Movin' on up!

We apologize for the lack of responses to emails,as well as reviews. We have been in the process of moving into a new house and everything has been beyond chaotic! On top of that I got a job promo that I am adjusting to.

If there is anyone who would like to be a reviewer here on the site, we'd love that more than ever! We have a huge buildup of books to review since I have been in hiatus.

Thanks again!

Three Chapters of A Bridge of Treachery

Author: Larry Crane  
Title: A Bridge to Treachery 
Genre: Action & Adventure   
Buy it at:Amazon  
Three chapter rating: 2 / 5


Blurb: "Former Colonel Lou Christopher is an ex-Army Ranger retired from the military and contentedly working as a New York investment broker. After being assigned a number of lucrative accounts and becoming accustomed to living the good life, he discovers there is a pay back. His former military skills are requested under a threat of losing everything he has.
Handed a group of misfits to assemble into a military strike team, he is coerced into leading the team on a mission of domestic terrorism. At the center of a bridge outside of Manhattan, his strike team is caught in the act and unexpectedly becomes engaged in a deadly firefight. It’s then that he learns the mission was a political maneuver from the highest levels of the U.S. Government—and ultimately realizes he has been betrayed by his superiors. Learning his team was considered nothing more than collateral damage and intended to be killed and left as a scapegoats, he uses his unique military expertise and engages in a fight for his life.
As the strike team is decimated, he and a female teammate elude the opposition forces to survive and escape, turning the tables on his superiors. Using his distinctive set of military skills, he now becomes the hunter and vows to extract his revenge and bring them all down." 

Review:

Oh, I hate when I have to give these reviews. I really pushed to finish this because there’s always a chance it can surprise you, but it didn’t. This book starts out with a couple kindle pages worth of dialogue with no tags.

A little confusing, I will buy that, but then we come to work? Work, yep. This book in the three chapters mostly focuses on a man and his wife, how they love and got together, and how they had affairs on each other and still stayed together… Most of this during an auction. An auction, waiting for a butter mold to show up.

I did finish all three chapters, and action started to appear towards the end of chapter, but it was just too little and too late. Maybe another chapter or so, but if I am not hooked by a chapter three, then it’s really not for me. I would have to say I wouldn't continue with the book.

I also have several formatting errors in this copy, but as this was not bought directly from any place, I can’t say whether these formatting errors exist only in conversion or not. Sample yourself to be sure. 

Reviewed by: Melanie. 

Three Chapters of Assula

Author: John Miles.  
Title: Assula 
Genre: Fantasy, vampire.   
Buy it at:Amazon  
Three chapter rating: 1 / 5


Blurb: "The book is the story of a young vampire in the 1870’s who---according to the premise of the story unjustly becomes a vampire, to wit, only those who have embraced evil in their lives become vampires upon being bitten by a vampire, the rest just die.
As the result of his vampirism he becomes the subject of a series of misadventures and ultimately becomes a fugitive from justice.
Although the story is meant to be entertaining there are a few serious themes, such as the difficulty of being different especially in a manner that is not easily explained, as well as the rather capricious manner in which capital punishment has been used historically." 

Review:
To put this simply, I could not make it beyond the very first chapter. There are countless grammatical errors - so many sentences were missing punctuation! The book was intended to be humorous, and I had hoped that I would find it at least mildly amusing, but unfortunately I discovered it to be bland, awkward, gross and unbearable to read. 


I suggest the author get an editor or fix the errors himself, shorten the length of the chapters, and fix his story around a little - then, maybe, it would be more appealing.  

Reviewed by: Arynn. 

Three Chapters of Pearl Lover

Author: Kea Noli
Title: Pearl Lover
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Buy it at: Amazon

Three chapter rating: 4/5


Blurb:"Is it moral to love two men?
French heiress coming-of-age
Although Nixie Veidt loves a Russian danseur, she marries a bureaucrat to save her inheritance from a domineering mother. If she is unfaithful, her mother, a wealthy socialite, will become guardian. When Nixie hires the danseur for her ballet company, her mother hires a private detective and spies on her daughter. 
A debutante’s conflicting love for two men
The struggling rebirth of Ballets Russes, a ballet company"

Review: The first chapter started out with gold, a dead man and wandering around rooms. Rooms of flowers, smells, and whatnot. Overall not the best to me, but I pressed on to a dying man. Strange way for a romantic story to begin, but as it got going, it got better. Not romantic at all, but thriller and suspense. My mind switched to a different frame.

After talking with her dying father, Nixie Veidt (Main MC) is told to take everything from a safe. She bolts, but not before meeting her mother. Definitely some tension, and her mother isn’t the most likeable character. (Buys flowers for her husband, but would never step in a room with her dying husband.)
Nixie follows her father’s advice and heads to who she thinks is Conrad. Apparently, something else has been happening to Conrad and there is someone else there posing for  a sting operation. Obviously, if it hasn’t struck you yet, the book has me hooked.

I am not even interested in any romance now, I am just on the journey between what is going on here. Nixie is in deep trouble, but the man who is in the sting operation doesn’t want her involved since she doesn’t know anything. Just an innocent, dropped into a tense situation.
By chapter three, her father has gone and someone is trying to desperately reach Nixie. This chapter is mostly about trying to reach her, and at the end she is left with papers that she isn’t thinking highly of because she thinks it’s funeral related.

I am definitely hooked and I want to read more. I did want to know about the danseur she was interested in, but the reader never even receives a name. Looking back at the summary, I can’t help but wonder who Nixie is supposed to marry. Is it the man she communicated with? Is it someone else? The only clue we receive from the summary is 'bureaucrat'.

I don’t even know who the couple are, but the suspense is great and the story rolls on, so I will be continuing. I am a little sad that by the end of chapter three, I still don’t even know who she is going to be stuck marrying, and I hope it is soon.

Overall, four stars. It was enough to get me to want to read on, but the beginning wasn’t engaging enough for me and if I had simply stumbled upon it, I would have put it down quicker if I wasn't committed to reading three chapters.


Reviewed by: Melanie

Three Chapters of The Mine

Author: John Heldt. 
Title: The Mine.
Genre: Romance - Time Travel, Historical Fiction  
Buy it at:Amazon & Barnes & Noble 
Three chapter rating: 5 / 5


Blurb: "In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can't use, money he can't spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come." 
Review: 
I found this book intriguing right from the very beginning just off reading the brief synopsis. It made me very curious to know about this mystical mine and how it works, but sadly, the first three chapters don't quite make it there...which is why I am guaranteed to read beyond those chapters to find out more! 
The story begins in a restaurant with a conversation between two friends, and I was surprised that this was not a boring start to the novel. Portions of the dialect made me chuckle, and I was fond of the music choice of R.E.M. in chapter two - but that has nothing to do with my interest in the story, I promise. Then, the two main characters discover an abandoned mine while on their journey back home - Joel cannot keep his curiosity from getting the best of him and decides to venture into said mine - sadly, that's about where chapter three ends. I cannot wait to delve deeper into this story, and deeper into the mines, and discover where this story takes Joel and Adam.
I can hardly fathom how one would feel if they discovered a way to travel to the past and meet younger versions of their relatives, and have to choose between the new life they have built or returning to their life in the 'present' - but hopefully this story will give me some insight on what that will be look. The Mine is on its way to my Kindle Fire right now for some further reading and I highly recommend that you pick up a copy yourself! 
Reviewed by: Arynn. 

Three Chapters of Saffron September: A Muslim Woman's Story

Author: Aliya Anjum
Title: SAFFRON SEPTEMBER: A Muslim Woman's Story
Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction / Religious Fiction
Buy it at: Amazon
Three chapter rating: 3 / 5


Blurb: "Zara grows up privileged, in Pakistan. By the time she reaches her late twenties, she is single and no longer welcome in her home; death, illness and an arranged marriage has broken family bonds. She leaves Karachi, Pakistan to seek a new life in America. What begins as a quest for a new life, turns into a journey of faith.Zara wants what every woman wants: a husband, a family and a home. Breaking free from the traditions of her culture where marriages are arranged, Zara overcomes the constraints of her upbringing and sets out to find that special someone. Her quest is a long, hard road, beset with heartbreak and sorrow, where faith becomes her savior. One chance encounter with Ali, connects her to a kindred spirit; a man who seems like the answers to her every prayer. 

This is the story of Zara and Ali, and their struggle to find eternal bliss in the land of opportunity."

Review: When I first began reading Saffron September, I thought it was off to a dull, slow start. The first two chapters introduced the two main protagonists and how they meet, which to me was a rather unappealing way to begin a novel. The writing itself isn't bad at all, and it flows nicely - but had I been writing the book, I would have gone a bit differently.

Upon reaching the third chapter, I finally became interested. During this chapter, you learn about Zara's past, her former relationships, and hardships she has experienced. You learn about her family, where she derives from and you understand what she has been through before Ali comes into her life. This should have been where the book began - it should have revolved around Zara's experiences that lead up to her meeting with Ali. 

If you can make it through the semi-dreary first two chapters and get to the good stuff, then this book is worth taking a look at. It's not a genre I would typically read, but despite that, I did find myself growing intrigued to know more about Zara's past - even more than I cared about learning about her and Ali, but perhaps if I read a bit further, I would have come to the conclusion that it grows more interesting beyond chapter three. 

Overall, I would probably give it a chance and continue reading past chapter three to see how it develops, but had I picked it up in a book store and merely glanced at the first few pages - I would have quickly set it back down and carried on to the next novel. 

Reviewed by: Arynn.

Three Chapters of Wool

Author: Hugh Howey
Title: Wool
Genre: Science Fiction / Post Apocalyptic
Buy it at: Amazon
Omnibus addition at: Amazon

Three chapter rating: 4/5


Blurb: "Thousands of them have lived underground. They've lived there so long, there are only legends about people living anywhere else. Such a life requires rules. Strict rules. There are things that must not be discussed. Like going outside. Never mention you might like going outside.
Or you'll get what you wish for."

Review: I have heard a lot of buzz about this book, or novella I should say. From what I understand this first one was meant to stand alone, but the hunger of fans for more has led the author to put out five more now, and I think he has planned up to at least nine.

At the beginning of the book, the first few pages or so, I admit I was a little confused and bored. Don't get me wrong, the writing was superb, but really.. how much do I need to know about the condition of this staircase? Look, I get it, lots of people have went up and down over the many years of the Silo. This traffic has worn it down. I know it is only a few paragraphs, but it being the very start of the book it sort of seemed drawn out. maybe that is just due to the context that I only have three chapters to read, but I digress.

The book does pickup fast from there. Not that there is any action per say, but the author starts to really grab your curiosity. He subtly lets you know that this is a post apocalyptic world where human kind has been reduced to living in a bunker, whose upper level overlooks a ruined distant city through some polluted glass view points.

We then learn that our main character (whose name for some reason I read at first as Houston, not sure why..) is the sheriff of our little underground paradise. His wife was put to death, in a way, three years ago. Since I only read the first three chapters so far I am not entirely sure why, but the author does a great job of letting you speculate. Hugh paints a muddy picture with just enough clear slots to start piecing together some stuff. See, there are these sensors in the distant, outside the Silo. These as well as the immediate windows that the sunlight comes through, need cleaned and repaired every few years. The catch is that someone has to go outside to do it, and if they go outside they die. They can't come back. It seems that criminals are sent to do this. Our protagonist's wife was sent out to do this three years ago, and he was the sheriff that oversaw her cell before she left.

So the verdict? I would definitely keep reading this. It isn't quite 5 stars in that I'm not rushing to finish this review so that I can immediately go read the entire rest of the book, but it is still a great read. The first three chapters are definitely enough to get you into the world and wanting to figure out just why Houston's (hehe) wife was sent out. What are these revolts? What caused this bleak existence for mankind? And just what sort of cheesecake do they make out of pig's milk down there?

I will definitely be reading the rest of the book sometime soon!

Reviewed by: Adam~