Beautiful Whispers by Alice Ayden

Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Sharing a name with a famous author is tough, especially when you're a direct descendent living on the author's estate. Combine that with unexplained memory losses and conflicting stories from everyone around, one can understand why Jane Eva Austen had such a hard time trying to find her place in the world.

Despite the forgotten periods of time, she manages to live a fairly uneventful life until someone from the past returns to the estate. Unanswered questions, unending feuds and a nagging sense of deja vu makes the return all the more interesting and painful for Jane. Will she discover the missing memories in time to save herself? Will she forgo knowing everything to keep up appearances for the family or choose her heart?

Review:
This book was a prize sent to me from a Goodreads.com giveaway. Honestly, I'm torn about this book for several reasons. The premise behind the story and the way the plot reveals itself is well done. The reader is given enough information to answer some of their questions but not enough to ensure that he/she turns the page. The author did a great job in describing the estate and created a lot of colorful characters that brought a bit of levity after some of the more serious or darker parts of the story.

However, I was constantly thrown off by the fact that the main character, Jane, was to be 21 years-old. To me, she acted much younger than that. My first impression of the character was that she was in her early teens and her behavior does little to change that image until I nearly reached the end of the book. There is a sense of growth within the character during the book but to me, it wasn't believable from the start. Maybe if her actions were given a bit of explanation such as being caused by the trauma or memory loss, it would have been different for me.

I was also distracted by quite a few typos, grammar errors and punctuation mistakes. I realize that no manuscript is ever perfect. Even some of the best-selling authors have problems with their books. For me, the mistakes took me out of the story for a moment and that made it difficult to get back into the groove, so to speak. I wholeheartedly believe that will a little more polish, this could be a great read.

Overall, I thought the idea, the plot and many of the characters really made the book worth reading. The way the point-of-view switches between chapters does take a little getting used to, but it was interesting play on our generation being caught up with that of the past. If you're looking for a book filled with love, choices, unexplained time loss and intrigue, then this is one you should check out.

Beautiful Whispers by Alice Ayden is available at Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle forms. Click the link below for purchasing details.
Beautiful Whispers by Alice Ayden

Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown by Ryan Buell, Stefan Petrucha

Release Date: September 21, 2010
Publisher: It Books

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Go behind the scenes of the founding of the Paranormal Research Society (PRS) and the television show that followed with this book written by Ryan Buell and Stefan Petrucha. Ryan takes through much of the thought process in developing PRS while a student at Penn State. He introduces us to the other founding members and reveals some of the first cases that the group investigated before receiving the call to do the show, Paranormal State on the A&E network.

Not only does he explain the way in which PRS does their investigations, Ryan also goes in depth on the cases in the first few seasons. Research the cases and feel the investigations through his words while learning the reasons behind their actions. Cases gone over include many from the first season as well as the most intense, demonic-laced cases they encountered during their investigations.

Review:
I had seen the show several times before a friend of mine let me borrow this book. Always a fan of the paranormal, I did find the way that the group investigated and helped the clients to be a refreshing change with all the paranormal investigation shows on the various channels. Intrigued by the show, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book.

The thing that stuck with me was the level of honesty in which the book is written. When there were missteps and mistakes made by either PRS or the production crew, it was noted in the book. Even the times when Ryan was full of doubt and wanted to step away from the show forever were talked about in several chapters. It's refreshing to see accept responsibility for the negative things as much as they accept praise for the positive things. All of the investigators showed different levels of growth as the show progressed and this was also documented in the book.

Whether a person has watched the show or not, there is enough information given in all of the chapters to help lead the reader along at a fairly good pace. The way in which the book is written helps to give each member of the PRS family more depth than the television show was able to do. It was really neat to see them as fun-loving, smiling, open-minded people in place of the completely serious, never smiling group that is often shown in the shows.

It doesn't matter if you truly believe the same things as Ryan or anyone in the group nor does being a skeptic take anything away from the book. All possible explanations are ruled out until there's simply one question left. Is it possible that there's something out there? For those who enjoy the television show or behind-the-scenes accounts, this book is definitely one to be picked up.

Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown by Ryan Buell and Stefan Petrucha is available for purchase at many major retailers including Amazon and others. It can be bought in either paperback or Kindle form. You can purchase a copy by clicking the link to Amazon.com below.
Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown by Ryan Buell, Stefan Petrucha

Currently Reading

As I sit here, I have no idea as to where I should begin to recap the past week. So many things happened that it has made my head spin. Even through all the excitement, I was able to finish a couple of books and get their reviews ready. Budgeting my time wisely is becoming a more crucial skill that I need to hone. To be honest, I didn't read much over the weekend. Those days were spent trying to finish up the community project items. The minimum goal has almost been met so anything above that will be created at a more leisurely pace.

Exciting news on the writing/book front! I had a deadline to enter a submission for an anthology of stories and poetry to be published in October/November of this year. Though my stomach felt as though it had been put through ten rounds of Mike Tyson punches, I sent off a short story for consideration. Yesterday, I received news that my story was accepted! All I needed to do was approve the minor edits and send in a short author bio for the anthology. Let me tell you, the bio was harder to write than the story! I'm so excited!

On top of all this, I also received an email asking me to take part in a book blog tour for an unreleased book. I agreed to read and review the book without a second thought - mostly because I was interested in the story to begin with. This means that I will be having a special blog post on an upcoming Wednesday to let you, my wonderful readers, know about the book!


The books I'm set to devour this week include;
The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth
The Grave Artist by Paula Lynn Johnson
Buck: A Memoir by M.K. Asante
The Greenland Breach by Bernard Besson


So far, I'm finished with the following;
A Promise to Remember (Tomorrow's Promise Collection Book #1) by Kathryn Cushman
DiSemblance by Shanae Branham


More information about the anthology and special blog post will be given as soon as I have them. Taking these steps out of my comfort zone has definitely been scary. Yet, they're also rewarding. What dream are you chasing, readers?

Until next time,
Kay

Her Last Breath (Kate Burkholder #5) by Linda Castillo

Release Date: June 18, 2013
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Series: Kate Burkholder #5

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
Making their way home on a rainy night, an Amish father and his children are blindsided by a speeding car. Chief Kate Burkholder is first on scene when she is shocked to see a familiar face among those injured. Pushing her emotions aside, she puts herself on auto-pilot to ensure a proper investigation to find the person responsible for so much destruction and pain.

Kate begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together when more faces from her past come back to haunt her in the present. The codes that the Amish follow contradict the laws that Kate swears to uphold. Despite the backlash, she will push herself to finish the job, no matter the resistance she encounters or those who stand in her way. Can her personal life handle the trials of her job? Will she allow herself a moment to breathe or continue to force herself into the job?

Review:
Normally, I don't enter giveaways at Goodreads.com that aren't the first of a series unless I'm already familiar with the previous books. It's kind of like setting down to watch a movie after it's been on for an hour already. But the blurb was really intriguing to me. I'm happy to say that I entered and won the book.

The action in the book starts right away as we meet the family. Shortly after we get a glimpse of their lives, the accident happens and leaves us with questions that the main character goes on the hunt for. The author does a great job of inserting events of the previous books into the story to help the plot instead of hindering. It kept the story moving at a steady pace. Characters that had been introduced in previous books slipped into this book without causing a ripple in the current story.

Both the English and Amish worlds were represented well within the book. Rules and codes were explained in a way that seemed logical and not just tossed aside. I loved how the characters in both worlds embodied their ways of life without apologizing for them. Secrets abide in any society and they come to light in their own time. The characters were real, flawed and had me rooting for them - even as they admitted their own sins. Combined with an ending that I didn't see coming, I really liked this series. The book is great as a standalone read but I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Her Last Breath (Kate Burkholder #5)  by Linda Castillo is available in several forms including Kindle, hardback, paperback and audiobook. It can be purchased at Amazon.com by choosing the link below.
Her Last Breath (Kate Burkholder #5) by Linda Castillo

The Haunted Hikikomori by Lawrence Pearce

Release Date: August 8, 2013
Publisher: Juju Books

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Hidden away from the world outside his apartment, Jared lives in a world of his own creation. He has everything he needs brought to him through online orders with the odd delivery of pizza to link him to humanity. While in his apartment, he does his best to avoid the pain and memories of losing someone close to him. His imagination provides him a companion when he needs it. Life is good.

Or so it was until strange things begin to happen throughout his apartment that make him question his grasp on reality as well as his past behavior. Seeing glimpses of the one lost starts Jared down a downhill spiral of self-loathing and judgement that leads him to make a pivotal decision.

Review:
Oh, how I wanted to give this book a higher rating. It truly made me sad that I couldn't justify one in the smallest degree. The story is so intriguing and compelling that it did keep me turning the pages. Not only do we, the readers, see the aftermath of a tragic event but we're witnesses to several other events that we can do nothing to change. At certain points in the story, we know more than the characters. I found myself wanting to direct the characters away from areas or to do different things in order to keep them from harm.

The steady pace of the story did a great deal to keep my interest alive. I felt the author did a good job of drawing you into the story through the character's emotions and the reasoning behind their decisions seemed logical in their situations. At one point it seemed that the story was a vicious cycle, never to end as person after person found their way into that apartment.

My only reason for not rating this work higher was the many grammar/editorial mistakes that I found as I was reading. Even reading for pleasure, my brain picks up on places where commas should have been, a word is misspelled or quotation marks out of place. Unfortunately, there were a bunch of places where commas were needed as well as an instance where the author had written "And I am sat ...." which I presume he meant "am sitting." Between those and part of the book being formatted with paragraph indented while the other wasn't, I got distracted from the story. If these issues were corrected, I have absolutely no doubt that this book would be a great one because the story is haunting and chilling in so many aspects.

The Haunted Hikikomori by Lawrence Pearce is available in Kindle form and can be purchased from Amazon.com by clicking the link below.
The Haunted Hikikomori by Lawrence Pearce

Currently Reading

I can't believe it's Wednesday. Sorry, that sounded like a lame butter substitute tagline. I honestly think time is speeding up on me. Oh, I know it's not really speeding up but seems that way at times. My childhood days were full of wanting time to hurry up so that I could be old enough to drive, be considered an adult and do the things I wanted to do. Now as an adult, I wish I could slow it down.

This past week has been filled with a lot of work on my community project and writing submissions. The number of hats and scarf sets is nearing the minimum goal number and we're all very happy that each of the child at the Behavioral Center will have his or her own. As far as writing, I'm starting to feel the heat of the deadline set at the end of the month. Something just feels off with the work but I'm positive that work it out soon.  


Books on the docket this week are;
The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth
DiSemblance by Shanae Branham
A Promise to Remember (Tomorrow's Promise Collection Book #1) by Kathryn Cushman


Novels that are among the finished pile are;
My Dead Friend Sarah: A Novel by Peter Rosch
Where We Belong by Catherine Ryan Hyde


My Kindle app has been a lifesaver in helping me to fit in some reading time at night when everyone else is asleep. My goal for the next few weeks remains the same - try to fit as much into seven days as I possibly can. Let's just hope the weather changing doesn't bring me down further.

Until next time,
Kay

A History of Stone and Steel by Christopher Fisher

Release Date: April 1, 2013
Publisher: Resurgent Books

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Paul Keppel's life had been sailing down a comfortable path until a perfect storm of mid-life crisis, powerful migraines and a recurring nightmare drives him to the edge of sanity. His marriage is tested as secrets from his past come bubbling to the surface, forcing Paul to face the truth of the past or risk losing everything. The pain, anxiety and uncertainty ripple through every aspect of his life from his marriage to the workplace to church.

When he receives word that his grandfather, Reverend Todd, has a health crisis, Paul's life deteriorates rapidly. He soon finds himself reliving the decisions of his past that set him down the path he's been walking. Throwing caution to the wind, he does whatever he feels he needs to without restraint. Can his marriage and family survive the secrets he's been carrying? Will Paul be able to come to terms with his grandfather and the ghosts haunting him before he loses everything?  

Review:
Having won this book from a Goodreads.com giveaway, I was intrigued by the blurb used in the description of the giveaway. It mentioned the bare essentials of the plot such as a man dealing with his own set of problems finding out his grandfather was dying and coming to term with secrets long buried. When I actually opened the book, I was instantly hooked on the road Paul, the main character, was taking. There was no alternative but to hang on until the end.

A History of Stone and Steel is the debut novel for Christopher Fisher, but it certainly does not read like one. The path that the story takes winds its way through Paul's adolescence and adulthood with little effort, bringing the reader along as a witness to the unraveling that is taking place in Paul's life. With each revelation and decision, the reader is given a front row seat to the madness that takes over as he begins to lose control, driving his loved ones to the edge of desertion.

The theme of what it means to truly be a Christian also presents itself throughout the story. For some of the characters, it is the driving force behind each and every one of their decisions. Others are reluctant to acknowledge the depth in which they do believe, whether out of fear or they simply cannot bring themselves to believe completely. The author lays out thoughts, theories and feelings along the way that allow the reader to decide for him/herself what the meaning behind the events could be.

Overall, I liked how frank the book was when it came to Paul's indecision. He was as messed up as anyone on this planet could be and yet he still had a sense of right and wrong at his very core. In a way, I was both rooting for and against the character, something not usually done in my case. It's a thought-provoking, profanity-laced, theology-questioning book that kept me turning page after page to find out what happened next. I would definitely recommend this book.

A History of Stone and Steel by Christopher Fisher can be purchased in either Kindle or paperback form. It can be purchased from Amazon.com by clicking the link below.
A History of Stone and Steel by Christopher Fisher