The Voyage of the Miscreation: Episode 3: The Sunken Forest

The Voyage of the Miscreation: Episode 3: The Sunken Forest by Kristen S. Walker was provided to me in ebook format free of charge in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“Captain Mynta and her motley crew of monster hunters have fallen on hard times. To save her ship, she’s agreed to escort Mage Ameyron and his team of researchers to capture some of Seirenia’s deadliest monsters. To succeed, they’ll have to work together—but everyone on board has something to hide, and one has a secret that could doom them all.”

“In episode three, “The Sunken Forest,” Captain Mynta and her team of monster hunters follow a sailors’ legend to the ships’ graveyard, so Mage Ameyron can investigate the mystery of why so many ships are floating abandoned in a strange forest of seaweed. Wyld Magic must be involved in some way. But when their search finds a survivor driven mad by the loss of his crew mates, they learn that monsters aren’t all they have to fear out on the open sea. A haunting song means that time’s run out, and when the ship is overrun by deadly mermaids, Mynta will once again be forced to make a difficult choice to save her people.”

In this third installment of the serial we learn a bit more about each crew member’s history and background. Relationships deepen and attachments are formed.

This is a first rate serial that will draw you into the world of the Miscreation.

I give this a rating of 5 out of 5 stars and am looking forward to the release of episode 4.

The Voyage of the Miscreation : Episode 2

THE VOYAGE OF MISCREATION: Episode 2: The Trouble With Fangfrogs by Kristen S. Walker

I received a free ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Little did I know that when I started reading this serial fantasy adventure I would end up completely drawn into the story.

Mynta is the captain of a ship called Miscreation. Along with her crew, Mynta hunts monsters. However, with a lack of clients, she has been forced to accept a contract to escort a mage/scholar on a research trip. His mission is to hunt down different types of monsters.

However, he did not inform Mynta or her crew that he planned to capture a live specimen of each monster and place them in cages made of a new material that is supposed to nullify their magic qualities. The crew is skeptical of this new material and are not happy with the direction the voyage has taken.

When they arrive at their destination and trap a fangfrog the quest does not go as planned.

Add in a tribe of savages, a hedge witch, evil government officials along with royal family ties and a dash of danger and you have the basis for this story.

I enthusiastically rate this episode of the serial as 5 out of 5 stars.

I am glad that episode three has already bern released. That is my next reading adventure.

The Voyage of the Miscreation

THE VOYAGE OF THE MISCREATION: Book One: The Voyage Begins by Kristen S. Walker

I received a free ebook copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

“Captain Mynta and her crew of monster hunters have fallen on hard times. To save her ship, she’s agreed to escort Mage Ameyron and his team of researchers to capture some of Seirenia’s deadliest monsters. To succeed, they’ll have to work together—but everyone on board has something to hide, and one has a secret that could doom them all.”

“In episode one, “The Voyage Begins,” Captain Mynta welcomes the researcher mage on board her ship—only to find out that her newest client is more than she bargained for. Ameyron wants to get closer to his subjects than even a seasoned monster hunter would dare. Tensions rise between crew and passengers who question the captain’s leadership. But when a dangerous sea serpent lurks beneath the ocean waves, Mynta must discover which one of them is also a traitor before time runs out.”

Before reading this I was unaware that this was not a full length novel. In fact it is the first episode in a fantasy serial.

It takes a skilled author to be able to command the reader’s attention in such a brief amount of time. Kristen S. Walker achieves this and more.

The characters are compelling and the world she has created is complex and intriguing.

There are hints and foreshadowing of events to cone that will pull the reader into the story.

Once I started reading I did not want to stop.

An exciting epic saga of life on the high seas full of action, adventure, drama and romance. This is an excellent book.

I am now a fan and can’t wait to see what the crew of the Miscreation get up to in the next episode.

I highly recommend this book.

I rate it as 5 out of 5 stars.

Touch And Go by Lisa Gardner

Touch And Go
By: Lisa Gardner

I’m not sure if I really had any expectations for this book. I figured it would be entertaining, but I didn’t expect to be drawn in to the story, and I certainly didn’t expect to be surprised.

Justin and Libby Denby have been married for 18 years. Justin inherited Denby Construction from his father and has now turned it into a one hundred million dollar company.

Libby and Justin have a 15 year old daughter and their lives seem perfect. But, looks can be deceiving and the cliche of money not being able to buy happiness proves to be true for the Denby family.

Libby has discovered that Justin is having an affair. Libby tells him to end it and they are working on repairing their marriage.

Then, tragedy strikes. All three Denby family members are kidnapped and held by professional mercenaries.

Law enforcement becomes involved and Justin’s company hires Tessa Leone (an Independent Investigator) to look into the disappearance.

Tessa is smart, dedicated and determined to find the Denbys. She starts looking into their lives and at the lives of all the people that work for Denby Construction. What she discovers is that they are all a bunch of liars and that everyone has a secret (and some people have more than one) and that everyone has something to hide.

The question is: what do the kidnappers want? Is ransom the only motive? Or is something more sinister going on?

I was pulled into the lives of the Denby family from the very beginning. Usually I find it difficult to relate to stories about the rich. However, Lisa Gardner has done a skillful job of making the Denby family’s plight hit home with readers. Despite the fact that the Denbys seem to have it all, they have problems. In fact, their lives are far from perfect.

This book will have you second guessing who is responsible for the kidnapping and why.

This is a fast-paced mystery that is definitely worth the read. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com

Buy on Amazon Canada at:
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/0451465849?pc_redir=1413967663&robot_redir=1

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey: An Epic Saga

A Young Adult Novel That Will Blow Your Mind!

THE INFINITE SEA by Rick Yancey is the second book in The Fifth Wave series.

The book jacket reads, “How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.”

Wow! If that doesn’t peak your interest, then YOU just aren’t human.

“The mechanized world had died. Earthquakes and tsunamis had obliterated the coasts. Plague had consumed billions.” Cassie Sullivan and her band of misfits have survived the first four waves of devastation and are trying to survive the 5th Wave.

The first book ended with their escape from the alien camp. Now they need to figure out what’s next and how they will survive the winter.

Cassie Sullivan has rescued her brother, Sam (also called Nugget) from the alien reeducation camp. They escaped with a few others to a nearby hotel after blowing up the camp with the help of Evan Walker.

Everyone, except Cassie, believes that Evan was killed in the explosion. Evan told Cassie that he would always find her and she believed him.

Ringer (also known as Marika) goes out to scout a location to house them for the winter, but is caught.

What they do to her is unspeakable. What they are doing to the youngest kids is even worse.

Will humanity win out? Or will the aliens complete the 5th Wave and annihilate everyone who is left?

With quotes like: “The world is a clock winding down,” how could the reader not be instantly sucked into this book? Readers will not want to put this book down.

The story moves along rapidly and will enthrall any reader. More than that, the reader can’t help but be invested in the story. It is hard not to hope for humanity to prevail. But, will it? Or is too late?

I won’t spoil it by giving away too much information, but there is a twist near the end of the book that readers will not see coming and it will blow your mind.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and I can’t wait until the conclusion to the story is released.

Nail biting excitement mixed with heart pounding terror! In short, this is an awesome read.

You can see this review on my blog at: amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com

A Catered Fourth of July (A Mystery With Recipes) by Isis Crawford

A CATERED FOURTH OF JULY

By: Isis Crawford

A murder mystery set in small town America

A CATERED FOURTH OF JULY (A Mystery With Recipes) by Isis Crawford

This book is part of a series, but each book also works as a stand-alone novel.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story takes place in the small town of Longley, New York. It begins on the fourth of July, in the middle of an extreme heat wave. The locals are hosting a Civil War reenactment.

Jack Devlin; “Longley’s modern day answer to Casanova,” is one of the participants. When the musket he is using explodes in his face, killing him, the event suddenly becomes much more serious.

The local undertaker, Marvin, is immediately targeted as the murderer because he was in charge of the muskets. However, even though the police assume they have their man, it quickly becomes apparent that there is no shortage of viable suspects.

Libby and Bernie own and operate a local catering company and bakery, called ‘A Taste of Heaven’. But, they are also amateur detectives, and since Libby is Marvin’s girlfriend, they set out to prove his innocence.

Jack Devlin has slept with most of the female residents of Longley, not caring whether they were married or not. Because of this there are a lot of jealous women and angry husbands and boyfriends who all had motive to want Jack Devlin dead.

Libby and Bernie, with help from family and friends, must untangle the twisted strands of the web of Jack Devlin’s life, and time is running out. If they wish to save Marvin from police arrest, they must find the real killer soon.

This is a tangled and complex mystery story that will enthrall the reader and keep them guessing right to the end.

I have always found it difficult to find a mystery story that I didn’t have completely figured out by the mid-point of the novel. This book is the exception. I was sure that I knew who the killer was fairly quickly, but found that my opinion kept changing as the book went on. In my opinion, it is that doubt that makes a story so interesting.

Isis Crawford has done a terrific job of creating a true who-done-it. Readers will find themselves rooting for Libby and Bernie and admiring their tenacity and amateur sleuthing skills.

I, for one, know that if I was ever accused of a crime I didn’t commit, I would want Libby and Bernie on my side.

This book deserves a 4 star rating. I look forward to reading more adventures of the amateur sleuthing caterers.

I also love the fact that the book contains 5 full recipes. The recipe for “Jim Burtless’s Strawberry Sparkle Cake” sounds both yummy and easy. I look forward to trying it out. Also the “Bolivian Potato Salad” recipe sounds interesting. I just might have to try out that recipe too.

You can find this book online at:
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/31270

The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding by Victoria Alexander

“The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding” by Victoria Alexander

I received an ARC of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. You can check out this program at: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway

The release date for this book is set for 10/28/14.

The story is set in 1887 and moves from the opulence of Fifth Avenue in New York City to the decadence and refinement of the grand estates of the English countryside.

Jackson Quincey Graham is the Vice President of a prestigious banking facility in New York. He is set to announce his engagement to the granddaughter of another of the bank’s founding families. They are following the plan set out for them by their families that has been in place since the two were born. Jackson considers his life predictable and comfortable. He has very few surprises in his life and he believes himself to be content with the path his life is taking.

So, when his supposedly deceased father shows up at a dinner party at his family home, Jackson is completely taken aback. He had thought his father had died before he was born.

Even more shocking, Jackson is informed that he is the heir to both a title and a grand estate in England.

Deciding to travel to England to meet his long lost family and to get to know his father, Jackson defers announcing his engagement. He is shocked to realize that he does not really love his intended fiancé, even though he likes and respects her greatly. However, love is not a necessary factor in a marriage for the upper class of American society and he is well aware of this fact.

Upon his arrival in England he meets his new family and their closest friends. One of those friends is Theodosia Winslow.

Lady Theodosia Winslow is the daughter of the Countess of Sallwick. Theodosia and her mother orrganize weddings and other soirees, charging exorbitant prices for their services. It is at the wedding of Jackson’s cousin that the two meet for the first time.

What follows is a tale of adventure, romance, intrigue and difficult life decisions.

The only thing I did not like about this story was the overuse of people “returning from the dead.” While Jack’s father shows up after 30 years of his son believing he was dead, there is also Nigel whose daughters had thought he was dead (although their mother knew differently.) One person is okay, two people is pushing it, but when a third person “returns from the dead” it seems ridiculous. That plot line is definitely overused in this story.

However, I did enjoy how Theodosia (Teddy) was portrayed. Historical fiction rarely has independent women as their heroines. All too often the women are portrayed as having no ambition other than to marry well.

I enjoyed this book and read it very quickly. A good book is an escape from reality and that is exactly what this book provides – a pleasant distraction from the modern world.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars based purely on escapism. It is fun and enjoyable read.

Readers who enjoy historical romance will enjoy this book.

First Blog Entry

I have loved reading since I was a little girl. I loved (and still love) J.R.R. Tolkein’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” long before they were ever made into movies.

My current taste in books can best be described as “eclectic”. I read everything from fantasy to science fiction, historical romance to mysteries, paranormal romance to dystopian society books, non-fiction to travel books, and every genre in between.

I have decided to start a blog to keep track of all the books I read. I review every book I read and give it a rating out of 5 stars.

While I love to read am I am loathe to give a book a bad review, my reviews are 100% honest. If a book is poorly written or it contains numerous editing or proof reading errors, I will include that information in my review.

I have a profile and quite a few reviews listed on http://www.goodreads.com under my name: Amie Gaudet and I review books both at http://www.amazon.com and http://www.amazon.ca

Authors and publishers wishing to contact me to review a book can contact me by email at justinandjakesmom@yahoo.ca

I will be posting many reviews over the next days, weeks, months and years.

Hopefully by reading my reviews people will find new titles to read and enjoy and will be able to spend their book money wisely.

Reading a good book can transport you to another world, it can broaden your horizons, it can be an amazingly enjoyable way to spend your time.

I hope my readers will enjoy this literary journey with me.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Amie Gaudet