Review – Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella #apocalyptic #dystopian #NickCiacchella

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I downloaded Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella on 4.8.15. After reading it, and Creators, a ninety page novella that introduced me to the series, I wonder why I waited so long. Oh, wait, it’s because I can’t help downloading the next book, and the next one, and the next one…Do you know what I mean? Do you one click…because you can? LOL

Contributor was free at time of posting, but check to be sure.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

A book, and series, like Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella, really strike home for me. I love books that deal with things that ‘could’ happen. I mean, think about it…what would you do to survive? And what would those who could save humanity do to make sure the right people were chosen?

What happens to a person when they are no longer ‘useful’ to the system that operates on limited resources? Are people disposable?

In Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella, we see what happens to those deemed disposable by the Creators. I was filled with anger and disgust, yet there are always those characters that will rise to the occasion and shine brightly.

Dara Morrow, a seventeen year old girl has been given everything. Her eyes are opened when she realizes not only must she must earn it, but when her mother becomes ill, what happens when a Contributor is no longer able to contribute.

Nicole Ciacchella has the creep factor going in full force when we meet the Head of Engineering, Andersen. Dara is competing to become his assistant. I love when an author can surprise me, and I was surprised when help came from an unexpected source.

The characters range from the worst of the worst to the best of the best. The danger is subtle, but I knew it was always there. I do wonder if a novel like this could be insight to what our future could be? I love ecological stories that highlight current events in real life, which has become truly frightening. Famine? Storms? Are books like this a warning? Something to think about with this thought provoking series.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

When the Great Famine threatened the existence of mankind, the Creators saved humanity. Humanity has been their loyal subject ever since.

This history has been ingrained in seventeen-year-old Dara Morrow since her first day of Creator-sponsored school. Grateful for the life-giving necessities her Creator provides, Dara is thrilled to be one of three students chosen for an elite, year-long apprenticeship program. Now is her chance to prove herself a devoted Contributor.

But Dara’s competition is ruthless and will stop at nothing to win the competition. Worse yet, her exacting master has little patience for her.

Then Dara’s mother is seriously injured, and Dara realizes the price of being a Contributor: once you’ve outlived your usefulness, you’re discarded. Can Dara learn to manipulate the system to save not only herself, but everyone she loves?

ABOUT NICOLE CIACCHELLA

Nicole has never met a genre she doesn’t like. She dabbles in everything from science fiction to contemporary rom-coms to fantasy fiction.

Nicole has previously published under the pen names Elizabeth Darcy and Anne Wentworth, but is no longer using those names.

Nicole has had a lifelong passion for the written word. As a child, one of her most treasured Christmas gifts was an electric typewriter, which enabled her to crank out her stories even more quickly than she could with a pen. Naturally, the personal computer is one of her favorite inventions. When she isn’t writing, Nicole can usually be found curled up in a chair, whiling away the hours with a good book.

One of Nicole’s other great passions is travel, and she has visited Europe, as well as traveling to many of the fifty states. Her favorite trips include visits to Paris, Maui, and various parts of Belgium. She feels fortunate that she is married to a native Belgian, as it gives her plenty of reasons to visit Europe as often as possible. Also, it gives her an excuse to eat Belgian waffles regularly.

Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two beautiful children. She thinks Michigan is the greatest state in the country, and Michigan State University is the greatest university in the world.

Website / Facebook

MY NICOLE CIACCHELLA REVIEWS

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Review – Creators by Nicole Ciacchella #apocalyptic #dystopian #NicoleCiacchella

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I grabbed Creators by Nicole Ciacchella on 6.9.14. Don’t ask me why I waited so long to get to Creators and Contributors (which is free on Amazon, but be sure and check). Books seem to get lost as I download and download and download…

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Scrolling through my books, looking for something to read, I came across Creators by Nicole Ciacchella, a ninety page novella in the Contributor series. I find the cover and title interesting, making me curious, and I do love apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. When I saw it was about the food system being threatened, I thought….could this be a portent about what is to come for us?

With all the ecological damage being done to the planet, the overpopulation, what happens when there isn’t enough left for everyone to survive? Who makes the choice of who to save and who to leave to their own devices? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Well, we shall see. Even good people have to make hard choices. Would you choose to stay behind and let someone else have your spot?

A lot of my emotions rose to the surface. I felt disgust for those who had no thought for anyone but themselves, empathy for those knowing what is going on and having to make difficult choices, despair for those who figure things out and know they are being left to fend for themselves, almost no food, no water, the planet a barren landscape.

What would I do? What would you do? Does throwing ourselves to the wolves benefit anyone? How do we live with ourselves?

Glad I have Contributor, Book I, by Nicole Ciacchella to see what happens next.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

When the imminent collapse of the world’s food system threatens to all but eradicate the human race, it’s up to nineteen-year-old Liang Zhang to determine which of his company’s employees will live and which will die.

Liang and the other Job Creators have only weeks to choose which of their staff and families to move into the domes, the last refuges on the barren planet. Despite their best efforts, the Job Creators are unable to keep their selection project under wraps, spurring violent protests against the privileged few.

Now, Liang must race: against starvation, against insurrection, and against his own conscience.

ABOUT NICOLE CIACCHELLA

Nicole has never met a genre she doesn’t like. She dabbles in everything from science fiction to contemporary rom-coms to fantasy fiction.

Nicole has previously published under the pen names Elizabeth Darcy and Anne Wentworth, but is no longer using those names.

Nicole has had a lifelong passion for the written word. As a child, one of her most treasured Christmas gifts was an electric typewriter, which enabled her to crank out her stories even more quickly than she could with a pen. Naturally, the personal computer is one of her favorite inventions. When she isn’t writing, Nicole can usually be found curled up in a chair, whiling away the hours with a good book.

One of Nicole’s other great passions is travel, and she has visited Europe, as well as traveling to many of the fifty states. Her favorite trips include visits to Paris, Maui, and various parts of Belgium. She feels fortunate that she is married to a native Belgian, as it gives her plenty of reasons to visit Europe as often as possible. Also, it gives her an excuse to eat Belgian waffles regularly.

Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two beautiful children. She thinks Michigan is the greatest state in the country, and Michigan State University is the greatest university in the world.

Website / Facebook

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • 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!

Book Blast for Infinite Ink with $100 Giveaway

Check out this amazing collection of books from Infinite Ink then be sure to enter this fantastic giveaway.

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Welcome to the Infinite Ink $100 Book Blast Giveaway!

The Breeders by Katie French

“When the Breeders come for ya, there ain’t no escape. They strap ya to a bed and all ya hear is the thud of your heart and the cries of your friends as they wheel ya down to hell. Then the doctors come. You squeeze your eyes shut and pray you can forget. But ya never do.”

Sixteen-year-old Riley Meemick is one of the world’s last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother escaped the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster the dwindling human race. Her parents do everything possible to keep her from their clutches– moving from one desolate farm after another to escape the Breeders’ long reach. The Breeders control everything- the local war lords, the remaining factories, the fuel. They have unchecked power in this lawless society. And they’re hunting Riley.

When the local Sheriff abducts the adult members of her family and hands her mother over to the Breeders, Riley and her eight-year-old brother, Ethan, hiding in a shelter, are left to starve. Then Clay arrives, the handsome gunslinger who seems determined to help to make up for past sins. The problem is Clay thinks Riley is a bender– a genderless mutation, neither male nor female. As Riley’s affection for Clay grows she wonders can she trust Clay with her secret and risk her freedom?

The three embark on a journey across the scarred remains of New Mexico– escaping the Riders who use human sacrifice to appease their Good Mother, various men scrambling for luck, and a deranged lone survivor of a plague. When Riley is forced into the Breeder’s hospital, she learns the horrible fate of her mother—a fate she’ll share unless she can find a way out.

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KatieAuthor Katie French
Katie French imagined herself an author when her poem caught the eye of her second grade teacher. It was about birds and frankly, it wasn’t very good, but it sparked a love of literature. In middle school she spent her free time locked in her room, writing her first young adult novel. This thoroughly solidifying her status as a class-A nerd. She currently works as a high school English teacher, a job that she loves even when it exhausts her. In her free time she writes, reads great books, and takes care of her two beautiful and crazy children. Her young adult best selling series, The Breeders, is available now on Amazon. She also has a kids series starting with Portia Parrott and the Great Kitten Rescue for ages 5-9.

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Praise for The Breeders

Kindle Book Review, 2014 Kindle Book Awards Semifinalist

Over 45,000 downloads so far. More than 300 four and five star reviews. Top Ten in Free Kindle Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Dystopian Romance.

“This is an Excellent book that should be published the writing is that compelling and suspenseful.” — The Book Runner, Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer

“Wow, just wow! I started reading the sample for The Breeders and before I was even halfway through it, I stopped and bought the book. I was completely enthralled after the first few pages.” — Amazon Reviewer

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Virulent by Shelbi Wescott

Lucy King is only an hour away from embarking on the most incredible vacation of her life: White sandy beaches in a tropical paradise, snorkeling and sunbathing in peaceful tranquility. But as Lucy looks forward to her trip, a sinister plot is unfolding that will demolish the world as she knows it.

An unknown bioterrorist group unleashes a virus that virtually wipes out the earth’s population—leaving Lucy, and a small faction of survivors, trapped inside her high school to wait out the apocalypse. War, looting, and death wreak havoc outside the school; inside, the students must contend with a tyrannical and paranoid principal and their own struggles of being orphaned, frightened, and unsure of what the future will bring.

What begins as a basic fight for survival turns into a search for answers that will challenge everything Lucy has ever known about her life and her family.

Virulent is the first book in the Virulent trilogy, an enthralling post-apocalyptic adventure that takes you from the end of the world to the formation of a new society.

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ShelbiAuthor Shelbi Wescott

Shelbi Wescott is a high school Language Arts and Creative Writing teacher, a mother of two, a television junky, and a board game connoisseur. Her first book, “Virulent: The Release” was born from a challenge issued by her students to write a book that would interest them. When she isn’t writing or teaching, Shelbi can be found throwing unnecessarily elaborate birthday parties and officiating weddings. She is a fan of: Spanx, bourbon, Powell’s Books, and tabloid magazines. Shelbi lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, her two sons, Elliott and Ike, and an affectionate hound dog named Darby.

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Praise for Virulent: The Release

“My favorite part was how realistic and authentic Wescott is about to make her characters. It is clear from the specific detail and the way she shapes her setting that Wescott knows her way around a high school. She also knows a thing or two about teenage minds.”
— Underground Book Reviews

“Great characters, amazing descriptions, suspense and the beginnings of a great conspiracy mark this beginning to a series that I look forward to following. I can’t wait for book two.”
— Cherie of Cherie Reads

 

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Scourge Ebook Sml

 

The Scourge by A.G. Henley

Seventeen-year-old Groundling, Fennel, is Sightless. She’s never been able to see her lush forest home, but she knows its secrets. She knows how the shadows shift when she passes under a canopy of trees. She knows how to hide in the cool, damp caves when the Scourge comes. She knows how devious and arrogant the Groundlings’ tree-dwelling neighbors, the Lofties, can be.

And she’s always known this day would come—the day she faces the Scourge alone.

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LauraAuthor A.G. Henley

A.G. Henley is the author of the BRILLIANT DARKNESS series. The first book in the series, THE SCOURGE, was a finalist for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award.

A.G. is also a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life stories on airplanes, or avoid her at parties when they’ve had too much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she’s not writing fiction or shrinking heads, she can be found herding her children and their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember whatever she’s inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

 

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Praise for The Scourge

“Looking for a trenchant, imaginative, beautifully written novel to read? Look no further: it’s The Scourge, by A.G. Henley.”
— Sarah Cloots, former editor at Greenwillow Books, imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books

“The prose flows smoothly and easily but there are much deeper issues lying beneath the surface of the story that are captivating and will hold the interest of readers of any age . . . I was quickly transported into the world of The Scourge and plummeted breathlessly toward the resolution. This is a very good book and a good look at just what science fiction can achieve when in the hands of a capable writer.”
— Josef Hernandez, Examiner

“Lovable and relatable heroine? Check. Swoon-worthy, kick-butt hero? Check. Compelling romance that makes your heart melt and toes curl? Check. Captivating story and fascinating world? Check. Eagerly anticipating the next book? Check, check, check.”
— Refracted Light Reviews, blog review

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Contributor

Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella

When the Great Famine threatened the existence of mankind, the Creators saved humanity. Humanity has been their loyal subject ever since.

This history has been ingrained in seventeen-year-old Dara Morrow since her first day of Creator-sponsored school. Grateful for the life-giving necessities her Creator provides, Dara is thrilled to be one of three students chosen for an elite, year-long apprenticeship program. Now is her chance to prove herself a devoted Contributor.

But Dara’s competition is ruthless and will stop at nothing to win the competition. Worse yet, her exacting master has little patience for her.

Then Dara’s mother is seriously injured, and Dara realizes the price of being a Contributor: once you’ve outlived your usefulness, you’re discarded. Can Dara learn to manipulate the system to save not only herself, but everyone she loves?

amazon get it

NicoleAuthor Nicole Ciacchella

Nicole has progressed from scribbling in notebooks to banging on keyboards, but she’s never managed to stop daydreaming at inappropriate moments.
Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two wonderful children. When not answering the demands of her characters, Nicole can often be found curled up with a good book or spending far too many hours acting the hero in whatever video game is her obsession of the moment.
Nicole rarely meets a genre she doesn’t like, and as a result has written contemporary romcoms, fantasy fiction, fairy tale retellings, and dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction. She’s the author of the Fairytale Collection books, the YA/NA crossover Contributor trilogy, and the Astoran Asunder series.

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Praise for Contributor

From the world of dystopia comes something different – The Contributor. A society set wherein all must either contribute or be nothing at all. Very intense story line with a daunting theme. This is a great read and I can not wait to see what happens in book 2.
— LadyLox

Mindblowingly good. This book is brilliantly constructed.
— Kelly Walker

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the torturer's daughter Aa2

The Torturer’s Daughter by Zoe Cannon

When her best friend Heather calls in the middle of the night, Becca Dalcourt assumes it’s the usual drama. Wrong. Heather’s parents have been arrested as dissidents – and Becca’s mother, the dystopian regime’s most infamous torturer, has already executed them for their crimes against the state.

To stop Heather from getting herself killed trying to prove her parents’ innocence, Becca hunts for proof of their guilt. She doesn’t expect to find evidence that leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about the dissidents… and about her mother.

When she risks her life to save a dissident, she learns her mother isn’t the only one with secrets – and the plot she uncovers will threaten the lives of the people she loves most. For Becca, it’s no longer just a choice between risking execution and ignoring the regime’s crimes; she has to decide whose life to save and whose to sacrifice.

It’s easy to be a hero when you can save the world, but what about when all you can do is choose how you live in it? The Torturer’s Daughter is a story about ordinary life amidst the realities of living under an oppressive regime… and the extraordinary courage it takes to do what’s right in a world gone wrong.

 

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ZoeAuthor Zoe Cannon

Zoe Cannon writes about the things that fascinate her: outsiders, societies no sane person would want to live in, questions with no easy answers, and the inner workings of the mind. If she couldn’t be a writer, she would probably be a psychologist, a penniless philosopher, or a hermit in a cave somewhere. While she’ll read anything that isn’t nailed down, she considers herself a YA reader and writer at heart. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and a giant teddy bear of a dog, and spends entirely too much time on the internet.

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Praise for The Torturer’s Daughter

“…a great read that plays with your nerves and sets great challenges before its characters…”
— Willing to See Less

“The society created by the author is incredibly oppressive and realistic in all its horror.”
— Le Chat de Bibliotheque

“My day stopped in its tracks once I picked up this novel, racing frantically towards the conclusion and the answers I needed to have.”
— Bookluvrs Haven

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Heartbeat Thief

The Heartbeat Thief by Ash Krafton

Haunted by a crushing fear of death, a young Victorian woman discovers the secret of eternal youth—she must surrender her life to attain it, and steal heartbeats to keep it.
Poe meets Austen in this haunting tale of death and endless devotion…
Being the most beautiful debutante in 1860’s Surrey isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Senza Fyne knows all too well the expectations set upon a young Victorian woman—and she also knows that, in one fell swoop, death can just whisk it all away. When she meets the mysterious and mystical Mr. Knell, she is offered the chance to escape the chains of Life and Death and to enjoy the bliss of youth and beauty for all eternity.
But that takes magic…and a steep price. She’d have to surrender her life to gain an eternity and she’d have to steal the heartbeats of others in order to keep it.
She has everything to gain if she succumbs to his spell…but knows not what she might lose.
It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allan Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time…How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death?

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A.J.Author A.J. Crafton
The Heartbeat Thief is the first release for AJ Krafton, a New Adult speculative fiction author from the Pennsylvania coal region.
If she’s not writing, it’s probably because she’s distracted by all the cool junk on her desk or by the stacks of books that have grown up around it.
She also writes novels, short fiction, and poetry for adult audiences as Ash Krafton.

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Praise for The Heartbeat Thief
“It’s a supernatural story, but it doesn’t rely on the conventions and themes that have gone before it. To be honest, when I picked it up I was expecting witches and/or vampires, but I found something else entirely. I loved the story and the concept.”
“True to its word, “The Heartbeat Thief” is part Jane Austen, part Edgar Allen Poe. The author revives the best of the style of writing found in the classics: the introspect of characters, lovely allusions comparing characters to nature and life, beautiful alliteration and prose. Mixed with this is a deep foreboding of death, a macabre sensation that follows Senza throughout the story.”
“Beautiful imagery and language shape this intriguing story that spoke to me about the meaning of maturity and purpose in life. Lovely!”

 

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Book Blast Giveaway – $100 Amazon Gift Card or $100 in Paypal Cash

Ends 1/31/16

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the participating authors. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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