Book Reviews from the Summer Reading Hamper Sweeptakes (November 2019)

For Those Who Are New:

I won the SUMMER READING HAMPER Sweepstakes and was given a boat load of books!

Normally, I only review books that I want to shove in your face (meaning, I recommend them and want to talk about them with you), but since the goal was to get my review and buy more of the authors books, I am at least keeping to that expectation. 

It's not really an expectation, it's a hope. The authors hope I'll like the books and buy more or give them a good review. 

I will do what I can to give a review on Amazon but because of their freaky review policy I'm a bit turned off to write reviews for Amazon at this time. Though, I will try. 

I'm posting reviews here on my blog but I plan on only reviewing the "shove in your face" books on Goodreads. Because it's called GOODREADS not badreads. 

If you want to read my reviews of books I've already done click the button below. 

September Reviews

October reviews

You can also hit "Book Review" under Categories in the right hand bar and riffle through a boat load of books I recommend for your reading pleasure!

---

For Those Who Have Been Here Before

Scroll Down to the Next Image to See This Month's Reviews!

---

Each book & author is given a chance no matter the genre. Beware, I like many genres, but there are some I gravitate more than others. Those with a paranormal, romance, sy-fy, fantasy or contemporary flavor will attract me first.

Then there's the book cover. 

If I find the cover intriguing, I'm going to open the book. 

However, the blurb is also considered.

Slow as I read, the books I really like are ones finished in a day or two.

What I consider books I can recommend are books that interest me.

Take in mind, if I was not able to finish the book my tastes are eclectic.

​With all the different distractions of t.v., other books, games, and various activities for fun & pleasure, if a book is put down it doesn't mean the story is bad. It just means I was not interested in it and I explain why in my reviews. 

With that said, I have a few I can recommend! ​​

---

Books I Will Shove in Your Face!

(Because I love them so much and will talk about them)

A Heaven for Taosters

Nicholas C. Rossis

Blurb

Detective Mika Pensive has a new partner. He's hot. Smart. Funny. And an android.

Set in the near future, A Heaven for Toasters is more than a sci-fi crime adventure with plenty of romance and wit. It's the book that will make you look at your toaster in a whole new way.

I Will Not Apologize For Wanting My Own Sexdroid!

My Review

Robots, Androids and clones, OH MY!

Take note that the cover on my kindle is the one above.

There seems to be a newer cover on Amazon and I agree with the change. It's of a male body instead of two people kissing, (in which you can't really tell it's two people kissing on the thumbnail) it just looks like some weird effect. 

The description on Amazon is somewhat lacking, so I'll give you my own.

​Detective Mika Pensive finds herself the suspect and intended victim of an explosive hover-craft murder. While she and her new, android partner, Leo, look for clues and search a bizarre island where cloning is legal, Mika discovers how lifelike Leo can be. As the two grow close, they unravel a scheme that endangers all humanity. 

Hey, it's my first try, I know I could improve on it. But this one was a five minute effort. 

While I may want to rewrite the blurb for the author, the story was perfect! Engaging even though I was going...

Another detective story?

*Groan*

I fully enjoyed this off the cuffs adventure. 

I would have like to have other cover grace my kindle though. This cover (above) didn't make me want to pick up the book, the title did.

Awesome read! 

So let me go a little more in-depth as to why I liked this story. 

• The clues weren't overly obvious.
• The murderer was introduced and there were indications he'd gone mad, however attention was perfectly averted with the red herring. 
• Interesting topics of cloning and A.I. were introduced.
• The world building felt minimal yet complete.
• Chemistry between the characters seemed natural.
• Wording and action kept me reading instead of being an arm-chair detective. 

This could be a series.

I want it to be a series. 

Please let it be a series. 

No?

Nothing?

Dam it! I'm writing the author and demanding a 5 book contract. 

I WANT TO SEE MORE!

So, yeah, there's that book.

---

Books That I Can Recommend:

But didn't love

Silken Edge

Laci Paige

Blurb

The relationship was over long before it ended, so when her boyfriend dumps her, Kristy craves a change in life. Kristy's best friend, Sherry, is into the BDSM scene, and on a whim and a bet, Kristy finds herself in the playroom at an exclusive club.

A disguised Dom named Master Jay uses sensation play and a piece of silk to help her discover the world of kink. She finds it enjoyable and addictive, but what she doesn't know is that Master Jay is really Jake, a much younger man to whom she's strongly attracted.

For the past couple of years, Jake quietly watched Kristy in his gym. He doesn't care that she's older than him; he wants her. When the virgin BDSM sub he's hired to train ends up being Kristy, Jake almost falls apart.

During the scene they play at the club, he fantasizes about getting her into restraints in his own playroom. But Kristy is shocked when she learns that the two men she desires are one and the same. Can Kristy who's led a vanilla sex life, and Jake, who knows nothing but kink, find a future together?

My Review

I like what the author states in the description here:

For mature audiences 18+
A note from the author:
BDSM is variable; it's not black and white, it's not always deep and dark. It's whatever the participants want it to be, it's individual, and there is no "right" way to do it - as long as it's SSC (safe/sane/consensual).
I've done my research. I've been to clubs, private play parties, demonstrations, forums, workshops, conventions, and conferences on the subject of kink/BDSM.
Don't let what you think you know about the lifestyle, or what you've read in novels affect your thoughts on the subject. Be open-minded.

Though a little on the preachy side, I agree. 

I only liked this book.

Why?

Because there were no separations between scene changes. It cause me confusion. 

There were also places where the story jumped unexpectedly from a scene.

I call this the Dumas. 

Let me explain...

In the three musketeer's (the original version of the book) our hero's are fighting in England a top a roof.

*Turn the page.*

Our heroes are now running from the French army on the ground.

Just like this kitten... the reader is left hanging.

Prying invisible pages to catch up on how they got from England to France in a span of a not forthwith paragraph truly makes the reader wonder... did a page go missing? 

It makes no sense. 

Truth be told... 

Dumas forgot where the hell he was in his writing─mid paragraph.

I guess he was the type to stop, come back weeks later and just keep going without checking where he was in the story. 

"That's what editors are for!"

*snort* 

The Dumas happens when an author stops and starts and forgets what was happening in the scene and picks up where they left off, just not in the right place. 

That, my dear, is a Dumas. 

Or Dum Ass.

Hey dumass, you forgot a few scenes. 

Write them back in.

This brought me out of the book in places. Soooooo.... Laci Paige has no editor or the worst editor ever. I vote no editor. Nor does Laci re-read her own book aloud after edits.

Despite the Dumas, the story wasn't bad. I liked the characters and it veered away from expectation enough to be a pleasant surprise. The hidden identity was actually done very well and the momentum didn't flag afterwards. Our heroine wasn't stupid and had real issues. 

But the writing itself didn't capture me. 

There are too many talented authors in the BDSM genre that I'd go to first. Being Elizabeth SaFluer and Joey Hill. I think I'll stick to them because... ​

Research does not make you a great writer. Practice does. 

The practice of writing that is.

However, glutton for punishment is my kink, so I'll be giving Laci Paige another chance.

---

Books that Weren't For Me

​Please take the tile of this section seriously. These books ARE for someone else. Just not me.

Additionally, I give you the reason why they aren't for me so you can determine if you might like it.

My honest opinion will show if our reading tastes are the same, and I'll pinpoint why you should just go read the ones I'd love to talk about above. 

The way I define books that aren't for me... but could be for someone else, are:

• Books I couldn't get into and Did Not Finish (DNF)
• Books I finished to see if they could be redeemed (good start, bad finish) GSBF
• Books I finished to see if I wanted it to get better (awesome premise, poor execution) APPE
• Books I finished, barely, because of the saggy middle. (SM)

I start with the status of the book, (DNF, Read through the train wreck, stopped half-way, etc.) then I give a short reason why the status in a short sentence followed by a longer explanation. 

So, let's get started.

Dracones (Guardian)

Sheri-Lynn Marean

Status: DNF
Reason: Glossing over the real story

I feel as though I need to thoroughly explain the reason I gave a DNF for this story. 

Also, my past self is saying... I told you so to my present self. 

*Sigh*

The inside story on my own told you so is...

Last month one of the books reviewed was an APPE (Awesome Premise, Poor Execution).

DRACONES PRIMALTHORN by the same author was that book.

Upon better judgement I wanted to give the Sheri-Lynn Marean another chance because PRIMALTHORN was a freebie to get people on her list... or something like that.

Sometimes authors do better as time goes by so, hence thinking the book for purchase would be better. 

Okay.

Caught up?

Great!

The reason for the DNF is...

I got into the story. Things were doing good. I was starting to get into it. My mind WAS changing for the better in favor of the author, then WHAM!!

I'm body slammed out of deep POV and into telling, telling, telling.

No warning, no preparedness. I'm whirled into confusion within a sentence.

One sentence people! 

I was so into the book and cheering this author because the last book I read by this author was absolute dullard, dragged on and by the time it got to any action I was just too bored to really care. 

This book had a prologue that I didn't really feel all that necessary but she wrote it well. 

In the prologue we see our hero as an angel.

Then he's tossed down to Earth or Tartus or somewhere and seven years have passed. And that's all I've got on this book.

It's weird and doesn't make much sense. But I was into it. Willing to learn. Trusting the author to take me on a journey. 

What I got was a complete an utter downward spiral into a "telling".

I felt like I was reading an outline. 

Let me explain...

We got a start of a story, then another start to another story that was supposedly part of the same story and then a mess of garbage being told what was happening.

I wanted to experience the heart-wrenching growth of the characters.

I wanted to go through the kidnapping scene.

I wanted to experience the kids "evolution".

I wanted to see a relationship develop between the neighbor.

Have you ever wanted to throw a book across a room?

This was one of those times. 

But I wanted to throw the book out, not my phone. 

My conclusion is...

It felt like the author wanted to tell another story but had to "get all this other stuff out of the way". 

The real story was about the kidnapping of Zander, the children's evolution and the love story between Zander and his new neighbor.

​But that's not what we got. 

We got an outline of a story.

So no. 

DNF. 

I will not be picking up another book up by this author. She's violated my trust in story telling.  

The Raven Witch of Corfu

Effrosyni Moschoudi

Status: DNF
Reason: Author broke the promise of delivery 

What's the promise of an author's delivery?

If you read last month's review's you know what I'm talking about... for those who need a reminder...

The promise of the author's delivery means...

More of the same writing in the beginning of the book will come throughout the rest of the book. 

---

Basically, we started with a detective mystery kidnapping and got:

• A lot about Greece
• A love story
• People playing in the ocean
• People drinking coffee
• People meeting people

I was totally invested in the witch kidnapping her brother part. 

Totally with it.

Even though our heroine was the only one who saw the witch and no one believed her. 

This story was about the investigation of the child and what his sister would do to get him back. 

We did not get that story. 

When you promise me a crime fiction, and then go down a tangent on a romance story that is not directly in line with the crime fiction, I get testy. 

The expectation is... when you start with a genre, please don't switch genres between chapter 2 and 3. 

You can have the story beats of a love story within your crime novel. You just can't have both beats running over each other. 

• Where was the brother?
• How could she not investigate the moment she landed in Greece?
• If her attention was splayed between her brother and a dude, what does that say about her?

 
Once the love story began, I thought, oh, how lovely, she'll start investigating, tell this guy why she's here and together they will find her brother!

Then the story quickly dissolved into exploring Greece with no action, no steps forward, and no plot ... aaaannnddd... I'm out. 

I want the cliff notes on how she got her brother back.

But, Stephanie, you have to read the book.

Ha-ha! But that's not a touche. You know why?

BECAUSE THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO A CRIME STORY THAN TWO STEPS!

You see, my suspicion is that the witch cast a spell on her to "forget" her brother. But that's basically the author relying on tricks and underhanded sneaky plot twisting to the point that the reader feels cheated and wronged. 

There's enough adultery going around in life. I don't want my authors trying to cheat me too.

Here's the thing, predictable does not always mean boring. Readers want more of the same in a different context. They want to feel smart and they want an escape. 

Hardy-har-har, dear author, you tricked me into reading your book making me think it a crime fiction then bait switching to romance/drama. 

And I was just getting into crime fiction after A HEAVEN FOR TOASTERS.

All crime fiction authors will want to slap you.

I was not a crime reader in the first place. 

Thank you author, it will be a while now before I trust the crime genre again. ​

---

Silken Kisses

Laci Paige

Status: DNF but might continue
Reason: Formatting/Editing issues

This is book 3 of The Silken Edge series.

I've read Silken Edge, the first book and liked it. I wanted to give this one a try. 

I know, I know, I skipped book 2. Horror! 

All I know is that it's got the ex-boyfriend from the first book.

After trying to power through the editing, I found the story wasn't worth getting over any editing issues.

Or maybe the formatting turned me off to the book. 

Unfortunately, readers remember the bad and I don't know if I'll continue the series. 

​It was free, but there's a difference between reading for free and reading for money. 

A School for Dragons

Amy Wolf

Status: DNF
Reason: Dumbed down too much

This book would be awesome for a five-year-old child wanting more in the dragon sub-genre. 

As an adult I found the writing style too bland, the scenes too erratic and the story didn't feel like it was going anywhere. 

Basically, there was no real inciting incident. Or at least not one that got my engine revving. 

There were many references to other dragon movies, books and stories all within the first chapter which was both cute but also disappointing in execution. 

So while this book wasn't for me, I think it would be a beloved story to read to a kid.

I just hope it has a point.  

2 Readable, 4 Uninterested 

That concludes this month's round of books! I hope you've enjoyed my rantings and if by chance one of the authors comes along to read my review, I hope I've given insight. My passion has always been to help writers build better books. Keep writing. You're only as good as your last book. 

To all my readers...

Happy reading!