Dead Wrong by Lynn Emery

Dead Wrong is the third in a series about the Joliet sisters who are detectives and psychic ones to boot.

Jessi and Charmaine are called in to a case on a plantation involving missing objects and the owner’s certainty that spirits are to blame. The two of them discover very quickly that they are not welcome, both because the rest of the family do not believe in ghost hunters, and also because they are the wrong colour in a place where colour determines status in life. As the finger is pointed at different people and bodies start turning up, will the ghosts doomed to spend their existence there help them to trace old records that have made this mystery and indeed an unsolved murder into so much more?

I found this an average read and not one I would read again or look further into the series. I found the story overall rather drawn-out considering the ultimate ending. Taking into account they are paranormal detectives I was surprised that very little actually had to do with the ghosts and their talents and I felt a lot more could have been incorporated. Even the actual detective work was a bit humdrum. Jessi’s past as a stripper and hooker kept being brought up and I thought fewer mentions would have been better. Charmaine’s sex drive was also a little OTT and the fact that she jumped into bed with some of the characters, whether clients or not, seemed odd. It was a bit like taking a bunch of unlikeable characters all blaming each other and figuring out whodunit. Except, since I didn’t gel with the way many of the conversations were worded, I didn’t really care.

There were a lot of editing errors, from incorrect punctuation marks, to punctuation in the wrong places to erroneous words being used, which really jarred the flow of reading.

Many thanks to Voracious Readers Only and the author for a copy of the book, but I wouldn’t give it more than 3 stars as I was really hoping for more action and more paranormal activity.

Princess Grace of Earth by AK Lambert

The full review can be found here:

https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=114217

Three Remain by RA Andrade

Three Remain is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller and tells the story of three strangers thrown together who have to learn to work as one in order to remain alive.

First, we meet Glen, who works in insurance and has witnessed a strange meteor shower just before he has gone to sleep. Then we have Sunshine (so named by Glen obviously due to her sunny personality—or not) who has awoken after a car accident with no memory and no clue as to her identity. Lastly, we have Traci, a pre-teen out at the movies who has woken to find everyone is missing and there is no signal for her phone (horror of horrors). The three land up meeting each other and realise they are trapped in an area surrounded by a fogbank. With no power and no means of communication with anyone else, they are forced into strange circumstances and have to make decisions they might never have even contemplated before. Could it really be the end of the world or are they pawns in a larger game?

I was drawn to the book by the description and the start really pulled me in. Then things went south. This is one book I actually struggled to finish. The idea behind the beginning of the book—great. The idea about the multitude of plot changes—getting fishy. The ending—oh, come on! You would get to a section where the characters were pushed a ‘la “Truman show style” and sort of buy into it, and then they would be pushed somewhere else and then somewhere else. Each time I kept asking myself—surely not? There is fiction and imagination and then there is just plain silly. It’s almost an insult to ask the reader to swallow some of it. From tanks to androids and dolphins to sex robots to aliens – it’s like someone looked at some interesting ideas and said hey, why not use all of them in one book?  

There were initially only three characters to concentrate on so you would think that a lot could be said about them and you could really get into their stories. I didn’t find this at all. Sunshine was the most annoying and whiny character and I honestly felt more irritated than sorry for her. While Glen was trying to be the perfect gentleman around her she harped on and on about him not looking while she was changing or telling him he was too old for her and never stood a chance or just being flat out rude to him. Traci was not much better and her moaning about her phone not working got on my nerves. Her attitude and actions jumped constantly from a pre-teen to one much older and the inconsistency was jarring. The supposed “mother and daughter” dynamic between Sunshine and Traci that was meant to be a big part of the story fell flat to me, and I found some of the interactions between the three unnerving.

It’s sad when a book makes such a negative impact on a reader and the silly dialogue and ludicrous situations overshadowed any positives. I’m sure if it had been developed correctly it might have been a good story, but all I remember are the negative parts. The one thing I can say, though, is that barring a few punctuation errors, the proofing was very good.

Unfortunately, this is one I wouldn’t read again. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review the book.

  

Shatterskin by Beca Lewis

Shatterskin (The Return To Erda) is the first in a fantasy series aimed at young adults.

Hannah is about to do a portal dimensional jump. This is definitely a first for her, and even though she has some small trace of powers on Earth, she doesn’t know how they will translate in Erda. Erda is a breathtakingly magical place. Similar to Earth, but blessed with nature beyond anything she has ever seen before. As Hannah meets new characters and people, memories are slowly beginning to come back. Memories of having lived in Erda before. Of being someone important, someone needed. As it turns out, Hannah is a princess and in order for her full powers to be revealed on Erda, she needs to train. And train she does. Hannah finds out that the threat she will be facing is a giant metal robot named Shatterskin who was created by Abaddon, an age-old enemy of Erda. Shatterskin, accompanied by the green slimy blobs called Shrieks, literally destroys everything in his path, and nature cannot rebuild where he has been. Will Hannah be ready in time or have the inhabitants of Erda left it too late to bring her back?

The author has created a lovely world in Erda, one that feels gentle and flows with nature and as you picture the damage done by Shatterskin, it actually feels rather sickening. The writing is very evocative and you are able to picture the dragons and tree people and fairies and get swept up in their emotions. As the battles against Shatterskin and the Shrieks took place, the author helped you to understand the despair the characters were facing, and it became much more than just a story.

I found Hannah a bit whiney in the beginning, but I guess with all she was going through she was bound to be feeling out of sorts. The story is very light and you don’t delve too deeply into the character’s emotions, which is understandable seeing as this is the first book and the characters and their roles need to be introduced. There is no cliffhanger, but plenty of paths are left open for the series to move into! The editing was fantastic, and no mistakes occurred which would interrupt the flow of reading.

Thank you to Reedsy Discovery and the author for an ARC.

https://reedsy.com/discovery

Ancient Fall (Legends of Rhyme series #7) by Jaime Lee Mann

This is the final instalment of the Legends of Rhyme series and is aimed at middle grade so contains no profanity or scenes of a sexual nature.

The event they dreaded happening has come true. The Coraira opals that so many carry have gone black, which can mean only one thing. The land is dead. Those in Rhyme and Cymbria, whether sea or land, the Ice Realm and even Coraira, find themselves drawn together to fight not only evil that has again presented itself, but a far more powerful adversary. Mother Earth has taken a look around and decided that those she entrusted to look after all that she has provided have failed and will not be given another chance. That means that all of her warnings have been ignored and it is time to take it all back from humanity. All manner of beings from mermaids, to pixies, to giants, to humans and all those connected must band together with a phoenix of legend to break the curse and somehow convince Mother Earth that they can do better than those before. Will they be able to persuade her of their pure intents, though? And even if they do, will it be too late to stop the destruction she has begun?

The final book was always going to be difficult to bring together, as all the character’s stories had to be tied up and finished off. This meant a lot of hopping between characters and chapters where sometimes the chapter was only a page long and their story was so briefly touched on it almost seemed a waste.

I did, however, really enjoy how the final pieces were put together and the last questions about family and connections were answered. The poems leading into the sections were very well written and the big idea of Mother Earth fighting back was a very sobering thought. It brought home the idea that we need to look to the future and repair damage that was done before. This was also brought through as a thread in the book with regards to family ties and broken promises.

I was a little annoyed that at 86% the book was over and the rest was taken up with a summary of the previous books in the series, a list of characters and more about the author. While I appreciate the added extras, as soon as I see so much extra added, I wonder if the book couldn’t have been added onto instead considering its abrupt ending. The book also only started at 7% due to the hyperlinks. Again, the discussion questions were a great addition and would definitely prompt some lively debates.

I thoroughly recommend the series, not only for the fictional aspect it represents but for the morals it emphasises. The writing is compelling and flows easily and the characters draw you into their stories.

Thanks to Netgalley and Blue Moon Publishers for a chance to review the book and the series.

The League of Necros by Alexander Ellis

For full review please go to:

https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=111835

Get out of my Dreams by Allan J Lewis

Get out of my Dreams is the first in the Magic Man series and tells of a man able to control others through hypnosis in their dreams.

Alice has woken up again with her underwear folded neatly on her shoes and her husband downstairs asleep on the couch with the house alarm off and the front door unlocked. Her husband is having his own issues as he is troubled by the disturbing dreams he is having. They call the police and find out that there is a man out there, who has not been identified, but is able to get people to bend to his will and divulge dark secrets while sleeping seemingly under hypnosis. Of course, the police are on high alert about this as a man who can control others while asleep could be a terrorist. As Alice continues to dread sleeping, she finds herself in a position where the dreams she is having are oddly exciting. Kinky, in fact. Alice realises she is able to talk to the Magic Man and he can guide her dreams. This has serious repercussions as Alice, a would-be reporter, gets roped in with him to help police investigations as they enter into people’s dreams as informants and give the police information that leads to criminal arrests. But even for all the good that Joe can do, there are always those who will never trust him. The line is fine and Alice and Joe could find themselves on the wrong side of it.

The idea started off well and I thought the ultimate ability to catch terrorists was a good one. I did not enjoy the erotic dreams and scenarios that Joe led some people through though. I thought that the author did not exactly understand what turned women on, and was using the premise of an old porn script. In fact, when I found out the author was an older male I was quite surprised. The erotic parts didn’t throw me until Alice decided to sleep with cartoon characters in her dreams and the absurdity of this destroyed any of those parts of the story. So many questions were left unanswered and when you find out who Joe is and how he fits into the story I had to question why he continued to create the erotic dreams he did. It almost seemed seedy and out of character.

There were a number of editing mistakes which tripped up the speed of reading and I found a lot of parts repeated and unnecessary. There was a distinctly British feel to the book even though it is based in the US. Overall the book was very average for me as the idea was great and could have been used in a much more meaningful way. But hey, different strokes for different folks (no pun intended).

Thanks to Voracious Readers Only and the author for a copy of the book.