Tag Archive: free-from-author



Drawing Dead: An Urban Fantasy Thriller (Dana McIntyre Must Die Book 1)Drawing Dead: An Urban Fantasy Thriller by S.M. Reine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW!!!! OMG!!!!! Of all of S.M. Reine’s massive series(s), this is my favorite!!!! I couldn’t stop reading once I started.

I almost missed this one. I had gotten so far behind in my email that I didn’t see the one offering to read/review Drawing Dana. Luckily I was offered a reprieve and allowed to read it even though late. Because since I met Dana McIntyre I have loved her. She is the bitch with a heart of gold. She is strong with the right amount of weakness. She is the vampire slayer who has been bitten. And I love the name of the weapon of choice. Spoilers! Can’t tell you!

Some of the many series(s) are a little dark or ‘demonie’, or too far into fae. And as much as I hate vampire stories, this should have been a non-starter. But it was Dana!!! I knew I couldn’t go wrong.

What I like and have liked about Sara’s writing has been her use of places where I have lived or at least visited. This one takes place in Las Vegas. Never lived there but been there enough to recognize the place. I never saw the vampires there but it is easy to imagine them there. Ms. Reine often writes of Reno. I did live there a while. But my Reno looked nothing like the one in her books, except, they did. Her imagination put beings there that I must have overlooked.

Please, if you get the chance, read this book. It is written so that you can start here. BUT… I suggest you start at the beginning: Six Moon Summer. Watch the world around you change into Reine’s world. So many adventures await, including this one.

I can’t wait for the next book!!!!!!!

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Bitter Thirst (Preternatural Affairs, #8)Bitter Thirst by S.M. Reine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though I am thankful to get to read one more of S.M. Reine’s books, I am never as pleased with the Special Agent Cèsar Hawke books. To me, they read like the old Humphrey Bogart PI type movies but with a paranormal twist.

Once again, others may enjoy these, but they just don’t pull me in the way the rest of Sara’s books do. Still, each of these adds to the overall story, just from another viewpoint. So I keep reading and learn more about our alternative world full of the same cities, just differently inhabited. Please read these books by this most prolific author. I think you will like seeing the world from another point of view.

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A Tapestry of TearsA Tapestry of Tears by Gita V. Reddy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book free of charge from the author.

Well, this was a treasure. You all know I don’t like short stories. I like getting to know characters deeply. That is why I read so many series. But Gita V. Reddy has pulled off keeping the story short while not leaving the reader empty.

If there was a theme running through these stories it would be “Love”. Though the stories are about Indian families/couples the American reader isn’t lost in cultural differences. The stray non-English word helps in keeping the story authentic but those aren’t over done.

The female dilemmas that plague many countries are merely spoken of in fact as part of the story and not the end goal. That made the stories more interesting.

I found re-reading the last couple stories from other books a little boring but if it were the first time for a reader to see them they might find these interesting.

Well-done, Gita! I do recommend that everyone read this book. It can make you see some of your own flaws to work on in love. It isn’t just for Indian women. It is for everyone!

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Cast in Godfire (The Mage Craft Series Book 5)Cast in Godfire by S.M. Reine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book free of charge from the author.

As my star rating shows. I liked this book. But of all the series and subseries in the S.M. Reine world this Mage Craft subseries about Marion and Seth’s strange love for each other and angels and gods and demons and hell hounds… oh my!

Look, don’t get me wrong. I love Ms. Reine’s writing and how she keeps things moving. And at least by this book, I am not needing a cast of characters chart to remember who everyone is. But still, once all our favorites are unidentifiable as angels and faceless gods. And the reader is left knowing the story is not over, just not a cliff hanger.

If you ever get the chance to read these series(es) by Sara Reine you will find yourself in worlds you know and yet, don’t know. Often stories take place in places like Reno or other real cities. Landmarks keep you anchored yet the manning of said city is not by people you know or would want to know in some cases. That keeps the story alive and real for a fantasy.

As I always recommend, start with the Six Moon Summer where you meet characters that stay with you through all the books. They don’t do a lot in some books but prove invaluable in others. It is always fun to meet them again and again. Like old friends. And maybe you will like this series far better than I did. I hope so. Sara Reine is quite prolific and keeps her readers wanting more!

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Three Sisters (Emily Castles Mysteries)Three Sisters by Helen Smith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was given this book for an honest review.

I started reading this just before going to sleep. I finished at a decent bedtime. I had to read it with the text-to-speech turned on as I found it going rather slowly. I didn’t care for Emily, the main character. She seemed like a nosey neighbor more than anything.

Beware of the spoiler, the title of the book. That took all the mystery out of the story. Most of the time I found I was feeling left out. That the author just gave it all to me. And yet… Would you believe it? I still have no real idea whodunit. Since I don’t like short stories, and I don’t much like mysteries, this didn’t feed me anything. Even the chance that I could travel to England and learn something new about the country or her people, fell flat.

Okay, there seems to be a lot of higher star ratings, so it may just be me. I don’t feel at all compelled to see what happens to Emily next. But I wish the author well and that you all will find me wrong.

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StolenStolen by Sheila Dalton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here there be pirates. Argh! And adventures galore!

Oh, but with that are slaves of many different breeds. And lots of misery of the times (early 1700?) Poor Lizbet finds that her parents have been taken captive on a slaver ship. She hopes they are alive but with the gore on the beach she fears they may not be. The first part of the book, she runs off with another unfortunate teen. They flee to London hoping to find a way in the world. The world lives in fear of women, cats and witches. No, there are no witches. But you could be arrested for just about anything.

I want to warn everyone in the second part. It almost sounds like the storyline of erotica. Though it leans that way it stays just above eros.Stick with it as the story gets more into the adventure that Lizbet longs for.

By the way, I received this e-book as a gift from the author, Sheila Dalton, for an honest review. I did love it and couldn’t put it down. I was impressed by the amount of research that is obvious within the tale. If you get the chance it is worth the read!

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Outsider: The Flawed Series Book TwoOutsider: The Flawed Series Book Two by Becca J. Campbell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was given the ARC by the author for an honest review. Because of it being an ARC, I will not count into this review any of the editing errors that I did pick up. In fact, the story caught me up so firmly that I hardly noticed these oopsies.

About that story! Wow! Told from the viewpoints of the main character, Josh, and his female interest, Alex, and their nemesis, Nic who is out to kill Alex. I like that you can get into the heads of each of these people. Sure, one could guess at the insecurities young people have about starting a new relationship, but Ms. Becca Campbell (author) gives us deeper insights than those surface issues. Put into that mix suddenly awakening abilities and one can understand the deep confusion. And seeing what was motivating the bad guy was ingenious!

This series is so much fun! It keeps one on the edge of one’s seat wondering what is going to happen? How will they get out of this one? Try to read this one so that the last half is long before bedtime. I was lucky that I was able to finish long before sleep. There are nightmare elements that I didn’t want to have entering my subconscious. (Course the next book I picked up then was by Neil Gaiman, gulp!)

It had been a long time since I read the first of the Flawed series, Flawed. Even so I found a reread wasn’t necessary. Enough review is set up in this book two that one wouldn’t feel lost. In fact, one could read this without having read the first book. But the depth you would have from reading the series in order is unbeatable. I highly recommend reading this series if you are inclined to read fantasy books about new or young adults. This one was more contemporary than other fantasies. In that way, it is fun to visit Colorado and California as they are.

I can’t wait to read the next in the series!

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Omega (War of the Alphas, #1)Omega by S.M. Reine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I received this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

But, hey! This was another Sara Reine adventure! How could I not love it? Yet another series is grown from the Six Moon Summer beginning. How it is possible Ms. Reine can be so prolific? She’s the alpha writer!

I have to admit to being a bit lost at first. What in the world is an Omega shifter? But that is, indeed, what the question of the book is. Even though we get to see Rylie for a bit, this story isn’t from her point of view. Now we get to see what has happened to the world since it ended and started again. Yet evil still exists and causes all kind of problems. Our Omega shifter must learn to deal with it all and figure out where she fits in.

This was not my favorite of all the books, but it was fun to revisit old friends and see that there is still hope of more story yet to come.

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Taxi - Tactics (Book 7)Taxi – Tactics by Sophia DeLuna

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ulrike, you did WHAT!! Well, what did you have in mind, Carmen? Yeah, that’s what I thought!

There. I’ve summed it up. Would I have done what Ulrike did? Nope. Wouldn’t have had the nerve or the idea. I’m stuck with whatever Carmen would have come up with. Stuttering my way through to absolutely nothing.

What’s this all about? Gosh, I can’t tell you. You have to read it for yourself. I am curious as to how others would handle this situation. What tactics would you use? Remember jobs and reputations are on the line. But it is a situation that comes up on a daily basis. Like I’ve said before, Sophia DeLuna uses realistic problems and handles them through the characters of Ulrike and Carmen. I have to say I was quite surprised with what was done and I have to admit to what I wouldn’t have known what to do. Real life like this scares me. As advanced as we think we all are on LGBTQ issues, this situation still exists.

As I have said before, I love these episodes by Ms. DeLuna. They challenge my mind. They warm my heart. It is a little like watching a soap opera. And at this point I can’t wait until Sophia finishes the next Taxi event! By the way, thank you, Ms. DeLuna for letting me read these last few for free. When I can, I will buy these stories for friends, thereby passing on the kindness.

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Taxi - Tuxedo (Book 6)Taxi – Tuxedo by Sophia DeLuna

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love visiting with my friends, Carmen and Ulrike. In this episode, Carmen has tickets to the opera and as the title suggests a tuxedo is involved. Some of us just can’t do dresses!

Do you want to know why I love these little book events? The writing is so flawless. The dialogue and situations are quite realistic. The troubles this couple encounter are also lifelike. And the way the author handles these situations are sometimes mature and responsible, sometimes not so much, but, real. What couple handle things beautifully every time? Most of us just muddle through our problems. We learn to talk it out, but some of us are better at that communication thing than others.

Most often I relate to Carmen in her ways of dealing with things. But in this chapter I related more to Ulrike. For me that is a grand feeling as I wish I was more like Ulrike and the ways she deals with the world.

Anyway, I highly recommend this series to those who want to read of lesbian relationships. The erotica is minimal, so if that offends, don’t worry. Some of us would like more, but that kind of book is a dime a dozen. These gems are about how this couple navigate being in a relationship. I was fortunate to have received the last few from the author but, when I get a few dollars ahead, I will buy them for others. After all, you can tell the work Sophia DeLuna puts into each and every story. By the way, you can find them on Smashwords. Most are $.99 or less. Check ’em out!

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