Drone Games ~ Review

Drone Games
By Joel Narlock

Georgia Tech Professor Michael Robertson has just created the perfect tool for Mars exploration.  But someone has other plans for his creation - plans that will cripple America.

As planes are brought down and lives are lost Tom Ross - NTSB acting division chief of Aviation Engineering, Jack Riley - Director of Homeland Counterterrorism, and Neela Griffin - reporter with WITI Fox 6 out of Milwaukee have to pool their skills to stop the terrorists.  But can they find anything that will give them the break they need?  And until the terrorists can be identified and there mode of attack determined there way be no way to stop them.

If you like intense terror themed fiction you will like Drone Games.  The first few chapters are on the scientific side but don't let this scare you away from the meat of the story.  America is under attack and she may not survive.

The clock is ticking towards economic collapse like we've never seen.  Be afraid, very afraid...

The book opens with the following statement from Albert Einstein ~ It has become appalling obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.  Read Drone Games and decide for yourself.

I was provided a Digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and participation in this tour.

About the book:

It’s domestic terrorism as you’ve never seen it before. An al-Qaeda cell uses cutting-edge drone technology to circumvent post-9/11 airport security measures. Within eight hours, two planes crash. The President faces an unthinkable decision: ground all planes—and the economy—or keep flying and risk more deaths. Based on real-life technology, Drone Games is a fascinating fictional account of terrorism’s future.


About the author:

Joel Narlock was born in La Crosse, WI and grew up hunting, fishing and raising a beautiful family. He’s experienced in corporate finance and small business management. He plays guitar and has performed in various local venues. He wrote his first novel about unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in 2003. He and his wife, Terri have two wonderful adult children and two wonderful grandchildren. He lives in Key West and took first place in Key West’s 2013 Mystery Fest Short Story Contest. He and his wife are active members of the Key West Sunrise Rotary Club. He enjoys an annual Canadian fishing trip with family and friends.

Abandoned Memories ~ Review

Abandoned Memories
Escape to Paradise Book 3
By MaryLu Tyndale

A darkness seems to have taken a hold on colony of New Hope.  A darkness that is bringing visions - visions that are memories from the past - memories of pain and shame.

Abandoned Memories is the final book in the Escape to Paradise series and everything is about to culminate as the colonists must face their pasts and the secrets they are keeping.  Because until they confront their pasts and accept God's forgiveness they will not survive what is to come.

Not to give away too much this is an interesting story which is a mix of genres.  There is romance, history, and a touch of the supernatural that blends into an engaging and intriguing story.

This book focuses mainly on the back stories of Angeline Moore and James Gallaway.  And as the story progresses we see how the lives of the six main characters of this series are intertwined in ways that they never knew nor suspected.

If you want to just escape within the pages of a book you just might want to pick up Abandoned Memories.  It will make for a great weekend getaway.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher through BookFun/TBCN in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:

Something sinister lurks in the lush Brazilian jungle. . . .

It is 1866 and the fledgling Confederate colony of New Hope is Angeline Moore’s last chance at a normal life. Running from the law, she longs to make a fresh start in this new Southern Utopia. But a series of strange disasters threaten to destroy everything the colonists have worked for, and strange visions threaten to reveal a past Angeline is desperate to hide.

James Callaway failed at both doctoring and preaching, but he hopes that his move to Brazil will give him another chance to become the spiritual leader he so desires. He longs to create a world free from the immorality that plagued every street corner back home and ruined his life. And he believes Angeline is just the sort of refined woman he needs to keep him on the right track.

But something is amiss in New Hope: haunting visions, the discovery of crypts beneath an ancient temple, and an archaic Hebrew book, set the colonists’ fears on edge. When one of their own is murdered, a series of disasters leads them to believe God has brought them to Brazil to defeat an evil that, if unleashed, could wreak havoc on the entire world.

Surviving Henry ~ Review

Surviving Henry
By Erin Taylor Young
   

    Adventures in Loving a

                    Canine Catastrophe....

If you love books about dogs and their antics you need to read Surviving Henry.  And the good news Henry survives the book though he has a few close calls as does the family that he calls his own.

Henry is boxer who just didn't quite fit the breed standard, thus ensuring his life as the family terror make that pet.  What follows are the joys of obedience training gone wrong.  A little incident with a motorized scooter.  And every owner's worst nightmare an encounter with a glass surface.

Henry will make you laugh and bring you to tears.  This is a book that you'll want to share with friends and family (but not necessarily with those contemplating their first puppy).

This book is the author's journey in true love - love that we only truly experience from our Heavenly Father as He sees are flaws and faults and yet chooses to stick with us as we learn to listen to His voice.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher through BookFun/TBCN in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book: 

You don't always know what you're getting into when you bring home a puppy. Enter Henry, a boxer who suffers from Supreme Dictator of the Universe Syndrome. He vandalizes his obedience school, leaps through windows, cheats death at every turn, and generally causes his long-suffering owner Erin Taylor Young to wonder what on earth she did that God would send this dog to derail her life.

Through his laugh-out-loud antics and escapades, Henry will steal readers' hearts. Anyone who has ever owned a dog, especially a canine catastrophe like Henry, will enjoy this lighthearted book about a dog who brings new meaning to the concept of unconditional love.

About the Author: 

Erin Taylor Young is an award-winning humor writer living in a comedy with an all-star cast including one well-meaning husband, two polar opposite sons, and a noncompliant dog. When she isn't writing or rescuing the dog from mortal danger, she works in a library where she gets to wander among books.

She has a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in music, which is mostly inconsequential but makes her sound more reputable. She loves football (Da Bears), photography, and hiking in cool national parks.

Learn more about Erin at www.erintayloryoung.com where she blogs about writing, God, and her aversion to spiders.

Why Dogs Are... ~ Review

Why Dogs Are...
By Tana Thompson

Illustrations by Marita Gentry

This is a delightful and touching story about dogs and how they came to be called dog and the job God gave to dogs.

In a nutshell God sent the first dog to earth, specifically Brian a young man who could neither hear or see, as a testament of His LOVE.  Love that Brian could not see or hear in his day-to-day life.  And DOG was GOD's love for Brian both tangible and knowable in his life.

This is a book geared towards younger children and the pictures are perfect for this story.  This book would be perfect for a bedtime story or a classroom story-time setting.  This will also open up young readers to the world of therapy/guide dogs and the important role they play in our world.

I was provided a copy of this book through BookFun/TBCN in exchange for my honest review.

ABOUT the BOOK

Why Dogs Are tells the story of how a dog teaches some life lessons to a very special child. It seeks to explore the concept of God’s unconditional love and how someone without the ability to see or hear can comprehend its scope and His impact in our lives. Named a Finalist in the non-profit Indie Book Awards (category Spirituality, 2014), 100% percent of net profits from book sales goes to charities that train and support therapy dogs.

The book is first in a series called “Love Unleashed.” The author’s own dog Muttley was a therapy dog that brought his light and love to nursing home residents and to children with disabilities. Born deaf and blind, Brian was the inspiration for the book. His character is a composite of the many children who attended the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind who had to learn to live life with one or more disabilities. “Why Dogs Are is everything a good children’s book needs to be – engaging and delightful,” said Amy S. Royal, professional freelance editor. “But when an author tackles a big concept and manages to convey it in a simple, yet powerful way, good becomes great. Great becomes wonderful. Wonderful becomes very special. This is an engaging, delightful and very special book with a story and message that will live forever.”

ABOUT the AUTHOR

Tana Thompson spent 30 years teaching in colleges and universities around the south, watching computers go from huge mainframe technological monsters to carry-in-youpocket smart phone equivalents. Now in retirement, she is following her dream of writing, having interests in children’s literature and non-fiction genres such as memoirwriting and regaling unique travel experiences shared with her late husband, Ken, in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. She is so committed to using her right brain for a change that she also makes jewelry, stained and fused glass, and delights in photography. She lives on her own heaven-on-earth slice of Lake Logan Martin in beautiful Alabama, with 2 “chosen” dogs, 2 rescued dogs and 4 rescued cats.

Tana Thompson wrote her first story in the sixth grade, was encouraged by her teacher to continue writing, and didn’t. But the desire remained in her heart only to be reawakened later in life. In the interim, she earned a Ph.D. from Georgia State University and taught computer and management information systems in several colleges and universities around the south. Her last career position was the most meaningful, assisting teachers and staff at the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind to integrate computers into their daily job duties. Her late husband Ken was Vice President at the Institute; together they experienced the exceptional love and devotion of parents, family and teachers working with these exceptional children. The Thompsons also participated in a pet therapy program that saw their two Golden Retrievers, Rambeau and Muttley, form a team that visited nursing homes, classrooms and especially the students of AIDB, where the dogs sensed a “special touch” was required. Muttley earned his “Canine Good Citizen” designation, and proudly wore his official bandana and patch when visiting his special friends. http://whydogsare.com/about-the-author

Full Steam Ahead ~ Review

Full Steam Ahead
By Karen Witemeyer

When Nicole Renard is summoned home because of her father's declining health she little realized the danger she was returning home to.  Danger that would quickly send her on a mission - a mission to secure a husband that would protect her family's legacy.  But when her enemies cause her plans to change Nicole must rely on her intelligence and quick wits to fulfill her promise to her family.

But she never expected to have to seek employment with a reclusive madman.  But Darius Thornton is not a madman but rather a man obsessed. And Darius's obsession is the unpredictable and dangerous nature of steam engine boilers.

Full Steam Ahead is a diverting story - great if you want to pass time in a quiet activity.  Nicole and Darius are both stubborn in their own way.  But this very stubbornness could be what draws them together and it could also increase the danger that they are facing.  But both have regrets that is the drive behind their motivations - regrets that they must overcome to find true happiness and love.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher through BookFun/TBCN in exchange for my honest review.



About the Book:

Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston and finds her father deathly ill. Though she loves him, he's only ever focused on what she's not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping.

Vowing to secure a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it's too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But when her father's rivals come after the dagger, she's forced to change her destination.

Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed since the fatal boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana that nearly took his life. He will do anything to stop such disasters. Even hire a female secretary. Sure he can ignore the distraction of her pretty face, he's not sure how to proceed when drawn to her clever mind.

Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grows between them, a new fear arises. How can she acquire an heir for her father when her heart belongs to an unsuitable candidate? And worse, when her father's rivals discover her hiding place, she will have to choose between that love and her family's legacy.

Shades of Mercy ~ Review

Shades of Mercy
By Anita Lustrea
   and Caryn Rivadeneira

Shades of Mercy is a story that looks at the fears and prejudices that have been (and still are) prevalent in our country.  Set in the Northwoods of Maine in 1954, the Maliseet people are the focus of this distrust.

It is this world that Mercy Millar is looking back on.  A world in which she loves a man whom she shouldn't. But Mercy plans to someday leave this world behind and to acknowledge the love she and Mick have for one another.

But when racial tensions escalate and Mick is accused of a crime Mercy knows he is incapable of committing, prayer seems to be her only hope.  But when the area faces a natural disaster an act of mercy and compassion may bring about the changes Mercy has been hoping for.

Shades of Mercy looks back on a period of unrest and change in our country and the power of love when it extends to all of our neighbors not just those who look like us.

I was provided a copy of this book through BookFun/TBCN in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:
It's 1954 and the world-even the far Northwoods of Maine-is about to change. But that change can't happen soon enough for fourteen-year-old Mercy Millar.

Long tired of being the "son" her father never had, Mercy's ready for the world to embrace her as the young woman she is-as well as embrace the forbidden love she feels. When childhood playmates grow up and fall in love, the whole community celebrates. But in the case of Mercy and Mick, there would be no celebration. Instead their relationship must stay hidden.

Good girls do not date young men from the Maliseet tribe. At least, not in Watsonville, Maine. When racial tensions escalate and Mick is thrown in jail under suspicion of murder, Mercy nearly loses all hope-in love, in her father, and in God himself.

Sophia ~ Review

Sophia
By Paula Kremser

Sophia is a delightful story that fans of Jane Austen and Regency Era Romance will love.  This is a book that you won't be embarrassed to be caught reading (it is garbage free).

When Sophia is left an inheritance by her estranged grandmother Lady Atkinson she is delighted at her sudden good fortune,  And when she has an opportunity to experience a London season she is almost beside herself with anticipation.

But when an innocent mistake traps Sophia in a scandal that could destroy her reputation, she is forced into an engagement that she never sought nor desires.  But is there another way?  Sophia is determined to find it even if it means living with a ruined reputation.

But does Sophia truly realize just what a ruined reputation will mean?  And what of the gentleman to whom she is expected be married?  Alex Huntley is determined to change Sophia's mind not for her sake alone but his too.  His honor is on the line as well for Sophia's mistake.  But to change Sophia's mind he needs her to fall in love with him.  But is Alex's heart as unaffected by Sophia's simple charms as he thinks?  Only time will tell and it is about to run out...

I really loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a clean historical romance.  This is the perfect book to curl up with in a cozy out of the way spot!

I was provided a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and tour participation.

About the book:

Small-town Sophia Spencer can’t believe her luck when an unexpected inheritance allows her to experience London’s social scene. But her happiness disappears when she is caught napping in a grumpy gentleman’s room—and forced into an engagement to protect her reputation! Personalities collide and love blooms in this stunning debut novel.

About the author: 

Paula Kremser focused on a career in science for several years after graduating from Brigham Young University. DNA purification and Affinity Chromatography were always interesting, but when she moved to England, Paula seized the opportunity to focus on her love of the Regency Era. The enchantment of the aristocracy and the fascinating stories from every stately home she visits have been both research and inspiration for her first novel. Paula lives with her husband and four children in a charming village nestled in the Chiltern hills in Buckinghamshire.