A Dream of Ashes (Chronicles of the Modern Mystic: Book 1) by Orlando Sanchez

A Dream of Ashes: An Ava James Mystery (Chronicles of the Modern Mystics Book 1) by [Sanchez, Orlando A.]

Publisher: OM Publishing

Date of Publication: April 27th, 2016

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Series: Chronicles of the Modern Mystics

The Dark Flame—Book 0.5

A Dream of Ashes—Book 1

Purchase Links: Amazon | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Mystics.Magic.Murder.
A Rogue Mystic.A Ruthless Killer. A Dark Secret.
Ava James is a fire mystic with the Mystic Investigative Division. As a branch of the Enclave, a worldwide mystic organization, the MID is feared, respected and reviled.
When the half-charred body of a Mystic is found, the Enclave sends her to investigate the strange death. Ava finds that all the clues point to the killer being a fire mystic, one of her own. Accused by the Enclave of working with the killer she must solve the case before a secret buried in her past is revealed and destroys her world.
Can she save herself? Will she find the murderer?
If you like hardcore, fast-moving action, complex mystical powers and an unstoppable heroine, then you’ll love Orlando A. Sanchez’ thrilling new series: Chronicles of the Modern Mystics.
Buy A Dream of Ashes and join Ava on her adventure today!

This is the first book I have ever read by Orlando Sanchez, and I have got to say it was GOOD.

From the beginning, when I first met Ava kicking some bad guy’s ass, the action was nonstop. I told BK that this would not only make a great fantasy movie, BUT it would also make a great action film. Of course, he didn’t understand but still.

The story was good too. Ava is a fire mystic working for the MID (Mystic Investigative Division). She is sent to a crime scene where a fire mystic is burned up, and fingers start pointing toward her. When the head of the MID is injured in a blast at a bar, she is considered the main suspect, and the chase is on. What a chase it is. Ava is chased all over NYC until she finds temporary asylum with her Sensei. Then she learns some startling facts about her uncle and herself.

The book picks up when she heads to Japan to help her uncle Seb, a Void mystic. The action gets better.

The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger (thanks to Seb’s revelation). I’m not too fond of cliffhangers, but this worked for this book. I can’t wait to read book 2 and see if it is as action-packed as book 1.

I would recommend A Dream of Ashes to anyone over 21. There is no sex, but there are language and violence.

If you enjoyed reading A Dream of Ashes, you will enjoy reading these books:

The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: July 26th, 2016

Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Adult, Historical, Historical Fiction, Horror, Adult Fiction

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984:
the year a heatwave scorched the small town of Breathed, Ohio.
The year he became friends with the devil.

When local prosecutor Autopsy Bliss publishes an invitation to the devil to come to the country town of Breathed, Ohio, nobody quite expected that he would turn up. They especially didn’t expect him to turn up a tattered and bruised thirteen-year-old boy.

Fielding, the son of Autopsy, finds the boy outside the courthouse and brings him home, and he is welcomed into the Bliss family. The Blisses believe the boy, who calls himself Sal, is a runaway from a nearby farm town. Then, as a series of strange incidents implicate Sal — and riled by the feverish heatwave baking the town from the inside out — there are some around town who start to believe that maybe Sal is exactly who he claims to be.

But whether he’s a traumatised child or the devil incarnate, Sal is certainly one strange fruit: he talks in riddles, his uncanny knowledge and understanding reaches far outside the realm of a normal child — and ultimately his eerily affecting stories of Heaven, Hell, and earth will mesmerise and enflame the entire town.

Devastatingly beautiful, The Summer That Melted Everything is a captivating story about community, redemption, and the dark places where evil really lies.

I don’t even know what to write here (which is a first) because the book was THAT good. It was written so that you couldn’t help but get sucked into it, and then you can’t put it down. As I said, it is THAT good.

I was introduced to the Bliss family in the book’s first chapter. Autopsy, Stella, Grand, Fielding, and Aunt Fedelia. Autopsy is the local prosecutor for the town of Breathed. Autopsy decided, one day, to write a letter to the devil inviting him to Breathed and posted it in the newspaper. Guess what? A young boy claiming to be the devil showed up right before a major heat wave.

This is where the story became interesting. The author kept you guessing if Sal (Satan and Lucifer’s name combined) was the devil. He had insight into the different relationships that were going on in the town that no 13-year-old should know. I never figured out if he was the devil or not.

Strange events started happening every time Sal went into town. The heat kept rising; a woman had a tragic accident, a mob was incited, and stuff along those lines. He isn’t allowed out of the yard/house to keep him safe.

The story is told in flashbacks from a 70-something-year-old Fielding. Who suffers survivor’s guilt. I don’t like it when books are told in flashbacks. You lose something from it. In this case, it worked. I got to see the long-term damage caused by the events of that awful summer/fall, which is heartbreaking. The author did a perfect job of taking older Fielding’s memories and turning them into a story about younger Fielding.

There was a huge twist in the story that I saw coming. It involved Elohim, Fielding’s former mentor and Sal’s biggest enemy in town. I did a WTF when it was revealed.

I would recommend The Summer that Melted Everything to anyone over 21. There is strong language and violence.

If you enjoyed reading The Summer that Melted Everything, you will enjoy reading these books:

Her Survivor (Black Eagle Ops: Book 1) by Vonnie Davis

Her Survivor: A Black Eagle Ops Novel by [Davis, Vonnie]

Publisher: Loveswept

Date of publication: July 19th, 2016

Genre: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, War, Military Fiction, Military Romance, Contemporary, Disability, Fiction, Suspense

Series: Black Eagle Ops

Her Survivor—Book 1

Hers to Heal—Book 2 (review here)

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Indigo | Kobo | Apple Books

Goodreads synopsis:

Vonnie Davis welcomes readers to Wounded Warrior Falls! In this sizzling contemporary series, broken heroes meet women worth fighting for—and discover the healing power of love.

Navy SEAL Dustin Frank can handle physical pain; it’s his soul that needs mending. After losing part of his leg in an explosion, the panic triggered by his PTSD nearly drives him over the edge. So Dustin retreats to the Eagle Ridge Ranch, a charming hideaway tucked into the Hill Country of Texas. There he finds solace in the arms of a shy beauty who reawakens desires he thought he’d lost forever—and who makes him want to lose control, just when he needs it most.

Kelcee Todd sees beyond Dustin’s scars to the real man beneath: fiercely protective, strong yet tender. She wants nothing more than to feel his battle-hardened hands on her body. However, Kelcee is not the ordinary small-town girl she appears to be. Her brother is a killer with ties to the Russian mob, and after her testimony put him in prison, he’s out and eager for revenge. Now Dustin is her best defense, even if it could cost him everything. Kelcee could never ask him to make that sacrifice . . . but she can’t stop him, either.

I am guilty of stereotyping a book, and I am sorry. When I first started reading this book, I thought, “Wounded Army vet meets spunky girl, and sparks fly. Yawn.” And I am here to say, “I am wrong” and “Not even close.”

Dustin’s character was well written, and his PTSD symptoms were point on. There were points in the book where I wanted to cry for him. I understand how his mental fog, anxiety, and depression affected his everyday life. So when ZQ offered him a place at the ranch, I wanted to cheer.

When I couldn’t get any more vested in the book, we met Kelcee and the rest of the town. Talk about a town that I would love to live in!!! What eccentric people. I loved it. From ZQ’s mom to Sugar Loaf/Silver Stud, they stick in your mind. I also could see Kelcee being one of my good friends. She was so real, and I giggled at some of her zingers and one-liners.

The sexual tension and sexual chemistry between Kelcee and Dustin were off the wall. The tension was there from the minute they met, even though they did not want it. And when they finally ended up in bed, it was so bittersweet that I wanted to cry.

The subplot about Kelcee being in the Witness Protection Program was kept under wrap. Translated: I didn’t pay attention to the blurb (was too busy staring at the cover and drooling). When it was revealed, it was surprising to me. The only thing I didn’t like about this was that Kelcee took forever to tell Dustin. Which, in my mind, was stupid because he could have ended that whole thing for her when she got hurt.

The ending was hilarious, in a way. Not giving anything away, but when Junebug freaks out, I laughed until I had tears running down my cheeks. It was that funny.

3 Things I liked about Her Survivor:

Dustin and Kelcee’s romance
Junebug (OMG, loved her)
Nance

3 Things I disliked about Her Survivor:

Kelcee’s brother
Dustin’s PTSD
Instalove

I would recommend Her Survivor to anyone over 21. There are graphic sex scenes, language, and violence.

If you enjoyed reading Her Survivor, you will enjoy reading these books:

Resthaven by Erik Therme

Publisher: Thecker Books

Date of publication: April 12th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

Goodreads Synopsis:

The last thing fifteen-year-old Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt–especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes “bump in the night” is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.

Have you ever read a book that is so creepy and unsettling that it stays with you afterward? A book that invades your dreams and gives you nightmares?

Well, this is that book.

It starts innocently. A sleepover at a new friend’s house. It turns sinister when the new friend throws a scavenger hunt in the nursing home.

The doors to the nursing home are mysteriously padlocked. Locking Kaylee, Sid, Anna, and Wren inside with an elderly man who is insane. When Kaylee found a 5-year-old abused deaf boy in a closet, my pulse level went through the roof!!!

I could not put this book down and read it in one sitting. Like I said above, it gets under your skin, and you wonder what will happen to the girls and the boy at the end.

Speaking of the end, I enjoyed it. Kaylee did the right thing. I

I would recommend Resthaven to anyone over 16. There is mild violence, mild language, and no sexual situations.

If you enjoyed reading Resthaven, you will enjoy reading these books

The Last Time She Saw Him (Julia Gooden Mystery: Book 1) by Jane Haseldine

The Last Time She Saw Him (A Julia Gooden Mystery Book 1) by [Haseldine, Jane]

Publisher: Kensington

Date of Publication: June 28, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Psychological Thriller, Adult Fiction, Contemporary,

Series: Julia Gooden Mystery

The Last Time She Saw Him—Book 1

Duplicity—Book 2 (review here)

Worth Killing For—Book 3

You Fit the Pattern—Book 4

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Jane Haseldine’s gripping and brilliantly crafted debut, a reporter searching for her kidnapped son must untangle the connection to her brother’s long-ago disappearance.

Julia Gooden remembers nothing about the worst night of her life. Thirty years ago, her nine-year-old brother Ben—the person who promised he would always protect her—was abducted from the room they shared. Try as she might to recall any clue or detail, there is a black hole where Julia’s memories of that terrible event should be.

Now a crime reporter at a Detroit newspaper, Julia tries to give others the closure she’s never found. But guilt and grief over Ben’s disappearance have left her fearful that whoever took her brother is going to come back. Nowhere seems safe—not the city, not the suburbs, not even the secluded lake town where she plans to raise her children. And then, on the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, Julia’s worst fears are realized when her two-year-old son, Will, is snatched from his bed.

Convinced that the crimes are related, Julia tries to piece together memories from her final day with Ben. Are the sudden reminders of her brother clues that will lead her to her son’s abductor, or merely coincidence? Julia knows she has hours at best to find Will alive, but the deeper she digs, the more personal and terrifying the battle becomes, and an undying promise may be her only hope of saving herself and her son.

My review:

If you are looking for a book that showcases the best and worst of people and has a dash of the supernatural in it, read this book.

Julia was not a character that was likable, and I love that the author wrote her that way. She suffers survivor’s guilt after her older brother was kidnapped out of their room when she was 7. That one event shaped her entire life. Julia tortures herself over his disappearance. This has affected all areas of her life, from her job and marriage to how she parents her children.

The story got going when her 2-year-old was kidnapped out of his room. The author did a great job writing that part of the book too. She captured Julia’s terror and her fight to get her child away from the kidnappers.

The book then became a mishmash of the present and past. It was discovered that the same Indian head arrow was left under Will’s crib. Which was a connection to her brother’s disappearance.

But all is not what it seems. Clues were given by a pedophile pastor. A police detective was halfway in love with her. I didn’t know what direction the book was going in. And that was the best thing about it!!!

I didn’t know who the kidnappers were until the very end of the book. The author did a fantastic job of keeping that hidden. She threw out red herrings and created a couple of false leads that, when it was revealed, I went, “Whaaaat??“

I would recommend The Last Time She Saw Him to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and no sex. There are also graphic descriptions of sexually abused children.

If you enjoyed reading The Last Time She Saw Him; you will enjoy reading these books:

The Alienation of Courtney Hoffman by Brady Stefani

The Alienation of Courtney Hoffman: A Novel by [Stefani, Brady]

Publisher: SparkPress

Date of publication: June 7th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Aliens, Fiction, Teen, Fantasy, Coming of Age

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fifteen year old Courtney wants to be normal like her friends. But there’s something frighteningly different about her—

My grandpa Dahlen was crazy. According to my mom, anyway. I was seven when he had me tattooed, and then tried to drown me in his bathtub to escape the bad men. Whether his obsession with alien visitors drove him over the edge or he just knew things we didn’t, I can’t say.

He used to tell me things, though. Things that normal people would never believe. Secrets about an ancient alien-human bloodline, covert societies, and wormholes to the alien universe.

My grandpa’s dead. But people still say that I have his same silvery-blue eyes. What they don’t know is, I inherited far more from him than just his eyes.

This book was fantastic. The book starts with Courtney as she runs through her backyard. She is trying to escape alien visitors and her memories of her beloved grandfather.

I felt bad for Courtney. Her mother was a grade-A bitch. At some points in the book, I wanted to reach through the pages and take Courtney away. She was in competition for Mommy Dearest. The best thing that happened to Courtney was when she was sent to live with her father. He was more accepting of her.

The story got going once Courtney met Agatha. Once Agatha came into the picture, the ball got rolling. Everything Courtney remembers wasn’t the truth. The truth was so much more than what I expected.

The ending was great. There were a couple of twists that I saw coming from a mile away and that I went eh at. The biggest one was saved for the end. I was disappointed that events were forgotten by everyone except Agatha and Courtney. It made me want to scream. I did like that the author left it open for a possible sequel (Jorge and his blue eyes….swoon)

I would recommend The Alienation of Courtney Hoffman to anyone over 16. There is mild violence, mild language, and no sex.

If you enjoyed reading The Alienation of Courtney Hoffman, you will enjoy reading these books:

Forte by J.D. Spero

Forte by [Spero, JD]

Publisher: Netherfield Publishing

Date of publication: July 25th, 2015

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Where the book can be found: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Back in New York City, piano filled Sami McGovern’s life, but moving upstate has changed everything. Thanks to the coach at Skenesboro High, Sami’s volleyball skills blossom like magic. But success comes at a cost, and the same sports drink that makes her a superstar silences her music. Worse still, to stay in the “in” crowd, she must betray the few true friends she has made in the tiny town. Her one hope: fulfill a prophecy to end the magic before it destroys her . . . and everyone else in its thrall.

My review:

This book hooked me from the first paragraph. Sami’s mother decides to move them to her hometown after years of living in New York City. Which, then made me think to myself, “Why on earth would you do that?!?!?“. I have been to New York City. The hustle and bustle were amazing and to be living among it, I can only imagine. To say she was unhappy about moving was an understatement.

The underlying message of this story (be who you are, don’t let anyone change you) is great. Sami did change to fit in with her new group of friends. She realized that to beat the bad guys was to embrace herself, wholly, was fantastic. Because most teens do change who they are to fit in or to impress a boy or to have friends.

I do wish that there was more of a romance between Sami and Jason. There were sparks every time that they met (plus one kiss) but it never went that way. Which, in hindsight, is a good thing. If Sami was involved with someone, it would have changed the whole course of the book.

How many stars will I give forte? 3.5/4

Why? Very well written and very well researched. Definitely a book that I could come back to. I just wish that the author went a little more into what happened to Sami’s father.

Will I reread it? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age range: Teen on up

Why? Very clean. No sex, no violence.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Need To Find You by Joseph Souza

Publisher: Kindle Press

Date of publication: March 15, 2016

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery, Crime

Purchase Links: Amazon | Alibris | IndieBound | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Yasmine ‘Yaz’ Weeks would prefer to forget her troubled past and the vile crimes committed against her, but when she discovers a hidden memoir in a kidnapped girl’s cell phone, Yaz finds herself on the run with an opportunity for retribution. She soon learns that the memoir has the potential to ruin both the reputation of its late great author, Robert Cornish, as well as the reputations of many influential people.
Whip Billings, an ex-cop, unwittingly becomes entangled in the mystery of the missing phone. Realizing that this newfound memoir could significantly hurt the sales of Cornish’s classic novel, Force of Will, he begins to search for Yaz. But why are the cops, and a mysterious drug kingpin known only as The Viking, also looking for her?
In his quest to find Yaz, Whip uncovers a vast network of political corruption, long hidden family secrets, and a series of reprehensible crimes. As the bodies in town begin to pile up, Whip knows that he must track down Yaz before she also turns up dead.

I liked this book. From the beginning, when I met Yaz to the end, it was a rollercoaster ride of thrills. I didn’t know what I would get from one chapter to another. I liked that the author didn’t hide who the bad guys were. He did skirt the line on what characters were defined as bad or corrupt. He made me think about what I would do in certain situations and how I would have reacted. Would I have acted the same as these characters did? Would I make that choice that could send me down the wrong/right path? Very thought-provoking because of all the gray areas that were brought up in the book.

I liked Yaz’s character. She was badass (I mean, she’s a drummer in a band called The Kuntz”), but at the same time, she had a soft spot. She worked in a shelter for homeless teens. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time to get Mikiela’s cell phone. The flashbacks we get from her childhood are awful.

I liked Whip’s character, but I didn’t feel bad for him at all. I did at the beginning, I mean, he was attending a funeral for his mother, but after that, all sympathy went poof. He is an alcoholic. He had 1 year sober when he threw it all away to meet with an old contact to help locate his missing stepdaughter.

The other substories were blended beautifully into the book. Each ended towards the end of the book, and they were merged beautifully with the substory.

I loved the ending; finding out who The Viking was and what drove him to commit his crimes was great. I was very surprised to find out who he was, to be honest, but looking back, it made sense and fit perfectly into the story.

3 Things I liked about Need To Find You:

Yaz
Whip
Storyline

3 Things I disliked about Need To Find You:

Krell
The Viking
Haskins

I would recommend Need To Find You to anyone over 21. There is extreme violence, sexual situations, drug use, child abuse, and language.

If you enjoyed reading Need to Find You, you will enjoy reading these books:

The One Man by Andrew Gross

The One Man: The Riveting and Intense Bestselling WWII Thriller by [Gross, Andrew]

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Date of publication: August 23, 2016

Genre: Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, War, World War II, Holocaust, Suspense

Goodreads Synopsis:

1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendl is separated from his family and sent to the men’s camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life’s work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge. Knowledge that could start a war, or end it.

Nathan Blum works behind a desk at an intelligence office in Washington, DC, but he longs to contribute to the war effort in a more meaningful way, and he has a particular skill set the U.S. suddenly needs. Nathan is fluent in German and Polish, he is Semitic looking, and he proved his scrappiness at a young age when he escaped from the Polish ghetto. Now, the government wants him to take on the most dangerous assignment of his life: Nathan must sneak into Auschwitz, on a mission to find and escape with one man.

This historical thriller from New York Times bestseller Andrew Gross is a deeply affecting, unputdownable series of twists and turns through a landscape at times horrifyingly familiar but still completely compelling.

I am going to start this review with a dedication. I found out that Elie Wiesel died today at the age of 87. He dedicated his whole life to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. I read Night in 9th grade as part of an English assignment. So, to say I was (and still am) very interested in the Holocaust is an understatement. I read everything and anything about the Holocaust (from fiction to nonfiction) that I get my hands on. So RIP Elie Wiesel.

This was one of the best books that I have read to date. From the beginning, when an old man in a nursing home decides to open up to his daughter, it takes off. It is a whirlwind ride that left me breathless (and in tears) at the end of the book.

I was taken back to Nazi-occupied Germany and Roosevelt-era USA. The atrocities committed against the Jewish people in the book were vividly written. I had to put my book down at some points because I was crying so hard. Introduced in the book, in no particular order: Nathan Blum, Alfred Mendl, Leo Wolciek, and Greta Ackerman. All their lives become intertwined at Auschwitz.

This book is fast-paced, and I did not want to put it down in case I missed something. There are several twists to the plot, but the two biggest were saved for the end, and they took me by surprise.

3 things I liked about The One Man:

Nathan Blum
The storyline
Leo Wolciek

3 Things I disliked about The One Man:

Auschwitz
Kurt Ackerman
The scene right before the ending

I would recommend The One Man to anyone over 21. There is brutal violence, language, and sex.

If you enjoyed reading The One Man, you will enjoy reading these books:

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Expected date of publication: October 4th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Young Adult, LGBTQIA, Contemporary, Thriller

Goodreads Synopsis:

Flynn’s girlfriend, January, is missing. All eyes are on Flynn—he must know something. After all, he was—is—her boyfriend. They were together the night before she disappeared.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. As he struggles to uncover the truth about January’s disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.

All I have to say about this book is (and I am stealing this from the great George Takei)… “Oh, My.” I read this book within 1 day. From the first chapter, where I met Flynn and January, it gets its hooks into me and doesn’t let go. I stayed up late to finish this book and never did that.

I was irritated with Flynn during the first half of the book. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the police about January’s state of mind the last time he saw her. But he started to grow on me by the 3rd chapter. By the middle of the book, I was gasping in surprise over what was being revealed about him and January.

While we were on the subject of January, I felt bad for her and then irritated with her. She lived in a dysfunctional household. Her mother, who used to be her best friend, is no longer emotionally available. Her stepfather is concerned with how her disappearance will look on his campaign run. And her stepbrother gave me the creeps in his scenes. No wonder she lied about everything to everyone, including Flynn.

I thought I had this book figured out, and then a huge twist came up and stirred everything up. Settled back down, I was hit with another twist, just as big. I didn’t see either of these coming, and they both took the breath out of me (love it when a book does that).

3 Things I liked about Last Seen Leaving:

Plot
Flynn
The plot twists

3 Things I disliked about Last Seen Leaving:

The cops
January (see above)
January’s family

I would recommend Last Seen Leaving to anyone over 16. There are mild sexual situations, strong language, and mild violence.

If you enjoyed reading Last Seen Leaving, you will enjoy reading these books:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: