REVIEW!! The Mercenary (The War Chronicles #1) by Petra Landon

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SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS

She's a prisoner of the Imperial Forces. He's a nomad with a mercenary army. Can a desperate girl's risky gamble and a fierce warrior's love turn the tide of war and rewrite the destiny of their corner of the galaxy?

In a distant corner of the galaxy, Quadrant Five burns in the flames of a deadly war. The Budheya people are one of the worst affected.

Saakshi
Imprisoned by the Ketaari Imperial Forces, a young Budheya rebel is sent to a distant space station to work in an alehouse. For a girl who has known only hardship in her short life, things could be worse. Until an old foe walks into the alehouse.

Zoran
Zoran is Hadari'Kor - notoriously fierce mercenaries who only fight for hire. Drawn to a weary-eyed server girl, Zoran is forced to confront age-old traditions and question his role in the war.

The Rebel & The Mercenary
Alone, friendless and far from home, Saakshi makes a desperate gamble to trust an enigmatic stranger whose hot gaze haunts her dreams. The echoes of this unlikely alliance reverberate across the quadrant. As a relentless enemy hunts Saakshi, Zoran must fight with everything in his arsenal to protect her. When passion ignites amidst the embers of a smoldering war, will a warrior's quest for justice bring a mighty Empire to its knees ...

Author's Note : A spirited and resilient girl, a fierce warrior with a mighty heart, a fiery passion that flares amidst the debris of a deadly war and a love that will alter the fate of an entire quadrant forms the tale of The Mercenary, a standalone story that sets the scene for The War Chronicles - a collection of SciFi Romance & Space Opera tales with romance, swashbuckling adventure & a sprinkling of action

REVIEW

The author offered me a review copy and I'd been reading along and enjoying it mightily. Very strong and likeable characters, slimy bad guys, great world building, romance, action, page turning plot – everything I love in a book. And then I ran into one of those traffic jams that occasionally appear on everyone's life highway and couldn't read for weeks! Yes, it was very painful but my point is this book lingered in my mind. I found myself thinking about the characters and what further facets will be revealed, what plot twists they had yet to face, how they might react and rooting for them to succeed.  When life untangled itself I finished it and loved every minute but the story still lingers in my mind. To me, this is the sign of a great book and a great author.

Currently there is only one in the series but it is obviously set up for more – can't wait! I'll definitely be getting the next one. I did pick up the other book she has out, The Prophecy (Saga of the Chosen, #1), which is at the top of my TBR list.

Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG TOUR!! Retribution (Wade Ferris Chronicles Shadow Warrior, #2) by W.M. Clarke

Title: Retribution

Author: W.M. Clarke

Genre: Sci-fi Romance

Series: Wade Ferris Chronicles Shadow Warrior, Book 2

Release Date: May 9, 2016

Publisher: ZinaImage Media

WARNING: ADULTS ONLY. This book contains Graphic Violence and Sexual Situations

It’s a love story set in the violence and turmoil of an invasion by Alien beings. Corrupt government officials and violent gangs, all of them wanting their share of the spoils. Amidst the sexual tension, and personal conflict, they know that they to put their feelings aside and do what needs to be done before it is too late. Failure to accomplish their goals will only result in death, not only for themselves but for every living thing on the planet.

Carline and Ferris had dealt the Invaders a major setback by blowing up one of the antennas and destroying their equipment. Forced now to move away from the beach area of Waikanae, they moved inland towards the center of town with the goal of locating a transmitter they could use to contact the military and pass on what information they had gathered about the Invaders.
Little did they know, that the collaboration of the gangs was just the tip of the iceberg, and ran a lot deeper than they could ever imagine.

After helping two women escape from their attackers, they take Carline and Ferris to a building they consider safe, but things are not as they seem. The building holds its own secrets, as do the two women they just rescued.

Ginny and Carmella join forces with Ferris and Carline after they discover what each other is trying to do. Close relationships between the four of them quickly develop with each of them knowing they might not survive for much longer. The four of them set out to rid Ginny’s mysterious Green Mountain of the gang members and the Invaders. Their mission is to find out what is there the invaders want and why.

Other eyes are watching them as well, those of the supernatural world that have charged them with the return of a sacred object supposedly hidden within Green Mountain.

Amazon: US I UK I AU I CA

 Other Books in the Series 

Shadow Warrior

Wade Ferris Chronicles

Book 1

Buy HERE

W.M. Clarke

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Born in New Zealand sometime around the middle of last century, and according to my mother, I was found under a cabbage plant when asked where I came from. During these early years I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents. My Grandfather was a fisherman and owned a small fleet of ocean going fishing boats. Before I was 5 years old I knew how to strip down the engines and how to mend and make fishing nets. All these good things taught to me, I was sure would hold me in good stead at some future time.

So armed with new found knowledge of engines, fishing nets, and that I just grew; I was packed off to Elementary School to begin years of tedious book learning. I remember the first few days quite vividly, wondering home at the first break in class and my mother asking me why I was home. My reply to that was "The teacher said I didn't need to be there anymore and I knew everything I needed to know." This was a concept that suited me right down to the ground. But for some unknown reason Mom didn't see it that way. So I had my sorry butt dragged back to that place, where I was to remain for a whole year.

At the years end, I was told I was not going to be going back to the old school, which for your information suited me just fine. The trouble was I didn't hear the rest of the what was being said. I spent that Christmas break enjoying the feeling that school was done for me and I was finally free to do as I pleased until I was old enough to go out to work.

Can you imagine the shock I felt when the Christmas break was over and I find my scrawny ass being dragged out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7:00 a.m. on that Monday morning. (You can insert whatever cuss words you know in here. It's all good.) A new school, new teachers...oh, crap!

I found myself becoming a foundation pupil of a brand new school. Windley School, a name to be feared in future years. It was during this first year at the new school, that we moved to a new house closer to the school.

By the time I was about 8 this learning thing had become a bad habit. Forced into attending this "School" 5 days a week was getting to be a bit of a drag. Although I did find I had the knack for making people laugh and generally getting teachers a tiny bit pissed at me. (Good stuff!) I discovered writing and I found that I could get a few laughs out of it. The teacher would say I want a 500 word essay from everyone by this afternoon. (Which translated into, I don't feel like teaching right now I need to rest.) Hell! With only 500 word, I had barely gotten started on the first part. I think the teacher actually feared asking for a word count. While my classmates moaned and groaned about it being so long, I was happily filling my exercise book full of words and dream worlds.

I always knew when the teacher got to my book. There was an audible sigh from her when she opened it.

"Clarke come here! " She would say. "Do you know what 500 words mean?"

"Yes Ma'am." I'd answer.

"What does it mean? Tell me!"

"Not enough Ma'am." Which usually earned me a slap on the hand from her, much to the enjoyment from the rest of the class.

High School was an eye opener for me. I discovered Girls, lots of girls to occupy my time with. I also during this time I met a local poet, who ended up being my English teacher. Sam Hunt was one of the few people that actually tried to help me develop a style that suited my personality. But unfortunately his time there was limited, and he was coming into his own peak. His poetry and needs took first place. I couldn't blame him for that. If I was at the peak of my career I would have done the same thing as well.

Once out of High School I met a young man that was to become a close and dear friend for many years after. We were destined to share a friendship that would lead both of us through a great deal of harrowing times and adventures. We rode motorbikes together, got into no ends of trouble. Tried our hands at riding in the rodeo for a couple of seasons thinking we might make a few dollars.

Around 1975, we found ourselves in what was then Rhodesia as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces fighting in the so called Bush Wars. My parents and that, all thought I was safely tucked away in Auckland working my ass off there. Both of us returned to New Zealand, changed in a way that neither of us had expected. We were hard and rugged, far more used to living in the bush than in civilization.

I met the woman who was later to become my wife in 1980. I help raise her two young daughters, and my own daughter was born four years later. My friend Denny was still in my life and my wife was friends with his sister. During this time I worked as a Security specialist for Businessmen and a couple of Foreign Diplomats.

1998, my marriage had ended and it was time for me to move on. I end up here in the US of A and this is the place I now call home. For 14 of the last 18 years I have served and protected this country in one way or another as a Contractor or a Security Specialist. For me now, my wars are done. I have returned to what I feel comfortable with. I have a new career wife and family to consider.

I write full time now, and do a little design work on the side to keep the wolves from the door. I have Ghost written two novels for others in the last 18 months. Written, edited and published 1 art book for a friend (currently in print as a 2nd Edition), and I will release it as a Kindle eBook shortly for those who like to follow artists and their works. My own Science Fiction Novel Shadow Warrior Book One is due out in a month. Book two in the series is just about finished and hopefully be released on Kindle by October.

No, I never got to use the skills taught to me by my Grandfather, but neither do I regret it or the time i spent with both him and my Grandmother. As for my past life, if asked I would do it all again! In a heartbeat!

BOOK TOUR & REVIEW Seth by Eve Langlais

Seth (Cyborgs: More Than Machines, #5) by Eve Langlais

Science Fiction Romance 18+

Publication Date: February 28, 2014

Organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.

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~ Synopsis ~

His mission: Blend in with the humans. Save the cyborgs. And seduce the only woman he ever loved, without getting killed.

Cybernetic spy models are different from other humans turned machine. For one thing, they never completely lost touch with their humanity, or their memories. But retaining their identity doesn’t mean the military didn’t mess with their lives. Seth lost the woman he loved because of their web of lies. When the chance arises to make things right, he relies on his superior intellect–and irresistible charm–to prove his innocence, and make Anastasia his again.

Anastasia might possess upgraded parts and programming, but the scientists never could cure her of her biggest weakness, jealousy. The volatile emotion made her walk away from love once. Can she overcome it and recognize the truth? Or will she continue to let the military manipulate her emotional strings?

~ About the Author ~

Hello, my name is Eve. I’m a stay at home mom who writes full time in between juggling my three kids, hubby, and housework, I write really raunchy stuff–usually with werewolves lol. I am a bestselling Amazon author, ranking often in their top 100 romance authors. But I’m not just popular with Kindle readers. I was one of the top ten selling authors on AllRomance for 2013 and have had numerous of my books hit the top 100 books over all on Barnes & Nobles as well. I’m writing romance, my way. I do have a twisted imagination and a sarcastic sense of humor something I like to let loose in my writing. I like strong alpha males, naked chests and werewolves. Lots of werewolves. In fact, you’ll notice most of my multi partner stories revolve around great, big, overprotective Lycans who just want to please their woman. I am also extremely partial to aliens, you know the kind who abduct their woman and then drive them insane…with pleasure of course. I love to write, and while I don’t always know what my mind is going to come up with next, I can promise it will be fun, probably humorous and most of all romantic, because I love a happily ever after.

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~ Review ~

I really love anything that Eve Langlais writes, and this is no exception. It's great to finally get the story behind Seth - he's such a great character, especially when he's driving Aramus crazy in the other books in this series. This runs concurrently with Aramus to a point and then the stories come together. We get some answers and then more questions about the Cyborg origins. I really like the way it switches back and forth from when he and Anastasia meet, to what they're doing now, and the opening paragraph I really enjoyed:

Seth fell in love while perched atop a climbing wall during a military endurance training exercise. Not exactly the most romantic of spots considering the braced four-by-four hunks of wood towering twelve feet high were gray and weather beaten, a nasty splinter waiting to happen for those with delicate skin. It wasn’t a particularly nice day either with ominous clouds spread across the sky, heavy with moisture, threatening those running the dreaded course with a cold downpour.

But, despite it all, this was the place and time the course of his future changed forever.

I've never had a problem being hooked in to Eve's books. Her opening lines are never boring and always reel you in wanting more. As always, I'm looking forward to the next in the series and will just bide my time while it's written! There are many questions to be resolved and the whole memory thing has me ... what was I saying? :) You'll need to get yourself a copy of this fantastic book, right about ... now!

Vexing Voss (Coletti Warlords #3) by Gail Koger

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How do I love this book let me count the ways…

First, the title. I have a thing about titles, so many of them feel like they were computer-generated. Push three buttons and then bingo! it generates your title. Or marketing picks the title, riffing off whatever the latest bestseller is. (Think of all the 50 shades of fill in the blank you’ve run into.) I like titles that actually tie into the story. Ones that months or years down the way when I think of the story I’ll actually be able to remember the title in case I want to reread it. Vexing Voss is just such a title. Which brings me to point two:  the heroine, Zoey.

Earth is in a bad way. It was discovered by an alien race that finds humans delicious. In step the Colletti warlords. They will help protect Earth but only if they are given any psychic women, and no, the women are not given a choice.

Zoey is a loose cannon and a trouble magnet. She’s got a revenge driven agenda and the last thing she wants is to be mated to a Colletti warlord. She’s a strong psychic and has skills she uses to avoid the mate hunting warlords. (She leads him on a merry dance but put your money on Voss.)

Zoey spends a lot of time vexing her mate, Voss. Sometimes on purpose, but mostly she responds to stressful situations with a bad case of motor-mouth. Which is how she manages to offend, insult, and otherwise vex, Voss, various warriors, aliens, and even the Coletti overlord himself. This leads to a lot of fun and snarky dialogue.

Voss is used to total obedience. Too bad obedience isn’t in Zoey’s vocabulary. She’s so unreasonable! All he wants to do is protect her. And she insists on calling him weird pet names like Poopsie and Snookums. Very undignified. More than that she seems to be a nexus for chaos. Which brings us to point three: the plot.

I love an action plot. And boy does this have action! It seems that Earth’s troubles are actually part of a larger galactic war so there’s ample space for fighting, daring rescues, explosions, space battles, betrayals, torture and assorted mayhem. Fair warning: this is not a book to start when your in-laws are coming to dinner, you’re baking cookies, or you have to pick up the children at school. You will not be able to put it down. Which brings me to the last point: characterization and world building.

The author has a talent for providing a complex setting without requiring a four year degree in the sciences. Her aliens are quirky but their characters are clearly drawn. Zoey cuts a swath through them all, making friends and destroying enemies with equal verve.

The bottom line? It’s a great book and a fun read. It’s the third in the Colletti warlord series but stands well on its own. Sadly, books 1 and 2 are currently out of print. According to the author, she plans to re-release in the future. I for one plan on buying them both as well as the sequel she currently has in production.

Coletti Warlords

#1 Just My Luck

#2 The Warlord's Comeuppance

#3 Vexing Voss

#4 Reality Bites (work in progress)

The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson

I love this series - re-read it regularly! Most of the stories [but not the thread connecting them] have appeared independently in various science fiction and fantasy magazines and some short story collections. The two books have been collected in the omnibus edition Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson but are also available singly as Pilgrimage and No Different Flesh.

Although she was not as well known [or as prolific] as Heinlein and Asimov and Norton, Zenna Henderson is truly one of the Golden Age masters. Like most great authors she uses her stories to ask - and answer - important questions. In the case of the People stories that question might be - what if alien people crash land on earth, and what if they are different - perhaps even better than us?

The People are a race from another planet who become marooned on earth, many injured and killed, most of them separated from each other and not knowing if they are the only survivors. The People have the very best of human qualities: love, gentleness, spirituality; and also special powers of healing, levitation and other frequently miraculous abilities.

Pilgrimage

Before talking about the story I want to give credit to her skills as a writer. Her setting simply glows with the color and heat of the American Southwest. Her people are fully visualized, their emotions vividly portrayed. The plots of the different stories are intense and page turning.

There is a thread which binds the short stories together - the story of Lea who is suicidal but is dragged back from the brink [literally] by a chance-met member of the people. The stories she listens to about their past, their Home, and the landing which scattered and shattered them slowly bring her back to feeling hope...

No Different Flesh

This book tells the story of a couple, Mark and Meris, who, one stormy night, find a young girl who has fallen in a capsule from the sky, and who has special abilities. Maris and Mark, still grieving the loss of their own baby, must come to terms with the emotional issues that caring for the young girl, Lala, creates in both of them. What follows is a plot that will involve the reader in the magic, compassion and sense of rightness that the People evoke.

In Pilgrimage, as in The People: No Different Flesh, the plot shifts between the present day story, and stories about the People from their past, which comprise the People's race memory. Included as one of these memories told to Mark and Meris is a short story, "Deluge", which has appeared in some short story collections. "Deluge" gives the reader a taste of the magical and deeply fulfilling way of life on the People's home planet and tells how the People came to leave it. Other memories tell us what happened to various individuals of the People as they arrived on earth. These add texture and interest to the present-day story, and include events of terrible persecution of the People as well as stories of personal tragedy and joy.

One of the continuing themes in these stories are teachers and teaching and just how much difference they can make in others lives. As a teacher myself, I reread these books to remind me why I was teaching and to refill the well of compassion which sometimes gets drained pretty dry in all of us.

If you're looking for Lara Croft or Indiana Jones - these books are not for you. They will never be made into summer blockbuster movies. These stories frequently require access to the kleenex box but still manage to provide an overall feeling of uplift and hope. And that's something we could all use a lot more of.

Born of Night (League # 1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Buy it here!

An excellent read - a science fiction romance with an action [lots and lots of action!] based plot and filled with engaging characters.

First let's get the caveats out of the way. This is NOT hard science fiction and the science is occasionally dubious. The political background [and the League] are not well defined. The assassins may be over the top, but the soldiers [such as those guarding the heroine at various times] are pretty lame for presumably elite troops. You'd expect more Special Forces and less F Troop for the guards on the ranking people of the entire planet ... Should these reasons stop you from reading the book? NO!

So, why should you read this book? Nykarian is the hero and the poster boy for tortured heroes who manage to come out the other side as lethal and deadly, but with a sense of honor. Kyria is the heroine. She spends most of the book being either kidnapped or attacked. She is a princess who has a very naive world view, especially given that she experienced violence at its worst. When she was 8, she and her mother were kidnapped and she was forced to watch as her mother was raped, tortured, and murdered - just before the bad guys put three shots into her with intent to kill her. [I couldn't help but think that an 8 year old is not very big - couldn't they manage to hit something fatal on her? More of the F Troop syndrome.] Yet when Nykarian kills 20 men intent on killing HER, she freaks out on him for his violence. She gets over it [and succeeding moments where the big, bad world keeps crashing in] and she and Nykarian find in each other things they have never had before. Acceptance. Loyalty. Love.

The supporting characters are as fascinating as the hero and heroine. They live and breathe and suffer [and produce some nice snarky dialogue] along with the hero and heroine. It's a vintage Kenyon plot - bad ass hero, beautiful heroine, evil villains galore - and that's a good thing.

League

#1 - Born Of The Night

#2 - Born Of Fire

#3 - Born Of Ice

#3.5 - Fire And Ice

#4 - Born of Shadows

#5 - Born of Silence

#6 - Cloak & Silence

#7 - Born Of Fury