The Haunting of Josh Weston by Melinda Rucker Haynes

December 11, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Haunting of Josh Weston by Melinda Rucker Haynes
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (204 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After the death of his cousin and his father’s subsequent death in Afghanistan, former star athlete and gifted student, Josh Weston and his mother move to a desolate ranch in the Arizona desert. Josh blames himself for his father’s death and for the shooting of his best friend. Besides giving up on everything he used be great at, he is relentlessly bullied at his new school.

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It’s never easy being the new kid in town.

Josh’s traumatic reaction to the violent deaths of his relatives shortly before the events of this book began was well-written. He had obviously been left with some pretty serious emotional damage from those experiences. As sad as it made me to see him relive certain moments from his past over and over again, I was also pleased with how much research the author seemed to have done on how experiences like this can haunt someone. Based on my knowledge of this subject, she wrote an accurate portrayal of how someone would be expected to react to such a terrible and life-changing experience over the longterm.

There were pacing issues. The narrator spent a great deal of time introducing himself and the audience to his new home and community. As interesting as it was to see a detailed description of how Josh adapted to living in an unfamiliar place, this left the rest of the storyline with less room than it should have had to show what happened to this character after he met a potential friend and began settling into a routine. I found it hard to remain interested in the plot at certain points because of this.

The plot twists in this tale were well done. Ms. Rucker Haynes really knew how to throw her audience for a loop before revealing her actual intentions for her characters. I enjoyed all of the surprises she had in store for me as I read. This wasn’t the first thing I’ve read from her, but it was my favorite tale from her so far because of how much effort she put into keeping her audience on our toes.

I’d recommend The Haunting of Josh Weston to readers who enjoy fiction about the paranormal, mental health concerns, or, even better, both of these topics.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Trains that Climb the Winter Tree by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn

December 10, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Trains that Climb the Winter Tree by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Holiday, Historical
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When the elves come out of the mirrors one Christmas, they send Sasha on a harrowing train trip to get back a brother she never knew she had.

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Sasha was a delightful mishmash of personality traits that sometimes contradicted each other. She was clever and kind in some scenes while being oblivious and honestly a bit selfish in others. I appreciated the fact that she was written in such a well-rounded way. She felt like a genuine person to me, flaws and all. Even when she made decisions that I strongly disagreed with, I still liked her quite a bit as a character. To me, this is a sign of good writing.

It would have been helpful to have a better explanation of why the antagonists were behaving the way that they did. The descriptions of their bad deeds were given a lot of attention, but without knowing what they were trying to accomplish it was difficult at times for me to keep paying attention to all of the terrible stuff they did.

This tale was full of adventure beginning in the very first sentence. While I can’t say exactly what happened in that sentence, I will say that it involved the elves getting up to no good in the middle of the night when no one expected them to be sneaking around. As exciting as that scene was, I somehow became even more excited to read everything that followed it. The authors did a wonderful job of keeping the audience on our toes as Sasha attempted to save her brother.

The Trains that Climb the Winter Tree was a creative story that should be read by anyone who is in the market for something about the darker side of Christmas.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Offered to the Cyborg by Jessica Coulter Smith

December 10, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Offered to the Cyborg by Jessica Coulter Smith
Cy-Con Book 2
Publisher: Changeling Press LLC
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: Short Story (129 Pages)
Other: M/F
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Sorrel

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Shaylee has only known pain and suffering all her life. First on Earth, passed around the foster care system, and later as a slave to one alien after another. No one has ever touched her with kindness, has ever cared what happened to her. When the sexy purple cyborg with the strange eyes and gentle touch says she’s his, Shaylee is almost scared to hope that her life is changing. But the big male isn’t interested in owning her as a slave. He wants a mate!

The heroine, Shaylee, pulled me into the story from the start. The chemistry and the developing relationship between Shaylee and Wrylack kept me enthralled until the end.

The Science Fiction was fascinating at certain parts of the story. It was the perfect mix of romance and Science Fiction for me. Though this is the second book in the series, the story was not all difficult to understand and is a great candidate for a stand alone.

Shaylee was a slave and the Alien was a healer. Not the usual combo but definitely something the book a great read.  Not your usual Alpha Male Alien & human story. Add Shaylee’s babies and I wanted an HEA real bad.

Offered to the Cyborg was fast paced but the characters and the story as a whole is a definite must read if you are looking for a quick but satisfying sci-fi romance to read.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Sultan’s Choice by Emma Holly

December 10, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Sultan’s Choice by Emma Holly
Tales of the Djinn
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (70 pgs)
Other: M/F/M, M/M, M/M/F, Menage, Anal Sex, BDSM, Spanking
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

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A hot story for a winter’s night.

I’ve never read a book by Emma Holly and I’m glad I remedied that. This story was hot. I do mean hot. The three characters had a definite spark and it was refreshing to see them connect.

I did have a few quibbles, though. Part of my problem may be due to me not having read the other books in the series. It seemed like the characters jumped right into the action rather quickly. This might not be bad for some readers, but it took me a couple rereads to get caught up. Also, there were a few instances where I wasn’t sure whose point of view I was in and that was a tad confusing.

The sex is hot in this story. I mean HAWT. The connection between the characters is deep, so that’s a plus. I liked how Georgie wasn’t a bland beauty, but was a bit rough around the edges while having a heart of gold. I felt the heat between Iksander and Connor, but I had no real idea of what either man looked like. It was okay, though because the speed and intensity of the love scenes balanced it out.

If you’re looking for a story that’s hot and quick, then this one might be the story for you.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Black Friday by Alex Irvine

December 7, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Black Friday by Alex Irvine
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Action/Adventure
Length: Short Story (18 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In a dark future America where consumerism and gun culture are unchecked, a young family teams up to celebrate the first shopping day of the Christmas season in the most patriotic way possible … in Alex Irvine’s Tor.com Original short story, Black Friday.

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I never would have thought to combine firearms with the tradition of Black Friday sales. These two things occupy such separate corners of my mind that I was mystified at first by how they could possibly be related. With that being said, the author did an excellent job of figuring out all of the stuff that both of them share in common. I was regularly surprised by just how many similarities they had, especially once I realized what the characters were actually doing at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving.

The ending felt a little abrupt to me. So much time was spent building up to it that I was surprised by how quickly it arrived. There were just enough loose threads left dangling by the time that scene ended that I didn’t feel comfortable choosing a full, five-star rating. With that being said, this was still something I enjoyed reading quite a bit.

This was one of the most intense stories I’ve read in ages. There was just as much action in the plot as there were science fiction themes, and that was an excellent choice for this universe. Caleb and his family lived in an incredibly dangerous world where someone’s fate could change in an instant. It made a great deal of sense to show what these experiences were like for these characters by throwing them into a situation where they had no idea what would happen next and where there was no such thing as finding a safe place to hide and catch one’s breath.

Whether you love, loathe, or are indifferent to the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States, Black Friday should be read by anyone who has any opinion on this topic at all.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Ghosts of Christmas by Paul Cornell

December 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Ghosts of Christmas by Paul Cornell
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Historical, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (34 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Which is harder: seeing your own future — or truly knowing your past? A science fiction tale of Christmases past and yet to come.

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Time travel is one of those topics I always enjoy reading about. The most interesting part about it in this story in particular was that it happened within the mind of a character who explored her memories of her past and future. She felt as though she was fully present in those times in her life, and yet her physical body never left the lab where she and her fellow scientists were testing the limits of the human mind.

There was so much going on in the plot that I had trouble keeping up with all of it. Sometimes the characters made references to things that had never been fully explained to the readers earlier. These moments were important ones for the storyline, so the fact that I didn’t interpret them the same way the characters did made it hard to understand why certain events happened later on in their adventures. As much as I liked the premise, these issues prevented me from choosing a higher rating.

The ending fit the tone of this tale perfectly. After the confusion I felt earlier, it was nice to reach a scene that made sense to me. I also appreciated the way the narrator tied all of the important themes together in the final scene. It gave me a sense of satisfaction and made me curious to see what else Mr. Cornell has written.

If you’ve ever wondered what the future might hold or what really happened during a fuzzy childhood memory, The Ghosts of Christmas might be right up your alley.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Overtime by Charles Stross

December 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Overtime by Charles Stross
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (30 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Introduced to readers in the novels The Atrocity Archive and The Jennifer Morgue, the Laundry is a secret British government agency charged with preventing dark interdimensional entities from destroying the human race. Now, in “Overtime,” the Laundry is on a skeleton staff for Christmas—leaving one bureaucrat to be all that stands between the world and annihilation by the Thing That Comes Down Chimneys. Written especially for Tor.com’s holiday season, Charles Stross’s novelette is a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award.

Charles Stross is the Hugo-winning author of some of the most acclaimed novels and stories of the last ten years, including Singularity Sky, Accelerando, Halting State, the “Merchant Princes” series beginning with The Family Trade, and the story collections Toast and Wireless.

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Bob was an intelligent and sensible main character. I especially liked how cautious he was once he realized that the Christmas shifts he’d been assigned to take at his job weren’t going to be as quiet as he’d hoped. He took even the slightest whiff of danger seriously, and that’s something I always appreciate. There’s something to be said for a character who planned his moves out strategically instead of assuming that he had all of the information he needed thirty seconds after he realized something had gone horribly wrong.

As much as I enjoyed the time travel elements of the plot, I also found them confusing at times. A few key scenes were shared at times when I didn’t yet understand their full significance. Since they weren’t necessarily shared in order either, this only made me more uncertain about what was going on and when it was happening. It would have been really nice to have more direction from the narrator about how all of these pieces of the puzzle fit together.

The villain in this tale was deliciously frightening. Their backstory was as complex as it was relatable. While I can’t go into any detail about their identity or what their motives were, it was nice to meet an antagonist who was so interesting. Would I want to meet them? No, but I was intrigued by who they were and how much effort Mr. Stross put into given them a three-dimensional personality.

This story is part of a series, but it can be read on its own or out of order.

Overtime should be read by anyone who will be working over the holiday season.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Werewolf in a Miata by Greg X. Graves

December 5, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Werewolf in a Miata by Greg X. Graves
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (51 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Curtis is a werewolf. He spent the day driving around in his Miata with the top down. The full moon is about to rise and the convertible roof is stuck. How could things get any worse?

A bank robber could take him hostage.
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Join Curtis as he confronts bank robbers, tangles with law enforcement, and manages the challenges inherent to lycanthropy.

Not every investigator is human-shaped all of the time.

The dialogue made me smile. All of the characters had the tendency to trim down their thoughts so that they only shared the most necessary ideas with each other. This often meant that they spoke in sentence fragments that needed a little thought to figure out. I enjoyed the process of expanding these short pieces of dialogue and figuring out what the characters were actually saying to each other. Somehow, they always understood one another’s intentions no matter how few words anyone was using.

I would have liked to see more character development in this story. The personalities of the characters who received the most attention were strikingly similar. I actually mixed them up at times because of how many quirks and mannerisms they shared. It would have been helpful to see a more diverse range of interests and personalities in this world so that identifying everyone would be easier.

The thought of a werewolf who was currently in wolf form potentially solving a crime grabbed my attention. I’d never read anything like this before, and I was quite curious to see how someone who wasn’t in their human form would go about gathering clues and figuring out what actually happened. Mr. Graves did a very good job at finding creative solutions to all of the little and big problems the average shapeshifter could easily encounter when attempting to do something like this.

Werewolf in a Miata should be read by fans of the urban fantasy and mystery genres alike.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Beyond the Mist by Casi McLean

December 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Beyond the Mist by Casi McLean
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Sci-fi/Fantasy
Length: Full length (280 pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Piper Taylor concedes she’ll never fall in love, until a treacherous storm spirals her into the arms of the handsome Nick Cramer. Unrelenting remorse over a past relationship haunts Nick, but he can’t deny the mysterious connection and hot desire Piper evokes. The allure of a secret portal hidden beneath Atlanta’s Lake Lanier tempts him into seizing the opportunity to change his mistakes. But his time slip triggers consequences beyond his wildest dreams. Can Piper avoid the international espionage and terrorism of 2001 New York, find Nick, and bring him home before he alters the fabric of time, or will the lovers drift forever Beyond The Mist?

Beyond the Mist starts out with a fascinating idea: If you could go back in time to the day of an infamous event, would you try to stop it from happening? They say the butterfly effect, one tiny little incidence, could dramatically affect the world. One has to wonder though, if it weren’t a tiny happening that was changed but something major that someone went back and changed, would something scarier be the result?
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The main character, Nick, is successful, but just an everyday guy. However, his ability to travel time back to 9/11 has the potential for unimaginable power. Or does it? What can one man do? He has a different goal in mind though: to save one life. Readers learn that his motives are selfish, and this adds a bit of reality to the mix. It makes him more relatable. He is likeable though, having compassion. His reckless actions are done with pure motives. Knowing where and when he’ll be, brings automatic tension to the plot and his activities. The author has done well with this set-up.

Piper is also likeable, a strong female lead. Readers will enjoy seeing how she deals with the impetuous Nick.

Secondary characters are written well to fill out the story and add depth. We care about their wants and needs as well. This story being a sequel, there is the possibility of some confusion at times if one hasn’t read the first book, but the author weaves in bits of the past to help with understanding.

Monkey wrenches get thrown into plans, complicating things. Will certain people run into certain others in the past? Will competing plans to achieve something good ruin everything? The suspense is great. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting.

Time travel methodology has been written in many different ways. The author is this story wrote the specifics in a way that perfectly matches the feel of this particular world. The complications of a changed timeline are fascinating. What’s at risk is so tremendous that readers will be on the edge of their seats, so to speak. This story does a great job exploring the complications of going back to an awful day in history. Time travel story fans and those who love recent history or just good storylines are sure to love this suspenseful tale.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Still Standing by Marie Krepps, Aurora Styles, David Quesenberry, Garrison Kelly, and Larry Fort

December 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Still Standing by Marie Krepps, Aurora Styles, David Quesenberry, Garrison Kelly, and Larry Fort
Publisher: Hollow Hills
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (178 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Hollow Hills presents Still Standing, an anthology of short stories and poetry about empowerment and healing for victims of bullying and harassment. The royalties from this anthology will go to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit organization helping those in crisis.
Strap yourself in for an emotional ride:

Savage Beatings: An elf braves ridicule and abuse as a sacrifice for his homeland and people.
We Called It Azimov: A group of scientists come together to create a machine unlike any other. One scientist uses this modern marvel to satisfy her desire for revenge.

The Brave Blacksmith: The legendary Blacksmith must fight his own demons while confronting real enemies to save a sorceress from a dire situation.

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The Living Tree: An inspirational poem about life itself.

The past doesn’t always dictate what happens in the future.

The pacing of “Savage Beatings” was fast and exciting. I couldn’t wait to find out if the main character, Windham Xavier, would survive all of his violent encounters and find a way to protect his people. There were so many brutal scenes that this tale slipped into the horror genre at times. It wasn’t something I was necessarily expecting to happen, but it did fit the tone of the storyline well.

“We Called It Asimov” grabbed my attention immediately. I was mesmerized by the thought of a scientist using the skills she’d learned in her career to teach other people a lesson. The more I read about why she behaved the way, the more I wanted to know about what would happen to her next. While it did take me a little while to remember who all of the characters were in this story, I enjoyed it quite a bit after that point.

Within the first few sentences of “The Brave Blacksmith,” a princess named Tima lost everyone she loved. I was so surprised by this opening scene that I couldn’t imagine what might happen to this character next. The worldbuilding was handled nicely. Exactly enough time was spent explaining the rules of the society Tima lived in. I felt like i understood her culture well, and that made me want to keep reading until I knew how her adventures would end.

As someone who wasn’t already familiar with the characters in the universe that Aurora Styles’ “Buccaneer’s Beginning” revisited, I was glad to see her taking the time to briefly explain how everyone knew each other before jumping into the plot. It would have been helpful to see more character development in this tale in general. The storyline itself was well done, but I didn’t get a strong sense of the personalities of the people who inhabited that setting or how they were changing as individuals.

One thing I would have liked to see added to David Quesenberry’s “The Living Tree” was a more definite sense of what the tree represented to the speaker. At first I wondered if it was a metaphor for the creative process itself and how all artists and writers are connected by their desires to create beautiful things. The words themselves were beautiful, and I did enjoy reading them quite a bit. I simply needed a little bit stronger of a nudge in the direction of what the author was trying to say about the experience of being alive.

Still Standing should be read by anyone who has ever wished for justice.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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