Tag: supernatural

Monthly Features – March

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Beguiled Persuasion by K. Reagan Zell

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Living her normal everyday life, Cait had everything a woman would ever want; a career, a wealthy boyfriend, and a doting father who was her world. Her life began to quickly unravel once she found out that her boyfriend was married and then her father died. With the dramatic events pushing her empathic sensitivities to the brink, she took one sleeping pill to help her find some relief from the emotional chaos. But it would be a prophetic pill that would forever change her already unraveling future plans. Setting off a chain of uncontrollable events of supernatural encounters with just one pill, Cait was involuntarily pulled between unimaginable parallel timeline journeys and all that she once knew…a destiny that she never imagined possible. But sometimes, one’s fate is already sealed.

Summary: Overall, if you like time travelling romances, the supernatural, and/or just romance period then this book could be for you! 

See the full review here: Beguiled Persuasion
Purchase here

 

Dissonance: Volume I: Reality by Aaron Ryan

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: There are some rules you never forget. Above all else, whatever you do, you never look directly at a gorgon.
Now, plug your ears… because the war for humanity has begun.

Sergeant Cameron “Jet” Shipley was there when they first arrived in 2026. For 16 long years, he learned to hide. To never make a sound. Learning the most important rule of all about the gorgons: You just… don’t… look. The year is now 2042, and humanity is eking out an existence in the shadows. Shipley and his team are sent out on a recon mission with developments that may alter the trajectory of Earth’s fate… and his own. Joined by newcomers Bassett and Trudy, Cameron and his brother Rut will have to contend with a terrifying alien species that has annihilated eighty-five percent of mankind. Will his mission lead him on a slippery slope of discovery that demands accountability? Or will it plunge humanity, and everything in it, into further dissonance?

Summary: If you like science fiction that features dystopian worlds, aliens, action, adventure, thrills, and some romance then this book could be for you!

See the full review here: Dissonance: Volume I: Reality
Purchase here

Six Moons, Seven Gods by Robert A. Walker

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: “One must be careful practicing deception. The easiest to deceive will always be one’s self.”

The skilled thieves of the Takers Guild plot to overthrow the kingdoms of Baelon, but when their plans are thwarted by a prescient woman and her brooding daughter, they must turn to the League of Assassins for assistance. Meanwhile, retired royal guard Rolft Aerns returns to the palace of King Axil with an old score to settle. When they all cross paths–and swords–in the dark shadows of Fostead’s south end, nothing is as it seems and the murder count rises quickly.
The long fingers of the Guild reach everywhere, and one overly ambitious thief is all it takes to spark a chain of events that will haunt the world of Baelon for many years to come.

Six Moons, Seven Gods is book one in The Legends of Baelon.

Summary: If you like fantasy, action, adventure, and political intrigue then this book could be for you.

See the full review here: Six Moons, Seven Gods
Purchase here

A Chef on Ice by Sebastien JM Kuhn

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Join a talented chef as he embarks on a life-changing journey to Antarctica. From grueling recruitment to months-long expeditions, experience the challenges and triumphs of living and working in one of the most remote places on Earth. With breathtaking landscapes, unexpected connections, and a newfound sense of purpose, this is a story you won’t want to miss. Get ready to be captivated by the adventure, resilience, and inspiration of this unforgettable tale.

Summary: Overall, if you like travel, food, reading about cold regions, and especially if you want to know what daily life at a base camp in Antarctica is like, then this book could be for you. 

See the full review here: A Chef on Ice
Purchase here

Freaks by Tam A. Athot

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: “Syranda and magic are an interconnected tree with the same root, with many branches, and beautiful fruits in many shapes and colours.”

 Syranda is a hidden country whose peaceful, democratic system drifting almost unnoticed into dictatorship. An integral part of the people of Syranda are individuals with special skills who have been a great asset to the country’s prosperous development throughout history. But in the last decade something has changed, and democracy has slowly eroded, slipping into dictatorship, led by Angelus, the Minister of Defence. The main pillar of the dictatorship’s construction was the production of an enemy image. Anyone with ability began to be excluded and eventually persecuted.

 Angelus’ daughter Vitu was also born with a special gift, which her father tried to hide from the world. When Vitu became a teenager, she had to face the fact that her father was more concerned with serving the regime and his own ambition than her life, and she too was forced to flee. In her search for a way out, she learned a lot about her abilities, her fellow human beings and herself.

 “Many people think that dictatorship will come suddenly, spectacularly, with a great blare of trumpets and horns, and that everyone will notice it, that one sacred moment when the trumpets blare and the drums beat, and a loudspeaker shouts, “Attention, attention, the dictatorship has arrived, the dictatorship is here, everyone should lock themselves in their houses, because the oppression has arrived, from now on it’s what I, the dictator with the big hat and the red nose, dictate.”

 “The prey within us dies tonight and at dawn the predator will awake along with the sun!”

Summary: I thought this was an interesting idea and Athot brought a vision to life in a creative way. If you like supernatural/fantasy themed books with touches of politics and psychology, then this book could be for you.

See the full review here: Freaks
Purchase here

The Festival of Hungry Ghosts by Stephen Frame

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: He was a big bad wolf, and he left Fairyland in 1929 to go work as a private detective in Los Angeles. He’s got a new case he doesn’t want; finding the kidnapped son of a local crime lord. He’s got a new partner he doesn’t trust; a chaotic female gangster who likes dames, booze, and bullets. Those are just the start of his problems. There are monsters in his way. And not all of them are human.

Summary: Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Don’t be thrown off or misled by the cover, if you like a twist on classic fairy tales, action, adventure, and/or cop dramas (or in this case private detective dramas), then this book could be for you!

See the full review here: The Festival of Hungry Ghosts
Purchase here

 

Review: Freaks by Tam H. Athot

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

Synopsis:

“Syranda and magic are an interconnected tree with the same root, with many branches, and beautiful fruits in many shapes and colours.”

 Syranda is a hidden country whose peaceful, democratic system drifting almost unnoticed into dictatorship. An integral part of the people of Syranda are individuals with special skills who have been a great asset to the country’s prosperous development throughout history. But in the last decade something has changed, and democracy has slowly eroded, slipping into dictatorship, led by Angelus, the Minister of Defence. The main pillar of the dictatorship’s construction was the production of an enemy image. Anyone with ability began to be excluded and eventually persecuted.

 Angelus’ daughter Vitu was also born with a special gift, which her father tried to hide from the world. When Vitu became a teenager, she had to face the fact that her father was more concerned with serving the regime and his own ambition than her life, and she too was forced to flee. In her search for a way out, she learned a lot about her abilities, her fellow human beings and herself.

 “Many people think that dictatorship will come suddenly, spectacularly, with a great blare of trumpets and horns, and that everyone will notice it, that one sacred moment when the trumpets blare and the drums beat, and a loudspeaker shouts, “Attention, attention, the dictatorship has arrived, the dictatorship is here, everyone should lock themselves in their houses, because the oppression has arrived, from now on it’s what I, the dictator with the big hat and the red nose, dictate.”

 “The prey within us dies tonight and at dawn the predator will awake along with the sun!”

Favorite Lines:

“The world you live in is more complex and complicated than you think…”

“At that moment, two old, kind-hearted people fell in love again, more than they had many decades before when they first met.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

First, I want to give kudos to Athot. Athot is Hungarian so this book has been translated to English and that in itself is impressive. There were some choppy parts due to the translation but I don’t think it distracted from the overall story. The story follows a teenage girl who has superpowers in a world where those with abilities are persecuted. I thought this was a very unique world and a breath of fresh air from some of the other books that I have read. 

There are some political metaphors throughout this series as Athot uses this book as an outlet and to make a statement on the status of our planet and the direction we seem to be navigating towards so be on the look out for some hidden messages/parallels throughout the series. In addition to those undercurrents, there are also several questions raised including whether evil can be hereditary, how dictatorships come to power, and how people get caught up on the wrong side of things.

Summary:

Overall, I thought this was an interesting idea and Athot brought a vision to life in a creative way. If you like supernatural/fantasy themed books with touches of politics and psychology, then this book could be for you. Happy reading!

Freaks

 

Review: The Noise by Allison A.

~ likelystory18 ~ 1 Comment

Synopsis:

Angela Blau has a degenerative bone disease, but she was never warned her mind could deteriorate as well. There’s no other explanation for the footsteps coming from the second floor—footsteps her husband, Jack, never hears. And then there are the ghosts who attack her at night, and the townspeople who dig through the dirt like rabid animals and peer through her windows.

Maybe the ghosts and the townspeople are in her head—it wouldn’t be the first time she’s let her mind wander—but the noise has to be real, and she’d go up there and prove it if the stairs weren’t so rotted that she’d fall right through, Jack says.

Things get worse when Arlo, a lonely old man who lives “somewhere down the street,” reveals a violent crime that occurred on the second floor. Against Jack’s warnings, Arlo indulges Angela’s growing obsession and pushes her to discover the true source of the noise, who exactly the townspeople are, and whether a traumatic incident that occurred four months ago, an incident Angela refuses to talk about, is to blame for all of it.

Favorite Lines:

“Death is supposed to affect us, change us, make us see things differently. Don’t let anyone make you believe you need to ignore that.”

“But I used to tell them the same thing I tell myself: you don’t move on, you carry on, towards the reward of true love that will last an eternity. Everything else is just noise”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will admit I was a bit hesitant about this book because it seemed like it would be really spooky and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. As someone who has anxiety, which comes with paranoia, and also someone who hasn’t made up their mind about if they believe in ghosts and the supernatural, this book felt like it was going to feed my fears. 

Putting my fears aside, I devoured this book in one sitting. While this book was definitely spooky, the creepy ghosts were just a part of the equation and I found myself much more distracted by the suspense and mystery of what was happening to Angela. I was turning page after page trying to get answers to the burning questions that I had. The author did a great job keeping me at the edge of my seat and there was an awesome plot twist towards the end. Without giving any spoilers away, by the end of the book, I had tears streaming down my face; the author did an amazing job at evoking strong emotional reactions.

Summary:

Overall, I loved this book. It was very well written and I would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a book that has elements of the paranormal, a psychological thriller, suspense, mystery, and romance. Happy reading!

The Noise

 

Review: The Bookseller’s Apprentice by Frances Evelyn

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Synopsis:

Time to choose your last book
Emily Brewster is an angel. Ask anyone she reads to at the hospice. So when she’s arrested for murder, it should be easy to clear her name. The only problem is, she thinks she might be guilty.

But what if death isn’t The End?

Favorite Lines:

“Sleeping better made everything less desperate”

“If we’re to push past the boundaries of knowledge, we can hardly expect our quest to be risk-free.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

I must admit, I found this book a bit hard to get into in the beginning. This is partly because I am not used to British literature and partly because I was thrown into a world with multiple characters that were introduced very early on and there are time jumps that took a bit to get used to all of which added up to me finding it difficult to get my footing at first but once I did, I found myself turning page after page to get the answers to my burning questions.

The story follows Emily, a woman who volunteers at hospice to read to patients in their final days until one day when she is arrested following a series of her patients dying. This sets us off on a path of mystery as we follow Emily through her journey to uncover the source of these deaths – leading her to discover that perhaps the source is herself.

Like I had mentioned above, once I found my grounding a bit more, I found this book to be really interesting. It was a refreshing plot with Evelyn doing a great job at storytelling and really focusing on the development of the story. Plus, I couldn’t resist a cat named Dumpling.

Summary: 

Overall, if you want a fictional, supernatural/magical, mysterious book with a fresh story that will keep you on your toes and that adds touches of history, then this book may be for you. Happy reading!

 

The Bookseller’s Apprentice