Book Review: Merysekhmet

Title: Merysekhmet (Diaries of the Cwn Annwn #7)

Author: Jo Pilsworth

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Merysekhmet-story-Diaries-Annwn-Hellfire-ebook/dp/B06XJPK5S7/

Summary


Ramses Tariq-Omari has walked the world of man for millennia, a lion shifter, a healer and a soldier, he protects those who know nothing of the paranormal world, of the creatures that seek to harm them. Having served the Goddess Sekhmet since the age of ten, it has been lonely existence indeed, but one he has never regretted having chosen.

Elizabeth DeAnglo needed ‘time out’ from hunting paranormal creatures. Taking a job as a PA to a Wall Street seemed like a plan, until she discovered that her new boss was also the wolf-shifter Alpha of the Hellfire Pack. Since the loss of her fiancé and child to a Wendigo attack, she has trained as a paranormal hunter, driven to hunt down the creature responsible. Only then is she certain that she will find peace. Despite living and working with the Hellfire Pack, despite having a family in her fellow paranormal hunters, she is alone, always on the periphery. When she is attacked, again, by unknown Hellhounds, Elizabeth wonders why she is being targeted. She also wonders at the identity of the mystery archer who comes to her aid.

A millennia-old paranormal warrior and a modern day paranormal hunter. Two sides in opposition, yet fighting the same enemy. The attack will change Elizabeth’s life and force her to face some harsh truths. Can she straddle the worlds of the paranormal and those who hunt them? What will happen if she is forced to choose? Can love overcome the deep-seated prejudice which Ramses will face from Elizabeth’s friends?

Merysekhmet is the first paranormal romance novel written by Jo Pilsworth and Kaitlyn Bosch, two friends who met via Facebook role-play. Based on the legend of the Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet, it forms part of the Diaries of the Cwn Annwn: Hellfire Pack series. Content is aimed at an 18+ audience and contains scenes of mild violence. Some sexual content.

Watch out in 2018 for the next books in the series: Toho, Medved and Ma-iitsoh, along with the series prequel, Cysgodion. Dare you walk in our world?

PROCEEDS FROM MERYSEKHMET WILL BE DONATED TO MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS).

My Review

5/5 Stars

When Elizabeth’s family is killed, she becomes a hunter of supernatural creatures a way of finding peace. After a while, she decided that she needed a break and that was what lured her into getting a job on Wall Street. The only problem? Casimir is a shifter, and Elizabeth’s problems are only just beginning.

This book had a lot of aspects that I look for in storytelling: interesting mythology, a strong female lead, and a powerful character-driven plot. Each book in the series only does a better and better job of accomplishing these.

Even though Elizabeth was my favorite character, I found that I liked all of them in a way because they felt so real.

An intriguing shifter romance for sure.

Flirting with Death is Available Now!

Out now!
Flirting with Death by Kayla Krantz
A horror shorts collection
Available for #free with Kindle Unlimited!

mybook.to/FlirtingwithdeathCI

Enter if you dare…

A woman who stays alive by killing others.

Truth or Dare on the Dark Web.

Mystery boxes filled with malevolent spirits.

A vampire who hunts to keep his human sweetheart healthy.

Monsters lurking in every shadow.

And featured story, Flirting with Death. An unlikely partnership between a serial killer and would-be victim turned accomplice.

These are stories designed to focus on the darker side of human nature.

Book Review: The Tenant From Hell

Title: The Tenant from Hell (Realtor Mystery Series #1)

Author: Kathleen Walls

Narrator: Lee Ann Howlett

Link: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Tenant-from-Hell-Audiobook/B08WHPK1TR

Summary

It’s usually just routine for Casey Clark, property manager at Peller Realty. When a tenant refuses to pay rent, just evict and move on. Not so with the tenant from Hell. He draws Casey into murder, drug rings, ghosts, Indians, and a hectic trip to Hell in Georgia.

Her worst problem of having to deal with her psychic cat Dixie not getting along with Casey’s pirate boyfriend’s parrot changes into scrambling to stay alive. 

My Review

4/5 Stars

Never have I been more terrified of the realtor career than I was in this book. What should’ve been a simple eviction of a stubborn tenant turns into a trip from Hell for realtor Casey.

Although a short book, the suspense was done in a very tasteful manner. Usually, I can guess where something is going to go, but that wasn’t the case with this book. Kept me on my toes right until the end!

Narration was well done.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Episode 29 of Man of Your Dreams is Up Now on #WebtoonCanvas!

Hey, everyone!

Episode 29 of Man of Your Dreams is now available on Webtoons.

As always, please remember to subscribe, favorite, and rate! ❤️

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/man-of-your-dreams/episode-29-ive-had-nightmares-too/viewer?title_no=506593&episode_no=56

Book Review: Good Reasons to Kill

Title: Good Reasons to Kill: An Anthology of Morality, Murder, and Madness

Author: Chris Rhyss Edwards

Narrator: James Daniel Burkdoll

Link: https://www.audible.com/pd/Good-Reasons-to-Kill-Audiobook/B08NXYTN81

Summary

What would you kill for? Is killing ever justified? Would you kill to protect someone you love? Is killing for your country an act of patriotism or murder? Is the death penalty justified or simply vengeance? Is one human life ever worth more than another?

In Good Reasons to Kill, former soldier Chris Rhyss Edwards shares stories of people from all walks of life who have chosen or been forced by circumstance to kill. Over a five-year time span, he investigated controversial subjects spanning domestic homicide, war, euthanasia, abortion, femicide, child soldiers, infanticide, state execution, terrorism, and honor killings to try and understand why we kill.

Good Reasons to Kill, the first audiobook of its kind, shares the stories of people who have confronted the biggest moral dilemma possible. At the core of each story are two questions; what would you do in the same situation, and do we ever have a good reason to kill?

My Review

4/5 Stars

A good look into the morality of killing and if there truly is a good reason to take another life. A handful of different situations were brought up, showing the stories from the killer’s eyes to make us really see some macabre situations from a viewpoint that may not match our own. Definitely an interesting read.

Narration went well with the material.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Book Review: Where Irises Never Grow

Title: Where Irises Never Grow

Author: Paulette Mahurin

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Irises-Never-Paulette-Mahurin-ebook/dp/B08P9XVY2K/

Summary

With courage, depth, and passionate insight, bestselling author Paulette Mahurin captures the horrors of the German occupation of France. Where Irises Never Grow tells the story of how one book that escaped Nazi confiscation moved through time holding a cryptic note. Unraveling its mystery brings the reader to Lyon, France. It is there war, in all its bloodstained pathos, is witnessed through the escalating cruelty of the Vichy regime. Particularly impacted is the Legrand family. Thrown into a whirlwind of turmoil they struggle to help the Resistance while maintaining deceitful relations with the government. As the Nazis move toward occupying southern France, the duplicity unravels along with all the Legrands are protecting. Their struggle is raw. Uplifting. Nothing is held back in depicting the horrors inflicted on innocent people by the corrupt tyrannical despots. But this is more than a story of war. It is a story of friendship and loyalty. Of love and sacrifices. And choices for ultimately it is a story that shines a light on the fundamental urge by decent human beings to do right by another, to stand tall no matter the risk when millions stood silent. Where Irises Never Grow will linger in the readers gut and mind long after the last page is finished.

My Review

5/5 Stars

The story introduces us to Charlotte and Victor Legrand, citizens of Lyon, as well as the famous Klaus Barbie who brings down evil and nightmares throughout the story. The contrast of perspectives in characters gives the readers different looks at what life was like for a variety of people in this time. Some were in hiding, some were tortured, and others were more than happy to do the torturing.

Filled with scenes of gut-wrenching truth, hope, suspense, and despair, Where Irises Never Grow paints a horrific picture of life in France in 1942. This is a book that puts you in the middle of the French Resistance and lets you see the best and worst that humanity has to offer. A lot of research went into the writing of this book, and it shows.

The descriptions are realistic and really point a horrific picture of what some people unfortunately went through. The torture scenes in particular were done in a way that makes it impossible not to sympathize with all the unfortunate souls who were treated to such heinous acts.

Brutal in honesty, this story doesn’t shy away from the truth and will leave you deep in thought about many aspects of mankind and society as a whole.

Book Review: Whisper Island

Title: Whisper Island

Author: Carissa Ann Lynch

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Island-absolutely-gripping-thriller-ebook/dp/B08KSNFGB5

Summary

It was the perfect escape

Until one by one they vanished…

For friends Riley, Sam, Mia and Scarlett, their trip to Whisper Island, Alaska, was meant to be a once in a lifetime adventure – just four young women, with everything to live for…

But as soon as they arrive things start to go wrong.  First there is the unexpected arrival of Sammy’s drug addict brother and his girlfriend Opal – why are they here? 

And then the deaths begin. 

As the dream trip quickly turns into a nightmare, suspicion is high.  Are they really alone on the island?  Or is there a killer hiding in the shadows? 

And as each of the girls reveals a dark secret of their own, perhaps the truth is the killer is closer than they think…just a whisper away…

My Review

5/5 Stars

When introvert Riley meets extrovert Scarlett, her world begins to change. Suddenly she has a new group of friends and a social life. When the opportunity arises for them to go off the grid and work on their art on a secluded island, no one can guess the horrors that will break out there. The truth is, you never really know who your friends are.

This was a twisty and mind-bending psychological ride from Carissa Ann Lynch. I loved how different each character was. The chapters did a bit of head hopping which made the story even more immersive by making it clear what each character was thinking without giving away the murderer until the perfect moment.

Suspense was amped up not only through the murder-mystery element, but the need the characters had for survival on a desert island as well. This story was reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel, and I love it.

All in all, chilling and tough to put down.  

Book Review: In the Room With Three Doors

Title: In the Room with Three Doors

Author: RJ Askew

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Room-Three-Doors-R-Askew-ebook-dp-B00K4BFJCY/dp/B00K4BFJCY/

Summary

Rhi is vibrant and sharp, and a little bit crazy.

Her strange ways drive people nuts, even her BFs, especially when she hurls their phones into the Thames.

But out of nowhere, fate deals her a cruel blow when her twin is killed in a cycling accident. Faced with this bitterest of lessons, she resolves to live her own life embracing enough love for both herself and her lost sister.

With her mind made up, Rhi announces to Matt and Jamie that she loves them both, and they’re leaving London – now! What can two young, love-struck men do but surrender to her mercurial mystique?

Escaping the rat-race to revive a derelict watercress farm in dreamy Hampshire, the three must learn how to become farmers, while working out how to balance their intense love triangle.

It’s what Rhi’s all about though: changing lives for the better, even that of last-of-the-lads Jake. Perhaps she will change yours, too, in some serendipitous way. You never know.

Meet Rhiannon Smith, force of nature…

My Review

5/5 Stars

When Rhi’s twin is killed, things seem dark and heavy. She is determined to make the most of her life after seeing how short it can be and admits her love to two guys, Matt and Jamie. Determined to make their situation work, they decide to move out of London and start their life over. While doing this, they’ll learn new things about each other and themselves that will change the way they think about life forever.

The biggest thing that stood out to me about this story was the raw emotion. It’s always interesting the way that tragedy can lead to something bigger, and for the characters in this story, there is a lot in store for all of them. I thought the unconventional relationship dynamic was also interesting and added a unique touch to the story.

All in all, a haunting tale of love and loss.