Book Review: Godspeed by Dan Chabot

Godspeed
A Love Story

Author: Dan Chabot
Paperback: 306 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 20, 2012)
Amazon Link

Kindle Edition
File Size: 419 KB
Print Length: 307 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1477435360
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Babop/Dan Chabot; 1 edition (September 28, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Amazon Link

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from Dan Chabot. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Godspeed is a love story which tells the painful yet satisfying journey of one man - Derry Danaher. Derry works in a local newspaper called the Ledger as a reporter and feature writer. He believes that by working in that newspaper, he is doing something important, something that makes difference in people's lives. For Derry, he doesn't need anything or anyone in his life. When he lost his father, he went into depression and he doesn't want to go through the same pain again. Everything is working out well with him until he meets Amedee Carol Beauchene.

Godspeed is a very touching love story. I was deeply moved by this book, I cried and laughed with Derry and Amedee as I join them in their life together. I loved the building of their relationship. His love for Amedee is so pure, everlasting and I'm sure anyone who reads this book would want to find someone like Derry.  

I also loved Derry's family and even work friends. The love and understanding they have shown him is unbelievable. Everyone at work had the compassion to offer any help to Derry, they did not hesitate to take him back even after six months of no communication. I sometimes wonder if that was realistic, to have that kind of support from people at work is just amazing. 

The only flaw I see in this book was that the first 100 pages were kind of a slow read because of the flashbacks. I was never good in understanding stories with flashbacks so I just skimmed through those until I guess I was almost done with the story. When I finally realized how they are connected, I went back to read the earlier pages again.

The ending made me decide to finally give this book a 5-star rating even with the above flaw.   I honestly think this would make a good Hollywood movie. If you are looking for a nice, heartwarming and encouraging story, you might want to pick-up this book.

About the book:

When Derry and Amedee fall in love, it is a collision of destinies, and they are sure it will last forever. But when it ends in tragedy, Derry, beset by remorse and guilt, sets off on an improbable, reckless crusade for redemption. When it finally ends abruptly, he has found someone to help him build a new life from the ashes of the past, and readers are left to ponder a poignant question: How can a lie be wrong when it makes so many people feel so good?

About the author:

Dan Chabot is a veteran newspaper editor, writer and columnist who spent 25 years with the Milwaukee Journal, much of that time as the editor of its popular and beloved Green Sheet, a feature section printed on green paper that specialized in whimsical and offbeat stories, humor and advice columns, puzzles and games, and of course, the comic strips.

He wrote a popular column called The Greenskeeper that engaged readers in offbeat and improbable contests, such as finding the people with the worst handwriting in Milwaukee (doctors were declared ineligible, because they were considered professional scrawlers), or searching neighborhoods to find homes with the most interesting, imaginative and creative mailboxes. For several years the Green Sheet provided helpful advice on St. Patrick's Day to folks caught without something green to wear -- a handy template on how to cut up the Green Sheet in a precise way to make a quick necktie!

Chabot also wrote for other sections of the paper. One of his travel stories, about a visit with his family to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, was quoted in a Hall of Fame publication, and also wound up in Paul Dixon's book, "Famous Baseball Quotations."

Chabot is a native of Ontonagon, MI, where he served for a time as assistant editor of the local weekly. After two years with a small paper in the California Bay Area, he joined the staff of the Milwaukee Journal.

These days Chabot lives in Florida. He and his wife, Mary Ellen, are the parents of three grown sons and five grandchildren. "Godspeed: a love story" is his first novel, and he's now at work on a second.

Book Review: Night of the Chupacabra by Michael Hebler

Night of the Chupacabra
Chupacabra Series Book One

Author: Michael Hebler
Paperback: 300 pages
Publisher: Night After Publications (October 17, 2012)
Amazon Link



Note: I received a review copy of this book free from Michael Hebler. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

I thought the story is great and I was hooked from the very first until the last page of the book. I  first heard stories of the Chupacabra from my grandmother and this brought back childhood memories. Night of the Chupacabra is a western horror novel that tells the story of one family wanting to start a new life in a new place. While in one of their travels, they encountered a chupacabra and only one man survived, Drake.

Drake, the main character of the story, is very much likeable. One would instantly love this character, a strong and tough guy on the outside but softy on the inside. His love and dedication to his family including his dear brother, Gavin, is what I remember the most.

The pacing of the story moves forward smoothly. Considering I was out attending parties the week I'm reading this, I never had a problem remembering the story and the  characters. The story flows just right and the tension stays with me every time I pick up the book. As for the dialogue, usually I despise books written in strange language or dialect, or anything written not in plain English. I am still wondering why despite the author's use of "western dialogue",  it didn't affect the level of my enjoyment of the story. Maybe he was just really good in weaving the whole story that I was never bothered by the strange dialogue. I loved the twists, especially the revelation on the legend of the first chupacabra, that I believe wouldn't bore readers. All in all, loved the book one and I look forward to reading more from the author, Michael Hebler.

About the book:

Post Civil War. Families move west to begin rich new lives, only some never make it. There is a creature that lurks in the vast open deserts of the west. It can only survive on blood and, although it prefers to prey on the weak and young, it will slaughter anyone or anything, once provoked. It is unnatural, deceptive, and difficult to kill. Word about the existence of this elusive beast has not spread since anyone who has crossed paths with it did not live long enough to tell of their account. 

Night of the Chupacabra is one man’s journey to reunite with his missing family, while the lethal creature that separated them, the mysterious and ravenous chupacabra, is never far behind. Night of the Chupacabra is not only a gruesome regale of carnage, but a unique combination of science fiction bloodshed with a more poignant tale of lost love set against a Western backdrop. Night of the Chupacabra is an unflinching look at the impossible choices made for family, while knowing the consequences will ultimately lead to a fate worse than death.

About the author:

In addition to being an author and a Southern California native, Michael Hebler also has a career in film publicity.

Michael's current focus is on a series of dark thriller novels based on the legendary 'el Chupacabra' with Book One, "Night of the Chupacabra", releasing on October 17, 2012. In June 2011, Michael published a short-story prologue to the Chupacabra Series, "Hunt for the Chupacabra", available for free download. Michael is also the author of the children's picture book classic, "The Night After Christmas", available in both ebook and print formats.

Michael enjoys running a blog in his spare time, "My Little Obsessions", where he rambles about all the things he loves, which tends to be a distraction from his work.

Author website: http://www.michaelhebler.com
My Little Obsessions: http://michaelsobsessions.blogspot.com/

ARC Book Review: The Trajectory of Dreams by Nicole Wolverton

The Trajectory of Dreams

Author: Nicole Wolverton
Publisher: Bitingduck Press 
Release Date: March 1, 2013

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from Nicole Wolverton. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:


The Trajectory of Dreams focuses on Lela White, a hard working woman whose main goal in life is to protect all the astronauts while in space. She believes by studying the sleep patterns of astronauts, she is helping NASA to achieve a successful program for all their space missions. When Zory Korchagin, a Russian cosmonaut, sees Lela for the first time, he immediately falls in love with her. Something his grandmother has predicted before going to the U.S. for NASA's space program. I loved Zory. He is nice and very sweet. Oh I love Russian men. I thought Russian men are sexy and very nice to look at. And the accent! Hmm yummy! The author also wrote about Russian beliefs, superstitions and traditions which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.   

The Trajectory of Dreams is not your typical psychological thriller book. Lela, the main character is suffering from a mental disorder but she looks normal to the people around her. The plot and Lela's character is definitely intriguing, I was hooked from the beginning until the end of the story. I find it interesting to see how a person with mental illness is able to fool "normal" people and even cover up her crimes. 

You can never stop once you start reading. You really have to pay attention or else, you'd be confused as the book has an extremely complicated storyline. Reaching the last 50+ pages, everything is revealed with too many shocking twists, found myself re-reading some parts of the book as I missed something important in the story. 

Definitely a 5-star for me. Readers and bloggers, you shouldn't miss this one.  


About the book: 

For Lela White, a Houston sleep lab technician, sleep doesn’t come easy—there’s a price to be paid for a poor night’s sleep, and she’s the judge, jury, and executioner.

Everyone around Lela considers her a private woman with a passion for her lab work. But nighttime reveals her for what she is: a woman on a critical secret mission. Lela lives in the grip of a mental disorder that compels her to break into astronauts’ homes to ensure they can sleep well and believes that by doing so, she keeps the revitalized U.S. space program safe from fatal accidents. What began at the age of ten when her mother confessed to blowing up the space shuttle has evolved into Lela’s life’s work. She dreads the day when an astronaut doesn’t pass her testing, but she’s prepared to kill for the greater good.

When Zory Korchagin, a Russian cosmonaut on loan to the U.S. shuttle program, finds himself drawn to Lela, he puts her carefully-constructed world at risk of an explosion as surely as he does his own upcoming launch. As Lela’s universe 
unravels, no one is safe.

About the author:

Nicole Wolverton is a freelance writer and novelist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her debut novel, The Trajectory of Dreams, will be available in March 2013 from Bitingduck Press.

Book Review: Dead Religion by David Beers

Dead Religion

Author: David Beers
Paperback: 210 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (September 7, 2012)
Amazon Link

Kindle Edition
File Size: 333 KB
Print Length: 210 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
Amazon Link

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from David Beers. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

The story started out great. Past the 50+ pages I stopped reading due to some paperworks I had to finish. Reading Dead Religion the second time, I found myself confused and lost with the story and characters. It was hard to remember things. 

I have to admit that I rarely finish a book in one sitting since I work full time, school, kids, hobbies, etc. So I need a book that I can easily connect with, without refreshing my memory every time I picked it up. You know something like a tv series. And sadly, Dead Religion is not that book. It was annoying that I can't tell who's who and I end up flipping back to the earlier pages to be connected with the characters and story again. I soon lost interest reading only 5-10 pages a day. I couldn't even recognize the main characters anymore and I think it was mainly because of the alternating point of views of all the characters in the story. 

Overall, story/plot wise, it's something original for me, Dead Religion tells the story about ancient Aztec gods, how the "new people" are connected with these ancient gods. If you are into those ancient history things and do not mind the alternating POV's, then you might want to read this. 

To read positive reviews, click here.

About the book: 

A hotel explodes in Mexico City, and all available evidence points to an American citizen, Alex Valdez, as the terrorist. The FBI is desperate to find the truth before the Mexican government can. Dead Religion follows the trail of FBI agent James Allison, who leaves his family and journeys to Mexico in order to find what secrets lay behind the destroyed hotel and all the lives lost with it. To do that though, Alex Valdez’s life must be laid bare—the blood rite his parents left him and the ‘God’ they felt had been unleashed on the world. Agent Allison races to find the truth in Mexico City, to uncover Valdez’s life, before he finds himself face to face with the same terror.

About the author: 

David Beers is in his mid twenties. He blogs at http://justafewmorehours.blogspot.com. He is currently finishing up his MBA, and working on his second novel--tentatively titled End Times.

Book Review: Like A Suicide by John J. Archer

Like A Suicide


Author: John J. Archer
File Size: 410 KB (Kindle Edition)
Print Length: 269 pages
Publisher: Nazarite Limited Publishing (September 29, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
Amazon Link


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from John J. Archer. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

Like A Suicide started out slow. Describing the killer's profile is not much of a story for me. I thought it was overly done for my taste. I was also bothered by the goriness and violence of the scenes depicted in the story so I had to stop reading from time to time.

The third or fourth time I picked up this book, I thought I had it all figured out. Well, I was wrong. The twists in the story surely enticed me to continue reading. Every chapter read is giving me doubts on who the real killer is. The last part of the book made sense. Now I understand why the author had to write much on the killer's life as it is - well, needed to grasp the whole psycho thing. The only problem I had in this book was the investigator handling the case. I believe Detective Sweeny failed to cover everything and that one thing (sorry - spoiler!) is very important to solving this case. So I'm not buying that part with Detective Sweeny.

Overall, the author is definitely skillful at wielding a great psychological thriller story.  It was beautifully written, even found myself doing a lot of research after reading this book. I look forward to reading more from this author, John J. Archer.

Note: The review might seem vague to you my dear readers because each time I try to write something about the story, it always ends up with spoilers so I had to re-write everything and make a "general" review.

About the book

"Like A Suicide" is a psychological thriller/suspense about 'Wraith' who is a serial killer. He believes proper order can only be brought about in the world via chaos. Most of his kills make sense in that way. It just happens that this time someone has the nerve to bring chaos into his world by stealing money from him. 

After tracking down the perpetrator James and confronting him Wraith concludes that he is either a genius or an idiot after the man denies knowing anything about the stolen money in a convincing manner. 

Wraith concludes James must die but decides to take his time and find out if this is the guy that might provide the challenging kill he has been looking for all along. He has to do all this with Detective Sweeney, the local superstar detective hot on his trail.

As he gets ready to go for the kill Wraith can sense that something is wrong. It's just that this time this kill seems 'Like A Suicide', which makes it much more difficult than previous kills.

Book Review: Saving Grace by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Saving Grace

Author: Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Paperback: 278 pages
Publisher: Skipjack Publishing (September 24, 2012)
Amazon Link

Kindle Edition
File Size: 436 KB
Print Length: 279 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0988234807
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: SkipJack Publishing (September 23, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
Amazon Link

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from Pamela Fagan Hutchins. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Saving Grace tells the story of Katie Connell, an attorney from Texas, who has very much complicated problems in life and love matters. After her parents died in a tragic accident, she realized she has fallen for someone she couldn't have. And then there is one bad rape case that Katie's superior instructed her to manage. Everything seems wrong with her life so she takes a break and goes to St. Marcos, the island where Katie's parents met their tragic deaths. When Katie saw the rain forest house, she finds herself bewitched and suddenly wanting to leave her life in the city for the house. Saving Grace has it all - romance, friendship, horror, suspense and mystery but the ghost story didn't appeal much to me. 

I loved Katie's story, I can totally relate with her character. The life she's living seemed very real to me. Even the dialogue the author used felt authentic. While I loved Katie's story, I hated how the story ended. I can't tell why because that would be a major spoiler. I was so heartbroken with this book, I couldn't get over Katie's pain even a week after I finished reading the book. Wished the story didn't end that way. 

Overall, it was a fantastic read, the story flowed just right. I look forward to reading more from the author, Pamela Fagan Hutchins.

About the book: 

Sometimes the problem with running away is what you can't leave behind.

Winner 2010 Writers League of Texas Romance Manuscript Winner 2012 "Ghost Story" Houston Writers Guild If you're at all inclined to be swept away to the islands to fall in love with a rainforest jumbie house and a Texas attorney who is as much a danger to herself as the island bad guys, then this book is for you. In Saving Grace, Texas attorney Katie Connell escapes professional humiliation, a broken heart, and her Bloody Mary-habit when she runs to the island of St. Marcos to investigate the suspicious deaths of her parents. But she trades one set of problems for another when she is bewitched by the voodoo spirit in an abandoned rainforest house and, as worlds collide, finds herself reluctantly donning her lawyer clothes again to defend her new friend Ava, who is accused of stabbing her very married Senator-boyfriend. Is it women's fiction? A legal thriller? A mystery? Romance? A ghost story? Suspense? Check all of the above. Saving Grace is the book you'd get if Janet Evanovich had written Wuthering Heights meets How Stella Got Her Groove Back: zany, tropical, intense, and eerie, all at once. Readers of Lisa Scottoline will love Katie, Annalise, and the unique and beautiful Saving Grace.

About the author:

Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes fiction and nonfiction. She is a former Human Resources executive and employment attorney who lives with her husband and two high school-aged kids, plus 200 pounds of pets in Houston, but their hearts are still in St. Croix, USVI, along with those of their three oldest offspring. She has six books out wtih SkipJack Publishing: Saving Grace, Hot Flashes And Half Ironmans, How To Screw Up Your Kids, Love Gone Viral, Puppalicious and Beyond, and The Clark Kent Chronicles. She is also a contributing author to Easy to Love But Hard to Raise and the upcoming Easy to Love But Hard to Teach (DRT Press), Ghosts! (Aakenbaaken & Kent), and Prevent Workplace Harassment (Prentice Hall). She won Romance in the 2010 Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Competition for Saving Grace (fka Leaving Annalise), and she also won both Mainstream Fiction (2010, 2011 and 2012) and Narrative Non-fiction (2012) in the Houston Writers' Guild's Manuscript Competitions for Conceding Grace (novel) and How To Screw Up Your Kids (nonfiction book). She won top Ghost Story in 2012 from the Houston Writers Guild. 

Visit her website http://pamelahutchins.com 
Follow her on Facebook http://facebook.com/pamela.fagan.hutchins.author

Book Review: Nolichuck by Jackson Keene

Nolichuck

Author: Jackson Keene
Paperback: 283 pages
Publisher: Treble Heart Books; 1 edition (September 21, 2011)
Amazon Link


Kindle Edition
File Size: 376 KB
Print Length: 220 pages
Publisher: Treble Heart Books; 1 edition (September 19, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
Amazon Link

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from Jackson Keene. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★

My thoughts:

I've only managed to read past the first quarter of the book. The review was due last week but I felt I had to try reading it again, still neither the story nor the characters held my attention. Just to be clear, I didn't have any problem with the author's writing style, the story just didn't work for me. To read positive reviews of the book, click here.

About the book:

TJ’s just an ordinary fourteen year old kid with extraordinary problems at home and school: A broken up family from his parents’ bitter divorce, evil bullies almost every afternoon, failing grades, boring classes, snobby girls, mean teachers, cut from basketball tryouts, few friends. Life is rough for TJ Cockrell.

And then that mysterious little green book had to go and throw him into the past. And not just any past, but into the untamed forbidding forests of 1802 eastern Tennessee along with the savage Indians, wild beasts, bloodthirsty robbers, backwoods ruffians, and log cabin living! Yup, it’s definitely not 2011 Knoxville anymore.

And he thought his present life was bad news! But TJ’s adventures are only beginning. Along the way, he fights off killer beasts and bandits and braves, gains a world of confidence in himself, finds his first real love, and meets a fantastic frontier family who really has it together. When he returns to the present, he’s a brand new person––ready to defeat deadly robbers in his own home, beat the bullies at school, win the girl, gain friends, and make great grades. He even gets his family back together again. Sort of. In the end, the little green book is really cool. And TJ can’t wait to go on another action-packed adventure into the perilous past! 

About the author:

Jackson Keene is the pen name of Jack Olen King. Mr. Keene is a former advertising man and senior marketing executive with a love of writing and history. In his free time, among other things, he volunteer coaches youth basketball and is a coach-player on his own men s team. He lives in Plano, Texas, where he enjoys creating stories about less celebrated yet equally exciting periods of the past and present. Nolichuck is his debut novel.

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey

Author: E. L. James
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (April 3, 2012)
Amazon Link

Ratings: ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

When I started reading this book, it didn't occur to me that I would be reading a BDSM book. My friends made me picked-up this, they all loved Christian Grey so I didn't bother to check out other book reviews.

I enjoyed reading the first quarter of the story. The plot and characters sound familiar (Twilight-y), but then again, I'm having a good time reading the story so I didn't care. However when the contract was revealed, and a few more chapters after that, from then on, I decided I can't continue to read further. I had to look for the reviews in Amazon to make sure I'm labeling this book right. So yes, this is indeed a BDSM book and I don't read that genre. I'm just not into it. I even had to give up reading my favorite Anita Blake series for the same reason. 

I can understand why this became a controversial read. Just imagine Twilight (Edward as Christian Grey and Bela as Anastasia Steele) add porn and you now have an idea what this book is all about.

About the book:

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

About the author:

E L James is a former TV executive, wife and mother of two based in West London. Since early childhood she dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.

Book Review: Revenge of the Castle Cats by Isabella Fontaine and Ken Brosky

Revenge of the Castle Cats
The Grimm Chronicles Book #3

Kindle Edition
Authors: Isabelle Fontaine and Ken Brosky
File Size: 300 KB
Print Length: 110 pages
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
Amazon Link


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the authors, Isabella Fontaine and Ken Brosky. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Revenge of the Castle Cats starts with Alice being poisoned by the monster she fought in the last book, Happily Never After. Now, we get to know more about Br'er Rabbit, his story and some more stories about the rise and fall of old heroes. The story now focuses on Grayle Corporation's booming business owned by the "Corrupted" dwarfs. As for the plot of the story, I think this is the best among the three short stories as there is enough twist that would make you look forward to finishing the book in one sitting.

Alice's character is developing into a nice and lovable character. I don't know, I can't think of anything special to say about her character but I'm really getting attached to her and even Alice's family and friends. The authors also included stories of secondary characters so Revenge of the Castle Cats is not only about the Grimm tales and characters but also about "real" people in Alice's "real life." By the way, I found out about the Grimm TV Series from a friend and I'm really excited to watch the series because of this. Cool stories!

The third in the Grimm Chronicles, The Revenge of the Castle Cats is an enjoyable read like the other two, Prince Charming Must Die and Happily Never After. Mommies, if you are looking for something to buy for your kids, you might want to pick-up The Grimm Chronicles Books 1-3.


About the book:

After being rushed to the hospital, Alice Goodenough finds herself trapped in the worst dream imaginable: a horrible monster is stalking her in the darkness, making its way to the hospital. It will stop at nothing to kill her.

And that’s not the worst of it. All across the city, people are growing more addicted to Castle Cats, a smartphone game created by Grayle Incorporated. And it’s not just a game. The more you play, the more it controls you. Soon, Alice learns that the dwarfs who run Grayle Incorporated are watching her everywhere she goes, using human beings to spy on her.

There must be a confrontation. Sam Grayle and his brothers have to be stopped. And Alice is going to need help.

Read the authors interview here

Book Review: The Lure of Shapinsay by Krista Holle

The Lure of Shapinsay

Paperback
Author: Krista Holle
Paperback: 358 pages
Publisher: Sweet River Romance (June 6, 2012)
Amazon Link

Kindle
File Size: 466 KB
Print Length: 272 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Sweet River Romance; 1 edition (December 19, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Amazon Link


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Krista Holle. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

The Lure of Shapinsay is my first selkie book. When I accepted the request to read and review this,  I thought the story is interesting but I honestly didn't know what selkies are. I was imagining they're like mermaids/mermen, you know those fish-like creatures. So this is actually a shocking read for me. Selkies are not fish-like creatures. Imagine, seal in water, human on land. Wait - did you know that seal and sea lion are two different sea creatures? They look the same to me so again, I didn't know they're different until I read this book! Back to the Scottish folklore, selkies wear their skin when in water but if they want to be human, they have to shed their skin. This is all new to me so I checked other reviews for this book, seems like the other reviewers also didn't have a clue about this folklore.  

Anyway, the book focuses on the forbidden romance of a selkie, Eamon and human girl Kait. The first pages were kind of a slow read. The strange dialogue did turn me off a little so I stopped reading but when I picked it up again, I didn't stop until I'm done reading it. Kait and Eamon (selkie) completely rocked my world! Oh I loved it and I'm adding this to my "all-time favorite" books. The different setting of the story is awesome! It's easy to love the main characters and even the secondary characters, Blair, Kait's twin brother and the old Tipper, the female selkie. I love the writing style, the book is told in alternating pov's of Eamon and Kait. I know I said some alternating pov's can hurt the story but this time, it flows just right. Knowing what they both feel is like connecting to them.   

This is highly recommended for people who are looking for something fresh to read. It's an interesting myth and I thank the author, Krista Holle, for introducing selkies to me. 

About the book:

Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant. 

Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure. 

Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?

About the author:

Krista has been writing since she was nine-years-old when she scribbled out her first adolescent work entitled Merish, the completely illogical but heartfelt story of a girl who was part mermaid, part fish. As a young mother, Krista added to her repertoire some middle grade readers and picture books she’s wary of mentioning. In 2004, Krista began an intensive four year period working part-time as a critical care nurse while homeschooling her four children. During this hectic time, courses of writing were taught and learned, and rules of syntax were scolded to memory. Ironically this period of study equipped Krista with the tools she needed to enter the next phase of her writing experience. Now equipped with the mysteries of the comma, Krista was ready to tackle a much bigger project—a full-fledged novel. After the kids were enrolled in public school in 2009, it occurred to Krista that there is an insatiable audience of women and girls who want to read books filled with stories about true love, not just vampires. Convinced that there was an unfulfilled audience waiting for what she love to write—romance, she sat down in the family’s dungeon, a.k.a. the basement, and began to furiously type. In no time, her first novel was drying on crisp white paper. Krista currently resides in Midlothian, Virginia with her husband, four daughters, and an eccentric cat with a weird attachment to the family’s socks. She continues to write obsessively every chance she can get.