Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack’s fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it’s great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend “T-Rex” from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he’s the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he’s destined to be in the family business. Second, that there’s a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits…until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.
As if that weren’t enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the “One?” Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.
I added Jack Templar Monster Hunter, Book One, by Jeff Gunhus to my TBR on 1.29.13. I have read some of his work and enjoyed it, so why not? I’m sure I got it free, probably during a tour as he was promoting future books in the series and offered this one for free. I do love reading about monsters of all kinds. How about you? Do you have a favorite monster?
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
Greg is having a bad morning. He overslept and is late for work. All he really wants is a good strong cup of joe. He’s not going to get it. Things might be going from bad to worse before the day is over…
Take a trip into the Twilight Zone with Gone, also available in the Toes Up collection, by Adam Light.
I added Gone by Adam Light to my TBR on 1.24.13. I have read numerous books and short stories by him and his brother, Evans Light. Somehow this short story must have gotten buried. I think you can only get it on audio and in the Toes Up collection. He writes some great horror, and I plan on reading any of his books I have missed, including this one, soon.
I thought I would share Corpus Corruptum by Adam & Evans Light in the same post, seeing I got them on the same day. This is a short read too, and, like Gone, is only available in audiobook format.
These stories are our mutant children, fever dreamed hallucinations that don’t necessarily fit into any particular genre – no matter how weird they are, we love them anyway. THE CORPUS CORRUPTUM collection peeks into what happens when the body goes bad, the most universal of all human fears. We hope you enjoy it.
Stories include:
WAY OUT OF HERE, by Adam Light GERTRUDE, by Evans Light VENGEANCE BY THE FOOT, by Adam Light NOSE HEARS, by Evans Light THE PACKAGE, by Evans Light
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
SHE ONLY STEPPED OUTSIDE FOR A MINUTE… But a minute was all it took to turn Jean Kingsley’s world upside down—a minute she’d regret for the rest of her life.
STEPPING INTO HER WORST NIGHTMARE… Because
when she returned, she found an open bedroom window and her
three-year-old son, Nathan, gone. The boy would never be seen again.
A NIGHTMARE THAT ONLY BECAME WORSE. A
tip leads detectives to the killer, a repeat sex offender, and inside
his apartment, a gruesome discovery. A slam-dunk trial sends him off to
death row, then several years later, to the electric chair.
CASE
CLOSED. JUSTICE SERVED…OR WAS IT?Now, more than thirty years later,
Patrick Bannister unwittingly stumbles across evidence among his dead
mother’s belongings—it paints her as the killer and her brother, a
wealthy and powerful senator, as the one pulling the strings.
WHAT
REALLY HAPPENED TO NATHAN KINGSLEY?There’s a hole in the case a mile
wide, and Patrick is determined to close it. But what he doesn’t know is
that the closer he moves toward the truth, the more he’s putting his
life on the line, that he’s become the hunted. Someone’s hiding a dark
secret and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.
The clock is
ticking, the walls are closing, and the stakes are getting higher as he
races to find a killer—one who’s hot on his trail. One who’s out for his
blood.
I added The Lion, The Lamb, The Hunted by Andrew E Kaufman to my TBR on 12.24.12. A psychological thriller…that explains everything for the addition to my reading list…and that awesome cover. What do you think of it?
Nick Clausen has done an amazing job with the Dead Meat series and I am totally invested in sticking with it til the end to see how he wraps it up. That being said, I have my fingers crossed that my favorite characters will still be alive when it is all said and done.
Brains. Brains. Brains. Zombies are everywhere. Nowhere is safe. And my favorite characters, Dan, a young man taking on the evils of his world, is determined to go home. What he will find there? Will it be the death of him? After all, Nick Clausen is not afraid to kill off his characters, and every time I find one I like, I worry…
Book 7 ended with a cliffhanger, and I would like to thank Nick for getting Book 8 written so quickly. I was hanging by a fingernail, because…well. I can’t really say. You will need to find out for yourself what I’m talking about.
As soon as I finished Chapter One, I could see that Nick was going to torture me the very end, and all I can say is…BRING IT ON.
More zombies. More heroics. More Death.
Many surprises and heart stopping moments, and another threat, other than zombies, hangs over their heads.
I have been amazed how Nick Clause has kept the series moving, able to keep me eagerly devouring the words, watching, wondering, how it will all end.
So much I could not anticipate and I loved it. Even though I am not sure how I feel about the ending for this book, once I started I couldn’t stop.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dead Meat: Day by Nick Clausen.
4 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
The end is getting closer and the last hope for humanity is dying. The hours tick by with lightning speed as our last survivors grasp for one more desperate attempt at stopping the pandemic before it can turn the entire world’s population into flesh eating corpses.
ABOUT NICK CLAUSEN
Born 1988 in North Jutland,
where I still live with my wife, who also happened to be my earliest
childhood girlfriend. From 2017 I have lived as a full-time writer. Up
until then, I had different jobs beside the writing. I have been
studying as a carpenter for three years, and have also read two years of
psychology at Aalborg University. It turned out that the writing had a
much more powerful pull on me.
I decided early on that I would be an author when I grew up. In
fact, the decision came to me already when I read my first book,
Snevampyren by Dennis Jürgensen. My first “real” stories I wrote at
14-15 years of age. They were rejected by the publisher, but still got
praise. There were some years when I was busy with being a teenager and
trying to get an education before I suddenly remembered that I should
be an author.
That day I made a promise
to write 1,000 words a day until I got a book published. I sat down and
started writing. I continued to write every single day for a year and a
half. I sent the finished manuscripts to different publishers, and the
rejections piled up. Twelve of them by the end. But each time I could
feel it was a little bit better. The criticism became more positive. The
thirteenth story was called Tidevandet, and it was adopted by the
publisher and came out a year later.
I have always enjoyed writing, although in the beginning I put a lot
of pressure on myself. My approach to the process has become much more
free over the years. For example, I no longer plan my stories. That
way, I feel that I’m experiencing the story while writing it and the
characters feel like real people. I do not know where the ideas come
from, but I’ve never had trouble finding them.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
Daniel Sharpe survived the end of the world. Now he lives alone, fearful that he may be the last living person on earth. It’s too dangerous for him to venture outside – to try and find other survivors – with that ominous black cloud of death still looming in the sky above.
When a manila envelope mysteriously arrives with an invitation to join “The Continuance Agency”, an organization on a mission to save mankind, Daniel has to decide if it’s worth the risk to try to join up, to see if he can help to save whatever’s left of the world. But deep inside he wonders: is “The Continuance Agency” really what it claims to be?
I added The Continuance Agency by Adam Light to my TBR on 12.19.12. I quickly learned that he writes awesome horror stories and grab his books whenever they are available.
I am a huge fan of Mimi Jean Pamfiloff and the Librarian’s Assistant series. Each book can be read as a stand alone, but I have read 3 out of 6 and have the bookset for books 1-3, so I plan on reading books 2 and 3 in the very near future.
I got The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant Book I by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff on a free day. It led me down a biting good path of laughs, love and vampires. I started with a smile and a chuckle. That’s a good sign and something Mimi Jean Pamfiloff does with ease. Michael Vanderhorst wasn’t looking for work, but he couldn’t resist her. Now, he’s a library assistant. Even though he saw Miriam coming, he never could have anticipated the affect she would have on his life. Hilarious, suspenseful, mouth wateringly, delightfully addictive.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a Horribly Sunny Mystery, The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant.
NOBODY MESSES WITH HIS LIBRARIAN. . .
Who
killed Michael Vanderhorst’s maker? It’s a darn good question. But when
the trail brings Michael to hellishly sunny Phoenix, Arizona, his
biggest problem soon becomes a cute little librarian he can’t seem to
stay away from. He’s never met a bigger danger magnet! Even her book
cart has it out for her. And is that the drug cartel following her
around, too? “Dear God, woman! What have you gotten yourself into?”
Things go from bad to worse when local vampires won’t play nice.
Can
this four-hundred-year-old vampire keep his librarian safe and himself
out of hot water? Can he bring his maker’s killer to justice? Yesterday,
he would’ve said yes. But yesterday, he didn’t have a strange
connection with a librarian. Yesterday, people weren’t trying to kill
her.
I won a signed copy of The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant Book 5 by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff and I was sooo excited. I had already picked up the first book on a free day and loved it, so I dove right in. Fortunately it can be read as a stand alone, so I didn’t have any trouble following along.
I am immediately drawn back into Michael and Miriam’s world, watching the characters grow and change, finding their place in a world not of their own making. When it comes to a sacrifice that may free her from the life of a vampire, will Miriam take it? No choice is easy. There are always consequences.
OMG… I loved the book, but as I read the last chapter, I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. This is not in anyway a vampire romance you have read before. Five stars for love, hope, laughter and sweet sweet Stella. I will sorely miss these characters, now that the story has been told and the series is done.
Humans can live without us, but we cannot live without them. And that is why they must always be protected, for better or worse, they are the species that make this world what it is.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes the FINAL vampire-mystery-slash-romance-slash-adventure about a librarian and her trusty vampire assistant, The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant, Book 5. (Yes, yes. Still a standalone. Yippy! You don’t have to go back and read all four books. But don’t ya kinda wanna?)
NEVER HIRE A HANDSOME VAMPIRE!
MIRIAM MURPHY loves being a librarian. It’s all she’s ever wanted—to eat, breathe, and sleep books. But when she hired Michael, a handsome college student, she had no idea he was a four-hundred-year-old vampire and that inviting him into her life would result in her becoming one too. But not before he knocked her up and broke her heart.
Now Miriam is a single mother, all alone in a new world with a new vampire body. And someone’s trying to kill her. Who? Why? She has no real enemies.
If only Michael would help. After all, he’s the vampire king now. And this is one mystery she can’t solve on her own.
NEVER FALL FOR A LIBRARIAN!
MICHAEL VANDERHORST knows he’s changed. He can no longer love or laugh or enjoy hot peppers like he used to. But being an unfeeling, ruthless vampire is what it takes to rule the deadliest bloodsuckers on the planet. It’s the only way to keep humankind safe.
Problem is, his enemies know the librarian and his daughter are special to him. They are his to protect, even if he’s incapable of feeling love.
But when danger comes knocking at Miriam’s library door, he must choose between solving the biggest mystery of his existence and the woman he swore to protect.
“I am a Vampire Man! Vampire on the inside. Man on the outside. NOM NOM NOM
Michael and Miriam’s stories may be told, but we still have Mr Nice to deal with. Vampire Man picks up where Book 5 left off, but seeing it is Mr Nice’s story, a rebirth, if you will, it can stand by itself and he is about to get some very bad news. I feel for the messenger. You know the saying, right? Don’t kill the messenger? Well, Mr Nice could very well do that. There is a secret Mr Nice is keeping, thinking to unleash it when the time is right. We have good and bad vampires, as well as good and bad humans.
We have lots of laughs, danger and gruesome deaths, but love is the magic element that can make an evil vampire reevaluate what is important in life. Does he deserve a second chance?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Vampire Man by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, comes a standalone Paranormal Romcom about second chances.
CAN THIS EVIL VAMPIRE CHANGE HIS WAYS?
Just
a few short years ago, a medical miracle turned this ancient evil
vampire into a human baby. Just a small setback in Mr. Nice’s plans for
world domination, right?
Wrong. Because now a slight problem with the transformation has left him aging five times faster than a regular human.
Sure,
he’s happier and stronger than he ever was in his past human life
(These vitamins do wonders!), but if he wants to live, he’ll have to
find a vampire willing to turn him. Fast!
Of course, none of
them are crazy enough to do it. Not after the hell he put the vampire
world through, including the vampire king.
“Will no one give me a second chance? I’m only a little bit evil now!”
Then,
just when all hope is lost, he walks into a library and meets the new
head librarian. She might be the only vampire on the planet who has no
clue who he is.
Can he convince her he’s a good man, one who deserves to live forever? Because she’ll only turn the man who’s destined to be her mate.
I have loved the series…so far…and will be reading Books 2 and 3 ASAP. This was free at time of posting, as was Book I
ABOUT MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF
MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.
Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.
She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.
We begin Day 7 with Dan, my favorite guy, and my heart breaks for him. I have been with him every step of the way, from Day 1, of the apocalypse.
I will warn you about the characters and Nick Clausen’s ability to kill them off, no matter how brave, courageous and selfless they may be. So be leery of falling in love with any of them.
“…the human body can go three weeks without food, three days without water…and 3 minutes without oxygen.”
Does that whet your appetite for suspense?
Iver, who we met in Book 6, is still alive. YAY! He is a wonderful character, putting his life on the line to do the right thing. Getting away from the ferry was pretty amazing, but, now, they are stranded on an island…with zombies outnumbering them.
“Paranoid people live longer.”
William….When he was stranded in the car, I thought of Cujo, but he has it worse. Will he survive? I really want him to…BUT…it’s up to Nick. Is there a way, Nick?
OMG…you are killing me Nick! From beginning to end, my heart was in my throat. BUT, when I reached the cliffhanger ending, it dropped to my gut and I think it will drive me crazy having to wait until Day 8.
So much happens in each terror filled Day, it feels like weeks, months, or even years have passed. People’s true nature rises to the surface, their humanity…or inhumanity…exposed.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dead Meat: Day 7 by Nick Clausen.
5 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
The dead have awakened. The world is ending. Can the disaster still be stopped?
Our
survivors are facing daunting odds in their quest to find a way to save
the world from the brink of collapse. The dead are growing in numbers
rapidly, and hope seems like a distant dream.
This is Day 7 of the zombie apocalypse.
Fans
of Mark Tufo, TW Piperbrook, Bobby Adair and Camille Picott will devour
this action-packed zombie book. And if you liked The Orphans, Dead
State or The End of Everything, you’ll love Dead Meat.
What readers are saying about Dead Meat:
★★★★★ “like reading an episode of The Walking Dead” – Amazon review
★★★★★ “I’ve read a lot of zombie series, and this is the best” – Amazon review
★★★★★ “terrifying, nightmare-inducing, impossible to put down” – Amazon review
ABOUT NICK CLAUSEN
Born 1988 in North Jutland,
where I still live with my wife, who also happened to be my earliest
childhood girlfriend. From 2017 I have lived as a full-time writer. Up
until then, I had different jobs beside the writing. I have been
studying as a carpenter for three years, and have also read two years of
psychology at Aalborg University. It turned out that the writing had a
much more powerful pull on me.
I decided early on that I would be an author when I grew up. In
fact, the decision came to me already when I read my first book,
Snevampyren by Dennis Jürgensen. My first “real” stories I wrote at
14-15 years of age. They were rejected by the publisher, but still got
praise. There were some years when I was busy with being a teenager and
trying to get an education before I suddenly remembered that I should
be an author.
That day I made a promise
to write 1,000 words a day until I got a book published. I sat down and
started writing. I continued to write every single day for a year and a
half. I sent the finished manuscripts to different publishers, and the
rejections piled up. Twelve of them by the end. But each time I could
feel it was a little bit better. The criticism became more positive. The
thirteenth story was called Tidevandet, and it was adopted by the
publisher and came out a year later.
I have always enjoyed writing, although in the beginning I put a lot
of pressure on myself. My approach to the process has become much more
free over the years. For example, I no longer plan my stories. That
way, I feel that I’m experiencing the story while writing it and the
characters feel like real people. I do not know where the ideas come
from, but I’ve never had trouble finding them.
Yeah, I know, another virus novel…but Jason Parent has the ability to spin a tale that can rock my world, so I am very happy to read and share his version of research that is out of the control of those who TRY and contain it. Lives will be lost..and maybe…
As I write the review, I had to scrap my notes and write on the fly. I enjoyed the story so much, I sure don’t want to spoil anything for you, Experiencing the horror around every corner is worth finding out for yourself.
I know with Jason Parent, I’m going to have a wild ride into the depths of Hell, and I gladly buckle up, clench…well…everything, and settle in.
As each body falls to Molli, I keep hoping some will survive. Jason Parent creates characters that I quickly become involved with, and keeps me wondering if they will survive what is coming at them.
So…prepare yourself. Watch for that movement out of the corner of your eye. Is it Molli? How about that feeling that something is caressing your skin. Is it Molli?
Will anyone survive?
The ending…took my by surprise and I loved/hated it. I sat for a while, thinking about it. LOL Even though the story is told, my mind keeps going, anticipating what comes next. Is it really over? Great job, Jason.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Apocalypse Strain by Jason Parent.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A multi-national research team, led by a medical genomics expert suffering from MS, study an ancient pandoravirus at a remote Siberian research facility. Called “Molli” by the research team, the organic substance reveals some unique but troublesome characteristics, qualities that, in the wrong hands, could lead to human extinction.
The researchers soon learn that even in the right hands, Molli is a force too dangerous to escape their compound. But the virus has a mind of its own, and it wants out.
FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
ABOUT JASON PARENT
In
his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he
calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings
for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He
currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi
named Calypso.
In a prior life, Jason spent most of his
time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally
tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to
people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within
the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no
one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap
suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the
next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s
another story.
When he’s not working, Jason likes to
kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play
just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you
basically just whack the ball until it twists into a knot or takes
somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of
course. He does that too sometimes.
Too bad Seb didn’t have the magic eight ball before he met with Ling and all hell broke loose. He took his chances in Vegas. If it wasn’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all and it will take his Hellcat Charger to survive.
Bloody and fleeing for his life…
I love that Jason Parent adds some humor to his horror and he is not afraid to kill off a character or two or three…His characters are quirky and his scenarios keep me wondering. The minute I think I know how the story will end, he throws in a surprise or two making me say…WTF.
WOW…Eight Cylinders was one wild ride with some of the worst characters being the best. This may be a novella, but it was filled with danger, otherwordly, nail biting, edge of the seat suspense and thrills.
Good job Jason. You had me going. The ending was worth a star itself.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Eight Cylinders by Jason Parent.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Sebastian “Seb” McAlister has run out of luck in Vegas. Cornered by a trigger-happy gang and shot through the stomach, he makes a desperate escape in his supercharged Hellcat. Fate guides Seb safely out of Sin City and into the desert, but as his wheels fade into the horizon, he fades into darkness.
He awakes among a tiny community in the middle of nowhere. A mountain range circles the hodgepodge of shacks like prison walls looming high. And the warden that resides in those mountains is big, ugly, and deadly—a creature straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare.
If Seb hopes to escape that wayward way station, he’ll need enough cunning to outwit a force beyond comprehension… and a fast car. With a little luck and a ragtag group of would-be monster mashers racing alongside him, Seb just might have a shot of making it through the mountains alive.
ABOUT JASON PARENT
In
his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he
calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings
for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He
currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi
named Calypso.
In a prior life, Jason spent most of his
time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally
tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to
people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within
the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no
one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap
suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the
next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s
another story.
When he’s not working, Jason likes to
kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play
just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you
basically just whack the ball until it twists into a knot or takes
somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of
course. He does that too sometimes.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
Like a modern-day Franz Kafka or young William S. Burroughs, blossoming new author Adam Light presents the twisted tale of an unlucky man suffering the misfortune of losing his foot to diabetes. Amputation is a bad thing even on a good day, but it’s even worse when your severed foot holds a grudge.
I added Vengeance By The Foot by Adam Light to my TBR on 11.18.12. My first reason was probably that awesome cover. The second is the humor with the horror. What do you think?
