October 3, 2014 by Tina Williams

BLOG TOUR Unbearable ~ The Case Files of Dr. Matilda Schmidt, Paranormal Psychologist (#4) ~ Includes Giveaway!

Unbearable, The Case Files of Dr. Matilda Schmidt, Paranormal Psychologist (#4)

By: Cynthia St. Aubin

Paranormal Romance/Humor/Contemporary/Mystery

SYNOPSIS

When you can’t grin and bear it… Paranormal Psychologist, Matilda Schmidt is sick of secrets. But when her troubled mother falls into dangerous hands, she must enlist the help of the two men who may be hiding the most: the hot-bodied demigod who’s suddenly tight-lipped about his current client, and the delicious hit man who’s been concealing much more than a gun in his pocket. Faced with the destruction of her tidy life at the paws of three rowdy werebears, and protected only by an immortal egg on the edge, Matilda will have to come riding to her own rescue, or risk a life that’s anything but happily ever after.

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads: Amazon:

EXCERPT

“What are you wearing?” Crixus’s voice was clear and unsullied by sleep—a direct contrast to my own, which hovered right at the edge of ‘do not operate heavy machinery.’ He had answered on the second ring, a good sign he wasn’t plowing Goldilocks like a spring field, or so I told myself.

“My raincoat and galoshes. But I’m taking them off as we speak.” My cell phone, thankfully, like the bed I settled onto cross-legged—had remained mostly dry.

“Anything under the raincoat?”

“Save it,” I said. “I need your magic.”

“Now you’re talking.” The smile in his voice was as radiant as the sun reaching gilded fingers into the gray dawn.

“Not that kind of magic. So far tonight, my apartment has been home to three bears, eight firemen, and one immortal egg. I’m in no mood.” Twice now, I had depended upon Crixus to undo the damage wrought upon my apartment and office by his retinue of squirrely supernatural guests. It was the one power the demigod possessed I wouldn’t mind stealing for myself.

That, and the spontaneous orgasms.

“And you didn’t invite me?”

“Since when did you need an invitation?” Crixus’s propensity to pop into my life at his leisure had been a contention of mine since we first met. My office, my car, even my bedroom, he invaded with the carefree indifference of a child hopping rides at the amusement park. And still, he managed to be frequently unavailable when I needed him.

“If I could be there, I would.” His voice lacked its usual cocktail of arrogance and caprice. He almost sounded earnest.

AUTHOR INFO:

Cynthia St. Aubin wrote her first play at age eight and made her brothers perform it for the admission price of gum wrappers. A steal, considering she provided the wrappers in advance. Though her early work debuted to mixed reviews, she never quite gave up on the writing thing, even while earning a mostly useless master’s degree in art history and taking her turn as a cube monkey in the corporate warren.

Because the voices in her head kept talking to her, and they discourage drinking at work, she started writing instead. When she’s not standing in front of the fridge eating cheese, she’s hard at work figuring out which mythological, art historical, or paranormal friends to play with next. She lives in Colorado with the love of her life and three surly cats.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Find out more about Cynthia St. Aubin on her website.

Like me: https:// www.facebook.com/ cynthia.saintaubin

Follow me: https://twitter.com/CynthiaStAubin

Visit me: http://www.cynthiastaubin.com/

Email me: cynthiastaubin@gmail.com

GIVEAWAY:

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August 21, 2014 by Caroline Barker

The Medea Complex by Rachel Florence Roberts REVIEW

****BASED ON A TRUE STORY***

1885. Anne Stanbury – Committed to a lunatic asylum, having been deemed insane and therefore unfit to stand trial for the crime of which she is indicted. But is all as it seems?

Edgar Stanbury – the grieving husband and father who is torn between helping his confined wife recover her sanity, and seeking revenge on the woman who ruined his life.

Dr George Savage – the well respected psychiatrist, and chief medical officer of Bethlem Royal Hospital. Ultimately, he holds Anne’s future wholly in his hands.

The Medea Complex tells the story of a misunderstood woman suffering from insanity in an era when mental illnesses’ were all too often misdiagnosed and mistreated. A deep and riveting psychological thriller set within an historical context, packed full of twists and turns, The Medea Complex explores the nature of the human psyche: what possesses us, drives us, and how love, passion, and hope for the future can drive us to insanity.

REVIEW

Set in the nineteenth century, based on a true story and real life characters of the time, The Medea Complex covers genres from an historical psychological thriller leading to an historical mystery thriller. The story holds a fascinating rawness and realistic storyline, following a new mother and her mental state since the birth of her child, how she reacts and copes to treatments and the people surrounding her and leaves the reader wondering if her husband remained in love with her or sought revenge for the situation she has left him in.

After killing her young infant son, Lady Anne Stanbury is committed to Bethlehem Hospital, deemed insane and therefore escapes the legal procedure of being sentenced (if found guilty). Anne is confused and believes she is being held for ransom by criminals as she cannot remember anything in regard to her husband and deceased child. And during this time the reader has an insight into how Anne is treated at the hospital by it’s members of staff.

The story opens up very dark, moody and a little depressing considering the main focus on a woman unable to cope with her young to the point she ends his life and ultimately is losing her mind. And yet, the author has made it so gripping and intense that it draws the reader in, making it such a pleasure to read. It is informative of the time, well-researched and yet written for a reader to follow the characters and storyline with ease, leaving a desire to read more.

Another area that intrigued me was the way in which the author tells the story from many perspectives; Lady Anne, Doctor George Savage, Edgar Stanbury (Anne’s husband), Lord Damsbridge (Anne’s father) and Beatrix Fortier (Anne’s maid and companion). This allows the reader to understand and perhaps empathise with the characters, their mindset and their actions.

Once the reader is aware of the situation that Lady Anne Stanbury is in the story goes on to focus on the many conflicts that all of the characters battle. Initially we are aware that Anne has conflicting memories and confusion of where she is, why she is there and what she remembers before entering the Bethlehem Hospital.

Doctor Savage is trying his best to carry out his work on the hope of curing Anne, whilst using the occasional method that Lord Damsbridge, Anne’s father, doesn’t approve of for his daughter. However, Lord Damsbridge funds the hospital thousands of pounds and wants his daughter treated in a specific manner. He can be a little threatening towards Doctor Savage, leaving the doctor the option to either follow or disobey his orders.

I love this maze of objectives and emotion that Rachel Florence Roberts has weaved into the story. It makes the story in many ways have more than one central character, bringing the reader close to all of them and trying to work out constantly what choices they will make and how they will execute their plans.

As the story unfolds past the first few chapters the reader begins to realise that Lady Anne’s husband, Edgar Stanbury was from a poor background. He has married into nobility and yet with no son and Anne in hospital he has no hold of Asquith Manor or the wealth that Lord Damsbridge could pass onto the male heir of Anne’s. To stay, Edgar needs Anne cured and another son to be born to claim the lifestyle for himself. Edgar also battles his confusion of whether he loves or hates his wife. Does he blame her tremendously for their sons death and long for revenge or does he love her and hopes for a better future with her?

Last but certainly not least is Beatrix who doesn’t take kindly to Edgar. The staff feel that he wants them fired and that his presence is purely for financial gain due to his background but as Asquith Manor is not his home yet she feels safe for now and uses her time to look out for Lady Anne.

In the latter half of the novel it becomes more an historical thriller/mystery, as opposed to psychological, with the reader constantly guessing what has taken place, who was involved, whether sanity had a role to play or not and there are many twists with nothing left unanswered at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this read regardless of its dark subject matter. It certainly opens eyes to all standpoints involved. And I cannot emphasize enough just how well-researched, understood and written about this era is in this story. It is a real stand-out and will not leave your mind in a hurry.

A copy of The Medea Complex was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.

The Medea Complex is available on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

August 16, 2014 by Tina Williams

Unlovable (The Case Files of Dr. Matilda Schmidt, Paranormal Psychologist), by Cynthia St. Aubin

Just what the Good Doc Ordered!

Book Blurb

It isn’t every day a sexy demigod throws a pissed-off Cupid onto psychologist Matilda Schmidt’s couch and informs her the fate of the world depends on her ability to get him off his diapered ass and back to helping people fall in love. Just when Matilda convinces herself she’s not hallucinating, in walks a Vegas hit man with a big gun and a bigger threat: pay back the million dollars she owes a notorious casino mogul, or wind up as fish food in Lake Mead.Rocketing across country with a gun to her head, Matilda has a dysfunctional love-god in her laptop bag, a million dollar debt she has no knowledge of, and must convince the seductive hit man he’s snatched the wrong woman before he convinces her he might be the right man—for a night. Can Matilda stay alive long enough to keep love from becoming history?

My Review

A Panty-Wetting, Laugh-out-Loud Read!

Unlovable is the first instalment of The Case Files of Dr Matilda Schmidt Paranormal Psychologist, other instalments of which are available and include Unlucky, Unhoppy and Unbearable (see below for link to author’s Amazon page for more info).

I recently read in the press that medical professionals are being encouraged to prescribe books to their patients, alongside or instead of conventional prescriptions. Well, if you are in need of a tonic, Cynthia St. Aubin’s rollicking, panty-wetting read Unlovable, is just what the good doc ordered!

This read contains a love-sick Cupid, a sex obsessed demigod, in the form of Crixus and a dark and dangerous hit-man cum kidnapper, with his own psychological issues. All three burst into the well-ordered life of Dr Matlda Schmidt, a sexually repressed/control loving kinda girl and chaos reigns big-time!

Matllda is faced with the seemingly impossible tasks of saving the world by counselling a love sick Cupid and saving her own ass from the mobster whom the hit man is contracted to deliver her to. She is also fighting the temptation presented by said hit man who is giving her some serious signs that he wants to get her naked. Suffice to say that Matilda is not the same woman at the end of the read as she is at the beginning………

I enjoyed getting to know Matilda, and how her life gets shaken AND stirred and I’m looking forward to reading about her further adventures in the subsequent instalments. I recommend Unlovable to readers of contemporary and paranormal romps who like their reads to contain plenty of humour and snark with some smexy scenes.

A copy of this book was given to me by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

Purchase Links

Amazon US Amazon UK

Connect with the Author and find out more about her books

http://www.cynthiastaubin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.saintaubin

July 25, 2014 by Tina Williams

WEEPING ANGELS by Cristy Rey ~ Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Four years ago, Frankie Rios walked away from her best friend and big sister, Iris. To Frankie, Iris died the day that she last rejected Frankie’s attempts at getting Iris alcohol and drug treatment. Rather than accept grief for her beloved sister’s loss, Frankie turned to her music. A renowned cellist, Frankie has managed to ignore the pain and suffering of losing the person she loved most in this world. With Iris out of her mind and out of her life, Frankie was able to move on…or so she thought. Until Iris really died.

Topher went to war in 2001 only to return two years later damaged and broken. Unable to reconcile the war vet with the boy he used to be, Topher gave up on life. When Iris Rios, his long-lost childhood best friend, dies from liver failure at thirty-two years-old, Topher is forced to confront his past. He must decide whether he deserves to heal. He must decide whether he will take that first step and then take another until he can recover what he lost: himself.

Weeping Angels is a story of grief carried and grief ignored. It’s about learning to love and moving on. Mourning someone once is hard enough, but mourning someone twice is unimaginably harder.

Weeping Angels

Cristy Rey

Goodreads

Genre: Women’s fiction, romance

Release date: June 27, 2014

Purchase Links

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Smashwords

Excerpt

What Frankie says breaks me. It breaks me. And it’s not even about Iris or me; it’s about Frankie. Everything she said about Iris fills me in on years that I’ve missed. Even when I’d been standing right beside her, I was ignoring what now seems so obvious it’s blinding. Yet, for all the talk about Iris’s alcoholism and suicidal tendencies, what Frankie’s opened up about is herself.

I’m not even sure she notices because she’s so guarded. Never once has she reflected on what she’s said. She’s been stating facts, telling stories. That’s what she thinks, anyway. I know this like I know myself, because it’s what I do. I state facts and I tell stories, and what I’m actually doing is diverting attention from what’s going on inside.

Frankie’s all Iris this, Iris that, but what I hear is: I can’t live with myself because Iris was never happy and I couldn’t save her. It’s what I hear inside myself every minute of every day, and my heart breaks for Frankie and for me. What I do next comes so naturally that it scares the living shit out of me. I don’t let her leave. I hold her as close as I can because what I want is for her to be inside of me the way she’s let me be inside of her.

In this space and time, Frankie and I are one person. I’m angry with her. I’m aggressive about it, maybe even hurting her, but I reason that it can’t be any worse than how she’s been hurting herself by balling this all up for decades.

As much as I need her to be close, I want to push her away. I want her to leave and never come back. I want Frankie to take flight tomorrow morning, and I want to be the one to deliver her to the airport because what I’m feeling is something that I’m not ready to deal with. I tell myself to let her stay here, to give her this space from death that she needs. I’m surer now more than ever that we have an unbreakable bond, but I don’t want it.

We have right now and I need it right now, but I can’t want to have it tomorrow. I can’t want to have it ever again. It’s like being with yourself all the time, but only with the ugliest parts of you. It’s looking at all the broken pieces of your psyche and being forced to confront them.

That’s what Frankie is to me. That’s what she’s been to me all day if I cop to it. Maybe it was like that last night when I went out after her in the parking lot and walked her back to the service. Maybe it’s why I couldn’t believe that she could be out there alone with no one to hide her sadness from the world. I’m making up for it today, though. Right now, I’m making up for leaving her naked and on a slab for the world to pick apart. The more I hold her, the more I fear that I’ll never be able to let her go, but I keep doing it because she’s something worth saving and, if she can be saved, then maybe I can be, too.

My Review

A Beautiful, Raw and Intense Love Story

I am familiar with Cristy Rey, having read her Paranormal Romance Taking Back Sunday which I hugely enjoyed. Weeping Angels is an entirely different read, billed as Women’s Fiction/Contemporary Romance, it portrays an intense journey embarked on by two lost souls and deals with the raw emotions of grief, guilt, anger and pain. It is also a beautiful inspirational love story, unlike no other I have read, and I am awed by the versatility of this writer.

In Weeping Angels Frankie and Topher meet after Iris, Frankie’s sister, has died as a result of alcoholism. Frankie, a renowned cellist, has been estranged from Iris and her family for four years after Iris refused to seek help for her addiction and her family did not acknowledge that she had a problem. Frankie pours her anger and grief at the situation into her music, which in many ways has been her constant prop in the face of witnessing her once beloved sister’s slow demise since childhood. Despite qualifying and working as a lawyer after being discharged from the military, Topher has all but given up on life and struggles to cope with PTSD arising from a Traumatic Brain Injury. Topher used to be Iris’ best friend before he enlisted, having little to do with the reclusive Frankie who refused to party and was devoted to her music.

However Iris’ death draws them together. Topher gives Frankie first the physical and then the emotional support she needs and a strong bond develops. Yet Topher believes that he is broken beyond repair, too broken for Frankie, who has her own demons to deal with. Frankie too has issues, not least her guilt at the death of her sister and the anger towards her family who did nothing to help her sister deal with her addiction. With Topher based in Miami determined to protect Frankie from himself and Frankie living in San Francisco any future together appears doomed, unless the bond they formed is strong enough to overcome their distance and overcome the tangled emotions at play.

I was totally absorbed in the development of the relationship between Frankie and Topher. Cristy Rey cleverly portrays their innermost thoughts in chapters alternating between Frankie and Topher’s POV. Both are broken in their own way and their coming together does not magically make their problems go away. Instead their meeting offers them an opportunity to overcome their problems and embrace a future together if they are willing to chance it. I loved both characters, who display a great deal of strength despite the cards Fate has dealt them. I also loved how the author illustrated Frankie’s character and emotions though her relationship to her cello and how Frankie’s music helped strengthen their bond.

Weeping Angels is a beautiful, original and emotional read, which although will have you reaching for the Kleenex, is also an inspirational one. I strongly recommend it.

A copy of this novel was given to me for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

About Cristy Rey

Cristy Rey is the author of the romantic urban fantasy Incarnate series. The first book, Taking Back Sunday, and a short prequel novelette, Edge of Seventeen, are available now at online retailers. She also writes and publishes unconventional romantic women’s fiction. Her first standalone, Weeping Angels, is available now, and her second, Heart Grow Fonder, will be out in winter 2014/2015.

Cristy lives in Miami, FL where she is a reader and writer most of the time, and a knitter much less of the time than she was six months before she took up writing again. She writes the books that she likes to read. She describes her writing style as riot grrrl Jane Austen sprinkled with a little magic. There’s always a killer soundtrack running in the background of her novels – all you need to do is turn to the playlist to know what’s up.

Contact Cristy

Facebook | Goodreads | Newsletter | Website

A few of Cristy’s other novels

Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

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July 20, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Milk – Blood by Mark Matthews REVIEW

Blurb: Lilly is ten years old, born with a heart defect, and already addicted to heroin. Her mother is gone from her life, and there are rumors that she was killed by her father and buried near the abandoned house across the street. The house intrigues her, she can’t stay away, and the monstrous homeless man who lives there has been trying to get Lilly to come inside.

For her mother is there, buried in the back, and this homeless man is Lilly’s true father, and both want their daughter back.

Review

Milk – Blood is a completely unique horror, mixing the physical tension of fear, dread and violence with psychological and social concerns of poverty, drug abuse and social care surrounding a motherless young girl, Lilly, who has been struggling with a terrible illness from birth and later comes to learn the true fate of her mother as well as becoming reliant on heroin.

There is a sense of darkness and eeriness in the setting alone, with the story based on a rundown street in Detroit in a poverty-stricken area where virtually every other home is boarded up, the homeless roam the road in need for shelter and crime and drug use is always an issue. Lilly has to walk down this road on the way home from school every weekday evening, with the dark house across the street and a strange, creepy homeless man calling to her. She is teased by school kids and returns home to be ignored regularly and yet still dealing with her illness and pain. And yet these latter issues are nothing compared to the horror she is to encounter deeper into the story.

I found the opening chapters alone of particular interest as Matthews has written the same scene but from each point of view, i.e. the mother’s and her partner’s. This enables the reader from the offset of the story to empathise as much as possible with both sides. I found these chapters, although very tragic concerning the death surrounding the mother, very beautifully written when it came to the partner taking care of the very ill newborn. Such a caring and gently written sequence is rare in many horrors. It is because of this that I believe Milk – Blood begins like a thriller which later develops into a horror.

To use a child, especially one so young and addicted to heroin, I thought was daring of the author in this type of horror and yet it plays out really well. There were moments earlier on in the story that I couldn’t quite comprehend the direction of the story, however these passed very quickly and as the reader continues the story opens out into a great psychological horror that will not disappoint the reader! Due to the content I would recommend that the reader is of mature age of at least 17yrs.

The homeless guy in the boarded up house across the street is also one that has his demons (and for me could have easily been a development of a scavenging character from one of Matthews’ previous books, On the Lips of Children). For he sees and hears more than you would expect. Whether it is partly due to his drug intake or a ‘gift’ he has it adds a deep sense of grittiness, mystery and fear and the reader cannot help but long Lilly to have nothing to do with this character. Of course, Lilly might just get sucked into some inevitable danger as the reader is pulled into the horror too.

Mark Matthews has written Milk – Blood in a clever manner, being able to use some personal experiences and developing them into a suspenseful horror. And not all meets the eye to begin with but as the story wraps up (which it does superbly well) the reader is treated to a little more and realises that there certainly is a purpose for every character mentioned! Despite there being many horrific and tragic scenes, the real horror is where the story takes us – the end result.

This is written in a fantastic way and I love how the reader has no sense of the bigger picture until the conclusion! Although my personal favourite book of Mark Matthews is On the Lips of Children, this one is very close, using a blend of horror from On the Lips of Children as well as the social and dramatic elements of the author’s Stray. (The links of Stray and On the Lips of Children will take you to my previous reviews and some background info on Mark Matthews with On the Lips of Children review.)

A copy of Milk – Blood was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest and fair review.

Milk – Blood is available on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Milk – Blood was recently released in June 2014. The cover design is from Kealan Patrick Burke of Elderlemon Design, and the story was edited by Richard Thomas, Editor in Chief at Dark House Press.

The term upon which the title is based, “Milk-Blood” was made famous in the Neil Young Song “The Needle and the Damage Done.” A companion piece featuring a character from Milk-Blood, The Damage Done, is available for free on Amazon and has been receiving tremendous reviews.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

June 26, 2014 by Caroline Barker

MILK-BLOOD by Mark Matthews released on 24th June 2014

Already reaching the Top 100 horrors on Amazon upon it’s release, A Reader’s Review Blog is excited to provide the press release details for the supernatural horror MILK-BLOOD by Mark Matthews. I cannot wait to review this one in the next few weeks!!! But for now, check out the blurb and quotes from early reviews, as well as the links! Enjoy!!

“One of the most anticipated reads of the summer.” –The Horror Bookshelf

MILK-BLOOD, by Mark Matthews, is now available on Amazon. It is a tale of urban horror set in Detroit that may be unlike anything you’ll read all year. MILK-BLOOD is the follow up to On the Lips of Children,the author’s debut piece of horror. The cover design is from Kealan Patrick Burke of Elderlemon Design, and the story was edited by Richard Thomas, Editor in Chief at Dark House Press.

What’s it about?

Lilly is ten years old, born with a heart defect, and already addicted to heroin. Her mother is gone from her life, and there are rumors that she was killed by her father and buried near the abandoned house across the street. The house intrigues her, she can’t stay away, and the monstrous homeless man who lives there has been trying to get Lilly to come inside.

For her mother is there, buried in the back, and this homeless man is Lilly’s true father, and both want their daughter back.

Praise for MILK-BLOOD

“An incredibly powerful story and one of the most original horror novels I have read in years. Guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat!”—The Horror Bookshelf

“I had to keep on reading no matter what, not able to break its spell.” -Goodreads Librarian

“The originality and tension of the urban horror story, Milk-Blood is evident on every page. Matthews takes you to some very dark places, twists and turns, with the rabbit hole going deeper and deeper, until there is no way out. Not for the faint of heart, this story of love, loss, family and acceptance is a rollercoaster ride from start to finish.” — Richard Thomas, author of Staring Into the Abyss

“What a dark, twisted and bizarre book this was. One of the most striking urban horror stories I have read in a long time.” —Author Adam Light

“This is a helluva story. A discomforting tale of true inner city horrors, told by characters so real they pop off the page. Add the supernatural mix to the story and it really grabs you by the throat. Very much recommended!”— John F.D. Taff, author of Little Deaths

MILK-BLOOD

$2.99 for kindle

$6.99 in Paperback

You can also check out our review of On the Lips of Children, also by Mark Matthews.

May 6, 2014 by Caroline Barker

MILK-BLOOD by Mark Matthews – COVER REVEAL

We are excited to reveal the cover for Mark Matthews’, author of On the Lips of Children, latest supernatural horror ‘Milk-Blood’. Not only are we revealing the cover and synopsis, there is also a chance to win a reader’s advanced copy on Goodreads as well as to download a short story that features one of the characters of Milk-Blood for FREE on Amazon. Please scroll down for more info. Enjoy! 🙂 Caroline and Tina

MILK-BLOOD is scheduled for release in both digital and paperback on July 7th from Mark Matthews, author of On the Lips of Children. MILK-BLOOD is a tale of Urban Horror based on a true setting, and is what happens when a social worker and writer visit the inner city of Detroit.

“Milk-Blood is a discomforting story of real inner city horrors, told by characters so real they pop off the page. Add the supernatural mix to the story and it really grabs you by the throat. Very much recommended!” ~ John F.D. Taff, author of Little Deaths and The Bell Witch

The cover design is by Kealan Patrick Burke from Elderlemon Design, and the editor is Richard Thomas from Dark House Press.

What is it about?

Advance review copies are available as a giveaway on Goodreads right now. Win a copy and add it to your To Be Read list: MILK-BLOOD.

ALSO…

A short story that features one of the characters from MILK-BOOD, The Damage Done is completely FREE on Amazon. Check it out here.

Follow the author on twitter: @matthews_mark

Or his blog here: www.markmatthewsauthor.com

MILK-BLOOD

The story you are about to read is entirely true. I know there was a disclaimer that called this a piece of fiction and that any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. It has to say that. So now if you are damaged while reading the story, I am no longer liable.

February 21, 2014 by Tina Williams

A Saint’s Salvation, by Beverly Ovalle

A Love and Life Affirming Sensual Read!

Contemporary/Military Romance – Novella (61 pages)

I jumped at the chance to review author Beverly Ovalle’s new release, her contemporary romance, A Saint’s Salvation. I was immediately drawn to the fact that the book tackles the issues of physical and psychological trauma which the men and women in military service risk every day, as they put their lives on the line. I was also curious to see how a contemporary tale would compare with the author’s previous novellas in erotic romance which I enjoyed so much, Dragons’ Mate and Lightning Strike (scroll down for links to our reviews).

Book Blurb

Corporal Nicholas ‘Saint’ Santiago need to go home to reclaim the man he used to be. To be the man he was before Operation Enduring Freedom slowly hardened his heart. He needs to reconnect to the values and the reasons he is doing what he does. Saint also needs to try to forget the courageous woman he knows was meant to be his.

Petty Officer Angelina Jones’ life changed the moment Saint saved her life. She survived the blast but now has to deal with the fact that she will never be whole. Knowing Saint received a ‘Dear John’ letter, Angelina has no intention of being his rebound romance. She needs to be loved for herself. She needs to forget about the one man she knows was meant to be hers.

They each try to find someone to help them forget.

However, fate has plans for the two of them.

My Review

I loved how A Saint’s Salvation is bursting with pride that we all have in our service men and women. It also highlights the many scars that they may bear, physically and emotionally, upon their return from active service, in what I feel is a realistic way and how important it is for them to reconnect with civilian life to aid the healing process.

At the start of the novella, the hero Nick has reached a low point, after receiving a ‘Dear John’ letter from his childhood sweetheart and having been ground down by the horrors of war. It is only when he saves the life of Petty Officer Angelina Jones, a doctor, that he believes that life is worth living again, as he realises exactly how much her cares for her. On his return to the US, fate brings them unexpectedly together again and there are some hot and sensual scenes as mutual attraction and desire, hitherto repressed, finally ignite. These scenes are both passionate and tender and downright SMOKING HOT! Angelina is one lucky girl!

I enjoyed the character of both the hero and heroine immensely. They are both strong characters, attempting to cope with their war inflicted wounds in their own way. Despite the strength they show they are also vulnerable and I found the passages where they share their inner fears with each other immensely touching. Nick is a hero who every girl would be proud to call their own and has a wicked sense of humour. He also knows exactly what Angelina needs to help her rediscover her confidence and self-worth as a woman and how to persuade her that he is serious about her. Angelina welcomes the fact that Nick sees her as a woman, injury or no injury. They are both very believable characters and a memorable couple.

I recommend A Saint’s Salvation to readers of contemporary and sensual romance.

Reviewed by Tina Williams

A copy of A Saint’s Salvation was given to me by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

Published by Secret Cravings Publishing

Cover Artist: Dawne Dominique

Purchase Links

Secret Cravings Publishing

Amazon US Amazon UK

Author Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeverlyOvalleAuthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SslySmileSomebodyLovesYou?ref=hl

Website: http://SSLYblog.wordpress.com

For our reviews of Beverly Ovalle’s erotic romance novellas, Dragons’ Mate and Lightning Strike click on the links:

http://areadersreviewblog.com/2013/04/17/dragons-mate-by-beverly-ovalle/

http://areadersreviewblog.com/2013/12/05/lightning-strike-by-beverly-ovalle/

February 17, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Stray by Mark Matthews

A Gritty, Realistic, Touching and Emotional Journey (Recommended for more adult readers (17yrs+) due to the subject matter.)

Book Blurb: Therapist Tomas Cleaves is many years sober from his addiction but is now losing his mind. There are voices in his head and the occasional seizure, and then his wife has a miscarriage on the same day his client dies of a heroin overdose. Tom becomes certain that the addicts he treats must have infected the womb of his wife.

Lost and bitter after the miscarriage, Tom is in desperate need of a client who can give him some hope.

James White is one such client — a newly orphaned alcoholic dead bent on drinking again until he gets discharged and finds himself rescuing lost strays at the next door animal shelter. Can James find a reason to live by rescuing the throw-away pets of the city?

A gritty novel with an edge yet surprisingly gentle and sweet, Stray will take you through the dog fighting dens and crack houses of Detroit where Stray souls can find connections in the most unusual of places.

Review

In between the fantasy, paranormal and romance reads I always enjoy a book that brings me back down to earth. Even though still a fictional story, Stray is a little more realistic, focusing on the unfortunates that are too easily pulled down into drug and alcohol addiction. However, amid the darkness and despair of some, Stray also offers hope and a brighter side with some very sweet, emotional and touching moments.

The story opens up following the Tom’s life, along with some of his clients. Tom constantly beats himself up. He’s trying his best to counsel his clients and guide them to a life of sobriety, yet he can’t control them. At times it seems that there is no hope for some of them. During the tragic times Tom tends to blame himself and links these moments with his wife’s miscarriage, thinking maybe if he hadn’t let his clients down the miscarriage wouldn’t have happened. The affect that this has on Tom’s state of mind is quite concerning. The voices in his head become more frequent and there are times when the reader may question whether Tom himself will remain sober or not.

Clearly there is a significant psychological element to this drama with Tom’s voices and seizures, the effect that the death of his clients have on him and his wife’s miscarriage. As well as the way in which love affects him – love for his wife, unborn child, clients and even those poor strays from the animal shelter opposite the treatment centre. It is these thoughts and feelings that help the reader to relate to the characters.

I was a little confused to begin with as it appeared that some areas of the story were a part of Tom’s memory as he reminisced, and then the reader would be brought back to the present. As the story continues it all becomes clearer and we follow each character’s life which later leads to a dramatic turn of events.

Although quite a serious read there are some heart-warming moments that provide the reader and some of the characters hope for a better future and faith that they can rise up from the rut they are stuck in by staying sober and rebuilding their life with work and relationships. James is a great example of this and my favourite character.

James leaves therapy and could go down either of two paths. He could return home and return to his addiction or he could explore a new life. After hearing the dogs in the animal shelter near to the Treatment Centre, he decides to take a look. In doing so he meets Rachel (Ra) and learns of a job vacancy that surely he’d be suitable for. During James’ time working for the animal shelter the reader has an incite into similarities between the strays and that of an addict. The stray dogs are occasionally re-homed, but many are given an injected drug to end their struggle.

Ra is another of my favourite characters. She is a saviour without realising. She helps rescue the strays of the city, including James. Is there hope for a little romance here? And in many ways, Tom’s character is similar to Ra, in that they both try to save lost souls by re-homing or therapy but sadly very few seem to move on to a better life. Stray is a perfect example of how a life can save another, whether it be through friends, family, children and/or indeed pets and animals.

One of my favourite aspects of Stray is the way in which each character’s story is connected to another. Some connections are more subtle than others but many are connected to Tom, Treatment Centre and/or the animal shelter and pet dogs that some of the characters have or have had.

Stray opens the mind to the ideas that some addicts may have – if things go wrong it must be their fault. It can appear to some that they have high ego’s in thinking that the world evolves around them by always thinking they are at the fore of all problems, and yet in contrast, they don’t deem themselves worthy. It’s a vicious circle, a dark rut that many find impossible to break free from. Stray shows the ups and downs -addiction at it’s worst and those that have beaten it.

Mark Matthews, a therapist himself, has written with delicacy and care. The dark moments are written in such a way that the reader is completely aware of the scene, however Matthews has written so carefully as to not horrify or appal the reader. I congratulate the author on writing in a very sensitive manner. For what is such a serious subject matter, Stray is quite refreshing at times albeit gritty and realistic.

A copy of Stray was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.

Stray is available at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

December 12, 2013 by Caroline Barker

1 day to go for WILL DAVIS’ ‘DEMONICA’ ebook GIVEAWAY

Wow, guys, we’ve had a quite a few entries for Will Davis’ twisted, dark, modern-day fairy tale Demonica Giveaway! Thanks to all of those that have entered. Good luck 🙂

For those that haven’t yet, please check out the book blurb and our review. All you have to do to enter the competition is enter your name in the comments box below or on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AReadersReview.

Closing date is Friday 13th December 2013 for this fearsome Friday giveaway. You’ve nothing to lose.

We have two copies to giveaway.

The winners will be randomly selected on Saturday 14th December and will be notified in due course. Fingers crossed!

Oh, and please share via Facebook, Twitter etc – the more the merrier!

Caroline 🙂