Born of Shadows
The League, Book Five
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Caillen Dagan has spent his life taking care of his sisters and getting them out of one scrape or mess or another, so when his sister needs helps he thinks nothing of coming to her aid. It never occurs to him that he might end up with a death sentence on his head. A last second stay of execution turns his world upside down, when he finds out he is not who he always thought he was, and now must adjust to a new life and a new role. Good thing he has friends in high places to help him through it.
Desideria is a bodyguard for the Queen, her mother, but she has much to prove, since her father was not of their planet, she is looked at as less of a warrior. When she overhears a plot to kill her and her mother, no one believes her, until she is attacked and Caillen comes to her rescue, only problem, she jumps to help him in the fight and they end up in an escape pod, only to be later labeled as the murder's of their parents.
Now they must work together, with a few good friends of Caillen's to uncover the plot, and figure out who is out to frame them both and how it all is connected. Especially since they had never meet before that day. At the same time, Caillen and Desideria find themselves falling for each other.
Travel back to the future world of Sherrilyn Kenyon and The League, and those ever rogue good guys, the Sentella. I have to say that this is probably one of my all time favorite series, at this point I am even thinking about going back and rereading the beginning books. It is just that I love the world that the author developed the idea of this League and this band of rogues that need to police it and take care of things no one else can.
You will again see favorite characters from the first two book, since this book goes back to the first generation again.
The League
Book One: Born of Night My Review Link
Book Two: Born of Fire My Review Link
Book Three: Fire and Ice
Book Four:Born of Ice My Review Link
Book Five: Born of Shadows
Book Six: Born of Silence My Review Link
Book Seven: Cloak and Silence My Review Link
Book Eight: Born of Fury
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Evil Town
by J. David Bethel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
If there is one place in the world that you could call Evil Town, Washington DC would most likely be that town. Politics, corruption and bribery are everyday occurrences. What really makes the place an Evil Town is what happens when someone bucks the trend and refuses to be bribed. John David Bethel creates a mystery and intrigue novel that begins with the wife of a congressman, who has not been corrupted by the town and refuses to take a bribe or later threat to her safety. As the story delves into what happened to her, we are caught up in years of sweeping facts under the rug. From Vietnam to a local sugar plantation, everyone it seems is hiding a secret. What is it about the secrets and how do they relate to each other and the congressman?
John David Bethel takes the reader into the underbelly of Washington DC. He takes what people tend to think goes on there and amps it up a bit to create a novel of intrigue and mystery that keeps the reader guessing with every page. Evil Town addresses corruption, politics, bribery and murder. Everyone has a secret, but how they each relate to the other, and what one person wants and what they are willing to do to get that will amaze and confound you. At times you will believe the story and feel like it could be a true story, and at the same time you will think there is no way people can be this cruel and demented. Evil Town is well written and draws the reader into the novel, to the point that you feel like it is really happening. This is a great novel for adults, and something to keep you guessing.
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Microchip: The Agenda Is Now
by Chey Barnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reveiwed for +Readers' Favorite .
This generation's version of George Orwell's "1984".
The world is changing, and ever so quickly. It used to be that everyone used paper money, and you got paid with a paper paycheck. Now it is credit and debit cards and your payroll is direct deposited. What is next? Microchip envisions a future that could easily be only years down the road in where now, everything is done with a mircochip in the hand. For the most part, the world goes along with the idea and complies without really thinking, but this story follows a few different types of people who question this process for different reasons. As each of these people search for a way to escape the law of mircochipping, they find themselves in the same place in Utah. Chey Barnes takes each person and their reasons, explaining them and giving them a place, and then you see what happens when they are all together. This is a science fiction story that hits just a little close to home.
Microchip might be science fiction today, but there are real life facts and information included in the book, and indexed in the back, that will leave you thinking hard about what you read. It's not a warning book, but a story of how different people are dealing with the law and what happens to them, there is a real human element in there. It is also very thought provoking and would be an excellent book for a book club or discussion group. Chey Barnes takes the information and technology of today and advances it only by a few years to give us this story. Although there is family and a little romance in the story, there is more a cautionary spirit that we need to be more careful and thoughtful, not just accepting everything that is handed to us. I think this should be a required reading just as George Orwell's 1984 used to be when I was in high school, this is a newer version of big brother.
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The Anonymous Girl
by Holy Ghost Writer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The title and the author name of this book sparked my interest, I mean really, who wouldn't want to at least check out something written by someone calling themselves "Holy Ghost Writer"? After an author name like that, I found the whole book to be full of the same devil-may-care attitude and adventure.
Zaydee is in prison, and refusing to give her real name, so she has been nicknamed Princes Jane Doe in the press, but prison is nothing to Zaydee. This woman is a brilliant mind, a genius, and a top notch hacker. She is so confident in herself and her abilities, yet at the same time she is not completely cocky. She is independent and capable and is ready to rule her own world. This is the kind of character that you would want every girl to read about. The confidence and independence are traits that should be encouraged in young girls today. She is also a female in the world of computer hacking and internet stock trading, which are male dominated fields, so she is a role model in that respect as well for all girls. But, this is not a young adult or kids book, this definitely has some adult moments in the book, a couple of intimate encounters between characters, so I can't come out a recommend it to girls, but I love the character for girls to read about.
The book is so fun and there are so many things going on at one time, that sometimes you aren't sure exactly what Zaydee is planning next. There is buying and selling stocks, there is money making, there is just so much more and I can't tell you anything more than to tell you that you just have to read the book. You will enjoy the journey and adventure that Zaydee takes you on and the friends and confidants that she makes. They make the world seem like the good guys, or lesser bad guys can overthrow the corrupt good guys. This is a follow up to a previous book, and I did not read the first book, but had no trouble reading this book. It stands alone quite well.
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A Deeper Cut
by Sheri Wren Haymore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Every summer Hunter spends it with Granny Jen in Beaufort. This year he has brought Mikki with him, thinking it might be a good thing for them. This summer though, a murderer has decided to visit Beaufort also, and frame Hunter for at least one of the killings. A Deeper Cut mixes drug dealers and sweet, southern charm into a realistic tale of a summer on the shoreline. Hunter is tasked with figuring out who he really is, and whether to continue to let his father's disappearance and failures define him or not. +Sheri Wren Haymore writes a wonderful mystery, thriller that you want to know who did it, but at the same time keeps the beauty and charm of life is a small southern town.
A Deeper Cut follows Hunter, and more than just the cuts of the killer are needing to be healed this summer. Hunter has always felt that everyone, except maybe Granny Jen expected him to fail and turn out like his father. This summer he will have to face his father, and the demons he carries and figure out who he really is. +Sheri Wren Haymore mixes this soul-searching with the mystery of who if offing drug dealers and sets it all in a sweet, charming southern town. You will feel for Hunter, want to hold the boy and help him through his struggles. At the same time you will enjoy the intrigue of discovering who the real killer is and just why the killer might have it out for the Kittrell family.
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Sadie's War : A Supernatural Uprising Novel
by Jayelle Cochran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is a MUST read!!
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
I received an Advanced Copy of the book to review. The book is scheduled to be released towards the end of February 2014.
**Sadie's War was officially released February 23rd. You can now find it on Amazon.**
Young Sadie is blind and alone, left to live on the streets in an area called the Gutter. She is poorly equipped for life on the streets and doesn't understand the most basic of ideas of the world. Fester literally runs into Sadie one day, and he is captivated by her beautiful blue eyes. He makes it his mission to keep an eye on her, and when he finds her almost frozen on the street, he takes her to his home. Once there, her lack of understanding of the world becomes even more clear, and Fester feels the need to protect her, as well as his friend Michael and his sister Chloe, who all live together. What follows is Jayelle Cochran's amazingly beautiful and poignant story of love and family, abuse and neglect, fear and trust. Wrapped into a supernatural war between regular humans and those with special power's, that Sadie mistakenly believe's is all her fault. Sadie's War is a journey of learning and adventure.
Sadie's War, as she thinks it is all her fault, is driven by one action. The fierce need to protect her from harm that both Michael and Fester feel. Sadie has no ability to trust, but slowly learns that all the lessons in her life where wrong, and that she can trust people. Although the two main characters, Sadie and Fester have suffered terrible physical and mental abuse at the hands of their parent's, the abuse is not detailed and only alluded to. Jayelle Cochran does a wonderful job of telling this remarkable story without terrorizing the reader. The fear and love that the characters feel come through in the book so vividly it had me crying and laughing all throughout the book. Even given the topics, this would still be a good book for young adults, with some parental guidance for any questions they might have. I found it to be a story of hope and love, of life after tragedy and what family can provide if you allow it. Amazingly poignant.
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Albatross: Birds of Flight
by J.M. Erickson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Alex Burns has seen it all in his tour fighting terrorism, but upon finding out some classified information he is starting to think differently about his job. Too bad his bosses don't agree, next thing Alex knows he is the target of friendly fire. He survives but has no memory, so the government is watching him closely. What starts off the plan called Albatross is the government's disregard for anyone else. When they think Alex knows something, they start trying to kill off anyone he might have talked to, which doesn't sit well with Alex. J. M. Erickson takes you into the mind of a special forces agent done wrong, and a government that has no problems in killing innocent people to keep secrets. Add to that those innocent people who managed to get away and it's no so much revenge as a way to get the government to leave them alone they are looking for.
From the very beginning, when you meet Alex Burns and all through the times he and Dr. Caulfield are together, you learn of a man with so much more to offer than what he was trained to do. You come to feel for Alex and Dr. Caulfield. You sympathize with the life that Sam and Becky had to live through and you want the best for them, and you even understand why they are doing this. Albatross also reveals the dark side of governments, especially when certain areas have too much control without any supervision. J. M. Erickson tells a believable yet at the same time unbelievable story of a man slated to be knocked off by his own government, and what happens when they don't do the job and he is left to act later. This is a great read for anyone, you will be swept away with the intrigue and suspense.
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