Review: 1066 What Fates Impose by G.K Holloway
20 June 2017
Synopsis
England is in crisis. King Edward has no heir and promises never to produce one. There are no obvious successors available to replace him, but quite a few claimants are eager to take the crown. While power struggles break out between the various factions at court, enemies abroad plot to make England their own. There are raids across the borders with Wales and Scotland. Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, is seen by many as the one man who can bring stability to the kingdom. He has powerful friends and two women who love him, but he has enemies who will stop at nothing to gain power. As 1066 begins, England heads for an uncertain future. It seems even the heavens are against Harold. Intelligent and courageous, can Harold forge his own destiny - or does he have to bow to what fates impose?
Review
I am a big fan of historical fiction and this book did not disappoint. Having recently read a collection of novels that pre-date this novel's period I was very excited to read the next evolution of history. This is a period that has not been overly exploited from a historical fiction perspective. This novel captured it well, providing detailed insight in to alliances and deceptions as each family vie'd for the English throne. Well written in a prose that takes the reader through a journey of a couple of years culminating in the battle of Hastings.
Characters were well developed and described in vivid detail that provided sufficient context without over-developing the characters but also ensured that the reader knew enough about each character to understand their involvement in each major event described. G.K. was able to hold the readers imagination whilst delivering a detailed historical account of the period, no mean feat and a task he accomplished with aplomb.
A great read from a great author, highly recommended to fans of this genre and this period.
Audiobook Review: Solitude by Dean M. Cole
19 June 2017
About the Audiobook
Author: Dean M. Cole
Narrator: R.C. Bray, Julia Whelan
Length: 8 hours 50 minutes
Publisher: CANDTOR Press⎮2017
Genre: Science Fiction
Release date: April 3, 2017
Synopsis: Earth's last man discovers that the last woman is stranded alone aboard the International Space Station. If you like action-packed novels, you'll love the electrifying action in this apocalyptic thriller.
Can humanity's last two unite?
Separated by the gulf of space, the last man and woman of the human race struggle against astronomical odds to survive and unite.
Army Aviator Vaughn Singleton is a highly intelligent, lazy man. After a last-ditch effort to reignite his failing military career ends horribly, Vaughn becomes the only human left on Earth.
Stranded alone on the International Space Station, Commander Angela Brown watches an odd wave of light sweep across the planet. Over the next weeks and then months, Angela struggles to contact someone on the surface, but as she fights to survive aboard a deteriorating space station, the commander glimpses the dark underpinnings of humanity's demise.
After months alone, Vaughn discovers there is another. Racing against time, he must cross a land ravaged by the consequences of humankind's sudden departure.
Can Vaughn find a path to space and back? Can Angela - the only person with clues to the mystery behind humanity's disappearance - survive until he does?
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Review
I'm going to start off with a bit of a rant about the promo for this book. It says its like I am Legend but I have to disagree on one major point....There are no weird Zombies in this book and I think that if Zombies aren't your thing then it might put you off! But please don't let it! This author has such an incredible imagination and it would be a travesty to miss out on Solitude!
The author doesn't waste time with chapter on chapter of scene building he very quickly lets you know everything you need to know about the characters and gets straight into the action! The authors style is effortless and he easily puts you into the characters frame of reference.
This book is so much more than Sci-Fi you've got mystery, intrigue and survival to! So if you aren't a die hard Sci-Fi fan don't be put off this page turner is good for you to!
When it comes to the narration R.C Bray is fantastic as always! He always puts a strong performance into his work and is a pleasure to listen to! Julia Whelan also offers an amazing performance and the reading of alternating chapters flowed really well. My only critique is that Julia's chapters were louder than R.C Brays and it did disrupt the smooth transition between chapters.
About the Author: Dean M. Cole
Author, world traveler, and combat pilot turned commercial helicopter pilot Dean M. Cole writes from locales as remote as Equatorial Guinea and as romantic as Paris's Champs-Elysées with his trusty sidekick and beautiful wife, Donna. A combat veteran, he flew Apache Attack Helicopters in the US Army's First Cavalry Division.
License to kill revoked by the government, he traded in his attack helicopter for one of the transport ilk. When not weaving tales of alien apocalypse and redemption, he spends his days flying terrestrial aliens in IFOs (Identified Flying Objects) known as helicopters. No longer authorized to dispatch aliens he settles for dropping them off at oil rigs around the globe.
On the six months of time off his paying job affords, author, biker, and fellow Sci-Fi geek Dean M. Cole travels with his wife, builds airplanes and custom choppers, and writes his next tale of the apocalypse.
License to kill revoked by the government, he traded in his attack helicopter for one of the transport ilk. When not weaving tales of alien apocalypse and redemption, he spends his days flying terrestrial aliens in IFOs (Identified Flying Objects) known as helicopters. No longer authorized to dispatch aliens he settles for dropping them off at oil rigs around the globe.
On the six months of time off his paying job affords, author, biker, and fellow Sci-Fi geek Dean M. Cole travels with his wife, builds airplanes and custom choppers, and writes his next tale of the apocalypse.
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About the Narrator: R.C. Bray
From an early age Audie, Earphones, and SOVAS Voice Arts Award-winning audiobook narrator R.C. Bray despised reading. Truly hated it with a passion.
And audiobooks? Even worse. Those were for people too lazy to read (not to be confused with those like himself who didn’t want to read to begin with).
R.C. eventually got older and wiser (he was always good-looking) and eschewing his capricious convictions fell head-over-heels with reading. Not just to learn words like “eschew” and “capricious” so he could use them in a bio line, but because someone was actually going to give him money to do it.
Note: R.C.’s gorgeous wife and three beautiful children begged him not to make this his official bio. Clearly he misunderstood
And audiobooks? Even worse. Those were for people too lazy to read (not to be confused with those like himself who didn’t want to read to begin with).
R.C. eventually got older and wiser (he was always good-looking) and eschewing his capricious convictions fell head-over-heels with reading. Not just to learn words like “eschew” and “capricious” so he could use them in a bio line, but because someone was actually going to give him money to do it.
Note: R.C.’s gorgeous wife and three beautiful children begged him not to make this his official bio. Clearly he misunderstood
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About the Narrator: Julia Whelan
Julia Whelan is an actor, writer, and audiobook narrator. She is perhaps most well known for her acting work on ABC’s Once and Again and her award-winning narration of over 200 audiobooks (including Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl). Her debut novel is forthcoming.
After a healthy career as a child actor, Whelan attended Middlebury College and Oxford University, graduating with a degree in English and Creative Writing.
After a healthy career as a child actor, Whelan attended Middlebury College and Oxford University, graduating with a degree in English and Creative Writing.
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I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Dean M. Cole. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Guest Post: Terrence by Alice Rachel
18 June 2017
Terrence: A Short Story
Alice Rachel
(Under Ground, #0.8)
Publication date: May 15th 2017
Genres: Dystopian, New Adult, Romance
Bullying is nothing new to Terrence Young. The teasing and harassment are constant. His family is less than understanding as well. To them, Terrence chose to be gay and complicate their lives. Their little rejections sting and cut him deeply.
But when the Deviance Act is passed, Terrence’s life takes a turn for the worse overnight. Under the new law, a mere look, a simple touch, or a small kiss in public could mean death. Terrence attempts to hide his orientation to survive. That is until a gang attacks him in a bar and Chase Martinez interferes.
Chase is gorgeous, kind-hearted, and he’s a rebel in the Underground—all qualities that attract Terrence so much there is no stopping the fall. Loving Chase might be dangerous, but Terrence is done living in fear and letting others dictate what is right for him.
*The author pledges to donate 100% of sales revenue from “Terrence: A Short Story” to The Ally Coalition
Terrence's Story is part of my YA Dystopian
Romance series UNDER GROUND—a series in which New York State has seceded from
the rest of the United States. In the series, women have no rights: They can't
vote, they can't walk the streets on their own, they are forced into marriages
settled by their parents to benefit their families. It's a Victorian sort of
world, though it's set in the future. That world also revolves around a number
of laws that were passed to oppress the lower class and the LGBT community.
Because Terrence is both lower class and gay, those laws affect his life
tremendously.
In Terrence's story, one of the new laws is
called the Deviance Act. That law allows New York State to have all LGBT people
executed on sight without trial. Sadly, this event was inspired by events that
have happened in our past or are still happening in our world today.
It was also essential for me to focus more
on my LGBT characters because when Terrence's book cover was revealed, I was
sad to realize that, though many people claim to want diversity in novels, some
of them don't want sexual diversity. And it is my job, as a writer, to show
them that diversity does in fact include diversity of ethnicity, culture, and
orientation.
LGBT people do not choose their orientation
or gender. They are who they are, and refusing for them to have a voice in
literature implies denying them the right to be represented. It implies only
wanting diversity if that "diversity" fits certain standards or
beliefs.
I find it highly offensive that anyone
would read a series as long as the characters are straight and that they would
start shunning those very same characters as soon as it is revealed that those
characters are, in fact, not straight.
And I will always strive to make my series
as diverse as possible in every possible way—be it ethnically, culturally, or
sexually.
I do not write to please people, I write to
challenge them and make them think outside the box that society has been
confining them in, and that is the inspiration behind my entire series.
My goal is always to raise awareness to
certain issues that matter to me. I wanted to write books that would make my
readers think, books that would open their minds and make them want to do their
own research. The first books focused more on women's rights, abuse, rape
culture, virgin shaming, slut shaming, and many other things that prevent women
from thriving in society.
But recently, the series has shifted a bit
more toward LGBT rights. Many characters in the series are gay or bi, and they
are all affected by this new law in the books.
The interesting thing is that you never
know if your books will do what you had originally intended. And in Terrence's
case, it did.
I did a read-along of the story recently,
and it meant so much to me to realize that Terrence could teach my readers
something new, something they had never heard of before or weren't even aware
of.
You see, Terrence's lover, Chase, is
bisexual, and Terrence's story discusses biphobia and bierasure, in the sense
that Terrence has trouble accepting his boyfriend's orientation.
During the read-along, it was clear that
many people had never heard of biphobia or bierasure. And it meant the world to
me that I was able to discuss those two issues with my readers as well as
expose a problem that is not only a concern in the straight community, but also
in the LGBT community. Many readers were shocked to learn that bisexuals are
often rejected by members of both communities (yes, including by members of the
LGBT community), and that bisexuals are constantly told that their orientation
simply does not exist, or they are forced to claim to be fully straight or
fully gay when, in all reality, they do not fit in either of those categories.
Terrence's story also fights many other
stereotypes, from the belief that gay men are promiscuous and only interested
in sexual affairs, to the thought that being gay equals a lack of masculinity,
to the false belief that gay men choose their orientation.
So I guess I would say that the inspiration
behind the story was a desire to open my readers' minds to new thoughts and to
expose the false beliefs that have been ingrained in us by society.
Thank you for having me on your blog and
for being part of Terrence's blog tour. :-)
Author Bio:
Alice Rachel is the author of the YA Forbidden Romance/ Dystopian Romance Series "Under Ground."
Her time is divided between teaching French, writing, reading, drawing, and spending time with her hubby and guinea pigs.
Alice loves talking to readers, so send her a message...
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Review: Ahe'ey by Jamie Le Fay
8 June 2017
Title: Ahe’ey
Author: Jamie Le Fay
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Morgan is a dreamer, change maker and art lover. She is a feisty, slightly preachy, romantic feminist full of contradictions and insecurities. Morgan uncovers a world where women have the power, and where magic is no longer just a figment of her wild imagination. Sounds like a dream, but it may, in fact, turn into a nightmare.
The world of the Ahe'ey challenges and subverts her views about gender, genes, and nature versus nurture.
The strong and uninvited chemistry between her and the dashing Gabriel makes matters even more complicated. His stunning looks keep short-circuiting her rational mind.
Review
This book is fantastic!
There is a little bit of everything in this novel. Love, Loss and a good fight for justice
The Author is a skilled story teller and has an amazing imagination!
Although a fantasy novel it is weirdly relevant to the world today and definitely gets you thinking the author has cleverly weaved in a real life relevance to her story which only adds to its gravitas
A political spin on a fantasy world is how I'd describe this book and I can't wait to read more from this author
There is a little bit of everything in this novel. Love, Loss and a good fight for justice
The Author is a skilled story teller and has an amazing imagination!
Although a fantasy novel it is weirdly relevant to the world today and definitely gets you thinking the author has cleverly weaved in a real life relevance to her story which only adds to its gravitas
A political spin on a fantasy world is how I'd describe this book and I can't wait to read more from this author
The author
Editorial Reviews
"In this romantic tale, a champion of women's empowerment stumbles on a hidden--and seemingly perfect--society. A bracing mix of emotionally and intellectually honest fantasy." - Kirkus Reviews
"A compelling and creative work of paranormal romance. Le Fey takes her characters to places seldomly seen in fantasy fiction that readers will find empowering and prescient. Ahe'ey is a fairly polarizing book. As an example of feminist fantasy fiction, you won’t find much better than this. Ahe’ey is an impressively thought-out story, with many original touches and a fairy-like romance that will deeply satisfy readers of the genre." Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★
"This book is a thoughtful look at empowerment for women. At the same time, it's a rollicking trip into a fantasy world complete with dragons, love and strength, and ideas that really get you thinking. This book is highly recommended for all ages." - HUGEOrange
"They're flawed, real, and honest characters that can be easily related to. Ahe'ey is the kind of novel society needs to read, to create inspiration and to make people think. Ahe'ey is daring, complex, and honest. A must-read novel that tackles heavy and real topics with a mix of serious and humorous, charm and tragedy." - Reader's Favorite - ★★★★★
"Ahe'ey contains a richly imagined world that raises complicated and timely questions about our own. Jamie Le Fay's Ahe'ey is an action-packed love story that puts forth a nuanced vision of gender stereotypes, body politics, and the dark side of seeking perfection." - Foreword Clarion - ★★★★
Author Bio
Jamie Le Fay is the author of Ahe'ey. She was born in Europe and spent her early adult years traveling around the world working in information technology and focusing on her passion: empowering women and girls. Jamie lives in Sydney, Australia where she is involved in a variety of initiatives that hope to contribute to the safety, well-being and education of girls globally. Jamie is an accomplished writer and speaker that focuses mainly on topics related to girlhood, feminism, gender equality, and the misrepresentation of minorities in media and marketing.
Disclosure: The Pursuit Of Bookiness received a copy of the book free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own
Review: The Visitor by Brent Ayscough
7 June 2017
Title: The Visitor
Author: Brent Ayscough
Genre: Fantasy
Tasked by the Federation of Planets to determine if Earthlings present a threat as they venture into space, Tak, an alien anthropologist, leaves her starship orbiting Earth and takes a shuttle to Kansas. Intending to study humans in the United States—as she has learned no Earth language but English—she is detected while descending through the atmosphere and only evades capture by fleeing to Europe, where she lands in Poland. There, she meets an international arms merchant, Baron Von Limbach, who becomes her guide. She studies “typical” human behavior by accompanying the baron as he fulfills his latest assignment—to get the Dalai Lama back into Tibet. His method of halting the communist takeover of Tibet is to create a race-specific
Ebola that will only attack Han Chinese, giving Tak a prime example of how barbaric humans can be. However, the CIA and US military are aware of Tak’s presence on Earth and are determined to capture her. And if she is unable to complete her mission and return to her starship—her captain will destroy every living thing on Earth.
Review
A gripping read that will give you shivers about the plausible thought of a race specific act of germ warfare!
You can tell from the writing that the author has dome so serious research into his topic despite this being a work of fiction as the amount of detail he has put into the description of the development of this species specific Ebola strain is crazy!
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and if you are a lover of Sci-Fi then like me you'll be through this book in one sitting! The author is amazing at building his story and the plot line could almost be real life! A cautionary tale of our future perhaps!!
Amazon / Goodreads
Amazon / Goodreads
Author Bio
Brent Ayscough or Ace, as he is known to friends, retired from the practice of law and lives in a house overlooking the sea in Southern California. He has always loved machines, from airplanes to motorcycles, structural design, and other interests. He has enjoyed the acquaintance of diverse and interesting people, and is widely traveled. Bits and pieces of characters he has known, places he has been, seasoned with the spice of his imagination, help him create unusual stories and characters. Extensive collaboration with experts and sources, hopefully, make his stories credible and interesting.
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