Desperate Paths by EC Diskin

Desperate Paths is a standalone thriller which journeys into betrayal, racism, abuse, abortion and misguided parental teachings.

Brooklyn’s dad was a shining light in her life. She came to see him a week ago after her sister, Ginny, let her know that he had fallen and broken a hip. So why now, a week later, is she sitting in a police cell after being found wiping a gun and standing over his body?

Eden is a good, clean town guided by the morals and teachings of religion and Pastors like Gary who want nothing more than to let loose decent, upstanding teenagers into the world. So, it’s proper that the community turn on the local abortion clinic and kill a doctor, right? Well, no one knows exactly who did it, but you don’t hear any complaints.

Darius Woods is a boy who left Eden and made it big in the world of showbiz. He has now returned to see his father and brought with him a manuscript for a movie he has written about some of the residents and happenings in Eden. The names have been changed to protect people, but if this gets out, no one will be safe from the repercussions. Darius is shot shortly after arriving back in Eden—was this a case of racism, which is still rife in this town, or someone willing to do whatever it takes to save their name from being exposed in the manuscript?

The web of lies is being held together by a thread which is threatening to snap. If it starts to unravel, who knows what will be exposed. Eden is not the paradise it claims to be, after all...

This book is really busy, with a lot of storylines and intermingled timelines and I enjoyed it tremendously. I was literally just going one more chapter, one more chapter and I’ll go to sleep! You are introduced to Brooklyn who was adopted as a baby from the Dominican Republic and never quite accepted at school or by her older sister. As she starts questioning Ginny’s story about her dad’s accident and sees how Ginny is relying more and more on alcohol, she begins to realise that something is not adding up. The author takes you on the journey of her anguish through what she believes to be true now might not be and jumps back and forth in time in the story from the day she is arrested to the week prior when she comes home. This makes filling in the blanks like a treasure hunt where the reader is only fed tiny nibbles of the clues until Pandora’s Box opens and secrets start spilling out in a tsunami.

There are so many questions that just as quickly as they are answered lead to more questions and very often you find yourself liking a character and are then shown who they really are and land up hating them. It goes to show how often we make assumptions based on one trusted person’s opinion when there are a number of people warning us off but we won’t listen. The secondary characters all played pivotal roles, from a cop who wants to help out a friend by manipulating the rules of justice to a husband who is so self-involved that the world constantly lets him down as nothing can meet his standards.

I really appreciated the level of editing in the book as there were no mistakes in grammar and punctuation that interrupted the flow of reading and you were left to just devour each page as it went by. To be picky, there are one or two scenes that seem a little far-fetched even in the context of the story, but without them, the bigger picture wouldn’t be what it is, I guess. You will most certainly find yourself wanting to fly through the book in order to see where the story ends.

The themes in the story are deep, and if you are a person who is easily offended by stories involving abuse in the church, racism and abortion then take this as a warning before you decide to start to read. If you can read it for the sake of reading a great story, then jump right in; the highs and lows will have you questioning decisions and actions and sometimes just outright shaking your head. I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to review Desperate Paths.

Shades of Circle City by Stephanie A. Cain

Shades of Circle City is the first in an urban fantasy series with elements of the paranormal.

Chloe died after she was shot. Ok, so it was only for three minutes but she still died. It seems, however, that she brought something back with her: the ability to see ghosts. Now you would think that as a cop that would be beneficial, but for some reason, they can’t communicate with her. And strangely enough, the guy who shot her is now haunting her. But he didn’t get killed when he shot her, so what happened? Chloe’s case gets linked to a string of other robberies where occult jewellery and books seem to be the main target. Braxton Wolfe, the cop in charge of these other cases calls Chloe in to help out and as they work closer together the inevitable feelings start to develop for each other. But how exactly is Braxton going to tell her that he is a werewolf and how is she going to tell him she sees ghosts? As they delve deeper into the world of the dead, they realise that someone out there is trying to resurrect a person. And that they will stop at nothing to do this; whether sacrificing an innocent or eliminating anyone standing in their way. A cat has nine lives but will a wolf and the woman he fell for be as lucky?

This is a great start to a series, and I enjoyed the introduction of hardheaded Chloe and her stubbornness in finding out exactly what happened in this case. Her tenacity and bravery in facing her fears was a nice reminder of real-world problems especially as it was interspersed with the inner demons of her past that she was still battling to deal with and the guilt and forgiveness associated with them. Braxton came across in the same manner. Thrust into the role of alpha after the loss of his father and still struggling to assert his dominance on certain members of the pack, Braxton must mix this in with the work caseload he has. The addition of pack members and colleagues, as well as family, allowed the story to be shared among characters without the amount of them becoming overwhelming. And I can certainly understand the anguish of losing a child and wanting to bring them back but the way Garza was trying to accomplish this screamed a loud warning of leaving the dead exactly where they were.

The editing of grammar was very good, and the one mistake I spotted surprised me as I stopped to go back and reread it. The writing style is easy to read which helps increase the pace of your reading without compromising the understanding or retention. The ending was a bit abrupt for me as when I had 15 pages to go it wasn’t quite there yet and then all of a sudden it was, but it leaves the story open to lead into book two. When you sign up to the author’s subscriber’s list you receive the prequel to this book, which I’m looking forward to reading. This looks like it’s going to be a great series.

Thanks to Voracious Readers Only and the author for a copy of the book. It’s never explicitly stated that a review must be done on receipt of the book, but as a reader, I think it’s important to give feedback when you have been gifted a copy of the author’s hard work.  

The Fireman by Joe Hill

The Fireman is a supernatural fantasy thriller and at nearly 800 pages is an epic read about how society handles a crisis.

Dragonscale is rife. When you become infected with it, it looks much prettier than its consequences. Soon it will cause you to overheat and spontaneously combust. It’s contagious, and there is no cure.

Nurse Harper Grayson is a happy-go-lucky take charge kinda gal. One who loves singing Mary Poppins songs but will fight anyone standing in her way of looking after her patients. Mary and her husband Jakob have a plan if they become infected as they want to end their lives on their terms so have a pill waiting just in case. Harper finds out she is pregnant though, and this changes her outlook as she knows she cannot harm her child. When she becomes infected, she finds out what kind of man Jakob really is and knows the only way to keep her child alive is to run.

The Cremation Squads, however, are out there. Bands of people intent on killing the infected as soon as possible so that the virus cannot spread anymore. Harper manages to run and is found by a strange group of people who take her into their colony. There is the fireman she met once before at the hospital desperate to help a child. Then there is Allie, a teenager prepared to fight the world to protect her deaf brother, Nick. Accidents start happening in the colony, though, and as more and more people turn to fanaticism to cope, the accidents become deliberate ways of sabotaging those they mistrust. Soon the crowdthink takes over and anyone found not towing the fanatics’ line finds themselves punished by archaic methods. Harper realises that the only way to save her baby is to try to convince the fireman to go with her to a safe place for the infected. But the fireman has demons of his own and is firmly on the line between this world and a mad reality.

This is the first book I have read by Joe Hill and didn’t want to compare any aspect of the book or the writing to his father, but as soon as characters from his father’s books or a mix of their names cropped up I found it quite weird as I stopped concentrating on the work and started looking for the eggs. A mix of names can be overlooked but when you straight-out use a name like Tom Gordon it’s just too in your face. His style of writing is interesting; very evocative in some places and very slow in others. The story itself is quite a journey with the focus shifting around between the characters, which meant that very often you couldn’t feel as much for the character as you would have liked to. There are some definite WTF moments that were either too drawn out, not necessary or just plain seriously? I think I preferred to look at what was under the story instead of the surface as you see how people react in a crisis they were never prepared for and how even though you think you are in charge of your own decisions, that when the crowd believes something you don’t, you fit in for fear of being ousted. The shared hysteria around punitive punishment also made you feel extremely uneasy.

The ending was pretty obvious and when it came; it felt oddly dissatisfying. Luckily, the grammatically mistake-free editing of the book allowed for ease of reading so that you could focus your attention on the story itself. The beginning of the book really drew me in with a fantastic idea, but the meandering and tangents that the reader was thrown on made it a slog in places to get through. It felt as though the parts that needed expansion were cut short and some parts that really didn’t need as much description got the full monty.

I’ll definitely be trying more of this author’s works and thought this was a very interesting introduction to my Joe Hill journey.   

Knight of the Hunted by Elizabeth Dunlap

Knight of the Hunted is a YA paranormal romance and is the first in a series.

Lisbeth is a 400-year-old Born vampire and a strong one at that. Created by the coupling of a human mother and an Incubus, she is more powerful than a turned vampire and can take sustenance, not only from blood but from human food too. Throughout her life she has lived by the rules, knowing that they are there for a reason and there is no need to break them. So why did she feel the need to protect a Lycan pup? That was a big no no. Now she has Hunters on her trail (including her friend Olivier) who mean to bring her in to face the consequences of breaking that rule. As she flees from her pursuers, she meets up with a guy called Knight whose scent she cannot place. Part Lycan, part something else. Plus, he has no pack to run with. Knight vows to protect Lisbeth and as their pursuers get closer, they find themselves in a village of vampires and humans, controlled by another ancient Born vampire James, drunk on the control additional blood feedings give him. James decides to make Lisbeth his own, and she starts to sink deeper and deeper under his influence. She needs to get away from James, but how? She needs to remain safe from the Hunters, but how? She needs to decide what to do about Knight in her life, but how?

So, the story itself. The author has definitely kept it YA so a bit of romance, not any gratuitous violence, and some light-hearted banter and snarky remarks. What I did enjoy about the book, was the idea that one who follows the rules so whole-heartedly would break them to save a child and in doing so learns more about what is out there in life. The lycan/vampire love interest is not a new idea, but the slight change that makes Knight something more than a Lycan makes it interesting. I found there were too many questions left for me at the end of the book. Yes, there is a cliffhanger at the end, but it was the holes in the story that were left open that made it feel not well-rounded. For instance, there is a character called Sara who runs the guest house in the village James controls that has quite a big part in helping Lisbeth out but the reader has no idea who she is, where she comes from, why her son was mentioned, or her purpose. This might be looked at later on in the series but a small explanation now would have piqued the readers’ interest. The same goes for any other explanation about the village or what happens at any other times in it other than when Lisbeth meets James, more info about the Alpha’s protection, and maybe more character backgrounds especially Cameron and Balthazar.

The proofreading of this book did not do the flow of reading any favours. As an editor, my eyes tend to catch needless quirks and mistakes quickly which take the enjoyment out of an easy read. I understand that mistakes can crop up, but when curly apostrophes and straight apostrophes are mixed up in the same sentence, or en dashes are used in place of em dashes, or a word has a hyphen and an en dash in it more than a couple of times it makes me pause too often.

I would have to put this in the average category due to the editing mistakes and the story that left me with more questions than answers. I’m sure many people will enjoy it for its easy to read style, but I needed more substance to feel more for the characters. I would like to find out what happened to Lisbeth at the end though!

Thanks to Voracious Readers Only and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.  

A Lot of Nerve by Ian McCulloch

A Lot of Nerve is a standalone novel about the shady world of crime and being able to trust no one.

Jones is a small-time crook; a confidence trickster who likes working schemes around schemes and violence is definitely not his thing. One day, while having a pint in a local, he sees some sort of payoff taking place and vows to worm his way in on the deal. The problem is that he is still obligated to shift some merchandise for a local gangster, one who doesn’t want him to get out of his debts so easily. As Jones uses Peter to pay Paul, he lands up being pulled in a number of different directions and finds himself drawn deeper into the more dangerous side of his profession. Add to this a cop who seems to have more than a professional interest in him. A lot is riding on perfect timing, so can he pull off one of the biggest capers of his life and keep his head on his shoulders?

A Lot of Nerve is a fast-paced and enjoyable quick read. There are a few editing mistakes but nothing that is offputting. Even though Jones is a crook and you know he is defrauding people, you can’t help but root for him as he works out ways to use his connections. Since I’m not privy to the world of conmen and thievery I cannot say for certain just how much artistic licence is taken in the story, but the craziness of what was asked of him and how he weaselled out of it definitely had me laughing. Add in a government agency somehow trying to manipulate gangsters and you have the basis of a hair-brained scheme relying on the most unexpected of players.

I really enjoyed this book as a bit of a snarky look at the world of crime. It had a Guy Ritchie feel to it—where more of the cerebral ability instead of general physical violence ruled the day. Good for a quick laugh with writing that creates a comfortable flow of reading.   

Thanks to Thistle Publishing for the chance to review the book.

Destructive Interference: The Devastation of Matthew Morrisey by Michael Christopher Carter

Destructive Interference is a paranormal standalone thriller and tells the tale of parallel realities and what might have been.

Matthew Morrisey and his family have been through a rough time recently. What with their daughter, Abi, battling leukaemia and the long hours at work to land the account for the new water vehicle the army can use, they could use some family time together at Christmas. Abi’s present from their neighbour, however, needs new batteries so Matthew sets off to the local store on Christmas day to buy some. Outside the shop he encounters a homeless man and does something he would not normally do—he gives him money. Little does he know that his return home will not be as expected. His family have disappeared from, his neighbours don’t recognise him and some form of authorities seems to be after him. What is going on?

The author has taken two realities to show us what could have happened to Matthew based on an accident that may or may not have happened when he was young. Each reality depicts a completely different life for Matthew—one from rags to riches and the other from hero to zero. The realities are intertwined with each other as the characters play roles in each. The story ends with the possibility of what happens when someone is given opportunities and runs with them or has things taken away and doesn’t know how to cope.

I kept turning pages to see where the story was going as I understood the paranormal twist to it, but I didn’t really feel it as such. I wasn’t really drawn in by the characters and felt that some were OTT while others just blended in. The ending threw me because even with the author’s explanation of destructive interference it felt like he was saying no good deed goes unpunished and it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

I’m not sure what I expected but I felt ambivalent at the end and it was one of those books that didn’t make a lasting impact on me. 

Twisted Tales from the Northwest by Mari Collier

Twisted Tales is a collection of short stories that falls into the horror genre but without the expected bloodshed.

Here you will find, amongst others, tales of people stuck in time loops, a town insistent on burial customs, newly awakened vampires and a haunted house.

To me, this collection was a hit and a miss so I’m glad it was on a free promotion. And unfortunately, the hits didn’t really stay with me either. When I finished the book I had to go back to the beginnings of each tale to refresh my memory of what the story was about as nothing really stood out for me. I know what elements the author was using to convey the anthology as horror, but very often the story had no scary element; whether physical or mental. Some stories would just end and that was that. Sort of an “oh, that’s it?” moment. A number of editing mistakes crept through which also hindered enjoyment of the stories.

I expected more but it turned out to be an average read that didn’t really resonate with me.

Fire and Ice: Born in Fire by K.F. Breene

Born in Fire is a paranormal adventure and is the first in a series.

Reagan is a bounty hunter and an annoyed one at that. Some thieving vampire swooped in and stole her mark. It doesn’t matter that he is an elder; he shouldn’t be allowed to do that. Since she is running low on cash, Reagan has no choice but to take the next available job. But urgh—it’s for vampires and she has to deal with the smarmy idiot (Darius) who took her mark in the first place. But not all is as it seems. As demons and mages and other manner of beings get involved, Reagan must learn to rely on others as she has never done before. Reagan has a secret of her own, however, and needs to keep it just that: a secret.

Again, another book you can enjoy without having to get too involved in thinking about it. I know a lot of reviewers found Reagan angry, but considering her secret I can see where she gets it from. I actually enjoyed her personality but found it strange that she was impervious to so much magic and could fight off any manner of beings but give her some alcohol and she becomes so drunk she can’t defend herself. Surely her body would have been able to fight it off considering in the beginning of the book she orders a drink at the bar where they are made of “turps and artificial flavouring” and has no problem drinking those? The non-sex between the main characters and the sex with Darius and a donor is also a bit weird—guess it is up to each reader to see how they feel about it. The introduction of so many different kinds of supernatural beings was very interesting and showed how mixing magic between them was not a good idea. The spells in their casings were also an intriguing way of looking at storing magic. I didn’t like the beings that the vamps were inside. I get that it’s the idea of the evil behind the mask, but I’d rather the dark side be wrapped in something pretty (I blame Eric Northman for that)!

The writing is easy to read and it’s a style you can read at a fast pace as you don’t have to remember minute details from one scene to the next. The story doesn’t go very deeply into characters' back-stories so the plot is pretty much surface level, which is great for a quick, easy read. I’d definitely like to know more about Reagan’s secret and see where the relationship between her and Darius is going.

Recommended for a light-hearted paranormal read, but don’t expect too much substance.

What Hurts the Most by Willow Rose

What Hurts the Most is a psychological thriller and is the first in a series.

Mary Mills has had better days. She has just been fired from her job as a journalist for a good piece of work and received a phone call to say that her brother has been arrested and charged with murder. She packs up her son and heads off to Cocoa Beach where she grew up, determined to clear his name. The problem is that she is running right back to the people and problems she left behind; including an ex-husband, a manipulative stepmother, a downtrodden father, and a group of friends she hung out with known as the 7^Th Street Crew. The case becomes more sinister as more bodies turn up and Mary gets threatened by some very high levels in the military base in her old hometown. As past and present collide and old hatred rears its head, can Mary find the help she needs from her old crew or will she be one of the next bodies?

This is one of the better works by the author and I enjoyed the psychological aspects of it. It takes a bit of time, in the beginning, to get your head around all of the characters and their timelines as they only come together much later in the story. As you are fed more and more clues you start piecing it together and then find out your assumptions are incorrect. The whole idea behind it must be read with artistic licence as once you start questioning certain aspects or actions, some incidents don’t tie together (like a certain photo at the end) or actions being strange (a group of friends who are now adults are all still afraid of the school bully but all working together to break the law and fight for justice). These can be overlooked to enjoy the story in its entirety.

The writing is good but I did find some jumps between 1^st and 3^rd person POV for the same character which caused a jolt in the reading experience. Take the story with a pinch of salt and enjoy the tale for what it is: an enjoyable afternoon’s read with a twist that you didn’t see coming.