book review

Edge of Darkness (Submit to Darkness Book 1) – AJ Spencer

Angela1 Comment

This story was a great read for me, and I had in finished within 24 hours. It is fast-paced, with characters that are well-developed and detailed descriptions that easily have you watching this story in your mind as you are reading it. You can see the characters, and you have empathy for them. Well, some of them. Derik Ryder; not so much.

Edge of Darkness Cover

Natasha Stolt is new on the case of the Serial Killer known to the public as Grimm, due to his fascination with staging his victims in a Fairy Tale type of scene, making a point that Natasha recognizes right away.

Her partner, Giovanni Tagliente, seems to have something to hide. I have a feeling book 2 is going to be a bit more sinister than this, and the lines are going to be drawn in the sand between what is good, and what is evil, and exactly where Natasha stands on that line between darkness and good.

I will certainly be finishing the next two books of this story; it is spectacularly written with a storyline and plot that will have many looking deep inside themselves to see if they are 100 percent sure of exactly where they stand on that line between darkness and good as well.

(This book comes with a warning disclaimer due to the graphic nature and violence of the story. It is justly earned so if reading graphic novels that include violence against women in every possible sense of the word is upsetting to you, this book is not for you).

You can find this book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Darkness-Submit-Book-ebook/dp/B00NLPCIV0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416346897&sr=8-1&keywords=Edge+of+darkness+AJ+Spencer

Kill Them Wherever You Find Them – David Hunter

Angela2 Comments

What a great story! I feel like it has taken me forever to finish this book, but it is not because of the book! I have had two weeks of life-happens-if-it-can-go-wrong-it-will-go-wrong things going on.

photo courtesy of http://davidhunterbooks.com/
photo courtesy of http://davidhunterbooks.com/

I gave a small preview of this book last week as I was reading it, and I have finished and am very pleased to post this review. For what I expected to be a very “busy” story with too many things going on for me to enjoy, I was more than pleased with David’s style of writing. I have read numerous stories where there are so many characters and subplots that the only thing I got out of the story was a headache. That is not the case here. There is a lot going on in this story, but it was written so well I had no problems following the subplots, the various characters in locations all over the world, and I could put it down for a couple days and pick it right back up without needing to skim through the last few pages to remind myself what was going on with whom.

The timing of this story could not have been better planned as it deals with the wars between Israel and those who seek to destroy her. It gives very detailed information on the various religions and what lengths they could possibly go to in order to support their beliefs. Ebola and Anthrax are the weapons of choice here.

There are two more stories to this trilogy, and as I always try to not give spoilers (unless if I did not like the story) I will have to be brief here as well. What I can tell you is that if you enjoy suspense, mystery, science, and true facts mixed with a fictional story, you need to read this book!  If you enjoy James Patterson, Stephen King, science fiction, and facts, this is the book for you!

I am so excited to read the next two books in this trilogy.

You can visit David’s website here : http://davidhunterbooks.com/

I Trusted Him: The True Story of Anna Lynn Hurd – Jennifer Smith & Cherry Tigris

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This story is written in 2 parts; the first part being Anna’s Journey, while the second part is Who’s at Risk. There are numerous resources at the end of the book on where teens, children, and parents can get help when they suspect or witness emotional, verbal, and physical abuse in a relationship. This story is written by Jennifer Smith; Anna’s mother, and Cherry Tigris, an advocate for child abuse survivors, and  teen dating violence advocate.

I Trusted Him Cover

Part one, Anna’s Journey, is told from her point of view, by her mother; what she was experiencing, the stress she felt maintaining this difficult relationship, and how her boyfriend would react to several different situations, based on his level of jealousy, anger, and need to control.

There are no parts in the story detailing any physical violence prior to her being killed, but there was an intense control issue going on. Anna was required to turn over her cell phone at the drop of a hat for Mark’s inspection. He was convinced that she was texting another; likely planning to end their relationship.

There was also discussion of a difficult relationship at home with her father, whom she lived with after her parents divorced. Her mother lived in Texas. She lost friends because of Mark’s control and deceit, and others chose to just avoid her completely so as to not even begin getting involved in that type of situation.

Anna had her way out; she was moving to Texas to live with her mother. Mark thought he was going to Texas with her, and she was running out of time to get away from him. In a confrontation where she could not deal with it anymore, she told him she was going to Texas, alone, and getting back together with her ex-boyfriend.

Mark stabbed her in the back as she walked away from him, and continued to stab her until he killed her. The story did not give further details on the trial, or the sentence that Mark received for killing Anna.

As I stated at the beginning, this story was told from Anna’s point of view, from her mother. I would never defend anyone capable of violence; physical, verbal, or emotional. We are told about Anna’s difficult childhood, but we are not told in this story of any issues or situations that Mark may have been experiencing. It is unclear if there was a turning point in his youth that caused him to be so distrustful of those closest to him.

This is not normally the type of story I would review, but I did read it as being a mother of 4 daughter’s, and witnessing one being in a very controlling relationship, I could read parts of this story that made me remember my daughter experiencing these same types of things. The only thing it seemed like I could tell her was “You cannot fix him. It is not your responsibility to fix him.”

If you have children, boys or girls, that are dating or will soon be, this would be a good story to pick up.

The Wychetts – William Holley

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This was a great, quick read full of laughs and not complicated in the least. This is definitely a YA series (this is book 1) or at least 4 or 5 that are published, with the promise of more titles to come.

The Wychetts Book 1 Cover

The story focuses on Bryony, a presumed teenage girl and her father, Bill. Bill is newly married to Jane, who brings along with her a 10 year old son, Edwin. Bill takes it upon himself to purchase a new family home for all of them, sight unseen. I chose to ignore the fact that no one in their right mind, or any mind, would ever do this. He did not even get the seller’s name or any information. Okay, so we are just going to move along and ignore the clearly impossible things happening here, and enjoy the story for the fun read it is meant to be. This house, called Wychetts (pronounced Witchitts), was created 500 years ago to ensnare the magic from the Guardians, to be used by the Dark One.

Bryony and Edwin are of course 2 Guardians, and Bill buying the house was not by accident. It was all planned in order to take the magic from the guardians and use it for evil.

There is nothing too scary here, and I would definitely let my 10 year old read it. Other than some talk of overgrown spiders, I did not see anything that would be of concern to young readers or their parents. I read it easily in a few hours, and will definitely read the other ones published to date. If you have young readers in your home, these books would be great gifts!

Visit there website for more information here: http://www.wychetts.com/Wychetts/Wychetts.html

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If you missed my Thursday post and the chance for the free Amazon gift cards, be sure to go check it out and register to get your name in the drawing. There’s a couple few days left and I would love a great turn-out for this give-away before my next one 🙂 You can find it here: https://booksandopinions.com/2014/11/06/give-away-1-for-your-holiday-season/

The Generations Series: A Little Lower Than the Angels (Book 1) – Caryl McAdoo

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If you love the stories of the Bible, if you are new to reading the Bible, or a seasoned expert looking to expand on the stories surrounding the creation of the human race- this story is the perfect place to start.

photo courtesy of Caryl McAdoo
photo courtesy of Caryl McAdoo

This first in The Generations Series, titled A Little Lower than the Angels, takes you through the lives of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, and how the choices they each willfully made affected the rest of their lives.

You will experience Abel and his interactions in Heaven with various cherubim, his constant questioning of when the rest of his family will join him, and the biggest question of if Cain himself will be able to join him there.

Watch as Adam and Eve deal with the disobedience and sin of Cain, and his disappearance with his sister and wife, Sheriah. Adam and Eve are again left alone, Eve seemingly unable to bear the burden of her guilt that all of this tragedy her family is experiencing is due to her original sin in the Garden of Eden. Will she ever be able to repent enough and again enjoy a life on Earth with her husband? Your heart breaks right along with her as she buries her son into the ground, not quite understanding her husband’s insistence that they are from the earth, and to it they must return.

The facts in this story are true to the Bible, and come from the King James Version. The story is one interpretation of what life may have been like; what this family may have experienced as they lived through the ups and downs of their lives during this time period.

This story is a triumph for Biblical fiction: it gets everything right, while adding to the story to allow the reader to experience what the early Christians went through for and because of their faith.

I do not think Caryl McAdoo could write the remaining books of this series fast enough for me!

Be sure to visit her website for more great reads! I have another one already, and cannot wait to read it!

http://carylmcadoo.com

Oklahoma Ride: Guideposts for your Life – Tony A. Smith

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What a great read this was! It takes you through a young boys’ life, the time he was fortunate enough to spend with his Grams, and the lessons she taught him. Everyone should be so lucky to have such a wise, loving person in their young life that they can spend time with.

Oklahoma Ride Cover

I have never been to Oklahoma, but Tony certainly wrote this in a way that I could see every scene he described as if I had visited it many times. I adore books that have great descriptions of the surroundings.

There are wonderful life lessons here that will always be important, no matter what stage of your life you are at. They will never go out of style either. Tony’s Grams showed him from a very early age the importance of writing letters, and how much it means to the person who receives it. Why it is important to always be on time, and to truly listen to others, even if they repeat themselves. Your time is really the most valuable gift you can give to another.

There are great explanations and examples of why it is necessary and important to have a plan, be organized, and always strive to learn something new.

This book brought many smiles to my face, reading about this young boy and the loving relationship he had with his Grams. It is an easy read with some wonderful poetry, and is a perfect way to spend a relaxing Fall weekend!

The Faust Syndrome – Jaysen True Blood

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The Faust Syndrome CoverJust in time for the upcoming All Hollow’s Eve, one more story to make your hair stand on end while you fight the overwhelming urge to turn on every light in your home. Yes, it’s that good. This was my first read of Jaysen True Blood’s work, and I could not have been more pleased!

We all have the basic understanding of right and wrong; correct? Good. And we all try to do good by our hearts, and what we know we should be doing.

But what if you had the ability to do whatever you wanted? Anything: right, wrong, or indifferent. Could you still do the morally correct things and follow the rules of society as society dictates? What if you could have it all? Or at least you believed you could have it all. Then what would you do?

This story looks at right and wrong, morally correct and unethical, righteously sound and corruptness by evil. Read about the lengths one man goes to in order to have it all. Ironically, he “had it all” throughout his entire childhood. Having it all would cost him his soul, but what did he need that for anyhow?

You will never look at Heaven and Hell the same, and may change your mind on what you believe to be true. There is no religious marketing scheme here to get you into a church; just the lengths a man goes to in order to have it all. He destroys anyone and everyone who gets in his way, and then he destroys some more just for the fun of it.

The ending had quite the twist for me, and it made the story that much more profound now that I knew the “whole” story. I try at all lengths to never give out spoilers, and the same holds true here. You are going to have to read it for yourself!

You still have time to get this book and have it read before Halloween this Friday, October 31st. Or at least start reading it by Halloween. You will want to make space on your scary-books-bookshelf for this one. I myself am making room for a couple more of Jaysen True Blood’s books on my bookshelves.

You can find this book here: http://www.amazon.com/Faust-Syndrome-Jaysen-True-Blood/dp/1502566079

Gingerbread Cookie Murder – Joanne Fluke

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Just in time for the upcoming Holidays (which I cannot wait for!) is a great murder-mystery without all of the blood-and-gore, full of laughs, and even boasts some great recipes.

Gingerbread Cookie Murder

Joanne Fluke has quite the market for her Hannah Swensen mystery books. Hannah owns her own bakery, and seems to come across dead bodies almost as much as she has customers in her shop!

This story begins when Hannah finds her neighbor dead in his condo, with a box of her gingerbread cookies on the floor next to him. Who did she sell those cookies to?

Joanne Fluke has dozens of these types of stories written around Hannah, and they are all good reads. I have not tried any of the recipes in the books, but they seem to be fairly straight-forward without a lot of complicated steps. This particular book also contains 2 more stories; one by Laura Levine, and the other by Leslie Meier. Gingerbread is the theme here, and I think you will enjoy these stories as well.

As we get through October and into November, I am going to be having a few different give-aways; books, gift cards, etc. Stay tuned, the details will be out soon!

The Jefferson Key – Steve Berry

Angela2 Comments

I found this to be a great book. It was better than I expected, and being a history buff, this is no-holds-barred! Mixing history with facts, this book held my attention from start to finish. The author did not overwhelm with useless information that added pages to the book, but no information.

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Fighting the Government, Cotton Malone is focused not only on success, but on the woman who is holding his heart captive. There are twists and turns here, but not a whole lot I can say without giving you spoilers. The main concept of this story is that four Presidential assassinations that span a hundred years are related and happened for the same reason as the assassination attempt on the current President, Danny Daniels.

Is it possible that our founding fathers put into place a clause that allows for the sanctioned killing of a United States President? This is what Cotton needs to figure out, and it puts him on a trail that takes him from one side of the country to the other.

If you are a history buff, and love to read, you will want to make sure this book goes on your must-read list!