Winners of MBS Feed Your Reader Hop!

I can't get the layout to open to note the winners at the top of the blog so I am doing a Winners post here.

Congratulations to the Winners of MBS Feed Your Reader Hop!
Winners get two eBooks totaling value $15.00 each winner

Winners:

Jessica B

Christine

(isabelli3619)

Jessica and Christine please pick one book from books I have read/reviewed 2009 - 2012  (there is a link on the right sidebar if the link gives trouble). There are lots of great choices.  A second, or more, books can be winner's choice.

Please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads AT gmail.com to confirm the win and I will send the books.  Please reply within 72 hours!
Thank you to all who entered - I will be picking a surprise winner or two after I get back to town next week.

Book Review and Giveaway: He Of The Fiery Sword by Skyhe Moncrief

This story is fun and different.

He Of The Fiery Sword

by Skhye Moncrief

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press (December 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601541090
• ISBN-13: 978-1601541093

Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 2007

He, Arthur, is a reflection of luck, an abomination. He can feel the love, the pain, the sorrow, and the joy of all the ages. If he doesn't save the Druid he is sent to find, all known history could change. Some things are worth dying for. But first a man must live. Arthur didn't count on becoming human. And now the fairies want him to break dragon law... He never expected his charge to push him to the edge of reason. But a man must live before becoming king. Fear not. The fairies have a plan. Trust not the fairies. Druids wed one soul for eternity to protect the integrity of the timeline. Druid Solas's soul mate was taken from her. Now, an 11th Century Irish bishop stalks her to serve as his mistress. She has nothing left yet everything to live for in creating the historical maps she was sent through time to make. She will break time-travel Code if she submits to another man by allowing even one paradoxical child to muddy history. Then Arthur arrives to save her. He is anything but a time guardian. And a fairy tells her to help him. To ignore a god's instruction could prove detrimental. Yet, every time guardian knows believing the Gods is wielding a double-edged sword. Since it is forbidden for Druids to wield weapons, her future relies on He of the Fiery Sword. King Arthur is born.

Review:

This was an usual fantasy read. The protagonist is a dragon who is a Judge of the time guardian druids. He is the last of his kind as his sisters have gone into time and not returned. Faced with years alone he decides that he too will tumble through the time gate and take his chances.

Arthur the dragon awakens as Arthur a man in 11th Century Ireland. A wild pixie gives Arthur a Fiery Sword and sends him on a mission to rescue Solas, a Druid who is stuck in this time.  She is lonely having lost her soul mate and she is in danger as a bishop seeks to capture her to be his mistress.  She has taken care to protect maps she has drawn of the area to take back in time with her.

Arthur has no idea how to live as a man. He doesn’t kill either man or beast as that is against his code.  The fiery sword has no such limits and will strike as necessary not realizing the pain it will bring the human.  Arthur manages to rescue Solas but he has no idea how to take care of her, even failing to recognize the need to feed his own body.  As pixies and fairies try to help, a certain fey tricks them along their way to a time portal.  They must risk using what was thought to be a closed portal having no idea where in the world or time they will land.

The story has several twists that make it fun.  The reading is a little difficult as Ms. Moncrief seems to have tried to write in an ancient dialect or perhaps a druid or dragon tone. It is a bit awkward to get used to but once you accept that, it is fine, although this kept it from being a fast read.  It is fun to see the trouble Arthur has adjusting from a dragon to a man.  There is action, magic and romance.  If you like fantasy and a different story you might like to give this a try.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur trying to guess what trick Moran had in store for them:

Anyone well versed in fey antics could guarantee the Gods would serve up interesting entertainment to grace their meals. Unfortunately, the weaker humans played the roles of hero, villain, maiden and saint. An unwise observer would leave out the starring role of fool.  Page 75.

This book is from my Won Books TBR.

I will add this to my New Author Challenge list, Won Book Challenge List and TBR Challenge Lists.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for my Print Copy
ENTRY FORM HERE

For 3 Extra Bonus Visit the author's website and tell me something you find of interest.

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on September 7, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on September 8, 2012.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.   

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway August 31, 2012

[** If you are new to Friday Pick Giveaway - Welcome!  Scroll down a bit (below book group #19) for instructions on how to enter.] 

Hello to all from beautiful Alaska!  Thursday we went up Tracy Arm Fjord and the mountains were beautiful on a fabulous, sunny day.  Today we will be visiting Skagway, Alaska. We will take a train trip up White Pass & Yukon Route learning about the 1898 building of the railroad and the Klondike Gold Rush.  I don’t think I can load any pictures yet as they take too long on the slower internet access so pics will have to wait until next week.

Check out the new picture and book list below.  I will not be able to link them until I return to full internet use.

Thank you to all who entered the August 25 Pick.  Sorry there were no automatic winners this week because of blocks last week and this  (those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks).  Several books were blocked this week - and one, Virtue, was won.

CONGRATULATIONS

to Random.org picked Winners from August 25 Pick:

Louisa chose Virtue
and

Natasha gets a GC

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual or sexy and I have a new supply of sweet bookmarks.

Maybe we can look into some "Good Alaska Books." :-)

Image found at Alaska 101

New Book Group #31 August 31, 2012
I pulled some more books from several of my boxes.

In the Presence of Enemies by William J. Coughlin
Shattered by Dick Francis
Shadow Fires by Dean Koontz
Hard News by Jeffrey Deavers
Palindrome by Stuart Woods (spine creases)
Afterimage by Jay Brandon
Tall, Dark and Cajun by Sandra Hill
Hot Streak by Susan Johnson
When Lightning Strikes Twice by Barbara Boswell
Ice Blue by Anne Stuart
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
Thunder Creek by Jill Gregory
His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls
The Body They May Kill by Stallsmith
Beautiful Dreamer by Elizabeth Lowell
Summer Light by Luanne Rice

New Book Group #30 July 27, 2012
This time I pulled some books from one of my older boxes.
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

Dead Ringer by Lisa Scottline

The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)

Threads of Destiny by Arnette Lamb

A Dangerous Devotion by Barbara Kyle

Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts (some spine wear)

{An Independent Woman by Candace Camp} Shipping cost TBD

Wolf Mountain Moon by Terry C. Johnston

Wild Escapade by Lisa Bingham

Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander

Virtue by Jane Feather

Don't Bargain with The Devil by Sabrina Jeffries

Mistress by Amanda Quick - Audio Cassettes

*Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown

*The Contrary Corinthian by Emily Hendrickson (spine wear)

*There Was a Little Boy by Claire Rainwater Jacobs

*On Thin Ice by Linda Hall

New Book Group #29 June 29, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

 

Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology

The Promise by Kasey Michaels

Winning Ways by Barbara Boswell

Tomorrow's Promise by Sandra Brown

Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard

Death's Door by Meryl Sawyer

Life Support by Tess Gerristen Audio Cassettes

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

Exit to Eden by Anne Rice

While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark

Gifts from the Heart by Jillian Hart

*Simon Said by Sarah R. Shaber

*One is the Lonliest Number - Tom Clancey's Net Force

*Edwin of the Iron Shoes by Marcia Mueller

*Covert Pursuit by Terri Reed

*Close to Home by Carolyne Aarsen

New Book Group #28 May 18, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books suitable for international

Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts

Game Over by Fern Michaels

Forever Victoria by Dorothy Garlock

Sleeping Alone by Barbara Bretton

Gentle From the Night Meagan McKinney (spine creased)

In Too Deep by Tina Wainscott

Wildflower by Jill Marie Landis

*Love and Other Four Letter Words by Caroline Mackler

*The Carousel by Rosamund Pilcher

*Shades of Grace by Barbara Delinsky (audio tapes)

The Heart of Justice by William L. Coughlin

Cross Country by James Patterson

New book Group #27 April 13, 2012
Some of the books on the right end are smaller and suitable for overseas mailing. :-)

Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris (spine damage)

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Midnight Hour by Debra Dixon

September Morning by Diana Palmer

Beneath the Surface by Annie White (slight spine wear)

*The Dream Horse by Virginia Campbell Scott

*Summer's Belle by Paige Winship Dooly

New book Group #26 March 2, 2012--- (All gone)
These are Paired sets - two per author.
Four are parts of series the others are just singles by the same author.
Winners get both books if you pick these.


New Group #25 January 12, 2012

*Smaller books on the right would be okay for most international mailing.

Leopards Kill by Jim DeFelice

Category 7 by Bill Evans and Marianna Jameson

Hell's Belle by Jane Holleman

*Shadow Rider: Apache Sundown by Jory Sherman

New Group #24 Pick Books November 25, 2011---(All gone)
(The only Thanksgiving title I found is a Harlequin I'd like to read someday so no Thanksgiving titles for November.)


New Group #23 Pick Books October 14, 2011
I tried to pick some books that would be good for October -
Halloween or dark minded.

Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser

Emily's Good Nightmare by Cosmic Debris Cosmic

New Group #22 Pick Books September 2, 2011


New Group #21 of Pick Books July 29, 2011

There are eight mysteries and I have asterisked nine books that are smaller and would be good for oversea choices if so desired.

Mallory's Oracle (Kathleen Mallory Novels) by Carol O'Connell

Stand by Me Anthology with Dallas Schulze, Roberta Leigh and Linda Randall Wisdom (spine creased)

May, 2011 New Group of Pick books

Group #20

Singles

Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins - Audio Cassettes

3/25/11 I did get to set up a new group of books:

Group #19

Singles

Primary Colors - audio tapes

Note of Peril (black strip on cover)

2/19/11 Book Group #18- Pairs!---(All gone)

Not all of these are two from a series but several are. Each pick gets two books.

I have finally updated the intro and Entry paragraphs here:

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways. 

I started Friday Pick in November 27, 2009 and in two years I  posted 26 groups of 16 books to find new homes! (March 2012)

I have periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want! I am happy to say that so far about 405 books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed.

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $5.00 and $6.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 10:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up past midnight to do the winner post!
I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.
Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks.

WINNERS PLEASE CHECK THE WIN POST ON FRIDAYS AND fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads@gmail.com. [I will confirm receipt of the addresses- well I realize I haven't always done this. But if you filled out the form and don't get the book within two weeks nudge me with an email please!] If I have the winners e-mail I will send a reminder in a week or so....

Thanks for helping these books find new homes!!

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

1/14/11 New List
#17
Moonfire by Judith Redman Robbins

12/3/10 Book Set:

#16

Sleight of Hand by Robin Hathaway

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

List #15---(All gone)

List #14---(All gone)

Here is set #13 of Used books!

Pearl Beyond Price by Claire Delacroix

This is a group of books I have had for several years but not gotten to read. Since it doesn't look like I will get to read them for another year (or more!) I am passing them on. Although as I type them part of me still says "But you may want to read that some day!" Yes, yes; along with the other 700 books I am housing! Must Let goooooo.....

Group #12---(All gone)

Group #11

Cat's Eyewitness by Rita Mae Brown

Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher

Looking Back by Belva Plain

The Ring on Her Finger by Elizabeth Bevarly

List #1
Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo

Pick #2

The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross

Pick #3---(All gone)

Pick #4

Talking God by Tony Kellerman

Everything to Gain by Barbara Taylor Bradford

The Sixth Sense

The Shadow by Shelley Munro (PA)

Pick #5

See Jane Lead by Lois P. Frankel

Misfortune by Nancy Geary

Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein - Audio Tapes

Pick #6---(All gone)

Pick #7

Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape

Princess Charming by Jane Heller (slightly creased)

Pick #8

(sc) = slightly creased on binding otherwise all in good shape

The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes

No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson - Audio Tapes

Pick #9

On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray

Guardian by Dee Henderson - Audio Tapes

Time to Hunt by Stephen Hunter - Audio Tapes

Pick #10

The Third Twin by Ken Follett (spine creased)

Interview and Giveaway with ML Buchman, Author of I Own the Dawn

Please help me welcome ML Buchman, author of I Own the Dawn.

Comment from Martha: I really like The Night is Mine and was glad to snag I Own the Dawn to review as well. I am so impressed by the energy and intensity of your romance suspense titles.

Reply from Matt: Thanks so much! I’m certainly having a good time doing it as well.

1. I love series and I like to this question:  When you do a series do you have each book plotted out before you start the first one or do the subsequent books flow from the first book?

MB: Each book is built on its own. I have a theme of what connects them, sort of a forward vision but always glad to be diverted by chance and possibility. For example, I know the first installment in this series is four books long because I chose a helicopter that has four seats and I’m filling them with women one-by-one; one helicopter, one crew, four seats, four love stories. And to sell the series, I did have a brief synopsis of each heroine and hero. But could I have predicted Dilya in I Own the Dawn or the sad story of “villains” before I wrote it? No.

2. I noted on your blog that you were pulled into romance by a 1996 visit to a RWA national conference.  How does writing a romance compare with writing science fiction? What are the main differences, and what do these forms of writing have in common?

MB: Great question. I’ve always had a love story in all my books, “novel with romantic elements” as they’re called. So once I discovered romances I thought, “No worries. I’ll just shift the focus to the love story and have a romance.” So not! In my science fiction and my thrillers it is the on-going plot that sustains the story. Yes, my characters grow and change and are shaped by the challenges they face. (In many books in these two genres, the character change is miniscule. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, great thriller reading, but the character is the same guy beginning to end of the book.)

Anyway, I had to write (and discard) several romances before I learned the ins and outs of creating a romance. A story that is based on: no question who the love interests are, who are intensely drawn together from the first pages, and who, with minimal need for the reader to suspend their sense of disbelief, just can’t get together for 3-400 pages. In the romances I enjoy reading and writing, mere plot is not enough to keep them apart. In my SF/F and thrillers, I need to understand what could make them fall in love and let them travel that road. To write a romance I find I must dig deeper into the character and really understand what makes the character the way they are about being in love, both for and against. It’s immense fun.

3. Have you had to do any unique research or what was one of the most surprising things you learned in researching for any of the Night Stalker series?

MB: I researched this intensely. I wanted to be as authentic as I could which sent me exploring in many directions. A couple of things stand out.
a) Going to Heckler & Kock’s on-line forum and asking about how to best use a sniper rifle against (well, that would be telling), and the amount of derision in addition to the help I received.

b) Standing in a gun shop asking really naïve questions of a gun shop owner packing two pistols in a shoulder harness, one at the small of his back and probably more elsewhere. All the while with his newborn girl cradled in his arms.

c) Spending a couple of hours with a woman who flew a double-tour on a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq as crew chief. What she cared about was not what I expected. She signed up for the country, but flew for the people beside her. Her reentry into society was a rude shock in the simplest ways. For years, every meal had been taken care of, there were no electric bills, no question of rent. But most of all, for her and I came to understand for others as I read more and more about soldiers and especially about special forces teams, it was about the people they were with first and foremost.

4. What most inspires your plots?

MB: My sense of justice or injustice. Those who twist humanity into inhumanity creates many of my plots. And my characters are the ones to will fight against that until their very last breath.

5. Is there a particular character you’ve had the most fun with while writing the Night Stalker series?

MB: Dilya. Her insights are her own. She was an accidental character who was supposed to visit for one scene and then refused to leave. It allows her to speak truth in the oddest ways. I love writing the men and women, but she was a complete surprise.

6. If you could have a theme song for the Night Stalkers, what would it be? And/or do you have a dream cast for your books?

MB: Ha! I don’t have a song for my Night Stalkers. They fly in silence, but “We Will Rock You” might not be a bad one. They fly from a place of immense power. My books are all cast, that’s how I see them when I’m writing. I’ll change and shuffle and combine features of several, but I need to see them.

The Night is Mine starring Uma Thurman as Captain Emily Beale and a young Aidan Quinn as Major Mark Henderson.

I Own the Dawn starring a composite of several but mostly Roxanne Dawson (engineer on Star Trek: Voyager) and Jenette Goldstein (the tough gunner-babe in Aliens) as Kee Smith and Jude Law as Lieutenant Archibald “Archie” Stevenson III.

Wait Until Dark… but that would be telling.

7. Where is your writing headed? Sci Fi, Fantasy, Suspense or more Romantic Suspense?

MB: Yes! My wife and I made a list while out walking a few days ago. There are 14 books that I could write right now. More in the Night Stalkers series. A spin-off tale that appears in book 4. I have a contemporary romance series started (Where Dreams are Born is out, book 2 by spring). I have a silly fantasy series of 3-4 that I’m dying to get to. And then, sigh, we thought up a new romance series based on a Tuscan B&B that I’m just dying to start. Being a writer is never having to say you’re bored. :-)

I see that you wrote a guest post about being male and writing romance so I’ll refer readers to this link for those comments: http://goodbadandunread.com/2012/08/16/guest-blog-you-write-what-by-m-l-buchman/

Thank you so much for delivering awesome action and romance packed suspense stories. (I will probably pick up one of your apocalyptic stories before the year is out.)  And thank you for sharing your thoughts with readers. 

Thanks to you for some great questions!

I OWN THE DAWN BY M.L. BUCHMAN – IN STORES AUGUST 2012

Name: Archibald Jeffrey Stevenson III

Rank: First Lieutenant, Dap Hawk Copilot

Mission: Strategy and execution of special ops maneuvers

Name: Kee Smith

Rank: Sergeant, Night Stalker Gunner and Sharpshooter

Mission: Whatever it takes to get the job done

You Wouldn't Think It Could Get Worse, Until It Does...

When a special mission slowly unravels, it is up to Kee and Archie to get their team out of an impossible situation with international implications. With her weaponry knowledge and his strategic thinking, plus the explosive attraction that puts them into exact synchrony, together they might just have a fighting chance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M. L. Buchman has worked in fast food, theater, computers, publishing, and light manufacturing. It's amazing what you can do with a degree in geophysics. At one point he sold everything and spent 18-months riding a bicycle around the world. In 11,000 miles, he touched 15 countries and hundreds of amazing people. Since then, he has acquired a loving lady, the coolest kid on the planet, and lives in Portland, Oregon. For more information, please visit http://www.matthewlieberbuchman.com/.

Be sure to check the Contest page for a chance to win a free, signed copy of I Own the Dawn.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for allowing me to host a giveaway here to!
TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for Print Copy from Sourcebooks:

ENTER HERE

For 3 Extra Bonus entries: Visit the author's website and tell me something you find of interest.
For 3 Extra Bonus entries: Comment on this Interview
For 2 Extra Bonus entries: Comment on my review.

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on September 7, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on September 8, 2012.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.   

Book Review: I Own the Dawn: The Night Stalkers by M.L. Buchman

This is a full action, high intensity read with great details! 

I Own the Dawn: The Night Stalkers

by M.L. Buchman

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 1, 2012) 
• Language: English 
• ISBN-10: 1402258135 
• ISBN-13: 978-1402258138

Genre: Military, Romantic Suspense

My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2012

Name: Archibald Jeffrey Stevenson III

Rank: First Lieutenant, Dap Hawk Copilot

Mission: Strategy and execution of special ops maneuvers

Name: Kee Smith

Rank: Sergeant, Night Stalker Gunner and Sharpshooter

Mission: Whatever it takes to get the job done

You Wouldn't Think It Could Get Worse, Until It Does...

When a special mission slowly unravels, it is up to Kee and Archie to get their team out of an impossible situation with international implications. With her weaponry knowledge and his strategic thinking, plus the explosive attraction that puts them into exact synchrony, together they might just have a fighting chance.

Review: 

Kee Smith is a female “warrior”.  She was a street orphan and trouble landed her in the Army where she found a ‘home.’ She tested and scrambled her way to the top level of warriors as a sharpshooter so that she could get assigned to the elite Special Operations Aviation Regiment division, SOAR, and specifically to the Night Stalkers. 

Kee comes to the camp with a hostile attitude. She has always had to prove herself and she is inclined to believe that even the ‘legendary’ Major Emily Beale, with her FBI father, was handed her position. Kee soon learns that each member of the SOAR team, including Beale, clearly earned their wings and respect.

Archie is a chopper piolet and an amazing tactician, strategist, with SOAR. He has flown with Beale since they became friends at West Point. He comes from a family of influence with a father who builds boats and a CEO mother who has learned to navigate the political and financial world of alliances and trade groups.

On an early protective run the team picks up an eleven-year-old girl hidden in the rocks.  She has clearly been walking a long time, alone and scavenging to stay alive. Kee takes her under her wing before she even realizes she has chosen to protect the girl. Kee makes Dilyana feel safe while Archie brings her calm and smiles.

The street smart Kee and 'Professor' Archie may not seem a likely pair but they are pulled together by their mutual attraction. They take vacation with Dily in tow and Archie’s parents showing up unexpectedly putting Kee into an emotional quandary she is unaccustomed to.

Kee struggles with her mixed feelings and fear of closeness as they are called back to base for a secret flight. Although they experience misunderstandings and mis-communication, soon they have to learn to trust each other to complete a near impossible, full risk mission. They are the last chance to prevent a terrorist event that could trigger a major war.

This book has great action, a plausible plot and amazing detail. Mr. Buchman’s descriptions put you in the midst of the action.  Even in the middle when the scenes are personal there is great emotional investment that keeps the reader’s attention moving forward.

I was very impressed with the detail of the military setting and tactics as well as the political complexities that would be effected by the terrorist act. If you like romantic suspense with full on action, impressive detail and intense emotions this is an author and a series you need to read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kee thinks of Dilyana seeing her parents killed up close and recalls this vivid imagery:

The more you heard, the better your imitations. You learned to break it down. The timbre of the initial snap, the shriek of the whistle while it passed within a couple of inches, the Doppler drop-off as it moved on. And that dreadful wait, hoping it hit rock or dirt with a sharp slap rather than turning into a silent moment and then the cry of the gut-shot guy who was supposed to have your backside. Page 97.

Kee’s life is changing due to a child and a man:

Faced the world in her own way at her own pace. And the Kee Smith she knew only had one pace. Full thrust.
Now an eleven-year-old girl braided her hair and a SOAR officer held her hands and spoke of dreams.
She tried to breathe past the tightness in her chest. P285.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing the book to review and for allowing me to host a Giveaway.See the next post, the author interview, for the Giveaway.

Book Review and Kindle Giveaway Link: Equilibrium (The Samsara Chronicles Book 14)

The concluding book of this series is satisfactorily engaging with a successful  rescue and mystical preparation for a new adventure.

Equilibrium (The Samsara Chronicles Book 14) 
by Diana Kemp and Gabriella Bradley 

• File Size: 197 KB
• Print Length: 120 pages 
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited 
• Publisher: eXtasy Books (May 25, 2012) 
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 
• Language: English 
• ASIN: B0086FQQB8

Genre:  Science Fiction
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2012

Aislinn and Dylan are held captive by the Klatrians. Vark wants the skull and vows nothing will stop him from gaining its power.

The royal pair’s next journey is to go back to Earth and help the Earthlings restore their planet. But now, the safety of two worlds hangs in the balance. Can they come up with a plan to escape?

Review:
This series finale begins with Aislinn and Dylan arriving on Klatria to exchange themselves for her royal parents. Aislinn refuses  to yield the power of the skull for Vark, but she does display her powers to shield Dylan from an attack by one of the monstrous throworts. The Klatrian world continues to disintegrate while the rebellion makes final plans with Aislinn for escape from the dying world.

Meanwhile Samara and Bonerus have returned safely to the Nirvana capitol city amid celebration. There they reveal to the earth survivors where they are and how they came to be on Nirvana. Many are happy to be alive and have a chance at a future but there are also those who grumble and complain about the lose of loved ones left behind on earth.

Aislinn and Dylan, with the help of Anelda and Rodorus, succeed in rescuing a small group of Klatrians. There are some surprises in the rescue before they are safely brought to Nirvana where they will be given a chance to stay or to go with the teams that will return to rebuild earth.

Aislinn returns to the Crystal Cave a couple more times to further test her powers and resolve, as well as to prepare for the return to Earth. The beauty of the caves contrasts with the destruction of Earth and the Klatrian world. Aislinn experiences interesting encounters with the spheres, the Antiquitas and even the first one, Alaya. Aislinn grows in understanding and she and Dylan are finally ready to lead the teams to face the next adventure of returning to Earth.

I particularly liked the scenes in Klatria as the ‘good’ Klatrians help Aislinn with the rescue. Included in the survivors are the children who represent the future for their race.

Aislinn’s last two visits to the Crystal Cave are interesting even though fanciful and strange. Aislinn must decide if she will embrace her true destiny or take another path in her life. It is clear that Aislinn has been gifted with special powers and I questioned why she was the only one who shared in the special beauty of the secrets. It would have been nice if other innocents or good souls got to share some of those blessings.

The authors seem to be sharing a message of goodness and hope. But, as the story points out,  people have to decide if they will choose a live of evil or a future with hardship and joy.

This has been an engaging series.  It was unusual to have the episodes in 14 separate books instead of grouped together in format such as a trilogy.  Ultimately the pricing would be about the same and I think the flow might have been easier in groups. Since the successive books do not contain much backstory, I was glad I read all of the series over successive weeks so that the plot was always fresh in my mind. I recommend this for readers who enjoy a good fantasy, with conflict of evil and good, and some mysticism woven in. I also recommend that you get the full series and read them without a long delay.

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Bonerus reassures Samara that there are Klatrians who are working in secret to escape Vark’s dark dominion.

“....Even in the face of the most horrendous adversity, goodness manages to survive.” Location 91.

Thank you to the authors for providing the entire series for review as part of a Pump Up Your Book Tour event with Kindle Giveaway link.

~ ~ ~ KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~

Pump Up Your Book and The Samsara Chronicles are teaming up to give you a chance to win a Kindle Fire!

Here’s how it works:

Each person will enter this giveaway by liking, following, subscribing and tweeting about this giveaway through the Rafflecopter form placed on blogs throughout the tour.  If your blog isn’t set up to accept the form, we offer another way for you to participate by having people comment on your blog then directing them to where they can fill out the form to gain more entries. This Kindle Fire promotion will run from June 1 – August 31. Winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on September 1, 2012. Each blogger who participates in The Samsara Chronicles virtual book tour is eligible to enter and win. Visit each blog stop below to gain more entries as the Rafflecopter widget will be placed on each blog for the duration of the tour. If you would like to participate, email Dorothy at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com. Last day to sign up is July 27. What a great way to not only win this fabulous prize, but to gain followers and comments too! Good luck everyone!

Click on the graphic below to find out how you can win!

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~ ~ ~WIN $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE ~ ~ ~

One lucky person who comments the most on The Samsara Chronicles’ blog stops will receive a $50 gift certificate. The blog host who receives the most comments through the tour will also receive a $50 gift certificate!