BOOK REVIEW: BORN OF ICE by SHERRILYN KENYON - THE LEAGUE # 3 - PIATKUS - PARANORMAL ROMANCE - SCI-FI

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Published By: Piatkus

Released: Available Now

Details: Paperback from library, 352 Pages

RATING: 3.75 STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

In the Ichidian Universe where The League is law, most live in fear. We fight back. Welcome to a world where corrupt assassination politics dominate everyone. It’s kill or be killed. Welcome back to the future…and meet hell's new breed of heroes.

Devyn Kell spent his life in service to the League until he learned of the double dealing and backstabbing that was costing innocent people their lives. Refusing to play those politics, he became a Runner; someone who makes sure planets get the weapons, medicine and supplies they need to survive. May the gods have mercy on any who get in his way, because he definitely won’t.

Alix Garran is a woman on the run from a past she can’t escape. Signing on to work for Devyn as a System’s Engineer, she finds a cause she can fight for—and a man she can respect. But as Alix’s past catches up to her, and Devyn’s old enemies turn lethal, they have to fight together…or fall alone, in Born of Ice, the third bestselling League novel from Sherrilyn Kenyon.

BOOK REVIEW:

Okay, here’s the deal: I do LOVE Sherrilyn Kenyon’s writing and I am making my way through both The League and Dark Hunter series. I am coming in very, very late to both series and I love all the five and four star reviews. Bravo!

I just referred to my reviews of the first two books in this series and I gave them 4 and 4.5 stars. I enjoyed them very much.

This book took me by surprise…fast forward at a guess thirty plus years and we have Devyn, son of Syn and Shahara, which is great , but being the third book in the series, it was a leap into hyperspace. Bahahaha. It felt kinda weird going there after only two books in the series prior, but it was okay. I got used to it and I forgot about Syn being an older man.

I had a little trouble with connecting with Devyn and Alix as a couple. I was trying to deal with it as I read, but there wasn’t that reader/character connection for me personally.

You win some; you lose some.

Born of Ice got my eyes a little twitchy, especially when pages 173, 175, 177 and 181, Claria does a switcheroo and becomes Claire on several occasions. I read from the Piatkus published copy. These are the ones I could quickly find.

At first I thought, eh, they are being silly with her name, but then the more I read, my eyes started twitching.



“Thanks, Claire.”



“I’m not your bitch, Claire.



Devyn took a step forward. “Claire—”



Devyn motioned for Zarina to follow him so that he could give Sway and Claire privacy.



I still enjoyed it enough to give it 3.75 stars. Not as good as the first two, but still I read cover to cover and glad I did read it.

I just found this on Google, it explains the time jumping. https://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/book/league-reading-list/ 

Original Publication Date: January 01, 1990

This is the correct reading order for The League® series that Sherrilyn means for the series to be read in. For those who are wondering why the series jumps ahead in time from League®: Nemesis Rising® to League®: Nemesis Legacy®, the reason is simple. Back in 1991 when Sherrilyn first sold Born of Night, her original publisher tied up the Nemesis Rising books with the option clause of her contract for many, many years. Since the books were so original and unlike anything currently published back then, they were delaying the publication dates and refusing to release the books back to her (again, the book sold in ’91 and wasn’t released for publication until ’96). Unable to touch the series since the main characters were under contract, Sherrilyn went on and began the second set of League characters under the Nemesis Legacy® banner and started writing about the children of the first set.

She quickly sold those books to two more publishers. But because they were tied to the first, she was advised to change their names and break them away from the original books so that no one would know the Legacy books were tied in any way to the Nemesis Rising books. As a result, Paradise City (League: Nemesis Legacy) was released in 1993 by Dorchester and Fire & Ice (League: Nemesis Legacy) was released in 1995 by Time-Warner. After their stellar success, Born of the Night (League: Nemesis Rising) was then finally by its original publisher in 1996 who saw that there was indeed a market for Sherri’s work. Sherri was then able to get the rest of the Nemesis Rising books away from that publisher and Born of Fire (League: Nemesis Rising) became the first ebook in history by a bestselling New York published book author when it was released in the summer of 1996. Then, in 1999 Born of Night (League: Nemesis Rising) and Fire & Ice (League: Nemesis Legacy) were both rereleased by Time-Warner where it immediately skyrocketed to #1 and stayed there for months. However, their program was summarily cancelled the next year and all their editors let go. Sherri was again cast adrift with the series and her e-rights, as well as the print rights were again tied-up.

In 2004, Fire & Ice (League: Nemesis Legacy) was then bought by Penguin Group, USA where it immediately it more bestseller lists and was again republished in 2010 as part of an all Kenyon anthology collection entitled In Other Worlds.

Due to contract restrictions on the original Born of Night, Sherrilyn had to wait for all her rights to be returned to her before she could continue writing the League®: Nemesis Rising novels®. But in 2009, once her rights were again her own and she had all of the original books back, except Fire & Ice, Sherrilyn returned the titles and the character names to their original ones and was able to republish the first three published League books as a cohesive unified series and the first three Nemesis Rising and Nemesis Legacy books (which at that time were selling on eBay for thousands of dollars a copy) were brought out back to back. Born of Night (League: Nemesis Rising), Born of Fire (League: Nemesis Rising), Born of Ice (League: Nemesis Legacy).

From that point on, Sherri has continued the series as she wanted to originally in the ’80’s, starting with the League: Nemesis Rising characters and then moving to the League: Nemesis Legacy once she finished the Nemesis Rising arc that takes place during the League-Sentella war.

NemesisLegacy books begin approximately 30-35 years after the war ends.

As to why all the books aren’t listed in the front of other League books is simple. The series has never been published by a single publisher. And sadly, publishers only list the books that they publish in their own company. Therefore, the only place the get the full list of all the League books is here on Sherri’s site.

If you want to read the books chronologically, you can choose that option on the menu bar above, but please note that Sherri didn’t write them that way. She wrote them out of sequence and that is how they’re meant to be read. So it’s safe to read them in the order she wrote them in, as she was very careful in how she gives out character details. So while the books might go back in time, there is a carefully thought out reason for this. She doesn’t do that arbitrarily.

Nemesis Rising Books setting: Before & during League-Sentella War i.e. Nykyrian/Nemesis rising to become emperor of the Andarion and Triosan empires

Nemesis Legacy Books setting: 30-35 years after the League-Sentella War ends. The are about the reign of Nykyrian/Nemesis as emperor.

BOOK REVIEW - NAKED IN DEATH by J.D. ROBB - IN DEATH # 1 - CRIME ROMANCE - PIATKUS

By: J.D. Robb
Published By: Piatkus
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 375 Pages

RATING: 5 ROARKE STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Named by the social worker who rescued her as a child, Eve Dallas is now a New York City cop who lives for the job.

While recovering from her latest case, Eve is sent to investigate the brutal execution of Sharon DeGlass. A high-class escort and senator's granddaughter, Sharon has been shot three times with an illegal gun and left naked and posed on her own bed.

All the evidence points Eve towards Irish billionaire, Roarke. With an instant sexual attraction between them, Eve and Roarke must work together to find a sadistic killer - but can Eve really trust a man whose past is as damaged as her own?

BOOK REVIEW:

I stumbled across this series—seriously I had no clue it was out there—when I was checking out series' similar to Stephanie Plum on google.

The Eve Dallas series, In Death, popped up so I took a squiz at it.

Sure I am starting from book #1 and book # 46 is soon to be released.

GAHHHH!!

Like Steph Plum series by Janet Evanovich, this series first started back in mid ‘90s.

I didn’t realize when I began reading that this series starts in 2058—well, okay. 

When I thought I was gonna get a whole pile of futuristic gadgets and jargon—there wasn’t a great deal. I liked what I read and it really didn’t date that much to the present. In a way it kinda swallowed some of the ‘futuristic’ up by starting this series in 2017... but that is okay. Only some of it, there was still that Sci-fi side of going ‘off-planet’.

There's a nice dose of violence and gore to set the mood for the series and a smart Lieutenant.

I like Eve Dallas.


He’d seen a tall, willowy brunette with short, tumbled hair, eyes the color of honeycombs and a mouth made for sex.


I love Roarke. I want his house.


His image stared back at her from the screen. He was almost ridiculously handsome: the narrow, aesthetic face; the slash of cheekbones; and sculpted mouth. Yes, his hair was black, but the computer didn’t say it was thick and full and swept back from a strong forehead to fall inches above broad shoulders. His eyes were blue, but the word was much too simple for the intensity of color or the power in them.

Maybe J.D aka Nora Roberts didn’t see 46 books and counting in the works when she wrote this one, but I thought the insta-love on Roarke’s part was a bit fast. In hindsight that could have been spread out a bit.


“And by the way, I don’t think I’m in love with you anymore. I know I am.”

(I did hear the record player screech to a halt there. LOL)

I am reading this series from the library because it is gonna cost a lot to purchase the Kindle or paperbacks. The Kindle books are priced between $9.00US and $13.00US and sometimes more than the paperback.

That’s what libraries are for.

I have finished Glory In Death # 2 and there is a definite formula I can see this early into the series forming, just like Stephanie Plum. I am at book 13 in that series.

I would not say the two series are similar—contrary to google telling me—but I am enjoying both. Eve Dallas is certainly a lot smarter than Stephanie Plum. Bahaha.

Stephanie Plum has more the silly, outrageous repetitive shenanigans going on where Eve Dallas is more serious.

There’s a lot to be said for the wide audience gained for both series over all these years and still counting.

Get your library card ready—ya know, if you don’t have deep pockets.

BOOK REVIEW - TEN THOUSAND SKIES ABOVE YOU by CLAUDIA GRAY - FIREBIRD # 2 - HARPER TEEN - YA SCI-FI ROMANCE

By: Claudia Gray
Published By: Harper Teen
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 426 Pages

RATING: 4.5 PAULS, THEOS & CONLEYS

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.


BOOK REVIEW:

Well, I will say, I LURVED this installment and I totally understood all the Pauls and Theos so much clearer.

I really do love what Claudia did with this book. She really shows the reader in a clever way her vision with the parallel dimensions, being the multiverses.

I liked having Marguerite help the reader with how she saw all the Pauls and Theos and even her own mums and dads and Josies.

Sending us with Marguerite to new and maybe an already visited multiverse *coughRussia*, brought familiarity.

Claudia has done a wonderful job making me love Theo more and I find myself questioning my allegiance to Paul.

WT?

Theo and Paul are so different in their behaviors. Sure they both love Marguerite and she them in separate ways. I think Claudia plays with the reader a little in that respect.

I know it is Paul all the way for Marguerite, because she does reason each of her multiverse Marguerite-emotions out for us.

We learn things about Paul in the erm…real? Universe, because of another multiverse. Which kinda makes me ask the Q, which IS the real VERSE, because technically everybody in each multiverse thinks theirs is.

Oh, I dig too deeply there.

Well done Claudia. I loved the chase, the twists, the Conleys.

The ending.

Whahhh.

Shit just got real.

BOOK REVIEW - THIS NIGHT SO DARK by AMIE KAUFMAN & MEAGAN SPOONER - YA SCI-FI - DISNEY HYPERION - NOVELLA

By: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Published By: Disney Hyperion

Released : Available Now on Amazon for 0.00

Details: Approx 46 Pages plus sneak peeks at These Broken Stars & This Shattered World

RATING: 4 ACTION STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Don’t miss the breathtaking short story that connects the first two novels in the Starbound trilogy, These Broken Stars and This Shattered World.

Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued a group of civilian researchers being held hostage by brutal mercenaries. Now Tarver and Lilac must reconcile his memories of that fateful night with the truth that they uncovered on a mysterious planet after the Icarus crashed.

Includes a bonus preview chapter from This Shattered World!


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Let me start by saying this is a very short read and I thought it was worth discovering why Tarver was promoted to Major from Captain in These Broken Stars. I liked knowing him more.

This is the action that was missing for me, from These Broken Stars. Captain Tarver is on patrol with Private Gil Fisk and then all shit goes down.

There was a twist and there was action, shooting, death and mercenaries.

Hell. Yeah!

It was all over in around 46 pages because you get a sneak peek at These Broken Stars and This Shattered World at the end of it.

Visually I saw it like a little mini movie. This is what I wanted in These Broken Stars. I saw Tarver in action mode and how he became famous when he appeared at the start of These Broken Stars.

This is a prequel set six months prior to book one.

The girls gave me the oomph I was looking for in this prequel. I have my fingers crossed that This Shattered World is all action and excitement like the taste I got from this novella. This could have almost been made into a first book. But as they say, that ship has sailed.

Well done, ladies.

Michelle

BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY - LOVING THE PRINCE by NICOLE MURPHY - ESCAPE PUBLISHING - SCI FI ROMANCE

Title: Loving the Prince 

Author: Nicole Murphy 

Genre: Sci Fi Romance 

Release Date: 1st August 2014 

Format: eBook 

Pagination: 213 

Blurb:

From Escape’s fresh, exhilarating science fiction romance catalogue comes a story of corporate espionage, betrayal, sex, and bodyguards. Just another day in the colonies.

Cassandra Wiltmore is the heir to the throne of Rica, but it’s unlikely she’ll be stepping up any time soon. So she spends her days managing and building the Rican Balcite Mining Company. The company has made her family wealthy beyond imagination, but that kind of power needs careful control, and Cassandra is just the Wiltmore to control it.

When a new bid for the mining license is announced, Cassandra is determined to squash it. Then the thefts and threats begin, and every step she takes seems to be wrong. Taking on a new protector seems like an indulgence Cass can’t afford, but she equally cannot afford to be caught off-guard. If only the best man for the job wasn’t also the best-looking man she’s ever seen.

Kernan Radaton has ambition, and as protector to Cassandra Wiltmore, he’s well placed to reach all his long-held goals. If only his new all-business boss didn’t make him think of only pleasure. With the company, the heir and the family under attack, the last thing anyone needs is a distraction. But once everything is safe again, Kernan is developing new ambitions — ones that involve a lot of very personal time spent getting to know his boss on a very personal level.

About the Author:

Nicole Murphy is the author of the Dream of Asarlai trilogy, and a couple of dozen speculative fiction shorts. As Elizabeth Dunk she’s published contemporary romance with Escape Publishing and in June will be releasing a collection of paranormal erotic novellas, also with Escape.

Chapter Six - EXCERPT

Cassandra was deeply into her work the next morning when the door announced, ‘Eorin Pedron requests admittance.’

‘Permission granted.’ Cassandra started to smile at Eorin but the expression froze on her face as Kernan followed him in.

‘Cassandra, I believe you know Kernan Radaton.’

‘I certainly do. Welcome to the RBMC. I’m looking forward to working with you.’ She held out her hand.

Kernan reached across the desk to shake it. ‘Thank you, Miss Wiltmore.’

Again, a jolt of electricity shot up her arm. Cassandra made herself remove her hand from his grip calmly. She couldn’t keep jumping every time he touched her. Particularly when he had, hopefully, taken back up with Hera.

‘Please, take a seat.’

Cassandra sat down and watched them pull chairs up to the desk. ‘Will you need any special time to work with Kernan?’

Eorin shook his head. ‘The next couple of days are pretty much here in the office, so I’ll use the time you’re working. I was looking at your schedule and it doesn’t appear you’ll have a lot of time this week to work on the mental connection.’

I’m not sure I want to connect mentally. Cassandra considered her schedule for the rest of the week. ‘Not during the normal working day. Captain Radaton, would you object to staying late a couple of days this week to work on the connection?’

‘Not at all, Miss Wiltmore. Just tell me when you want me and I’ll be here.’

‘We’ll pencil it in for tomorrow afternoon and Friday evening. One thing you’ll learn here, Captain, is that we rarely make definite appointments with each other. There’s simply too many occasions where we have to run off to do something else.’

‘I don’t have a problem with that.’

‘Then it seems that everything is under control and I’ll leave you in Eorin’s capable hands.’

Both men stood and saluted, Kernan’s much more polished than Eorin’s. Then they turned and walked from the room.

A buzzer alerted her to a message coming through, and she touched the screen. Bilmin’s face appeared. ‘Bilmin, what’s up?’

‘Miss Wiltmore, we have a Code Delta.’

Cassandra froze. Code Delta meant some enriched balcite had gone missing. ‘On my way.’

Eorin and Kernan sat at a desk in the corridor, bent over a reader. They both looked up as she exited. ‘Code Delta,’ she said, sweeping past them. She heard them get up to follow her, not a word spoken between them.

Minutes later, the three of them stepped into the warehouse. The second the door closed behind them, Cassandra turned to Eorin. ‘Explain Code Delta to Captain Radaton. I’ll check in with Bilmin.’

She strode across the warehouse floor to the red section. Bilmin stood by the small pile of red cartons. ‘What’s missing, Bilmin?’

‘An entire container, Miss Wiltmore. Six pieces of enriched balcite.’

Cassandra swore. Six pieces was enough to flatten an entire city. ‘Who did this morning’s count?’

Bilmin looked at the reader in his hand. ‘Manfred.’

‘Get him back here and I want to watch both you and Manfred count the E’s.’ She spun around to see Eorin and Kernan waiting behind her. ‘Eorin, check the personnel manifesto for the past week. Kernan, I want a list of everyone who’s come into the complex in the past twenty four hours and the time they came in.’

Both men saluted then rushed away. She watched Bilmin and Manfred count. Their results matched the morning count, but not the count from the night before. A box of enriched balcite was definitely missing.

Cassandra wanted to stamp her feet and scream, but retained her control. ‘Bilmin, I want every member of staff of the warehouse assembled down here.’

As Bilmin began gathering the employees Cassandra turned slowly on her heel, looking around the warehouse, searching for inspiration. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her
father and Staphon enter and approach her.

‘How much?’ Her father was all business.

‘An entire case.’

Andar paled and Staphon swore. ‘How could someone walk out with an entire case of E?’

‘Perhaps they didn’t walk out with it. Perhaps it is still here.’ Cassandra looked at the huge piles of balcite. It would be easy for someone to conceal it in one of the piles, to be picked up and delivered at a later date. ‘Bilmin, take three men and search the warehouse. I want every single inch of it covered.’

‘Yes, Miss Wiltmore.’

Cassandra turned back to the General. ‘Staphon, we need to question all the staff.’

‘Where’s Eorin?’

‘He’s gathering information for me, as is Kernan. Once they come back, I’ll send them to assist you.’

Staphon nodded them moved over to the group of employees.

Cassandra and her father watched the search and she tapped her foot. If they didn’t find the missing case, she wasn’t sure what she would do.

Andar put a hand on her shoulder. ‘We’ll find it, Cassie.’

‘Cassandra.’ She spun around to see Eorin walking towards her, holding out a chip. She pushed it into the reader and rows of figures flashed up.

‘No one appears to have come in at a different time,’ she said. ‘All appears normal.’

‘Then it has to be an inside job. There’s no evidence of an illegal log-in,’ Eorin said.

‘So help me, if one of the staff did this…’

‘Miss Wiltmore.’ Kernan arrived, also holding a chip. Cassandra put it into her reader and the figures began to flow. It stopped and flashed a line at her. She looked at the name, then pulled up the information Eorin had brought to her.

‘Daniel Wiltonian came into the complex at six this morning, but didn’t come into the warehouse until nine,’ she said.

‘What was he doing, wandering around outside for three hours?’ Eorin said.

‘Eorin, go and tell General Blerdon that he needs to question Daniel Wiltonian.’ Eorin saluted and hurried away. Cassandra tapped her chin. ‘He came into the complex at six, but he didn’t come into the warehouse until nine.’

‘He didn’t come in the warehouse front door until nine,’ Kernan said.

Cassandra looked at him, immediately understanding what he was alluding to. ‘This is the most secure building in the complex.’

‘Secure doesn’t necessarily mean impossible to get into.’

‘Then how?’ She turned around, looking for a sign that the balcite lining of the building had been tampered with. Her eyes continued to move up the wall until she saw the first of the roof beams. She tipped her head back. Above her, on a track, were the huge hooks that lifted and moved the loads of balcite, masitum and ortran. Those hooks never lifted enriched balcite as they were not delicate enough. She looked along them, and something caught her eye. ‘Captain, up the far corner, left-hand side. What is that?’

Kernan focussed and she knew he was using his inter-ocular transplant. Another thing she’d missed out on by not becoming a real security officer. ‘I see a red box, with two large rods of balcite tied to it.’

‘Code on the box?’ Cassandra lifted her reader. He read it out and she typed it in. ‘Our missing box of E.’

‘How in the blazes did it get up there?’ Andar said.

‘More to the point, how do we get it down?’ She looked around and the hooks caught her eye. It brought to mind the childhood game she and Diana had once played. Controllers in a booth near the roof operated the hooks. Workers on the floor used telepathy to guide
the controllers to pick up the balcite safely. She and Diana had used telepathy to have the controllers pick them up and move them to the other end of the warehouse, racing each other. When her parents had found out about it, they had been banned from coming to the warehouse. Cassandra sent a thought to Bilmin. ‘Bilmin, wanna play bombies?’

‘Now, Miss Wiltmore?’ came his thought reply.

‘Now. We’ve found the E and I need to fetch it.’ Cassandra looked at her father. ‘I’m going to get it down.’

Andar’s eyes narrowed. ‘And how do you plan to do that?’

Cassandra grinned. ‘Bombies.’ She handed him the reader, then moved over to stand underneath one of the hooks.

‘No, Cassandra.’ Andar followed her. ‘I forbid it.’

‘It has to be fetched down by hand, and neither of you will fit on the hook.’ She smiled brightly at Andar then at Kernan, who was glaring at her just as viciously.

‘We’ll send security up to get it,’ Andar said through gritted teeth.

‘It’s my E and I’m going to get it.’ As she looked up, the hook began to lower. ‘A little to the right, Bilmin.’

‘Cassandra,’ Andar growled.

Cassandra glanced at him. ‘My E, my responsibility. If anyone should risk their life to get it, it should be me.’ The hook was almost within reach.

‘We pay security to risk their lives for this sort of thing.’

Cassandra shook her head. ‘Not with my E we don’t.’ She reached up and pulled the hook down. ‘Close it, Bilmin.’ The two sides of the hook moved together, forming a circle. Cassandra put her leg over, sat on the metal, then pulled her legs up to put her feet on the
inside of the hook, her back resting against the other side. ‘There, you see? Perfectly safe.’

‘Perfectly insane.’

‘Bilmin, up.’ The hook began to rise.

‘Bilmin, stop.’ Her father’s voice entered her head as his hand reached out to grab the hook. The hook stopped moving. ‘If you insist on doing this, you can at least do it safely. Captain, use your belt to tie her onto it.’

‘With pleasure, sir.’ In an instant, Kernan had taken off his belt and was leaning over Cassandra to wrap it around her waist and the hook. Cassandra tried desperately not to notice the heat of his body or the smell of his cologne and breathed a small sigh of relief
when he straightened. She tried to lift her belly and found she was securely fastened to the hook.

‘There, safe as the spacelift. Up, Bilmin.’

As the hook rose, Cassandra lifted a hand to wave to her father. ‘Keep both your hands on the hook,’ he bellowed at her. She plastered her hand to the metal.

It wasn’t long before Cassandra remembered the main reason why she hadn’t really objected to her parents’ banning her from the game. The hook was incredibly high up in the air. By the time it reached the top of its ascent, she was ten metres from the ground. Falling from here would be bad. She shook her head. She had been such an idiot when she was young.

‘Where to, Miss Wiltmore?’ Bilmin asked.

‘Take me to the far left corner of the warehouse, Track S6.’

There was a pause, then Bilmin said, ‘Shit. How did they get the E up there?’

‘That is what I hope General Blerdon is finding out. Now, let’s go.’ She clung to the hook as it moved but luckily the track was well made and the journey was smooth. A metre from the E, she told Bilmin to stop.

Looking closer, she swore. Daniel Wiltonian was the luckiest man in Rica. The E wasn’t actually resting on a beam. It had been placed on two rods of balcite and THEY were resting on the beam. Luckily right now they were balanced, but any move could see them topple, taking the e with them.

‘Bilmin, we need another hook up here, on Track K7.’

‘Right away, Miss Wiltmore. You stay put.’

Cassandra gave a nervous giggle. ‘I can assure you, I’m not going anywhere.’

It was some time before a faint whirr told her the other hook was coming. She looked over her shoulder and saw the hook rocketing along the track next to her. ‘Slow it down, Bilmin.’ The hook slowed dramatically. Cassandra watched it until it was beginning to move over the top of the balcite. ‘Speed one.’ The hook slowed until it only moved a centimetre at a time. When Cassandra was sure it was directly over the middle of the beams, she said,
‘Stop.’ The hook stopped. ‘Lower, speed one.’ Centimetre by centimetre, the hook lowered. When the top of the hook was only a few centimetres from the balcite rods, she told Bilmin to stop, then close the hook. The two sides moved slowly down and joined together, the two beams of balcite now lying in the middle of the circle. ‘Fill.’ From the top of the hook flowed a white substance. It went around the inside of the hook then moved into the centre, hardening as it went. Soon, the entire inside of the hook was full of the hard substance. The two balcite beams were secure.

Cassandra nodded. ‘Now, move me forward, speed one.’ Her hook inched forward until she heard a tap as it hit the balcite beam. ‘Stop.’ Then she reached for the case of E, but it was beyond her. Swearing, she undid the belt. Slowly, keeping her back straight so her balance remained, she bent forward then put the belt around her legs and the hook, pulling it as tight as she could. Then she leant back against the hook, breathing hard. She lifted one hand to grasp the hook above her head, then began to lean out toward the E.

‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’

Cassandra screeched and pressed her back against the hook, her hands grabbing the metal as Kernan’s voice thundered through her mind. So much for needing to work on the mental connection. ‘I can’t quite reach the E, so I’m going to pull it closer. My legs are tied to the hook. I won’t fall.’

‘No, just break both your legs and probably your back.’

‘I need to pull it a bit closer, then I can undo it and come down. I swear, I’ll keep a good hold on the hook, so long as strange voices don’t yell into my head and nearly scare the life out of me.’
A pause, then his voice sounded much calmer. ‘I apologise. Just bloody well be careful.’

She nodded, then took her position and leant forward again. She reached the rope that was holding the case onto the balcite and pulled it towards her. Slowly, the case moved forward. When it was right next to the hook, she said, ‘Bilmin, move the hook on track k7 back one metre.’

Bilmin did as she asked, and the balcite beams moved, scraping under the case. The end of the beam was now at her feet. ‘Move me forward, speed one.’  She waited until the ends of the balcite were at her chest, then stopped him. Putting one hand on one of the beams, she leant forward and used the rope to pull the case to the end of the beam. Then she grabbed the rope with both hands, ignoring how her hook wavered, and pulled the case onto her lap. ‘Move me back, speed one.’ She moved a metre away from the balcite then asked Bilmin to stop. Slowly, she turned the case around and pulled it up her body until it lay up her chest. Then she hugged it to her body. ‘Take me down, speed one.’

It took an eternity but finally she was smiling directly into the face of five anxious men, Eorin, Bilmin and Staphon having joined Andar and Kernan. The only person Cassandra would hand the case to was Andar and as soon as she was untied and off the hook, she took it back from him. She sat on the floor, cross-legged, the case resting in her lap. She put her hand on the top and a small keypad appeared. Quickly, she typed in a code and the lid snapped open. She pushed it open, held her breath then lifted the black lid within.

There, lying nestled in six black pouches were six blue rocks, each about the size of her fist. She put the black lid down again, then let out her breath. She looked up and grinned at her father. ‘All present and accounted for.’

‘Thank Peace.’ Andar shook his head. ‘You ever do that again, young lady, and I will…’

Cassandra closed the lid, keyed in the lock then closed the keypad. She handed the box to Bilmin, then stood and put her arms around her father. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life.’
Andar’s arms tightened around her. ‘You did well, Cassie. Scared a few more years from my life, but you did very well.’

Cassandra pulled back a little, but remained by her father’s side, his arm around her. ‘Any idea how this happened?’

‘Would you believe a practical joke?’ Blerdon growled. Apparently, Wiltonian and the bloke who was to count this morning have been playing jokes on each other, each getting bigger than the one before.’

Cassandra’s jaw dropped open. ‘He moved an entire crate of E and almost blew up the city, probably all of Rica, for a joke? He better not come near me for a while.’

‘How did he get into the building?’ Kernan asked.

‘He loosened a screw on the end of an air duct, inside and out,’ Eorin said. ‘Crawled through it while he knew it was being maintained so the laser system would not be working.’

‘Oh, Peace. It was that easy?’ Cassandra said. Eorin nodded. She turned to Kernan. ‘I want you to stay here and go over every centimetre of this place. I want a report on my desk, detailing weaknesses and outlining possible alternatives by the end of the week.’

Kernan nodded. ‘Consider it done.’

‘Eorin, I want a complete security screen of everyone working here. It was a joke this time, but next time it might not be. Make sure everyone realises the screens are going to become weekly and if they don’t like it, they can go work somewhere else. Bilmin, I want those two jokesters at my office in one hour. Make it clear to everyone working here that I don’t care what pranks they pull out of hours, no one in this facility is ever to play a joke on
someone else here at work, understand?’

‘Yes, Miss Wiltmore.’

‘I also want a complete scan of the balcite shielding. Ensure that there aren’t any weaknesses to be found.’ Bilmin nodded as he wrote all this down into his reader. ‘Once you have those two beams down, I want a full count of the entire warehouse. I know you only did it yesterday, but I want to make sure nothing else has gone missing. No orders are to go out of the warehouse until Captain Radaton has concluded his security scan. Anyone
complains, send them straight to me. No more maintenance is to be done on the building either.’

Bilmin nodded. ‘Yes, Miss Wiltmore.’

‘General, I’d like the patrols to be doubled for the next two weeks. I’d also like to know why the outside surveillance did not pick up the loosening of the exterior vent.’

 ‘I’m already onto it, Cassandra,’ Staphon said.

Cassandra shook her head. ‘A loose screw. By the time I’m finished with Daniel Wiltonian, he’s going to wish he’d never heard of a screwdriver.’ She turned and stormed from the warehouse.

GIVEAWAY

Thank you to Escape Publishing for donating :

1 x E-Book - Loving The Prince

International

Have you read any books from Escape Publishing ? 

If so , which one.

If not, what was the last Sci-fi romance you read?

Leave your answer and email addy in coments

STARTS NOW!!

ENDS 5th AUGUST 2014 

BLOG TOUR & 3 BOOK GIVEAWAY - REBEL by AMY TINTERA - REBOOT # 2 - YA SCI-FI DYSTOPIAN - ALLEN & UNWIN

By: Amy Tintera

Published By: Allen & Unwin

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 340 Pages

RATING: 4.5 FAST PACED STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Wren Connolly thought she'd left her human side behind when she died five years ago and came back 178 minutes later as a Reboot. With her new abilities of strength, speed and healing - along with a lack of emotions - Wren 178 became the perfect soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation). Then Callum 22 came along and changed everything.

Now that they've both escaped, they're ready to start a new life in peace on the Reboot Reservation. But Micah 163, the Reboot running the reservation, has darker plans in mind: to wipe out the humans. All of them. Micah has been building a Reboot army for years and is now ready to launch his attack on the cities. Callum wants to stick around and protect the humans. Wren wants nothing more than to leave all the fighting behind them.

With Micah on one side, HARC on the other, and Wren and Callum at odds in the middle, there is only one option left...

It's time for Reboots to become rebels.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Amy Tintera has brought a fast paced, exciting conclusion to her Reboot, duology. This sci-fi/dystopian had me turning the pages.

I found more substance to the plot and the characters brought me what I think I was missing from Reboot, even though I really enjoyed Reboot.

Told from both Callum and Wren’s pov’s we get a deeper understanding of these two characters who are at different ends of the reboot scale.

I loved watching Wren discover more of her human nature, so to speak. She does soften up, her thoughts becoming her own. I liked that Amy gave us reasons for her characters evolving, even though they are Reboots.

A higher number supposedly meant a Reboot was faster, stronger, less emotional, but I thought that was just a line HARC fed us that the Reboots bought into. We all used to be human, before we died and came back to life as Reboots, I didn’t see why the number of minutes dead mattered so much.


It kind of showed the reader that their still was a human underneath all of it. Even if it got lost for a while.

Callum is gorgeous. He was a little soft for me in Reboot, and he didn’t lose his human nature in this installment but he earned my respect. He really is a great character.

These two balance each other out.

This installment takes off at a fast pace from where Reboot left off. You will be turning the pages as this group of rebels go from one situation to the next in a bid to find a solution and release the other Reboots.

Did I think this could all be neatly tidied up in two books? Um, put it this way I got a satisfactory ending, but I still feel like there was more story to be told, more characters to explore.

Amy really has a clever idea with Reboots. It’s different and I could have explored these two characters and their sidekicks more in this world, but that is just me.

There is always a villain in a dystopian read and there are more than one in this one.

I got some sad moments that did surprise me how I felt. My heart got hurt.

I can see how film rights have been optioned by Fox for Reboot. It would make a great movie.

A fast paced, clever idea with some fierce moments and a romance that did flutter my heart like butterfly wings.

Michelle

GIVEAWAY

3 WINNERS!!

The lovely Allen & Unwin are kindly donating 3 x Paperbacks for me to giveaway on my tour stop.

Thanks kindly to Allen & Unwin!

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS!

AUSSIE ENTRIES ONLY

(Publisher is donating and mailing the prizes.)

Leave a comment with either your email addy, twitter or facebook addy's so I can easily contact the winner.

Answer this Q: What was the last Dystopian book you read?

EASY!

Random Org will choose winners.

If you want you can tweet the posting, would be lovely.

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If you want to you could go like Allen & Unwins facebook teen page

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ENDS 18TH JUNE 2014

GOOD LUCK!

BOOK REVIEW - AFTER EDEN by HELEN DOUGLAS - AFTER EDEN # 1 - YA SCI-FI - CONTEMPORARY SETTING - BLOOMSBURY AUSTRALIA

By: Helen Douglas

Published By: Bloomsbury Aust

Released: Available Now

Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 278 Pages

RATING: 3.75 RYAN STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Eden Anfield loves puzzles, so when mysterious new boy Ryan Westland shows up at her school she's hooked. On the face of it, he's a typical American teenager. So why doesn't he recognise pizza? And how come he hasn't heard of Hitler? What puzzles Eden the most, however, is the interest he's taking in her.

As Eden starts to fall in love with Ryan, she begins to unravel his secret. Her breakthrough comes one rainy afternoon when she stumbles across a book in Ryan's bedroom - a biography of her best friend - written over fifty years in the future. Confronting Ryan, she discovers that he is there with one unbelievably important purpose ... and she might just have destroyed his only chance of success.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

This was a great start to the After Eden series for me. I enjoyed this YA, I will call it Sci-Fi genre but it is not a full on Sci-Fi it is in a contemporary setting, if I am making any sense. I am trying not to give spoilers.

Ryan Westland is the new kid at school and the girls love him. Connor is Eden’s best friend and he isn’t really digging the connection Eden and Ryan are having.

Although Eden and Connor are besties I didn’t really see it portrayed that much in this story. As the reader I am told they are, but they weren’t really showing me.

Eden is a pretty switched on chick. I commend her on her smarts. She puts some puzzle pieces together which I liked and worked out what was going on. She would give Thelma from Scooby Doo a run for her money.I really liked this. I sometimes hate being the reader who is thinking, come on chick you are not this daft.

Eden wasn’t. She gets straight to the point reasonably early on. I don’t think it helped much that Ryan was dropping pretty big hints, accidentally. I mean , dude, who doesn’t know what pizza is? Even if you don’t know and you are on a secret mission, ya gotta play it cool man. You dropped the ball a few times.

What I liked, was I was finding out about Ryan at the same time Eden was. I had my theories, but I liked that I wasn’t right. I went for a more obvious assumption.

I want to point out I hadn’t read the blurb when I decided to read this book. Almost all the time I choose not to read blurbs as I find they can give too much away and I like the element of surprise vs blurb spoilers. Goodreads has a tendency to give too much away with their blurbs too. I have to admit, the back cover blurb doesn’t give anything away on the book, but Goodreads does.

I thought Ryan could have been written better. He was nice. But I would have loved a little more oomph with his character. I wanted to believe why he was chosen for this mission.

I have a pet peeve with villains, or the bad guy in books of any genre where we as the reader are only given so many characters to choose from. You can easily eliminate them all bar one and I kind of hate that. How hard is it to throw in even a suspicious looking milkman? Well you get my drift. I want to have an Agatha Christie/Cluedo group of a couple extra characters for me to be wondering...’is this the baddie, or the one that has to do the clean up job, or is it him or her?’

I thought it was too obvious in this book and I thought that was a shame. Throw in the checkout operator who is being nosey, SOMEBODY other than the peeps you know it can’t be and the one person left over who happens to have told us the time of their arrival in a round-a-bout way.

I want that thrill of trying to work it out. I don’t want to be the first person yelling, BINGO!

I thought there was awesome opportunity for there to have been a lot more going on in the story line. Bring in some action. It pretty much is all in the last X amount of chapters.

It was a pretty big deal why Ryan had arrived, I thought he dropped the ball at a crucial time and Ben and Cassie, considering the immense importance of what they needed to prevent, they were...

Where?

Dudes!!

This was a life changing mission and you were ...where? 

Help a brother out.

Poor Eden got to look like a bit of a twat in front of Connor. I did laugh at how she reacted. I could see myself doing the same thing. Very Selena Gomez. 

I really liked the astronomy information coming into the story line. I thought that was cool. 

Without giving a spoiler, something happened at the end of this book, and I couldn’t help asking myself a rather obvious question. But I can’t say what it is, for spoiling. I’ll see if anyone else picks it. Something I thought Eden would ask and want to know about, in some detail.

Chasing Stars, # 2 in the series is releasing June 5th 2014. I am interested to read where Helen takes me after the ending to After Eden.

Michelle

RELEASE DAY BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY - ISAURA by RUTH SILVER - ABERRANT # 3 - YA DYSTOPIAN SCI-FI FANTASY - PATCHWORK PRESS/ LAZY DAY PUBLISHING

Title: Isaura (Aberrant 3)

Author: Ruth Silver

Publisher: Patchwork Press/Lazy Day Publishing

Published On: December 4th, 2013

Cover Art: Erica Crouch (paperback), Lazy Day Publishing (eBook)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis:

With Joshua’s recent disappearance, Olivia has little choice but to head into the dangerous Gravelands as the new government wrestles with fixing the damage to society. Joining forces with her estranged father and a girl from Haven, they go on a search-and-rescue mission to find Joshua and bring him back alive. If traveling through outlaw territory isn’t frightening enough, Olivia learns she has exposed her secret and is hunted by her allies.

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Available for purchase:

Paperback: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

eBook: Kindle | Nook

Excerpt: 

“I'm fine!” I pushed harder on the gas. “They can't be that far ahead of us.” I just hoped we were headed in the right direction.

We drove another twenty minutes north as I moved off the dirt road and onto grass. I glanced back at Rane. “Do you think Craynor could have found a place in Haven to keep Joshua?”

“I don't know. Not much was left. There could have been a cellar or basement abandoned that didn't get struck. That's how I survived,” Rane admitted.

It at least gave me hope. As we drove north, the rain stopped and the clouds parted. Cresting a hill, I slammed the brakes as we jolted to an abrupt halt.

“What the hell?” Gavin's voice echoed as the seatbelt restrained him and his arm shot up on the dashboard to steady himself. A few feet away, I saw outlaws with weapons pointed in our direction. “Hurry up!” His voice threatened in my ear as I slammed on the gas, but our car wasn't going anywhere: the tires had blown from spikes in the road.

Locking the doors hadn't helped. They busted the car window and flipped the lock, opening the door, dragging all three of us out.

eBook Cover

Title: Moirai (Aberrant 2)

Author: Ruth Silver

Published: September 26, 2013 by Patchwork Press & Lazy Day Publishing (eBook)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

Olivia has been on the run from the government of Cabal since the marriage ceremony. Finally settling in and finding herself a place to call home in Shadow, Olivia and Joshua prepare for the uprising that they and the rebel alliance have been planning for months.

With new abilities and special talents from Mindonsiphan, Olivia learns she can do more than most ordinary eighteen year olds. Learning both to hide and perfect her skills will be one of the biggest challenges she’ll be forced to face.

A constant rollercoaster of emotion and adventure await Olivia and Joshua as they embark on a journey to the rebel city of Torv, and what was once home, Genesis.

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Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Title: Aberrant

Author: Ruth Silver

Published: April 28, 2013 by Patchwork Press & Lazy Day Publishing (eBook)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

In the future dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government’s match in marriage and “The Day of the Chosen”, a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn’t existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she’s arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence.

Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from “The Day of the Chosen.” The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system. With Joshua’s help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.

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About the Author

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005. While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories. Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing. She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories. Her debut novel published by Lazy Day Publishing and Patchwork Press, ABERRANT, was released April 2013. The second novel in the series, MOIRAI, continues the saga. ISAURA, is the final installment in the ABERRANT trilogy. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.

Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page

EXCERPT

It was dark inside and I wished I’d had more light, a candle, something to help me maneuver through the floors.

“Olivia?” I heard Henry's voice calling out from the entranceway.

“You're blocking my light,” I called, glancing back at him. “Do me a favor and check out the building across the street.” I gestured towards the other similar structure left standing. “If he's anyplace, it'd be somewhere he could lock Joshua up.”

“Sure,” Henry agreed and disappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief, finding a little more light as I wandered through the building.

Joshua? Again there was no response. I hadn't had an answer from him for hours now. I'd hoped as we reached Haven we'd be in close enough contact to connect. It worried me now that I hadn't heard from him and he didn’t respond.

“Joshua?” I whispered, trying to keep my voice down but unsure what else to do. Maybe he couldn't speak with me telepathically. I walked from room to room, searching the entire building, careful as my arms gripped the wall as the building slanted and I slid further downhill. “Joshua?” I called again, this time louder. I heard a creak and glanced around, wondering if it was the building making the sound or me.

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