Category Archives: Friday 56

Friday 56 #156 – A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis @KatiaLief

Posted on by

.


The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I got a copy of A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis from Net Galley, thought I have been trying hard to stay away from it until I have read and reviewed all the books I am behind. Needless to say, when I saw Karen’s Searcher series, I couldn’t resist. Let’s take a look at the first in the series A Map of the Dark.

A Map of the Dark (The Searchers #1)

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

BOOK BEGINNINGS

She likes the feel of the ground underfoot and so so she toes off her sneakers and carries them, swinging loosely from her fingertips. But after a couple of minutes she steps on something sharp and changes her mind. She drops her book bag i a pool of shifting shadows. Sits on it. Ties her left sneaker, then plants that foot on the ground and cantilevers over a bent knee to tie the other one. She feels tired. tired from all the things on her agenda this week. All the shoolwork piling up. Yawning, she stands and continues walking slowly, vaguely, in the direction of her high school.

MY 56

She was on her way to school. She missed the bus. She was walking. And then. And then.

(56% on Kindle)

GOODREADS BLURB

A girl, missing
A woman, searching
A killer, planning…

FBI Agent Elsa Myers finds missing people.
She knows how it feels to be lost…

Though her father lies dying in a hospital north of New York City, Elsa cannot refuse a call for help. A teenage girl has gone missing from Forest Hills, Queens, and during the critical first hours of the case, a series of false leads hides the fact that she did not go willingly.

With each passing hour, as the hunt for Ruby deepens into a search for a man who may have been killing for years, the case starts to get underneath Elsa’s skin. Everything she has buried – her fraught relationship with her sister and niece, her self-destructive past, her mother’s death – threatens to resurface, with devastating consequences.

In order to save the missing girl, she may have to lose herself…and return to the darkness she’s been hiding from for years.

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #155 – Strong As Steel by Jon Land @jondland

Posted on by

.


The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

Jon Land has been one of my must read authors for a long time now, way before I started blogging, so I am very excited to share his latest Caitlin Strong novel, Strong As Steel.

Strong As Steel (Caitlin Strong #10)

Amazon / Goodreads

BOOK BEGINNINGS

The liman reisi of the Port of Ordu watched the freighter crest the currents, alerted to its presence by the fact it was gaining speed instead of reducing it as the ship approached its apportioned pier. He stopped short of sounding the alarm because he recognized her as the Dolunay, captained by Aykan Talu, one of the most experienced in the region. No doubt Talu had yet to slow his engines to better negotiate the unusually stiff currents a larger freighter would have sliced through in effortless fashion.

Uh oh. I see a problem.

MY 56

“Ranger, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but he didn’t have a face. It’s like it was somebody else’s face and he was wearing it,” the man continued. “Like he sewed it on in strips. He wore a hat tilted low over his brow to disguise it as best e could. But when he was checking out, the light hit him just right and I thought maybe Halloween came early.

(56% on Kindle)

GOODREADS BLURB

1994: Texas Ranger Jim Strong investigates a mass murder on a dusty freight train linked to a mysterious, missing cargo for which no record exists.

The Present: His daughter, fifth generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong, finds herself on the trail of that same cargo when skeletal remains are found near an excavation site in the Texas desert. She’s also dealing with the aftermath of a massacre that claimed the lives of all the workers at a private intelligence company on her watch.

These two cases are connected by a long buried secret, one that men have killed and died to protect. Caitlin and her outlaw lover Cort Wesley Masters must prove themselves to be as strong as steel to overcome a bloody tide that has been rising for centuries.

MY JON LAND REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #154 – Sully by Kristine Mason @KristineMason7

Posted on by

.


The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

Kristine Mason is one of my favorite authors, ever since I read the CORE Shadow Trilogy. She writes some fantastic stories and I would like to share one of her latest in the Mechanics & Mayhem Series, Sully. Looking for a sizzling hot thriller? Sully may be for you.

SULLY (Mechanics & Mayhem Book 3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY 56

Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Was the driver alive when you left?”

(page 56 in Word)

BOOK BEGINNINGS

DETECTIVE JANE COOPER’S heartbeat pounded in her ears as a tow truck, police cruisers and ambulances came into view. She parked along the shoulder of US-90 and drew in a deep breath, hoping the sudden wave of anxiety-induced dizziness would pass. When one of her fellow Violent Crimes Unit detectives, Keith Pierson, approached her car, she quickly wiped her sweaty palms along her pants, then exited.

GOODREADS BLURB

Army veteran and mechanic Sully Dolan spent decades avoiding a serious relationship. After how he’d been raised, he never understood why people bothered with love. Sex, sleep and food were all he needed. Then he meets Detective Jane Cooper.

Sully was supposed to be a one-night-stand. From the moment Jane gripped his hair and fell naked onto his bed, she’d told herself as much. Only one night turned into two, then three… Jane wants to be with Sully, but because of a dark secret that could destroy her if discovered, she brings their relationship to a screeching halt.

After Sully’s best friend is found unconscious on the side of a road, with a dead man next to him, Jane is thrust back into his life as lead detective for the investigation. Although bitter she ended things between them, Sully still misses her. But after too many rejections, how could he trust that she won’t stomp on his heart again? As they try to work through their differences, the past comes back to haunt Jane. Not only could her secrets be revealed and once again tear her and Sully apart, if she isn’t careful…she could lose her life.

MY REVIEWS FOR KRISTINE MASON’S NOVELS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #153 – All The Pretty Ghosts by Jamie Campbell

Posted on by

.


The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I love reading about the paranormal and supernatural, so when I saw All The Pretty Ghosts by Jamie Campbell for free, I had to grab it.

All the Pretty Ghosts (Never Alone, #1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY 56

The comment earned another laugh from Jet. The amusement flickered in his eyes, making the flecks burn gold. “That’s never going to happen. So? Do you see dead people?” He whispered the last few words.

(56% on Kindle)

BOOK BEGINNINGS

All these people were seriously starting to tick me off. They never shut up. It was a constant chatter that formed the soundtrack to my pointless, miserable life.

GOODREADS BLURB

One year ago the Event swept through the world and wiped out the entire adult population. Now all the children are alone and fending for themselves.

Everly Hilton can see ghosts. Bridging the gap between the living and the dead, there are so many departed adults she can barely handle her ability.

With winter approaching, Everly can’t fight the dead any longer. She has to listen to the ghosts in order to understand what caused the Event and help keep the children alive.

What she doesn’t realise is that her association with the spirits runs far closer to home than she could ever imagine.

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #152 – Renegades by Marissa Meyer @ marissa_meyer

Posted on by

.


The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I won Renegades by Marissa Meyer from Lauren @ Always Me. . Thanks so much. I kept looking at it and it kept talking to me…read me…read me…so I did. Amazing!

Renegades (Renegades, #1)

Amazon / Audio / Goodreads

MY 56

That girl had a bunch of low tech gadgets and a power that only worked through skin-to-skin contact. How had she beaten him?

Pulling the marker from the back pocket of his jeans, he sketched a water faucet on the rooftop’s concrete ledge and pulled the drawing into three dimensions. With a twist of the knob, cool water gushed forward.

BOOK BEGINNINGS

We were all villains in the beginning.

GOODREAD BLURB

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies — humans with extraordinary abilities — who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone… except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice — and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #151 – Heaven Denied by Ken La Salle @KenLaSalle

Posted on by


The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I read Heaven Enough, Book I (see my review HERE) some time ago and loved it, so I am very excited to share the cover for Ken La Salle’s new sequel, Heaven Denied.

 Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY 56 is the first paragraph, since I don’t have the book…yet.

In the remains of a bedroom down in the seaside town of Ocean Beach, California, a broken man bolted out of a nightmare and returned to his life.

(published in 2018)

GOODREADS BLURB

What would it be like to have heaven enough?

For just a few, brief days on the Pacific Crest Trail, Matt Murphy knew. He fell in love, faced his true self, and came to understand what was really important in life – until the woman he fell in love with died and his life was cast into the chaotic emptiness of grief. Within that emptiness, Matt lost his wealth, his job, and everything that helped his life make sense.

Matt believed he could accept that if it really was the price of true love… Until he learned that the woman he loved had already been married.

Where that left him and what it meant for the love he thought they shared, Matt couldn’t know. His only recourse would be to meet the man who had married his love and understand what that love had meant to him. How could he have lost her? How could he have pushed her aside? How could he have given her up when losing her broke so much of what was left of Matt’s heart?

Matt is going to have to find out. Even if it means blundering through another relationship, driving into a lake, just a bit of kidnapping, and possibly facing the kind of man he really is, was, and always will be.

The results of which could change Matt’s life forever…

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #150 – Storm of Aaranon by R E Sheahan @RESheahan

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

Storm of Aaranon is the first book in the Storm of Aaranon series by R E Sheahan. I have read all three books and rated them 4 stars on Goodreads. Erynn quickly won me over and took me on an adventure that I loved.

Storm of Arranon (Storm of Arranon, #1) Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY 56

Erynn stumbled forward. The brilliant green walls and ceiling illuminated an area roughly ten meters wide and fifteen meters long. The height varied from one meter on the sides to about three meters in the center. Outcroppings of small rocks covered with the pulsing green radicance scattered the sandy floor of the cavern. The one thing she didn’t see way a way out of the cave.

(Pages 56 in paperback published in 2011)

GOODREADS BLURB

Beneath Erynn’s petite build, curly red hair, and startling blue eyes, lies a deeply hidden secret.If the truth about her were revealed, her life would be in danger. Her dream to be a fighter pilot would tailspin, crash, and burst into flames.

Jaer’s wise brown eyes reflect his smoldering strength. An enigma, charismatic and moody, he is a physically powerful warrior who defends his world. A warrior afraid to love because of mistakes in his past.

When the presence of a marauding alien society is discovered on their planets, a struggle of life and death begins. Both Erynn and Jaer’s worlds face annihilation.

A mysterious force plunges Erynn into Jaer’s cold, dangerous, and beautiful world with its magical essence and living consciousness. Both the alien enemy and this strange inexplicable power pursue Erynn.

 
  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #149 – Yesterday’s Sun by Amanda Brooke @AmandaBrookeAB

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

Yesterday’s Sun by Amanda Brooke is a lovely paranormal/supernatural romance story that I gave a 4 star rating on Goodreads. Holly has a choice to make, herself or her child.

Yesterday's Sun Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY 56

Libby started to wriggle in his arms so Tom pulled the half-finished bottle from her mouth. His face softened slightly as he looked at his daughter and he smiled at her before lifting her onto his shoulder and patting her back. The painted smile disappeared and a look of pain returned to his eyes. “I’m not ready for you to leave me, Hol. I’m not ready to accept that you’re never going to walk back into the room. All your things are exactly as you left them; everything is there, ready for you to come home. Come home, Holly, please just come home.”

(Pages 56 in paperback published in 2013)

GOODREADS BLURB

How could you ever choose between your own life and the life of your child?

Newly-weds Holly and Tom have just moved into an old manor house in the picturesque English countryside. When Holly discovers a moondial in the overgrown garden and its strange crystal mechanism, little does she suspect that it will change her life forever. For the moondial has a curse.

Each full moon, Holly can see into the future – a future which holds Tom cradling their baby daughter, Libby, and mourning Holly’s death in childbirth…

Holly realises the moondial is offering her a desperate choice: give Tom the baby he has always wanted and sacrifice her own life; or save herself and erase the life of the daughter she has fallen in love with.

 
  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #148 – One Bite With a Stranger by Christine Warren @ChrstineWarren

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I enjoyed One Bit With A Stranger by Christine Warren and gave it a 3 star rating on Goodreads. This is the first book in The Others series and I enjoyed it so much, I also read Big Bad Wolf, the second book in the series, and Wolf at the Door. I won these books from Laura at fuonlyknew and boy oh boy are they ever sizzling…

 Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY 56

He stared into her eyes, his thumb smoothing the skin of her vulnerable throat while his other hand began to rub the furrow between her thighs with firm, steady pressure. She felt like a toy, positioned for his pleasure, dominated and controlled beneath his hands and his eyes and his breathtaking presence.

(Pages 56 in paperback published in 2008)

GOODREADS BLURB

When Regina’s friends insist on setting her up a “Fantasy Fix” to help her get over her cheating ex, she dreams up some kinky out-of-this-world encounters that they could never possibly bring to life. But the next thing Regina knows, her friends have got her laced into a shiny black corset, tight leather pants, and a sexy pair of stilettos. It’s time for some downtown vampire-fantasy fun. . . .

The Vampire Ball in Manhattan’s East Village isn’t really Dmitri Vidâme’s idea of a good time, but as a member of the Council that governs the Others, he has to keep an eye on all the young vamps who prey on the pretenders. After he feasts his dark eyes on fiery Regina at the bar, he knows that he must have her. But for the first time Dmitri meets a woman who is more than a match for his indomitable will. And he may be the fantasy Regina hoped for… until she—and her feisty friends—discover her sexy new lover’s bloodsucking secret…

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #147 – Love Without Blood by Raz Steel #RazSteel

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I enjoyed Love Without Blood by Raz Steel and gave it a 3 star rating on Goodreads. I would enjoy reading more of her work.

Love Without Blood (Eternal Eros Trilogy #1)

Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY 56

“Are you learning impaired? No way. Not gonna do it,” Lara growled. This man fantasized. No way would she enter the Witness Protection Program. She wasn’t about to give up her life as a surgeon, let alone her dream to be chief of emergency medicine at Jefferson Memorial.

 

(Pages 56 in paperback published in 2009)

GOODREADS BLURB

In one fateful night, a brilliant and beautiful doctor is swept by a patient into a dangerous world of intrigue, vampires and the goverment agency created to exterminate them.

 

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!