Review and Excerpt: Guild Boss by Jayne Castle

Series: Ghost Hunters #14
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Nov. 16th, 2021
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Welcome to Illusion Town on the colony world of Harmony—like Las Vegas on Earth, but way more weird.

Living in this new, alien world doesn’t stop the settlers from trying to re-create what they’ve left behind. Case in point—weddings are still the highlight of any social calendar. But it’s the after-party that turns disastrous for Lucy Bell. Kidnapped and drugged as she leaves the party, she manages to escape—only to find herself lost in the mysterious, alien underground maze of glowing green tunnels beneath Illusion Town. She’s been surviving on determination and cold pizza, scavenged for her by a special dust bunny, when help finally shows up.

Gabriel Jones is the Guild Hunter sent to rescue her, but escaping the underground ruins isn’t the end of her troubles—it’s only the beginning. With no rational reason for her abduction, and her sole witness gone on another assignment for the Guild, whispers start circulating that Lucy made it all up. Soon her life unravels until she has nothing left but her pride. The last thing she expects is for Gabriel Jones to come back to town for her.

The Lucy that Gabriel finds is not the same woman he rescued, the one who looked at him as if he were her hero. This Lucy is sharp, angry, and more than a little cynical—instead of awe, she treats him with extreme caution. But a killer is still hunting her, and there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to heroes. Despite her wariness, Gabriel is also the one person who believes Lucy—after all, he was there. He’s determined to help clear her reputation, no matter what it takes. And as the new Guild Boss, his word is law, even in the lawlessness of Illusion Town.

Bea Reviews Blood World by Chris Mooney

Publisher: Berkley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 18th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

A drug that makes the blood of carriers a fountain of youth, a psychopath who doesn't care how many bodies he leaves in his wake, and an LAPD detective hopelessly compromised by a dark secret. Together, they're an explosive mix that's going to shatter the city of Los Angeles into a million corpuscles.

The most valuable commodity on earth is the blood of "carriers." These young people hold within them a virtual fountain of youth. Those with the right genes produce blood that, when treated with a new wonder drug, cures disease, increases power, and makes the recipient a virtual superman.

It also makes the carriers targets. Blood farms filled with kidnapped children spring up around the country, and Los Angeles is at the center of this blood-dealing world. The police are overwhelmed.

Ellie Batista became an LAPD officer specifically to fight this evil as a member of the Blood Squad, but she has been consistently denied a transfer to the prestigious unit--until the day she and her partner are ambushed during a routine stop. The resulting events plunge her into an undercover world more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

A madman has found a way to increase the potency of the blood to levels previously unimagined. As he cuts a bloody swath through the already deadly world of blood cartels, Ellie is the only hope to stop him before the body count rises.

Friday Book Memes: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

I'm participating in two Friday book memes, Book Beginnings On Fridays, hosted by Rose City Reader, and The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice.

Every Friday, share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

For the Friday 56, grab a book, any book. Turn to Page 56, or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that's okay. Find a snippet, short and sweet. Post it, and add the url to your post at the link here.

Books From The Backlog - Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls and Gadgets

This is a fun meme for sharing your TBR pile! There used to be another meme about neglected TBR books, known as Dusty Reads. That meme died and then this one popped up. I'm delighted to participate and I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books. Join the fun and share a neglected book from your shelf.

The neglected book ~

Jax Reviews Salvation Day by Kali Wallace

A lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller.

They thought the ship would be their salvation.

Zahra knew every detail of the plan. House of Wisdom, a massive exploration vessel, had been abandoned by the government of Earth a decade earlier, when a deadly virus broke out and killed everyone on board in a matter of hours. But now it could belong to her people if they were bold enough to take it. All they needed to do was kidnap Jaswinder Bhattacharya—the sole survivor of the tragedy, and the last person whose genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.

But what Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship—a terrifying secret buried by the government. A threat to all of humanity that lay sleeping alongside the orbiting dead.

And then they woke it up.

Publisher: Berkley

Source: ebook from publisher in exchange for a review

Release Date: July 9th, 2019

Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble 

* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

They thought the ship would be their salvation.

Zahra knew every detail of the plan. House of Wisdom, a massive exploration vessel, had been abandoned by the government of Earth a decade earlier, when a deadly virus broke out and killed everyone on board in a matter of hours. But now it could belong to her people if they were bold enough to take it. All they needed to do was kidnap Jaswinder Bhattacharya—the sole survivor of the tragedy, and the last person whose genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.

But what Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship—a terrifying secret buried by the government. A threat to all of humanity that lay sleeping alongside the orbiting dead.

And then they woke it up.

Bea Reviews Catalyst by Jody Wallace

Series: Cat Ship #1, Obsidian Rim #8
Publisher: Meankitty Publishing
Source: the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 13th, 2019
Buying Links: Amazon* | Angus & Robertson | iBooks | Kobo | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Dance teacher Wil Tango, adopted by a cat who needs to make use of his opposable thumbs, knows all too well the primary rule of their arrangement: never reveal the cat is a genius. Their clever scheme to win all the jackpots on Gizem Station works until a bigwig gets suspicious, and he finds himself stuffed in a stasis box and shipped to Garbage Planet. At least he’s got the cat for company.

Sulari Abfall, scrapyard picker extraordinaire, thinks she’s scored when she earns access to the latest offload from Gizem Station. Their trash is her treasure, and the profits from her recycling program should provide more than enough to upgrade her clunky garbage scow into a clunky tow ship, a huge step up in trash hierarchy. When she’s drawn to a hazardous waste container, she finds more than she ever bargained for. A naked man. And a sentient cat.

But unsealing the stasis pod sends an interspace signal back to Gizem Station—and the vengeful VIP who thought Wil was dead. It will take all the wits of a lovely garbage scow captain, a down on his luck dance instructor, and a brave orange feline to defeat a gang intent on mayhem, murder, and a galactic catnapping that could change the course of the future for the entire Obsidian Rim.

24-Hour Giveaway!!!!! Salvation Day by Kali Wallace ENTER NOW!!! Ends June 28th!!!!!!

Kali Wallace’s "Salvation Day" is a gripping tale of high-stakes survival set over a 24-hour period. It follows a doomsday cult that takes a group of students hostage on board a seemingly abandoned spaceship, where a terrifying threat lies in wait.

To celebrate the upcoming release, Berkley is hosting a 24-hour giveaway! Don't wait to enter!!!!!

The giveaway is live now and runs until midnight on June 28. 

The Friday 56: Witness in Death by J.D. Robb

This is a fun meme hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader.
If you have to improvise, that is okay.
*Find a snippet, short and sweet.
*Post it, and add the url to your post at the Link here.here.

I'm re-reading the entire In Death series by Robb and I'm currently on book 10, "Witness in Death". The quote is from PAGE 56  in the large print paperback.

Steph Reviews Hagar's Mother By Jim Nelson

Publisher: Kindle Press
Series: The Bridge Daughter Cycle #2
Format Read: E-Book
Source: Purchased from Amazon
Release Date: November 15, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The anticipated sequel to BRIDGE DAUGHTER—Single mother Hanna Driscoll struggles to raise her “bridge daughters,” twins born pregnant with Hanna’s children. In six weeks the girls will give birth and die, leaving Hanna with two infants to raise.

Then Hanna’s busy life is shaken when an activist threatens to rescue her daughters from their fate and kill the children they bear.

A thriller of twists and turns, Hanna faces challenges from all sides to protect her infants-to-be…only to discover she too questions the mortality of her bridge daughters.

Steph Reviews Bridge Daughter By Jim Nelson

Publisher: Kindle Press
Series: The Bridge Daughter Cycle
Format Read: E-Book
Source: Purchased from Amazon
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Young Hanna thinks her thirteenth birthday will be no different than the one before--until her mother explains the facts of life. Hanna is a "bridge daughter," born pregnant with her parents' child. In a few months she will give birth and die, leaving her parents with their true daughter.

A mature bookworm who dreams of college and career, Hanna is determined to overcome her biological fate. Navigating through a world eerily like our own, she confronts unyielding attitudes and instinctive fears as old as humankind itself.

Then Hanna learns of an illegal procedure that will allow her to live to adulthood...at the cost of the child's life.

Bea Reviews Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Series: Rolling in the Deep #1
Publisher: Orbit
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 14th, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

New Science Fiction Humble Bundle!!! You Choose the Price!!!

 
Most of you have probably heard of Humble Bundle but for those of you who haven't it works like this: Authors and/or publishers offer up books with a common theme,in this case adventures in science fiction. There are 24 books, some by heavy duty science fiction authors including Joe Haldeman and the late Octavia Butler. They are available at levels of pay for whatever you're willing to contribute.The more you pay, the more books available to you.

Bea Reviews The Devil's Triangle by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison

Series: A Brit in the FBI #4
Publisher: Gallery Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: March 14th, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

From #1 New York Times–bestselling author Catherine Coulter, the thrilling new novel in the remarkable series featuring Nicholas Drummond and Mike Caine.
FBI Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine have a new mandate as the government’s Covert Eyes, assembling a handpicked team of top-notch agents to tackle crimes and criminals both international and deadly. But their first case threatens to tear the fledgling team apart when the enigmatic thief known as the Fox reappears with a plea for help.

Master thief Kitsune has stolen the staff of Moses from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, and now that she’s delivered, her clients are trying to kill her. On the run, she asks Nicholas and Mike to help her discover the true identity of her clients and stop the threat against her life. Under strict orders to arrest the Fox and bring her back to New York, the Covert Eyes team heads to Venice, Italy, to meet with Kitsune, and finds nothing is as it seems. Kitsune’s secret clients are the Koaths, a family descended from Moses himself, who will do anything, anything, to find Ark of the Covenant and wield its power, as their long and bloody history can attest. To execute their plan, they’ve spent years perfecting a machine that can control the weather, manipulating worldwide disasters that spin the entire globe into chaos.

From New York to Venice, from Rome to the Bermuda Triangle, Nicholas and Mike and their team are in a race against time, and nature herself, to stop the Koaths and recover the famous Ark of the Covenant. But can they trust Kitsune, their sworn enemy, to help them save the world from a family of madmen?

Excerpt & Giveaway: The Applicant by Aidee Ladnier

Aidee Ladnier, an award-winning author of speculative fiction, began writing at twelve years old but took a hiatus to be a magician’s assistant, ride in hot air balloons, produce independent movies, collect interesting shoes, fold origami, send ping pong balls into space, and amass a secret file with the CIA. A lover of genre fiction, it has been a lifelong dream of Aidee's to write both romance and erotica with a little science fiction, fantasy, mystery, or the paranormal thrown in to add a zing.

Bea Reviews The Soul of a SEAL by Anne Elizabeth

Series: West Coast Navy SEALS #4
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 6th, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb adapted from goodreads:

Love may be the toughest battle of all

Captain Bennett Oscar Sheraton
Navy SEAL, the best of the best

Dr. Kimberly Warren
Brilliant engineer, founder of secret space program

When scientists on Dr. Warren’s super-secret space mission start dying, Navy SEAL Captain Sheraton is sent in as an astronaut candidate with a hidden agenda—find the person sabotaging the program.

Kimberly and Bennett’s instant attraction may prove to be a major distraction—or it might be the key to both of their dreams coming true…

Review & Excerpts: Children of Amarid and The Outlanders by David B. Coe

Publisher: Lore Seekers Press
Series: The LonTobyn Chronicles Book #1
Format Read: Paperback
Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: June 30, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* |Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

For a millenium, the Children of Amarid have served the people of Tobyn-Ser. Drawing upon the Mage-Craft, which flows from the psychic bond they forge with their avian familiars, the Mages of the Order have fulfilled their oaths by healing the injured and ill, repelling invasions by the land’s enemies, and caring for the people in times of crisis. They are governed by laws handed down by Amarid, the first of their kind, who committed the Mage-Craft to the people’s protection. Only once in a thousand years has a mage defied those laws. Theron, a contemporary of Amarid, sought to use his powers to gain wealth and glory. For that he was punished, though not before he brought down a terrible curse on his fellow mages and all who would come after them.

Recently, dark rumors have spread across Tobyn-Ser. Children of Amarid have been seen destroying crops, vandalizing homes, massacring men, women, and children. Have the mages forsaken their oaths? Has Theron returned from beyond death to take his vengeance? Or does Tobyn-Ser face a new threat, one it is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to face? With the land in turmoil and faith in the Mage-Craft badly shaken, it falls to Jaryd, a young mage with extraordinary potential, but little knowledge of the power he wields, to find and destroy Tobyn-Ser’s enemies before they destroy all he holds dear.

CHILDREN OF AMARID is the first volume of the LonTobyn Chronicle, David B. Coe’s Crawford Award-winning debut series. This is the Author’s Edit of the original book.

Bea Reviews Spawning Ground by Kevin Cockle

Publisher: Tyche Books Ltd
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 27th, 2016 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Tyche Books
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Genetically enhanced workers are the future of companies competing in the global marketplace. People need to be more intelligent, more capable . . . more.

Genetic perfection has a price: a brutal Darwinian contest of strength and cunning to determine which bloodlines will continue, and dominate.

When Sarah Wheeler’s Spawning Contest is rigged, her breeding and training will be put to the ultimate test—by an adversary who knows her every flaw and weakness, by a father whose dynastic ambitions know no bounds, and by a world that is ruthlessly selecting against human agency itself. 

Bea Reviews Hidden Universe Travel Guide: Star Trek: Vulcan by Dayton Ward

Series: Hidden Universe Book 1
Publisher: Insight Editions
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: July 19, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Set in the Star Trek universe, this Hidden Universe travel guide explores all that Vulcan—Spock’s home planet—has to offer in an interactive guidebook.

Plan your next trip to the planet Vulcan! Find restaurants that serve the best fried sandworms and Vulcan port. Take a trip to the Fire Plains or experience spring break at the Voroth Sea. Learn all about the native Vulcan people and their unusual customs. Discover how to correctly perform the traditional Vulcan salutation (you really don’t want to get this wrong). Learn key Vulcan phrases such as Nam-tor puyan-tvi-shal wilat: “Where is your restroom?” Find out what to do if you suddenly find yourself host to a katra—a Vulcan’s living spirit—at an inconvenient moment. All this and more can be found within the pages of this essential travel guide to one of the most popular—and logical—destinations in the known universe.

This Hidden Universe travel guide draws on 50 years of Star Trek TV shows, films, and novels to present a comprehensive guide to Spock’s iconic home world. Modeled after real-world travel guides, the book will explore every significant region on Vulcan with fascinating historical, geographical, and cultural insights that bring the planet to life like never before. Also featuring a dynamic mixture of classic Star Trek imagery and original illustrations created exclusively for the book, Hidden Universe Travel Guide: Star Trek: Vulcan is the perfect way to celebrate 50 years of Star Trek and will thrill pop culture fans and hardcore Star Trek fans alike.

Bea Reviews Chimera by Mira Grant

Series: Parasitology #3
Publisher: Orbit
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 24, 2015
Challenges: Finishing the Series
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The final book in Mira Grant's terrifying Parasitology trilogy.

The outbreak has spread, tearing apart the foundations of society, as implanted tapeworms have turned their human hosts into a seemingly mindless mob.

Sal and her family are trapped between bad and worse, and must find a way to compromise between the two sides of their nature before the battle becomes large enough to destroy humanity, and everything that humanity has built...including the chimera.

The broken doors are closing. Can Sal make it home?

Bea Reviews Trident Code by Thomas Waite

Publisher: 47North
Series: Lana Elkins Thriller #2
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 26, 2015
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository*  | iTunes | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Ruthless cyberhackers seize a US nuclear submarine, training its most powerful weapon on a target so unusual, yet so vulnerable, that a successful strike could change the face of the earth for millions of years. With the world held hostage, former NSA operative Lana Elkins must join forces with a mysterious computer mastermind—who might be working with the enemy—to avert this unprecedented Armageddon. Intrigue, power, and blackmail force Lana to fight on all fronts—land, sea, air, and in cyberspace—to prevent the worst catastrophe in human history.

The author of Lethal Code returns with a new geopolitical thriller that combines cyberterror, environmental devastation, and unhinged ambition.