Book Review: Going All In by Stephanie C. Lyons-Keeley and Wayne J. Keeley

Author: Stephanie C. Lyons-Keeley & Wayne J. Keeley
Release Date: 17th October 2017
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Adult, Light Erotica
Edition: Ebook
Pages: 359
Publisher: Melange Books

Blurb:

Three mismatched suburban couples, Steve and Katie, Marty and Erin, and Scarlett and C. Thomas, have been neighbors and friends for years. During a pummeling Connecticut Nor’Easter, the members of the bored triptych engage in a friendly game of Texas Hold’em in front of a fire and over more than a few bottles of Merlot. The impromptu get-together eventually leads to the institution of alcohol-driven, bi-weekly poker nights.
One evening on a lark, someone suggests an alternate payout – instead of pocket change, the winner may choose a player (other than his or her spouse) with whom to spend the night. The proposition takes shape, but complications arise as these things will.
All too quickly, friendships are strained and relationships begin to crumble. Lies are told, truths are exposed, and feelings are hurt. In the end, can anyone bear the weight of this wanton self-indulgence? They are six fully consenting adults, and after all, it’s only a game. Or is it?

Review

★★★★+1/2

Going All In by Stephanie C. Lyons-Keeley & Wayne J. Keeley is a contemporary fiction (bordering on erotic fiction) written very well by the husband-wife author duo and rich with authentic characterization.

When I read the blurb of this book, I was quite intrigued yet a little sceptic, but having read the authors’ previous book DeadraiserI accepted the book knowing how the writing would be. And to my utter pleasure, the book turned out to be really good!

I loved the way the story was told as the easy flow of the writing made reading this book not only easy but also very quick. There was a use of different POVs which helped me in relating to most of the characters. But the best part about this book was the characterization. The characters were so realistic that it was hard to imagine that it wasn’t a true story. All the characters were unique and had qualities that made them real and relatable. I was really vouching for Steve and Katie’s relationship but I must say that the end was nothing short of satisfying given what he did.

In this book, the authors beautifully experiments and bring us face to face with different human tendencies that anyone can or would exhibit. I’m sure that about eighty percent of the people I know are like Steve; they know what they really want but always try to do the right thing and not think about anything else really.

I’d recommend this book to all the contemporary readers and Poker lovers (you’d love the book just for the kicks alone.)

PS: The book is not outright erotica but it does have some pretty explicit scenes.

Bookstagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/BatoU9rDDgw/


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Book Review: Deadraiser – Part 1: Horror In Jordan’s Bank by Stephanie C. Lyons-Keeley & Wayne J. Keeley

31927052Author: Stephanie C. Lyons-Keeley and Wayne J. Keeley
Series: Deadraiser Series
Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Occult
Edition: Ebook (PDF)
Pages: 
Publisher: 

Rating: ★★★★★

Blurb:

Necromancy is an ancient black magic used for the purposes of communing with the dead. It is believed that practitioners of the dark art may harness the ultimate power of life and death and raise the departed for their own nefarious, malevolent purposes. It also is alleged that a true necromancer may realize the ultimate gift of mortality.
DEADRAISER is the tale of a present-day practitioner who achieves what others have been unable to do for centuries — to raise the dead. The problem is that he must sacrifice innocent victims in order to maintain his power.
Enter Fanchon (Frankie) Manning, daughter of the late movie star Erika Manning. She is the ideal sacrificial lamb for the Necromancer’s perverse desires. The only thing that stands between the Necromancer and the girl is Christopher McGuire, a lost soul who long ago has ceased believing in anything. In order to save the child, he must somehow rediscover his faith and summon the courage to take on the darkest, most sinister being imaginable.

REVIEW

Deadraiser by Stephanie C. Lyons-Keeley & Wayne J. Keeley is one smasher of a book!
Staying true to its genre, this book kept me up at nights and gave me the chills.

The plot is really great and I enjoyed reading each and every single chapter. There was a mix of newspaper articles, journal entries, pages from the unpublished manuscripts, etc, and all these things took the plot and the setting of this book to an entirely different level.

The basic concept of the book is so unique that I was really intrigued and scared by it before even starting it. I’ve never read anything that was directly based upon Necromancy, and the fact that this book was entirely based on it really thrilled me. And after reaching the third chapter, I was sure that I was in for one hell of a reading experience.

I like the pacing, and the tension built-up was brilliant too. I also liked the flow of the authors’ writing, especially considering that it is a co-authored book. Right from the brilliant opening to the cliff-hanger of an ending , for me, this book scored a perfect 10 on all the fronts.

The characterization is not extraordinarily great, but considering the genre, it was pretty good. At least it was good enough for me to want to read this story without putting it down even for a second.

I’d recommend this book to all the Horror readers and also to those readers who want to read a nice scary read for Halloween. This is one horror book you wouldn’t want to miss!


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