Keeping up with so many amazing new releases produced by independent authors is an incredibly challenging task. They're coming out faster than I can review. So I've decided to add a splashy new feature to the blog: Thrilling Indie Authors. It's great way to let readers know about more than just one book at a time.
This month I'd like to introduce readers to Caron Rider, author of Silver Knight. Her Young Adult novel is a very promising beginning to an exciting new series, The Silver Series. It combines reincarnation, history, and battling evil with a touch of romance in a highly original tale. Her second book, Silver Demon is scheduled for release this summer.
To get started, here's a description of Silver Knight:
A Struggle Against Evil-Love Through the Ages-A Destiny to Fulfill
When seventeen-year-old Diana recognizes an elderly priest in a video on YouTube, she realizes that reincarnation is real and that she's been alive before! Every night in her dreams, she views her past lives learning that it's kill or be killed.
Now a bishop at the Vatican whom she saved in another life calls on her once more. She is needed to help defeat an infestation of demons living within the catacombs of Rome. But when she arrives in Rome, she meets Alexander - the man of her dreams! Through the centuries she has loved him...betrayed him...been killed by him. Will she give him another chance or this time will she strike first?
Silver Knight takes you on an adventure where demons and heroes from the past blend with history, action, and just a hint of romance.
*****
5 Star Review:
"All I could think once I started reading this book was WOW! My only warning is that once you start reading this story you are not going to be able to put it down!" -Readers Favorite (Read more at: http://readersfavorite.com/review/5699)
I recently picked this novel up at Amazon and was immediately impressed by how well written it is. I was drawn in right away; it's quite the page turner.
So that other readers can discover just how skilled this author is, I've added the author's profile and some very useful links:
Caron Rider's Bio:
I began teaching adults to use computer software, hardware, and networking back in the 1990s. After several years, my clients became younger and younger until I found myself tutoring high school dropouts to pass the GED. I found working with at-risk teenagers so rewarding that I changed her undergraduate major to Education.
Upon graduating from the University of South Alabama with a B.S., I began teaching high school history and I continue to teach history classes online. I now live in rural Missouri with my two kids, two dogs, two cats, and father.
Some useful links:
Shooting Stars by Leslie Hodgson
****
Shooting Stars was a pleasant surprise. I found the creativity behind the story to be a wonderful change from the more common selection of supernatural beings and creatures in some of the YA/MG literature I've read.
As the title suggests, this is an exciting adventure that takes place in the stars. It begins with Stella, a teenage girl, awakening at the scene of a car crash involving her parents and brother. She is confused an doesn't know what is going on. At first I thought that the story would be told from this girl's point of view, but as the story progresses, the reader is treated to different perspectives from several different characters. That too was a nice change from a lot of my recent reading material.
The idea that Stella and Isaac (the main characters) aren't your average teens raised in moderate seclusion on a mountaintop but are really descendants from humans with extraordinary abilities doesn't seem that original at first. That is until the reader discovers just what those abilities are and where in the universe they come from. One of those abilities was delightful to read about. After all, who wouldn't want want to be able to travel through space in a stream of atoms that looks just like a shooting star?
It really was an exciting tale and I can see it appealing to many middle graders and their parents. It has a good story, an evil tyrant with his minions, and constellation creatures. What more can the reader ask for? The main characters, Stella and Isaac, were quite innocent for teens but that makes sense within the framework of the story. In fact I thought it was refreshing. I strongly recommend it.
AMAZON LINK:
Shooting Stars
*****
I had better start with stating that I'm giving it five stars right away. It was quite a suspense filled Sci-Fi YA Adventure. I can see it becoming a bestseller very quickly. I hope it does.
In The Annihilation of Foreverland, the author has created a very scary alternative reality scenario that hints at plausibility in the future. He combines it with a fast pace and plenty of action. In fact, it reminded me of those dystopian teen worlds spawned by the minds of James Dashner and Neal Shusterman - although the author Tony Bertauski clearly has his own style. (Plus he stuck his characters on a luxury tropical island. Go figure.)
That said, this one really threw me for a loop when I started it. The beginning reads like every parent's worst nightmare. Thirteen year old Danny Boy wakes up in hospital-like room with an old man at his side. He doesn't know the old man and has no memories of his own. He discovers he's on an island populated by boys and old men. The boys belong to 'camps' that compete with each other and gain privileges by winning computer games (essentially). It's more than a bit creepy. I will admit I was worried at first, but as other characters show up (I'm not including the old men) and different points of view are introduced the readers gets carried away by the story.
I really enjoyed the author's focus on the plot and action. It should appeal to 'guy' readers without being just a 'guy's' read.
The story is well thought out and without giving too much away - there were a couple of nice surprises that happened to some of the characters. It was a pleasant change from the relentless stream of nasty that happens in some of these Sci-Fi stories.
Technically, I would rate it just shy of five stars because there were a few editorial slip ups that I found a little irksome - but not enough to really take away from the story. It happens in e-books sometimes.
Highly recommended.
My rating ****
Amazon Link
I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. The descriptive blurb is very accurate. I Am Become Death really is very Anime/Manga inspired even though it's a novel. The similarity between the two jumped out at me immediately because not only are my children YA readers, but they're fans of Anime (and one of them a Manga fan too), so I've become familiar with it myself.
In the story the protagonists Chikara, Renka and Gen, as well as the antagonists Michiko, Yukiko, Kaijin(and later ones) really did remind me of Anime characters. Of course this is only a slight comparison because the characters were more developed in the novel. But the similarities to Japanese animation didn't end there. Just as a reader familiar with Anime would expect, there are plenty of spontaneous sparring events throughout the story, a budding romance between the shy girl and the good looking boy, dark secrets held by many characters, supernatural powers tied in with different religious beliefs and even a few surprises from the past just kind of thrown at you. But as a reader, I have to say it all worked together quite well. The action scenes were very exciting and there was a good deal of suspense injected to keep me reading.
I should also mention that the author did present a fair bit of information about Japanese culture and history in the story as well as different political points of view. I thought it was handled well but I can see how some of those passages might drag a bit for some readers (but definitely not all). However, it's still a great first book in the series. I look forward to the next one.
Savannah Jade - Sandra Cimadori (YA)
*****
I found this to be a wonderful YA read that made a nice change from the paranormal romances that have recently enjoyed such popularity. While it's not a thriller - it's a very satisfying story that follows a young woman - Savannah Jade - as she struggles with the death of her mother, life in high school, personal relationships and taking care of her family. Faced with incredibly difficult circumstances, the heroine rises to challenges, makes mistakes, and matures over the course of a school year (and beyond). In fact all of the characters are so well developed they could almost step off the pages. I even found eerie similarities to real young people I know.
Although the novel was written with older teens in mind, I believe it has plenty to offer parents and an older audience in general. I feel the author has dealt with several issues facing young people today very skillfully.
It also has one of the best opening lines I've read in quite a while. From there, the story unfolds beautifully. It's very well written yet keeps true to the target older teen audience.
Five stars. I can't believe it's only $0.99 on Amazon. It should be more.
Sundered - A Zombie-ish Apocalypse (Book 1) by Shannon Mayer (Zombies, Horror, Romance)
****
There's always time in my reading schedule for a zombie apocalypse it seems. Although to be honest - it is more of a zombie-ish apocalypse as the sub title reads. However, it was still quite entertaining. I'm always surprised when an author can pull off zombies and romance in the same novel - particularly if it involves the zombies in any way. (Of course these aren't undead rotting zombies - but they are still very frightening, hideous cannibals). The other nice change was that the novel begins with the romance already in place - a young twenty something couple trying to have a baby. What should have been a simple trip to the doctor's office for a shot of the latest miracle drug to remedy their infertility problem (as well as a host of other disorders)... Well let's just say... Leave it up to a pharmaceutical company to change all that and bring about the end of the world.
What really stood out for me about the novel was the likeability of the characters. They came across as realistic for a displaced city couple trying to make it in the country. For the most part, the writing was smooth. Although it was shorter than what I normally like to read. Nice cliffhanger at the end. Just be prepared - there's also an excerpt from the next novel/novella included at the end to appease all those readers who hate cliffhangers. All in all I give it four stars.
The Saints Go Dying - Erik Hanberg (Mystery, Detective Thriller)
****
A very interesting detective/ serial killer suspense. In the story, Detective Beautyman must track a serial killer that targets very selfless do-gooding people referred to as modern day saints. The beginning was great and easily got me hooked. However, as the story moved a long - I found I got a little confused in places and - maybe it was just me but - it felt like there were a few surprises just thrown in all of a sudden. The hacker ability of the detective for example. Like I said - it might just be me. It was still a pretty good story. I would give it three and a half stars - but halves don't show up so it gets a four with rounding.
