Sunday Post #173

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share new about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

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I don't know about you, but my days are all screwed up. Having a long weekend last weekend was great but it messes with the order in my brain. I didn't make blog visiting last week with being all confused on days, vet visit for dog, and heavens only remembers what else we had to do. I went to a bridal shower for a dear friends daughter that we've lived through growing up and a graduation party. Yep, it's that season. I'm thinking the rest of the month is going to clear... *holds breath* I could be wrong too. lol.

I've been working on Camp Nanowrimo and I'm pleased with myself. I might be an hour or two behind in my hours, but I'm still happy. I've added in a few scenes and still have more to add. The story is really growing and morphing with these re-writes. I'm trying to tie more together in each scene, something my brain forgets with the mad dash to write the first draft but the idea and scenes are there to work with (which is usually my goal in first draft dash).

I rearranged my den! I was so happy to put together my new shelves I got on clearance for $9.00 each. Yeah! They are tall and have five shelves. Totally awesome price I couldn't pass up a few months ago, so they are finally up and things moved around. This took 7 hours to put the shelves together, move, clean, and organize. And it's still not done as there is one corner with items that I need to file and find a place to put. But close enough!

As for books....I'm listening away at work and reading when I can. I really need to get my schedule locked down so I can get more accomplished in a day.

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The Fit Booker:

Goal:  Workout in any form of exercise (or on Wii Fit) 2x's a week. (to feel better and hope to drop a few pants sizes)

How did I do last week... Um... with the holiday I'm all goofed up. lol. I did get on the treadmill Sunday. I push mowed the grass on Wednesday. And I think that was it this week.

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What's Happening in Books:

Current Read:

Unleash by Lauren Harris


Current Audiobook:
Demon Magic by Linsey Hall

Current Podcast Book Listen:
Stonebriar Casefiles: Bad Alchemy by Laura Nicole Spencer (You can listen for free too!)

Finished Last Week: 

Exiled by Amanda Carlson
Assassin Victim by A.F. Grappin

Audiobooks from Audible:

Steampunk Is Dead by Harmon Cooper
Perses by K.A. Finn


Finished Podcast Book Listen:

Nothing yet.

DNFed:

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Last Week on the Blog:

Cover Reveals: (click titles to go to post & learn more)

Guest Posts:

Posts:

Spellbound in a Flash:
I've started back up again!

The Palace Theatre, Gary Pratt in concert.

Challenged Writers:
April, May, and why not June Update on writer-ly items.

Around the Internet...


Reviews:

The Society by Lilith Saintcrow

"I found I slipped into their relationship and the growth of it. How they became so intimately entwined emotionally. Wow. I feel that audio really elevated this feeling for me. Lilith with the words and Rayna with the voice, together they were seductive."


The Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit

"These stories are all told as the old princess and dragon tales are told."

Podcast Review:

Mama Bitchstress Reviews:

GIVEAWAYS:

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This Week to Come on the Blog:

I have two reviews scheduled.

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Received Last Weeks:

(Note: Links to Amazon are buy links where I could earn commission, in case you are interested.)


For Review Consideration:

High Fantasy by Harmon Cooper
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The third installment of The Feedback Loop Series is out now! 
Quantum Hughes and the Dream Team dive to Tritania, an MMORPG fantasy Proxima World filled with dragons, orcs, swords, floating continents, and magic attacks. With the clock ticking, and his problems in the real world growing, including his legal troubles and his blossoming relationship with Frances Euphoria, Quantum is forced to make a decision that could change his life forever. 

The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. Steam, The Loop, Tritania and the real world – four worlds collide in the third installment of The Feedback Loop Series. 

The thin line between dream and reality is pixilated.


Audio Books Requested for Review:

Purchased/Winnings/Gifts:

Book:

Swords & Stilettos by Kristin D. Van Risseghem
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Zoe Jabril needs to devise a kick-ass plan to save the world ASAP. Otherwise, Armageddon starts the day she turns eighteen—and if that happens, everything is going to hell. Literally.

She could be any other 17-year-old attending parties and checking out cute guys—except she discovers her best friend is a Guardian Angel and the boy she crushes on is a Nephilim, both sent to protect her from the demons who want her dead.

Now Zoe has to deal with growing feelings toward the Nephilim, who spreads a strange electrical current through her body every time he touches her. And she’s under constant attack from Demons, trying to stop her from fulfilling the Prophecy: a girl will be born who will unite Angels, Nephilim, Fairies and Werewolves to battle evil. Then she has to control newly found talents if she’s to prevent the devil from escaping Hell.

A Drop of Witch by Zoe Arden
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Murder, cupcakes, and witches... it’s just your average day in Sweetland Cove. 

Page Count: around 330 pages 

Things are always going wrong for Ava Fortune. 
Ever since she discovered she was a witch, it seems like people are trying to kill her. 

And… New Year’s is no exception. 

When a woman is found murdered in her aunts’ bakery, a terrible curse is uncovered, with Ava at the center of it. 
This time, at least, she’s not a suspect. 
Everyone in town knows who the killer is. Even Detective Colt Hudson thinks Ava’s innocent. 

Polly Peacock broke out of prison for one reason only: 
to kill Ava Fortune. Not just kill—sacrifice. 

That’s the only way that Polly can get her witchy powers back. 
Except it’s not just Ava she has to kill. 
There are five names on her list. 

Ava and Colt used to be enemies; she never thought they’d be friends. 
With things between her and her boyfriend, Damon, as rocky as ever, Ava starts to think that Colt is interested in more than just paranormal security. 

But does she feel the same? 

Can Ava stop Polly from committing her terrible crimes before it’s too late or will the curse shared by Ava and her ancestors come back to stop her? 

There’s never a dull day in Sweetland Cove.

The Discovery by Blake B. River
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Just one step away of finally reuniting with her long-lost childhood friend, Andi finds herself buckling in for a grand finale of a rescue to the asteroid planet coordinates she stole from Maven’s grip. 
Together, with Janix, Angel and Viys’k, they must see if they can survive the true form of their foe and all that has planned for them. And Andi herself faces a bitter lesson that could very well rock the entire crew to their core. After countless times of flirting with the line between success and certain death, they are all aware that this could be the time that sends them toppling over the edge.

Muse by Erin McFadden
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The Brotherhood of the Guardians has existed for thousands of years to serve a single purpose: the protection of Talents, the mortal descendants of the original nine Muses. 

Twenty-one year-old Daniel Lyoncourt has trained his entire life to join the Guardians. Daniel is prepared to risk his life in order to keep his Talent safe, but when he's assigned to nineteen year-old Anna Saint-James, he discovers that his life isn't the only thing he could lose. Anna has no idea how special she is and knows nothing about her abilities. He must teach her to control her gifts, keep her safe, and hope that he can find a place in her life as something more than just her bodyguard.

All power comes at a price. Like all Talents, Anna must one day make a choice: lose all of her powers, or ascend to a higher plane, leaving behind everyone she loves.


Audio:

Free Ebooks:
(On my Kindle and Nook App) Links to books under title. They may or may not be free at this time.

Gabriel's Hope by Lizzy Ford
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The continuation of the Rhyn Trilogy saga. 

Death Finds Love. 

Recently appointed as Death, Gabriel’s life can’t get much worse. His underworld is in shambles, and he’s racing demons to collect souls in the human world. To add to his mess, he discovers that his predecessor raised an unwelcome Immortal from the dead, one who threatens the Immortal Council that his friend, the Ancient Rhyn, is trying to hold together. When the underworld shuts Gabriel out, he’s convinced he’s hit rock bottom. Until he meets her, and he realizes things can get worse. Much worse. 

Now in human form, Deidre – Gabriel’s predecessor and long-time tormenter – is dying from a brain tumor. Rather than mourn, she decides to enjoy the rest of her short life by checking off every box on her bucket list. Little does she suspect that a weekend getaway to the beach will throw her into the hands of Death himself and overturn everything she knows about her world. Deidre has no idea who she was in her past life, but she must learn fast, or she’ll never understand why the Immortals, demons and Death alike are after her. The secret is buried in her head, and the only way to uncover it will kill her. 

To survive, she must reach the wounded man behind the mask of Death and show him that the world is filled with more than tragedy and pain.

Deidre's Death by Lizzy Ford
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Two women caught in a struggle between Death and the Dark One...

Gabriel – Death – is winning the ground war against demons in the mortal realm. But a rebellion is brewing among his army of grim reapers in the underworld he still can’t access. Worse, just when he thinks he knows where his heart belongs, he discovers there are two Deidres: the human he started to fall in love with and the deity whose love-hate relationship with him spanned hundreds of thousands of years. What he doesn’t know: the two Deidres made a deal that will send one of their souls to the underworld by the end of the week.

Deity-Deidre expects nothing but smooth sailing in her future. Until the Dark One strips her powers on her way out of Hell, leaving her a vulnerable human, reeling under the influence of human emotions, which deities do not possess. The deal she made with human-Deidre suddenly seems impossible to win. For the first time in her existence, she understands what Gabriel felt at her mercy for the eons they were together. She doesn’t know how to win the trust of the man she’s always loved – or even if she can.

Darkyn's Mate by Lizzy Ford
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Caught between Fate and the Dark One ...

Stuck in Hell, human-Deidre struggles to hold onto her hope that she can change the course of events that landed her as the mate of Darkyn, the Dark One. The chances of her leaving Hell plummet when the Dark One takes a drastic step to ensure he never loses his latest possession and blood binds her in an ancient rite from the time-before-time. In doing so, he is forced to share his power with her. Rather than despair, she begins to see that she has unexpectedly found her place in the world: protecting innocent souls from the bloodlust of the demon she's forever bound to.

Rather than accept her place at his side docilely, she begins to use her newfound influence to help those she cares about, including Gabriel, the former lover she's not yet ready to let go of, even knowing she'll never leave Hell.

Damian's Oracle by Lizzy Ford
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Inspired by Slavic mythology, Damien’s Oracle is the entree into the ongoing battle between good and evil over the fate of humanity. The White God, Damian, and his Guardians protect the world from the Black God and his monsters while rescuing Naturals – humans with extraordinary paranormal gifts - from the Black God, who would kill or convert them. 

Caught in the middle is cool-headed Sofia, a Natural whose gift will tip the scales in the war. Sofia begins her transformation from human into oracle, the first in thousands of years. Damian rescues her from the Black God in time to complete a ceremony that will bind her to him for eternity. Sofia struggles with her new world and her role as an oracle and Damian’s mate while haunted by a mysterious man from Damian’s past who’s supposed to be dead. Unbeknownst to her, her link to the dead man may be all that saves Damian, his Guardians, and the fate of humanity.

While he wants nothing more than for the petite beauty to take her place at his side like the oracles of legend did his White God forefathers, Damian can’t quite rationalize having to win her over instead of command her. Further complicating his life is the sobering realization that there are spies in his organization who are helping the Black God take out his Guardians. Damian must help Sofia reach her potential fast, especially when a threat from his past returns.

Damian's Assassin by Lizzy Ford
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Goodreads Synopsis:
With the White God in Europe, Dustin is left alone in Miami to protect the Grey God, a man-god struggling with his identity, and the White God’s mate. One of the Black God’s vamps in Miami suddenly goes rogue and starts killing humans by the dozen. Dustin initially doesn’t think much of the ruthless, human-hating thug, Talon, until it becomes clear that the vamp is receiving help from otherworldly beings whose intentions are nothing short of destroying humanity. To make matters even worse, Dustin’s begun to dream of his dead sister, who tells him he’ll be seeing her soon.

Dustin rescues Bianca and her troubled brother, a Natural whose mysterious talent makes him vital to Talon’s plans. Bianca, a woman as sunny and sweet as Dustin is hard and cold, has the rare Natural gift of healing. She can bring the recent dead back to life or turn a vamp back into a human. She can even reach Dustin’s heart, which he locked away long again after his sister’s death. Convinced he’ll be killed soon, Dustin won’t risk his heart or Bianca’s, despite their mutual attraction, and Bianca discovers even her incredible talent can’t save both the men she loves.

Bound by Fire by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The powerful draasin – elemental creatures of fire not seen for a thousand years – have returned. Not all are convinced they should have been freed. 

As Tan struggles to learn earth shaping, he discovers dangerous fire shapers from Incendin have come to Ethea. When the city is attacked by the draasin, Tan must use his connection with them to learn why. Doing so leads him from the city and forces him to once more face the terrible shapers of Incendin, but this time bound to the draasin for help. If he fails, much more than his life is at stake, for Incendin has stolen the artifact and plans to use its power for unknown destruction.

Chased by Fire by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
An ancient artifact that must be found... 
Terrifying creatures from dark and dangerous Incendin... 
And long-forgotten elementals again unleashed on the world. 

As an earth senser, Tan is tasked with helping guide the king’s servant through the dangerous mountain passes in search for the artifact before Incendin can reach it first. But after losing his father to the war, Tan wants nothing to do with the king’s demands. When everything he knows is lost, he is forced to risk himself to save the one person who can find the artifact, a beautiful girl who has lost as much as Tan. In doing so, power the world hasn’t seen in nearly a thousand years is awoken, and a warrior long thought dead returns to claim the artifact for himself.

Drowned by Water by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Continuing Elle’s story following the events in Bound by Fire: 

Abandoned by water and washed ashore in a village that thinks her nothing more than a sea bride, Elle is determined to return to the university to resume her studies. When Doma is attacked, and she finds a daring way way to reach the capital, she discovers the attack isn’t what she thought. With no ability to shape, Elle must find some way to reach water, or not only will she lose her only friend, but all of Doma will fall. 

The first part in Elle’s story, a part of the Cloud Warrior Saga.

Shadow Blessed by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The A'ras of Nyaesh have a terrifying reputation: skilled swordsmen, owners of powerful magic, and ruthless killers. When they kill her parents, Carth discovers her parents had trained her for magic she never knew she possessed. 

She must use the skills they taught to stay alive, discover a way to find answers, and avenge them if she can. Only the discovery of a greater threat than the A'ras forces her to risk herself for new friends, and a home she never wanted.

The Dark Ability by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Exiled by his family. Claimed by thieves. Could his dark ability be the key to his salvation? 

Rsiran is a disappointment to his family, gifted with the ability to Slide. It is a dark magic, one where he can transport himself wherever he wants, but using it will only turn him into the thief his father fears. 

Forbidden from Sliding, he’s apprenticed under his father as a blacksmith where lorcith, a rare, precious metal with arcane properties, calls to him, seducing him into forming forbidden blades. When discovered, he’s banished, sentenced indefinitely to the mines of Ilphaesn Mountain. 

Though Rsiran tries to serve obediently, to learn to control the call of lorcith as his father demands, when his life is threatened in the darkness of the mines, he finds himself Sliding back to Elaeavn where he finds a black market for his blades - and a new family of thieves. 

There someone far more powerful than him discovers what he can do and intends to use him. He doesn’t want to be a pawn in anyone’s ambitions; all he ever wanted was a family. But the darkness inside him cannot be ignored - and he’s already embroiled in an ancient struggle that only he may be able to end.

The Binder's Game by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
When the assassin Galen is hired to capture a slaver rather than kill, he learns his target is more than she appears. The job takes him deeper into the Eban underworld as he tries to understand how he’s been used, and why his only friend in the city seems to know more than she should.

Surviving pits him against those with abilities far exceeding his own, and leads him to realize that he has been a part of a much larger game. For him to escape, he'll have to learn what role he has to play, if only he can discover why everyone wants to use him.

Set in the world of The Dark Ability and The Shadow Accords 

Shifted Agony by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
My name is Oliver Morris and I’m a painter. I can use color and shapes and patterns to infuse them with power. In that, I’m more like a wizard than anything, except I don’t have any spells or incantations. Sometimes I wished I did; it might be easier than working the magic I command. 

After my father's disappearance - not dead, though I'm the only one to believe he's not - I was exiled from Arcanus, the only place to learn painter magic and discover what happened to him. Or so I thought. 

For the last ten years, I was forced to learn the dangerous arcane patterns, patterns forbidden in Arcanus. And now I've finally returned home, determined to find out what happened to my father. 

Only, it turns out my father was hiding more secrets than I realized. When another painter from Arcanus shows up, she unleashes a deadly threat that our world hasn't seen in centuries. 

Somehow, I'm the only one able to stop it. 

Shifted Agony is the first book in The Painter Mage urban fantasy series.

Keeper of the Forest by D.K. Holmberg
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Eris Taeresin, third daughter to the king, is tired of being different. She’s wasted months searching the massive palace garden for a flower that will let her join her sisters in lessons to learn the secret language of flowers. Each day the Mistress of Flowers finds some reason to refuse, all while her sisters found theirs easily, a fact they love to throw in her face. 

When she finally finds a strange flower that satisfies the stern Mistress of Flowers, Eris is told she needs to learn more about the flower before she can join the lessons, leaving her spending more days searching the garden. At least now she has Terran, a handsome young gardener, for company. 

Then, while her father’s men fight a war in the north and with her oldest sister planning her wedding with the Saffra prince, Eris discovers the Mistress of Flowers might be more than she realized. After overhearing her father’s magi advisor, she begins to suspect the Mistress of Flowers is a flower mage who intends to use the garden in a plot against the kingdom. Eris soon learns the threat against the kingdom is deeper than she suspected and now she might be the only one able to save it from destruction, if only she can learn to use her own magic in time.

The Countenance Trilogy Box Set by Addison Moore
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The Complete Countenance Trilogy in one boxed set! 
Young Adult Paranormal romance / Mature Situations 

From the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journalbestselling author, Addison Moore 

A paranormal Alice in Wonderland - Kindle review 

One of the Best YA Paranormal Books I've Read - A Definite Must Read! - S. Ward 

Ephemeral (The Countenance Series Book 1) 

In the grand scheme of things, you’ll be dead a lot longer than you’ll ever be alive. 

The last thing Laken Stewart remembers is the oncoming car, then bursting through the windshield. 
Two months dissolve without her knowledge and she finds herself in unfamiliar surroundings with strangers who not only profess to know her but insist she’s someone else entirely. 
Laken discovers her long dead boyfriend, Wesley, has been thrown into this alternate world as well. He is quick to inform her she suffered a horrible fall and that her memory hasn’t fully returned. According to Wesley the other life she had—her name, her family, they were simply a side effect of her brain trauma. 
In her quest for answers she meets Cooper Flanders, the son of her psychiatrist who readily believes every word she says. 
Laken Stewart knows she died on that hot July afternoon, but now she’s alive—or is she? 

Evanescent (The Countenance Series Book 2) 

Sixteen-year-old Laken Stewart died last summer. Her resurrection at the hands of the Countenance hasn’t run smoothly. With the memory of her past life still firmly intact, Laken moves deeper into the Countenance organization in an effort to free her mother and sister from the deadly Celestra tunnels. 
The love she feels for her boyfriend, Wesley, is compromised when gorgeous Cooper Flanders teams up with her in the fight to free their families. Old bonds are slowly severed as new ones are galvanized. 
Wesley is sure that what he and Laken share is special but when it becomes apparent that she’s reading his mind, he’s determined to get to the bottom of her true intentions. And one thing is for sure, the Celestra that’s giving her these powers is going to have to pay. Wesley’s love for Laken takes him to dark places he never believed existed, and what he discovers dismantles his world as he knows it. 

Entropy (The Countenance Series Book 2) 

Laken Stewart is sure of one thing—she must free her loved ones from the notorious Celestra tunnels. 
Laken along with Cooper Flanders set out to free their families from the hands of the Countenance before it’s too late. Once her old boyfriend, Wesley, realizes who he really is, and what the Counts have cost him, he’s more determined than ever to win Laken back. 
Laken’s heart becomes divided, and yet she knows she must make a decision that has the power to shape all of their destinies forever. 
Laken has fallen hard for Cooper, but Wesley is back, and now her heart is torn. 
Cooper would give up his life to protect Laken, and he might just have to. 
Wesley remembers everything from his true past, and he wants Laken more than ever—nothing or no one will stand in his way. 

Born of Earth by A.L. Knorr
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Goodreads Synopsis:
17-year-old Georjayna Sutherland isn’t exactly thrilled about going to Ireland to live with her aunt for the summer, and even less thrilled when her adopted cousin Jasher (cute though he may be) turns out to be as friendly as a nest of vipers. But at least it gets her out of Saltford and away from her neglectful mother, Liz.

When Georjie unearths Jasher's terrifying secret, and things she never knew about her own family begin to come to light; a heartbroken woman who disappeared without a trace, a desiccated body, and strange cocoons hanging in the greenhouse, she finds herself embroiled in a mystery that involves the very power of nature itself. 

But it's when Georjayna herself begins to change in new and powerful ways she doesn’t understand that she realizes…

…things have gotten personal.

North by Lizzy Ford
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The past is waiting. 

Josie Jackson is whisked further into the past, to the era of Vikings and the (almost) eternal winters of Norway. Carter, the mastermind behind her foray through time, reveals that she’ll be remaining there for six years – assuming she survives the first winter. To complicate matters, Josie has an unexpected health condition, one that threatens her life more than the frigid cold, Viking raids and wild animals. 

After un-creating Taylor and leaving Batu in the Mongol era, Josie wants nothing to do with any other man, especially not the Viking warrior she’s engaged to shortly after dropped into a fjord in front of his village. Not everyone is as he seems in this era, from her reluctant new husband, to the mystic – scorned by the rest of the village – whose futuristic visions are too accurate to be divine, to Carter, the evil genius who’s tormented her through three eras of history. 

When she finally learns the truth behind why he chose her, she understands too well what the stakes of this game really are.

These Mean Streets, Darkly by Austin Dragon
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Goodreads Synopsis:
THESE MEAN STREETS, DARKLY the prequel to the upcoming, cyberpunk, detective series, Liquid Cool. 

It’s a world of colossal skyscrapers. Hover-cars fly above in the dark, rainy skies and gray people walk below on the grimy, hard streets in the “Neon Jungle.” Uber-governments and mega-corporations fight for control of the super-city, but so does crime.

An average woman, Carol—hardworking and decent in every way— loses her daughter to the psycho Red Rabbit. Can Police Central find the girl in time—alive? And is it really a random, senseless kidnapping in the fifty-million-plus city?

There are a million victims and perpetrators in this High-Tech, Low-Life World. This is one of those stories…before we meet our private eye (and unlikely hero), Cruz, in the soon-to-be-released, debut novel, Liquid Cool

Free Audio Books/Stories:

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Reviews to Come:

Soulless by Skyla Dawn Cameron

The Sentinel by Chris Lester

The Muse by Chris Lester
Metamor City: Making the Cut by Chris Lester
Metamor City: Whispers in the Wood by Chris Lester

Lex Talionis by Starla Huchton

Spark by Starla Huchton
Heir to Kale by K.L. Bone

Tales from the Archives Vol 4 #5 - Old Sinner's Bones

The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan

Steampunk Is Dead by Harmon Cooper

Exiled by Amanda Carlson