Book Review: The Big Sheep by: Robert Kroese I give this five out of five stars for an excellent array of characters, laugh out loud humor, the twisting tale to a hidden outcome, and the exploration of the moral dilemma’s that come with advances in our knowledge of the human genome. What I liked most:

• The characters, I can’t help it I have a thing for anything with a nod to Sherlock Holmes. I adored the antics between the eccentric savant and his well-grounded assistant. I’m happy Kroese is considering a sequel to this story. The world established in the story is well constructed and the characters can easily support many future humorous intrigues.
• Kroese’s talent for composing a narrative that incorporates a wonderful array of humor endures in The Big Sheep. My favorite laugh out loud moment includes a subject interview that was lacking Dr.Pepper and Circus Peanuts. I also enjoyed the shameless number of puns surrounding Mary, the missing 300 pound sheep. This is a great read if you prefer books that make you laugh.
• There’s some sharp insight about intellectual property and how it applies to a fictional character. The concepts of human cloning, agelessness, advanced gene therapy, and mind alteration were tangible in the world building of the story. These added a fantastic layer of creepiness as I tried to guess at the final outcome. Several aspects of the plot sucked me in and made the read hard to put down and something I was eager to pick back up.

An advanced review copy was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review of this book. You can find out more about the author Robert Kroese and his other works on his website HERE.

Something happened to me this week. It’s a change I knew was going to happen, but when it did it still left me amazed by the event. A short story I submitted last summer, for a chance at being included in an anthology, is now published. I’ve known for a few months this was going to happen, but now with the moment here, I’m  spinning with awe. I received an email from goodreads Wednesday morning notifying me that my profile is now an author’s profile. An authors profile. The originating author of the Feyland series, Anthea Sharp, lovingly reminded me to get my butt to Amazon and set up my author profile already. Authors profile, that means it happened-I have something published. I’ve been writing full time for three years. I knew this day was going to come, but here I am totally stunned and humbled by the change.

I am so excited for this release. Its an honor to share a cover with the other authors in this anthology. Each of us created standalone stories that are set in the imaginative world created by USA Today bestselling author Anthea Sharp. Feyland is an immersive, virtual reality computer game, that is actually a gateway to the very real realm of faerie.

 

You don’t need to have read the original Feyland books to understand and enjoy the stories in this anthology. Our advanced review copy readers have confirmed the read can be enjoyed without any prior reading or knowledge of Anthea Sharp’s Feyland series. However I must say, there’s a reason Feyland is a best seller. I for sure have some bias, but anyone who follows my reviews knows I’m honest in sharing my opinion. I enjoyed each of the Feyland books. They have solid characters and each one expands the fascinating world that is part fantasy and part science fiction. The first book and Novella can be read for free, and are out on Amazon HERE.

This is the first Chronicle Worlds release by curator Samuel Peralta, owner and genius behind the best selling anthology series the Future Chronicles. A series, which has fourteen titles with several that have hit the overall Amazon Top 10 Bestsellers list. The Chronicle Worlds is a line of anthologies charting new territories of a shared universe, within already-existing worlds.

The special 99c ebook launch price is still going on, you can pick up a copy HERE. We are excited by all of the early reviews and looking forward to the upcoming launch of the paperback version of Chronicle Worlds: Feyland the weekend of July 15th. You can join our virtual Facebook book launch party HERE.

Book Review: The Fire Mages Daughter (A Part of the Brightmoon Annals) by: Pauline M. Ross

I give this book three out of five stars for being an entertaining read with competing magic systems and atypical representations of women in power and leadership positions.

What I like about the book:

1) Ross has a consistent style with ideas that construct vivid cultures, magic, and fantastical societies. I can count on this author for breathing new life into old ideas or showcasing things new and different ways.

2) This is a strong feminist piece, yet I don’t think the author intends it to be such. The heroine, the mentor, the primary antagonist, and two of the largest supporting characters are women. Basically the coolest characters in this book are women, and men comprise roles which women are more commonly cast.

What I think could have been done better:

1) EMOTION, where is it? The book is written from a first person point of view, but most of the time it feels like reading something third person. The ideas and magic in Ross’s books are so vivid yet something is consistently is missing: emotion. The characters withhold how the action in the story impacts them and most major feelings are not conveyed well to the reader. In general I only found out a character was distraught when the character said they were crying. If the reader could be in tune with the characters emotions more this book would be a five star home run.