Kick the Candle: Knight Games Book 2 by Genevieve Jack

Love, love, love this series!

My Review:


I listened to book 1 a few weeks ago and came back for book 2. I'll be onto book 3 soon. Grateful is learning more about her powers and building a data bank she can carry with her on her phone for all the spells. I think that modern day touch is cute.

As she's settling into being a witch she finds she's being evicted from the house. The one she abhorred at first but now loves. It's the place she has to be to send souls away. The story quickly builds and the plot thickens. She and Rick have problems, leaving her alone.She adores him, is connected to him on a level that exceeds the physical realm but she can't commit.

This series is quick paced and witty. I adore Grateful. I'm not so crazy about Rick. I liked her ghost beau better but now in a human body her feelings for him have settled and they're good friends. She finds many reasons to call him, some that simply cracked me up.


A fun series!

Amazon/Audible

Z-Day: Day of the Zombies by Mark Cusco Ailes

Beware of zombies, they're everywhere.

My Review:

The zombie apocalypse is here and this town and running wild as the occupants work to get out of town without being eaten. There's always a zombie around the corner, behind the door and their backs. And not only human zombies but animals. 

The town harbors a zombie park. When they get out, everything goes wild. The action alone kept me on the edge. The story includes several characters and jumped quite a bit from one group to the next. At first that was a bit confusing and I didn't feel as much connection with the characters as I like but there;s enough gore and action I enjoyed it.

I loved the opening with  all the zombie growling but wasn't so much fond of all the voices. The female's didn't sound female and there were so many characters it was hard to tell them apart by voice alone.


It's a solid story, gory, and suspenseful! 

Amazon/Audible

Sweet Nightmares: The Damned Series Book 1 by Zizi Cole

Cool concept, fun book!



My Review:
Lexi moves back home after a bad relationship. Her parents die soon after and she blames herself nut not in the way most people do. She saw herself do it and can remember details of doing it. She reunited with a cousin who lives in town Mia and her high school sweetheart Jake. What she see's isn't really her killing her parents but a dream of it and she see's other dreams, horrible dreams and there's a man who visits her dreams.

The story is fast-paced, plot directed and includes strong characters. It's an easy book to sink into and listen in one shot. Mia and Lexi soon learn they aren't everyday people but have special and unique abilities passed on from their parents and heritage. Mia knew but Lexi didn't. After all the dreams and other wild things that start happening she soon learns.


A paranormal romance with crazy plot twists and excitement!

Amazon/Audible

Relief Efforts for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

As many of you know I live in north Florida. When Hurricane Irma blew through Florida I was relatively safely tucked away in the western panhandle in Destin Fl.

I didn't see much of the storm there except tropical storm force winds and rain Monday Sept. 11. On our drive to Destin we passed rest stops filled with evacuees and soon the hotel we were in filled with more evacuees from the eastern and western coastal regions and Tampa.

Finding gas was a challenge since so many stations were out but the gas buddy app was a huge help and I was sure at each we stopped at to update whether gas was available or not. Some of my family evacuated and only recently gained electricity again. Other members of my family and friends stayed put and waited it out.

When we returned home Tuesday it was like a ghost town. Gas stations had no power. Saran wrap was around the pumps, few restaurants were open. Those open had lines wrapping the building and into the street. 

In twenty years of living in the Jacksonville area of Florida this is the worst I've seen. The flooding was extensive and helicopters were out in search of survivors, many roads were impassable and so many lost their homes or can't live in them until they're repaired. Houston is just as bad after Hurricane Harvey and their suffering continues.

My heart breaks for these people and I already donated half my earning made in Destin Fl but it's simply not enough so I'm donating all the royalties until 10/14 from the sales of my St. Augustine Novellas, the Bloodseeker series.

I chose this series because it takes place in north Florida. St. Augustine wasn't only affected by Hurricane Irma but also Hurricane Matthew last year. The series cover designer has also decided to donate royalties from her book Winter Thrillz. Together we hope to donate a nice chunk of money to Red Cross for disaster relief.  

The series on Amazon 

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.ca The Vampires Next Door

Amazon.ca The Monster Upstairs

Amazon.au The Vampires Next Door

Amazon.au The Monster Upstairs

The Vampires Next Door Book 1

iTunes, Nook and Kobo 

The Monster Upstairs Book 2

iTunes, Nook and Kobo 

Winter Thrillz (includes page reads as part of KU)

 Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.ca

Amazon.au

Serenity by Craig A Hart

A bit cliche but still entertaining!



My Review: 
Shelby is a retired divorced gentleman involved with a much younger woman. I really disliked his daughter. She was far too whiny but I liked Shelby OK. He finds himself involved in a mystery.

There is a good bit of suspense in the story, enough to keep me entertained. The author builds character and the relationships of those characters. The pace is steady, building as the plot comes to finality.

One of my favorite characters is Shelby's girlfriend. Loved her! I could see this being a very successful series based on the characters alone!

Amazon/Audible

A Field of Red by Greg Enslen

The jury's still out on this one.

My Review:
This book had a slower pace. Frank is an ex-cop who specialized in missing children yet he refuses tvbvo assist in a local case when girl's start disappearing. He's an alcoholic who'd rather have his lips to a bottle than help.

I didn't like Frank much. He seemed pretty worthless to me, eventually he helps. I hope that's not a spoiler but I think any reader who starts the story will figure that out on their own.
The mystery in the story was solid and kept me listening. There's sufficient suspense most of the way through.


The plot stalls at times but is easy to follow. It's a decent book and those who love cozy mystery will most likely enjoy the story.

Amazon/Audible

Death by Honeymoon by Jaden Skye

Started slow but got better!



My Review:
The first chapters dragged on and on. They weren't too exciting but there was enough mystery I didn't quit. Glad I didn't the story gets very intriguing.

Cindy marries Clint, the man of her dreams and they honeymoon in Barbados. He turns up dead. For weeks she's depressed and falls in on herself. Her sister comes to visit ad takes care of her until she's injured when the brakes in Cindy's car fail.

After that is where it gets good. Clint's family is horrible and treat Cindy as though she's guilty of something. But more people associated with Clint and his company begin dying which sends Cindy packing and back to Barbados.

Once there the plot thickens and she's in peril yet doesn't back down and the story takes on a faster pace.

All and all an entertaining mystery!

Amazon/Audible

Prison of the Past is out!

Released Tuesday I'm a bit late in announcing this. My apologies. 

The final book is complete with all the suspense and excitement of the other books. Cleo wraps up loose ends and discovers more about herself in the process and finds a couple accomplices that join her in the final journey.

Amazon

iTunes, Kobo, Nook

All the other books in the series are .99 right now!

The entire series on Amazon!

All the books are available at iTunes, Kobo and Nook.

How do you buy your books?

Serious question, how do you buy books?

As of the past couple years I've gone almost exclusively to audiobooks. My writing time as an author eats up any time I might have used for paperbacks and ebooks. This year I've currently released 4 books with another, a Gothic horror, to be released in November and hopefully the final book in the Zombie Girl trilogy. All that doesn't equal much time to read, so I listen to audios while I'm driving and at night, instead of TV.

Taking all that into consideration and the fact that audible has increased audio upgrade (whispersync) prices I've gone to downloading free books and upgrading to audio.

First, I don't agree with the sudden increase in audio upgrades. They were $1.99 and $2.99 now they are $7.49. This effects me as a reader and an author. As a reader I download the free kindle. If the audio upgrade is still priced at $1.99 I upgrade. If it's at $7.49 I wait. It's discouraging. In the past, I'd pay for a kindle now I go with only free. As an author I hate it even more.

So I should love it, more money per book but that's not the case and I've voiced my opinion to audible. I'd much prefer at the very least that a customer could download the audio upgrade for the first book in the series for $1.99 or $2.99. My request wasn't ignored but I was told we have no control and will pass this along. For future audiobooks I'm considering other options and probably won't use ACX again. It's not just their unreasonable pricing terms but the lack of revenue when my audiobooks sell. Believe it or not I get roughly 20% from the entire sale.

Readers don't necessarily know that but what you pay for doesn't all go to the author and narrator. Everyone else gets paid first then the author and narrator so they bank very little. I've had statements selling hundreds of dollars in audio and received so little of it that I couldn't even buy a tank of gasoline.

I'm looking at my options as an author. As a reader I refuse to subscribe and pay monthly fees anywhere. It goes against my grain for someone to take money from my account. I prefer having full control over my bank accounts. That has a lot to do with my sordid past. I pay, no credit. That's me.

What I do now is grab free kindle books that have the audio upgrade. Audible can price what they want when they want. I get the freebie and upgrade when I'm ready to read it. I'm subscribed to several ebook newsletters. I truly hate this because I want my money to pay the author and narrator not all the middle men (there's quite a few). 

What to do? As an author I'm done with ACX and looking at my options. As a reader I wish more books were available on MP3. This all needs to change. If you're an audio reader don't hesitate to contact Audible/ACX if that's who you use and voice your opinion. It will take thousands if not millions for them to make any changes. In the mean time authors are hurt, their minute sales after all the middlemen drop even more  and you're paying more money.

So how do you buy your books?

My Amazon page

Deadlocked by A.R. Wise

The cover may not look like much but looks can be deceiving. Great story!



My Review:

Another action packed, suspense laden listen. David's an average guy at work when he see's a gruesome sight on the news. Children on a school bus eating other children. Horrified he and his co-workers check out early.There's more backstory given about the break out and illness infecting everyone.

All he wants to do is get home to his wife and girls but the odds are against him. One terrifying moment after the next it seems he will perish. Luck isn't with him and fights tooth and nail. Hes an office guy gone zombie vigilante to get home to his family. As unrealistic as that seems I think under the circumstances most people would find the strength to accomplish heroic acts.

The plot is simple, the story progresses quickly and as a bonus the first couple chapters of the second book are available at the end. Even I cringed throughout this story and I really enjoyed the little things the author thought of and put into this.

Infected Freaks by Jason Borrego

Plenty of science and horror!



My Review:

All kinds of good stuff here! Red Dead plummeted to Earth sending it into chaos and a new civil war has sprouted. Abraham feels somewhat safe isolated with most of his family in the mountains of Colorado. Two of his grown children left and he makes a weekly radio call at a local abandoned place in hopes they'll hear and find him. It's one of those missions that sparks the story.

This author uses a real illness caused by a fungus that infects insects to make zombies out of. Who knows it could happen. I loved the science. The zombies are ruthless and come out at night. The red sky caused by Red Dead feeds them energy in the late hours when they come out of their hiding places.

This is a clever story chalk full of action and suspense. Not a single dull moment as Abraham and company fight off the evil, disgusting zombies as they try and make it back to the mountain home.

Amazon/Audible

Rest Haven by Erik Therme

Spooky young adult thriller!



My Review:

Great story that kept me hooked from start to finish! Kaylee's mom forces her to hang out with a group of other kids. She's more of a homebody and prefers safe activities but that's not on the order for this night. She's invited to a scavenger hunt in a closed retirement home while there she faces all types of horrors.

One of the girls is a real piece of work and they get into an argument the next thing the mean girl is gone and all the others including Kaylee are locked into the retirement. All the doors are boarded and there's no way out. They get separated at various points, chased by a stray dog, a creepy old man and Kaylee finds a boy she tricks into coming with her. It's important to her that she get him out.

Banter between the kids is realistic and so are their ideas and actions making them dimensional. There's enough creepy stuff to make this story a real nail-biter. The story moves quickly. I loved that, one moment to the next the story kept moving and intensifying. I was a little disappointed when it ended.

Amazon/Audible