Tag Archives: paranormal

June 16, 2016 · 5:00 am

Life, Love and Death: Short Stories by Cat Nicolaou (Book Review)

51mwxeieablTable of Contents

1) The Island of Bliss
2) On Fear and All!
3) On A Rainy Day
4) We Used to Talk
5) The Treehouse
6) She Only Thought I Was Dead
7) Clay Soldiers
8) High Heels, Stockings and Murder
9) The Last Kiss
10) The Nightcaller
11) A Midnight Date
12) Love Like Thorn
13) Hotel California, A Tribute
14) The Last Breath Of Winter
15) An Unexpected Meeting
16) Red Lips
17) Jack In The Box
18) Revolution Imminent
 
 
 
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(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
At 70 pages, this collection is a bargain at .99¢. Out of 18 short, creepy, weirdly fascinating tales, 10 of them can be skipped (IMHO) but, hey, you still have 8 stories worthy of every penny spent on them. 
 
I’m going to discuss the 5 spooky tales that I think are most memorable and worthy of a featured episode on the Twilight Zone. 
 
1. “Island of Bliss” – Sirens have been, and always will be, creepy as all get out! 
2. “The Treehouse” – Twisted, mysterious, with a touch of spookiness thrown in for good measure. Basically, a mighty good read!
3. “Clay Soldiers” – My momma always told me never talk to strangers and, most definitely, NEVER take anything from one. Cat gave us a frightening reason why the heck not. Good read! 
4. “The Nightcaller” – This story ended on a ominous note which bloody delighted me. No pun intended. 🙂
5. “Revolution Imminent” – Cat saved the best for last. This tale will please the readers who think technology will lead to our doom. Yeah, you know there are those out there who believe this with all their hearts. 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤1/2

 

Kindle Purchase Link

Paperback Link

 


Cat Nicolaou lives with her family and many pets on a small island in Greece. She grew up surrounded by crystal clear blue waters and beautiful beaches. Living in such a peaceful area, she enjoys the idyllic setting around her. It is therefore not surprising that she likes to write romantic stories. Strolling by the seaside is where she gets all her inspiration. As an ever-romantic herself, she likes writing and reading stories with a happy ending, though she does torment her characters before they find a happy resolution.

 
Not being one of those authors who have been writing since childhood, it came as a real surprise to the people around her when she finally decided to do it. But “When Time Comes”, life has a way to show you what needs to be done and she finally realised that she had to put her stories on paper and let people know her.
The greatest joy of writing for her is seeing where the characters will take her every time she starts a story.
Besides spending time with books, she likes drinking coffee like a maniac and listening to music. She also enjoys riding her motorcycle because it makes her feel free. Do not, therefore, be surprised if her next book includes a biker.
Her debut novella “When Time Comes” was published in February 2015. A story set on the island of Rhodes where a famous rock star and an artist find love that can last forever.

 
Contact Info: 

 

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June 2, 2016 · 5:00 am

Dangerous Tide by CJ Matthew (Book Review) (CONTEST INCLUDED!!)

 

With the head of field ops murdered, Rye is recalled to SBW to resume his team leadership role. Anxious to clear his tarnished reputation, the last thing Rye needs is the pod physician hounding him for budget support. Or worse, warning all of SBW that he’ll be the next to become violent and dangerous.

Doc Libra, alarmed by the recent unprecedented violence at SBW, resolves to get a bigger lab and start her research to uncover the cause. She’ll need lots of Shore Shifter blood samples and Rye’s name is at the top of her list. But if she hopes to gain his cooperation, she’ll need to agree to his deal.

Author signed copies are available at Fiction Addiction, 1175 Woods Crossing Road Ste 5, Greenville, SC 29607 or available on Fiction Addiction’s website: HERE.

 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
Once again CJ kept me entertained with her fishy phrases: fish guts, squid lips, shark shit on toast. Yes, she made sure there was humor and romance mixed within the high-octane plot.
 
Speaking of plot, in Dangerous Tide, you’ll encounter gun battles, explosions, kidnappings, illegal gun smuggling, and an almost air-tight frame job. 
 
Throughout all that, you be a happy bystander while you watch an doc (with body image problems) fall head over heels in love with an agent who has trouble asking for help. 
 
As you can imagine, both get over their issues and the final scene had me placing Rye in the top 10 of most romantic shifter. Yes, I have a such list. Don’t you? 😉 

And on a final note, I <3 seeing a woman kick a little ass. As the saying goes….We are women, hear us roar… or in a dolphin’s case maybe – eeeeeeik eeik eeeek. 

HA!! 🙂

 
Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤1/2
 
GO GET YOUR KINDLE OR PRINT COPY TODAY!! 

 
 
CONTEST TIME!!
KEEP READING!!

 

 
Now that you’ve had a sneak peek at CJ Matthew’s sensational shifter book and read my review regarding Dangerous Tide (DT), WHO IS READY TO WIN?
 
Ladies and Gents, CJ is offering ONE LUCKY WINNER a spectacular prize package. 
 
In it, the winner will receive the following items: One SBW tall metal water bottle, a SIGNED PAPERBACK copy of DT, a DT
book thong, a fancy DT keychain, plus trinkets: which are little plastic
dolphin key chains, temp. dolphin tattoo, dolphin stickers.
 
 

 

And guess what? This amazing contest is open to anyone; no matter
where you call home!! 
 
To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below. 
 
So if you like paranormal tales (shifter books), then I encourage
you to ENTER TODAY. 
 
You’ll
have until FRIDAY (midnight, central time) to enter. SATURDAY morning, I
will post the winner’s name and attempt to message you. Please follow the
comment thread or come back on SATURDAY to see if you are the lucky recipient
of this amazing prize package. 


Good luck!!!

 

CJ Matthew is the author of paranormal romance suspense series Dolphin Shore Shifters. Her debut novel, Blood Tide, features a pod of dolphins posing as humans that work through their oceanic conservation corporation Save Blue Water, based in Santa Barbara, California, to protect the oceans at any cost.
CJ grew up in an Air Force family that travelled all over the U.S. and around the world. She spent her high school and university years living in California, which inspired her love of marine life and the Pacific Ocean.

A member of Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) Romance Writers of America, CJ lives and writes near a lake in the woods northeast of Atlanta. When she isn’t writing or reading romances, CJ likes to travel and to spend time with her two grown children, a brilliant grandson and a feisty cat named Max.

Website Link
Twitter
Facebook
Amazon author page
Goodreads author page

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April 13, 2016 · 5:00 am

Wayward Soul by Glenn Maynard (Book Showcase)

 
While visiting a psychic, Carter Spence and Brenda Raycroft’s reading turns tragic. The psychic touches them, suffers convulsions, and frantically runs into the street into oncoming traffic. Their fate is sealed in a coma and they must use any means possible to reach the psychic in the spirit world as they dodge deadly complications in an attempt for answers. They pursue the psychic’s message before she can die and take the answers they need with her. When the spirit of the previous homeowner returns, this haunting soul begins tampering with the comatose psychic. The sequel to Desert Son takes place four years after Carter and Brenda discover they are a couple reunited beyond the grave. The spirit world becomes intertwined with their own as they attempt to tap into these secrets to uncover disturbing truths about their fate in this paranormal roller coaster that will shake your soul.

GET YOUR PRINT OR 
KINDLE COPY TODAY!! 
 
 

“How about you…Wendy?” Brenda asked. “I bet you have your hands tied with twin boys.”

Wendy made a whistling sound, tilting her head forward so her hair flopped out of her bun and hung where her face had been. She then flipped her head back until her face returned, and her eyes grew in size. “Let’s just say it’s a full time job.” Wendy looked down at the boys who were just sitting and giggling quietly in their chairs as they played patty cake, unaware that the conversation was now on to them. “It was an extremely difficult birth.” She glanced over to the twins again as she said this.

“She almost didn’t make it,” Carl broke in.

“I made it, though,” Wendy replied. She looked over at the boys again. “They are identical twins,” she continued, “if you couldn’t tell. Billy and Willy. The only way that we can tell them apart is that Billy has a bottom tooth that is slightly crooked.”

“They’re twins and you named them Billy and Willy?” Carter asked. Brenda then shot him a look. His follow up question earned him an elbow to the ribs. “Isn’t that the same name?”

“No,” said Carl. “One is Billy and the other is Willy.”

“Yeah, but they’re both a nickname for William,” Carter said.

Brenda’s look evolved into a laser. She could not believe Carter was having this conversation, but he just wanted to know the reason they named their twins virtually the same thing.
“We don’t look at it like that,” said Wendy. We look at it like Billy and Willy are two different names, and you’re actually the only one to challenge us on it.” She laughed a short laugh.

“Those names are adorable,” Brenda said. “Just look at them playing Patty Cake. Carter watched them interacting, then said, “Hi Billy and Willy!” The clock in the room seemed to stop. Billy and Willy still had their hands connected, but they both turned to look at the man who just called out their names. Carter looked around at the others at the table, but all eyes were on Billy and Willy.

He wasn’t even getting a smile out of the twins. They appeared to be sizing Carter up. They were staring right into his eyes without so much as a blink. Carter noticed that everything about them was the same; everything, including their blue eyes and blonde hair, right down to the bowl-cut trim. Head shape: check. Eye shape: check. Body size and shape: check and check. Personality: check.

Nothing was different. Carter was a bit taken aback, and smiled out of nervousness. Finally the tension of the room dissipated when the twins smiled back at Carter. Their wide grins were cute, but they also revealed identical smiles. Missing was the identifying bottom tooth. Carter could not find one difference between the two.

 

GET YOUR PRINT OR
 KINDLE COPY TODAY!! 
Also found on Goodreads
 and SmashWords! 
 
 
 

 

Glenn Maynard has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Connecticut, and a degree in Communications. After spending 4 years living in Denver, Colorado, he returned home to Connecticut and now resides in Wethersfield. He has a 14 year-old son named Andrew. He was a travel correspondent for three newspapers while traveling through the United States, Canada and Mexico during his one-year journey. He had a total of twenty newspaper articles published. His story was captured on the evening newscast upon his return.


Website
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April 3, 2016 · 5:00 am

Destiny Series: Five Novelettes With A Twist by Casi McLean (Book Review)

FREE TODAY!!
GET IT WHILE THE OFFER LASTS!! 
—–> KINDLE LINK <—–
 
 

A note from the author:

I designed The Destiny Series to give readers a taste of my writing and leave them wanting more. Five short stories that capture the essence of my genre and style: ethereal, supernatural, romantic, paranormal, heartwarming, all rolled into one book, sprinkled with a touch of magic. I hope my shorts entice you into my novels.

Allow me to introduce you to:

Self-reliant Reagan Nichols is no stranger to challenges, but ever since twilight fell over Spirit Lake and that murky mist oozed inland, everything felt surreal. When she finds a little girl wandering through the eerie fog, Reagan vows to save the child’s father from the bowels of a ghostly vessel adrift on the lake. Will the three survive a confrontation with pure evil in order to meet their Destiny?

Savanna Bradford’s impulsive reaction to her boyfriend Ryan’s proposal spirals her into a rendezvous with fate and a mystical gift that could alter her future. Will the timeless struggle between dreams and passion bait her into repeating history, or will a simple gift from her bizarre encounter steer Savannah toward her true destiny before it’s too late?

Sabrina Wentworth’s bewildering gift swept her into the sensuous arms of a dream lover. Every night, sometime after midnight, she slips into an illusory world drenched in passion. But the sands of time run out tonight. Can Brie find the key to her fantasy world before the reality of her ex boyfriend’s deadly plot plays through or will she be destined to death after midnight?

Prominent heart surgeon, Sierra Norton, performs minor miracles on a daily basis, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she would live one. When lightning strikes her flight the aircraft plunges, swirls through turbulence, and catapults Sierra into a treacherous past––the attack on Pearl Harbor. In a whirlwind blur, Sierra’s courage, skill, and passion challenges her sanity. Can the convergence of three strong women reset history to fulfill her destiny?

When New York Time’s best selling author, Katlyn Harris, discovers a timeworn painting in the attic of the isolated home she mysteriously inherits, she feels a surge of déjà vu that spins her into a mysterious fantasy. Can dreams pierce the realm of reality or is Katlyn’s mystic connection to the antique painting the fulfillment of a promise torn from the pages of history?

Just when you think you’ve got the story figured out, BOOM. Romance, suspense, time-slips, mystery and a touch of paranormal, all wrapped into one book.

 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

 

1) Destiny: This supernatural short story wasn’t exactly spooky but it had a very precious ending. 
 
2) The Gift: I concur with the message in this tale – “It’s the people in life that matter, not the things.” No truer words have ever been spoken.
 
3) After Midnight: I don’t blame Sabrina for wanting to stay in her “dream world”. Aidan (dream guy) was a million times more the man than Derek (real world man). Aidan was loving, sweet, a true doll. Derek, on the other hand, was a despicable man who lied, cheated, and threatened her life. Dream vs reality —> Pretty easy choice!!
 
4) Convergent: This tale would’ve made an excellent episode for the Twilight Zone!!
 
5) The Pegasus Chronicle: Another quick, magical read about lovers overcoming unworldly obstacles and finding each other again. 
 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤


—–> KINDLE LINK <—–

 

 

Casi McLean’s fascination with writing flourished even before she learned to read. At three she beamed with anecdotes entertaining family and friends and, at eight years old, had published her first short story, The Apron String Captain. But when her fourth grade teacher read aloud Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle In Time” Casi’s creativity spun into high gear and she knew she was destined to pen novels of her own.
 
Casi grew up in McLean, Virginia, a suburban Washington DC. After graduating from the University of Georgia, with a major in design and a minor in education, she returned to Virginia to teach English and creative writing. Now the mother of two adult sons, Casi lives in Atlanta. where she writes stories to stir the soul with mystery, fantasy, and romance.
 
Beneath The Lake, her debut novel and the first book of a time travel trilogy, follows her five mystical novelettes released in 2014 and reveals the quintessential manifestation of Casi’s imagination sparked by her childhood dreams.

Website: casimclean.com
Twitter: @casimclean
Facebook: Casi McLean
FB Author Page: Casi McLean-Author
Goodreads: Casi McLean
Amazon Author Page: Casi McLean
 

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April 1, 2016 · 5:00 am

A Demon’s Witch by Tena Stetler (Book Review)

Release Date September 25, 2015 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
 
Keeping a lid on all the paranormal beings inhabiting Washington D.C., is a daunting job. Bruce, a six hundred year old demon and the Territory Overlord of the Western Hemisphere, keeps his finger on the pulse of DC’s power players through the activities at his highly successful Wycked Hair Salon. His movie star good looks and body builder physique keeps his dance card full and the rumor mills running. Within these walls, his anonymity is safe, mostly. 
 
Bruce’s world spins out of control when Angelique, a pint size, gorgeous witch, with an attitude breezes through the doors of his salon. She is the younger sister of Tristian, Bruce’s long time trusted enforcer, whose professional skills are second to none. Tristian is furious at the relationship between Bruce and Angelique, a dangerous situation. The undeniable attraction between demon and witch promises to tear apart both their professional and personal worlds.
 
 Purchase Links:
 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
I swear 80% of this book felt like foreplay. Tease, tease, and (wait for it) yes more teasing. Heck, I think I was about to take myself a cold shower. JK… not really. 🙂
 
Speaking of Bom Chicka Wah Wah, after Bruce and Angie finally consummated their relationship, I was waiting for the epic fight once Tristan found out. He blew his stack, but the fight was over as quick as it begun. Kind of a let down. 
 
On a positive note, how much do I adore watching Bruce’s parents interact. Those two prove opposites do in fact attract. Seriously, you can’t get more opposite than them. *wink wink* 
 
Oh, one more thing, sexxxxxy cover. I totally approve of it. 😉 
 
HEA
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤
 
 
 
 Purchase Links:
 
 

 

With the majestic Rocky Mountains for a backdrop, Tena Stetler is a paranormal romance author with an over-active imagination.  She wrote her first vampire romance as a tween, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. Tena finds stories in the strangest places, while camping, kayaking, or hiking in the mountains. Even at the hair salon ie A Demon’s Witch.  So far, she’s only found one dead body (imagined not real) during a camping trip, turned it into an exciting paranormal romantic suspense that’s nearly complete. For many years, Tena worked as a paralegal for a criminal law firm. You won’t believe the tales she can spin from that experience! Colorado is her home; shared with her husband, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-year-old box turtle.  She loves the adventure of a road trip. Together with her husband and their companion animals, they have logged thousands of miles in their RV visiting over three-quarters of the United States.  The great northeast and Alaska are still on the bucket list. Any winter evening, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate and a big bowl of popcorn. 
 
 

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