Book Reviews

Book Review: In These Streets by Shelly Ellis

Title: In These Streets

Author Name: Shelly Ellis

Publication Date: November 27, 2018

Rating: 5 Stars=Non-Stop Page Turner

Purchase at Amazon.com 

In These Streets is about three friends being tested by temptation, deception and ambition, which is a recipe for some good reading.

This Urban fiction book has drama and suspense with well-developed characters in  intense situations. Derrick, Ricky and Jamal bring different dynamics to the story, which kept me turning the pages. The characters relationships and interactions with others made me question their intentions until I made it to the third act of the book.

Ricky brings suspense with his close calls and business decisions. Derrick brings drama with the issues he’s having at his job and at home, which causes him to make hard decisions. Jamal’s character irritated me the most because he wasn’t being true to himself, but when you are on a career path and have people whispering in your ear, you have to face things sooner or later. When these friends finally choose to change their paths I was not prepared for the consequences.

Once again Shelly Ellis shares an intriguing story with powerful characters you can’t help wanting to know. The ended of this book will have readers emailing the author to find out when book two will be available, I know am.

*This book was provided by the author for review purposes only.

Book Features, Giveaways

Spotlight Wednesday: The Secrets of Hawthorne by Donald Firesmith #giveaway

The Secrets of Hawthorne House
by Donald Firesmith
Genre: Teen Paranormal Mystery
Fifteen-year-old Matt Mitchell was having the worst summer imaginable.
Matt’s misery started when a drunk driver killed his mother. Then Matt’s father
moved him and his sister to a small town in rural Indiana, as far as
his grieving father could get from the ocean that his mother had
loved. At the new high school, three bullies were determined to make
Matt miserable. And to top it off, Matt learned that the recluse who
lived in the dilapidated Victorian mansion next door was none other
than Old Lady Hawthorne, the town’s infamous witch and murderer.
Matt’s terrible summer was turning into an awful autumn when
something quite unexpected happened. Old Lady Hawthorne’s niece and
her three children moved in next door, and Matt met Gerallt.

A geek by day, Donald Firesmith works as a system and software engineer
helping the US Government acquire large, complex software-intensive
systems. In this guise, he has authored seven technical books,
written numerous software- and system-related articles and papers,
and spoken at more conferences than he can possibly remember. He’s
also proud to have been named a Distinguished Engineer by the
Association of Computing Machinery, although his pride is tempered
somewhat by his fear that the term “distinguished” makes
him sound like a graybeard academic rather than an active engineer
whose beard is still slightly more red than gray.
By night and on weekends, his alter ego writes modern paranormal
fantasy, apocalyptic science fiction, action and adventure novels and
relaxes by handcrafting magic wands from various magical woods and
mystical gemstones. His first foray into fiction is the book Magical
Wands: A Cornucopia of Wand Lore written under the pen name Wolfrick
Ignatius Feuerschmied. He lives in Crafton, Pennsylvania with his
wife Becky, and his son Dane, and varying numbers of dogs, cats, and
birds.
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
Book Features, Giveaways

Spotlight Wednesday: Vail Mountain Trilogy by Desiree L. Scott #giveaway

Stranded on Vail Mountain
Vail Mountain Trilogy Book 1
by Desiree L. Scott
Genre: Romantic Suspense
It was supposed to be a vacation, a time to save her marriage, but what
Joan Clayton hadn’t counted on was Murphy’s Law of Vail Mountain
and the secrets that had damaged her marriage beyond repair. It was
over. Depressed and angry, she decided to venture directly into an
oncoming snowstorm, one that would be known as the blizzard of the century.
Stephen Brockheart received the call concerning a missing tourist after
working 26 hours straight. A park ranger for the mountain resort, he
set out on the routine mission, knowing he was running out of time as
the blizzard hit with visibility zero. What he hadn’t counted on
was saving a beautiful woman and falling for her, a city girl who
knew nothing about the dangers of the mountain. He had been there
before and vowed never to return.
As Mother Nature raged, Joan was soon overcome by the feelings a
complete stranger evoked in her, causing her to reevaluate her own
life. Through the blizzard and stranded at the resort, death was
imminent for any who would try to leave. Despite loss and secrets,
can two people find love and happiness again?
Can they be given a second chance to make it real and lasting, or will
that chance die with them?
Trapped on Vail Mountain
Vail Mountain Trilogy Book 2
Nina Williams’ world shattered in an instant when she and her daughter
witnessed her father’s brutal murder. Everything in her life became
trivial save one: protecting her only child.
With the help of a friend, Nina leaves the city in a cloud of terror and
heads for Vail Mountain and the safety she prays she will find.
Rob Garland has seen his share of the treacherous conditions on the
mountains. But even spring floods, summer fires, and hikers lost in
winter storms have not prepared him to face the fear in Nina’s eyes.
There is no beating the odds on this one. The men who are after them won’t
give up. It’s only a matter of time before the truth is revealed
and the stakes turn deadly.
Can Nina and Rob hold it together when nature and man turn against them?
Drawn to Vail Mountain
Vail Mountain Trilogy Book 3
Her dreams shattered, Connie Meyer just wants to be left alone to live
her life in peace. She finds that difficult to do when her estranged
husband’s mother insists she return to her son and a marriage she
no longer wants—a marriage that does more harm than good.
Desperate to escape, Connie returns to Vail Mountain, the one place she had
truly felt alive. However, her troubles soon follow her, and she gets
more than she bargained for as she fights not only her past but the
intense feelings that one newly elected sheriff arouses in her.
Jacob Tanner is weary of the city life and the never-ending stream of
criminals that plague New York City. He resigns from the police force
after a drug bust goes wrong, landing himself in the hospital to face
his mortality alone. Uncertain about the direction of his life, he
learns of the new sheriff position on Vail Mountain and takes a
gigantic leap of faith—faith that he isn’t making a big mistake.
Armed with nothing but a few possessions, Jacob relocates, only to
find himself falling hard for a woman whose blue eyes speak of pain
and loneliness.
As he battles his worst nightmare, can Jacob show her there is more to
life than what they have been dealt and convince her that with him,
nothing is impossible?
I have been writing since I was sixteen years old and love to write
both horror and romantic suspense. I think there have been many
influences within my life that has set me on the path that I can not
help but walk. A few of those names consist of Karen Rose, Lisa
Gardener, Nora Roberts, Cynthia Eden, Catherine Anderson, Laura
Griffin, Andrea Kane, and Lisa Jackson, just to name a few. This list
by no means defines by own writing but they have indeed influenced my
desire to live outside of my own world and to create the thrill of my
dreams. I live on 40 + acres in the SHOW ME state with my six year
old daughter, with the wonderful addition of four dogs and a handful
of chickens. The weather is unpredictable, but the surrounding beauty
of the country helps my creativity as I sit on my top deck with my
laptop and coffee close by.
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive content and a giveaway!
Book Features, Giveaways

Author J. L. Myers Shares Fallen Angel Series #giveaway

Ashes of Eden
Fallen Angel Book 1
by J.L. Myers
Genre: Paranormal Romance

The original sinner. The angel he covets. And one unbreakable law…

The second Lucifer saw Gabriel in the flesh, his whole existence changed.
Her voice, her touch, the way she looks at him with complete
acceptance; Gabriel is his addiction and Lucifer is done for.
But there’s a catch. Don’t fall in love.
Lucifer isn’t free to want more than the immortal life he leads. His body
craves her and he hungers for a taste of her blushed lips, but love
between angels is a punishable sin…

A sin Lucifer is ready to risk his legacy for…

New Adult/Paranormal Romance/Angel/Demon
Warning – This book contains some language and sexual situations.
Dawn of Reckoning
Fallen Angel Book 2

Darkly romantic. A dangerous new paranormal thriller for fans of all things
supernatural.

Before Earth there was Heaven, a place of immortality and subservience, a
place where angels existed to watch the world transform…until one
angel changed everything.
Gabriel may have been the first of the archangels to feel love and
compassion, but teaching Lucifer to feel started the beginning of the
end. Angels aren’t free to love, to lust, to want. They are God’s
servants, his eyes and ears, his pure beings.
Or at least they were.
After falling for Gabriel with all her beauty and eternal hope, Lucifer
refuses to return to his subservient ways. He wants more than the
hand he was dealt with all its immortality and reverence. He wants to
be free.
But freedom comes at a price…
Struck from Heaven and the one he loves, Lucifer is banished to Earth to
live as a mortal…but even without his wings, he’ll never be fully
human. And he’ll never let go of his rage against the one who cast
him out. When Lucifer discovers the power of his angelic blood, God’s
precious humans in all their sins and freedom become the pawns in
Lucifer’s unwavering revenge.
A new race is set to emerge. A race to reveal the ugliness of
humanity.
Through it all, Gabriel refuses to lose faith in Lucifer and the man she
knows he truly is. Now her fellow archangels plan to use her against
him…but will she be Lucifer’s downfall or his savior?

A tale of unquenchable rage, deception, and eternal love.

A paranormal angel, vampire novella.
Jessica L Myers’ vivid imagination and quiet demeanor as a child led her to
the imaginary worlds of books. Even at a young age, her love for the
supernatural was prevalent, with her first loved books being R.L.
Stine’s Goosebumps series. Following that she took an interest in
other non-fantasy fiction, including Virginia C. Andrews series
Flowers in the Attic.
In her teen years, Jessica spent many school hours writing poetry and
dark short stories and took up sketching some of the terrifying
things that came from the graphic night terrors she’d grown up with.
As an adult and after meeting the love of her life, Jessica got married
and started a small construction business with her husband. With the
birth of her son, Jessica suffered PPD and found escape in her books
and their fantasy landscapes. It was at this time that her need to
write flourished. In 2009 the decision was made and the first words
to her New Adult Paranormal Romance novel What Lies Inside were
written.
When Jessica isn’t immersed in writing about extraordinary characters
with dangerous abilities and deadly obstacles to overcome, she likes
to spend time with her two kids and husband, curl up with a good
book, or watch anything and everything supernatural.
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!