Category books

Mar 29 2016

AudioBook Review – The Eaton

I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Jeff Hays this week, with one of his new released Audio books, The Eaton by John K. Addis.

I don’t mind Horror stories at all, and have to admit this was a pretty good scary listen. 🙂

If you like classic 80’s Horror stories, then this is a must for you!

Blurb –

The Eaton is the debut novel of John K. Addis. Spanning over 100 years of mid-Michigan history but written in the gruesome style of ’80s horror classics, The Eaton tells the story of Sam Spicer, who purchases the dilapidated Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Eaton Rapids with the dream of opening a hot new martini bar. But when he and his friends discover an abandoned underground hotel directly beneath the property, they must discover what happened to the original guests – before their own time runs out.

Check the book out at –

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Crime-Thrillers/The-Eaton-Audiobook/B01CKLAVDW

Review –

“Scary stuff…”

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because it had lots of wonderful elements in it, it was scary, heartbreaking and just terrible all at once. 🙂

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that it took you on such an emotional journey with the characters, it takes you by surprise because even I wasn’t expecting it as a horror. It was very character driven.

What about Jeff Hays’s performance did you like?

Jeff has quite the difference in character voices. I enjoyed all of them, and when the characters were excited and scared so was I…. I really enjoyed his characters voices for Sarah, Kinsey and Janet. : ) so different, yet so woman like. Great job.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were several moments that really got me. I have to admit, Janet and seeing ‘the baby’ in the linen basket. Would be horrid for anyone… Sarah and having her nipple in the chomper, and for me that moment when someone you love and care about is crying out to you ‘Sarah, I’m hurt… please don’t leave me’ ugggh, just heart wrenching. I don’t know how they could ever leave them, belief or not that it’s the creature. What if it just wasn’t?

Any additional comments?

Okay, so for the most part I did enjoy the performance of the book. It was great to listen to, had it’s ups and downs, what I wasn’t so sure about was some of the flashbacks and places of ‘backstory’ I know most of it seemed really relevant, and it was and it was much better than the ‘reader of the journal’ just recanting events as Jonathan experienced them. But, they did interrupt some of the story for me. Mostly because of their timing. I wasn’t so sure some of them were totally relevant till I’d gotten past them and into the next scene or chapter.

What this as a book did do for me, was take me back to the scary films I used to watch and the stories I used to read as a young adult. It had good tone and great characters. I will defo come back and see if there are more in the future from this author, and yeah Jeff has a new fan to 🙂 so thank you to both for the 10 plus hours of entertainment. Well worth investing my time, and energy into.

Extra thoughts – Prologue – Not so sure on it they’re almost always not needed, but it ended well enough for Zeke, and the creature got out after all! damned. Sarah if she’s still alive better run….

Author note – Interesting to hear that I’m not the only Author who takes their dreams and writes them out. Thank you for that. And pretty interesting that there are real facts in here. 🙂 Kudos to the writer, for research. (heck you talk fast though)

~ Dawn

 

Mar 26 2016

AudioBook Review – The Atomic Sea

Having quite the adventure with AudioBooks 🙂 This was the latest pick up, and quite the story to boot 🙂

Check out my review – If you like deep dark and gritty worlds, this one is for you 🙂

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Atomic-Sea-Omnibus-of-Volumes-One-and-Two-Audiobook/B01BW0PNCG#publisher-summary

Which due to an error is not showing on Audible just yet. I have contacted Amazon over these issues, waiting to see what the problem is. Sorry. Review is posted below though, as I seem to have lost one from last weekend.

“Dark, mysterious and action packed!”

Would you listen to The Atomic Sea: Omnibus of Volumes One and Two again? Why?

I would listen to both of these books again, because there was so much to the world and story, I felt it was a lot to take in and digest as an audiobook.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Atomic Sea: Omnibus of Volumes One and Two?

I actually liked the attack on the beach with the large crab things that melted people. Avery was and did accept that his life could be over and all throughout the story there were interspersed parts about his wife and child, I found some of his internal monologue very thoughtful and deep at times.

Then when Jenx’s gang sit down to tattoo the names of their fallen friends on their bodies, it was so deep and meaningful. Avery stood up here, and throughout the novel learned and became a much better man for the journey.

What about Ray Greenley’s performance did you like?

Ray brought with him a deeper voice than I’ve heard so far. But the characters were unique enough that I knew who they were and enjoyed them. Especially the voice of Avery. Who I admit I did not like at all at the start of the book.
There was excitement, sentiment and real dire situations every moment had the right tone, and delivery. 🙂 great to listen to.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Wild sea adventure with monsters and traitors. haha. I suck at these.

Any additional comments?

I would be crazy not to mention the facts that these books do just kinda stop. It is one of the worst things you can do as a writer, but it’s almost forgivable because the characters are so well rounded.

So, characters, yes I didn’t like Avery. He’s an idiot at the start of the story and one who I just didn’t like or understand. Yet our writer has quite the journey for this guy and Avery’s back story and life unravel through out the book in a way that’s not invasive but interesting and true to him.

Sheridon I wasn’t sure was a traitor at first, but there were deft clues here and there leading towards me believing there were several people involved there. And of course there was. Janx. (sp) was great to, I loved him. I did think at first he was called Jinx. Could have just misheard it as they were catching the whale.

Layanna is for the most part in a coma in the first book, so the story focusses on Avery and Sheridon’s bad relationship the actual world that they’re in and the war with the Octung, which is very dark and foreboding. Not just because of the world war feel to everything, but for the dark and twisted creatures that they use and the weaponry they have. This is a fight that I don’t think Ganeshi (sp) can win. And with traitors around they’re defo got no chance.

I did think there were some overused terms. Avery drinking, boy that man’s an alcoholic, if that was the intention it’s fine, but it was so bad at some points I needed a drink! also a good few of ‘he said, she said’ I personally didn’t think were needed. Some bothered me enough to pull me out the world.

Mar 23 2016

Blog Tour – Illusional Reality

 

Fab  new release by Karina Kantas –

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Blurb – Nobody expects to stare death in the face only to find out your entire life is a lie. Rescued by Salco, marketing executive Becky finds herself in an unknown magical world filled with happy people that try to forget their land is on the brink of destruction.

myBook.to/IR

Author link – http://author.to/KarinaKantas

Facebook –

https://www.facebook.com/Karina-Kantas-Author-31754864225/?__mref=message_bubble

Twitter –

SmashWords –

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/karinakantas

 

And a short excerpt on soundcloud 🙂

Go check it out. 🙂

~ Dawn

Mar 20 2016

Narrator Interview – Marie Rose

And Audio Giveaway!

I’ve had the most amazing few weeks getting to talk to several AudioBook Narrators, and this weeks interview was with Marie Rose.

TSK’s really excited to give you some insight to these very talented folk who bring authors works to life!

http://www.tskproductions.com/our-blog/38-narrator-interview-marie-rose

And if you don’t want to click the link this is also how you can find her 🙂  But yeah please click the link! it’s a great interview!

And for those who check out Marie Rose’s sites, facebook and Youtube, if you leave her a comment and me a pingback here so I can go see! She’s promised an audiobook to one of my lovely fans 🙂 How sweet is that! Get in there….

How can readers discover more about you and you work?

Book Links: (* American, UK, etc.)

Mar 19 2016

Book Review – Think Happy Club-Friendship

 

I’ve had the great pleasure of being sought out to write some book/and AudioBook reviews this last few weeks,  (more so than the usual requests) and I have been doing them on and off for sometime, yet I’ve never really posted them to my blog before. So this is the first. There will be more to come I promise you that.

I will post it here because it was such a wonderful reminder of friendship, how we should act and how we need to work at things to keep those we love around us. Which more often than not, never really happens. True friends will stick with you for a life time, others just come and go.

This wonderful book written by Anne Saucer and Grace Snoke was pointed in my direction this week and here’s a link to my review 🙂 –

Review of Think Happy Club – Friendship

I was given a copy of this in exchange for an honest review, but I enjoyed it so much I bought it… 🙂

What I found in these pages was not only a wonderful message for the younger person, (I have to say I’m not really sure about children although the characters in the book are much younger, I think the messages is for older kids, teens, but I have to admit I’m debating this one a lot lately because so many young children are just really tiny adults. Sigh ) But the content here really does resonate with us as adults as well. We could learn a lot from this book.

It has some great motivational aspects, from ‘Listen’ to ‘Fight if you have to’ because not everyone gets along all of the time and better to sort things out than to keep it bottled up.

A couple of my more favourite moments are ‘Accept the differences’ and ‘Plan an Adventure’ because how many of us actually do that. Life is so full on that I believe a lot of our real friendships go by the wayside, and we should fight for those who have been around us and supported us.

So that leaves me to the best part, for me, it’s been a reminder that friendship is to be nurtured and cherished. Thank you so much for this, it will have a lasting effect on my day and my week.

Review 4 stars, I gave it this award because although it was lovely, I wasn’t sure the artwork was quite the right age. Even with youngsters growing up as fast as they are.