The Survivor by Sean Slater

The thruth lies behind the mask.

In his first hour back from a six-month leave of absence, Detective Jacob Striker's day quickly turns into a nightmare. He is barely on scene five minutes at his daughter's high school when he encounters an Active Shooter situation. Three man wearing hocky masks - black, white and red - have stormed the school with firearms and are killing indiscriminately. Striker takes immediate action.

Within minutes, two of te gunman are dead ans Sriker is close to ending the violence. But before Striker can react, Red Mask flees - and ecapes. Against the clock, Striker investigates te killings for which there is no know motive and no suspects. Soon hs investigation takes him to darker places and he realizes that everything at Saint Patrick's High is not as it appears. The closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous his world becomes.

Until Striker himself is in the line of fire. (backcover)

This is Sean Slater's debut novel and I must say I really liked it. You get pulled in right from the start and it doesn't let you go until you close the book.

I thought the story was great. We all know that school shootng take place from the news but Slater made the plot really great. So no sully high school kid who goes on a rampage here.
No he made this story about. The background of Red Mask is well thought out and believable.

The characters are well developed. Striker is a tough man and cop, with the usual trouble for authority figures, although I must say I would hate Laroche to (he is an ass) and is trying to combine work and raising his 15 year old daughter Coutney. Courtney is a typical teenager, does everything she is told not to do and picks a fight about everything, but she is a smart girl. The relationship between father and daughter isn't that bad but a dad who is working a case 24/7 and a teenage girl combined, kind of screams trouble just like in real life.

The book is told from different points of view and that made it easier to get to know the different characters. The chapters from Red Mask's point of view gave you more insight on his motives and it made him look human eventhough everthing he does makes him a monster.

There are some very grisly and violent scenes in this book but I must say they weren't all that graphic which I thought was a shame but also makes sure that a lot of other people will be able to like this book.

My rate: 4/5

This book was sent to me by the publisher Simon & Schuster for review as part of the mysterie suspence challenge 2011 hosted by Book Chick City (for details see reading challenges)

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

My name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I'm a sidhe-seer, a person who can see the Fae, a fact I accapted only recently and very reluctantly.
My philosophy is pretty simple - ana nobody's trying to to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, ther's not a sidhe-seer alive who's had a good day since then.
When MacKayla's sister is murdered, she leaves a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cellphone. Journeying to Ireland in search for answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to maste a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of Man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.
As mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, while at the same time, the ruthless V'lane - an immortal Fae who makes sex an addiction for human woman - closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the allpowerfull Dark book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of both worlds in their hands. (backcover)

This is the first novel in the Fever series.

I read this one to see what all the hype was about. Everybody was just crazy about the Fever series and I wanted in. But I wasn't all to impressed by this one. Perhaps because my expectations were a bit high and it is a first in a series so there's a lot of explaining.
So why don't I start off with the things I liked.
I liked the girly Mac. I liked the fact that she likes to polish her nails and wears girly clothes. There aren't a lot of heroines out there who are girly like that. And she keeps it up true out the book she doesn't completely change herself when she is thrown in this new world. I liked the fact that she had such a great relationship with her sister that she would go halfway around the world to go and try to find her sisters killer.
KMM really does a great job at the world building. It does come with a lot of explaining but it's necessary to make sure everything falls into place. The Lore and everything and everyone that comes with it really gets its place this way.

And then we come to the things I didn't like all too much.
Mac is a heroin who really does the opposite of what she is told and sometimes it even gets a bit annoying I know that a story with a compliant heroine would suck but does she have to make so much wrong turns?
Then what's up with Barrons? He's kind of an ass. And I was expecting some chemistry between Mac and Barrons but for me it wasn't really there. Ok and then the last thing that really made me that kind of had me going Huh? Aliens.....yes aliens. And that’s all I'm gonna say about it.

So I wasn't all that impressed by this one but I do think this series has potential. And not because everyone said it is such a great series, but because the story is kind of intriguing. I haven't read any Fea book only books with Fae as a side character and I must say I like this Fae world. Also it's a dark world nothing pretty about it and I can appreciate that. No cuddly vampires this time.
I already have Bloodfever on the shelf and will definitely read it.

My rating: 3/5

Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider

What if your novel attracts the wrong kind of attention and an age-old evil turns out to be all too true?
Bestselling author beth Rider enjoys her fame as the Sout's newest literary star.
That is until Jack Dawn, a real-life vampire, vows to kill her because of the vile redemptive message her book is bringing his people. The ancient race of bloodthirsty immortals to wich Jack belongs, known as the Rakum, have spread evil among mankind since the beginning. But Jack alone recognizes the novel's destrucive potential and she must die.
Jack's proselyte Michael Stone was brought up from his youth to be strong, sensible and brutal. but at one hundred and thirty, Michael is old enoug to appriciate his quiet and ordered life. When he stumbles upon the beautiful and apparently innocent Beth Rider, he is puzzledby his Elder's unreasonable actions against her. Instantly smitten, Michael takes it upon himself to protect her from the limitless lust of his brethren.
Facing the most terrifying trial of her life against creatures known only in fables, one simple woan will threaten the existence of a powerful and accursed people. In the climatic final battle, it is a reace to the death, or if Beth has her way, a race to the life - of every Rakum who makes the choice. (Backcover)

This is the story of Beth Rider who got marked, by the blood of an elder, as a 'rabbit' which means every Rakum will be after her to do whatever they want with her for an eternity or as long as she will last. Why is she marked? Well her novels come with a message that changes the very 'soul' of the Rakum who reads it. And of course there is someone who just doesn't take this and marks her.

We meet a few characters, Rakum and human, and they all have their own take on the marking of Beth, the books she writes and faith. Some are after her and others are protecting her.
Beth is a strong lead female character, who knows what she wants and believes, she has her faith and peace and I found her a very likeable character. This story is told from different characters, so you get to see Beth, the good guys and the bad guys. Normally I'm not much of a fan when it comes to telling a story from different perspectives, the story just seems to get lost at times then, but Ellen id a good job on this and she made sure you like most of the characters and dislike the ones, well you would dislike these kind of guys in real life too.
The story is fast pasted. When I started this I didn't stop reading and read it in one sitting. Although a lot of stuff happens it isn't a 'heavy' read and you don't get the information overload you seem to get in a lot of first novels. This is a vampire novel but of a different kind. A kind you don't find often and I absolutely loved it.
I do want to say that this is a very Christian novel. So if you are easily offended then you shouldn't read it. But if you have an open mind I would absolutely recommend it. I'm not a Christian and well like I said I absolutely loved it.

My rating: 5/5

Guest post with Laura Kreitzer

Hello Literary-Folk!

My name is Laura Kreitzer, and I’m the author of the Timeless Series and the Summer Chronicles. This week I would like to alert everyone on a colossal crisis that’s gone unnoticed in the world: human trafficking. That’s why I’ve asked hundreds of blogs to be involved with spreading the word on this issue that’s become close to my heart.
As an author, and someone whose life is put in the spotlight, I keep most people at a distance. Only a handful of my friends know the whole me and the events from my past. But this week I’d like to share with you a part of myself that the outside world doesn’t see (and a part of me I don’t like to share). I was emotionally abused for five years by someone I thought loved me, my mind beaten into submission. Though the turmoil I went through doesn’t penetrate as deep as someone forced into slavery on the worldwide market for human trafficking, I can sadly relate in some ways: imprisoned, my life dictated down to what I wore, ate, where I went, whom I spoke to, where I worked, when I slept, bending to his every whim. He did not sway, even when I cried through some of the more traumatic things he had me do. I was a slave in my own home. In my desperation for freedom, I held out a gun and asked him to just end my suffering. I was desperate.


I can’t even imagine how many women (and men) in the world are in a similar situation. What’s even worse, I had it mild compared to the children that are sold for labor or sex. Surprisingly, the good ol’ U.S.A. is reported to be the host to two million slaves. Did you know this? Because I certainly did not; not until I was preparing to write my newest novel: Phantom Universe. The main character, Summer Waverly, was stolen as a child and sold as a slave to the captain of a modern-day pirate ship. From a loved child who only knew “time-out” as punishment, to being whipped into silence was something I knew nothing about. So I researched deeply into human trafficking and the psychological effects of torture of various types that one would endure in these circumstances. I felt shaken at my findings and knew I had to tell Summer’s story. (Read a sneak peek here.)


A storm began to brew in my mind; transforming, morphing, twisting, and expanding into this massive, black cloud. I had to bring this tragic atrocity to the forefront. My own emotional experiences, mixed with the research I did on human trafficking, made me feel an intense connection with Summer, and to all women who’ve been through this kind of brutality. The cloud ruptured and rained all over my computer one day. It took one month to write Phantom Universe, the first in the Summer Chronicles. I was so consumed by the story that I wrote nearly nonstop, only breaking for necessary tasks like eating, showering, and occasionally—very occasionally—sleeping.
Though the book I’ve written would be classified as Science Fiction, or as I’d like to call it, Dystopian, the emotions and psychological aspects are not Science Fiction—they're real. Reviewers have said many amazing things about Summer, this character who is so real in my mind and who I cried along with as the words poured from my soul onto my screen.

“I admired Summer's strength and ability to adapt,” says CiCi’s Theories. “I felt tied to her emotions,” Jennifer Murgia, author or Angel Star admits. And Tahlia Newland, author of Lethal Inheritance, remarks, “Summer is strong and smart in mind [. . .]”

Through her overwhelmingly horrendous past, Summer goes on more than just a physical journey in Phantom Universe, she goes on a psychological one as well; growing beyond her mute state to persevere and survive in a new world beyond the whip she’s so frightened of.
Now that the release date is here, I’m excited and terrified to share this story with everyone. I’m emotionally tied in every way to the words I’ve written, because they’re more than words. More than just a story on a page. Beyond the fictional aspects, there’s a real issue that needs to be addressed: human trafficking must be stopped. We shouldn’t sit idly by while this continues to plague us. Our world’s children—our nation’s children—are being affected. It’s time we take action!
Earlier this month Phantom Universe hit Barnes and Noble’s top 100 Best Selling list. I’ve decided to donate 10% of my sales from Phantom Universe, until the end of February, to the DNA Foundation.

“DNA hopes to help abolish modern day slavery, deter perpetrators, and free the many innocent and exploited victims. We are committed to forcing sex slavery out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

Freedom is a basic human right and slavery is one of the greatest threats to that freedom. No one has the right to enslave another person.”
—From DNA Foundation’s Website

I ask that you spread the word to everyone you know. Look around on the DNA Foundation website and find a way to get involved in ending human trafficking. Take action today. Everyone has a voice—you have a voice. Will you have the courage to use it?

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You can read my review of Phantom Universe here.

Phantom Universe

Sold into slavery to pirates at the young age of four, Summer learns to survive the rough seas of subterfuge and thieves through silence. When the boat she’s lived on most of her life is destroyed, Summer finds herself washed up on the shore of a new world, a phantom universe full of the bizarre and extraordinary. She meets Gage, the one boy who understands the girl with no speech. But when their lives are put on the line, will Summer finally call out? Or will all be lost in the fathomless depth of silence? (blurb)

This story is about a sixteen year old girl named Summer who doesn't speak. But her thoughts and actions speak for themselves and even though I don't like stories where there isn't much conversation from the main character it didn't bother me at all. Summer is a very likeable character. With all the things that have happened to her over the course of years in slavery she stopped speaking and doesn't trust anyone except Landon, a fellow slave on the ship, he protects her and is her only friend. When a fellow slave from Summers past Jaden comes to tell her that there are people after her, the three of them escape. They lose sight of each other but ones on land Summer and Jaden find each other again then Summer gets ill and passes out. When she awakes we meet Gage and discover that things are quite different in the world. And one of those reasons is that it is now 200 years later. It seems that around 200 million people just suddenly appeared in the future and they are called 'Outlanders'. Since Summer is very ill she is send to a hospital and Jaden is send to an outlander camp. After Summer gets better she is also send to the outlander camp and this is where she finds Landon again. The one thing in this story that I liked was her relationship she is building with Gage. She doesn't know what to think of this man who rescues and helps her, keeps visiting her in the hospital, but also keeps pulling back. But somehow she knows that she can trust him.