enough to be caught between the colliding forces. None of which will stop Chess from hunting down Rook, now consort to Ixchel, even if he has to rip the world apart to do it.

With the barriers between worlds crumbling, a new war being waged across the American West, and Ixchel preparing to kick off an Apocalypse fed by shed human blood while Rook plots one, final, redemptive treachery of his own, everything will come down to Chess Pargeter, once again trapped in a nightmarish underworld. But Chess has fought his way out of hell before. . . .

Review: A Tree of Bones


A Tree of Bones
A Tree of Bones by Gemma Files

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Weird Western/Supernatural Horror/Steampunk
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of Weird West, horror, those interested in Meso-American religious practices
Trigger Warnings for Book 3: killing, human sacrifice, bullying, non PC language

My Thoughts on Book 3: This really is a most satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Watching Chess's evolution has been quite amazing, and I've also quite enjoyed seeing how Yancey and Ed and Songbird all grew and changed through the course of the trilogy.

These books are very LGBTQ oriented, with a number of characters from the QUILTBAG included, as well as the inherent hostility toward them of the time. Still, it was refreshing to see a piece set during the late 19th century that was open and honest about the existence of all types.

Ultimately there is not a lot I can say here without there ending up with spoilers, so I'll just say that I really did enjoy this book—this whole trilogy—quite a lot. Watch for my review of the omnibus, which also includes a bonus short story.

Series Information: The Hexslinger Series
Book 1: A Book of Tongues, review linked here
Book 2: A Rope of Thorns, review linked here
Book 3: A Tree of Bones

Disclosure: I received a copy of the omnibus from ChiZine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: New Mexico, 1867: Months have passed since hexslinger Chess Pargeter sacrificed himself to restore the town of Bewelcome, once cursed to salt by his former lover, "Reverend" Asher Rook. Now a coalition led by Allan Pinkerton's Detective Agency lays siege to reborn Mayan goddess Ixchel's notorious "Hex City," the one place on earth where hexes can act in concert, and the desert just outside Bewelcome has become the front line in what threatens to become a new Civil War—one in which wild magic and black science clash headlong, producing carnage like nothing the world has ever seen!



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Sunday, December 15, 2013

@ValerieDouglasA @TheFinishingFae THE COMING STORM by Valerie Douglas

The Coming Storm, By Valerie Douglas


Spanning an epic series of books, 'The Coming Storm' by Valerie Douglas takes you to the heart of a conflict between magic users, and those without magic, good and evil, love and loss.

Join Ailith and Elon as they have to choose between love, duty, and everything they've battled for.
 

about-the-book-valerie

Elon of Aerilann, Elven advisor to the High King of Men, helped negotiate the treaty between Elves, Dwarves and men. He suddenly finds that fragile truce threatened from without by an unknown enemy and from within by old hatreds and prejudice. With the aid of his true-friend Colath, the wizard Jareth and the Elven archer Jalila, he goes in search of the source of the threat.

Ailith, the Heir to Riverford, fights her own silent battle. Her father has changed, but her quest to discover what changed him puts her life and very soul in danger and leaves her only one direction in which to turn. Elon.

To preserve the alliance, though, Elon will have to choose between his honor, his duty and everything for which he fought.

Amazon | Goodreads

series-buy-links
A Conocation of Kings (The Coming Storm, #2) 
(The Coming Storm, #3)  (novella will be 99¢ during the blast)
(The Coming Storm, #4)  (novella will be 99¢ during the blast)

review quotes

meet-valerie-butt

Valerie Douglas is a prolific writer and a genre-crosser, much to the delight of her fans. A fan of authors of almost every genre from Isaac Asimov to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, she writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and as V.J. Devereaux, erotic romance. Who knows what will pop up down the road!
Valerie Douglas is a prolific writer and a genre-crosser, much to the delight of her fans. A fan of authors of almost every genre from Isaac Asimov to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, she writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and as V.J. Devereaux, erotic romance. Who knows what will pop up down the road!

Happily married, she’s companion to two dogs, four cats and an African clawed frog named Hopper who delights in tormenting the cats from his tank.

You can find more information at Valerie Douglas Books, or at Alexandria Publishing Group.

Facebook Blog Twitter

And to celebrate her book blast, Valerie's lowered the price of The Coming Storm on a Countdown Deal.  Head on over to the page and see what it's set and and grab your copy at the lowest price you can!  Her novellas Not Magic EnoughSetting Boundaries have also been priced at $0.99 for the duration of this project.

And in January....

join-the-tour

In January, Valerie is visiting blogs, talking books and sharing her experience.  As author of more than 20 books, she's got a lot to say about indie publishing and would love to visit with you.

If you'd like to join in you can sign up here or fill the form out below



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Saturday, December 14, 2013

Review: A Rope of Thorns


A Rope of Thorns
A Rope of Thorns by Gemma Files

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Weird Western/Supernatural Horror/Steampunk
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of Weird West, horror, those interested in Meso-American religious practices
Trigger Warnings for Book 2: killing, murder, discussion of mass suicides, human sacrifice , m/m sex, obscenity, profanity, blasphemy, self-injury, non PC language
Animal Injuries: several horses are killed during a melee

My Thoughts on Book 2: Chess Pargeter has quite a mouth on him. I would love to share some of the creative swearing, but alas, Amazon doesn't like us to use that sort of language. One of the things I like best about these books is the character development. The author creates characters that you love, or love to hate, with depth and quirks. A few of my favorites from this book include Three-Finger Hank and Yiska, as well as Yancey.

This book is set just after the Civil war, so in order to maintain realism, there is language used that many people might find offensive in a modern context. However, one needs to realize that this is how people spoke then, and it is not meant in a pejorative way.

I'm fascinated by the MesoAmerican mythology being brought to life here. The descriptions of things are so beautiful, but then the actual thing being described is horrible. It was not a kind, gentle society, that much is sure, and the gods are some of the most bloodthirsty the world around.

The author describes this as black magic gay porn horse opera. This is fairly accurate, although to be fair there is much less sex in this second book than was in the first. If you enjoy that sort of story, and/or are interested in MesoAmerican culture, be sure to check this series out.

Synopsis: You must let blood to get blood. Arizona, 1867. As consort to resurrected Mayan goddess Ixchel, hexslinger "Reverend" Asher Rook* has founded "Hex City"—the first place in all of human history where magicians can live and work together safely. But this tenuous peace is is threatened by the approach of Rook's former lover, Chess Pargeter, bent on revenge over Rook's betrayal, as he kills his way toward the very same spot, dragging Pinkerton agent-turned-outlaw Ed Morrow along with him. Because Chess, sacrificed in Ixchel's name, has become far more than just a hex: his very presence has torn a crack in the world, remaking everything around him. And as the cycle of Chess's power approaches its climax, Chess, Morrow, and a young spiritualist named Yancey Colder—caught up in Chess's vendetta—will all have to shed yet more blood as they face down his mysterious patron demon, known only as the Enemy... along with every other enemy Chess has already made along the way.



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Friday, December 13, 2013

@GemmaFiles @ChiZinePub #Review A BOOK OF TONGUES by Gemma Files

A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Please note: I read this book in November, 2011 from an e-galley I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I will be posting a blog tour review of the omnibus December 18, 2013, but first will be posting the individual reviews of the books. Enjoy!

Book Info: Genre: Weird Western/Supernatural Horror/Steampunk
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of Weird West, horror, those interested in Meso-American religious practices
Trigger Warnings for Book 1: Murder, violence, fairly graphic M/M sex, drug abuse, suicide, rape (m/m; f/m with woman as instigator), human sacrifice

My Synopsis: “Reverend” Ash Rook and Chess Pargeter run one of the most notorious gangs in the weird west, using Rev’s hexes in order to rob and murder their way across the country. They are also lovers, as in love as two apparently soulless outlaws can be. However, hexes don’t mix, and that is a serious disadvantage to the Rev’s future plans – so he sets out to make it possible for hexes to work together. In doing so, he will raise a pantheon of lost gods back from their own hell and set them loose upon the world. Agent Ed Morrow of the Pinkerton Agency has infiltrated their gang in order to try to establish parameters that it is hoped will help the US find hexes before they come into their power and nurture them, in order to have them work for the government. However, Ed is found out by Rook and ends up a part of Rook’s plans, all unwitting. Will Rook end up sacrificing everything he ever loved in his quest for power? Will Ed survive the whole experience? And will the world survive the cataclysms that may arise along with the ancient Meso-american gods?

My Thoughts and Recommendations: This was a … very strange book. I liked it – a lot! It was unique and I definitely enjoyed all the Aztec/Mayan legends and lore that were worked into the story. Rook and Chess’ love affair was so beautifully dysfunctional, and the supporting cast of characters were all developed in such a way to give them depth and interest. I particularly liked Hosteen. If you enjoy steampunk, “weird West,” and adventure, and are not bothered by m/m interactions, you should find something to enjoy in this delightfully strange and different story.

Synopsis: Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Morrow has gone undercover with one of the weird West's most dangerous outlaw gangs—the troop led by "Reverend" Asher Rook, ex-Confederate chaplain turned "hexslinger," and his notorious lieutenant (and lover) Chess Pargeter. Morrow's task: get close enough to map the extent of Rook's power, then bring that knowledge back to help Professor Joachim Asbury unlock the secrets of magic itself.

Magicians, cursed by their gift to a solitary and painful existence, have never been more than a footnote in history. But Rook, driven by desperation, has a plan to shatter the natural law that prevents hexes from cooperation, and change the face of the world—a plan sealed by an unholy marriage-oath with the goddess Ixchel, mother of all hanged men. To accomplish this, he must raise her bloodthirsty pantheon from its collective grave through sacrifice, destruction, and apotheosis.

Caught between a passel of dead gods and monsters, hexes galore, Rook's witchery, and the ruthless calculations of his own masters, Morrow's only real hope of survival lies with the man without whom Rook cannot succeed: Chess Pargeter himself. But Morrow and Chess will have to literally ride through Hell before the truth of Chess's fate comes clear—the doom written for him, and the entire world.



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@MGraybosch @CuriosityQuills WITHOUT BLOODSHED #Blitz

Today I'll be providing you some information about the excellent book Without Bloodshed. My review can be seen here; I absolutely LOVED this book! It is the first book in the Starbreakers series, and I can't wait for the rest of the series.

Summary:

“All who threaten me die.”

These words made Morgan Stormrider’s reputation as one of the Phoenix Society’s deadliest IRD officers. He served with distinction as the Society’s avenger, hunting down anybody who dared kill an Adversary in the line of duty. After a decade spent living by the sword, Morgan seeks to bid a farewell to arms and make a new life with his friends as a musician. Regardless of his faltering faith, the Phoenix Society has a final mission for Morgan Stormrider after a dictator’s accusations make him a liability to the organization. He must put everything aside, travel to Boston, and prove he is not the Society’s assassin.

He must put down Alexander Liebenthal’s coup while taking him alive.

Despite the gravity of his task, Morgan cannot put aside his ex-girlfriend’s murder, or efforts to frame him and his closest friends for the crime. He cannot ignore a request from a trusted friend to investigate the theft of designs for a weapon before which even gods stand defenseless. He cannot disregard the corruption implied in the Phoenix Society’s willingness to make him a scapegoat should he fail to resolve the crisis in Boston without bloodshed.

The words with which Morgan Stormrider forged his reputation haunt him still.

Statistics:

● Genre: Science Fiction

● Length: 319 Pages

● Pub. Date: November 17, 2013

● ISBN: 978-1-62007-278-3 (ebook)

● ISBN: 978-1-62007-279-0 (paperback)

Links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Goodreads

Bio

Matthew Graybosch (http://www.matthewgraybosch.com) is the author of Without Bloodshed, a near-future science fantasy thriller set in the Starbreaker universe. Without Bloodshed is
published by Curiosity Quills Press (http://curiosityquills.com/) and currently available.

His other works include:

● “Tattoo Vampire”: a short story featuring Morgan Stormrider (http://www.starbreakerseries.com/stories/tattoovampire)

● “The Milgram Battery”: a short story featuring Morgan Stormrider, available in the Curiosity Quills Primetime charity anthology

● “Steadfast”: a novelette featuring Naomi Bradleigh (http://curiosityquills.com/steadfast-part-one-dead-on-arrival/)

According to official records maintained by the state of New York, Matthew Graybosch was born on Long Island in 1978. Urban legends in New York suggest he might be Rosemary’s Baby, the result of top-secret DOD attempts to continue Nazi experiments combining human technology and black magic, or that he sprang fully grown from his father’s forehead with a sledgehammer in one hand and a copy of Bulfinch’s Mythology in the other — and has given the poor man headaches ever since.

The truth is more prosaic. Matthew Graybosch is a novelist from New York who lives in central Pennsylvania. He is also an avid reader, a long-haired metalhead, and an unrepentant nerd.

Find Matthew Online:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Google Plus


@MGraybosch @CuriosityQuills #Review "Without Bloodshed" by Matthew Graybosch

Without Bloodshed review
Author: Matthew Graybosch
5 out of 5 stars

Book Info: Genre: Speculative Fiction
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of metal, scifi, fantastic worlds
Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, abuse of power, murder, violence, fighting

My Thoughts: First of all, I absolutely love the cover on this thing. It is just gorgeous. This is the first book in the Starbreakers series, and it was a terrific read. It is described at the Starbreakers series website as: “Androids unaware of their nature fight demons from outer space. It's totally metal.” If I had known that little bit going into the book I might have caught on to what was going on that much more quickly, but it is eventually revealed to the careful reader. Additional stories that can provide background can also be found and read online by starting at the Starbreakers series website story page.

I love the complexity of the characters in this book. None of them are one-dimensional, nothing is really ever quite what it seems, and every time I started to figure out what might be going on, a new twist or kink was thrown in and I was right back at ground zero. It was beautifully done to keep the reader engaged with the story rather than frustrated. I particularly was amused by some of Claire's random ejaculations and swearing, which I am unable to add into the review due to Terms of Service issues at some of the sites where I post them. I did post some updates including some of them on Goodreads, which were apparently amusing enough that one of my friends told me she'd picked up a copy of the book based on my updates on only the first 11 percent of the book.

The “metalness” of the stories is more obvious in the short stories available on the website, but it comes through a bit in this book, too. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, so if it sounds like your sort of thing, definitely check it out.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Curiosity Quills in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: "All who threaten me die."

These words made Morgan Stormrider's reputation as one of the Phoenix Society's deadliest IRD officers. He served with distinction as the Society's avenger, hunting down anybody who dared kill an Adversary in the line of duty. After a decade spent living by the sword, Morgan seeks to bid a farewell to arms and make a new life with his friends as a musician. Regardless of his faltering faith, the Phoenix Society has a final mission for Morgan Stormrider after a dictator's accusations make him a liability to the organization. He must put everything aside, travel to Boston, and prove he is not the Society's assassin. He must put down Alexander Liebenthal's coup while taking him alive.

Despite the gravity of his task, Morgan cannot put aside his ex-girlfriend's murder, or efforts to frame him and his closest friends for the crime. He cannot ignore a request from a trusted friend to investigate the theft of designs for a weapon before which even gods stand defenseless. He cannot disregard the corruption implied in the Phoenix Society's willingness to make him a scapegoat should he fail to resolve the crisis in Boston without bloodshed.

The words with which Morgan Stormrider forged his reputation haunt him still.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

@LadyGlamis @LadyReaderStuff #Review #Giveaway OUT OF TUNE by Michelle D. Argyle


Out of Tune review
Author: Michelle D. Argyle
4 out of 5 stars

Book Info: Genre: Literary Fiction
Reading Level: New Adult
Recommended for: fans of New Adult, coming-of-age fiction, country music
Trigger Warnings: infidelity, miscarriage

My Thoughts: While this is not the sort of book I normally read, I have read and enjoyed this author's work in the past (Monarch, review linked here; The Breakaway, review linked here), so decided to give it a go.

All the good things were easy to overlook when she was standing in a pile of wreckage, wondering what had started the first explosion.” That quote sort of encapsulates the story and the experiences that Maggie goes through during the course of this book. She's been sheltered her whole life, home-schooled, following her country-music-star parents on their tours, and now, at 20, she wants to strike out on her own.

The one thing I really did not like was the resolution of the love triangle. Even though what happened is, unfortunately, realistic, it seems very unfair to the guy she doesn't pick. It also felt sort of tacked on. Unfortunately I can't be more specific, so as to avoid spoilers, but I think most folks will see what I mean when they read this.

However, fans of New Adult novels, coming-of-age books, and country music should all enjoy this book. It is well-written (not that I'd expect anything less of this author) and the characters can all be related to easily. Check it out if this sounds like your sort of thing.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author's publicist in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Twenty-year-old Maggie Roads’ parents are legendary in the country music world. She wants nothing more than to follow in their footsteps, but the limelight isn’t reserved for singers who can’t carry a tune, let alone keep a rhythm.

When her parents tell her they’re getting divorced, Maggie decides it’s time to leave home and take her future into her own hands. Moving in with Cole, her best friend and sometimes boyfriend, might not be the best of ideas, but she’s got to start somewhere. Their off-and-on romance gets even more complicated when Maggie crushes on her new voice teacher, Nathan, who unlocks her stunning potential. A sensational music career of her own is finally within reach, but Maggie might need more than perfect pitch to find what she’s really looking for.

Author Bio:

Michelle lives and writes in Utah, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. She adores cheese, chocolate, sushi, and lots of ethnic food, and loves to read and write books in the time she grabs between her sword-wielding husband and energetic daughter.

She believes a simple life is the best life.

Michelle writes contemporary Young Adult and New Adult fiction (and other genres when she feels like it).


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December 3rd – Mandy at I read Indie – Playlist
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December 10th– Jess at Jess Resides Here – Playlist, Top Ten
December 10th Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Review
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December 13thCreative Barbwire – Guest Post