The Write Reads Blog Tour Spotlight ~ Silverbirds by Rocky Magaña

In a land ravaged by war and haunted by fire-breathing silverbirds, Kosha is the last thread in a bloodline unraveled by violence. His father was a man who believed in wisdom over weapons, his mother a woman who fought for a future that would never come, and his brother a boy who disappeared into the mountains, chasing a cause that would devour him whole. Now, Kosha walks alone, armed with nothing but a bow and the impossible weight of revenge pressing against his ribs.

As Kosha crosses the wasteland toward the land of the silverbirds, he carries more than his grief—he carries the ghosts of his father's wisdom, his mother's defiance, and his brother's sins. He carries the weight of every choice that led him to this moment. And with each step, he must Is he the last survivor of his family's story, or its final casualty?

A harrowing, lyrical journey through war, loss, and the brutal choices that shape a legacy, this novel asks what it means to inherit a fight—and whether a boy with nothing left to lose can change the course of his own history.

Saturday Spotlight ~ TWR Blog Tour: Guns & Almond Milk

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Guns & Almond Milk

Meet Luke Archer, a British Egyptian doctor who struggles to be from two worlds at the same time. He's working in one of the world's most dangerous hospitals in Yemen. When rebel forces take over the city, a group of Western mercenaries take refuge inside the hospital and Luke and his team find themselves in the middle of a deadly clash. To make matters worse, leading the mercenaries is an unwelcome figure from Luke's past. After years saving the lives of others, Luke needs to face the demons of his past in order to save his own.

Set in the UK and Yemen, Guns & Almond Milk is a literary thriller that deals with identity, diversity and old coins of arguable value. It's The Sympathizer mixed with M.A.S.H by the way of Ramy.

The Angel of Evil

Amazon | Audible 

VABT Tour ~ John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars

Amazon | B&N | Kobo

*Book source ~ Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author.

Title ~ John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars

Author ~ Roland Hughes

Publisher ~ Logikal Solutions

Published ~ 30 May 2013

Genre ~ Post-Apocalyptic

Pages ~ 274

My Rating ~ 3 bites out of 5

Susan Krowley is a reporter in the town of Fieldspring (population approx. 5,500) and she goes out in search of a story. Two days on horseback bring her to 79-yr-old John Smith, the last known survivor of the Microsoft Wars. She asks him what seems a fairly straight forward question: “Can you tell us why they were called the Microsoft Wars and were there really more than one?” John’s answer? “You don’t have any frame of reference to ask that question.” And thus begins a long and detailed explanation going back to 20,200 B.C.

Written in interview form between Susan and John there is no simple explanation John can give to Susan since she has no frame of reference. After the polar shift and subsequent apocalypse where the majority of the population and human knowledge was lost, Susan’s question, while seemingly simple, is actually extremely complex. At first, I had no idea what the Ice Age in 20,200 B.C. had to do with a modern war, but it slowly came together with John’s explanations. The information is diverse and interesting and the journey to the answer kept the plot flowing inexorably to the end. Oh, and the very end? It came as a surprise, but really it shouldn't have. Overall, a fascinating read.

VABT

Time Turner Tuesday ~ Wielding a Red Sword

*Book source ~ My home library

Title ~ Wielding A Red Sword

Series ~ Incarnations of Immortality, #4

Author ~ Piers Anthony

Publisher ~ Del Rey

Published ~ 12 September 1986

Genre ~ Fantasy

Pages ~ 249

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Mym is a Prince who stutters. Since he has an older brother who will inherit the throne he finally runs away to join a traveling circus. He starts out doing menial labor, but soon works up to being one of the main attractions as Mym the Mime. He and Orb Kaftan, the musician main attraction, fall in love, but just as they are happily making plans for their life the royal guards show up. They inform Mym his brother is dead and he is to inherit the throne. He promises Orb he will get things settled with his father and come back for her. But the Rajah has other plans for his son. Mym is stuck between his duty to his country and his love for Orb. What will he do?

Oh, boy. How utterly frustrating for Mym. First he deals with a severe stutter all his life and then he’s denied the woman he loves and a life he’s happy living. He’s forced into a marriage agreement he doesn’t want and then when the political winds change he’s forced on yet another woman. When the Red Sword comes to him giving him the option to become Mars, well, who can blame him for taking it? I wouldn’t. His dad should have just let him marry Orb. But in taking the sword his trials haven’t ended. Not by a long shot. Now, he has to stay a step ahead of Satan and as the newbie Incarnation he’s at a disadvantage as Satan is going to do what he can to get around Mym and fulfill his evil plans. Will Mym have what it takes to defeat the Father of Lies? All I’ll say is it’s an excellent journey and the final act is sheer brilliance.

Two for Tuesday

Author Connie L. Smith

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads 

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

Title ~ Essenced

Series ~ The Division Chronicles, #1

Author ~ Connie L. Smith

Publisher ~ Connie L. Smith

Published ~ 29 July 2013

Genre ~ YA/Paranormal

Pages ~ 349

Amazon

FREE Feb. 24th-28th

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

AJ is a typical 16-yr-old teenager stumbling through high school as best she can when one morning she reaches her hand out to slap off the alarm and smashes it and her night stand to rubble. Confused, she blames it on shoddy workmanship and adrenaline. But strange things keep happening and it’s getting harder to delude herself. When a hot mysterious stranger shows up and starts stalking her, trying to explain why she’s not the same anymore, she tells him to bug off. One night she can’t sleep and walks to the beach to clear her head. After he shows up yet again, she decides to listen to what he has to say then wishes she hadn’t. A war is brewing and she is needed to help fight it. At first she resists, but finally she agrees to join the army. Let the training begin.

I love fantasy/paranormal stories and don’t mind the same type of story told in hundreds of different ways, but this story takes an interesting new direction in telling about the fantasy/ paranormal world.  The writing is excellent and the characters are varied and interesting. Told in multiple POVs it really helps bring the world together. I had a love/hate relationship with AJ though. I loved her loyalty, her fierceness and her determination to protect, but her constant arguing got on my nerves. I honestly couldn’t see why Julius liked her so much. On the other hand, their constant bickering was, for the most part, entertaining and I made allowances for the fact that she’s a teenager even though he is not. And no, I’m not saying what he is.

The whole back story was fascinating. How magic used to be a part of the world, why it left and why it’s sort of back. My biggest problem with the story was how Nicholai picked teenagers for his soldiers. Unpredictable, inexperienced teenagers. His reasoning was sort of understandable, but not really. He didn’t want to include people who might have already started families and end up with them down one parent if they were killed in the war. Um, isn't that what our military faces every single day? With the entire world at stake and the imminent extinction of humanity fast approaching I would have chosen the best of the best for my army. Marines, Rangers, SEALs, etc., those who already have training and fighting experience. But I can see that might not be as good a story since the teenagers had to be whipped (not literally!) into shape. So I suspended my belief of what I would do and just went with the story. Trust me, it’s a great ride!

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

Title ~ Emblazed

Series ~ The Division Chronicles, #2

Author ~ Connie L. Smith

Publisher ~ Connie L. Smith

Published ~ 24 February 2014

Genre ~ YA/Paranormal

Pages ~ 320

Amazon

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

It’s Go Time! The war for all humanity has begun and Nicholai’s army of teenage Essenced is as ready as they’ll ever be to fight the demons coming through the Division. The ultimate question of whether they have a hope in Hades of saving the world is about to be answered.

The first battle is upon them and Smith did a great job with the fighting scenes. They weren’t overly long and they weren’t too skimpy. Plus the multiple POVs gave me a good idea of what was going on all over the battlefield. The aftermath of the battle is definitely a focal point of the book. How they handled the fighting, the grief at the losses, the tracking of the escaped demons and various other missions as well as facing the hard truth about what it means to be fighting a war. They know this is only the first battle and there are more to come. Will the reality of it all break them? Or make them more determined than ever?

This book begins with a battle and ends with a battle, but the ending is also a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers are not something I like. Yes, the first book ended just as the battle was about to begin, so that wasn’t truly a cliffhanger, in my opinion. However, what happened at the end of this book leaves me hanging, so I took some points off for that. AJ & Julius are settling down and except for one massive dumbass selfish move on their part, I’m actually liking them better now. I loved learning more about the various characters and the plot is all coming together. I’m really looking forward to the next book.


There is also a prequel to The Division Chronicles which I haven't read yet, but hope to soon.

Title ~ In Your Wings

Series ~ The Division Chronicles, #0.5

Genre ~ Paranormal/Romance

Pages ~ 118

Walking on Wednesday w/Audios ~ World War Z

Title ~ World War Z: Movie Tie-In

Author ~ Max Brooks

Narrator ~ various

Publisher ~ Books On Tape

Published ~ 14 May 2013

Genre ~ Paranormal/Post-Apocalyptic

*Book source ~ Local library

Rating ~ 2 bites out of 5

Narration ~ 5 bites out of 5

An interviewer documents the many stories of what people were doing when the Zombie War broke out.

Guest reviewers:

A ~ my 16-year-old daughter

T ~ my 14-year-old son

K ~ my 13-year-old son

T said it was stupendously boring and the movie was more exciting. A said she liked some of the interviews, but for the most part it was boring. She never watched the movie so has no opinion on it other than she heard it was stupid. K said it wasn’t too awful and was actually interesting in parts. K did watch the movie and thought both the book and the movie were ok. So, for the most part the consensus is that the book was boring. However, everyone did enjoy the fact that there were a multitude of different voices for the various interviews giving the book a rich in-depth listening experience.

I also agree it was boring. Some parts were ok, even a bit interesting and the narration was top notch, but not enough to elevate it to more than 'Meh'.

So, obviously not a book we will listen to again. Ah, well. Can’t like them all.