Book Review: Dreamz (Wunder #0.5) by A.R. Von

Synopsis: Wunder may have a normal life now…well, as normal as a freak of nature could have. Half zombie while her job is to hunt bloodthirsty creatures to protect the innocent. It’s the dreams that haunt her and they aren’t nightmares. Wunder dreams of a man, a man made just for her. Is he real, can he be the one she‘s yearned for?

Pete’s world is a lonely one as he wrestles with the reality of being part zombie. His hatred for the creatures that killed his parents drives him to patrol the streets and wipe them all out. His life would be stark, but for the dreams he’s been having; of a woman, so sensuous, so sexy. These alluring visions have become erotic and consuming. He feels as if he made her up to keep from going crazy. Is this life of hunting the walking dead, all there is? Or is she out there, waiting…just for him?

The Nerd Rambles: Plagued (haha see what I did there? Sorry, it won't happen again) by dreams featuring a smokin' hot mystery man, Wunder has to balance her day to day zombie hunting life and deal with her own demons of being half zombie--all the while thinking about her nightly escapades with tall dark and handsome.

This is a prequel of sorts to Wunder, which I've also reviewed and will link further down, and it goes deeper into Wunder's history and her daily life. I liked getting to read more about Wunder's team and more about her day to day life. We're also given more of an introduction to Pete, who is Wunder's love interest. Their chemistry is scorching hot, and well written. I can't get enough of Wunder and the world that Ms. Von has built. I'm really looking forward to book two, or really anything that I can sink my teeth into. (Sorry.)

Review for Wunder

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: Not given.
Available Format: Kindle, epub.
Publication Date: June 11, 2013 (Dream Z Dragon Publishing)
Author Link:  A.R. Von on Goodreads

Book Review: Touching Ghost (SEALs on Fire #6) Regina Carlysle

Synopsis: What a sweet little blast from his past! Ren “Ghost” Ramsey hadn’t planned on taking a trip back in time while Stateside with SEAL Team Arapaho but that’s what he gets when sweet Sadie Ballew buys a plane ticket to Key West and makes an offer he can’t refuse. Back in small town Oklahoma, he’d been the local bad boy complete with a chip on his shoulder and she’d been the only person who’d loved him despite it all. She’d been a girl then but things are a hell of a lot different now and Ren wants nothing more than to burn up the sheets with the sassy lady.

Ren was a man now. And what a man! Now a SEAL known as Ghost, a complete badass, infiltrator and spy, Sadie sees only the boy she’d loved and lost all those many years ago. His little R & R is just the excuse she needs to see if she’s woman enough to heat things up between them and claim him for her own…once and for all. Is she up for the challenge? Hoorah! Sadie is a woman who exactly what she wants… Ren in her bed and in her life.

The Nerd Rambles: This one is my absolute favorite so far in the series. Ren is adorable, and charming and has a little bit of hurt under his rugged SEAL exterior. I really love his chemistry with Sadie, and the way he cares so much for her. This one is more romance I think than anything--Ren is still very much an alpha male, but he treats Sadie so well and he's not as aggressive as the others. I just love this one so much. Seriously one of my favorites.

Jonesin' For Action (SEALs on Fire #3)
Dagger's Edge (SEALs on Fire #2)

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: not given
Available format: Kindle, epub
Publication Date: 2013 (Wild Rose Press)
Author's Link: Regina Carlysle web page

Book Review: Games of Fire by Airicka Phoenix

Synopsis: Sophie has enough problems in her life without Spencer turning her blood to fire, without his eyes freezing and burning her, without his hatred of her. Since his migration into the house next to hers, Sophia Valdez isn’t sure whether she wants to toss him under a bus or kiss that smirking mouth of his. But even as the temperature rises around them, leaping flames of passion, want and desire,everything either has ever known will be shattered by the lurking shadow hounding their every step, wanting revenge.

Spencer Rowth moves to the sleepy town of River Port with his mother and twelve year old sister, Suzy, to escape a deceitful father, an unfaithful girlfriend and a life crumbling much too fast for him to grapple onto only to be smacked upside the head by the last thing he wanted again. Sophie was everything he refused to want. Her temper, her wit, her laugh, her smile, the way her entire body goes up in flames under his hands are things he would rather slam a lid on and forget. Instead, he finds himself falling for the smart-mouth next door. But how long will he have before the evil chasing them catches up? How long before the very thing he never wanted becomes his only thread to sanity? And who is after them? What do they want and why do they want Spencer and Sophie dead?

The Nerd's Ramble: This book blew me away. I've read one of Ms. Phoenix's books before and I found myself enjoying that one as well. However, Games of Fire is probably one of my favorite things I've read in a while. The set up is a little standard, good girl lives with good parents, attends Church each week, has good friends, and the best guy friend since they were all little. Enter bad boy hottie who moves in next door, who all in one instant manages to turn her on and shut her down at the same time.

There's more to this than that though. Loads.

Sophie and Spencer meet and after fighting their growing mutual attraction for a third of the book enter into a sort of relationship, where neither wants to take take the next step, but they find themselves becoming tangled together. Then the really weird things start to happen. Vandalism, creepy messages, and some truly disturbing things happen in this book. I figured out who was behind it rather early on in the book, but it didn't take away from the story. In fact it made it even more fun to see when the big bad thing was going to happen. And speaking of big bad things--this is a doozy. And it's interesting how it's resolved and the buildup to it is really well written. I think what I like most apart from the suspense and the fact that this story goes so much deeper than good girl/bad boy fall in love is that the characters grow and change and evolve. They are not the same people at the end of the story that we as readers meet on page one. The characters change and get stronger, and good things happen, bad things happen and it's just really an all around great story. I cannot get enough of this story. I really liked it. It surprised me and I'm glad that I read it.

Disclosure: I won this in a contest. I am not compensated for this review, and I don't even think the author knows I'm doing it.

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: 475 pages
Available Format: Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, Paperback
Publication Date: February 14, 2013 (self published by Airicka Phoenix)
Author's Link: Airicka Phoenix webpage

Book Review: Bitter Blackout by N.A. Foy, Lynn Todd, Dori Klaproth, Shelly Schulz

Synopsis:  Mirrors of darkness. Love found in the arms of an enemy. Magic users who defy death. The silent corridors of a temple. A young woman runs the gauntlet and fights against her own kind for survival. All of these can be found within the realm of Bitter Blackout.

The Nerd's Ramble: Since this is an anthology, my review format is going to change just a little bit.
There are three poems by N.A. Foy. The first being Embrace the Shadow which is my favorite out of the three. The second poem in the anthology is The Temple and his third poem closes out the work with Grasping the Remains of a Dream. I'm not someone who reads a lot of poetry, but I really enjoyed the three that were featured.

The first short story is by Lynn Todd titled Tiamae. This piece is a detail rich story about a light elf, Zamatia, and a dark elf, Kerethsar, who against all odds fall in love and have a child named Tiamae. The relationship between Zamatia and Kerethsar has tons of Hades and Persephone to me, and I think it's an interesting take on a story that's as old as the spoken word.

The second short story is by Dori Klaproth titled Timeless Witch (Sioria Caelleich). This story is interesting complex, weaving magic and story telling to create a short that leaves me wanting more, and wanting to find out what happens next. It was a nifty little short, and I enjoyed it a lot.

The last short is the one that I wrote called The Harrowing. The main character named Alice is accused by the pack of being involved in her twin brother's, the former leader of the werewolf pack, death. Her sentence is to run in the Harrowing, a hunting tradition where the pack hunts the condemned. She has to fight to clear her name, and to stay with her new mate who is also hiding a secret.

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: 70 pages
Available Format: Print and Kindle.
Publication Date: March 19, 2013 (Darq Deviant Press)
Author's Links:
N.A. Foy webpage

Book Review: Meaning of Life (Mathis Greene 0.5) R.A Sears

Synopsis: The Order of Khonsu is an elite group of assassins. Their mission: destroy all rogue Othernaturals, creatures of varying degrees of nightmare.

Mathias Greene started off hunting humans before his unique talents were discovered. Talents, and his own lineage that isn't fully human. But she never cared that his eyes were nearly black to see at unfathomable depths in the ocean. Audra loved him more than anyone ever had, and for that, The Jackal took her away from him. Swearing to take revenge on the entire Clan of Anubis, Mathias hunts for the monsters that killed his beloved.

This is a prequel to the novel "Eater of Hearts", TBA

The Nerd's Ramble: This is a fantastic short, setting up what looks to be a great series. The reader is introduced to Mathis, an assassin, who is grocery shopping in the middle of the morning when a gun fight breaks out. Mathis is a capable and well written character, and the fight scene is done well, not dragging or repetitive. We get a bit of backstory, and some of Mathis' motivation for the way he is.

My only problem is that I want more, and I'm impatient. I'm really looking forward to reading the full length novel that goes hand in hand with this short. Ms. Sears is a good author and I'm interested in Mathis and his world, and what comes next.

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: 16 pages
Available Formats: Epub, Kindle
Publication Date: April 16, 2013 (Darq Deviant Press)
Author's Links: R.A. Sears on Goodreads R.A. Sears website

Book Review-- The Paris Wife Paula McLain

Synopsis: A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.
The Nerd's Ramble: This book blew me away. I had no intention of reading it as I'm not a fan of Hemingway. I kept seeing it around various stores, and when I went into the library to pick up some books that I had on hold I saw that it was the book selected for our county's read-a-long. I picked it up, read the back and figured I'd give it a shot. I sat down one morning and didn't move until I finished the book. It's not very long, it took me a couple hours to read and I think it's a book that I'd also like to own (one day when I have more space on my shelves.)

Much how people either love or hate Hemingway, people love or hate this book. Goodreads is full of reviews talking about how much people loved this, and equally how much they hated it. I for one loved this book. The story is told from Hadley's point of view, a 28 year old woman who meets, and falls in love with a much younger Hemingway. They have a whirl-wind romance and courtship through letters, and I got caught up in it as well. Ms. McLain is a wonderful story teller, and she managed to drag my Hemingway-despising self through this six year romance and actually brought me to tears toward the end of their story.

The main setting of the book is post-war Paris, and the descriptions really transported me there. The setting itself is a character, seducing both Hemingway and Hadley into it's lifestyle and introducing them and the reader to names that still hold a lot of sway on literary shelves. The story really is vibrant and beautiful, though tragic in the end. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: 314 pages
Formats Available: Kindle, Nook, Epub, Traditional publication.
Publication Date: February 11, 2011 (Ballantine Books)
Author's Link: Paula McLain on Goodreads

Book Review The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch

Synopsis: A mesmerizing thriller -- told in reverse "The 13th Hour" is the story of a man given the chance to go back in time in one-hour increments to prevent a vicious crime from destroying his life.Nick Quinn is being held in jail, accused of the murder of his beloved wife, Julia. He knows she's dead; he saw her bloody corpse, shot in the head at point-blank range. The police tell him they found the murder weapon with his fingerprints on it in the trunk of his car. Nick is confused, grief-stricken -- "and completely innocent."

At 9 p.m. on July 28, a gray-haired gentleman visits Nick in the police interrogation room and asks him a simple question: ""If you could get out of here, if you could save her, would you?"" He hands Nick a golden talisman that allows Nick to go back in time, one hour at a time, for a total of twelve hours. With each hour that Nick travels back, he finds more clues to the identity of Julia's real killer, but he also discovers that his actions in the past may have unexpected repercussions in the future.

In his race against time to save the woman he loves most in the world, Nick will find that friends become enemies, old loyalties are tested, and Julia's murder is part of a larger scheme that has its roots in greed and vengeance. Nick has the ability to save Julia, the chance to put his own world in balance, but he is venturing down a precarious route. If he hasn't set things right by the thirteenth hour, his desperate attempts to save Julia's life may lead to a far greater catastrophe than he could have ever imagined.
The Nerd's ramble:  This book was amazing. From the first page to the last I couldn't leave it alone. I read this in one sitting, all afternoon curled up in a cozy chair as a nasty spring storm raged outside. The 13th Hour is a science-fiction thriller, due to the element of time travel; that manages to keep things tense, interesting and smart, revealing little clues hour by hour as to the motives behind Julia's death and the plane crash.

The story is told in reverse and in fact the author leaves a note saying that the book starts with chapter thirteen. Nick is an interesting and compelling character, risking everything to protect the woman he loves. Julia is very much a secondary character, in the worst way, but the other supporting cast really help with the mood and desperation of this book.

I liked the overall idea of this book, and the characters. The pacing was nice, the development of plot as the story progressed (regressed?) was something really well thought out. As time ran out the narrative moved faster, events were sped up, contributing nicely to the overall mood of the book. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length:  389 pages
Format: Traditional, Kindle, Epub
Publication Date: December 29, 2009 (Aria Books)
Author's Page: Richard Doetsch

Book Review-- Soldier Dogs Maria Goodavage

Synopsis: A leading dog-blogger offers a tour of military working dogs' extraordinary training, heroic accomplishments, and the lasting impacts they have on those who work with them.

People all over the world have been riveted by the story of Cairo, the Belgian Malinois who was a part of the Navy SEAL team that led the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. A dog's natural intelligence, physical abilities, and pure loyalty contribute more to our military efforts than ever before. You don't have to be a dog lover to be fascinated by the idea that a dog-the cousin of that furry guy begging for scraps under your table-could be one of the heroes who helped execute the most vital and high-tech military mission of the new millennium.

Now Maria Goodavage, editor and featured writer for one of the world's most widely read dog blogs, tells heartwarming stories of modern soldier dogs and the amazing bonds that develop between them and their handlers. Beyond tales of training, operations, retirement, and adoption into the families of fallen soldiers, Goodavage talks to leading dog-cognition experts about why dogs like nothing more than to be on a mission with a handler they trust, no matter how deadly the IEDs they are sniffing, nor how far they must parachute or rappel from aircraft into enemy territory.

The Nerd's Ramble: I really, really loved this book. This is the second book about MWD (military working dogs) that I've read. Ms. Goodavage's book is more factual based, more about the science and training that goes behind the selection of a MWD. Along with the science the reader is presented with the different types of working dogs, and what they search out for the Armed Forces. There are soldier anecdotes, as well as first had interaction with some of the dogs.

This is a different book that Sergeant Rex, but still at the same time so very enjoyable. I think that they should be read together. Sergeant Rex gives a first hand account of a military personnel working with the dog, whereas Soldier Dogs presents the more business end of the story. Both are great reads for civilians or anyone who is interested in military dogs.

It certainly makes me look at my German Shepherd in a whole different light.

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: 283 pages
Format: Epub, Kindle, Traditional and Audio book.
Publication Date: March 15, 2012 (Dutton Adult)

Book Review-- Wunder by A.R. Von

Synopsis:  Wunder isn’t your average girl, in fact, she isn’t even an average human. In a world once ravaged by Zombies, she was born amidst the chaos.
 
Where can a girl like her find the man of her delicious dreams? She has an idea and it leads her to the hottest new club in town, where she finds what’s been missing in her life.
 
Pete has his own secrets to tell, and when they come together, another story unfolds while the sparks fly.

Shelly's thoughts: Fast paced and witty I found myself really enjoying this. I know what you're thinking "Zombie Erotica? Um..what?" First off, stop that. It's not Romero's zombies banging. Wunder is a special child born in the time of a zombie infestation. Second, pick it up and read it. It's a quick, enjoyable read that packs a tight punch of conflict, sex and fun characters all together. I'm looking forward to reading more of Wunder's adventures.

Rating: ★★★★★
Total Length: 18 pages
Format: Kindle and Epub.
Publication Date: February 14, 2013