BBNYA2024 Semi-Finalist Spotlight ~ Sledge vs The Labyrinth by Nick Horvath

 

SLEDGE. “THE ULTIMATE ANTI-HERO.” – Horror Reads

When his former lover, Kiira, finds herself the target of a mysterious dark web assassin network, modern-day gladiator, Einarr “Sledge” Laukkanen, embarks on a blood-spattered mission to uncover who lurks at its heart. But as he bludgeons his way down to its lowest depths, one thing becomes terrifyingly clear:

NO ONE ESCAPES THE LABYRINTH . . .

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ TWR Ultimate Blog Tour: Hermit of Paradise

 

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Friday Featured Spotlight TWR Ultimate Blog Tour: Welcome to Dorley Hall

 

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Welcome to Dorley Hall (US Release) ~ Spotlight

What if the only way to fix toxic masculinity were to erase it entirely?

Mark Vogel is like the older brother Stefan never had, but one day he disappears without a trace. A year later, after encountering a woman who looks near-identical to Mark, Stefan becomes obsessed. He finds that dozens of young men have disappeared over the years, many of them students at the Royal College of Saint Almsworth, and most of them troubled or unruly. Why are students going missing? Who are these women who bear striking resemblances to them? And what is their connection to the selective student accommodation on the edge of campus, Dorley Hall?

Stefan starts studying at Saint Almsworth for one reason and one reason only: to find out exactly what happened to the women who live at Dorley Hall, and to get it to happen to him, too.

An electrifying début by Alyson Greaves, Welcome to Dorley Hall is an intense exploration of gender and society that will appeal to readers of Torrey Peters, Imogen Binnie and Gretchen Felker-Martin.

Saturday Spotlight ~ TWR Blog Tour: The Grass Widow

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Friday Featured Spotlight ~ TWR Ultimate Blog Tour: Welcome to Dorley Hall

 

Amazon US | Other Buy Links

Welcome to Dorley Hall ~ Spotlight

What if the only way to fix toxic masculinity were to erase it entirely?

Mark Vogel is like the older brother Stefan never had, but one day he disappears without a trace. A year later, after encountering a woman who looks near-identical to Mark, Stefan becomes obsessed. He finds that dozens of young men have disappeared over the years, many of them students at the Royal College of Saint Almsworth, and most of them troubled or unruly. Why are students going missing? Who are these women who bear striking resemblances to them? And what is their connection to the selective student accommodation on the edge of campus, Dorley Hall?

Stefan starts studying at Saint Almsworth for one reason and one reason only: to find out exactly what happened to the women who live at Dorley Hall, and to get it to happen to him, too.

An electrifying début by Alyson Greaves, Welcome to Dorley Hall is an intense exploration of gender and society that will appeal to readers of Torrey Peters, Imogen Binnie and Gretchen Felker-Martin.

And Then There Were None

A killer stalks a group of ten total strangers on an isolated island off the Devon coast, in a suspenseful story of murder and retribution, set to a sinister nursery rhyme.

Warped Allegiance

When Lieutenant Jo Riskin investigates the brutal murder of the pastor of New Life Church, she discovers that the beloved preacher may not be the man his congregation believes he is. The deeper Jo dives into his life, the longer the suspect list grows, including members of his congregation and even his own family.

While dealing with her current homicide, Jo has the opportunity to talk face-to-face with the man responsible for her husband’s murder. When he tells her he wants to cut a deal, she battles between her need for revenge and her desire to honor her husband’s legacy.

As the investigation continues and ensnares more lives in lies and scandal, Jo realizes that to untangle her own life, she has to let go and move forward.

To solve both cases, Jo must balance her need for answers with her desire for justice.

Hit Man

Keller is an assassin - he is paid by the job and works for a mysterious man who nominates hits and passes on commissions from elsewhere. Keller goes in, does the job, gets out: usually at a few hours' notice ...Often Keller's work takes him out of New York to other cities, to pretty provincial towns that almost tempt him into moving to the woods and the lakeshores. Almost but not quite. But then one job goes wrong in a way Keller has never imagined and it leaves him with a big problem. Finding himself with an orphan on his hands, Keller's job begins to interfere with his carefully guarded life. And once you let someone into your life, they tend to want to know what you do when you're away. And killing for a living, lucrative though it is, just doesn't find favour with some folks.

June Bug

Book source ~ ARC. 

My review is voluntary and honest.

June Bug

Sam Cable, #3

Scott Bell

Suspense

10 November 2020

216 Pages

Hide and Seek

Book source ~ NetGalley

Hide and Seek

Criminal Profiler, #1

Mary Burton

23 April 2019

Mystery | Suspense | Thriller

344 Pages

The Fixer: The Naked Man

Book source ~ NetGalley

The Naked Man

The Fixer, #1

Jill Amy Rosenblatt

21 July 2015

Crime | Fiction

181 Pages

iRead Tour ~ To Sleep...Perchance to Die

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ To Sleep...Perchance to Die

Author ~ Donald R. Grippo

Publisher ~ Turn the Page Publishing

Published ~ 1 June 2013

Genre ~ Suspense

Pages ~ 232

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My Rating ~ 3 bites and a nibble

Mai Faca and Jake Warden are lovers. Jake is getting out of a bad marriage and will soon be free, but Mai’s parents hate Jews and Jake is one whether he practices or not. Her family would never condone a marriage between her and a Jew, so the family would kill him outright and she would be banished. She loves her family and doesn’t want to be banished. So they have to come up with some other way to be together. Enter Jake’s friend and co-worker Bret Manley. Bret has no idea what he’s getting himself into, but he’ll find out.

First off, Jake and Mai have no redeeming qualities and make pretty good villains in this story. They are detestable. I felt sorry for Bret the more I read. He started out seeming to be a bit of an ass, but then he gets duped in the worst possible way. Yet, for all that he goes through, he doesn’t let it change the fundamental ‘him’. I love his Uncle Hubie and the PI Dillon, too.

The plot in this story is on the thin side. There’s not much substance to it except the long term plan of Mai and Jake to be together. The writing isn’t bad, but the lack of plot made it seem to drag along in spots. There isn’t much excitement and it isn’t fast-paced. Overall it’s not a bad read, but it’s not the most stimulating either.

Meet the Author

Donald R. Grippo, DDS practiced oral and maxillofacial surgery in northeastern Connecticut for more than thirty years. On a daily basis, he encountered patient's fear of undergoing oral surgery and associated anesthesia. To help allay such fear he wrote A Guide to the Guy or Gal Who Takes Your Teeth Out, a series of short stories dealing with the treatment of typical oral surgical problems. His resume includes working as a dentist at the Tennessee State Prison outside of Nashville and as a guard at the Hartford State Jail on Syms Street in Hartford.

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Showcase Saturday

Showcase Saturday

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Special Features

Series ~ Deacon Chalk, Short Story Collection

Author ~ James R. Tuck

Publisher ~ Blammo!

Published ~ 30 January 2014

Genre ~ Anthology/Paranormal

Pages ~ 134

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

This is a collection of stories and things from the Deacon Chalk universe. Not all are typical short stories. Some are things that can be found on various blogs and some are just odds and ends pertaining to a series.

Dolly ~ This I love. A look at Deacon a year before Blood and Bullets and how he came to acquire Polecats. Also, why haven’t we seen more of Bicuspid? I’d love to see more of him.

Blood and Bullets trailer script ~ This isn’t something I enjoy reading. Scripts kinda bore me and while I don’t watch book trailers other people do, so this would probably be a good book trailer.

Father Mulcahy and Kat interview ~ Some blogs like to interview book characters and this is one of those types of interviews. I don’t do these and I don’t read them either though I know plenty of people who love this kind of interview.

Meta ~ The author and his character having coffee and chit chatting. It’s hard to wrap my brain around it, but it’s not bad.

Recipe for an Occult Bounty Hunter ~ Another odd creative thing that some blogs do and this wasn’t too bad.

Interview with Charlotte Vale ~ This is another blog special interview with a character.

Tiff’s First Day ~ This is a short story told from Tiff’s POV.

The Man for the Job ~ A blog question that James Tuck answers.

O.C.I.D. Interview with Charlotte Vale ~ A blog interview that has one character questioning another. Btw, I like Special Agent Heck. I hope he sticks around.

The Ravenous ~ This is a short story, kinda. It introduces a new character to the Deacon series, but it doesn’t really have a satisfactory beginning. I am looking forward to seeing more of Phoebe Fluffenstuff, Were-Pomeranian though I hope we get more of a beginning for her. I want to know how she got where she is now and how Fenrir fits into it all.

Twas the Fright Before Christmas ~ A short Christmas story that shows Deacon is always on the job, holiday or not.

Shop Til You Drop ~ Another holiday short only this one deals with Deacon. At a mall. On Black Friday. Ha!

Nature Trail to Hell ~ A decent short that puts Deacon out in the woods trying to find some missing Royal Rangers (think Boy Scouts) and their leader and figuring out what of kind of monster he’s hunting.

Blood and Magick Alternate ~ No. I prefer what ended up in the book.

Second Chapter Fresh Ink ~ Another story with the author and Deacon interacting. Not bad if weird.

First Look at Silk and Scale ~ A peek at the next book. Can’t.Wait!

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ That Way Lies Madness

Author ~ James R. Tuck

Publisher ~ James R. Tuck

Published ~ 26 August 2013

Genre ~ Horror/Sci-Fi

Pages ~ 100

My Rating ~ 3 bites and a nibble out of 5

There are two stories in this book. The first is a sci-fi space horror story and the second is a zombie short.

That Way Lies Madness

Deep space.  What is out there could be wonderful and it could be scary as hell. Me, I’m not going where there’s no ready supply of oxygen and I don’t have to rely on mechanicals to provide it. See me walking around on Earth? Breathing freely? Yeah. And look. No strange extraterrestrials either. ETs that I have no idea what their agenda is. Enough said.

He Stopped Loving Her Today

This zombie story made me sad and it also made me want to kick the guy’s ass. Why torture yourself? And why do what he finally did? I guess I don’t know enough of what his world is like after the zombie apocalypse to understand his decision. 

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Hired Gun

Series ~ Culvert City Crime Files, #1

Author ~ James R. Tuck

Publisher ~ James R. Tuck

Published ~ 26 August 2013

Genre ~ Anthology/Crime

Pages ~ 72

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

An anthology with eight stories revolving around crime in Culvert City.

Big Tony Likes a Show ~ I love the nameless hitman, hate the writing format. It seems lazy. So, there’s my two cents on that.

Respect ~ Short. Just a quick glimpse of a moment in time.

Cancerstick ~ Another nameless hitman short and what do ya know? He has a sense of humor. lol

Caught ~ Ah, how many of us have thought about this at some point in our life?

Security Check ~ Is it bad that I love the nameless hitman? Well, I don’t mean love love, but you know what I mean. I love his ingenuity and unshakeability. Good qualities for a man in his profession.

Teachable Moment ~ Extremely short and to the point. Hehe You’ll get it when you read it.

Boots On ~ Oooh…this is one that will make you all mushy. Not gross mushy considering this is an anthology about crime, but good mushy.

Treatment ~ The nameless hitman strikes again. Still loving him. I could read short stories about him all day long.