{Book Review} Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea

Sinister Entity
by Hunter Shea
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Released: April 2nd 2013 by
Genre: Fiction- Adult: paranormal, horror
How I got it: Sent a copy by the author

"How can you escape the ghost of yourself?"
The Leigh family is terrified. They've been haunted by the ghostly image of their young daughter, Selena. But how can that be, when Selena is alive and well, and as frightened as her parents? With nowhere else to turn, the Leighs place their hopes in Jessica Backman, who has dedicated her life to investigating paranormal activity. Accompanied by a new partner who claims to be able to speak to the dead, Jessica will soon encounter an entity that scares even her. And a terror far worse than she imagined.

Review: Sinister Entity is a straight up horror novel, if your a fan of the ghost shows on a sci fi or the paranormal activity movies then this is the book for you. I couldn't put this sucker down.
 Jessica is a paranormal investigator, who usually works solo. Eddie is a physic who has been studying his abilities at the Rhine Institute. Eddie has been in contact with Jessica's dead father who pushes the two together. Partnered against the paranormal they come to the aide of a family being "haunted" by a ghost who looks just like their teenage daughter. Selena, the daughter, is justly freaked out. Things amp up when Jess and Eddie get on the scene, they realize that the doppelganger maybe the good guy and there is some thing much more sinister waiting in the wings.
Jessica is a kick butt heroine who looks death straight in the eye and say bring it on. Eddie is your strong determined type character. When brought together they actually worked really well as Jessica's recklessness was toned down by Eddie's level headedness. I know that's not a word but it works. I liked how both characters brought different views of the paranormal to the table and expanded the other's awareness, by doing so. There was a little chemistry between them as well, which didn't hurt.

But (you knew there had to be a but) I was disappointed by a couple things first was actually on the publisher. I love Samhain publishing's books they have some very gifted authors but their editing sucks. I found some jarring mistakes, like Selena and Jessica's name's screwed up at least twice, and to my knowledge this was not an ARC. Now I don't usually point this stuff out but it took me out of the story trying to figure out what was going on. The second thing that bugged me was the sexual aspect, that aspect of the book made me think of the bad foreign horror movies. It was like, we need some nudity here and, oh yeah, let's traumatize a young woman beyond all reason. I felt the plot was brushing a very thin line with some of the antics pulled.
Now on the other hand did it hype up the tension in the plot, yes. It also gave the edge of you seat holy crap what's going to happens next moments, but at the end of the book I was left wondering was that really necessary. The thing is even these things didn't stop me from being drawn into the book. Engaging and thrilling the plot kept me guessing. Sinister Entity is a thrill ride and I will be picking up Mr Shea's other works. As I found his writing style very entertaining.

{Book Review} Dead Peasants: A Thriller by Larry D. Thompson

Dead Peasants: A Thriller
by Larry D. Thompson
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Released: October 2nd 2012
Genre: Fiction- Adult: Thriller, legal thriller
How I got it: Received a copy from the author

Veteran trial lawyer Larry D. Thompson has decades of courtroom experience in his home state of Texas on controversial and important trials. Now, in Dead Peasants, Thompson has delivered a fast-moving and suspenseful legal thriller featuring a retired lawyer whose life gets turned upside down when a stranger asks for help.
Jack Bryant, exhausted after a high-profile career as a lawyer, takes an early retirement in Fort Worth, Texas, where he plans to kick back, relax, and watch his son play football at TCU. But then an elderly widow shows up with a check for life insurance benefits and that is suspiciously made payable to her dead husband’s employer, Jack can’t turn down her pleas for help and files a civil suit to collect the benefits rightfully due the widow. A chain of events that can’t be stopped thrusts Jack into a vortex of killings, and he and his new love interest find themselves targets of a murderer.
Gripping, engaging, and written with the authority that only a seasoned lawyer could possess, Dead Peasants is a legal thriller that will stun and surprise you.

Review: Jack Bryant is a lawyer who after winning a hefty case, decides he's tired and want to retire, but after a few months realizes it isn't all it's cracked up to be.  He sets up an office to offer pro bono law advice and services for those who can't afford it, by doing this he becomes friends with some guys at the place next door. One dies and Jack ends up helping his widow, when she receives a check for life insurance, that is made out to his ex-employer, who he hasn't worked for in year. On top of that he's new gal pal, Colby runs into a world of trouble and Jack takes it upon himself to help her.
 I wasn't sure if I was going to like Jack, when I started this book, but as the story progressed he grew on me. His devotion to his family and Colby was unquestionable. I really liked how he was willing to help those less fortunate. 
As for the plot the build up in the beginning was a little slow, but the information was needed to understand what was going on. The story had me on the edge of my seat. As the bodies and insurance checks build up. Yet it was mostly because I wanted to know if Jack would win his case. I felt bad for the widow and her children, who were being screwed out of money they could use.
I really thought I had it figured out, so the ending shocked and surprised. Which was great and completely unexpected. The legal aspect was well done, and at times made my head spin since I have very little legal knowledge but it made the book more realistic.
I really enjoyed the book and thought Mr  Thompson did a wonderful job.

 

{Giveaway} Dead Peasants: A Thriller by Larry D. Thompson

Dead Peasants: A Thriller

by Larry D. Thompson

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Veteran trial lawyer Larry D. Thompson has decades of courtroom experience in his home state of Texas on controversial and important trials. Now, in Dead Peasants, Thompson has delivered a fast-moving and suspenseful legal thriller featuring a retired lawyer whose life gets turned upside down when a stranger asks for help.
Jack Bryant, exhausted after a high-profile career as a lawyer, takes an early retirement in Fort Worth, Texas, where he plans to kick back, relax, and watch his son play football at TCU. But then an elderly widow shows up with a check for life insurance benefits and that is suspiciously made payable to her dead husband’s employer, Jack can’t turn down her pleas for help and files a civil suit to collect the benefits rightfully due the widow. A chain of events that can’t be stopped thrusts Jack into a vortex of killings, and he and his new love interest find themselves targets of a murderer.
Gripping, engaging, and written with the authority that only a seasoned lawyer could possess, Dead Peasants is a legal thriller that will stun and surprise you.
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{Book Review} Splintered (Splintered #1) by A.G. Howard

Splintered (Splintered #1)
by A.G. Howard
Publisher: Amulet Books
Released: January 1st 2013
Genre: Fiction- YA: Fantasy
How I Got it: Bought it

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Review: Ms Howard has created a disturbing, warped version of Wonderland, I was reminded quite a bit of the game American Magee's Alice in Wonderland game. With the twisted characters. Of course this was right up my alley as I love all thing Alice in Wonderland almost as much as I do zombies.
Alyssa Gardner is the descent of Alice Liddell, who inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland. All the women in her family have suffered from a curse of insanity. Her mother suffers from it and so does Alyssa. The only way to shut up the bugs and flowers to put them in her art. Alyssa fears being put away like her mother so she hides the fact she can hear things others can't. Not only from from her family but from her friends as well and that's not her only secret she's keeping. Her longtime friend Jeb, is also her secret  crush.  When Alyssa discovers perhaps her mom's not as nuts as they thought and jumps through the looking glass Jeb follows.
Alyssa is a young woman who has a pretty crappy life, she's lied to pretty much everyone to save face because her mom's living in the nut house. I really felt bad for Alyssa, nothing seems to go right and she has so many secrets. Yet she was so strong, even if she couldn't see it. She had two sides to that became apparent when she enters Wonderland and faces Morpheus. As the book progresses shes torn between not only these two sides of herself but Morpheus and Jeb. Once Alyssa jumped down the rabbit hole, I couldn't put this book down I was pulled into the world. I was swept up in the colorful world, and disturbing characters. So much so I was dreaming about it. There was a twist toward the end, that if you were paying attention to the clues wasn't a surprise, yet it was so good. I didn't want the book to end, this story was so great I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys Alice related anything.

It's Monday What Are You Reading?!

Not much to report this week, so lets just jump into ...

Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading! 

Hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey

 

Currently Reading...

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (Still Reading haven't gotten much farther because focusing on book tours.)
The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Wake (Watersong, #1) by Amanda Hocking (Still working on this one, I haven't been able to read much more because I've been focusing on getting book tours done.) Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.
Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.
Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.
Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

Girls and Monsters by Anne Michaud (Recived from NetGalley, spooky YA anthology of short stories)
This dark but uplifting collection of five Young Adult novellas includes:
Death Song: Liz is in love with Joe, but the monster of the lake has other plans for them.
Black Dog: Scarlet is engaged in a struggle for her sanity, but according to the voice in her head, she may be too late.
A Blue Story: When Katherine's beloved dog goes missing, she fears her strange new neighbor might be involved.
Dust Bunnies: Christiane faces her childhood arachnophobia and ends up confronting even greater fears in this test of sisterhood.
We Left at Night: Brooke and her family must abandon their home and their lives to make it out of a disease-plagued town overrun by zombies.
Girls & Monsters is for everyone who has ever been brave enough to confront their childhood fears...and lived to tell about it.

Finished:
Birthday of a princess by Helga Zeiner- Read for Book Tour
Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea - Read for Book Tour

Ghoultown by October Weeks - Read for NNMR

30 Minute Plan by Gerald Rice - Read for NNMR
The Fallen Angels Book Club by R. Franklin James - Read for Book Tour

On the agenda I have a few more from NetGalley and then I'm retackling my TBR list.
So what are you reading this week leave your link and I'll stop by.

{Giveaway!} Fish Out Of Water by Ros Baxter

Fish Out Of Water by Ros Baxter

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum meets Splash in a sexy, smart-talking debut about a mermaid in a desert, a city under water, and the secret that no one is supposed to uncover.
Dirtwater's straight-talking Deputy Sheriff Rania Aqualina has a lot on her plate: a nicotine addiction that's a serious liability for a mermaid, a soldier-of-fortune ex who's hooked on her Mum's brownies, a gorgeous, naked stranger in her shower, and a mysterious dead blonde with a fish tattoo on Main Street.
Heading home to Aegira for a family wedding, Rania has a sinking feeling that's got nothing to do with hydroporting seven miles under the sea and everything to do with the crazy situation. Now, if she can just steal a corpse, get a crazy Aegiran priest off her case, work out who the hell's trying to kill her, and stop sleeping with the fishes, she might be able to unravel the mysteries. And maybe even save her own ass while she's at it.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

{Book Review} Fish Out Of Water by Ros Baxter

Fish Out Of Water
by Ros Baxter
Publisher:Escape Publishing
Released: April 1st 2013
Genre:Fiction-Adult: Fantasy
How I got it: received a copy from the author

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum meets Splash in a sexy, smart-talking debut about a mermaid in a desert, a city under water, and the secret that no one is supposed to uncover.
Dirtwater's straight-talking Deputy Sheriff Rania Aqualina has a lot on her plate: a nicotine addiction that's a serious liability for a mermaid, a soldier-of-fortune ex who's hooked on her Mum's brownies, a gorgeous, naked stranger in her shower, and a mysterious dead blonde with a fish tattoo on Main Street.
Heading home to Aegira for a family wedding, Rania has a sinking feeling that's got nothing to do with hydroporting seven miles under the sea and everything to do with the crazy situation. Now, if she can just steal a corpse, get a crazy Aegiran priest off her case, work out who the hell's trying to kill her, and stop sleeping with the fishes, she might be able to unravel the mysteries. And maybe even save her own ass while she's at it.

Review: Fish Out of Water is a good mix of fantasy and suspense. Rania is a deputy in Dirtwater, apparently the least wet place in the world, and she's half mermaid. Seems counter productive but hey whatever. A local stumbles over a dead blond in an alley, surprisingly it's another mermaid. In order to keep her kind a secret she must steal the woman's body and have a private autopsy. No she doesn't do the autopsy. Uncertain what all this means, she is force to go back under the sea for a family wedding, and hopes maybe someone down there can shed some light on all the craziness that is is experiencing.
Rania is strong yet caring character, flanked by a cast of colorful and interesting secondary characters. Part of me had to wonder at the company that she kept out of the water. Then again compared to those under they were a breath of fresh air. (Yes the puns are intentional feel free to wince.) I was swept up in the plot, trying to maneuver all the twists and turns the story took as it transported Rania from Dirtwater to the Aegiran underwater city. I enjoyed the unique take on mermaids, making them a bit more human and not so mysterious. Over all a good book, and entertaining read.