Review – Shade and the Skinwalkers by Marilyn Peake @marilynpeake

Posted on June 21, 2017 by fundinmental

Shade and The Skinwalkers by Marilyn Peake is filled with so much goodness and I fell in love with the ghost whisperer, Shade.

Check out this gorgeous cover by Deranged Doctor Design.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love Marilyn Peake’s stories, so when I went to the mailbox and found Shade and The Skinwalkers, I could hardly wait to begin reading. I love young adult paranormal and supernatural stories and Marilyn never lets me down.

Shade’s first night in her new home in a trailer park in New Mexico, she meets Kai, who will become her new best friend. They both have special abilities and they will need them.

Shade is very familiar with ghosts…so what comes next?

Her other best friend Misty is still missing (from the first book, Shade) and she can’t let it go. Now, she has a new one mystery to solve, a serial killer who must be stopped.

Shapeshifters good. Skinwalkers bad. We have kidnapping, human trafficking, sex slavery, murder, ghosts, Native American culture, mysticism…so much going on that I was never left wanting for something else to happen, some new threat to raise its evil and ugly head.

We hop from fantasy to reality and back again.

I love flawed characters, struggling through life, trying to do the right thing. It is so much fun watching them grow into the people they are meant to be.

Shade has an awesome group of friends and a new bestie. I can hardly wait to see how that plays out, as they head off to college. The characters are amazing and lovable, and Shade’s mom…well don’t want to spoil anything…So I will be looking for more adventure in the next book of the series.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

As if being a ghost whisperer in a trailer park isn’t weird enough, skinwalkers take things to a whole new level of strange.

Running away from her demons rather than facing them, Shade’s mother moves them once again to a new place—this time a trailer park on the outskirts of Roswell, New Mexico. Hiding in plain sight among UFO festivals and rumors of alien abductions, paranormal creatures live there by their own rules.

Shade accepts her destiny as a ghost whisperer with the help of her new best friend, Kai Zahnii. An empath and healer with the potential to become a Navajo shaman, Kai must break free of her dysfunctional family. This dysfunction goes far beyond anything Shade has ever known. Kai is all too familiar with skinwalkers, shapeshifter witches who violate taboos in order to practice pure evil. In the Wild West atmosphere of her new town, Shade is thrown into a world inhabited not only by ghosts, but also by witches, faeries and shapeshifters. She must find the courage to fight the skinwalkers alongside her new best friend and creatures she never knew existed.

ABOUT MARILYN PEAKE

From Goodreads:

Marilyn Peake is the author of both novels and short stories. Her publications have received excellent reviews. Marilyn’s one of the contributing authors in BOOK: THE SEQUEL, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her entries included in serialization at THE DAILY BEAST. In addition, Marilyn has served as Editor of a number of anthologies. Her short stories have been published in seven anthologies and on the literary blog, GLASS CASES.

Awards: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and eight Finalist placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two Winner and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream Realm Awards, and eight Top Ten Finisher Awards in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll.

Stalk Marilyn Peake: Website / Twitter / Facebook

MY REVIEWS FOR MARILYN PEAKE

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- You can see my Reviews HERE.
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Teaser Tuesday #95 – Trials of a Teenage WereVulture by Emily Martha Sorensen @CleanYAFantasy

Posted on June 20, 2017 by fundinmental

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by The Purple Booker, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

~~~~~~

I have been reading Emily Martha Sorensen’s wonderful stories for a while now.

Take a look at Trials of a Teenage WereVulture and you will see why.

Cover by Rebecca Frank

Amazon / Goodreads

MY TEASE

“Oh,” she said. She sounded disappointed. “That’s not really a clan. That’s, like…a club. You might as well join Were Scouts.”

(24% on Kindle)

MY REVIEW

Looking for a fun, paranormal story about a young girl coming of age in the wereworld? Look no further.

Something’s wrong. The turning wasn’t what Lisette hoped for. Her wings are all wrong. She’s not a werehawk, she’s a Werevulture.

She went to Werepedia to see what’s what. She’ll be going to Flyer’s Education for flying lessons.

She loved her best friend, Kegan, and didn’t judge her for being different, but when she became different too, her feelings became mixed.

What clan would accept her? Let’s go to Wereconnection.com and find out. She may be the odd man out, but I have a feeling she’ll show us how valuable she would be to any clan.

We have a vampire pumpkin, wereporcupine, wereplatypus, werebutterfly, weretrees….and all the normal vampires, centaurs, mermaids and such.

Her instincts are good and we will find out how good as she investigates the Rarity Clan, who wanter her to join up with them.

It is Emily Martha Sorensen’s ability to surprise me with her creative writing and smiles throughout, even in the tough times, that keeps me reading her work. She has a wonderful ability to create such marvelous characters.

We can anticipate many things to come, but Trials of a Teenage WereVulture is filled with wit and humor, evil and danger. The creatures spark the imagination and I am left with a feeling we are all special in our individual ways. We all have much to offer to those who enter our lives.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Trials of a Teenage WereVulture by Emily Martha Sorensen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB: Lisette was expecting to be a werehawk. Now she’s a werevulture.

Sure, she can still fly, but the garbage looks delicious. And everyone’s afraid of her! Okay, everyone’s afraid of her best friend, too, but her best friend chose to be a banshee.

Then the mysterious Rarity Clan invites her to join. They offer her friendship, and the ultimate secret: how to be turned a second time so that she could choose a different species instead. She could be a werehawk, or a vampire, specter, giant, lorelei, or whatever else she pleases. There’s only one catch, and it’s a big one.

The tool that’s used to do that is a weapon that could destroy the entire city.

Now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.

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One + One = Three by Jane Blythe @jblytheauthor

Posted on June 19, 2017 by fundinmental

Jayne Blythe is a fabulous author who writes some chillin’ and thrillin’ serial killer novels.

Three by Jane Blythe has a cover that blends with the others creating a brand. Scroll to the bottom to see what I mean.

Check this beauty out, done by Amy Queau, and let me know what ya think.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Warning: ** All Jane’s books contain issues of sexual assault **.

I love when I am hooked early, anticipating the worst with each ‘turn of the page.’

Excited to bring together vicious killers from One and Two, culminating in a big fat delicious Three.

HE loves the thrill of killing newlyweds, couples, leaving one alive to tell the tale. The more vicious the attack, the better. Brutal, savage killing. Blood and body parts flying every which way.

SHE is a teenage virgin, but uses sex to lure in her victims. How sick is that? Killing is her purpose in life. Kill the cheaters, thinks Isabella Everette.

Sofia is recovering from Isabella’s attack and loving on her hunky Detective boyfriend, Ryan Xander. They each have their baggage, but have found they are stronger together.

The two serial killers have left a trail of bodies in their wake, but now they are home…

I know one thing. If I were Sofia or Annabelle, Ricky’s significant other, I would not be alone. I have read enough horror, of one kind or another, to know I’d at least have me some fierce looking dogs at my side. Some trained, mean and deadly ones.

The women are severely damaged, emotionally and physically and I like having the thought they will rise to the occasion when cornered. I look forward to finding out.

I am trying to ‘see’ where Jane Blythe is going with these deadly serial killers. I know certain things will have to happen…and no, I’m not telling you what.

And then…Sofia’s stalker returns. That is a story in itself. That is the bigger mystery to me. I have yet to figure out who it is!

Each character share their point of view, and I like seeing events unfold through each person’s eyes. And…as the characters come together…so do the serial killers. The action rises to a white knuckled ending that had me racing through the pages. I knew a lot of bodies would fall, but I never saw it going down the way it did.

I love delving into a killer’s mind and there’s something extra interesting about serial killers. Their thoughts and actions, even when fiction, fascinate me. I love when the author takes me to a dark, brutal and savage place, and Jane surely does that in the twisted series, of which I have read One, Two, and Three.

WOW! Action packed thrills and chills, blood and guts fly, and the killers carry their acts to the extreme. No one is safe, yet I am happy to be here.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Three by Jane Blythe

5 Stars

GOODREADS

He targets couples, attacking them in their bed, killing one and leaving the other alive.

She targets wealthy businessmen, luring them to a hotel and drowning them.

When the two killers meet up a wild killing spree erupts.

** All my books contain issues of sexual assault **

ABOUT JANE BLYTHE

Jane has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series, Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.

When she’s not writing Jane loves to read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies. She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears. She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!

Website / Twitter / Facebook

MY REVIEWS FOR JANE BLYTHE’S BOOKS

One & Two

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Friday 56 #135 – Twenty Four Potential Children of Prophecy by Emily Martha Sorensen @CleanYAFantasy

Posted on June 16, 2017 by fundinmental

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

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

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

~~~

I have been a fan of Emily Martha Sorensen’s ever since I read Dragon’s Egg, so I was excited to get my hands on Twenty Four Potential Children of Prophecy, her new novella series.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

I hid behind one of my favorite garbage receptacles to root through…

(56% in Kindle, published in May of 2017)

Book Beginnings

It was Prophecy Day at the market, and I had to duck through and doge around hundreds of people as I fought to get to the front of the crowd. The food stalls around the edges were selling snacks and breakfasts in a frenzy, and the whole place had the air of a festival.

MY REVIEW

Many times I find it hard to rate novellas. I like a lot of depth and detail in my stories, but sometimes the characters win me over, and Henina does that very nicely.

Henina is a fabulous character that kept me in stitches with her antics. She never stops talking and loves to argue. She’s in no hurry to get married and have children, like so many other girls.

She is an apprentice for her father, dumpster diving for items they can repair and sell.

“The days of the war are numbered…She will rule with wisdom and grace.”

Twenty four girls were rounded up and taken to the castle, Henina among them. Because of her personality, she never thought of herself as the chosen one.

A fun and quick read, filled with lots of smiles and chuckles.

I’m excited to meet her dog, Mud, and spend more time with her in Fifty Three Assassins With a Head Cold.

I found this hard to rate and bounced between 3 and 4…but because I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at Henina’s antics, loving her brash and witty personality, and left wanting more, I went high.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Twenty Four Potential Children of Prophecy by Emily Martha Sorensen.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB: Henina tends to irritate people. She can’t help it — she’s bad at shutting her mouth. So when a prophecy is made that someone will stop the war, she figures she’s the worst possible choice.

Too bad.

The Fates have their sights set on her, and it will take all her cleverness and quite a lot of offending the king to foist the prophecy off on somebody else instead.

But she can do it. After all, there are a lot of potentials to choose from.

MY REVIEWS FOR EMILY MARTHA SORENSEN

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To see all my reviews, go HERE.
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Be Afraid! Review for Resurrection America by Jeff Gunhus @Jeffgunhus

Posted on June 15, 2017 by fundinmental

Resurrection America by Jeff Gunhus is one of those thought provoking books that will stick in your mind, driving you to think…What IF?

Cover by Extended Imagery

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

We have been invaded. Be afraid…be very afraid.

At first, I was a bit confused, because I didn’t read the blurb, just saw Jeff Gunhus and knew I wanted to read it. This is horror of the human kind.

Resurrection America by Jeff Gunhus begins when Rick goes to the mine to check on Manny, who was unresponsive on the radio. He ran into an electrified fence that wasn’t supposed to be there. Something smells rotten to me!

Rick carries a lot of baggage from his time spent as a marine in Iraq. His feelings of guilt weigh him down and his emotions create tough times and difficult relationships.He will need all his skills as sheriff.

Resurrection America is one of those books that rings so true, it will stick with me for a long time and it terrifies me of what a government, who is supposed to take care of its people, is capable of doing.

Keefer…well, right now the jury is still out. Is he a good guy? A bad guy? Is he a rogue? A terrorist?

I read the part about the mine shaft and my jaw dropped open as I thought WTF, Jeff! The evil and horror oozes off my Kindle and I thought I’d have to wipe it to down to continue reading.

Funny how someone is quick to sacrifice a life…as long as it isn’t his.

The future is in technology. What if one person had control of all of it? We have seen proof of the danger involved, in our current lives. Jeff hit so many buttons, so much that could come true…couldn’t it?…with the levels of greed, secrecy, conspiracy and megalomania going on today. We should be leery, fearful and INFORMED. Seek out the truth for yourself. Be vigilant.

We definitely live in interesting times.

The ending…WOW, Jeff. You have a way of surprising me, right to the very end.

So thought provoking, I will be thinking of this for a very long time.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Resurrection America by Jeff Gunhus

5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

When helicopters and armored vehicles filled with soldiers in hazmat suits quarantine the small mountain town of Resurrection, Colorado, Sheriff Rick Johnson feels like the Jihadi wars have followed him home. But while the town follows martial law out of fear of a virus released into the air, Rick isn’t buying the official version of events. As he investigates, the cover story unravels and he discovers the military’s presence and the salvation they offer isn’t what it seems.

AUTHOR BIO

Jeff Gunhus is the author of thriller and horror novels for adults and the middle grade/YA series, The Templar Chronicles. The first book, Jack Templar Monster Hunter, was written in an effort to get his reluctant reader eleven-year old son excited about reading. It worked and a new series was born. His books for adults have reached the Top 100 on Amazon and have been Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Finalists.

After his experience with his son, he is passionate about helping parents reach young reluctant readers and is active in child literacy issues. As a father of five, he leads an active lifestyle in Maryland with his wife Nicole by trying to constantly keep up with their kids. In rare moments of quiet, he can be found in the back of the City Dock Cafe in Annapolis working on his next novel.

Author links: Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

MY REVIEWS FOR JEFF GUNHUS

Killer Pursuit

Night Chill

Night Terror

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Giveaway & Review – Keep In A Cold Dark Place by Michael F Stewart @MichaelFStewart @XpressoReads

Posted on June 14, 2017 by fundinmental

Keep in a Cold, Dark Place by Michael F Steward is an irrestible story and I knew I had to have it. I mean…look at the cutie on the cover, with those eyes pleading at me to let out of the burlap bag it has been stuffed in.

Cover by Martin Stiff

Keep in a Cold, Dark Place
Michael F. Stewart
Publication date: May 18th 2017
Genres: Horror, Middle-Grade

MY REVIEW

The cover for Keep In A Cold Dark Place by Michael F Stewart is sooo good, I knew I had to read this. I immediately thought of Gremlins and figured I was in for one hell of an adventure…and I was right.

Limpy is a poor young girl with large dreams. I get very angry over the way most people treat her. It takes all kinds to make up this world, and she does more than her fair share. Here dead mother haunts her thoughts. She is devoted to her family and her art. Her creativity and originality would probably make her millions in the read world.

BUT…there are no monsters in the real world…are there? I was pleasantly surprised at what the monsters are and don’t want to spoil it, so I’m not going to tell you. For all you horror lovers, you DO want to know. I mean, just the title, Keep In A Cold Dark Place, is ominous, telling us there will be death and mayhem between ‘the pages’.

Michael F Stewart did a fabulous job with the writing and world he created. I felt anger and fear, worry and hope, and I was pretty sure the humans would prevail. I just wasn’t sure what humans would be left standing.

Lots of action and suspense kept me reading this cute and terrifying coming of age horror tale for Limpy and her family, friends and neighbors.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Keep In A Cold Dark Place by Michael F Stewart.

4 Stars

Reaching for her dream, Limpy unleashes a cute, fluffy, NIGHTMARE …

Keep in a cold, dark place. That’s what’s written like some ancient law on every bag of potatoes the family farms. And it’s where Limpy fears she will always remain.

It’s also carved on a box of spheres she discovers in the cellar. Spheres that hatch.

Cute at first, the creatures begin to grow. Then the chickens disappear. The cat is hunted. And something sets the barn ablaze. To survive, Limpy will need to face her greatest fear. The whole family will. Or they may end up in a cold, dark place indeed.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Michael F. Stewart is winner of both the 2015 Claymore Award and the 2014 inaugural Creation of Stories Award for best YA novel at the Toronto International Book Fair.

He likes to combine storytelling with technology and pioneered interactive storytelling with Scholastic Canada, Australia, and New Zealand’s, anti-cyberbullying program Bully For You. In addition to his award winning Assured Destruction series, he has authored four graphic novels with Oxford University Press Canada’s Boldprint series. Publications of nonfiction titles on Corruption and Children’s Rights are published by Scholastic and early readers are out with Pearson Education.

For adults, Michael has written THE SAND DRAGON a horror about a revenant prehistoric vampire set in the tar sands, HURAKAN a Mayan themed thriller which pits the Maya against the MS-13 with a New York family stuck in the middle, 24 BONES an urban fantasy which draws from Egyptian myth, and THE TERMINALS–a covert government unit which solves crimes in this realm by investigating them in the next.

Herder of four daughters, Michael lives to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library’s first Writer in Residence. To learn more about Michael and his next projects visit his website at www.michaelfstewart.com or connect via Twitter @MichaelFStewart.

Michael is represented by Talcott Notch.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tag Team Event Giveaway – Ruined Wings by Ashley Fontainne @AshleyFontainne

Posted on June 13, 2017 by fundinmental

Welcome to my Tag Team Tag Team Event & Giveaway!

This is where myself (Sherry at fundinmental) and Laura at fuonlyknew tag team an author and share their book.

We give you two different perspectives on our reviews and two chances to win!

Sooo…let’s get to it…

~~~

Ashley Fontainne is a master storyteller and I am not surprised that Ruined Wings, a novella, has been picked up for film.

You can get it free on Amazon.

To me, this cover speaks of despair and hope and I love the black and white image done by One of a Kind Covers by Ashley Fontainne.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Ashley Fontainne is a master storyteller and I am always on the lookout for another story from her.

Ruined Wings…I love that the cover shows the despair and hope that is contained between ‘the pages’. It makes me wonder which will prevail.

A lot was riding on the day for Callie, but something felt wrong to her. I knew something bad was coming and her life would be changed forever.

DRUGS…ADDICTION…whether legal or illegal drugs, addiction is addiction. The destruction it brings into a family is horrific. The loss of a loved one can make something you thought was so important, inconsequential.

I love Callie, a flawed, yet strong, focused, determined seventeen year old girl who cannot accept her loss…who can’t move on.

The descent into hell is slow, seductive, and I did not see it going down this way. I love that Ashley Fontainne can always pull a trick or two out of her hat to keep me on my toes.

This sad, and realistic tale reads like a true story.

Ashley’s writing will reach into your heart and gut, and rip them out! Ruined Wings reads like a true story.

Once you start, you won’t be able to stop reading. Unputdownable. Gut wrenching. Tragic, yet hopeful.

5 Stars

Check out the trailer HERE.

BUY LINKS: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Itunes

GOODREADS BLURB

“Ruined Wings is raw, real and a terrifying journey into addiction. A must read for every parent.” – Elaine Raco Chase, bestselling author.

Seventeen-year-old Callie Novak is on the cusp of changing her life as she warms up for the final heat in the Women’s 1600 meter track and field competition. While she sets a new state record, her family’s worse nightmare is just beginning.

When tragedy strikes the Novak family every reader will feel the pain of grief, the perils of drug abuse, the despair that leads to a shocking downward spiral and the strength that’s needed to overcome addiction.

ABOUT ASHLEY FONTAINNE (from her website)

Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within us are her favorite reads.

Her muse for penning the Eviscerating the Snake series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Ashley’s love for this book is what sparked her desire to write her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy. With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero Balance. focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries answered that question: far and wide.

Her short thriller entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards contest and is currently in production for a feature film.

Her paranormal thriller entitled The Lie, won the GOLD medal in the 2013 Illumination Book Awards for fiction/suspense and is also in production for a feature film entitled Foreseen.

Ashley’s decided to delve into the paranormal with a Southern Gothic horror/suspense novel, Growl, which released in January of 2015. The suspenseful mystery Empty Shell, released in September of 2014. Ashley will be teaming up with Lillian Hansen (Ashley calls her mom!) to pen a three-part murder mystery/suspense series entitled The Magnolia Series. The first book, Blood Ties, is due out the Summer of 2015.

Ashley also hosts The WriteStuff, a popular BlogTalk Radio show, each Friday night at 10 p.m. CST.

Website / Twitter Facebook / Pinterest / G+ / LinkedIn / Instagram

GIVEAWAY

Ashley Fontainne is offering to one lucky commenter an audio copy of Ruined Wings.

Ends 6.27.17

Do you have an inspirational moment in your life to share?

You can enter for a second chance to win and another perspective on Ashley Fontainne’s Ruined Wings, check out Laura at fuonlyknew.

My winner: Chrys Fey……Laura’s winner: Dragonfly.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who dropped in and commented!

Ashley Fontainne’s writing is so spectacular, I am always anticipating the next book I will read of hers. Here are my reviews…so far:

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
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Early Review – No Surrender by Patrick Bisher with Jon Land #PatrickBisher @jondland

Posted on June 9, 2017 by fundinmental

No Surrender by Patrick Bisher & Jon Land was not what I expected, but so much more than I anticipated.

The true story is disheartening and uplifting, emotions flitting through the pages like butterflies through the air, leaving me feeling like all things are possible.

This is an early review and the book is up for preorder, releasing July 4, 2017.

This is one you won’t want to miss.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Patrick Bisher’s true story is all about overcoming hardship and finding his true path in life. His determination and perseverance can be an inspiration to us all, giving us hope and encouragement to dream and reach for it.

Michigan is my home state, so knowing Patrick is a fellow Michigander made me want to know his story even more. He is an amazing man with a story to share that we can all walk away from being better off for knowing it.

Imagine, as a child, a 9 year old boy, hearing, “You’ll never be able to walk again.” When I read that, the first thought to pop into my mind was One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

At the end of each chapter is an inspirational summary of ‘What you can learn from this.’

Patrick takes us from a childhood of bullying, harassment, despair and pain, to an adulthood filled with hope and determination and a desire to inspire and uplift. He is dealt blow after blow, struggling to find his way through every setback. Even when he is lost, he finds an inner strength.

Life is full of surprises and the road twists and turns, a journey we must all take, but there is no straight line.

Funny that he also tasted the General Motors life and found it lacking. I worked there for fifteen years and took early retirement because I wanted more. It felt like a prison to me and I had to spread my wings. Sometimes we have to take a leap of faith. No risk, no reward.

I totally agree with his final chapter and it concerns me for our country’s future.

Patrick believes in Paying It Forward. His story takes us from him being bullied and labeled as a cripple who would never amount to anything, to being a Navy SEAL, when everyone said it wasn’t possible, to giving back to all those who need a little help in achieving their goals and desires.

Believe…believe in yourself.

I felt so good after reading No Surrender and I want to thank Patrick for his service to our country and his willingness to share what he has learned with all of us.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of No Surrender by Patrick Bisher & Jon Land.

5 Stars

Never Surrender by Corey Hart is a song I hold close to my heart.

It was an inspiration to me when I needed one and I hope it lifts you up too.

GOODREADS BLURB

A Navy SEAL who first overcame a crippling childhood condition and then a devastating training accident offers his own experiences as lessons in defeating adversity.

Patrick Bisher’s career as a Navy SEAL should have ended after a parachuting accident nearly crippled him. But overcoming adversity, even an injury as serious as a broken hip, was nothing new for him. He’d spent a portion of his childhood in leg braces. Doctors told him he’d never walk again thanks to a degenerative hip condition. He wasn’t about to give up then, any more than he was in the wake of that parachute training accident. Instead, he went on to serve in combat as a member of SEAL Team Seven, seeing action in Iraq and ultimately winning the Army Commendations Medal, among other awards.

Now Patrick wants to take the lessons he learned on and off the battlefield and apply them to everyday life. He offers inspiration to all who’ve faced the kind of adversity he has. In chapters drawn directly from his own experience, he sketches a heart-wrenching tale of salvaging lifelong victories out of crushing defeats, and hope out of heartache.

From being branded a “cripple” to successfully negotiating BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALS) training, from agonizing pain to heroic achievement, from devastating loss to finding his faith, Patrick’s story is one of discovering ways to do everything he possibly can, instead of making excuses for what he can’t. An American hero who never surrendered is now sharing his lessons with those fighting their own battles to emerge from their dark places into the light and lead a better, more productive life

ABOUT JON LAND

JON LAND is the USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels, including Strong Enough to Die, Strong Justice, Strong at the Break, Strong Vengeance, Strong Rain Falling (winner of the 2014 International Book Award and 2013 USA Best Book Award for Mystery-Suspense), Strong Darkness (winner of the 2014 USA Books Best Book Award and the 2015 International Book Award for Thriller), and Strong Light of Day (winner of the 2015 Books and Author Award for Best Mystery Thriller and the 2016 Beverly Hills Book Award for Best Mystery). Land is a graduate of Brown University. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

MY JON LAND REVIEWS

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Early Review – The Future Is Now – Fracture Point by Jeff Altabef @JeffAltabef @novelpublicity

Posted on June 5, 2017 by fundinmental

Fracture Point by Jeff Altabef is not my first foray into his worlds and I can say for a fact that it will not be my last.

Fracture Point made me feel as if our future was held between the pages…and it is frightening.

The release date is set for June 26, 2017.

Cover by D Robert Pease

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Let me start by saying, make sure you have no plans…nowhere to go, nothing to do…because once you start reading, Fracture Point will take you down a path that will not let you go until the last word is read.

Is this what the future holds for us?

Warren Scott, well, he got my attention from the opening chapter and I felt nothing good was going to come from knowing him. He has a secret and he won’t share…yet. There is nothing he won’t do to win and revels in the evil he doles out to anyone who crosses him…or sometimes just because it feels good. Psychopath is too nice a word for him.

Jack is working a banquet for the richy rich and was hooking up with one of their wives. He was after info, but got more than he bargained for when he found a flash drive.

Once their paths cross, others become involved in the race to save Jack’s life and their own, running at a frenetic pace, making me worry and fret, wondering who will survive.

Fracture Point is a frightening glimpse into America’s future…voters rights taken away, the poor are discounted as lesser human beings, and terrorism is used to create fear and manipulate the people. Does any of this ring a bell?

They are at a Fracture Point, the point where a spark can set their world ablaze.

Fracture Point hits all the buttons for a heart pumping, blood boiling, terrorizing suspense thriller that smacks of realism, with big business and the 1% taking everything and leaving nothing for the 99% struggling to survive.

Is this what OUR world is coming to? Will it take a Civil War to wake up the leaders? What happens when the American Dream is dead, there is no hope left and we feel backed into a corner with nothing to lose?

CAUTION – Kindle is at risk of being thrown.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Fracture Point by Jeff Altabef.

5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A mysterious scarlet haired jazz singer.
A rebel on a motorcycle.
And a killer with a penchant for torture.

Food is scarce, good jobs the rarity, and big brother is watching everyone. Will Jack and Tom’s family be torn apart in the mayhem, and how far will one brother go to save the other’s life?

In 2041, America is rife with ghettos and armed checkpoints, and poverty runs rampant. A bloody civil war is brewing, and everyone will be forced to take a side. Education is the only way out of a life where you’re never sure where your next meal will come from, or what you’ll have to do to get it. Tom aced his assessment tests and scored an education contract, giving him a way out of poverty. Jack isn’t so lucky.

When Jack, a spy for a rebel fraction, goes missing, only his brother Tom can unravel the mystery of his disappearance. He will risk everything to save his brother from Warren, a killer who enjoys torturing his victims and making them beg for mercy. On a mission, Tom plunges into a world filled with mystery and danger. When he also discovers that his family has been keeping secrets from him—secrets that threaten to doom them all—he doesn’t know whom to trust.

Tom must break every rule he’s lived by, and go head-to-head with a psychopath if he’s to have any chance of saving his brother—and just maybe, keep America from reaching the fracture point.

ABOUT JEFF ALTABEF

Jeff Altabef is an award-winning author who lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and Charlie the dog. He spends time volunteering at the writing center in the local community college. After years of being accused of “telling stories,” he thought he would make it official. He writes in both the thriller and young adult genres.

In the Young Adult genre, Jeff co-authored the Chosen Trilogy with his teenaged daughter, Erynn. The Chosen Series has won multiple awards including the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for Best Coming of Age Novel, the 2015 Beverly HIlls Book Award for Best YA Fiction, and a Mom’s Choice Award.

As an avid Knicks fan, Jeff is prone to long periods of melancholy during hoops season. Jeff has a column on The Examiner focused on writing and a blog designed to encourage writing by those who like telling stories.

You can connect with Jeff on his website, Facebook, Twitter & Newsletter.

MY REVIEWS FOR JEFF ALTABEF

Red Death

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Are We Facing Extinction? Dark Light Dawn by Jon Land & Fabrizio Boccardi @jondland

Posted on June 2, 2017 by fundinmental

Jon Land has been a go to author for me from way back.

He is stepping outside his comfort zone in Dark Light Dawn, a horror thriller, and I am super excited to find out…

This is an early review and the book is now up for pre order and will be released August 1, 2017.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have been a huge fan of Jon Land’s for many years and I am always eager to pick up another one of his novels.

Dark Light Dawn is a new genre for Jon Land and he has outdone himself. The opening is the hook, slowly reeling me in character by character, event by event, a war between good and evil ravages the world, innocents and guilty alike falling in agony.

Jon Land keeps the mystery going, slowly sharing pieces of what brought the world to this cataclysmic place, making it impossible for me to put the book down. Will anyone survive? Are we facing extinction?

The story is told from multiple points of view and I enjoyed seeing each character’s perspective and motivation.

It all began with Ben Younger…

Ben Younger and his partner, Dale Denton, are drilling oil, or at least trying to, on the impact crater of The Big Bang. Is it cursed, or is the Mexican way of doing business too costly. I guess that tells us there will be surprising developments arising.

Will arrogance and greed be Dale Denton’s downfall?

Max Younger, Ben’s son was in the fight of his life in Yemen. He functioned as if a man in auto mode, like he has a sixth sense. NOW, he’s in an even bigger fight and there is so much more at stake than just his life.

Vicky is a wiz with disease, having worked for the CDC and WHO and is called to Jordan.

Al-Qadir in Iraq, is a ruthless savage, hell bent on torturing and killing all those who oppose him.

Science fiction, religious, paranormal and supernatural, horror…you decide.

The minute I thought I had everything figured out, the worst is over…

Holy Moly, what can I say?

The tension goes on and on and on and one.

Dark Light Dawn by Jon Land filled me with so many emotions, I was spent by the time I read the last word….but, please Jon….I WANT MORE!

Amazing! Mind shattering!

5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

With an uncanny ability to survive any combat situation, Max Younger has built a good life for himself as a Navy SEAL. That is, until a rogue rescue operation plunges him back into the past he thought he’d escaped forever.

Waiting for him back home in New York are terrible, long-hidden truths rooted in the tragic death of his father. But the origin of those truths lie further back than that, and Max finds himself ensnared in a sinister plot involving nothing less than the biblical apocalypse.

The explosive conflagration of events reunites him with the only woman he ever loved: Victoria Lewin, a brilliant expert in infectious disease who may be the only one who can stop the spread of a deadly pestilence threatening the planet. Max’s reunion with Vicky comes amid a firestorm being unleashed by forces that date back to the very origins of the universe.

Across the globe, the stage is being set for a final, epic confrontation between the forces of good and evil. Sides are chosen, a fearsome army rises, and the lines between science and superstition become increasingly blurred. Max desperately seeks to discover whether he is fated, under the shadow of the Medusa Strain, to help save the world . . . or destroy it.

ABOUT JON LAND

MY JON LAND REVIEWS