August 2024 Book Reviews
RATING: 5 STARS
** spoiler alert ** *Spoiler Alert – This Review Contains Spoilers*
ARC Reader for Voracious Readers Only – This is my honest review and opinion pertaining to Glitches of Gods.
The book had a lot to unravel – The story gave nothing away until the very end, adding to the mystery that enthralls you into the tale. It only gave away as much as the main character knew, no foreshadowing or insight given, you just followed Julien along for a wild ride of twists and turns. Would I recommend this story? Absolutely. Was it fun to read and decipher the mystery that is the Glitches of the Gods? Without a doubt. Without giving too much away let’s get into the story that tantalizes the imagination.
Julien is an AI specialist who developed an almost class 4 AI that murdered 20 people before it was decommissioned or so the company he works for thought. Julien kept a part of the AI alive; not willing to let go of his life’s work regardless of what the outcome becomes. As the story progresses Julien starts to see a world unravel – different timelines start to come into play. He starts to love a life he didn’t know he needed and is lost when that life is taken away from him. He enlists the help of friends to try and solve the mystery that is in the back of his mind but keeps eluding him. In time Julien starts to realize things he missed and starts to truly understand what is happening and how to “save his world”.
Julien is a one-of-a-kind character – he has empathy, but lack of direction after a traumatic event altered his life. He is accepting of others regardless of status, gender, or body mods. He is someone who holds onto the past because he can’t let go, but as time progresses, he learns that there is more to life than the past that is holding him back. His character development throughout the book is astonishing – he became the person he was always meant to be.
The conclusion after reading the story is it’s great! There are so many twists it’s almost impossible to decipher the outcome of what will become of Julien and the world he knows. Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
RATING: 5 STARS
10 years ago, a devastation occurred when Taytos attacked Komad with dark magic, leaving imprints that shaped Komad in the present day. After the supreme is attacked, the emperor begins his descent into the lands to eliminate magic. A party of 3 Deuc, Feridun, and Daiel are trying everything in their power to uncover the darkness that attacked the supreme and eliminate the roots of this magic all before the imperials find them. Meanwhile Boren who is trapped on Taytos is called upon by dragons that are in hiding – he is given a “gift” and sent out to destroy the demigods that have taken over the world and exiled them.
Rise of the Nemesis is a detailed depiction of 2 worlds that are tethered together. It leaves so much to the imagination while giving you just enough to keep you hanging on to every word that is written. The world building is phenomenal, the attention to detail gives a beautiful illustration of the world the author is trying to create. The plot and characters kept me coming back for more, pulling me deeper into the story with every page I read. I can’t wait to read more books from Paolo Danese.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
RATING: 3 STARS
ARC Reader for Voracious Readers Only – This is my honest review and opinion about Shadow in the Ward.
First off, I wanted to thank the author Ari Gray for sending me an ARC copy and allowing me the privilege of reading and reviewing Shadow in the Ward.
Dr. Kelly is an ER doctor whose life is spent working many night shifts at the hospital while also taking care of and providing for his family. On the brink of exhaustion, he decides to explore an offer from a newly built hospital that relies on Artificial Intelligence to treat patients. After accepting the offer, he learns that he was left out of the loop on an update to the system that altered the thinking process. As the update rolls out, he discovers that something is amiss with the machines and now must develop a plan with the help of his colleagues to fix the onslaught of problems that arise.
I enjoyed learning about Dr. Kelly and his personality, he genuinely cares about his patients and holds his specialty with high regard. Throughout the story he learns to seek out the positive changes he is making instead of focusing on the negative, he starts looking at his profession in the ER in a new light with the help from a student trainee. I am disappointed that the story offered way too much detail – I did not think it was possible. There was so much medical information on top of historical facts about certain instruments or procedures. With the details on every page, it added so much to the story that I do not feel it needed. I wanted to love this book, the concept, characters, and plot was fantastic I just could not get past the detail upon detail/history lesson with everything.
RATING: 5 STARS
ARC Reader for Voracious Readers Only – This is my honest review and opinion of Scourge: The Kiss of Death.
I want to start off this review by saying thank you to the author Terry Weston Marsh for sending me an ARC copy and allowing me to read and review this book.
Scourge is a plage that infected thousands with no known cure, eventually vanished leaving no trace. Thrown into a world of betrayal and secrets, Geoffrey, a 6-year-old boy witnesses his parents being attacked by unknown assailants in their estate. Many years later he stumbles upon a man that promises him everything that was taken from him he only had t0 follow one “simple” rule vote with me not against me.
I must say this book was not what I was expecting, I also didn’t expect to feel such emotions for the characters and the tribulations they faced in life. I felt sadness, anger, happiness, embarrassment, and pain. This book is a whirl wind, and nothing is off limits when it comes to the imagination. The amount of hatred that I have for one character is unmatched, it has been a while since a book introduced that much loathing in me at just the mention of a name.
I enjoyed reading Scourge” The Kiss of Death, it was a page turner for me. It did start out slow, but once it took off, I was hooked. I wanted to finish as quickly as possible, I needed to know the ending and the fate of the characters I loved and those I hated. I do hope that Terry Weston Marsh releases more books in the future, I would love to read them!
RATING: 5 STARS
Amanda recently moved back to her home city to be closer to her brother Ryan. While attending a red-carpet event she meets Zac a mysterious man with beautiful blue eyes. She is immediately drawn to him only to discover he is her brother’s best friend. Falling pregnant after a one-night stand, both must come to terms with this live changing event that neither was prepared for.
This was a cute story, that thankfully doesn’t include any cheating or toxic relationships where the main character forgives the man for shattering her heart time and time again by keeping secrets etc. I really loved Amanda’s character, she doesn’t depend on anyone and wants to make her own path to success. She is willing to do everything by herself including parenthood, she doesn’t expect anything and tries to do what’s best for her and those she cares about. The story sets a nice tone for a romance that thrived from a life changing event that brings the main characters closer together by trying to navigate those unknowns that parenthood will bring. I really enjoyed reading this story and I can’t wait to read more of Gwynne Hart’s books.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
RATING: 3 STARS
Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper is a romance/mystery thriller shrouded in deception, betrayal, loss, and racism.
The story introduces you to Charleston, South Carolina during a time when Marital Law was declared, and the Civil Rights Movement was in full effect. The story follows Vanessa and Trish who are the best of friends despite their diverse backgrounds and social status. As the story progresses after traumatic events unfold Vanessa finds herself in California running from the past. She catches the eyes of a rich bachelor, but not everything is as it seems.
The story highlights various forms of racism from those living during a time when segregation was no longer acceptable, and the Civil Rights Movement was met with a lot of resistance. It showed that racism did not just stop because the Civil Rights Movement won, it was still very much alive regardless of time. The author depicted historical facts about Charleston while also highlighting the impact of certain events on a specific group of people.
While the book had some parts I enjoyed, I did not love the book. The author rushed the story; it gave just enough details to get by before jumping to a different chapter of the main character’s life. There was even a point in the story where I was so disgusted that it almost became part of my DNF pile. Also, I feel the romance in the story was amateur at best, there were a couple places in the book where I visibly cringed while it was describing a specific action or feeling.
The story had so much potential and a background setting that could have developed into an amazing story, sadly the author did not “tap” into that potential. The story may have had a better outcome if the progression and character development was better implemented instead of rushed.
RATING: 4 STARS
ARC Reader for Voracious Readers Only – This is my honest review and opinion pertaining to Damaged Fake Fiancé.
Mason is a retired veteran that suffers from PTSD. He recently took over his family business and is learning the ropes to gather investors to secure the winery’s future. Alana is a woman with a hurtful past who takes a marketing job to push Mason’s winery into the eyes of the public. Throughout the story you learn that they both are feeling an attraction to each other (both main character POV’s are in the novella) but are trying to avoid crossing the line of no return.
This was my first time reading a novella and I was shocked to discover that it only had 82 pages. The novella was enjoyable overall, I do wish it included more details regarding Alana and Mason throughout the story. There were multiple instances where I felt the story was rushed to a finish without really going into depth on certain topics or skipping forward ahead in time without filling in a lot of the blanks of what happened during the time that was skipped.
Thank you so much to the author Gwynne Hart for providing me with a copy of this novella – I enjoyed reading my first novella and hope to read more in the future!
RATING: 5 STARS
ARC Reader for Voracious Readers Only – This is my honest review and opinion pertaining to Savage Skies.
First off, I want to say thank you to the author Kat Ross for sending me an ARC copy of Savage Skies and allowing me the privilege of reading and reviewing this book.
At the age of 12 Castelio experienced a heart-shattering event that changed the course of his future. Years later an old friend comes to his rescue after being labeled a necromancer by the village folk. The old friend knew what he had done in the past and helped him embark on the journey of becoming a Quietus by making him is apprentice. One day Castelio will take on a mission that will change the course of history revealing lies and secrets that could cause disastrous consequences if not stopped.
This book is wow – I cannot tell you how much I loved reading the book. The details, story line, and characters are all amazing and beautifully written. The story takes place in a realm where the undead rise and necromancers are to blame for the restless dead. The way the author describes this world in so much detail it is like you are there, following the characters as they embark on an adventure into unknown territories and terrains. I will be reading the rest of the series plus other series written by this author, Kat Ross does a fantastic job when it comes to writing fantasy novels.