Wicked Wednesday

Wicked Wednesday

Erotica ~ Mature 18+

Curiosity Quills Tour ~ Zero Point

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

Title ~ Zero Point

Series ~ The Unraveling Trilogy, #1

Author ~ Nafeez Ahmed

Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills

Published ~ 14 August 2014

Genre ~ Sci-Fi | Thriller

Pages ~ 348

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo

CCB Audio Tour ~ Blown Circuit

Welcome to my stop on the Blown Circuit Audiobook Tour!

Tour schedule

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

Title ~ Blown Circuit

Series ~ Michael Chase, #2

Author ~ Lars Guignard

Narrator ~ Russell Jonas

Publisher ~ Fantastic Press

Published ~ 11 December 2013

Genre ~ Thriller

Length ~ 7 hrs 40 mins

Audible | Amazon | iTunes

My Rating ~ 3 bites and a nibble out of 5

Narration ~ 4 bites out of 5

Michael Chase is a reluctant spy for the CIA. All he wants is to find his dad, but trying to locate him in China turned into a whole other mission that he barely survived. Now, credible intel puts his dad in Turkey, so Michael heads there with hopes of finally finding him. Instead, he comes up empty except for a few obscure clues and yet another mission to save the world from bad things. Will he survive this time, too? And will he finally find his father?

This is an exciting scavenger hunt and a race to find the pieces to the Tesla device  before the bad guys do. The race is heart pounding, the clues mysterious and Michael has no idea who to trust. It’s an enjoyable thrilling ride. However…Michael is just too knowledgeable about everything. He knows every kind of weapon, boat, ship, vehicle, helicopter and just about every fact from ancient history to the present in every subject under the sun. Ok, maybe he doesn’t know everything, but it sure seems that way. It gets to be tedious listening when everything is explained in painstaking detail and it slows the pace of the story down. Also, for a rookie agent he has an incredible amount of good luck. Now, some people are just that way, lucky in most things they do. But I find it hard to believe that the bad guys are such terrible shots. Did they learn from the A-Team or the Storm Trooper School of Firearms? Just sayin’. All-in-all though this thriller has a decent plot and several twists to keep the reader guessing.

The narration for this story is pretty good except for a tendency of the narrator to sometimes drag out the end of a sentence. It sounded weird. Other than that I give the narration a thumbs up.

About the Author

 Lars Guignard is a former film and television writer and a graduate of both McGill University and the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. His debut thriller novel, Lethal Circuit, has been an amazon top 100 Technothriller since its release.

Guignard has wanted to write Indian stories for kids ever since he attended a boarding school in the majestic Himalayas. The time he spent in the “school above the clouds” affected him profoundly, and once he returned home to North America he was struck by the lack of children’s stories from India available in our culture. Since India is such an incredible country, he decided to write a series of action adventure books for young adults about India to introduce young readers to this magical, mystical land. So if you’re looking for a great book adventure for kids, try Ghost Leopard today!

Website | Twitter | Facebook

About the Narrator

Russell Jonas is thrilled to make his audiobook narrator debut with “Blown Circuit.”  Russell has worked in commercial voice over and television since 1999 and has appeared in forty stage plays in New York City and in 46 states, including the Tony Award-winning Shakespeare Theatre Company. Russell teaches The Art of Acting at Southern Methodist University.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Tour sponsored by CBB Book Promotions

Tour ~ Retribution

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

Title ~ Retribution

Series ~ The Artemis series, #1

Author ~ Virginia Brasch

Publisher ~ Entranced Publishing

Published ~ 3 March 2014

Genre ~ Romance/Suspense

Pages ~ 237

Amazon

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Bailey Russell is an operative for the Artemis Agency. A privately funded group who makes sure justice is handed out to those who would slip away and hide to avoid their punishment. Bailey’s partner was killed right in front of her by an arms dealer named Amir Fahad then she was sent back with the message: No one touches Amir Fahad. Unfortunately for Fahad, Bailey isn’t about to let that message stop her from dispensing retribution. One way or another, only one of them would be walking away.

Ben Ambrose is an undercover MI6 agent and has been with Fahad’s organization for three months. Until the day he blows his cover for Bailey and her team who have been targeted by Fahad through leaked information from inside the Artemis Agency. Forced to trust each other they go on the run toward Fahad’s stronghold. Would either of them survive this totally screwed up mission?

The plot is fast-paced and the writing is great. The characters are well-developed and I couldn’t help but cheer them on to victory though at times it didn’t seem they were ever going to make their target. The relationship that develops between Bailey and Ben seems a bit forced, but overall it’s a good one. My only other complaint is that the insider leak was never revealed. Unless I completely missed it, but I read the ending twice just to see if I had. I have my suspicions, but if I’m right then I will be completely disappointed in the dumbassedness of it. So I prefer to sit in ignorance. I like it better that way.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 Days of a Kensington Christmas ~ Heatseeker

Title ~ Heatseeker

Series ~ Goddard Project, #6

Author ~ Lucy Monroe

Publisher ~ Kensington

Published ~ 29 January 2013

Genre ~ Paranormal/Romance

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Kensington for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating ~ 3 bites and a nibble out of 5

Rachel Gannon is a former DEA agent now working for the Goddard Project. While undercover in Egypt she is captured and tortured. Before she breaks though she is rescued by a team sent by Atrati, a covert ops group that is used by governments to do what can’t be done through standard channels. The leader of the group turns out to be Rachel’s first and only love, Kaden Marks. Now, Rachel not only has to deal with the aftermath of her torture, try to finish her mission and protect her unknowing informant, she has to deal with her past and the man who betrayed her.

I’ve enjoyed the Goddard Project books and this was no exception. Though it lags a bit in the middle it’s still a pretty decent spy story. Rachel is a tough one and I can see why she has lived her life the way she has. Kaden is an idiot though. I didn’t have much respect for him or how he treated Rachel. Granted they were young, but still…

Anyway, this type of storyline isn’t my favorite. I’m not a fan of the H/h who have had a prior relationship. And not only are Rachel and Kaden former loves, but a side story has two team members in a prior relationship (just a warning, this relationship is M/M). So I was double whammied in this book. Also, I’m not sure if it was because of this idiosyncrasy of mine or not, but I couldn’t really connect with the characters. The plot is decent, the dialogue is good and the characters are fine, so maybe it was just me. If you’ve read the other Goddard books and enjoyed them then you probably won’t have a problem with this one.