Tag Archives: coming of age

Giveaway & Review – Reflections On The Boulevard by L J Ambrosio @GoddessFish @authorlambrosio

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REFLECTIONS ON THE BOULEVARD by Louis J. Ambrosio

GENRE:  Coming of age

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I read the first book, The Reservoir Man (he gives you the illusion of reality instead of reality itself), and loved it, BUT Reflections on the Boulevard by L J Ambrosio BLEW ME AWAY. It was so thought provoking, that I had to stop at times and let it simmer. My mind was overwhelmed by the writing of L J. I laughed and I cried.

I love car trips and we (Michael, Ron and I) traveled the west, hitting new to me places. I loved seeing it through the eyes of an innocent, absorbing the wonder of our parks. I have never been to Europe, but seeing it through Michael and Ron’s eyes, and L J’s vivid descriptions, the world came alive and we knocked out his bucket list.

Ron is on a journey of intellectual awareness without knowing it.

Find your truth, then you will find your freedom.

Michael’s heart has no limits. He strives to see the good in people and shares his life lessons frreely. He is gay, but his relationship with Ron is one of friendship. Helping someone who needs a hand can leave him open to those who want to take advantage, but not so with Ron. His help pays off as Ron creates a life he never envisioned. When he met Michael, he was just looking for a safe place to lay his head and food in his belly. Michael took a lost boy and helped him to become a man. The journey was amazing, and I am so glad I was able to be there with them.

When Michael talks about sitting at his friends side while they struggle through the final stages of Aids, his words rang true, sometimes a person needs permission to go. I sat at my father’s side in the hospital and said those words. Within moments, I heard his final breath. My older sister was in hospice and, for some reason, I got up in the middle of the night to sit by her side for a while. I told her she could go, and she passed in the night. There were more moments like that in Reflections on the Boulevard by L J Ambrosio and I took them all in.

At the end, I saw what was coming and knew it would break my heart. I fought it as long as I could, before tears began streaming down my face as I struggled to see the words. I got so deep into the story, I felt I was sitting on the bench with them. Michael and I both have an appreciation of the power of benches, the incentive to sit a while and watch life happen.

I have never thought of myself as an intellectual reader, but L J, you can put me on your super fan list.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Reflections On The Boulevard by L J Ambrosio.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Michael’s story continues from “A Reservoir Man” (2022) where we find him teaching at a university ready to retire. He unexpectedly meets a young man named Ron who becomes his protege and journeys in a haphazard adventure with him throughout America and Europe in Michael’s final journey in life, each twist and turn of the road bringing unexpected adventures. The journey taken is one of joy, friendship and discovery.

  • Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedic Drama & Plays, Coming Of Age
  • 238 pages, Paperback
  • Published April 23, 2023 by Film Valor

ABOUT L J AMBROSIO

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio taught at seven universities. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ljambrosioauthor/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorlambrosio
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louis.ambrosio
  • Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ljambrosio
  • Blog: https://ljambrosio.blogspot.com/
  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI2XkCETDOj_VUtCFcB74ig
  • Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reflections-on-the-boulevard-lj-ambrosio/1143396462
  • Amazon: https://amzn.to/3qIfb70
  • Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/reflections-on-the-boulevard/id6448296429
  • Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/reflections-on-the-boulevard
  • Thalia: https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1068548362
  • Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1384458?ref=draft2digital
  • Vivlio: https://shop.vivlio.com/product/9798985965162_9798985965162_10020/reflections-on-the-boulevard

MY L J ABROSIO REVIEWS

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Review – Sketching Rebellion by Felicia Ketcheson @booksirens

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I want to thank Book Sirens and Lava Lake Books for the opportunity to read and review Sketching Rebellion by Felicia Ketchseon.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I grabbed Sketching Rebellion by Felicia Ketcheson not realizing it was going to be a series. It seems like most of the books I read any more are series. It’s okay, as long as I get to find out the final result, beginning to end, but that doesn’t always happen. Anyways I did enjoy Sketching Rebellion. I was on a binge of apocalyptic/dystopian reading and got a little click happy, grabbing willy nilly.

Sketching Rebellion’s target audience is teen and young adult. I do enjoy a good coming of age story and Breel was a fascinating character. Normally, I like a little more brutality and depth of despair in my apocalyptic reading, but the blurb states that Breel is seventeen years old, so that is a clue for the target group.

As usual, those in power wield a heavy sword to keep everyone in line, using the threat of execution for the slightest infraction, like sketching/drawing, when she is forbidden to do so. How far can you push someone, no matter the age, before they push back? And what happens when they do?

One of the scariest things is…there is no punishment for those who report other citizens. In fact, they are rewarded for it. Who can you trust? You can never be sure what is going on in someone’s mind. Family turning in family, friends turning in friends, coworkers…Instead of ‘lock her up’, it’s take her out.

Some of the most unlikely people will be those who support taking action against the regime. Some will fall, and the ending….I was saddened, afraid for the ones who chose to reshape their world into something better. BUT, that is for another day. I am hooked and I look forward to finding out what comes next. I rated Sketching Rebellion with the target audience in mind.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Sketching Rebellion by Felicia Ketcheson.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Conformity is mandatory. But seventeen-year-old artist Breel rebels anyway.

In the city of Lexum, personal choice is nonexistent, and defiance is severely punished. Breel is alone in seeing the injustices in her world. Isolated due to her beliefs and haunted by the disappearance of her uncle, she finds solace in the forbidden act of drawing. Creating art is a rebellion against an oppressive regime that stifles self-expression.

When a glimmer of hope emerges in the form of a resistance group, Breel faces a decision. Will she risk execution to join their fight for a society which would celebrate rather than condemn her artistic skills? Or will she continue hiding her non-conformity?

The outcome of her choice will not only define her own fate but may also set in motion a revolution that could reshape her world forever.

2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist (Juvenile/YA) .

  • Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fiction, Science Fiction, Suspense, Technothriller, Thriller, Young Adult
    [ Previously published as Intercludae.]
  • 320 pages, Paperback
  • Published July 1, 2023

ABOUT FELICIA KETCHESON

Felicia Ketcheson is the author of Intercludae, which was a 2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist (Juvenile/YA category). At age seven, she wrote her first book about a dog, cat, and bee. Four years later, she randomly started writing a short novel, catapulting her into the world of series writing. When she’s not devising ways to destroy the lives of her fictional characters, she works as a medical researcher and database developer. Database developing is a passion she simultaneously loves and hates. She lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

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Early Review – The Valkyrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner @tianawarner #TheValkyriesShadow #NetGalley.

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The Valkyrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner is up for preorder and will be released on 7.25.23. I want to thank NetGalley and Entangled Teen Publishing for the opportunity to read and review The Valkyrie’s Shadow.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The Sigrid and the Valkyrie’s series by Tiana Warner has become an epic saga for me. I loved the first book, The Valkyrie’s Daughter, but got lost in The Valkyrie’s Shadow. The characters came to life on the pages in this coming of age story and, even though it is a long book, 435 Kindle pages, I read and read and read…

Because the series needs to be read in order, I will do my best to include NO spoilers.

We have some familiar characters and creatures. Royal politics are complicated and the lines of loyalty are often blurred. I am glad that Sigrid stayed leery, and even though she is a young woman, she does know the difference between right and wrong. Each individual is as important as any other.

Sigrid wants the best for everyone and slowly builds her self confidence as she is forced to make decisions that will affect the lives of many. She is an lgbtq character and I love that Tiana Warner adds that extra something to make her character stand out. The romance with Mariam was sweet and innocent.

Tora, what a fabulous character. She made me smile. Fisk is another outstanding and unique character that stuck with me.

I loved all the supernatural characters and creatures.

The Valkrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner has so much depth and detail to the world she has vividly created. I traveled miles with the characters, and not all will survive. We walked, we flew, we sailed…We have valkyries, elves, humans, winged mares (so how do they reproduce), and an eight legged horse that once belonged to a god…We have loyalty and betrayal, friends and lovers…

There is 435 pages of deliciousness and I hated to read the final word. I was left with a feeling of happiness and hope. Tiana, you blew my mind with this awesome story! I don’t feel my review conveyed how much I loved this book, but, maybe I shared enough to make you want to read it for yourself. I do want to stress that it is best to read The Valkyrie’s Daughter first.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Valkyrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Being both a valkyrie and a princess isn’t turning out quite the way Sigrid imagined. The other valkyries still treat her like a stable hand. Her relationship with Mariam is less “long-distance” and more “worlds apart.” And lately, she’s been wondering if Sleipnir, her new horse, isn’t making her a little bit…well, evil .

But Sigrid’s first official valkyrie mission sends ripples through the Nine Worlds. She’s attracted the wrath of not only the Night Elves but their sinister king, who wants nothing more than to bring darkness down on everyone. Worse yet, Loki might just be interfering with the balance of light and dark…

When war threatens the shores of Vanaheim and her friends are in danger of being exiled, Sigrid makes a deal with the new queen. She will ride Sleipnir against their enemies and use his might to defeat them, even as he pulls her closer to that line between good and evil.

What she becomes will either save everyone…or unleash disaster upon them all.

The Sigrid and The Valkyries series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading
Book #1 The Valkyrie’s Daughter
Book #2 The Valkyrie’s Shadow

  • Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, LGBTQ, Myths and Legends, Queer, Teen and Young Adult
  • 435 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication July 25, 2023 Entangled: Teen

ABOUT TIANA WARNER

Tiana Warner

Tiana Warner is an LGBTQ+ author from British Columbia, Canada, best known for her critically acclaimed “Mermaids of Eriana Kwai” trilogy and its comic adaptation. Tiana is a lifelong horseback rider, a former programmer with a Computer Science degree, and an outdoor enthusiast who loves to explore nature with her musician boyfriend and their hyperactive rescue mutt, Joey. Find her online at tianawarner.com.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / TikTok / Twitter

MY TIANA WARNER REVIEWS

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Giveaway – Timeless: Zane & Fiona by Kaylene Winter @XpressoTours

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Timeless: Zane & Fiona
Kaylene Winter
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

TIMELESS:

A Steamy, Coming-of-Age, Friends-To-Lovers, Rockstar Romance

“I vowed nothing would keep us apart…”
Fiona Reynolds is my other half.
It’s been that way from the day I was born.
I’ve dedicated my life to keep my promise.
Fate just laughs in our face.
She’s always out of reach, this time for good.
I’ll do anything to prove she’s my destiny –
if only she’d trust me one more time.

“After what I’ve done, how can I deserve him?”
Zane Rocks is my everything.
There’s no one I love or trust more than him.
It wasn’t his fault when he left me.
I always knew he’d find his way back.
Fear overwhelmed me, and I broke his heart.
Will the most celebrated musician on the planet,
really give me another chance?

When a rash decision changes their lives forever, hope for their future is all but shattered.
Stakes are high.

But Zane’s determined to prove a love this pure is TIMELESS.

TIMELESS ENCORE:

A steamy, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance between a sexy billionaire rockstar and his plus-size soulmate

“Restraint is not my strong suit.”

I’m finally reunited with the woman I’ve loved since birth.
Why do I feel so untethered?
Fiona’s living her dream and I’m doing my best to support her.
But, with so many dark secrets revealed, my very foundation is rocked to the core.
Will we ever outrun our past to have the life we deserve?

“My lifelong dream blew up in spectacular fashion”

Zane and I overcame many obstacles to achieve our destiny.
We’re best friends and soulmates—with a love life other couples only dream of.
Anxiety and self-doubt still threaten my confidence.
When neither of us have reconciled our past,
Can we find the courage to embrace our future?

Happily ever after can mean so many things.
Life happens.
Faith is tested.

Will Zane and Fiona overcome decades of deception?
Is true love really TIMELESS?

TIMELESS ENCORE is Book 8 in the Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance Series, and is the sequel to TIMELESS

It is strongly recommended you read Books 1-4 before reading any of the “ENCORE” sequels, otherwise you’ll be spoiled!

Goodreads / Amazon


EXCERPT

It’s kind of like being suspended in time when you drown.

Slowly you slip down, sinking farther and farther into a vast, aqua-blue ocean. At first, the sun flitters at the surface, making the sea look like glittery, blue diamonds. It’s like heaven. Dreamlike. Floaty. Beautiful.

Once the light begins to dissipate, suddenly your surroundings feel ominous. The water feels heavy, not light. Stifling. Claustrophobic. The sea turns midnight blue. Then it is so dark you can’t even see your hand inches from your face.

That’s when survival instinct kicks in. Arms sluice upward. Your legs scissor and kick in attempt to reach the surface. All you want is to find the light again. Just one more time.

All of this happens in a minute, though it feels like hours. Days. Weeks. Years.

But it’s too late. Your lungs fill. When you try to breathe, all you do is suck water into your windpipe. You panic. Flail. Gasp. Scream. Fight with everything you have, because if you don’t reach the surface…

I shoot up in bed, clutching my chest. Gulping in air. Tears stream down my face. I can’t catch my breath. My heart pounds.

Goddammit.

This sucks so bad. I can’t keep having these drowning dreams. They’re freaking me the fuck out.

I’m pulled from behind into a full-body hug.

“Your doctor said this would pass in another week or two. Stick with it, Fee. Subconsciously you know I’d never let you drown.” He nuzzles my neck with his scruffy face, tickling me a bit.

I lean back against Zane. My best friend. My lover. My everything from the day I was born. “I know you wouldn’t. It’s just a lot freakier than they said it would be. If I’d known it was this hard to wean myself off Xanax, I’d never have started taking it in the first place.”

”You’ve been under tremendous amounts of stress with Mia’s custody stuff for so long, babe.” Zane eases me down so he’s spooning me. “It was either that or not sleeping. Now that Corey-fucking-Johnson is firmly in the rearview mirror, you just need a little recoup time and you’ll be as good as new. The world is ours for the taking. At-fucking-last.”

My entire body relaxes against him. “Yeah, I knew I had to stop when I realized I was taking double my dose. There’s no way I’m going down that path. Obviously.”

Addiction has taken so much away from my man, there’s no way I’d ever do that to him. Not after we’ve overcome so much to have our happily ever after.

Author Bio:

When she was only 15, Kaylene Winter wrote her first rocker romance novel starring a fictionalized version of herself, her friends and their gorgeous rocker boyfriends. After living her own rockstar life as a band manager, music promoter and mover and shaker in Seattle during the early 1990’s, Kaylene became a digital media legal strategist helping bring movies, television and music online. Throughout her busy career, Kaylene lost herself in romance novels across all genres inspiring her to realize her life-long dream to be a published author. She lives in Seattle with her amazing husband and dog. She loves to travel, throw lavish dinner parties and support charitable causes supporting arts and animals.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


GIVEAWAY!


—

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Giveaway – FlightLog by Susan Humphrey @ireadbooktours

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Book Details:

Book Title:  FlightLog: The Novel Adventures of a Stewardess Wannabe Who Becomes a Flight Attendant by Susan Humphrey
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  338 pages
Genre:  Women’s Fiction, Chick Lit, Memoir(ish), Coming-of-age
Publisher:  Majuscule Press
Release date:   August, 2022
Content Rating:  PG. A few romantic encounters but light on the details. Reference to tobacco use.



Book Description:

“It was 1978. People didn’t have home computers, video players, or answering machines. We rented our telephones from local phone companies and hand-wrote letters. The terms ‘politically correct’ and ‘African-American’ had not been coined. ‘Eating disorders’ and ‘alternate lifestyles’ were not yet common household phrases. Only strippers wore thongs, which made perfect sense to me, as they only caused one to gyrate their hynie in a desperate attempt to dislodge the bothersome wedgie.”

So writes Sherri Van Ness, an unassuming girl from the burbs of Kansas who’s about to embark on the adventure of her life when she signs up to become a stewardess. But it’s much more turbulent than this doughy-eyed 19-year-old ever imagined as she tries to navigate past grouchy passengers, fly-by-night relationships and the unforgiving, relentless, humiliating, monthly weigh-ins. Some dreams come true. Others require a vomit bag.

That’s not to say Sherri doesn’t enjoy herself. Au contraire! There are friends to be made and men to be made and the maid who made up her room in New York is so nice!

Yes, the work is difficult at times and the money isn’t always good, but there are perks: free flights and an endless supply of tiny vodka bottles and salted peanuts (peanut allergies hadn’t been invented yet.)

Like Dorothy Gale sans Toto, Sherri leaves Kansas and finds herself amidst a cast of characters as strange to her as the Scarecrow and the Munchkins were to Dorothy. Her whirlwind journey takes her from innocent, insecure stewardess to mature and confident flight attendant. Or does she?

Book your flight now with this very enjoyable read, put your seat back in the upright position, and enjoy the ride!

BUY THE BOOK:
AMAZON ~ Audible
BAM ~ B&N ~ Bookshop.org
add to goodreads


Meet the Author:

Susan Jo Humphrey, the daughter of a diplomat, was born in Izmir, Turkey where she lived for three years. She also lived in Korea and Thailand, before returning home to the US with her family as a teenager. She has traveled all over the United States, and has called several parts of this country ‘home.’ Her many airplane rides as a child convinced her she must one day become a stewardess. Suz was a flight attendant for thirteen of her twenty-five years with UAL. She began penning FlightLog with the help of the Naperville Writer’s Group, outside of Chicago. There, she published in their annual pamphlet, had a humor piece printed in an online magazine, and contributed many articles to local newspapers. At the time of publication, she is busy working on FlightLog II.

Away from the keyboard, Suz loves yoga, reading, cooking, listening to music and playing her guitar. She still enjoys mapping out travel to faraway places she’s never seen, as well as planning return trips to her favorite spots.

She currently lives in Southern California and has two grown children. Today, she’s in healthcare, where she’s worked since 2014. Suz was the ‘baby’ of her flight attendant classes – and the ‘senior’ student in her nursing classes. She’s eager to write that story as well: a novice baby-boomer RN begins her dream career as a travel nurse – just as a pandemic breaks out!

connect with the author: website 





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Giveaway – The Phantom Glare Of Day by M Laszlo @GoddessFish

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The Phantom Glare of Day by M. Laszlo

GENRE: Historical (Metaphysical) Fiction / Coming of Age Fiction

BLURB

In this trio of novellas, three game young ladies enter into dangerous liaisons that test each one’s limits and force them to confront the most heartrending issues facing society in the early twentieth century. The Phantom Glare of Day tells of Sophie, a young lady who has lived a sheltered life and consequently has no idea how cruel public-school bullying can be. When she meets Jarvis, a young man obsessed with avenging all those students who delight in his daily debasement, she resolves to intervene before tragedy unfolds. Mouvements Perpétuels tells of Cäcilia, a young lady shunned by her birth father. She longs for the approval of an older man, so when her ice-skating instructor attempts to take advantage of her, she cannot resist. Not a month later, she realizes that she is pregnant and must decide whether or not to get an abortion. Passion Bearer tells of Manon, a young lady who falls in love with a beautiful actress after taking a post as a script girl for a film company—and is subsequently confronted with the pettiest kinds of homophobia.

EXCERPT

London, 29 September, 1917.

In the dead of the night, Manon returned to her hotel suite and lay down in bed. Please, no more nightmares.

At dawn, she had a terrible dream.

A long, plump, phallic, pulsating Zeppelin approaches the city.

Like every other tenant, she exits Chelsea Court Hotel. Alas, as she races past one of the refuge islands rising above the thoroughfare, she trips and falls.

From all directions, meanwhile, various artillery units open fire—and the terrific cacophony of battle roars and blasts and rumbles and bawls.

As the shell-shocked crowds rush down into the neighboring tube station, a lady beggar approaches. “Stay where you are,” the wretched woman tells her. “It’d be your destiny to perish during a tribulation such as this.”

In time, a fragment of what looks to be the Zeppelin’s rudder plummets into the park not thirty feet from the place where Manon stands.

And now she looks up to find that a torrent of flames has engulfed the airship’s nose.

As the doomed Zeppelin drifts this way and that, the bittersweet-orange blaze spreads down the length of the passenger gondola.

With an awful hiss, the airship’s carcass descends toward her and then . . .

She awoke from the dream, quite certain that she must be tangled up in the gondola’s guy-ropes. Blinded by the morning light, she thrashed about.

Ultimately, she fell out of bed. How to go on living here?

At one o’clock, when she arrived at the offices of the London Moving-Pictures Company down on Coronation Avenue, she paused before the reeded-glass doors and debated whether she ought to resign her post. Why not go home to Manchester?

A dark presence rolled through the sky. Could it be a Zeppelin passing by overhead, the bomb bay slowly opening?

The darkness proved to be nothing more than a large skein of geese, but even so, she felt positively frantic—and now she continued through the door. Hopefully, the hall porter would be willing to tell Mr. Pomeroy that she had decided to back out. If so, she could be on her way before the production manager had even had a chance to protest.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

M. Laszlo is the pseudonym of a reclusive author living in Bath, Ohio. According to rumor, he based the pen name on the name of the Paul Henreid character in Casablanca, Victor Laszlo.

M. Laszlo has lived and worked all over the world, and he has kept exhaustive journals and idea books corresponding to each location and post.

It is said that the maniacal habit began in childhood during summer vacations—when his family began renting out Robert Lowell’s family home in Castine, Maine.

The habit continued in 1985 when, as an adolescent, he spent the summer in London, England. In recent years, he revisited that journal/idea book and based his first work, The Phantom Glare of Day, on the characters, topics, and themes contained within the youthful writings. In crafting the narrative arcs, he decided to divide the work into three interrelated novellas and to set each one in the WW-I era so as to make the work as timeless as possible.

M. Laszlo has lived and worked in New York City, East Jerusalem, and several other cities around the world. While living in the Middle East, he worked for Harvard University’s Semitic Museum. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio and an M.F.A. in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

His next work is forthcoming from SparkPress in 2024. There are whispers that the work purports to be a genuine attempt at positing an explanation for the riddle of the universe and is based on journals and idea books made while completing his M.F.A at Sarah Lawrence College. 

NOTE: THIS BOOK WILL BE $0.99 DURING THE TOUR.

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Giveaway – Paperboy by Dan Romanello @ireadbooktours @TheDanRomanello

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Book Details:

Book Title:  PAPERBOY (A Dylan Tomassi Novel) by Dan Romanello
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 332 pages
Genre: Coming of Age Contemporary Thriller
Publisher: Sanitas Publishing, Inc.
Publication Date: August, 2022.
Content Rating: R: A series of explicit sex scenes, minimal bad language and drug use are utilized for character and plot development.
Book Description:

Abandoned by his father as an infant and raised by a single mother among the wealthy and privileged in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Dylan Tomassi grew up poor. As a boy he is befriended by a mysteriously reclusive widow he meets on his paper route. She mentors him with sage advice on matters facing a young man growing up without a father. She never pays for her newspapers, and he never asks for the money because of all the good advice she dispenses. When she finally does square up, it changes his life forever.

Dylan relocates to Florida and becomes a successful private investor, wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. His newfound socioeconomic status introduces him into the upper echelon of Florida society where he finds many things going on in the world simply don’t make sense. With the help of his old friend and mentor, he navigates life in a turbulent modern-day society and vows to use his wealth to make a difference when he’s not sidetracked running into nefarious characters or busy keeping his best friend, wealthy playboy Alex Malloy, out of hot water. With corruption, debauchery, deception, and murder swirling around him, Dylan proves nice guys can finish first.
Buy the Book:
Amazon
BAM ~ B&N ~ Bookshop.org 
Indigo ~ Indiebound
BookBub
add to goodreads

PLAYLIST FOR PAPERBOY

  • Wake Up by Black Veiled Brides
  • Zombified by Falling in Reverse
  • Centuries by Fall Out Boy
  • Castle by Halsey
  • We Don’t Have to Dance by Andy Black
  • Happen to me by BENEE
  • Lie to Me by Tate McRae feat. Ali Gatie
  • Thnks fr th Mmrs by Fall Out Boy
  • I Think I’m Okay by Machine Gun Kelly
  • In the Link by Linkin Park
  • Demons by Alec Benjamin
  • Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Greenday
  • Come a Little Closer by Cage the Elephant
  • Much too Much by Lennon Stella
  • Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

Meet the Authors:

DAN ROMANELLO began his career working for a large Florida newspaper before attending law school at the University of Florida. After serving as an assistant state attorney, he entered private practice where he spent more than 20 years as a civil trial lawyer litigating cases in courtrooms throughout Florida. He retired from the active practice of law in 2017 and, before writing PAPERBOY, spent four years coaching college athletics. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

connect with the authors: website ~facebook ~ twitter ~ bookbub ~ goodreads




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Review The North Edge Of Nowhere by Carmen Webster Buxton #@CarmenWBuxton #sciencefiction

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Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Alllllll right, another science fiction adventure with Carmen Webster Buxton and a meet and greet with Darius in The North Edge Of Nowhere. The cover tells a story of its own and makes me eager to find out about the who and the what of it.

We find Darius ‘not’ sailing the seas on his disabled ship, drinking brackish water and a piece of bread that is hard as a rock. They had been drifting for ten days, when land was sighted. Darius was raised as a prince, so what was in store for him will be life changing in every way.

In the beginning, Darius tries to hide his identity, with bright red hair and a face such as his, the secret won’t be kept for long, Brian, Lord of Castle Muir, easily recognizes him. The Oath demanded from Darius and the ‘cost’ of the repair to the boat are his first introduction of the new culture he will have to learn to live in.

Daniel the Wanderer is a fabulous character, so richly developed and vital to the story, as are several others. The details Carmen painted of the world make pictures in my head, seeing the ocean, woodlands and creatures we will see and interact with.

Sometimes, when I crack open one of Carmen Webster Buxton’s books, they seem to start out slow, but really, I think they are laying a foundation, introducing the characters, for what is to come. Her study of human actions and interactions are fascinating. We watch characters grow, learn, mature…a psychological, indepth study of humanity. The more I read, the more involved I become.

Now that I have finished The Northedge Of Nowhere, I am moving on to Oaths And Promises, The Nameless World, Book II, by Carmen Webster Buxton.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

On the nameless world settled long ago by human colonists, humanity has spread out. Darius is seventeen and was born and lived all his life in a warm southern climate. Raised as a prince, he conceives the desire to see his maternal relations, who live in and rule a city-state a good distance north of his home. But when disaster strikes on the journey, Darius is forced to travel even farther north, where he discovers his very existence is a kind of riddle to which only a few people know the answer. As he struggles to cope with a new way of living, a man named Daniel the Wanderer befriends him, and a cousin he didn’t know he had teaches him that women are not always meek and well-behaved. All in all, life is very different in the North.

ABOUT CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON

Carmen Webster Buxton

Carmen Webster Buxton spent her youth reading every book published by Ursula LeGuin, Robert Heinlein and Georgette Heyer. This combination of far-future worlds, alien cultures, and old-fashioned courting customs influenced her writing, especially in her ThreeCon series.

Carmen was born in Hawaii and experienced a peripatetic childhood, as her father was in the US Navy. Having raised two wonderful children, she now lives in Maryland with her husband Charlie, and a beagle named Cosmo. She writes science fiction (often including a romance, and mostly set in the far future), and the occasional fantasy.

Carmen has published many books:

WAKANREO SERIES
Alien Bonds
Alien Vows
Alien Skies

HAVEN SERIES
The Sixth Discipline
No Safe Haven

THREECON SERIES (can be read in any order)
The Nostalgia Gambit
Saronna’s Gift
Shades of Empire
Tribes
Worlds Apart

ALTERNATE HISTORY
King of Trees

YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION
Turnabout
Drifters

FANTASY
Where Magic Rules
Bag of Tricks
Hidden Magic

THE NAMELESS WORLD SAGA (coming in 2021)
The North Edge of Nowhere
Oaths and Promises

Carmen often blogs about ereaders, digital publishing, writing, and speculative fiction. Visit her blog to see what’s coming out next! To ask questions or to provide feedback on her books, send email to carmen.webster.buxton (at) gmail.com.

Website / Twitter / Facebook

MY CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON REVIEWS

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O M G Lost Girl by Michaelbrent Collings @mbcollings #PeterPan

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Michaelbrent Collings is an author that captured my heart, just don’t cut it out, PLEASE!

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

This is a true fairie tale. And like all true fairie tales, it is bloody, violent…and there is no guarantee that good will win in the end.

Michaelbrent Collings writes some of the darkest stories I have ever read and creating some of the most violent villains that I have ever ‘met’. I love that the stories are so original and unique, and I challenge you to figure out what is coming before it happens. I sure can’t. I am sure my review is not going to do Lost Girl justice, but I will do my best.

The stars are Eve, Peter Pan, Wendy and Hook, but don’t let the fairy tale fool you. Not all characters are as you expect them to be. Be careful who you trust. Be cautious who you let into your life. Who can you trust? It’s hard to say, because even her mother and grand mother have secrets they do not share.

I have read several books in the past few weeks where a character has asthma. That adds an extra level of danger. For Eve, it has gotten worse and she feels something is coming, something evil. How can she prepare for it if she has no idea who will bring it and what it will be? I never could have anticipated any of it, if I hadn’t read the blurb…vampires! Oooo, I love vampires. Don’t care if they are blood thirsty cannibals or soft and friendly.The big question is…who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? The Lost Boys are truly lost in this unconventional coming of age story.

Brutal, violent, savage:

Gaping holes. Hearts cut from their bodies. No blood. No blood no blood no blood because there was NO BLOOD MOMMY NO BLOOD AT ALL.

Eve has no father, an alcoholic mother and a grandmother with alzheimers who always wants Eve to read her favorite book, Peter Pan, to her. She is on her own. She abuses herself, just to feel alive. She is bullied and abused at school, but she continues to attend. She wants the education, regardless of no support, no friends, and teachers turning a blind eye. Dreams, or should we say, nightmares, haunt her sleep.

My heart breaks for her, but I had a feeling…somehow…she would find someone, something good would come out of her life. Well, it doesn’t work out like I thought. I was constantly surprised, if that is the correct word. Nothing is at it seems. No one is as they seem. The complexity of the novel kept me riveted, rapidly ‘flipping pages’, wanting to get to the end, but not. I wanted more…

Lost Girl by Michaelbrent Collings was published in 2012, but I feel there is more to be told. Give me more!!!!!! How about it M?????? Are the characters talking to you yet??????

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Lost Girl (Formerly Peter & Wendy: A Tale Of The Lost) by Michaelbrent Colliings.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Eve has no father. An alcoholic mother. Abused at school. A loser. But when the new boy comes to school, things start to change. He’s popular, he’s good-looking, he’s smart. He likes her. And he wants to kill her. Because he’s Peter Pan. And he’s a vampire.

Eve is Wendy’s great-great-great-great-granddaughter, and Peter has made it his mission to seduce and destroy every woman in the Wendy line.

Eve can’t stay with him, but can’t stay away, either. Now, the only one who can save her is a young man, crippled and lonely, named Captain Hook: sworn protector of the Wendy line.

Eve has to uncover the mysteries that have roots in her past, and that will change her future. Mysteries that will determine whether she lives, dies… or suffers a fate worse than death.

Because Eve is changing herself. Becoming faster, stronger. More than her life is at stake. Her soul is up for grabs, and Eve will have to find more strength than she knows to stay alive… and to keep from becoming the thing she fears…

ABOUT MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS

Michaelbrent Collings

Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally-bestselling novelist, multiple Bram Stoker Award nominee, produced screenwriter, and one of the top indie horror writers in the United States.

He hopes someday to develop superpowers, or, if that is out of the question, then at least to get a cool robot arm.

Michaelbrent has a wife and several kids, all of whom are much better looking than he is (though he admits that’s a low bar to set), and also cooler than he is.

Michaelbrent also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentC… and can be followed on Twitter through his username @mbcollings. Follow him for cool news, updates, and advance notice of sales. You will also be kept safe when the Glorious Revolution begins!

STALK MICHAELBRENT: Website / Twitter

MY MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS REVIEWS

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Review – A Reservoir Man by L J Ambrosio #ljambrosio

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Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Non, je ne regrette rien (No I don’t regret anything)

Reading A Reservoir Man by L J Ambrosio was me stepping outside my comfort zone and I am so glad I did. A Reservoir Man has a deeper meaning in the story than just a title for the book.

From the day he was born in 1947, Michael was looked at differently. He had a harelip and all the old wives tales and folklore made his life more difficult than it had to be, but his parents loved him, unconditionally. His innocence makes him a victim to those who prey on the naive. I love that he was able to rise above it. Some people are givers, some people are takers, and Michael is a giver. I love that he is an observer. I, too, like to people watch. We both have an affinity for benches, a great place to watch people from. He was used and abused, yet still kept moving forward. I felt so many emotions while reading A Reservoir Man. The story feels like a true life biography. AND, the ending….brought tears to my eyes. Well done, L J.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Reservoir Man by L J Ambrosio.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A Reservoir Man, critics have hailed this explosive and timely work as “a must-read coming-of-age story of 2022.” Twists and turns further pull the reader in to Michael’s action-packed tale, with powerful themes, from betrayal and family to secrets and identity. “Be sure not to blink because you just might miss a pivotal moment in Michael’s rousing, larger-than-life story.” –R.C. Gibson, Indiestoday. “This book is a dream, a gamble, a utopia, even.” — Kalyan Panja, Bookmarkks.

ABOUT L J AMBROSIO

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. He taught at over 7 universities in America. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

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