Month: July 2020

Book Review: First Gear (Sadie Hawkins Mystery #1) by Patricia C. Lee

Categories Detective Fiction, Mystery, Patricia C. Lee, Suspense, ThrillerLeave a Comment on Book Review: First Gear (Sadie Hawkins Mystery #1) by Patricia C. Lee

Author: Patricia C. Lee 
Release Date: 4th August 2020
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Detective Fiction
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 374 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
Recently divorced, petite and feisty Texan, Sadie Hawkins, struggles to get her newly established logistics business off the ground. When the opportunity to haul antiquities, including a mummy, drops into her lap, she jumps at the chance, despite the tight timeline. But when her cargo gets stolen and a fresh corpse mysteriously replaces the mummy, Sadie is arrested for theft and suspicion of murder.

Out on recognizance thanks to her lawyer ex-husband, and not willing to watch her business sink farther in debt while the police search for clues, Sadie yanks up her Dan Post boots and does some investigative work on her own. Stymied by her lack of success, she reluctantly enlists a few members with specific skills from Streetsmart, an organization made up of rehabilitated young adult offenders and managed by her best friend Tanya.

While trying to maintain her business from going under and making sure Tanya never learns of her collaboration with Streetsmart, Sadie endeavors to uncover the truth, the whole time wondering if this crime is some form of retribution to an event in her past. However, when she is framed for the real thief’s murder, it appears not even her accomplices in Streetsmart will be able to save her now.

Book Review

Rating: 3 out of 5.

First Gear by Patricia C. Lee is a start to a new detective fiction series that revolves around the female protagonist, Sadie Hawkins.

I’m generally not a huge fan of detective fiction genre, but I like a good detective mystery and given that this was the first book in the series, I had no inhibitions to dive right in. The story was good, the characterisation was okay – the characters were likeable, though not overly relatable, the narration was decent and the ending was good.

The best thing about this book was that it was a surprisingly quick read, which says a lot about the writing style of the author.

Knowing that first book in any series is generally meant to set things up for the next books, I’m willing to cut this one some slack and recommend it to mystery lovers, especially those who like reading detective fiction.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: The Big Book of Teeny Tiny Stories by Skyler Hammond

Categories Short-Stories, Skyler HammondLeave a Comment on Book Review: The Big Book of Teeny Tiny Stories by Skyler Hammond

Author: Skyler Hammond
Release Date: 3rd June 2020
Genre: Short Story Collection,
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 175
Publisher: –
Blurb: 
Skyler Hammond presents his illustrated collection of the much loved Teeny Tiny series. This book contains over 15 international artists and more than 175 pages of Teeny Tiny Stories, each with their own unique piece of art. In a busy world, sometimes the best way to satisfy our narrative needs is with bite sized chronicles containing whole worlds of their own.

From 11 to 88 years old, and aspiring creatives to those who have illustrated for New York Times bestsellers, this book is filled with international artists of every style. All tell Teeny Tiny Stories in their own way. Inside these covers you will find a big wide world of bite sized fictions, every one of them accompanied by artwork. From drama to fantasy, and romance to sci-fi, this illustrated collection tells tales of love, space, robots and humankind. It is, simply put, a Big Book of Teeny Tiny Stories.

Book Review

Rating: 5 out of 5.

If I have to describe this book in two words the I’d say that is – ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!

OMG, I was not expecting that! I receive so many books for reviewing that somewhere along the line I know kind-of what to expect from a certain book, and therefore I like to keep my expectations in check so as not to get disappointed later. But my, what a BOMB this book turned out to be!

This book is full of very short tales, some were even tiny lyrical tales, and each and every single one of them was GOOD. I mean they packed a punch! I enjoyed each and every one of them and re-read most of them a couple of times just to savour them completely.

I am a sucker for beautiful illustrations and the ones in this book are so good that you’d want to cut them out (or print them in colour – if you’re reading the e-book version) and paste them on your bedroom walls. Some of the graphics were so cool that it made the stories all the better!

This book is like a tasty treat and even though it might not entirely be appropriate for kids, I’d still urge to get it as you can always skip a story or two while reading it to them. Though, I’m sure you’d first want to enjoy this amazing piece fo art yourself as it is a treat not only for the mind but also for the eyes. I recommend this amazing short story collection to everyone.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: The Shimmering: Dark Descent by A. K. Crook

Categories A. K. Crook, Fantasy, Magic, Magic Realism, Magic/Elementals, Romance, Urban FantasyLeave a Comment on Book Review: The Shimmering: Dark Descent by A. K. Crook

Author: A. K. Crook
Release Date: 4th July 2020
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Visionary Fiction
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 104
Publisher: –
Blurb: A visionary fantasy about a young woman who stumbles upon the world of her creators, only to discover she holds the key that will open the doorway to return home… and set the forces of evil free.
In the city of Saint Anthony, there is a realm of existence unknown to most mortals. Far below this urban landscape, in the cavernous bowels of the Underworld, Sinda journeys to discover fantastical lands, strange cultures — and herself. 
When she is snatched from her homeland and thrust into the civilized world of humans, she comes face-to-face with the hardest quest she has ever encountered – find her way home or follow her heart. 

Is the choice even hers?

The clock is counting down for Sinda, but time is not her only adversary — Nefarious beings seek her for their own devious designs, the Elders want to exploit her in a power play over their rivals and the godlike Solari’i hold her fate in their hands. 

With each turn she takes, Sinda draws closer to her destiny — and the salvation of the entire Underworld.

Book Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Shimmering: Dark Descent by A. K. Crook is a very refreshing take on the urban fantasy genre with elements of high fantasy, amazing supernatural beings, underlined by visionary and psychological themes and a sub-plot of romance, lightly touching on the LGBTQ subject – this book has everything a book lover can ask for and more!

Wow, I was not expecting this book to be this awesome! I loved the cover and was intrigued by the blurb as it promised a lot, but I am always sceptical whenever the blurb is extremely promising because many times authors overstate while working on the blurbs and it is very disappointing to then read a book and find out it was nowhere close. But this book was one of those rare cases where it delivered what was promised! And even some more, which made it a pleasant surprise for me.

I love reading urban fantasies as I like the concept of our world co-existing with another one and this book was a real treat as it had good characterisation, sensible theories that were not unrealistically far-fetched, awesome beings and creatures and their insatiable lust for power and related motives. This book was full of conflicts and I enjoyed reading it a LOT!

To top it all of, the book was written well and the concepts were executed conscientiously making the prose flow smoothly. And I would definitely recommend this book, the author’s debut, to all fantasy lovers. 

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon