Review: O- Short Stories by Ander Louis

Goodreads Blurb

O is a collection of four short stories that are quite dark, somewhat twisted, and explore a central theme of the difficulty humans sometimes have empathising with one another.

My Review: Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I wasn’t a fan of these dark, short stories. The author really took you to the characters’ scary, crazy, messed up thoughts. To watch videos of beheadings is just crazy and to imagine it being done to someone you are dating is even more crazier. Each story brings heartbreak to another level. It is easier for the character to die or kill than live a lonely life.

Goodreads Author Biography

Ander Louis is an independent author from Melbourne, Australia. His most recent novel is Personal Fable.

Review: Benjamin by Aaron Powell

Goodreads Blurb

The harsh winter and great outdoors of upstate New York provide Benjamin with the only solace from an otherwise agonizing existence. His mother’s abusive alcoholic boyfriend, the bully on the bus, and a Math teacher who pays a little too much attention to schoolboys are slowly chipping away at his dignity and feelings of self-worth.

Benjamin clings to any sense of normalcy, until a series of escalating events drives him to the very edge of suicide. He begs God for help—a divine intervention—but his prayers go unanswered until he has an epiphany: God helps those who help themselves.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

A story of abuse and revenge. Benjamin lives through abuse at home, in the school bus, and at school. He lives tormented by all his abusers. This story reveals abuse in many forms. Aaron reveals each living detail Benjamin lives through so the reader can sense his hurt, stress, and madness. Benjamin finally decides he can not live this way any longer. He needs to take care of each tormenter. Killing each person that hurt him will make his life and others safe. We need to make sure kids are protected and not being bullied or abused.

Review: Gone Rogue: Wires and Nerve Volume 2 by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads Blurb

The world of the Lunar Chronicles comes alive in this thrilling continuation of Wires and Nerve. Iko–an audacious android and best friend to the Lunar Queen Cinder–has been tasked with hunting down Alpha Lysander Steele, the leader of a rogue band of bioengineered wolf-soldiers who threaten to undo the tenuous peace agreement between Earth and Luna. Unless Cinder can reverse the mutations that were forced on them years before, Steele and his soldiers plan to satisfy their monstrous appetites with a massacre of the innocent people of Earth.

And to show he’s serious, Steele is taking hostages.

Cinder and Kai, Scarlet and Wolf, Cress and Thorne, and Winter and Jacin all feature in this epic new battle. But it is Iko who must face her deepest fears when she uncovers the truth about her own unusual programming. Questions of love, friendship, and mortality take Iko on an emotional journey that will satisfy and delight fans of this bestselling series.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A beautifully written continuation to this series. Love how Kai fought to defend her friends from the wolf mutants. Kai might be a robot, but she feels just like everyone else. I loved the interactions with Kai and Kinney. They are truly made for each other. Another graphic novel filled with thrills and fights. It was a great ending to this series.

Goodreads Author Biography

I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg.

Review: The Chronicles of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes and Matthew Sturgis

Goodreads Blurb

The Great War has ended, but Downton Abbey is far from peaceful… “Americans can’t get enough of ‘Downton Abbey,'” said The Boston Globe. As Season 3 of the award-winning TV series opens, it is 1920 and Downton Abbey is waking up to a world changed forever by World War I. New characters arrive and new intrigues thrive as the old social order is challenged by new expectations.In this new era, different family members abound (including Cora’s American mother, played by Shirley MacLaine) and changed dynamics need to be  Which branch of the family tree will Lord Grantham’s first grandchild belong to? What will become of the servants, both old and new? The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, carefully pieced together at the heart and hearth of the ancestral home of the Crawleys, takes us deeper into the story of every important member of the Downton estate.This lavish, entirely new book focuses on each character individually, examining their motivations, their actions, and the inspirations behind them. An evocative combination of story, history, and behind-the-scenes drama, it will bring fans even closer to the secret, beating heart of the house.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Another wonderful continuation on Downton Abbey. This book did a short biography on each character plus added some background history. Enjoyed all the lovely images from the series. The last chapter shows you behind the scenes of season three.

Review: Prelude by Nely Cab

Goodreads Blurb

Deus, the creator of the universe, is almighty and powerful—until he uses his abilities to mold a companion. His newest creation, Starr, proves to be as wild as the animals that inhabit Terra. There’s no controlling her. To make matters worse, she hates Deus. So what’s the one boy in the universe to do when the one girl in the universe loathes him? The only illogical thing to do. He falls in love.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Being immortal ain’t cut out to be enjoyable if the love of your life doesn’t love you. Deus created Starr in hopes that she falls in love and marries him. Unfortunately, they both were playing hard to get and not opening up their hearts. Once Deus saw that the one thing he lived for didn’t feel the same, he turned mortal and was withering away with all his creations. Only true love might change the outcome. You will need to read and enjoy a few laughs and tears.

Goodreads Author Biography

Nely Cab is a Writer of stuff, a Master Coffee Drinker, a Food Maker & Eater, and an Imaginary World Conqueror. She talks to herself—a lot—in her South Texas home while she plots stories about fantasy worlds and sips coffee from a pitcher. She’s known for cooking far too much food and has a tendency to overdo…well, everything. It is rumored that she’s fabulous. Nely Cab is the best-selling author of the Creatura series.

Review: Revealing Nicola by Sam Cheever

Goodreads Blurb

What would you do if you discovered you weren’t who you thought you were? And that you were the victim of a secret so big…so important…it would literally change the world? What if you suddenly found yourself running for your life and your only lifeline was a man who’d kidnapped you from a club right in front of your friends?

How could you trust him? Why should you believe in him? Is he really the only thing standing between you and certain death? Or is he simply a tool for the unknown figures manipulating your existence from the shadows?

Sometimes a leap of faith is all you have. And sometimes that leap only plunges you more deeply into chaos.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

An amazing thriller filled with family secrets that will change Nicola’s life forever. Plus, there is a hot cop/ bodyguard to die for. Sam created a book in which the reader is grasped from the very beginning of the story. This book will rip into the readers heart since teenagers are being murdered all due to research for a cure. I was shocked that the family secret wasn’t just money or valuables but something that could bring eternal life to others. If you love thrillers with strong women who know how to stand up for themselves, with hot bodyguards and secrets to unveil, then look no further. You will be happily entertained.

Goodreads Author Biography

USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Sam Cheever writes mystery and suspense, creating stories that draw you in and keep you eagerly turning pages. Known for writing great characters, snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning author of 100+ books.

Review: Guppy Butter by Kevin Penelerick

Goodreads Blurb

Cute for kids, a bit twisted and funny for adults!

A Guppy But I wanted a Puppy!

Guppy Butter is the darkly humorous tale of a young girl’s wish for a puppy, but who ends up getting a Guppy instead. She tries her best to meet her father’s demands that if she can keep a fish alive, she’ll be allowed to get a puppy.

Tragedy after humorous tragedy ensues as she endures the taunts of her older brother and does her best to keep her fishies alive!

In addition to being a fun read, Guppy Butter helps parents and teachers talk to kids about loss and assists them to prepare children for the challenges of raising pets.

Complimented by the amazing art of artist Amanda Gielen, this illustrated tale will leave you laughing!

My Review: 4 out of 5 stars

Guppy was a fish who actually acted like a dog, which is exactly what the little girl was hoping to have. It was an adorable book with very cute illustrations. The little girl was traumatized because she killed her first fish in a few days, and Guppy died a week after having him. But this time, he jumped to his own tragic death. If only guppy would stop jumping out of the fish bowl. It is a fun read to read to children. Has it’s sad moments, but the illustrations make it fun.

Goodreads Author Biography

Kevin M. Penelerick is an author living in the mountains of North Idaho. He writes about many things, but mostly enjoys exploring stories about what the world could be or one day might have been.

When not writing, you’ll find him adventuring with his amazing wife, Genee’ Jo, or trying to keep up with the many animals running around their beautiful slice of the world.

He might also be working on his little art gallery in the woods called A Door in the Forest, you can check it out on Facebook!

Review: Because of Baby: Soulmates #11 by Donna Clayton( Also writes as Donna Fasano)

Goodreads Blurb

It had seemed like a grand idea, temporarily trading her pixie wings for a womanly form to help handsome widower Paul Roland with his baby girl. And the moment she held the precious bairn in her arms, Fern knew true happiness for the first time. But she never anticipated the dizzying emotions she felt for the man who not only needed her as a nanny, but as a woman whose passion could heal his wounded heart. Suddenly the fairy rule she’d gently bent because of the baby was in danger of being irrevocably broken — for falling in love with a mortal man was forbidden.

My Review: 4 out of 5 stars

This was a cute book with a little sprinkle of fairy dust. Loved that a pixie was the main character, and she went ahead and broke the rules for love. It was a fun book with a great plot.

Review: The Diamond Looking Glass: Cleopatra’s Legacy Book 3 by Dorine White

Goodreads Blurb

Beauty and the Beast.

The world knows it as a cartoon with dancing teacups and broomsticks. To twelve year old Claire La Fleur, it is family history, and the power behind Belle’s mirror is real. Every ten years her family gathers to see if the mirror will awaken, and for the last two hundred years it has slept.

This time, Claire’s touch awakens the magic within the diamond looking glass, a direct portal to the past and a way to communicate with Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt. The lure of power brings with it many perils, and a betrayal close to home thrusts Claire into a treacherous underworld. To protect the mirror, she travels into the Louvre museum in the dark of night, searches abandoned subway tunnels, and walks the catacombs of the dead.

Welcome to Paris, France – where danger follows in every step.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This was such a great adventure taking place in my favorite city, Paris. I loved the fun and interactive plot. It was great to see that the mirror would only choose one person, and they would interact with Cleopatra. It was filled with mystery, kidnaps, and spies. It is a quick read.

Goodreads Author Biography

Hi, my name is Dorine White and I love books, reading and writing them. I am the author of several middle grade and YA fantasy novels including The Awakening and The Cleopatra’s Legacy Series. I am a member of the SCBWI, ANWA, LDS Storymakers and the PNWA. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Humanities.