Showing posts with label YA suspense/thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA suspense/thriller. Show all posts

Saturday, August 3, 2019

ARC Review: #murderfunding (#murdertrending #2) by Gretchen McNeil

Book info:
Title#murderfunding
Author:  Gretchen McNeil
Series#murdertrending #2
Genre:  YA suspense/thriller
Release Date:  August 6th, 2019
Publisher:  Freeform
Source: ARC from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:   5 stars

Synopsis:
WELCOME TO WHO WANTS TO BE A PANIAC?, the latest reality TV show on the hunt for the next big-hit serial killer. But don’t worry—no one is actually going to murder anyone, as real as the fake gore and pretend murder may appear . . . uh, right?

Seventeen-year-old Becca Martinello is about to find out. When her perfectly normal soccer mom dies in a car crash, a strange girl named Stef appears to let Becca know that her deceased mom was none other than one of Alcatraz 2.0’s most popular serial killers—Molly Mauler. Soon, Becca ends up on Who Wants to Be a Painiac? to learn the truth about her mom’s connection to Molly Mauler, but things turn sinister when people are murdered IRL. Will Becca uncover dark secrets and make it out of the deadly reality show alive? Or will she get cut?



My Review:
I mentioned earlier this week about this being my favorite author and loving this series, and I have to say that this did not disappoint!  If you haven't read book 1, you can read my review of it HERE.


We got all the same crazy with the painiacs and even with the Postman being gone, he still seems to have someone working things.  Obviously no one is going to be okay with them actually doing the whole murdering thing again, and the president of the United States is in trouble for being in conjunction with the original reality tv show.  But there is also talk of the president having been treasonous and working with the Russians as well.  

The game show that isn't supposed to be real murder, just tryouts to be like the paniacs.  However, the actual auditions are a little weird, and end up with those who are chosen being taken away to find out what is really going on with the show.  Becca's character has a lot to learn, but in the end, she is able to grow and figure out how things happened, and what she should probably try to do to make things right.  In the end, we are left with a thought of hers that maybe she hasn't quite learned all the lesson she should.  I feel like this is the final book, but who knows with her final thoughts.

What I loved about this story is how it really can be a snapshot of current events, but does it without being so in your face as other stories might be.  It takes a good look at how online communities work, how reality tv isn't really reality, and also some realistic seeming behavior in relationships.  I also loved that I didn't see the twist of who the Postman's son really would be, even with all the guessing and clues I had throughout.  This author knows how to keep you on your toes, yet thinking all the way through on what she's giving you in details. 

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Blog Tour Author Interview with Giveaway: Final Year by M.J. Moores


Book info:
Title: FINAL YEAR

Author: M.J. Moores
Pub. Date: March 2, 2019
Publisher: Love Knot Books
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 192
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Synopsis:
Graduation can be killer…

Beth pushes beyond her comfort zone to prove a sociology thesis. She turns a chance meeting with a known player into a personal experiment on first impressions. Weaving herself into casual meetings with the guy reinforces her assumptions… until she’s no longer the one pursuing him.

Jeremy’s only serious relationship is with his studies as he competes for the coveted post-grad theoretical chem spot with Dr. Young. When the campus goes into lockdown and everyone is evacuated to the stadium, his habit of “fun only” friendships turns into a curse.

Can he trust a skittish girl he’s known for ten days to help him find his not-so-theoretical chem project or will her assumptions about him keep her at arm’s length?

Final Year – a fast-paced new adult romantic suspense that keeps you guessing at every turn.
Author Interview:

1. What does your writing process look like? Do you know the whole story when you start?  Or do you just start writing and go with it (seat of the pants writing)?  If you plan it out, how do you do that?  Outline, notecards, post-it-notes, etc.?  

A: Oh, my process is all over the map – lol 😉. Generally, I let an idea germinate anywhere from a day to several months depending on what I’m currently working on and where I hope to go next. Once I can’t contain my thoughts and musings, I get them on paper. If I know in advance that I want to make this my next big project, I assign it a journal or notebook so that I can keep all of my ideas, character sketches, and research in one place. I know there are some amazing digital programs out there that will do this for you, but I need to keep connected to the page throughout my writing. I used to over plan and plot out graphs for each book, but these days I tend to go with: I know where I want to start; I know how I want it to end; I’ve got some cool ideas for the middle; Let’s dive in!

2. Do you edit as you go, or wait till you're finished before you edit?  How many times would you say you go over it yourself before having another set of eyes look at it? 

A: I kinda edit as I go. I’m part of a critique group who meet once a month and whatever I happen to be working on at the time, I bring a chapter of it with me for feedback. I don’t integrate their advice immediately, but I do set it aside and when I’m ready for my first “official” self-edit, I take out their notes (and mine, because I remind myself to go back and fix or change certain things as I write) and then I dive in. After I’ve smoothed out these bumps, I will read my manuscript, top to bottom, with an eye to improve or watch out for certain things. This is different for every manuscript, but I do always tend to focus on making sure I’m getting inside my characters heads more. I have a tendency to rely on action (hence why there’s always an external journey to balance the internal one) and forget to humanize my characters. Then, I ask my writing buddy and a couple of beta readers for feedback. I’ll integrate their responses and then send the book off to my editor 😉.

3.  Are you part of a writer’s group that gets together and helps each other with their writing?

A: Yes. I used to belong to 4 groups, whittled it down to 3, and now I’m maintaining my addiction with 2 – lol! I am the Chair of the Writers’ Community of York Region. When I lived in that area, I relied heavily on their networking opportunities and speaker/workshop offerings to help refine my craft and learn about the business. My other groups were/are critique and writing support groups. We meet once a month to share our writing goals, news, work on prompts (for those who’d like to), and share our works in progress. If I had to do this alone, I don’t think I would have made it this far.

4.  What are your favorite:

Books/authors/genres
~ I love fantasy and adventure (YA/NA/Adult). The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Wrinkle in Time series’ launched my love-affair with adventure/quest books. Today, some of my favourites are The Green Rider series, Harry Potter, City of Ashes, Fire Study, and the Throne of Glass series’… to name a few.

Movies/TV Shows
~ I must say, I do like an awesome action flick. Indiana Jones and the Goonies helped kindle my early love of action/adventure. I gravitate toward movies that balance their genre blending. I like a lot of action, some drama, subtle humour, and romance (not love stories, they make me cry – I need the HEA or HFN of a true romance).

As for TV shows, ditto. My absolute fav was Alias when it aired, a close second would be Castle. I like Supernatural, Grim, Legacies, Star Trek TNG (if you want to go old-school), and shows with a touch of lightness like the rebooted Magnum P.I., Lethal Weapon, and The Rookie.

Music
~ I’m a rocker to the bone. I will listen to pop rock, rock and roll, hard rock, country rock, you name it. I’ve even dabbled in 80s hair metal and some crossover metal/rock. My absolute favourite band is Shinedown. My go-to for singing at the top of my lungs in the car are Sass Jordan, Pat Benatar, Kelley Clarkson (her earlier stuff), Melissa O’Neil (one album was not enough), Bon Jovi (post marriage), Def Leppard (Adrenalize onward) and Theory (formerly “of a Dead Man”).

Food/Writing snack
~ I’m a chocoholic. I don’t drink coffee and I only drink herbal tea when I’m ill so hot chocolate is a staple in my house. However, my go-to snack when writing is Doritos or, if I’m trying to keep the calories down, popcorn flavoured rice cakes – the big ones. I like things that crunch and are savory. The chocolate is dessert 😉... any time of the day.


About the Author:

Growing up in Ontario, Canada, MJ was the only child of a single mom. MJ’s passion for the arts ignited at a young age as she wrote adventure stories and read them aloud to close family and friends. The dramatic arts became a focus in high school as an aid to understanding character motivation in her writing. Majoring in Theatre Production at University, with a minor in English, she went on to teach both elementary and high school for 10 years throughout Simcoe County.

MJ currently lives with her husband and young son in Caledon, Ontario. She keeps busy these days with her emerging authors’ website Infinite Pathways: hosting writing contests, providing editing services, free publicity tips, book reviews, and opportunities for authors to build their writing platform and portfolio. In addition she writes articles, works freelance writing and editing, and is preparing to launch her first science fiction novel The Chronicles of Xannia: Time’s Tempest on October 1st, 2014. She firmly believes that if she hadn’t been born a Virgo, she would not be half as organized as necessary to accomplish everything in her daily agenda.



Giveaway:
  • 5 lucky winners will win an eBook of FINAL YEAR, International.

--> a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:
Week One:
3/4/2019- Lone Tree ReviewsExcerpt
3/5/2019- BookHoundsGuest Post
3/6/2019- Kelly P's Blog- Excerpt
3/7/2019- Lisa Loves LiteratureSpotlight
3/8/2019- Down The Rabbit HoleExcerpt
                            
Week Two:
3/11/2019- Defining Ways- Excerpt
3/12/2019- Two Chicks on BooksExcerpt
3/13/2019- Owl Always Be ReadingExcerpt
3/14/2019- Smada's Book SmackSpotlight
3/15/2019- Cheyenne Reads- Interview
--> 

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Book Tour with Giveaway: Nocturne (Nightmusic Trilogy #2) by Heather McKenzie


Nocturne
Nightmusic Trilogy Book 2
by Heather McKenzie
Genre: YA Romance, Thriller, Suspense

I am hunted.

A pawn in a vicious game.
The only way I can protect the ones I love...
...is to disappear.

Finally free of her father, Kaya has the one thing that keeps her heart beating—Luke.

Blissfully content in his arms, everything seems perfect…until their world is shattered by a deadly invasion. When an old ally comes to the rescue, Kaya wants none of it. She is devastated to learn the identity of her attacker, and that she must do something truly heartbreaking if she wants to save the ones she loves. Sacrificing everything and sinking into bottomless sorrow, Kaya finds solace in an unlikely friend—one who shows her a different kind of love, and helps her discover an inner strength she never thought possible.

A heart-pounding journey of self-discovery, Nocturne is the transformative second installment of The Nightmusic Trilogy by Heather McKenzie.




Excerpt:
I flew out the door into the cool night, took four steps, then stopped—the latest enlightening news about my father had sent me over the edge. Tears burst from my eyes. The last shred of hope I’d been hanging onto that Henry wasn’t all bad had been completely obliterated; he was an actual monster.  
    I dropped to the curb and put my head in my hands. The rain started falling, lightly dusting my shoulders at first, then becoming a downpour just to add to my misery. I became soaked head to toe, but I didn’t care. I stayed where I was, wishing the rain would melt me into a puddle that would drain into the gutter and then just disappear into the earth…
    “You left something in my truck,” said a voice from out of nowhere.
    At the edge of my vision was Ben, rain coming down even harder now and pouring off his cowboy hat in rivers. He was holding out a paper bag, which was now soaked. It was the muffin I hadn’t eaten.
    “I didn’t want it to go to waste,” he added, eyeing me with concern, then glancing at the café window where I could feel many sets of eyes on my back.
    I dropped my gaze back to the gutter. My body didn’t want to move, and I still held out hope that the rain might just wash me away. Ben said something, and then he hauled me up and turned me to face him. He lifted my chin, and I had no choice but to meet his eyes. The rain plastered my hair to my face, mixing with the tears that were spilling out of me with blinding force.
    He gave me a weak smile. “I tried to leave. Got in my truck and was ten minutes out of town, but then I realized…” He paused, fumbling for the right words. “I could really use some help at my ranch. Now, the job doesn’t pay much, but you’ll have your own room and all the food you can eat. You’ll be dry.”
    He waited patiently for an answer, but I was so grateful that all my words caught in my throat. He tossed the paper bag with the muffin into the garbage. After a quick glance at the internet café and the white-haired waiter watching from the doorway, his hand firmly latched onto mine. I had the sense I wasn’t being given a choice, I was going wherever this cowboy wanted me to.
    “I’m taking you home now,” he said over the downpour.
    Home. Home was in Luke’s arms….
    The rain was falling in sheets. Since I wasn’t about to turn into a puddle and dissolve, I let the cowboy lead the way.
 


Serenade
Nightmusic Trilogy Book 1

Kidnapped and held hostage in the Rockies, a teenage heiress falls for her abductor while her corrupt father and devoted bodyguard fight to get her back. The discovery of true love and dark family secrets turns deadly in this epic coming of age adventure.

Kaya Lowen dreams of living like a normal eighteen-year old, but being heiress to a billion-dollar company has put her life in constant danger. Fiercely guarded by her powerful and corrupt father, she develops close bonds with those who protect her, especially Oliver – a bodyguard who has proven his devotion to her time and again. He wins her heart - until a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning everything she believes in. Haunted by true love and reeling from a guilty conscience, Kaya's world unravels when she's kidnapped. Held captive in a rugged wilderness fraught with raging storms, mystical caves and deadly predators, Kaya's father scours the forest and her bodyguard fights to get her back. But, the discovery of a dark family secret makes Kaya wonder if staying in the arms of her blue-eyed abductor—a captivating stranger with dark secrets of his own – is a safer place to be. At least, that's what her heart is telling her, her head is saying run...
An epic adventure centered on a smoldering love-triangle, Serenade sings a timeless tale of courage, self-discovery, and life-or-death love that will leave you breathless.


**FREE at all retailers!!**


Heather McKenzie is the Canadian author of Serenade, book one of The Nightmusic Trilogy. Also a professional singer/songwriter with five albums to date, she has been telling stories through music for years and pulls from her extraordinary experiences as a musician to fuel her passion for creating Young Adult fiction. A rocker at heart, a mom of three, an aspiring painter and a lover of animals, she is kept grounded by her husband at their home in Edmonton.


Listen to a sample of Heather's songs HERE:

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!




Monday, July 31, 2017

Review: Project Pandora by Aden Polydoros

Book info:
TitleProject Pandora
Author:  Aden Polydoros
Series: Assassin Fall #1
Genre:  YA suspense
Release Date:  August 1st, 2017
Publisher:  Entangled Teen
Source:  ARC from publisher for review
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:
Tyler Bennett trusts no one. Just another foster kid bounced from home to home, he’s learned that lesson the hard way. Cue world’s tiniest violin. But when strange things start happening—waking up with bloody knuckles and no memory of the night before or the burner phone he can’t let out of his sight— Tyler starts to wonder if he can even trust himself.

Even stranger, the girl he’s falling for has a burner phone just like his. Finding out what’s really happening only leads to more questions…questions that could get them both killed. It’s not like someone’s kidnapping teens lost in the system and brainwashing them to be assassins or anything, right? And what happens to rogue assets who defy control?

In a race against the clock, they’ll have to uncover the truth behind Project Pandora and take it down—before they’re reactivated. Good thing the program spent millions training them to kick ass...
 


My review:
I don't read a lot of suspense types of stories, but as I do enjoy watching those movies, this book was definitely one that fit into something I might like.  And as I read it, I could totally see it being a movie.  While at first I had a little issue telling the difference between some of the characters, specifically the two girls, after a while it got to make more sense.  Th idea behind Project Pandora was very intriguing, although I would have liked a bit more background information.  You really felt for the characters, especially as their minds began to flash back to what they had done in the past, or what they were in the middle of doing.  You felt the connection between the teens for sure.  Hades, one of the main characters, and Elizabeth, or Persephone, had a connection that you really rooted for.  Although at first Hades came off as a psychopath, which really he probably was, you really got to feeling for him the more you read about his life and what he'd been subjected to.  On Goodreads it lists this as a series, and I could see there being more to the story, so I'll be interested to see if it does go on. 
This is a very easy read, lots of excitement to keep you turning pages, needing to know just what is actually going on, and who is pulling the strings of these teens.    

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Promo Blitz: The Trainee Undercover by Brenda Shaw


YA Suspense/Thriller
Date Published:  April 2017

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The Trainee Undercover is a mystery, action, and thriller novel written by Brenda Shaw. 

Paul Collier, a high level executive, in a pharma company gets threatened into silence by an unknown force. In despair, he decides to send his family away to protect them. 

Alex, a happy-go-lucky teenager, is all set to enjoy his summer vacation with his friends.

But fate has other plans in store! They get entangled with a murder case.

Alex and his friends are now committed to pursue criminals.

They desperately want to help Paul! But, will they fall prey into the hands of the criminals?

It’s a gripping adventure where they have to race against time and winning is everything!

The teenagers’ amateurish skills will have to compete with professional criminals.

Will they be a victim or victorious? Read the novel to find out...


About the Author

Brenda Shaw is a author based in UK and writes under a pen name. 
Since childhood, she has been a very keen and voracious reader of adventure, suspense, mystery, detective, legal and science fiction books.

After completing her post-graduation in biological sciences, she worked for the pharmaceutical industry for nearly two decades. She decided to leave her career and pursue her childhood passion of writing fiction books.

Brenda Shaw is the author of the suspense action-packed thriller, ‘The Trainee Undercover’.

Being a travel lover, she has been traveling to various cities in Europe, America and Asia. She is very keen to explore and understand the varied customs and colorful cultures that exists around the world.

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