The Royal Cleaner #6: Exiled Review

Seph, Gregor, and Caroline have been exiled from the Demon World. Persephone or Seph has to get used to life in the human world, where she doesn’t have the position of queen that she has prepared for since she was born. This gives her time to deal with feelings that she has been pushing away for years, and face the fact that she might have a crush on someone. Gregor and Caroline no longer have to be fake married, which gives Mina and Caroline the chance to marry one another. Gregor is also free to pursue his own romantic interests, and he might have his eyes on a certain man on Earth.

I am interested in the new couples that were introduced in this installment of the series. I knew that Mina and Caroline would always be together, but I was worried that Gregor would never get the chance to be happy as he didn’t have a secret boyfriend on the side of his political marriage to Caroline, but he had his chance in this book! I also thought that Seph would be important, but I just didn’t see how she fit into the Royal Cleaner series until this book. Without spoiling anything, I am happy with how her story turned out as well.

Honestly, this felt like the shortest Royal Cleaner book I have read so far. I loved it so much that I finished it all in one morning on my way to work and then switched directly to the next book in the series. I think that it was the lack of action that truly drew me into this book. I feel like I never got the chance to get close to the characters in the Royal Cleaner series in this way because the books were so packed with action. This slower-paced story focused more on the domestic side of the characters as Mina and Caroline are still spending time with their children including the young twins while Gregor and Seph have to get used to living like humans rather than Demon royalty.

I can’t wait to review the next book in this series to discuss more spoilers about these characters! Just know that things really start to heat up towards the end of this book.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an adult fantasy novel with LGBT+ and neurodiverse characters.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books.

The Feathered Serpent ARC Review (Hiram Kane Series #5)

A Betrayed Archaeologist. A Ghost from the Past. A Dozen Worthy Sacrifices.

Expedition leader Hiram Kane is holed up in his native England recovering from wounds both physical and mental, when his family receives a mysterious anonymous letter that dredges up nightmares from the past. Could it also offer a ray of unexpected hope?

Across the world planet beneath a forgotten Aztec pyramid, a betrayed archaeology professor is about to unleash his wrath.
How? Brutally murdering a dozen innocent victims in an ancient sacrificial ritual.

When the modern and ancient worlds collide and the unhinged professor starts committing unimaginable blood-spilling atrocities on the adolescent virgins, Kane is forced to make an impossible choice; 

Can he sacrifice the love of his life to save the innocent girls?

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This book starts with the main story being about Hiram finding his long-lost brother, and a side story about a disgraced archaeologist coming up with a plan to get back at those who hurt him.

Hiram lost his younger brother years ago when he was 10 and his brother was 8, and now he receives a letter from a person claiming to be his now-adult brother who lives in Mexico. Hiram decides to go down to Mexico to meet his brother Danny and to finally get some closure as to what happened to his younger brother.

To be honest, this arc was probably my least favorite part of the story. I was expecting Danny to have been kidnapped, but he wasn’t. He chose to leave the family of his own free will at 8 years old and then chose to never go back. This was just astonishing to me. How do you decide at 8 years old that you are going to be ok living on your own? The book doesn’t really explain if Hiram’s parents were ever abusive towards Danny, it was just a few misheard conversations. I know we have all had times where we overheard something or misinterpreted something and thought that our parents or siblings didn’t love us anymore. We’ve also had times where we decided to “run away.” But for an 8-year-old to run away and then just STAY away for years and years, without even trying to contact his or her parents when they weren’t even abusive? That’s definitely not normal behavior at all. I hope that this behavior is actually discussed in future installments of the Hiram Kane series.

Besides this rather strange arc, I enjoyed the rest of this thriller! The former professor had such an interesting backstory, and I almost thought that I could forgive him for his crimes before he had started killing the girls. Honestly, he was disgraced in such a stupid way. I couldn’t blame him for being upset. But then he just got crazier and crazier as the story got on, and I saw more and more of the professor slipping away as he started to believe the facade that he had created for himself. By the end, I realized that the professor was completely gone, and only a madman was left. All I wonder is what happened to Rafe? Is he going to pop up in another book? So many questions that I am going to need answers for.

Once the action in this story starts, it REALLY starts. I was actually a bit shocked by the sheer gore in this story, I definitely cringed during some parts. If you don’t like gore, this is definitely not the book for you. I have read a few of the Hiram Kane stories, and this one definitely ranks pretty high on the gore. For me, I actually liked the fact that the story didn’t shy away from gore. It really added to the intensity of the action scenes and made me really feel as if the girl’s lives were really on the line. Unlike many other stories that pretend to kill people and then reveal to the reader that it was really all fake. This book almost had me crying at times, it was just that good.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new adult thriller-mystery novel to read.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Blog Tour Plus Review

https://amzn.to/2I5mbU1

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Vol. II
by Collins Hemingway

Publication Date: August 8, 2016
eBook & Paperback; 332 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1535444958

Jane Austen Lived a Quiet, Single Life-Or Did She?

Tradition holds that Jane Austen lived a proper, contemplative, unmarried life. But what if she wed a man as passionate and intelligent as she-and the marriage remained secret for 200 years?

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen resolves the biggest mystery of Austen’s life-the “lost years” of her twenties-of which historians know virtually nothing.

• Why the enduring rumors of a lost love or tragic affair?

• Why, afterward, did the vivacious Austen prematurely put on “the cap of middle age” and close off any thoughts of finding love?

• Why, after her death, did her beloved sister destroy her letters and journals?

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen trilogy answers these questions through a riveting love affair based on the history of the times and the details of Austen’s own life.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

Post contains Amazon Affiliate Links

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The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Vol. I
by Collins Hemingway

Tradition holds that Jane Austen lived a prim and proper life as a single woman. But what if she wed a man as passionate and intelligent as she—and the marriage remained secret for 200 years?

Go with Jane Austen as this thinking woman, and sensitive soul, seizes the opportunity for meaningful love with a man who inspires her and understands her independent spirit—the one man worthy of her mind, heart, and soul.

This story started off with Jane and her best friend going on a hot air balloon excursion. Even though I know little to nothing about hot air balloons, Hemingway perfectly described it. I felt like I was in the sky myself! I was even scared when Jane and Ashton had to figure out how to fly the patchy balloon on their own and was exhilarated when they landed. Then I remembered that this book took place in the early 1800s and that their family is worried sick as they are spending a day or two waiting for a letter to arrive about the pair’s safety.  This perfectly depicted how some things like balloons had been invented, but the world was still far from being modernized in any way.

The first part of this book is getting to know Jane and Ashton. They aren’t together but are just friends. Jane thinks that she is already too old for marriage at 26 years old, and instantly declines Ashton’s offer of marriage. Then, most of the rest of the book is in letter form. This was a beautiful way to write the story, as several years go by, but the characters have to actually wait for the letters to arrive and be responded to. Readers can see how much passion was poured into each letter, as the barrier between friend and lover starts to disintegrate.

I knew little to nothing about Jane Austen before reading this story, and I love how the small tidbits about her life were thrown into the main romance storyline. Like she sends a letter to Ashton about the books that she had been working on, and about all the female authors that she had been having conversations with. It seemed more real. She wasn’t able to do much in society as an unmarried woman, but she decided to spend time with the other talented women of her time. Hopefully, we will get to know who some of these women were in future series installments.

The one thing I didn’t like that much about this book was that some things moved a bit too quickly. I felt like we were rushing from the balloon incident to being at home with Ashton and then Ashton was away again. If those parts had slowed down a bit, I would have loved every second of this read!

I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a new historical fiction romance to read.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books

Praise for The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Series

“A skillful portrayal of an early nineteenth-century literary icon takes this historical romance on an imaginative journey of the soul. … The adventure of a true romantic partnership and all the excitement that the nineteenth century had to offer. … [The] novel invites you to linger, to savor, and to enjoy. … Makes for wonderful reading. … A Jane that lives and breathes on the page.”—Claire Foster, Foreword Reviews, 4 stars

“Hemingway captures the energy of the times, while also writing with the irony and sly humor of Austen herself. … A strikingly real Jane Austen fully engaged in the turbulent times. … She is a living, breathing presence. … [He] displays a notable ability to recreate time and place. … A lively, compelling read, [a] sobering but moving conclusion.” —Blueink Starred Review

“An enjoyable novel in an imaginative, well-researched series. … A well-researched work of historical fiction … [with] sweet moments and intriguing historical insights. … An incredibly moving portrait of a woman facing loss and love.” —Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Whether his subject is literature, history, or science, Collins Hemingway has a passion for the art of creative investigation. For him, the most compelling fiction deeply explores the heart and soul of its characters, while also engaging them in the complex and often dangerous world in which they have a stake. He wants to explore all that goes into people’s lives and everything that makes tThe hem complete though fallible human beings. His fiction is shaped by the language of the heart and an abiding regard for courage in the face of adversity.

As a nonfiction book author, Hemingway has worked alongside some of the world’s thought leaders on topics as diverse as corporate culture and ethics; the Internet and mobile technology; the ins and outs of the retail trade; and the cognitive potential of the brain. Best known for the #1 best-selling book on business and technology, Business @ the Speed of Thought, which he coauthored with Bill Gates, he has earned a reputation for tackling challenging subjects with clarity and insight, writing for the nontechnical but intelligent reader.

Hemingway has published shorter nonfiction on topics including computer technology, medicine, and aviation, and he has written award-winning journalism.

Published books include The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen trilogy, Business @ the Speed of Thought, with Bill Gates, Built for Growth, with Arthur Rubinfeld, What Happy Companies Know, with Dan Baker and Cathy Greenberg, Maximum Brainpower, with Shlomo Breznitz, and The Fifth Wave, with Robert Marcus.

Hemingway lives in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, Wendy. Together they have three adult sons and three granddaughters. He supports the Oregon Community Foundation and other civic organizations engaged in conservation and social services in Central Oregon.

For more information please visit Collins Hemingway’s website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, January 14
Review at Coffee and Ink

Wednesday, January 16
Review & Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads

Thursday, January 17
Feature at What Is That Book About

Friday, January 18
Review at Rainy Day Reviews

Monday, January 21
Feature at Donna’s Book Blog

Tuesday, January 22
Excerpt at T’s Stuff
Interview at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, January 23
Review & Guest Post at To Read, Or Not to Read

Friday, January 25
Review at View from the Birdhouse
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Monday, January 28
Review at For the Sake of Good Taste

Tuesday, January 29
Guest Post at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Wednesday, January 30
Review at Library of Clean Reads

Friday, February 1
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Saturday, February 2
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Sunday, February 3
Review at Bri’s Book Nook

Monday, February 4
Review at Amy’s Booket List

Tuesday, February 5
Review at Maiden of the Pages

Wednesday, February 6
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Interview at Bookish Rantings

Thursday, February 7
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, February 8
Review at Book Reviews from Canada

Saturday, February 9
Interview at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on February 9th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Vol II

My Short Stories Review

Anne Shier’s My Short Stories is a collection of stories that give the reader glimpses into the lives of different characters. The novel isn’t a complete standalone, as two or three stories are continued from Shier’s previous short story collection, but most can be read with no prior context.

The two stories that I liked the most were The Starvers and The Evil Evangelist. Even though both were a bit fast-paced, they drew me in and created a complete story out of a little bit of content.

The story that I liked the least was Living in Euphoria. Even though it sounded promising, the big “plot twist” seemed to just be tossed in there with no prior context, and I ended up not sympathizing with the characters that I was supposed to by the end of the story.

Overall, I would rate this collection 3.5 out of 5 stars. The majority of the stories were well-written and interesting, but a handful felt far too rushed to be classified as a full short story. I would still recommend this and the previous short story collection by Anne Shier to anyone looking for a new collection of stories about a variety of interesting topics.

I received this book for free and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 books

 

Crossfire in the Street Blog Tour Plus Review

Crossfire in the Street
by D.L. Rogers

Publication Date: June 7, 2018
Paperback & eBook

Genre: Historical Fiction

Read the first two chapters here.

 

 

The Civil War yielded many bloody battles and the Battle at Lone Jack was among the worst. Fought across a sixty-foot strip of dusty road, brothers fought brothers, neighbors fought neighbors, cousins fought cousins, and the blood of horses and men ran together in the street under the blistering August sun.

The Green family tried to keep from being caught up in the war headed for their doorstep, but their efforts were lost—even before the Yankees came to town.

In their youthful exuberance and ignorance, sixteen and fifteen year old Hank and Jesse sneak into town to watch the battle—and find more trouble than they bargained for. Pete, the oldest brother, joins the Rebels and fights to save his life—and that of his brothers. Cora, the oldest daughter on the cusp of becoming a woman, loves a boy who runs off to fight with the Federals—and breaks her heart.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

I love this author’s historical fiction novels, and this book blew me away. Her previous book Elizabeth’s War focuses more on the war from the eyes of women and children left behind as the men went off to fight. This family stays together, but are still struggling to survive in the dangerous times.

Pete is the oldest boy in his family, and when asked if he will join the Rebels, he decides to stay with his family. Then, the Rebels come to town and force him to join them, and he manages to keep his younger brothers out of the war. As he worries about how his family is faring, he has to fight for his life daily. Many of the soldiers he fights beside are his neighbors, but he also has to fight against his neighbors. The world has been turned upside down for Pete and his family, and they have to learn how to survive.

Cora thinks that a boy named Andrew is going to ask for her hand in marriage, but then he just runs off to join the Yankees. Cora always hopes that Andrew will return, but even if he does, he would be shunned by those around her. She may have lost the boy she thought was the love of her life forever. A typical girl might decide to sit and wallow in her own sadness, but she was determined to still help out her family.

The boys Hank and Jesse were too young to go off to war, but they are still intrigued by the battle. They put themselves in danger when they wander off to one of the battles, and it is up to their brother to help them.

I have to say it, this story might have made me even sadder than Elizabeth’s War! Sure, this family may have not had to walk for miles and miles to safety, but they were forced to literally draw a line down their town and fight their neighbors. Some people were easily brainwashed and acted as if they had been on that side their entire lives. The rest of them were heartbroken to have to consider neighbors and family friends as their enemies. The battles that occur in that town tear it apart, until it is barely recognizable. This book focuses on how harsh life on the battlefield was, and how much the soldiers had to give up to fight. What was the point of all the fighting, in the end, they would still be neighbors? They would just be neighbors who remember firing guns at each other.

D.L. Rogers just throws her readers into the midst of whatever was going on at the time that her stories take place, and the end results are unforgettable. The characters just fly off the page and beg the readers to listen to their stories. Both Elizabeth’s War and Crossfire in the Street are going to be in my permanent collection, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an unforgettable historical fiction novel.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books

About the Author

Although born in New Jersey of parents from New Jersey and Tennessee, it was just a matter of time before Diane’s “southern” blood revealed itself. And reveal itself it did, in a passion for all things western and related to the Civil War. Having learned a great deal in her research since her historical journey began, especially in the midwest, Diane has attempted to portray both the west and the war from numerous points-of-view, which is not always the same history as what has been previously portrayed–or taught.

As a kid, Diane played Cowboys and Indians more than she did Barbie, and as she got older, she and her cousin (whose parents were reversed) gave themselves the moniker of “Yebels.” The question of what it would have been like during the Civil War years, when friends and family fought on opposite sides of the war, festered inside Diane until she answered her own question in the form of the novels she writes of the west and Civil War, where everyday people, regardless of what “side” they were on, when faced with difficult situations, rose to the challenge, and survived.

Now living south of Kansas City, Missouri, on fourteen acres of property, when Diane’s not writing or marketing, she enjoys sitting on her front porch, reading when she can or just watching her horses in the pasture and multitude of cats in the yard. When she does venture into town, it’s to work at a lawfirm on the Plaza, or visit her two children and five grandchildren.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, November 5
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Elizabeth’s War)

Tuesday, November 6
Interview at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, November 7
Excerpt at T’s Stuff
Feature at Maiden of the Pages
Review & Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads (Crossfire in the Street)

Thursday, November 8
Review at Locks, Hooks, and Books (Elizabeth’s War)

Friday, November 9
Review at Bri’s Book Nook (Elizabeth’s War)

Monday, November 12
Review at The Reading Woman (Elizabeth’s War)

Tuesday, November 13
Feature at Book Nerd

Wednesday, November 14
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Thursday, November 15
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review at The Book Junkie Reads (Elizabeth’s War)

Friday, November 16
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Crossfire in the Street)

Monday, November 19
Review at Bri’s Book Nook (Crossfire in the Street)

Tuesday, November 20
Review at Locks, Hooks, and Books (Crossfire in the Street)

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 20th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

D.L. Rogers

The Cleansweep Conspiracy Blog Tour Plus Review

Book Details:

Book Title: The Cleansweep Conspiracy by Chuck Waldron
Series: A Matt Tremain Technothriller Book 1
Category: Adult Fiction, 310 pages
Genre: Thriller / dystopian
Publisher: Bublish Inc.
Release date: April 2018
Tour dates: Aug 13 to Sept 21, 2018
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (Adult language)

Book Description:

In this riveting technothriller, investigative blogger Matt Tremain is covering devastating riots in Toronto when he learns of a plot to rid the city of “undesirables.” The operation is called CleanSweep, and appears to be led by billionaire Charles Claussen, who want to sweep Toronto clean of all street people and any citizens who don’t match his restrictive screening matrix.

Matt questions whether he has the courage, skill or influence to take on Claussen, but the murder of one of his sources convinces the blogger to put his life on the line. He gambles on the loyalty of a Toronto police detective and a local TV reporter for help. If his trust is misplaced, Matt will become yet another victim of CleanSweep, and the truth will be buried with him forever.

My Review

This book discusses the societal issues of people deciding who are “desirable” for society and who are “undesirable” for society. The “CleanSweeps” who are run by Charles Claussen have decided that they want to get rid of the homeless, the “gangsters”, homosexuals, people with mental illnesses, and people of certain religions. They started their plan on a small scale, but now they have moved to mass exterminations of people. They don’t really care if some desirable citizens are caught in the crossfire, just as long as the majority of those killed are undesirables. Claussen has been given advice by his grandfather who was in charge of a work camp in Nazi Germany, and is determined for his CleanSweep policy to take over the world.

My favorite part of this story was seeing the workers try to help the people who were secretly fighting CleanSweep. As CleanSweep gained more power, they had to hide more and more just to even meet up. Nevertheless, they were each able to help in their own way, even if they thought they weren’t doing that much. The ordinary people were key to the investigation as a whole.

The one thing that irritated me as I was reading this story was that I could never really tell where the timeline was. If I am correct, the story starts off with the attack, then it goes back to talk about the details leading to the attack, and then proceeds through the attack and afterwards. This is not necessarily made clear, so I was confused and thought that there was going to be a second attack even though it was just the prequel to the first attack. If this timeskip had been made more clear, I would not have struggled so much to get into the story at first.

This world was built so uniquely, but it spoke about many of the issues that affect our world today. I think that anyone who likes dystopian fiction would enjoy this novel, and might even be creeped out by it since it is so similar to our own universe. Even if you would be interested in a political thriller, this could be the novel for you. Even though it is supposed to be in a fantasy universe, it seems eerily similar to our own and discusses many of the same issues.

I would recommend this book to lovers of dystopian fiction, mysteries, and political-based thrillers.

I received an advance copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

To read reviews, please visit Chuck Waldron’s page on iRead Book Tours.

 

Buy the Book:

 

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble 

Chapters Indigo ~ Indiebound

 

Add to Goodreads

 

 

Meet the Author:

 

Chuck Waldron is the author of four riveting mystery, thriller and suspense novels and more than fifty short stories. Inspired by his grandfather’s tales of the Ozark Mountains and local caves rumored to be havens for notorious gangsters, Waldron was destined to write about crime and the human condition. Those childhood legends ignited his imagination and filled his head with unforgettable characters, surprising plots and a keen interest in supernatural and historical subplots.

With literary roots planted in the American Midwest and South, and enriched by many years living in the fertile cultural soil of metropolitan Ontario, Waldron now resides on Florida’s fabled Treasure Coast with his wife, Suzanne. While keeping an eye out for hurricanes, alligators, and the occasional Burmese python, visitors will find Waldron busy writing his next crime thriller.

Connect with Chuck: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook 

 

Enter the Giveaway!

Ends Sept 29, 2018

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