Audible Book Review: Swing Shift by William D. Arand

This is a fun paranormal crime thriller.
Swing Shift
By: William D. Arand
Narrated by: Andrea Parsneau

Series: Swing Shift, Book 1
Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
Release date: 07-09-19
Publisher: William D. Arand
Genre: Crime Thriller, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
Reports to write, forms to fill, coffee to drink, leads to run down.
Gus’s life was a tedium and boredom he’d grown comfortable with. One that he sought out after he’d come back from his tour of duty.
A detective in the paranormal investigations department. A job he could work day in and day out in relative peace. One cold and forgotten cup of coffee at a time.
It was an environment that made some sense to him. At least in comparison to civilian life where almost nothing did. On top of that, it gave him a chance to hide what he was from the rest of the world.
An apex predator that made the entirety of the paranormal world fear him. His very species was often killed as soon as they were found out.
By government and citizen alike.
He’s a Boogieman.
A name that made humans laugh, and vampires curse. It was a strange life to be sure.
Now though, Gus’s stable non-life is about to be kicked over. Whether he likes it or not, he’s about to be handed a case that’s going to mess up his already screwed up life.
©2019 William D. Arand (P)2019 William D. Arand

Review:
Gus is a unique character...after all there are very few Boogiemen left in the world since they tend to stir up hate when they are exposed. Gus works the swing shift – the day shift for the paranormal – and waits for something to happen between cold cups of coffee. Normally things are quiet but then he gets called out to a crime scene where a Troll has lost his enchanted mask (masks hide the paranormal from human sight). Worse, the Troll has gone berserk. This is alarming particularly since an attractive human detective, Vanessa, has tagged along. That problem will be solved when she gets her mind wiped later by an Enchanter.

Once the crime team (Enchanters) arrive, Gus and Vanessa are dismissed. Vanessa shows up at Gus’s home since she has nothing else to do for the day and is curious about this new world she knows nothing about. They both figure it won’t hurt for her to learn more since they’ll be wiping her memory anyway.

They are called on to start investing the mask failure. When they arrive to check out the Troll’s home, they interrupt someone. Gus sets off to chase the young woman even as he realizes she is a powerful Contractor. When he catches Melody, she is shocked and intrigued that he was able to track her. Gorgeous Melody is a hyper personality whose pushiness is hard to resist.

Melody attaches herself to Gus and Vanessa to continue the investigation as other paranormal beings lose their masks and go aggressive. The three are gathering clues and racing to stop a major ‘terrorist’ attack even as Melody is pushing to get Gus to agree to contract with her (marry) and to have Vanessa join them. Before they save the paranormal community a third beautiful, young woman, Trish, aka the office cleaning lady who is really an Elven Dryad Sorceress, is added to the team.

I was curious why the cover was a pretty woman when the main character is a guy. Once you meet all the different characters it becomes clear. Gus is a solid character and the women are a handful of crazy. Admittedly, I am not into menage relationships. However, although these characters end up in cozy settings, this book doesn’t get to real sex scenes.

The story is wonderfully busy with a good blend of relationship humor and suspenseful action. I enjoyed the plot and race to stop the bad actors. I recommend this to readers who enjoy fun paranormal.

Audio Notes: Andrea Parsneau does a good job of narrating the energy and characters. Gus shares quite a bit of internal thought and I was able to follow that with the effective narration. The audio enhanced my enjoyment of the story.

Source: 12/1/2019 Audible Sale for $5.00. This qualifies for 2022TBR, 2022Audiobook, and 2022Alphabet goals.

Sunday Post June 12, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday June 13, 2022

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)

What Are You Reading? is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I made more progress on work this week. Our time from consult to letter or deed is now within three weeks (unless a rush is required).

I didn't get to post my grandson's HS graduation in May so here is a picture.

My daughter (mother of the graduate), my son (while he was visiting), me (happy and proud to celebrate with this wonderful young man) and graduated Grandson!

Heather and my granddaughters stayed with me Wednesday and Thursday nights which was nice. The girls and I got our nails done at the end of the day Thursday. I hadn't been sinceNovember! Maybe I'll post our nails next week.

I continue with my previous prayer list.
.
We continue to have rain and heat. This coming week looks like all 90s (91 to 95) during the day and 70s (72 to 76) at night; six days projected scattered thunderstorms.

I enjoyed my audios this week and the short children's book. I am still doing CLE courses which I will finish before month's end. I finished two audio books, one children's book, and 7.5 hours of CLE courses. I posted two reviews, and my usual memes.

I was glad to visit 17 blogs again last week.
A Shout Out today to CHARLOTTE BURK'S BOOKS. Charlotte is a book lover who admits to reading "pure trash" back in the 80s. :-)

Audible offerings for free children's titles ended June 30, 2021.
Audiobooks.com is still sharing some free listens for children.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post June 5, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday June 6, 2022.

• MBS May 2022 Reading List Wrap Up.

• ATBR:Audible by Book Review: You Have the Right to Remain Innocent by James Duane; Genre: Civil Rights & Liberties, Constitution, Legal System; My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.75; Narration 4.75.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway June 10, 2022. Open Worldwide. Ending 6/16/2022.

• ATBR: Audio Book Review: Redemption Bay by RaeAnne Thayne; Genre: Contemporary, Romance; My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 3.75.

• Sharing Beyond Books #446 Comment Giveaway June 11, 2022. Open Worldwide. Ending 6/25/2022.
  

• Sunday Words of Encouragement June 12, 2022.

Finished Reading:
1. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Swing Shift
By: William D. Arand
Narrated by: Andrea Parsneau
Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
This is a fun paranormal police procedural (with some issues).
Source: 12/1/2019 Audible Sale for $5.00.
Click on book title for full description.

2. AdobeDigital (NG2022)

The Unsinkable Gus Davis
by Laurie Trumble Davis
This is a very cute book with a good message.
I received an email about the same time I saw this at NetGalley.
Source: NetGalley 2022.
Gus Davis is a French bulldog who thinks he can do anything—even swim.
Bean is Gus’s human best friend who thinks bulldogs aren’t designed for the water.
Who is right?
It turns out, they both are!
All it takes is a persistent bulldog and a creative human friend to prove that, with a little practice and adaptation, anything is possible. The Unsinkable Gus Davis is a playful story about figuring things out, staying safe around water, and laughing along the way!

3. NetGalley App Audio Smartphone (NG2022)

I

Aeon Rising: The Apocalypse Begins
by Matthew Mather
10 hours and 43 minutes
I was pulled right into this apocalyptic techno-thriller.
Source: NetGalley 2022
An apocalyptic supernova flashes over the South Pole. A mysterious mission sent deep into the Amazon.
The story of one family’s struggle to reunite…
Max Carver, a down-on-his-luck truck driver and Army vet, joins a rescue mission into Brazil. The target is a utopian tech village, the Colony, hidden in the rainforest and run by a charismatic genius. Max’s pregnant wife, Talisha Carver, is the NSA analyst who intercepted encrypted Colony messages signaling a mysterious impending event.
Dr. Xin Rou is a Chinese researcher working at the IceCube neutrino experiment at the South Pole. On lucky days a single flash might signal the passage of a ghostly interstellar particle. Suddenly, IceCube’s entire array lights up. A million detectors at once. Which is impossible. The Antarctic sky is clear and calm—but she is already running for the door.
Because the world is about to end.
But the mystery only just begins...

CLE Courses:
Guardianships: Individual Rights, Statutory Updates, Uniform Laws, and Abuses -- 2hr
Florida 2021 Annual Guardianship -- 5.5hrs

Currently Reading:

1. Audio Smartphone (ATBR)

Three More Jack Reacher Novellas
Written by Lee Child
Narrated by Dick Hill
Run Time 8h 9min
I didn't get to start this as I wanted to get to the new NetGalley Audio.
like Jack Reacher and I think I will enjoy this.
Source: 8/14/2021 Chirp Under $2.00.

2. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Zombies
A Record of the Year of Infection
By: Don Roff
Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
Length: 1 hr and 40 mins
I pulled this as a short title and a "Z" title.
Source: October 2021 Audible Plus Catalog.
Publisher's Summary
The year is 2011, and what starts as a pervasive and inexplicable illness ends up as a zombie infestation that devastates the world's population. Taking the form of a biologist's journal found in the aftermath of the attack, this pulse-pounding, suspenseful tale of zombie apocalypse follows the narrator as he flees from city to countryside and heads north to Canada, where he hopes the undead will be slowed by the colder climate. Encountering scattered humans and scores of the infected along the way, he fills his notebook with descriptions and careful observations of zombie behavior, along with terrifying tales of survival.
This frightening contribution to the massively popular zombie resurgence will keep fans on the edge of their seats right up to the very end. ©2009 Don Roff (P)2012 AudioGO

June 12, 2022 - I am still getting caught up on videos I missed while we had no internet at home. The Bible Reading Plan is: BibleProject | One Story that Leads to Jesus. I am enjoying keeping up with my reading each day.
I'll look for a new study maybe next month.

I completed three books for review. I have three reviews to write and post this week. 
NO CHANGE -- I added two NetGalley but finished both. That puts my NetGalley shelf back to the three old ebook titles. I will probably end up letting A Place Called Armageddon go as DNF.
I don't have any author reviews in my queue right now.
(Plus a few that I received from Facebook links and newsletter sign-ups, not specific review requests.)
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, me and new to the team, Velvet at vvb32reads. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I received two review books from NetGalley.
I did pick up one title at Audible Plus Catalog.
Looking at titles at NetGalley I landed on a page at Amazon with several links to free Kindle titles so I added 18 ebooks to my Kindle TBR library today.

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

Two received from NetGalley, one audio and one ebook:

Aeon Rising: The Apocalypse Begins
by Matthew Mather
For more information see link under Finished Reading above.

The Unsinkable Gus Davis
by Laurie Trumble Davis
For more information see link under Finished Reading above.

Won

NONE

Purchased

NONE

Free

6/10/2022 Audible Plus Catalog

Quake!: Disaster in San Francisco, 1906
By: Gail Langer Karwoski
Narrated by: Terry Bregy
This is convenient because I needed a Q title for my second Alphabet group.

18 Free titles added to Kindle library. Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Book Adrenaline, Ereader News Today, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement June 12, 2022

I enjoyed my Sunday morning with church family. We shared prayer concerns and then our Sunday School teacher continued the study of Revelations discussing Chapter 14 and the witnesses.

We enjoyed praise and worship and then our Assistant (Youth) Pastor (AP) preached a good sermon titled ‘Distractions’. AP noted that he ha always loved video gaming and was on a serious PG team a few years ago although he never earned money through gaming. AP was called into the ministry to serve God. He was not called to professional gaming.

After sharing a side screen of Mario Brothers (with the accompanying background sounds), AP pointed out that gaming for him, and the side screen that was on, are distractions. The enemy knows how to distract us. We need to be diligent in recognizing our own distractions before they become a problem.

AP shared the parable of the sower and the seeds from Mark 4:1-8. He again noted that the enemy has those obstacles and distractions ready that can side-track believers.

How do we navigate through the distractions? When any item takes president over spiritual growth there is trouble.
The world tells us it is normal. The enemy makes you think it is fine and pull you away from studying the word. Time is limited and precious for each of us.
Why does the enemy distract us?
1. Satan, the enemy, distracts us to hinder our individual spiritual growth.
2. When we get distracted, we lose our God-given purpose.
3. Distractions inevitably cause us to stray from God.

It is distractions that lead us out of God's plans and move us out of His hands.
These are primary fields of distractions to be aware of.

A. Work. Why do we put such emphasis on a job if it is not promoting God? We need to put spiritual issues first.
B. Materialism. If we are intent on getting the next best thing, then we are focusing on the wrong goal.
C. Relationships. Relationships with those around us and in our lives are important but the most important relationship is our relationship with our Creator, God. Where is our focus?
D. Social Media. Records indicate that there are 4.2 billion cell phone users, and the tech platforms are working hard to reach every one of them. Compare the efforts of the tech companies to the Christian efforts to spread God’s word around the world. There are still 7000 unreached people groups in the world.
E. Religion. The rules of organized religions can be a distraction to a personal relationship. This is a point of personal Faith (belief and trust) versus systems of rules. The Bible even speaks to future where there is deceitful teaching. 1 Timothy 4.
The Christian Church is a body of believers working to share God's message.
F. Yourself. When we are focused inward, we may lose our focus on God.
How do we combat all of these distractions? It is crucial that we stay connected with God. Give yourself to God first. Make Him your primary focus. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.

Gather with other Christians and surround yourself with friends who will help you stay in the word and strengthen your relationship with God.
Don't let day to day distractions keep your focus off God. It isn’t necessarily easy but we must try each day to Focus on God.

I found several song videos I liked today. This is the one I choose for the message:
The More I Seek You

Verses for Today:
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

1 Timothy 4:13-16 (NIV)
13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.


Lord, Please help me keep my focus on YOU!

Sharing Beyond Books #446 Comment Giveaway June 11, 2022

Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books.

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last question.
Last post SBB#445 Faith Hope and Cherry Tea asked: How about annotated books? Do you like to know what local language, customs, dialogue are referring to in annotations? preferred or not?
Four commenters were okay with annotations, two were okay with glossary type information, two will look up info if they want to, one didn't like annotations in a book, and one never read any with annotation.

The Winner from SBB#445 comments is #1 MARY P who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated (**Finally!) ARC/Review titles or (recently updated) Love and Christmas titles - all linked near the end of the post. -- [9-18-2021 I have added a new box and crossed off books no longer available through August 2021.]

Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #446

(One Question.)

Becky asks: If you had a choice, which format would you choose for all of your books (Print, ebook, or audio)??

There was a similar question in 2011 - So maybe we'll see if preferences have changed in 11 years. I don't think I would like to be limited to only one format, but if I had to pick only one format it would be audio for sure.

Image found at Salazar Ajo Library

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month, I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a 1/2 book choice or $2.50 towards GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify them.

Your turn to share. Becky asks: If you had a choice, which format would you choose to for all of your books (Print, ebook, or audio)??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Updated ARC and Other books, including the "Love" and Christmas titles all in one post.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday, June 25, 2022, at 5 PM central.

Audio Book Review: Redemption Bay by RaeAnne Thayne

This is an easy contemporary romance.

Redemption Bay
By RaeAnne Thayne
Narrated By: Celeste Ciulla

Series: Haven Point, Book 2
Duration: 10 h 16 min
Release date: 06-30-15
Publisher: Recorded Books
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 3.75.

Summary:
New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne brings you back to Haven Point-a place made for second chances. McKenzie Shaw would do anything for her hometown of Haven Point. It may be small, but it's never let her down.unlike gorgeous, infuriating Ben Kilpatrick. He was her childhood hero until he closed his family's factory, leaving the town's economy in shambles. Now his tech firm is considering opening a local facility. For Haven Point's sake, McKenzie has to grit her teeth and play nice. What could a town filled with painful memories ever offer Ben? Yet seeing the town through the eyes of McKenzie-its fiery young mayor-he suddenly has his answer. If only he can resolve the animosity crackling between them, Ben may have found the place where he can build ties and find healing.a place where love arrives when it's least expected.

Review:
McKenzie Shaw owns a flower and gift shop and is the 30(ish) year old Mayor of her beloved hometown Haven Point. Even though she had a childhood crush on handsome Ben Kilpatrick, she has no soft feelings for him since he closed his family’s factory five years ago. The closure took away many jobs and caused the town decline that they are still trying to find a way to revive.

McKenzie has to bite her tongue when Ben shows up in town to assess it as a branch location for the successful company he works for, Caide Tech. Haven Point is a beautiful setting, and the company owner now leaves just outside town. But the next community down the road appears to be a better fit with houses and infrastructure already in place.

Ben is renting the tourist cottage next to McKenzie’s property. McKenzie’s standard poodle, Rika, has made fast friends with Hondo, the German Shepard Ben is ‘sitting’. Between the proximity and dogs, McKenzie and Ben find themselves pushed together.

Both McKenzie and Ben had painful childhood memories and relationships in Haven Point. McKenzie needs to stuff her enmity in order to show Ben how friendly and worthwhile her community. Ben, who seems to have shut himself off, has to try to see beyond the pains from his childhood in this town.

I enjoyed the development of both characters as they learned more about each other and overcame inaccurate assumptions. The story isn’t particularly eventful, but it does show the danger of miscommunication in relationships and struggles in small town life. Ms. Thayne is a reliable author for nice, easy read romance. I can recommend this series to romance readers who enjoy clean, contemporary romance.

Audio Notes: Celeste Ciulla delivers a nice narration which is more a read than an enactment. Her narration matched the easy tone of the story. I am glad I had an audio version.

Source: 8/31/18 Audiobooks.com 2 for 1 credit deal. This qualifies for 2022TBR, 2022Audiobook, and 2022phabet goals.