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Saturday, February 10, 2018

INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant

Rolling in the Deep Series

Orbit Publishing

November 14^th, 2017

978-0-316-37940-3

Science Fiction, Dystopian, Mythological Creatures, Fantasy

Hardcover

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Library

5 hearts

The ocean has many mysteries and when the ship Atargatis left to search for mermaids for a mockumentary, it did so with lots of fan fair. Until it came back with no crew and no bodies. What happened to that ship is a mystery that has haunted the families and in particular, Victoria Stewart, who lost her sister that fateful day. Now Imagine Entertainment has assembled a crew, a top-notch ship and is going back to the one place that has haunted many- the Mariana Trench. A place where legends already haunt the place, of missing boats and people, of secrets in the depths that are out of reach to the humans. Are mermaids real? The new voyage to this cursed place will answer yes or no but woe to those who disturb what’s in the darkness….

Sweet lord, this new book by author Mira Grant left me reeling as well as having nightmares over mermaids, death and more. It’s a book that will draw you in right off the bat, keep you glued to the pages into the wee hours and cause you to dream about creatures that are not like Ariel in the Little Mermaid story/movie. INTO THE DROWNING DEEP is a fast-paced thriller that left me reeling-in a good way- and one that I had to stop reading at 1 am just so I could get some sleep. It’s a story that has intriguing characters, a unique storyline that will enthrall you and a new take on mermaids. If you think these are busty female sirens than you got another thing coming. These are deadly creatures and Mira Grant delivers a fresh unique take on the mermaid myth that literally had me in its grasp. The story flows swiftly and I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough to see what would happen next.

INTO THE DROWNING DEEP is the first full length book in the new series by the author & it was also one of the first books I read of hers. The story centers on the missing crew of the Atargatis and what, exactly, happened those years before. What should have been a routine voyage to film a mockumentary about mermaids turned into something else. Victoria Stewart lost her sister on that voyage and she is determined to find out the truth of the matter, even if it kills her. But things in the Mariana Trench stay hidden…until they don’t. What a great character Victoria was and it added a personal portion of the story that called to me. She was feisty, interesting and determined. You couldn’t help but feel for the girl as she searched for answers about that horror of a voyage. Add in some other great characters that you get to fall for and you got the earmark of a great story going on. What I love about INTO THE DROWNING DEEP was how different many of the characters were and it helped keep the story moving along nicely. Once they get to the Mariana Trench, things move even faster and as danger mounts, the reader is on the edge of their seat with bated breath, waiting to see what is down there and what it will do once it sees us. The characters are very well written, almost life like and there were some I really hope the author expands on in more books in this series.

Mira Grant delivers some of the best work here in her latest novel, filled with characters that fairly brim with life and step out of the pages, a creature only found in myths and legends (and an occasional Disney movie) and one so different that the reader will shudder with horror as they take center stage in the book. This is an author who knows how to keep her readers glued to the pages of the book, with a fast-paced storyline that will leave you breathless even as you take a breath from the horror of the last few chapters. If you enjoy new takes on mythological creatures, an edge of the seat ride from start to finish, then try INTO THE DROWNING DEEP and I recommend not reading in the wee hours of the night, you just might dream of mermaids that are not like what you though t they should be. I can’t wait to check out this author’s other books to see what else they tease my imagination with and I am really hoping after that ambiguous ending that book two is coming soon.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

Saturday, January 27, 2018

YEAR ONE by Nora Roberts

Chronicles of the One, Book 1

St. Martin’s Press

December 5^th, 2017

978-1-250-12295-7

Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic, Contemporary, Paranormal, Fantasy, Horror, Romance

Hardbook

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Library

5 Hearts

New Year’s Eve was supposed to be happy and joyous except death stalks the world, waiting to unleash its wrath, one person at a time. It came, silent and deadly. Killing one person, infecting another and The Doom, as it is called, spreads causing chaos, destruction of world governments and more even as select few survive but with powers only found in fairytales. Shifters, Fae and fairies, seers and more become even more prevalent. Some follow the light and good, while others relish in the dark. They are called The Uncanny and the battle between light and dark has begun amid the ruins of the world. Fear, hope, love and magick become the new normal for the survivors. But first they have to survive…

YEAR ONE by Nora Roberts is departure from her previous trilogies where it is paranormal/urban fantasy to the core. This new book into a new trilogy takes her writing onto a new path and the reader better hang on tight, the ride is about to get deadly. The writing just flows on the pages, the reader gets caught up in the story and you can not help but stand behind the survivors as they navigate a world gone mad. This is a story that will take you by the throat and lead you places in the story that will haunt you days after you finish the book.

YEAR ONE is a stirring and captivating story that showcase the reliance of some plucky survivors and the world as we know it cease to exist. Coffee, hot showers, electricity and all the stuff we take for granted cease and those who survive The Doom, find themselves trying to survive on the scraps they find or barter for. There is a core group the story centers on and will toggle back and forth within the story for a time as the author keeps the story moving evenly and quickly. You meet Max and Lana, Chuck, Fred and a few more that will steal your heart and never let go. YEAR ONE delivers a pulse pounding ride from start to finish and captivates the reader right off the bat.

YEAR ONE is stunning departure for Ms. Roberts and one that I fell in love with. The story starts innocently enough but morphs into a future that could happen. The author takes a tired genre (Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian) and flips it around, delivering a fresh new take on it that will reel you in and never let you go. This book just sucked me in and literally had me eager to finish it, even when I was at work. The only drawback I got to say was I must wait for book two. If you enjoy a new take on post-apocalyptic tales, then you will devour YEAR ONE in one sitting. I highly recommend this fascinating and thrilling new book by an author who knows just how to weave a spell around her readers and entertain them till the very end.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

INSIDE THE WALL by A. Lotus

The War in the Wall series #1
Lotus Books, July 2015
ebook
Obtained via: publisher
ASIN: B012V2IAVK
Young Adult Dystopian/Thriller
****

A. Lotus’ INSIDE THE WALL is a young adult dystopian novella (and the first part of her three books in the War in the Wall series) that is really quite disturbing, shocking and sadly – very possible.

Letha is a young girl who finds herself alone in a city gone mad. The city has been overthrown, the parents killed and the children brainwashed, trained and made into soldiers. Now, people are either Rats (the resistance group), Neutrals or Tsunami (the ruling dictator’s group of killer soldiers). When Letha is charged with killing the leader of the Rats, her best friend from before the war, in order to prove her loyalty, she and her team of children attempt to escape the walled city.

A. Lotus’ INSIDE THE WALL is a very dark and disturbing story where children become killers as a result of a war and out of necessity. They have been told that anyone that isn’t like them, a Tsunami, is the enemy and must be killed. Letha finds herself struggling to do the right thing and fighting to maintain her humanity. Her character is well developed and her struggle is not all that difficult to imagine. Everyone she had known in her prior life is either dead or been forced to choose a side, leaving her constantly fighting for her life at every turn. She is forced to rely on a group of young, skilled killers who either succeed at whatever killing spree they are sent on or put to death for failure. The minor characters, the other members of her team, are also fairly well developed characters and will presumably play a large part in future books. The only real “bright light” in the story are the glimpses of humanity the children show from time to time, although those moments are few and far between. Yet, it is these moments that make this book so very thought provoking.

There were, however, things about this book that just didn’t work for this reader. Firstly, there was no real happiness in this book, or hope for it, even at the end of the story. The entire story is bleak, depressing and disturbing. Children killing children as a normal course of everyday life is not something anyone likes to envision. Also, the story background is thin. How the war came about, what they were fighting over and why the rest of the world doesn’t seem to be aware of what is going on in this city are never explained or explored. Most disturbing for this reader was the knowledge that even if the children manage to escape the city, they are never likely to be “normal” in any way. Their formative years have been spent being indoctrinated into being killing machines with little or no kindness or humanity left. How will they every “get over” killing so many of their classmates and neighbors? These children are truly frightening. Is it even possible for them to have a “happily ever after”? It is for these reasons that INSIDE THE WALL resonates so deeply with this reader and easily deserves this four-star review. A. Lotus’ INSIDE THE WALL is simply so disturbing that it is truly unforgettable.

Reviewed by T. Barringer
tammyLRM@gmail.com

"This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book."

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

BREAKOUT by Trish Arcangelo

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Date published: 2015-11-18
ISBN: 978-1-5092-0444-1
Dystopic
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6494
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 4

Monarch Winslow has survived the P virus, a pandemic that killed most people and mammals. She’s on the way to a refugee camp hoping to find the rest of her family when her car breaks down and she’s all alone. Corbin, a huge man, breaks into her house and makes her a deal. If she cares for him until his wounds heal, he’ll fix her car.

I liked Ms. Arcangelo’s version of the end of the world. There’s danger, problems to solve, excellent chemistry between the main characters and enough detail about the minor ones to make them interesting and alive, not just wallpaper. The same is true with the world-building. While the pandemic was sufficiently recently that not a lot has changed, there are things that are different and the author introduces them by hints and suggestions which is a great way to make them real.

The sex was well written and hot. It’s straight MF and not kinky. There was also a running gag through the story that made me smile every time.

There were a handful of annoying silly errors such as he/she capitalized in dialogue tags, but the book was sufficiently compelling to keep me turning the pages nonetheless. Kudos to the author for a nice twist near the end of the book. I’d be interested in reading Jordan’s story if the author plans to write it, or even a “what happened next” book about these two characters. The world is worth revisiting.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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