Shut Up & Read

Losing the Dollhouse by S. Jane Gari  When nineteen-year-old Jane finally works up the nerve to expose the truth about her stepfather's sexual advances, her mother is outraged. But not at the stepfather. Her mother takes his side-a betrayal that threatens to destroy the family and leaves Jane struggling to forge her own identity as she enters adulthood. Once marriage is on the table, Jane packs up her life and resolves to stare her demons down. Losing the Dollhouse offers a slice of dysfunctional Americana complete with divorce, stepfamilies, eating disorders, mental illness and the search for true love.  Paperback, 238 pages Published February 2nd 2014 by Touchpoint Press Find it on Goodreads Amazon   Barnes & Noble Read It & Reap:   September 18, 2016 S. Jane Gari lives in Elgin, South Carolina with her husband and daughter. Her nonfiction has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes. In addition to her upcoming me...

Windcatcher  Stone War Chronicles #1 by A.J. Norfield  Far away from home, under the command of his brother, Raylan and his squad must retrieve an ancient relic stolen from their kingdom’s trading partner—the Tiankong Empire.  Traveling deep into unknown enemy territory to complete their mission, Raylan learns that the ancient relic holds unexpected life; a creature buried in legends, one not seen in their world for more than two hundred years.  With their enemies closing in, Raylan and his friends search, desperately, for a safe way home. Danger lurks around every corner: Warriors larger than any man, predators stalking them through the night and soldiers determined to hunt them down. Leaving them all little choice, except to keep moving as they strategically plot—and skillfully fight—their way back to those awaiting their return.  ebook, Kindle Version, 386 pages Published October 30th 2015 by LowSea Publishing Find ...

Crescendo!  Austerley & Kirkgordon, #1 by  G.R. Jordan ,  Gary Ross-Jordan   A long forgotten manuscript of music. A genius professor hungering for the dark creatures which drove his studies. A Russian vamp with an icy touch. A government agent pulling everyone's strings. And a former bodyguard trying to hold onto his marriage amidst Eldar creatures threatening the end of the world. Join Austerley and Kirkgordon on a hunt for Eldar music of a long forgotten race. From America to Russia and across the British Isles, two broken misfits try to pull the world back from a cosmic disaster while keeping at bay their reciprocal loathing. Paperback, 260 pages Published October 25th 2015 by Carpetless Publishing Find it on Goodreads Amazon   Barnes & Noble     Smashwords Read It & Reap:   September 11, 2016 Currently working on a fantasy novel about paranormal investigators and a story about mermaids appearing off a remo...

Sol Limitis by James Collins  367 AD - A battle-hardened soldier is sent to the frozen north of Britannia on a personal mission from the Emperor. Conducting a desperate investigation from a hostile garrison on the crumbling frontier of Hadrian’s Wall, Atellus must struggle to survive in a wild and lawless land torn apart by the death throes of an over-stretched empire. Set in Roman Britain in 367 AD – a time when the far provinces are sliding out of the Empire’s control, and the division between ‘Roman’ and ‘Barbarian’ is almost non-existent – Sol Limitis (‘Sun of the Frontier’) is the prelude to a series of events which led to the historical ‘Barbarian Incursion.’ Atellus - a troubled campaign veteran and close friend of the emperor Valentinian - is sent to Britannia to investigate the disappearance of children from Aesica, a garrison fort on Hadrian’s Wall. Arriving in the midst of a frozen winter to a hostile reception, Atellus uncovers a plot that threatens t...

Mercury Striking by Rebecca Zanetti My rating: 5 of 5 stars I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Rebecca Zanetti is one of my favorite authors. She creates compelling, action-packed stories with well-developed characters that will have you on the edge of your seat and crying for more when it ends. Have I mentioned the swoon worthy Jax? He will have you wishing you were his leading lady despite the Post-Apocalyptic setting. Jax Mercury has always been a fighter: first as a gang member, then as a solider in the military, now as a survivor of the plague, Scorpius. Scorpius has decimated the United States. Technology is down and those who survived the initial outbreak are struggling to stay one step ahead of the plague. Jax has made it his mission to help others. He commands the strong to care for and protect the weak. Lynn Harmony has been working on a cure, but she needs Jax's help. They both have skeletons in their closets and secrets they w...

Estranged by Alex Fedyr  Kalei hates touching. Especially if it is a hug. After all, her mother was killed by one. Kalei was born and raised in Celan, the first city to have an Estranged problem. It was seventeen years ago when they appeared, and the citizens learned the hard truth: that it only takes a bit of skin-on-skin contact to turn their loved ones into corpses, or Estranged. No one really knows why some people turn and some people die, they just know that anyone touched is gone. And Kalei wants them to stay gone. But, being a police officer in the city, she witnesses every day the damage done by Estranged. Black nails mark these harbingers of death. Seeking the high they get from every piece of skin they touch, the Estranged crush the lives of Celan's citizens with alarming ease. They killed her mother for a high, and now Kalei wants to wipe them out of existence before they can seek another. But she can't. Only the Wardens are equipped to do so, ...

Population by Elizabeth Stephens  Lawlessness, violence and desperation are all that is left of the world following the coming of the Others. Abel exists only within the boundaries that her rules allow -- rules that she created to keep her alive. But when her best friend's daughter is taken by the Others, she can't keep playing by the rule book. Instead, she must begin a life defining journey that will test her survival techniques and challenge her ability to find what she has always feared: hope.  Kindle Edition, 248 pages Published April 15th 2015 by NubiTales  Find it on Goodreads Amazon   Barnes & Noble Read It & Reap:   February 18, 2016 Though writing has been her unrelenting passion since the age of 10, POPULATION is Elizabeth’s first published novel. She has a repertoire of short horror publications under her belt and has worked as a political correspondent and travel writer across the US, the Middle E...