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.
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If Night Court looks and sounds good to you, I have some great news.
I have a fantastic giveaway and my review just posted today.
Ashley Fontainne is offering all of her ebooks for the giveaway, so be sure and check out my teases for Night Court and then enter the giveaway at the link below.
MY FRIDAY 56
Harold’s fist slammed into her mouth and the impact let her dazed – but only for a second. “Enough! Both of you!” Merry screamed, holding her hand under her face to catch the dripping blood. “All this isn’t helping one bit! We need to sit down – talk about this as a family – just like they suggested in counseling…”
“No, Mom. We don’t. There’s nothing left to discuss.”
(page 56 in Kindle)
MY BOOK BEGINNINGS
Merry watched, her presence cloaked by the shroud of night.
She’d been outside long enough for her vision to acclimate to the darkness. She missed nothing from her perch against the old brick wall. Her shoulders, back, and legs ached, angry for being stuck in the same position for so long.
GOODREADS BLURB
Judge Merry watches, her presence cloaked by the shroud of nightfall. Nothing moves except her eyes which focus on her target. No remorse. No regret. No second guessing the decision to end the lives of the monsters who turned her into a killer. Jury The peddlers of death from potent chemicals are found guilty. Punishment for their crimes–death. Appeals denied. Sentencing to commence immediately. The leeches who sucked out the life of addicts with each snort, shot, swallow, and injection will now pay the ultimate price. Executioner The idyllic world of Merry Marie Hall, once the loving wife of Harold and mother to their only child, Joshua, is over. Extinguished when Joshua overdosed and Harold died of a heart attack at the funeral. Now Merry hunts down the guilty parties, and one by one, carries out her internal court’s orders. Court is now in session. *This book was inspired by one mother’s journey. A trip down the dark path paved by the demon that came looking for her son-and found him. Her boy’s life turned from the pursuit of a football scholarship to the relentless need for heroin. His life was stolen by the demon. What’s a mother to do? What can a mother do? This fictional mother did what so many only dare to consider behind closed eyes, in their nightmares, and in their dark fantasies.
I am so happy to be able to share Celeste Files: Unlocked (Book 1 Psychic CORE): Psychic CORE the latest and greatest novel from Kristine Mason.
OMG, if you are looking for mind blowing paranormal/romantic/suspense, then pick up a copy of Celeste Files: Unlocked today. Kristine works very hard to give the reader a top of the line read and I believe you will not be disappointed.
I will also be sharing of glimpse of Book II, Celeste Files: Unjust by Kristine Mason. Another AMAZING cover! The cover is a bit different from her other ones, but when you read the novel it fits perfectly.
I hope you will check out her work and add this amazing author and her C.O.R.E group to your reading list.
I am always eager to get my hands on another Kristine Mason novel and have met Celeste before, in Shadow of Danger (Book 1 CORE Shadow Trilogy) (CORE shadow triology). These books stand alone, but I think once you read one, you will want to read them all, so might as well start at the beginning, with the C.O.R.E Shadow Trilogy, three books in one. Or start with Celeste, the first novel in Celeste’s very own series.
Kristine Mason caught me off guard. Fanfrickingtastic from the very first page. She is very good at grabbing my attention and keeping it, from the opening page to the closing page. Her pacing and suspense is superb. She had me sitting on the edge of my seat, and with each new book her writing amazes all over again.
Celeste is a psychic, she has premonitions. The dead like to talk to her. Does this enable her to change the future or just get answers for something that has already happened? Her mother had been a psychic, but was in denial. Would Olivia, her daughter, be one too?
Her father is Ian, who founded C.O.R.E., a private investigative agency. She had used her abilities to help in investigations, but she hasn’t had any visions in two years.She is married to John, who doesn’t understand her psychic abilities but loves her completely. She has a fourteen month old baby and loves being a mom. She quit working for C.O.R.E. and opened a bakery, the Sugar Shack. (Great name, Kristine. Brings forth good memories and leaves a song reverberating through my mind.)
All the characters are of a type, each special and talented in their own way. I have come to think of them as my family. They have all the problems you and I have, plus some extras.
John wants one thing and Celeste wants another, so where is the compromise between two professionals raising a baby and wanting another. Who will care for the children while they are working? Communication is always the key. Sometimes our perceptions can be wrong.
Celeste’s psychic gifts return. She does not know how they will reconcile John’s dislike of her gift, so she keeps it a secret from him. What price will she pay when he finds out?
NOW, it has become imperative she discover all her abilities and learn to control them, not let them control her. Danger surrounds her. She needs help. I loved that Maxine, the woman who would be her mentor, has a unicorn room. I used to collect unicorns and have them scattered throughout my home. Kristine seems to hit all my buttons. 🙂
Kelly, her friend’s mom dies, but her vision showed her something, something that kept nagging at her, not letting her go. She couldn’t quite grasp what had happened. Have you been trying to think of something and it hovers just out of your grasp? Have you found your mind going round and round, refusing to be shut off? Mine does all the time. 😐
Celeste goes into trances that are so deep, she is afraid she may not return from them. She died with Kelly, feeling what she felt, seeing what she saw. She is afraid the next time, she may walk with the dead into the light. Imagine John’s terror at seeing her like that, unable to call her back.
Celeste listens to a tape John made while she was in a trance, trying to understand his fears. Now she understands, but that still doesn’t change anything. He believes in facts, evidence and science and struggles to understand her psychic world. Some people need to feel, see and touch, no faith in acceptance and belief for what can’t be explained. For Celeste to use her abilities to solve a murder was not a surprise for her, but was there more to it, more that she would not let her mind confront?
I love the sexual banter between Celeste and John. The love and romance is hot without being graphic. Kristine talks about the pitter patter of little baby feet and I hear it. She talks about babby babble and I want to speak it. The mommy/daddy/baby banter is so sweet, cute and loving, it puts a smile on my face. So much love from John as he grapples with her gifts. And secrets? Would you want your friends, and family to know all of yours?
“I’m always a bundle of nerves over what might happen to you when you’re working a case. What gets me through is knowing you’ll do whatever it takes to come back to me and Olivia. Trust that I would do the same.”
Celeste makes me think of the Ghost Whisperer, a TV show with Jennifer Love-Hewitt. She talked to earthbound spirits and helped them cross over into the light.
I want to race through the pages and work very hard to slow myself down. I want to savor the delicious morsels before me.
Kristine, like many authors with their “babies”, works very hard to produce the best product for her readers and I believe she does this in spades.
If you love romantic suspense novels, Kristine Mason’s books are a MUST READ. They stand above many New York Times bestselling authors.
I received an ARC from the author and am ecstatic to share my honest review with you!
5 Stars+++++
SYNOPSIS
Some secrets should remain locked in the past…
Celeste Kain hasn’t had a psychic vision in two years. After being brutally attacked while helping criminal investigation agency CORE stop a serial killer, her mind repressed her clairvoyant abilities. Married to CORE agent, John Kain, mother to their toddler, Olivia, and owner of an up-and-coming bakery, Celeste has been doing fine psychic-free. Only now the dead are using her body to tell their stories again…putting her new life and family at risk.Haunted by a murdered woman, Celeste turns to a psychic mentor to learn how to control her gift, protect her family and bring justice to the dead. But the more she digs into the dead woman’s past, the further she slips into the unknown, unlocking secrets literally worth killing for. As the body count rises, it becomes clear: someone in the dead woman’s family is deeply, violently wrong. And Celeste needs to be careful, before she loses something more precious to her than her life.Celeste Risinski, the heroine of Shadow of Danger (Book 1 CORE Shadow Trilogy), is back with her own series. Join her as she learns how to deal with being a wife, mom, baker and…psychic investigator.
Check out her latest, yet to be released CORE novel.
Cover links to Celeste Files: Unlocked, Book I of the series on Amazon
Psychic Celeste Kain has two things on her mind, relaxing for a week in Florida with her husband, John, and making a baby. But a fishing trip turns her vacation into a nightmare when she reels in the body of a dead boat captain and accidentally unleashes an evil ghost who has one thing on his mind…revenge.
As the dead boat captain haunts Celeste, she looks deeper into his past and discovers that his murderer had done the world a favor. The ghost tormenting Celeste doesn’t see it that way and will go to any length to avenge his death. If Celeste won’t give him what he wants, he will take over her body and use her as a weapon…to kill her husband.
Celeste Risinski, the heroine of Shadow of Danger (Book 1 C.O.R.E. Shadow Trilogy), is back with her own series. Join her as she learns how to deal with being a wife, mom, baker and…psychic investigator.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I didn’t pick up my first romance novel until I was in my late twenties. Immediately hooked, I read a bazillion books before deciding to write one of my own. After the birth of my first son I needed something to keep my mind from turning to mush, and Sesame Street wasn’t cutting it. While that first book will never see the light of day, something good came from writing it. I realized my passion and found a career I love.
When I’m not writing contemporary romances and dark, romantic suspense novels (or reading them!) I’m chasing after my four kids and two neurotic dogs.
Perfectly twisted is the beginning of another series, CORE Above the Law, that takes the characters even further than I thought they would go. I am LOVING it!!!
Hi Guys. Just wanted to take a minute of your time to share these fantastic covers for Allan Zadoff’s, The Unknown Assassin Series.
I love any book with an assassin in it and I am loving these covers.
What do you think?
SYNOPSIS
I AM THE WEAPON
(The Unknown Assassin #1)
Previously published under the title Boy Nobody
They needed the perfect assassin.
Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn’t stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend’s family to die-of “natural causes.” Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.
But when he’s assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter is unlike anyone he has encountered before; the mayor reminds him of his father. And when memories and questions surface, his handlers at The Program are watching. Because somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and parents; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program’s mission.
In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.
No name. No past. No remorse. Perfect, that is, until he began to ask questions and challenge his orders. Now The Program is worried that their valuable soldier has become a liability.
And so Boy Nobody is given a new mission. A test of sorts. A chance to prove his loyalty.
His objective: Take out Eugene Moore, the owner of an extremist military training camp for teenagers. It sounds like a simple task, but a previous operative couldn’t do it. He lost the mission and is presumed dead. Now our assassin is confident he can finish the job. Quickly.
But when things go awry, Boy Nobody finds himself lost in a mission where nothing is as it seems: not The Program, his allegiances, nor the truth.
The riveting second book in Allen Zadoff’s The Unknown Assassin series delivers heart-pounding action and a shocking new twist that makes our hero question everything he has believed.
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Click on the cover below to get your Amazon copy of the Unknow Assassin Series by Allen Zadoff