The Stray : To Plan by K. E. Strokez BOOK REVIEW

The Stray : To Plan 
by K. E. Strokez


Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .

Matthew Bridge has been accepted into a prodigious academy called St. Kenneth's. His twin brother Ken is accepted along for the ride, despite his objections. Life in this boarding school is going to be like nothing Ken has ever experienced before. Right from the beginning Ken begins having hallucinations. They feel real to him, but he is not sure what is really going on. As the story progresses we learn that nothing in The Stray: To Plan is what it seems to be, everything is an illusion and a trick. K.E. Strokez gives us a fantasy, science fiction, paranormal novel in which someone has set up a simulation world that runs in a bubble, and there are people watching it, yet it is not real. The gravity of the situation is enormous.

The Stray: To Plan turns out to be an elaborate simulation that has been running for a very, very long time, in fact at this point in time they are at Phase 83. The people in the simulation think it is real life and are living day to day, and yet there are people out side watching them, observing what they are doing. K.E. Strokez writes a story that is part fantasy, part science fiction, part paranormal and yet at the same time there is just enough technology available today that makes you stop and think, you know this might just actually be possible to pull off. Reading it gave me goosebumps and reminding me of reading George Orwell's 1984 back in 1982. There is just enough reality to make you take notice of what he is writing about and make you think about this as a possibility, not today, but in a few years. Great read for young adults and adults alike!

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2211 Umbra: A Future History Novel by: Grigor Fedan BOOK REVIEW

2211 Umbra: A Future History Novel

by: Grigor Fedan


Reviewed For +Readers' Favorite 

The legacy of the first African American President turns out to be a wake-up call to all people that we have no come as far as we thought we had in terms of equality, and so the next years are spent actively making changes until 200 years into the future the world is something altogether different, there is no race, no money, no politics.  Welcome to 2211 Umbra A Future History Novel, where people are split into tiers: regents, that have ruling powers, first tiers, second tiers and so on.  Anyone, through education and hard work can promote themselves through the ranks up to a first tier, and with support maybe even become a regent.  Religion and faith in a God plays no part in this society, those people have all abdicated to Texas, with its own government. Soon a zealot with use religion and God as a vessel to exact revenge on a regent he feels slighted him, cutting off Texas from the rest of the world and starting a "holy war".  Grigor Fedan gives us a look at a future society that is once again making the same mistakes as the past, think Stalin and Hitler, because they have forgotten the lessons of the past.

2211 Umbra is a wonderful tale in that you have this "perfect" society that has taken away the need for money or politics, and made everyone equal so to speak, or that was the original plan and those in it still think they are doing that, but there are some outside that don't see it that way. Of course they are living in their scientific world and not thinking about God, and they don't realize what they are missing. Only when they are faced with this war, that divides them do they start to understand things.  Grigor Fedan mixes future with past history, religion and science and what comes out is a wonderful tale of life that needs it all to be well-rounded and fulfilled.  Great story for teens up through adults!

The Wraith of Carter's Mill: The Curse of the Carter Women by C. Evenfall BOOK REVIEW

The Wraith of Carter's Mill: The Curse of the Carter Women
by C. Evenfall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite 

The Wraith Of Carter's Mill: The Curse of the Carter Women is a series of four short stories in one book that tells the story of the Carter family. The first story tells of Libby and her brother Jack as young children with their mother Julia. This story introduces "the dark man" that seems to plague the Carter family. The second story follows Libby as a married woman, and her young daughter Shyanne, as she becomes the next generation to meet "the dark man". This time Libby is able to find out more information because her mother Julia has passed away. The third book follows Shyanne and her daughter Melody as the curse of the dark man becomes even worse and Shyanne finds she has the power to help end the curse. The final story goes back to the beginning and tells us how the curse of the dark man began. C. Evenfall gives us a family saga that follows the women of the Carter family.

Although The Wraith of Carter's Mill is subtitled The Curse of the Carter Women, it is actually the head of the original Carter clan, Zeb that brings about the curse. The power to end the curse flows through the Carter women, although it is not until Shyanne that someone is able to do anything about the curse. C. Evenfall mixes a ghost story, a story of revenge and betrayal all together with a family saga that sees five generations of Carter's deal with the dark man. This is a great woman's book because of the connections that the women in the story carry throughout all the stories. It is also a good read for older teens on up. It was compelling and pulled me along the whole way.

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Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure by Michael G. Munz BOOK REVIEW

Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure
by Michael G. Munz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite 

The Greek gods have returned to the public eye, prompted by the death of Zeus. What? That's right, the King of the gods, Zeus is dead and the rest of the gods have come back into view to be worshiped and given their due once again. Only Apollo seems to be troubled by this strange turn of events and he is determined to discover who actually killed Zeus and to do something about it. When Apollo has a vision of a human, he feels that this person is key to the answers he needs. So Apollo and the Muses track down out-of-work online gambler Lief Karlson, who ends up paired with TV producer Tracy Wallace, and together with Apollo and the Muses they must uncover what really happened to Zeus and who was behind it, all while staying one step ahead of Ares and Athena, who are out to get rid of the mortals before they can complete their mission. Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure is Michael G. Munz's comic look at the adventure that takes place.

Zeus is Dead may build on the current popularity trend of stories about the Greek gods, but it is not what you are expecting. This is a comic and hilarious look at the Greek gods, at mortals and the adventure they all undertake together and against each other. So many lines in this book will have you literally rolling with laughter! +Michael G. Munz has created a book that while on trend popularly, is different and exciting. It is a great read for pre-teens on up through older adults! Older adults will understand some of the references better than younger readers, which makes it an awesome family fun read! Share it with a kid today!

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Little Red Gem by D.L. Richardson BOOK REVIEW

Little Red Gem
by D.L. Richardson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite 

Ruby was having a bad couple of weeks, things just didn't feel right between her and boyfriend Leo, and this is when she really needed them to be the most right. In a fit of anger Ruby drives away from Leo and is killed in a car crash, but her ghost is left behind to wander the earth, trying to get the one answer Ruby didn't get from Leo before the crash, who much he really loved her. Little Red Gem follows the ghost Ruby as she tries to follow Leo, and her old friends and find out what is going on. As young teenagers, this love is eternal and the most important question to Ruby, she has to know. D L Richardson write a tell of teenage love, mixed with rock and roll, and the everyday issues surrounding teens.

D L Richardson does an amazing job blending music into this book. Not only is Leo in and band and writing his own songs, but Ruby was in a band and writing her own songs. A number of original songs, written by the author, specifically for the book are in the book which is unique and fun, making it more relevant to teens. Little Red Gem deals with a number of issues that face teens today including drinking and pregnancy. It also presents parents that are flawed and have made mistakes, who are maybe a bit more understanding and not your typical sit-com parents. This is a great book for teens and young adults, even adults will enjoy the book. A fun read.

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Taking Elyse by Jody Fife BOOK REVIEW

Taking Elyse
by Jody Fife

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite 

Elyse in on the way home from her best friends, when the unthinkable happens, she is kidnapped. What unfolds in Taking Elyse is two-fold, first it is Elyse's struggle to stay alive and alert with her kidnappers, and at the same time leave small clues behind for the cops to find her. One the other side it is the inter-woven tell of a Detective who cares about this case and how it effects his family. Then there is Elyse's family, her husband and children, her sister's and best friend, not to mention the whole community where it seems Elyse was just a favorite person. So many different people play roles in finding bits and pieces of the clues that have to be put together by Detective Macie, it is truly a work of art in how it all comes together. Jody Fife presents a different take on a kidnapping, and how it can effect people.

Taking Elyse also has a strong religious theme to the story in that a particular faith is very important to Elyse and plays a large part in her communications and interactions with everyone we see her encounter. The whole kidnapping and why remains a mystery until the very end and it is revealed who was behind the whole thing, but each person that is suspected has their own reasons, motives and seems like they might be the one, right up until the end. Jody Fife does a remarkable job keeping the mystery going until the end, not tipping her hand too early in the book. This is a great read for all ages young adult and up.

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Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm, Book 1) by K.C. Blake (Kasi Blake) BOOK REVIEW

Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm, Book 1)
by K.C. Blake (Kasi Blake)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite 

When you have grown up all your life, moving from place to place all the time because there are real monsters hunting you, you sleep with a dagger under your pillow. Bay-Lee Bishop does, but on the night that she is visited by dead rocker Tyler Beck, she doesn't have a chance to reach for it. Good thing because they become the main characters of the story, Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm Book 1). After Tyler's visit, Bay-Lee is visited by a Reaper, and finally it is time for her to follow her father to his famous school for monster hunters, Van Helsing's Academy. Being the head guys daughter is not easy, and Bay-Lee enters school with a target on her back. She must learn to find and make friends, cope with a prophecy and deal with dead rocker Tyler Beck's alter-ego, Nick who turns out to be her mentor. Kasi Blake creates the story of two realms, the world and the spirit, and between them monsters, in the forms of werewolves, vampires and more cross over to destroy humans. Hunters are here to prevent that from happening.

Bait is a terrific blend of action and adventure, mystery and intrigue, and a little teenage romance tempered with parental conflict. Paranormal or fantasy, it is a compelling story that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages wanting to see what happens next. Kasi Blake gives the young adult-teen reader set a new world order to follow and find something to look forward to in the next book. Even though there is a bit of a teenage romance, there is no sex, perfect for this age range!

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