Book Review & Giveaway: Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

Mean Streak by Sandra Brown
Published by: Grand Central
Publication date: August 19th 2014
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

Synopsis:
Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of “instant divorce,” Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won’t even tell her his name. She’s determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can’t turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law.

As her husband’s deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer.

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*** 4/5 Stars ***

"Mean Streak" is a fast paced and twirl of deception and suspicion. Emory (love her name!) is a well known pediatric doctor married to Jeff who works in finance. Childless and down to loveless, the couple of on the rocks. Emory heads out to train for a charity marathon while Jeff completes a cheat-a-ton. Emory disappears and is suddenly a not so willing, kind of willing resident in a cozy cabin with an imposing stranger. While treated kindly, she kinds a few mysterious clues to and tries to ferret out her mysterious rescuer's past and identity.

The story fast forwards the Emory's return to the world and the ultimate betrayal. I didn't see the twist at the end. Fair warning, the bad guy isn't who you might guess at first. Roles will be reversed. The supporting characters, a few quirky detectives and a searching FBI agent, add to the general melay and intriguing storyline. Sometimes boggled down by details, this was still a good romantic suspense that deals with some modern day issues.

Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including DEADLINE(2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), & HELLO, DARKNESS (2003).

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English. Before embarking on her writing career, she worked as a model at the Dallas Apparel Mart, and in television, including weathercasting for WFAA-TV in Dallas, and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program “PM Magazine.”

In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write, Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.

Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Author links:

sandrabrown.net/books/mean-streak/

href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6218.Sandra_Brown" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6218.Sandra_Brown

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSandraBrown

https://twitter.com/sandrabrown_NYT

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Book Tour Review and Giveaway: The Artful by Wilbert Stanton

The Artful by Wilbert Stanton
(Shadows of the City #1)
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: May 27th 2014
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult

Synopsis:
New York City, 2025: Everything is changed. The city that never sleeps is now a land of death and decay. A rampant virus has taken over and the survivors have become carriers, quarantined from the rest of the world.

Twist and Dodger grew up in the streets, the sewers and underground tunnels – their playground. They aren’t heroes. They just like attention; and stealing meds from the rich and giving them to the poor is their golden ticket.

On their latest raid, they unknowingly steal a cure that puts them square between the ailing Emperor of Manhattan and the war hungry Governor of Brooklyn and forces them on a quest into the darkest shadows of their putrefying world.

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3 Stars

The names the author chose for his characters are definitely very fitting. The story takes place where a plague has killed half the population and left others with a horrible reaction to the sun (no vampires promise). As with most dystopian novels, there are the rich and ignorant and the very poor, very clever. Twist and Dodger run a gang and steal from the mostly drugged out rich who live in towers and are never in the sun. They provide the stolen supplies, mostly medications to those in need. One day, they run into a gal who claims to be a companion to rich clients. She ends up joining them on their journey to get meds to heal Dodger and other various folks. The rich folks have caught up to them, given Dodger something nasty, and there are rumors and evidence swirling around that the story fed to the population about the plague might not be so true.
This was not a bad book, an awesome book, or really anything really on the extreme side of negative or positive rating. Details bogged it down and the writing needs to be a bit more polished and flow better. The story would flow well with action and events, then pages and pages of details that were unnecessary would slow the story down. But the story is still an interesting one, world building interesting, and the characters were unique and distinct from one another. It was an okay young adult read, and I would look for future works from the author as he matures.

Wilbert Stanton was born and raised in New York City. From an early age, Wilbert decided he would either write books or take over the world; everything else was just a precursor to his end game.

Along the way, he has studied Psychology, English, and Computer Science. He’s held jobs in a wide range of fields and met people from all walks of life. Wilbert is constantly learning and growing as a person, in order to solidify his dreams.

In the end world domination was a bit tedious, so he decided to focus on writing books.

Author links:

https://www.facebook.com/authorwilbertstanton

https://twitter.com/Wilbert_stanton

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7857459.Wilbert_Stanton

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Book Tour Review & Giveaway ($25 Amazon GC): The Silver Sickle by Ellie Ann

The Silver Sickle by Ellie Ann
Published by: Stonehouse Ink
Publication date: July 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis:
THE SILVER SICKLE is for fans of steampunk, cyberpunk, Veronica Roth, Scott Westerfield, and Allie Condie.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The end of humanity will come through the Silver Sickle . . .

Farissa lives every moment with reckless abandon, for it may be her last. Any day now, the alien goddesses will harvest her and take her to the mysterious Silver Sickle, never to return. She’s accepted that. What she can’t accept is this new idea of freedom Zel has planted in her head. She’d give almost anything to be with Zel, but how can she run from her destiny if it means putting the whole kingdom in danger?

Everyone in the desert kingdom believes the goddesses are immortal, but Zel has invented a way to kill them. Now all he has to do is convince Farissa to run away with him and plant a seed of hope in her heart that she’s not destined to die. Little does he know that one seed of hope could change the course of the future.

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*** 4 Stars ***
Beautiful and wily Farissa has been one a leash all of her life as one the Consecrated. Her city’s king and kingdom worship the humanoid aliens that rule and live side by side humans. Deadly and having built the combined cultures of human worship with some tune of human freewill, the aliens keep the charade of living cohesively while planning the end of humanity. After a terrible fight and loss, Farissa is taken into the human King’s harem with the other virgin and beautiful Consecrated girls. There sole purpose is to please the king and one day be harvested by the aliens, dragged to the Silver Sickle where no one ever returns. Farissa’s love, Zel, is in the background, recreating a weapon that can kill the aliens. With help from the Cogmen (robotic, intellectual, and deadly strong) Zel hurries to recreate the weapon that was destroyed and try to free his love.

It comes down to a final blow in the temple and the alien’s true intentions are revealed. Origins of many are discovered. The horrid way humans are sacrificed for alien purpose is revealed. Will the Silver Sickle be the end of humanity, or can humanity and it’s variety of allies survive?
Super fun sci-fi/steam punk/romance/mystery/young adult… I think I could go on adding genres as this book touches on many. The characters were well developed and it was fun reading of a world similar to ours, but oh so different. Human deceit, lust, and jealously is very rampant. The Cogsmen are an amazing add in of engineered humanity that can play the political game to help those they care for. The aliens are just plain creepy, strong, and deceitful. I rooted for their downfall and for Zel and Farissa to finally be free to love each other.

Ellie Ann is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of science fiction, comics, and thrillers.

I was born in the jungles of Thailand, was raised in a small farming village in Iowa, lived in the middle of a Texan desert, and now abide in the Ozarks.
I like writing fairy tales, tall tales, thrillers, science fiction, and am seriously interested in transmedia storytelling.

I’m a creative editor for Stonehouse Ink. I’m a producer of interactive books at Noble Beast.

Come say hi! I don’t bite. Unless I’ve been turned into a zombie.

Author Links:

http://ellieann.net/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6423277.Ellie_Ann

https://www.facebook.com/EllieAnnAuthor

https://twitter.com/elliesoderstrom

 

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Book Tour Review & Giveaway: Shattered Veil (The Diatous Wars #1) by Tracy E. Banghart

Shattered Veil by Tracy E. Banghart
(The Diatous Wars #1)
Publication date: February 28th 2014
Genres: New Adult, Science Fiction

Synopsis:

For Aris, a talented wingjet pilot, war means sacrificing everything: her home, her name, her face—and the one promise she swore she’d never break.

In the small village of Lux, everyone flies wingjets, but nobody flies them like Aris Haan. When she’s not dancing through the skies, she’s spending every minute with Calix, whom she’s loved since childhood. They plan to Promise, but instead he is sent to defend their dominion against a bloody invasion. Determined not to lose him, Aris follows, joining an underground network of women inside the male-only military. Using secret technology that allows her to pass as a man, she becomes “Aristos”, a Flyer in a search-and-rescue unit.

As Aris grows stronger on the battlefield and more comfortable in her guise as Aristos, her personal mission becomes less and less clear. When she and her enigmatic commander, Major Vidar, uncover an astonishing conspiracy that could destroy everything, she must make a choice that will determine not only the fate of her heart, but the future of her dominion.

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***3.5 Stars***

Aris lives a quiet life with her mother and father, flying for pleasure and to dust her father’s groves. Having just turned the age when she will be assigned her life’s work, Aris is approached by a stranger offering something forbidden- a place in the war against an opposing nation. Aris is expecting to be promised to the love of her life, Calix, but her dreams are destroyed when he is sent into the military. Aris decides to do whatever she can to be with her childhood sweetheart and secretly signs up for the military, shaving her head, and going through tortuously training.
Now called Aristos, she is placed with another disguised female bunk mate in her unit. Using incredible technology that provides a holographic, realistic veil around their bodies to make them appear male, Aris and her bunkmate train and go out on a few dangerous rescue missions to find fallen soldiers. Aris is the best wingjet flyer and is summoned multiple times to save others while putting her in incredible danger. After being shot down during one mission, she is thrust into the political madness of the war, discovering one of the military leaders is not who he seems. Flying to save a captive leader, Aris is scarred in mind, body, and heart. Sent home an unfair disgrace and rejected by her childhood love, will others ever know that she helped save a country’s leader… or continue in disgrace because she was a woman, forbidden to be in the military?
Fast paced with and an easy, flowing read, this was an entertaining fantasy novel. With no adult situations other than a few hot kisses and embraces a great novel for older young adults who like strong heroines and adventure.

Tracy E. Banghart is a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.

LINKS:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Tour wide giveaway
4 prizes:
--$50 Amazon gift card (INTL)
--3x "swag packs" which will include: a notebook, magnet, button, 2 signed bookmarks, and Shattered Veil-themed temporary tattoos - picture attached. (US/CAN)

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Book Tour Review & Giveaway ($50 Amazon Gift Card): Stim by Kevin Berry

Stim by Kevin Berry
Publication date: October 16th 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:
Robert is different. He has Asperger’s Syndrome. He experiences the world differently to 99% of the population. Follow his entertaining and highly empathetic story as he struggles to realise and accept who he really is, try to understand other people—which he cannot—and find a girlfriend. Especially find a girlfriend—he’s decided it’s his special project for the year. Accompanied on this transformative journey by his quirky flatmates, Chloe (who also has Asperger’s, amongst other things), Stef (who hasn’t, but doesn’t mind) and their oddly-named kitten, Robert endures a myriad of awkward moments in his quest to meet a nice, normal girl…and not even a major earthquake will stop him.

This absorbing and humorous story is starkly told from Robert’s point of view, through the kaleidoscope of autistic experience.

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*** 3.5/5 Stars ***
“Stim” is the story of newly christened college student, Robert, who is on his own and learning to live as an adult with Asperser’s Syndrome (high functioning form of Autism). Overwhelmed with the dorm life, he moves in as a flat mate to with two girls. Robert starts a series of jobs and loses them just as quickly due to his frank honestly. Going to his kind doctor, Dr. Meg, he is prescribed an antidepressant that makes his soothes his depression and makes his life a bit better. After a failed party, he doubles the dose and goes on a crazy manic rampage through life for a few weeks. Using Chloe’s credit card, he purchases $4,000+ worth of stuff, including a motorbike that is quickly stolen, and a suit to win over the ladies. Rescued by Chloe, Robert returns to his normal, if stilted pace. The novel continues to follow his antics, the meeting of some unusual, mean, and friendly new people… some who surprisingly become a positive influence on Robert’s life. Number one advocate for Robert is Chloe, his bipolar, Asperser’s Syndrome diagnosed flat mate. Chloe is gorgeous and outrageous. Will their relationship flame on or flame out?
Having worked and known those on the Autism spectrum, this was a fun, kooky insight into the life of a young adult. I couldn’t image going through young adulthood again- let alone trying to understand the world in the lenses of those with Asperser’s Syndrome. Robert completely cracked me up, his personality entertaining, and struggles are cringe worthy. I cheered when he found his place in this goofy world.

Kevin Berry is an indie author. His particular niche is writing Aspie New Adult contemporary novels set in an earthquake zone. The first of these is STIM, published in October 2013.

His first novels, co-written with Diane Berry, are Dragons Away!, Growing Disenchantments and Fountain of Forever (humorous fantasy). These are available as paperbacks and ebooks at Amazon and elsewhere.

Author Links:
Website: http://www.kevinberrybooks.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kevinberryxxx
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1104822.Kevin_Berry

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Open INTL:
--50$ Amazon Gift Card
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