Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Book Spotlight - One More Day by Shirleen Davies





One More Day
Book Three, MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary Romance Series
By Shirleen Davies



Book Synopsis:

Cameron “Cam” Sinclair is smart, driven, and dedicated, with an easygoing temperament that belies his strong will and the personal ambitions he holds close. Besides his family, his job as head of IT at the MacLaren Cattle Company and his position as a Search and Rescue volunteer are all he needs to make him happy. At least that’s what he thinks until he meets, and is instantly drawn to, fellow SAR volunteer, Lainey Devlin.

Lainey is compassionate, independent, and ready to break away from her manipulative and controlling fiancĂ©. Just as her decision is made, she’s called into a major search and rescue effort, where once again, her path crosses with the intriguing, and much too handsome, Cam Sinclair. But Lainey’s plans are set. An opportunity to buy a flourishing preschool in northern Arizona is her chance to make a fresh start, and nothing, not even her fierce attraction to Cam Sinclair, will impede her plans.

As Lainey begins to settle into her new life, an unexpected danger arises —threats from an unknown assailant—someone who doesn’t believe she belongs in Fire Mountain. The more Lainey begins to love her new home, the greater the danger becomes. Can she accept the help and protection Cam offers while ignoring her consuming desire for him?

Even if Lainey finally accepts her attraction to Cam, will he ever be able to come to terms with his own driving ambition and allow himself to consider a different life than the one he’s always pictured? A life with the one woman who offers more than he’d ever hoped to find?

Read One More Day, another heart-warming and romantic story of passion, love, choices, and commitment in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary Romance series.

Author Info:

I have been writing most of my life, but only recently began the transition into fiction. Historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and short stories are what keep me reading, so that is the focus of my writing.

I was born in California, grew up between a growing beach town and a small town at the base of the San Bernardino mountains. My mother originally planned to name me Katherine, but she read an article in the paper about a woman named Shirleen shortly before my birth, so instead of having a cool nickname, like Kate, I am simply Shirleen. My mainstays growing up were all the Nancy Drew mystery books; I loved them. Eventually I moved on to mysteries, suspense stories, crime novels, and romance. Pride and Prejudice will always be one of my favorites.

Besides California, life changes have allowed me to live in Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona. Everywhere I have lived has been inspirational in one way or another, giving me the opportunity to meet remarkable people with their own stories to tell. I've sailed, skied, owned horses plus lots of other animals, and ridden various off-road vehicles. I enjoy dancing, fishing, hunting, being the back-seater on my husband's Harley, traveling and, of course, reading and writing.

Prior to transitioning to writing fiction, I worked for Fortune 500 and many smaller, start-up companies. Fortunately, I regained my sanity long enough to start my own consulting firm, which I still maintain today.

My husband and I spend most of our time at our main home in the mountains of Arizona and our second home in Southern California. Between us we have five boys with growing careers and families of their own. So, from my perspective, my life is a success and always an adventure. I wouldn't change a thing; well, except finding more time to write.

I love hearing from readers, so please feel email me at
shirleen@shirleendavies.com.


Connect  with Shirleen:


Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22572848-one-more-day

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Book Spotlight - Birth of an Assassin by Rik Stone




Birth of an Assassin
by Rik Stone
Genre: Thriller

Book Description:
Set against the backdrop of Soviet, post-war Russia, Birth of an Assassin follows the transformation of Jez Kornfeld from wide-eyed recruit to avenging outlaw. Amidst a murky underworld of flesh-trafficking, prostitution and institutionalized corruption, the elite Jewish soldier is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, nobody can be trusted, and everything can be violently torn from him.
Given the order to disperse and arrest a crowd of Jewish demonstrators in Red Square, Jez breaks up the rally but discovers his sisters in their ranks. Rushed for a solution, he sneaks the girls from under the noses of secret police and hides them in downtown Moscow. But he knows they will no longer be safe in Russia. He has to find them a safe route out.
The journey begins, but he is unaware that his every move is being observed and that he has set in motion a chain of events that will plunge his life into a headlong battle to stay alive.

Author Bio:
Do children born into poverty become impoverished adults? It happens; pitfalls and roadblocks to advancement are everywhere. Rik Stone grew up poor amidst the slum-lands of fifties North East England, and left school at 15 without any academic qualifications.
He worked in the shipyards on a local river and later went into the merchant navy. Further down the line, he worked quarries in Essex in South East England.
But life was without horizons until, contrary to what his teachers had told him, he found he was capable of studying and completed a BSc degree in mathematics and computing.
Life got lucky for him when he took company pension at 50 and began writing. And now, here he is offering up his debut novel Birth of an Assassin, the first in a series.

Links :
Twitter: @stone_rik


Sunday, July 6, 2014

Review - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of WitchesA Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Paperback, 688 pages
Published 2011 by Headline Publishing Group 
Source: Library loan
 
Synopsis:
'IT BEGINS WITH ABSENCE AND DESIRE.
IT BEGINS WITH BLOOD AND FEAR.
IT BEGINS WITH A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

When historian Diana Bishop finds an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft.

Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire geneticist.

Diana is inexplicably drawn to Mathew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels.
'

My Thoughts:
The Discovery of Witches starts off with us getting to know Diana Bishop, a witch who has lived her whole life in denial about her powers who accidentally comes across an ancient manuscript that has been hidden by a secret spell for centuries.

Little did she know that unlocking this ancient manuscript would stir up the supernatural world and make her a person of interest to every other creature around. It would also bring her to meet Matthew Clairmont, a centuries old vampire who has been wanting to get his hands on that manuscript and who becomes intrigued by Diana and the powers that she seems to be trying to supress.

I started out a big fan of Diana and her independent, level headed nature, but there were some scenes where she seemed to just fall apart and need looking after like a little girl which started making me more annoyed as the story went along.

Now, as far as Matthew is concerned, I really, really wanted to like him because there's always something that is a little sexy about the whole tough and unflappable vampire main man that takes control and wants to do nothing but protect his love but I must admit that his super controlling nature and elusive talk did kind of get on my nerves a little bit after a while.

As far as the rest of the story and characters were concerned, I really enjoyed the mix of witches, vampires and daemons and thought they were all mingled together quite well. Some of the back stories and descriptions were a little long winded now and then but I was always intrigued enough to keep reading on.

I found The Discovery of Witches wasn't just your typical paranormal creature novel. It contained so many different elements that could have been a bit overwhelming if not done right but in my opinion they all worked together really well.

Overall, I found this book to be a pretty enjoyable read and will definitely be picking up the next in the series to see where the story goes.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

#SavageReads - James Hayman McCabe & Savage Series Readalong


Witness Impulse are hosting a Readalong of James Hayman's McCabe & Savage series starting on the 20th June.

I'm ultra excited about this as I read and reviewed Darkness First at the end of last year and loved it!

The schedule for the Readalong is as follows:



June 20 - Start reading THE CUTTING, the first book in the series
July 18 - Discussion with James Hayman on Goodreads
July 21 - Start reading CHILL OF NIGHT, the second book in the series
August 15 - Discussion with James Hayman on Goodreads
August 18 - Finish up with DARKNESS FIRST
September 12 – Discussion with James Hayman on Goodreads
 

If you wish to join in and are a member of Goodreads the group to go to for all the action is here.

Also, there is a Facebook page for Witness here for anyone who wishes to join in on the discussion that way.

All discussions should use the hashtag #savagereads to make sure you get included in the conversations.

So, if you're a James Hayman fan you should get your books ready and join in on this fun event.

I can't wait!


Have a great week.

Michelle


 
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