Tag Archives: thriller

Grace Under Siege: Not a Love Story by René Voland (Book Review)

GRACE UNDER SIEGE: Not a Love Story by Rene Voland

 
​Grace, a newlywed in her 30’s, discovers that her new life isn’t exactly what she expected. Her husband Narcissus is a handsome, former special agent whose puzzling behavior follows a mysterious pattern. Despite Grace’s best efforts, she finds it incredibly difficult to build a happy life with him. The ultimate revelation leads to a showdown with Narcissus. Grace believes the well-being of others depend on what she must reveal.
 
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I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours.  I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 
Grace Under Siege: Not a Love Story by René Voland dealt with a very touchy subject that many individuals are facing currently or have faced in the past — domestic abuse. René Voland emphasizes domestic abuse is more than strikes to the body. Criticizing, controlling a person’s life, and name-calling are just a few examples of abuse Grace faced. At times, it’s a combination of any or all of the following three: mental, physical, and emotional abuse. Unfortunately, most people’s (like Grace) struggles don’t end when they walk away from the toxic relationship. Fear is always lurking, and so is their abuser. 


Grace Under Siege: Not a Love Story does talk extensively about narcissistic personality disorder. Since I love psychology, the discussions revolving around it were fascinating. If you love the psychobabble talk, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well. 


If you aren’t a religious person, be warned this is a book of faith. If you are, then you’ll love and appreciate every mention of faith and the Lord. No matter your religious status, if you are in an abusive relationship, please get in touch with the National Domestic Violence listed in the book. (1-800-799-SAFE)


On a final note: René Voland added a feature to her book that I hadn’t seen before, and it’s worth noting. After the Epilogue, she listed Topics for Book Club Discussion. How ingenious! I hope many other authors will follow suit. 


On a final, final note: I loved your book’s cover! Those eyes drew me in like a moth to a flame. 

 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤
 
 
 
 
 
Meet the Author:
GRACE UNDER SIEGE: Not a Love Story by Rene Voland
René is an author, playwright, poet and publisher/editor. She is a seasoned business owner, private coach and ministerial leader. Grace Under Siege is her debut novel. She and her spouse live in Georgia. She is a graduate of Georgia State University.

connect with the author: website ~ instagram

 
 
 

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Safekeeping: Cedar Lake Series by Eva Mackenzie (Book Review and Giveaway)

Mackenzie_Safekeeping_Ebook

No one ever thinks they’ll get caught…

Moments before police arrive on the scene of a car accident in rural Montana, Sonia has time to make one phone call. With one word whispered, she sets off an unstoppable chain of events. Once police arrive, she confesses to the brutal murder of her stepsister, Emma.

After, she’s sentenced to life in prison where she learns her stepfather’s ruthless reach. It’s a game of cat and mouse– a game she has already lost. She only needs to hold on long enough to be sure her secret is kept safe.

Until one day, news of an unidentified man’s death confirms her worst fear, and Sonia must get out of prison, at all cost. What did the dead man say, and who heard him say it?

Because everyone is guilty of something…

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from R&R Book Tours.
I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

Sonia did not just have ONE bad day. No, she had a series of bad years! 

Even though the story began with a horrific car wreck, her troubles started long before this disastrous event. 

Death surrounded her. Pain was her middle name. Yet, through it all, she never stopped fighting. Heads up: Safekeeping by Eva Mackenzie does contain sensitive topics, but no scenes are graphic. You know what happened, but you are not a witness to the brutal acts. Thank goodness for that! 

When approached to read the story, I wasn’t informed this was part of a series, but it sure felt that way. While I enjoyed Safekeeping very much, I couldn’t connect to the key players or their hatred for one another. Example: Jamie and Alex. 

After the final page, some things were resolved, but not everything. 

We were still left in the dark about what happened to multiple characters—their fates.

Maybe we shall receive clarification in a future novel. I sure hope so.

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤1/2

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 Prize: New Kindle Paperwhite 32GB Value 249.99

Giveaway Link: 
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0e7c6a8f273/?

 

 

About the Author

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Eva Mackenzie is an author who enjoys twisty, emotionally engrossing tales. Her debut novel has been a work in progress for over a decade. Under the urging of a loved one, it’s finally finished.

She is a wife and mother living on the east coast. When she isn’t writing, she is spending time with her family, training for her next marathon or reading stacks of suspense novels. Some of her favorite authors are Minka Kent, Dean Koontz, Tami Hoag, and Lisa Jackson.

Eva Mackenzie | Facebook | Instagram GoodreadsNewsletter

 

  

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Darkness Hides by J C Gatlin (Book Review)

Someone she knows is watching.
Someone she knows is stalking.
And something hides in the darkness.

With a Category 4 hurricane about to make landfall, boat safety instructor Kate Parks is running out of time. Bodies are piling up–and they’re not from the raging storm. An injury may have ended her career as a Fish and Wildlife officer, but nothing can keep her away from the investigation.

And it doesn’t take long for her to see that the clues have one thing in common: a connection to the recent death of her five-year-old nephew.

In a brewing storm of rage, guilt, and family secrets, Kate fights to protect her grieving sister just as the hurricane threatens everything she knows and loves. But before her world is completely ravaged, she must uncover one final truth:

Run from the water.
Hide from the wind.
Flee from the shadows where a weeper seeks revenge.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

Rarely do I stumble across a book that hooks me right from the start, but that’s precisely what occurred with Darkness Hides. I had a suspicion, early on, that this story was going to be a home run hit, and I was correct. 

Multiple people met their untimely demise courtesy of the elephant man. Yes, you read that right…an elephant man. Their journey to the hereafter was brutal, painful. The first notable victims were targeted for obvious reasons. It all centered around a death of a six-year-old boy named Noah. 

Then, when the hurricane made landfall, J C Gatlin, the author, really stepped up his game, dropping one bombshell after another. At one point, I remember saying aloud, “Holy crap, that was a nice twist.” 

I love stories that keep you guessing because who wants to read a mystery novel where you solve the plot (who and why) in the first several chapters. You WON’T have that problem with Darkness Hides. This story left me speechless. 

While I have much love for Darkness Hides, I wish J C Gatlin gave us some backstory regarding how Kate was shot. It altered her life drastically, so I wanted a brief recap of the incident. Who done it? Why? What happened to the shooter? Besides that, it was a solid read. 

On a final note, related to the book but not the plot: MAYO is delicious, and the flying poop-filled diaper scene was disgustingly funny. 😀

I can’t wait to read more books by J C Gatlin!

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤1/2

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Sun Bury Press
add to Goodreads

 

Meet the Author

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JC Gatlin lives in Tampa, Florida, and writes mystery novels that include sunny Florida locales and quirky locals as characters. His last novel, H_NGM_N: Murder is the Word, won the coveted Florida Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Mystery in 2019. He is active in the Florida Writer’s Association and is a board member on the Florida Writer’s Foundation, a charity organization that fights illiteracy.

connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ linkedin ~ goodreads

 
 

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The Last Imperator by M L Tishner (Book Review)

 

How much will she sacrifice for peace?

After six months of campaigning, Rei and the other Volocio have barely convinced half the star cluster to vote for the Federation.

Activist groups from all sides are calling for a war Rei is destined to declare, but she won’t do it. While she wants to kill the Dominion Sovereign – Anekris Praymer – she wants to destroy him herself. She can channel lightning – she is the god queen – she doesn’t need more than that and the whole star cluster doesn’t need to go to war for it.

But tensions are rising beyond both their control and when both Rei and Anekris are trapped together after an attack – they strike up an uneasy alliance.

As time progresses, Rei finds herself wondering – will they remain enemies or will they join together and finally unite the Federation and Dominion?

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Niklaryn

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


WOW, what a marvelous read! 

The Last Imperator by M. L. Tisher had continuous action sequences, betrayal, family drama, love, magic, and surprise developments. It’s the type of story you’ll want to pull an all-nighter to read so that you can finish it in one sitting. I would’ve done just that, but I had to teach the following morning, so I reluctantly put the book aside to catch some zzz’s. However, come bright, and early the next day, I hurried back to The Last Imperator. 

M. L. Tisher did a spectacular job developing a solid storyline. I loved every dramatic moment—sibling against sibling. Even though this story took place in space and with individuals who possessed unique talents/powers, M. L. Tisher gave them qualities we would see here on Earth: anxiety and panic attacks. The Last Imperator didn’t shy away from mental illness; you’ll read multiple mentions of it. As a person who suffers from several mental issues, I appreciated how M. L. Tisher presented it in The Last Imperator.

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤

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Read the first four chapters for FREE!

 

 

Mari, a native Hoosier, currently lives in southern Germany where she entertains people with her adventures as an American expat in the Land of Beer and Pretzels on her blog adventuresoflamari.com as well as the adventures of her pugs, Abner and Roxy. When she’s not writing, Mari cooks, snowboards, dances to the beat of her own drum, reads late into the night, and binge watches Netflix with her husband. The God Queen is her debut novel.

 

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The Nucleus of Reality: or the Recollections of Thomas P— by L. A. Davenport (Book Review)

The truth is all around you

Thomas P— is exhausted. He’s been travelling for work so much he barely knows where he is. And then, while waiting for a table at a restaurant, he sees someone from his past. Exactly as she was twenty years ago, when they first knew each other. Deeply shaken, he tries to carry on as if nothing happened.

But when it happens again, in a different restaurant, in a different city, Thomas’s world begins to unravel. Haunted by a magnificent black parrot and a past he wants to forget, he becomes paranoid, unsure whether he can trust himself and the world around him.

After he sees another friend he thought he had forgotten, he realises he is lost and alone, and afraid of his own mind. Then an enigmatic woman tells him he is not seeing things but rather his memory has been mined to create life-like androids that are replacing the human race one by one.

And then he is arrested.

Will Thomas resist the mysterious woman and get his life back? Or will he join her cult and take up arms in the fight to save us all?

The Nucleus of Reality, or the Recollections of Thomas P—, is the story of a man trying to remember why he ended up losing everything but himself.

 
 
 

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

 
I decided to write my review in the format of an acrostic poem using only the first four words of the book’s title, The Nucleus of Reality. I hope the snippets pique your interest and you purchase The Nucleus of Reality: or the Recollections of Thomas P— to figure out how everything below ties together. Trust me, you’re in for a mind-bending ride. 
 
These are not the droids you are looking for…
Hero?
Electrons
 
Neutrons
Unsure how to proceed
Conference audience goes “baa.” 
Let me look inside your mind.
Eyes are always watching you, Thomas P.
Under arrest
Save the world! 
 
Old Testament
Face the truth
 
Round-faced bald man
Eww, grey food.
Androids
Lucy?
I want to scan you. 
Typewriter
You are having the weirdest, most vivid dreams, Thomas P.

 

As I stated in my opening paragraph, The Nucleus of Reality: or the Recollections of Thomas P— will twist your mind up like a pretzel. I had no idea how it would end. That’s what I look for in a book — unpredictability. The Nucleus of Reality: or the Recollections of Thomas P— was far from predictable. 
 
Well done, L. A. Davenport. Well done indeed! 
 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤  

 
 

 

 

L. A. Davenport is an Anglo-Irish author.

He sometimes lives in the countryside, far away from urban distraction, but mostly he lives in the city. He enjoys long walks, typewriters and strong black coffee.

L. A. Davenport is the author of the novels The Nucleus of Reality and Escape, the collections No Way Home and Dear Lucifer and Other Stories, and the memoir My Life as a Dog.

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