Shannon Review - In Every Generation by Kendare Blake (#1 )

Title: In Every Generation
Series: #1 In Every Generation
Author: Kendare Blake
Illustrator/Book Cover Design: Unknown
Genre: Fiction, Series, TV Series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Vampires, Fantasy, Thriller
Publisher: Disney - Hyperion
Received: Free For Honest Review
Release Date: January 2022
Pages: 400
Rating:




Author Kendare Blake’s Official Websites:




Website:
https://www.kendareblake.com/


Blog:
https://www.kendareblake.com/blog/


Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/kendare.blake


Twitter:
https://twitter.com/KendareBlake


Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kendareblake

TikTok:

Not Found

Shannon’s Thoughts:


It's been 13 years since Buffy Summers the vampire slayer and her friends did a spell to awaken all slayers worldwide. Now Buffy's best friend Willow and her daughter Frankie Rosenberg may be what's left to save the world. It looks like all the slayers including Buffy may be dead. We find out Frankie's parentage is a mystical one. Her mother Willow is a great witch her father, if you had to describe him, was mystical energy. Frankie has trained as a witch under her mother and now seems she is also a Slayer…? Frankie and her best friend Jake who is also Oz's nephew are looking for a way to help all the Slayers including Buffy.

This book takes place after season 7. This history does not follow the same as the comic books it's a whole new take. However, it does have regulars from the series like Willow, Oz, and Spike.


While I don’t think this is canon like the Dark Horse comics are this is an interesting way to go. I like the idea of Frankie’s parentage. Not sure how I feel about the return of Oz. I like Frankie as a character. The other characters are…okay.


On the downside, I don’t feel there was a lot of plot. It was mostly an introduction to the new characters. I also don’t feel this book would bring new readers or new fans. I think it would make sense to those of us who have watched the show but confusing to those who have not watched it.


I hope they keep writing books and comics to keep the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series alive. I know there are going to be 2 more books in this series and that there are 2 other prequels out now (one on Spike and the other on Tara). Anything that keeps the series active I will enjoy.

Shannon's Review - The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Chemist

Series: Possibly?

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Fiction, Thriller

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Received: Purchased

Release Date: July 2017

Pages: 521

Rating:

Author Stephenie Meyer’s Official Websites:

(photo was taken from goodreads.com)

Website:

https://stepheniemeyer.com/

Blog:

NONE

Facebook:

NONE

Twitter:

NONE

Shannon’s Thoughts:

A woman on the run, aka “Alex”, is trying to survive day by day.  She used to work for the government doing things to people to make others tell their secrets.  She is a smart scientist who is running from her former bosses until one day one of those former bosses asks her to do one last torture to gain information to save the world from a deadly virus, after that she is free.  She agrees and soon finds the job they gave her isn’t what she thought it was. Surprise, surprise the boss lied.

So far I have pretty much read all Stephenie Meyer’s books.  I have really liked the non-Twilight books the best. This fits in that category.  “Alex” is not your regular heroine. She is no angel and has done many bad things. Things she uses to keep herself safe is almost very James Bond-like.  She is very smart and very scared. I enjoyed the little touches about the earring and rings with poison. The beginning of the book I was a little leary and wasn’t into it but that changed pretty soon after. I love the book the characters even if some of the book was over the top but for me, it was one of those books that I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

One dislike would only be the romance part.  While I did like the thought of the romance, I think in real life this would never happen but that is what fictional stories do. They create the unimaginable and make you believe things that you may not have thought of.

The Chemist is rumored to be the start of a series, just like The Host.  I am eagerly awaiting a new book by Mrs. Meyer. I check her website a lot.  If you decide to read this keep an open mind it is entertaining fiction, not a philosophical book.

Shannon's Review - Louisana Fever by D.J. Donaldson

Title: Louisiana Fever

Series: Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn Mystery #5

Author: D.J. Donaldson

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions

Received: From Author For Review

Release Date: March 2013

Pages: 301

Rating:

Author D.J. Donaldson’s Official Websites:

Website

http://dondonaldson.com/

Blog

N/A

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/medicalthriller

Twitter

https://twitter.com/medicalthriller

Shannon’s Thoughts:

Kit Franklyn gets mysterious phone call to meet someone who dies at the beginning of their meeting. Finding out who he was eventually leads to her kidnapping and the spread of a nasty killer virus. As her friends fight to find her, others have to fight for their own lives as well.

I have not read any books from this series before and did not feel that they have to be read in order. From the first moment the book grabs you as the deadly virus spreads through town. You biting your nails waiting as they try to determine how the virus spreads and then adding on to the tension there are kidnappings.

I give this three stars even though the story grabs you there is a big no no for me.  As the kidnapped escapes it is glazed over by saying it would take to long to explain how one of the characters got free.  It is literally describes “It would take to long to explain”. I understand it may be hard to get the story where you want to but that just seems lazy.    

Even though I have that one beef with the story I still enjoyed most of it and I would consider reading another from the series.

Shannon's Review - Seven Unholy Days by Jerry Hatchett

Title: Seven Unholy Days

Series: N/A

Author: Jerry Hatchett

Genre: Fiction, Thriller

Publisher:  Red House Publishing

Received: From Author For Review

Release Date: April 2013

Pages: 470

Rating:

Author Jerry Hatchett’s Official Websites:

Website:

http://www.jerryhatchett.com/

Blog:

http://www.jerryhatchett.com/blog-c14ld

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JerryHatchettAuthor

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Chop0Matic

Shannon’s Thoughts:

An IT geek, Matt Decker, has created a futuristic new power grid for the United States. A crazy mastermind gets into the electric system and shuts down power everywhere. As this nut gains power by causing other catastrophes in the world and claiming to be “The Messiah” and “The Devil” from the bible. Decker and his group of computer experts try there best to find this man and keep the power and other things up and running.

This thriller moves pretty quickly.  The electric systems going down they way they did is a fear of mine. We really depend on electronics so much now a days for news, communicating with others and hospital’s life support.

I do not know if it was the dark points in the book that made me dislike it but I really did not connect with the characters.  I connected with the terror of the different disasters because they felt like something that could happen.  I do not feel that only one man could have made that all happen the way, Hart did..

I am not a big fan of thrillers this is second one in a month I have read.  They both seemed very similar even though the stories were a little different.  Both had terrorism in them.  This one just fell flat like other book did as well.  It this was a series I probably would not read the next one.

Shannon's Review - The Missile Game by Glenn Shepard

Title: The Missile Game

Series: A Dr. Scott James Thriller #1

Author:  Glenn Shepard

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: Mystery House

Received: From Author For Review

Release Date: January 2015

Pages: 287

Rating:

Author Glenn Shepard’s Official Websites:

Website

https://www.glennshepardauthor.com/

Blog

N/A

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013236575621

Twitter

N/A

Shannon’s Thoughts:

Our main character Dr. Scott James, a plastic surgeon, finds out after a minor surgery on his secretary that murder is afoot and not just one. The police and his wife believe he is the murderer as he was the only one there.  He hides and searches for answers on who is framing him.  Through this hunt he is going to find out what is going on and that terrorism ties into it all.

I do not read thrillers often.  That being said, this one did keep me interested for a while. I did like the thought of the main character Dr. Scott James falling for Elizabeth especially after his wife immediately believe the worse in her husband once second after hearing about it.  What A B.I.T.C.H.! It is funny but even though she was a background character I think I hated the wife the most.  

The thought that everyone was blaming the doctor for every murder that kept happening seemed far fetched.  The police barely did any investigating once they got to the seen and then would start barking at Dr. James that he did it.  I had to go back and reread chapters because sometimes I did not realize I was reading another person or what they had to do with the story I was already processing.

Sometimes the book was too over the place other time there was just enough thrill to keep me reading. Would I read another from this series? My answer would be maybe. It was not bad it was not great.  It was just a typical thriller.

Shannon's Review - Port Of Entry by John P, Lintz Sr.

Title: Port Of Entry: Lovers and Agents

Series: N/A

Author: John P. Lintz Sr.

Genre: Thriller, Fiction

Publisher: Outskirt Press

Received:  From Author For Review

Release Date: July 2008

Pages: 344

Rating:

Author’s Websites:

N/A

Shannon’s Thoughts:

Port Of Entry features the budding romance of two American spies, JJ Ibarra and Elena Castellanos.  They first meet on a mission together and become inseparable.  Which may sound like a complete romance book, but it is not.  The book starts with leaving abbreviations of  different departments of USA and Mexico highest law enforcers and leaving little information about what is what..   

I thought the romance between JJ and Elena was cute.  Their relationship progressed quickly.  I have to say that the scenes with JJ or Elena were the only scenes I liked.

All throughout the book there were the abbreviations most of them I did not know and took my brain out of the book because I would get so angry, especially in the beginning, not knowing what the abbreviations stood for.  Also there were other characters that seemed like they would be more important later and come back into the story but they do not.  As I think of the book now I do not know what the plot of the book is.

There were some decent characters but as I said no real plot. The romance saved the book somewhat but really had annoying side stories.

Rebecca's Review - Pray For Silence by Linda Castillo

Title: Pray For Silence

Series: Kate Burkholder #2

Author: Linda Castillo

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Received: From Publicists

Release Date:

Pages: June 2010

Rating:

Author’s Website:

http://www.lindacastillo.com/

Rebecca’s Thoughts:

An Amish family, all seven of them, are murdered. No, it is more than murdered. They are slaughtered after they are tortured. Who could have done such a thing and why? A former Amish chief of police has her hands full as her own past comes back to haunt her.

This is a pretty fast paced book with a storyline that will have you on the edge of the seat. I have to admit that I figured out the killer early on, but the twists and turns the story took kept me hooked and questioning myself about the crazy who could do such a thing. That was done very well as once I usually choose the culprit, I don’t waiver too much. This time I was all over the board though I kept coming back to the same one.

The characters are well done with depth and action. They have their own unique character traits that are well developed and draw you to them. The characters are very real. They could be your neighbors or your family members.

The writing style is well done. It is done in present tense when I honestly didn’t realize until I was a few chapters in. This is a style that is either done exceptionally well or horrible. This author nailed it. I have to admit that I looked for tense issues but didn’t find them. If they were there, I was too caught up in the story. It goes from third to first person but in a way that is not confusing or hinders your reading as it transitions.

There are some very sensitive topics in this book from hate crimes, rape, and bloody murder scenes. There is quite a bit of language including the F-bomb and some other crude words but they are not overly used. They are used as I would see these people doing in real life. The author did not put these words in for the sake of doing so or for shock value. They served a cultural and character purpose.

Excellent book. I loved it. I will be looking for more from this author. If you love crime novels, murder/mystery novels, or anything like these, check this book out. In addition to all that, you get insight into various cultures and have a great read.

Rebecca Graf

Author of Deep Connections

Silver Tongue Press

A Book Lover's Library

Rebecca's Review - American Assassin by Vince Flynn

Title: American Assassin

Series: N/A

Author: Vince Flynn

Genre: Thriller, Fiction

Publisher: Atria Books

Received: From Publicist for Review

Release Date: October 2010

Pages: 435

Rating:

Author’s Website:

Official Site of Vince Flynn

http://www.vinceflynn.com/

Rebecca’s Thoughts:

Revenge simmers in the heart and soul of a young man who has lost the love of his life at the hands of terrorists. His only goal is to see them die. That works out perfectly when he is recruited by a covert group under the CIA to take out terrorists one by one, even those that help the terrorists. What he finds in the covert operation is an older version of himself who is not keen on having him on board. What will the new recruit do to show them that he has what it takes and then some? Rebellion and blood.

This is a generally fast paced story. Most of it is not cloak and dagger, but it goes through this recruitment and training as well as the plans of his first assignment. Nothing slows down too much. Even with the backstories being revealed, you’ll want to keep reading and not put it down.

The storyline is great. It kept me hooked. I read a lot of espionage type of books and usually enjoy them all. Sometimes you find one that seems to be too much like the others. This book is not one of those. I could easily compare it to many of my favorite espionage authors, but it is still unique enough to stand on its own.

The characters are wonderfully developed. I found myself falling in love with Mitch, the main character, but also enjoying the others he came in contact with. They were realistic enough to be drawn to yet were unique enough to be fictional. I think Hurley was my favorite despite his bad attitude and arrogance toward Mitch. As the real Hurley came out, you found a man that was much more than you had originally seen.

There is a lot of violence in this book. Executions occur. Torture is described in such detail that I actually had to skip a couple of paragraphs because I was about to scream out in my pain myself. Sorry, but having my nails pulled out doesn’t feel good to me.

I only mention editing issues when I’m reading a published version of a book. I was rather shocked at the amount of editing issues I found in this hardcover book. Periodically, words would be missing from a sentence which would require me to read it several times to figure out what was meant to have been said. The worst was when I found the wrong names used. One man is being held prisoner and tortured, but he was suddenly speaking in another scene across town. That was rather disappointing.

If you like spies, cloak and dagger, and secrets, you’ll love this book. Yes, there is language. There are no explicit scenes. There is violence. Oh, and you’ll find a great read. If you like this genre, go for it. You won’t regret it. Despite the editing issues, I loved this so much that I have the rest of the author’s books on my wish list.

Note: I received this book from a colleague with no expectation of a positive review.

Rebecca Graf

Author of Deep Connections

Silver Tongue Press

A Book Lover's Library