Creatus (They Exist):The Prequel (Creatus Series)

Written by Carmen DeSousa

I grabbed this book as an introduction to the Creatus novel series that I had read about which mixes elements of mystery, romance, suspense and a touch of the supernatural. The action in this prequel takes place fourteen years before Book One and is intended to develop the characters and fill in some gaps in the story line.

While there is no overt sex or graphic violence, the protagonist named Kris witnesses her mother being stabbed to death, and experiments with drugs and sex in her quest to find herself. For this reason, I would not recommend the book for younger teens. Derrick Ashton, her hero, is a Creatus, one of a species almost wiped out by humans. He struggles to fulfill his destiny as an overseer, while feeling a tremendous pull to be a “watcher” protecting this young human girl even though it is forbidden by his kind. Derrick cannot explain why he feels compelled to be her Dark Angel though he knows his destiny and a mate has already been chosen for him. Here we have two main characters struggling to overcome their demons and find their niche in the world. Derrick cannot help himself and Kris cannot control her destructive behavior. Every time she is at the point of self-destruction, she feels the presence of her Dark Angel. Fans of other books in the series will want to read this novella to round out the Creatus experience.

The author draws the reader in with the skillfully developed plot and imbues the reader with the conflict and torment the characters are experiencing. There is a nice balance of story elements including the right combination of mystery, suspense, and paranormal presenting an interesting drama. Fans of all three genres will enjoy the novella. Older teens will identify with Kris and her struggles to find her way.

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Gaspar and the Fantastical Hats

Written by David A. Lindsay

Illustrated by Pilich

This fantasy novella just short of one hundred pages is set in medieval times amidst dark alleys, cobblestone streets, a wizard’s den and raucous taverns. Gaspar has just spent the night at one of his favorite haunts, The Bag O’Silver Inn where he could pick up gossip on who to target and who was after him. Shortly after, two assassins named Sloat and Weasel confront him in a dark alleyway. An unknown intruder saves his life.

The Council of Guild Masters run the city. These guilds are arranged in a hierarchy of power. Strangely enough the City did function. The wizards had a monopoly of magical artifacts. Gaspar is a petty thief who is a freelancer not a member of any guild. How does he get involved in a dangerous caper? The women of the Merchant’s Quarter had taken a liking to wearing hats that were decorated with magical objects. Some of the wizards began taking bribes, while the milliners took advantage of the fad. Eventually magical artifacts became scarce. Gaspar is enlisted to steal a magical artifact for one such hat. His friend, Hubris, the Spell-broker is recruited separately to steal another. They break into the Wizard’s Hall where they are confronted with a golem, a giant living stone statue. Both thieves must steal an artifact and successfully escape the golem. These partners will discover that appearances are deceiving; the plot twists and turns to reveal new deceptions, and the reader does not foresee the conclusion.

The characters are interesting and the plot well developed in this novella even though the sentence descriptions can be wordy at times. The combination of fashion, mystery, adventure and intrigue are nicely balanced in the right amount for a middle grade reader that will appeal to boys and girls. The golem’s riddles are a nice touch; they will encourage young readers to ponder and philosophize This book can easily be read in a couple of hours or broken up into sections for discussion as a class read aloud.

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Treasure From The Past (Big Honey Dog Mysteries Easter Special Edition)

Written by H.Y. Hanna

This is a special Easter mystery adventure tale in the Big Honey Dog Mystery series. In this chapter book geared for nine to twelve year olds, the beautiful Great Dane and canine friends assist their human owners in solving a mystery from the past.

At the outset, the reader meets Big Honey and some of her canine friends who are playing outdoors while their masters celebrate a beautiful Easter day. The talk turns to the top of the slope where they spy mysterious onion shaped domes in which rumor says a creepy witch lives. Suka, the Siberian Husky, swears she wears black and has creepy claws. Of course they decide to investigate and are startled to find an ominous black figure before them. Turns out to be a old woman guarded by her huge black dog. Our canine friends call out to their owners who come to the rescue.

But the true mystery is about to materialize. The poor old woman named Irina is starving and in danger of losing her house. Years ago she escaped the Russian Revolution with her mother and Nanny. Hidden among their few belongings were a valuable Faberge jeweled egg and a red ruby. After Irina’s parents died, she was forced to sell most of her belongings to pay off their debts. Hidden in a letter that her grandmother wrote are the clues to solving the mystery of where these valuables are hidden. Together with Mishka, Irina’s faithful dog, the indomitable canines head up to the attic to search for clues. They are attacked by a barn owl, but nothing deters them from their mission. Will the fearless canine friends be able to save the day for Irina and Mishka?

The novella is well written combining mystery, history and humor. It is fun to real a tale told from the canine viewpoint. The animals walk their humans outside and cleverly gain the upper hand. Highly recommended for children age nine and up. Adults will find the short story appealing and amusing as well.

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Three Squared (Metaphysical Murder Mysteries)

Written by Koko Nervelli

This is the first book in a series featuring Madame Melancholy Marie, a psychic reader. She has recently relocated to the North Carolina coast after living through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the disappearance of her fiancee, Marcel, in her home town of New Orleans. The protagonist known as Mel to her friends, is struggling to adjust to life in a rural community suspicious of her because she is different. Together with her mystic cat named Sammy, she meets a client named Sarah Miller, who comes to her to solve the mysterious death of her husband in a strange motorcycle accident and her son’s unexplained death in Afghanistan. Weird things begin to happen including a mysterious dark fog, nightly dreams, and the numbers 4,3,2 popping up together.

Mel calls on two of her psychic friends for assistance. Linda has remained in New Orleans, while Isabella has moved on to an exciting life in New York City. Linda begins by making an astrology time-line chart. Isabella comes down to visit Mel and study the dark energy that has been surrounding her. Mel uses her mathematical skills to figure out all this information as Isabella takes over the interviewing with Sarah. Meanwhile Linda has been investigating by using her psychic contacts in New Orleans. She has discovered that Sarah’s daughter-in-law might be involved with the High Priest Zuu-Zuu who is known on the island of Jamaica and world-wide as a voo-doo priest obsessed with money. Soon after, Mel disappears. Isabella and Linda continue to piece together the puzzle in a desperate attempt to track down their friend and unravel the mystery. Their adventures will lead them on a wild journey filled with terror, dark spirits, magic and fantasy. Will they be successful in rescuing Mel, solving the crimes and eliminating the other-worldly dangers?

This is not the type of book I normally read. It combines murder, mystery, paranormal, magic and fantasy. Nervelli does a superb job of delineating full-bodied rich characters that will draw the reader into the struggle. There are lots of twists and turns. At times I did feel there was a bit too much detail and a slowing down in the story line pushing the limits of what the reader might believe acceptable even in a fantasy story. But this element as well as the strong characters are exactly what many young adult readers will enjoy. So if mystery and paranormal are two of your favorite genres, this book is your cup of tea. Characters will be further developed and enhanced in the rest of the series.

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Ghost Memory (A Thulukan Chronicles Story) #1

Written by Maer Wilson

Maer Wilson is a talented writer who generally focuses on middle grade and young adult fiction. This short novella is a fine example of her talent. The plot is told from the point of view of Fiona (Fi) who is a budding young detective about to finish college. She is ready to launch an agency with her fiance, Thulu. There is one strange thing about their business; their business will be involved strictly with clients who have already died. Together Fi and Thulu are able to see and communicate with the dead. Thulu and Fi met at the age of ten shortly after Fi’s parents were killed in an accident.

At the outset the reader is introduced to Fi when she breaks the nose of a student in karate class. She feels badly, but soon perks up when she sees a “client” outside her door. Peter Swanson engages her to find the money he has hidden in his former home for his husband, Donovan. The next day, the two sleuths visit Donovan at home, while Peter assists Thulu in finding the money. They discover that some of it is missing. Fi and Thulu use their detective skills to solve the mystery and convince the thief, by some rather unconventional methods, to return the money to Donovan.

Wilson is an excellent writer. She weaves the plot skillfully and manages to delineate her characters’ personalities in the span of a few pages. The reader develops an affinity for them as well as an appetite for learning more about them and their adventures. Wilson gives the readers a taste of what is to come in Relics at the end of her e book. I believe most readers will want to continue reading about these characters in this series. This book would be appropriate for teen readers as well as adults. Whether or not you enjoy paranormal works, I think you will want to look at this series.

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“The Brook”

Written by Anne Marie Stoddard

This short kindle selection can easily be read in one sitting. Stoddard has switched from murder mystery to horror and vampires in this short story. At the outset we meet a young girl named Violet Carson, who goes against her instincts to follow the sounds of a babbling brook along the trail of Honeysuckle Path. She decides to take a midnight swim. As she dives into the icy pool, she experiences a radical drop in temperature and a tingling sensation all over her body. Before she can react, the surface underneath her disappears and the water around her turns scarlet red. Only her skin, bone and hair remained.

Violet had been employed as a babysitter for ten year old Michael Wilson. Michael believes in vampires and is convinced that this is how Violet met her demise. He searches for evidence that vampires might have appeared in the mist near the brook, but his older brother Tom, as well as everyone else in the small Mississippi town of Sampson refuse to believe in his theory. There are those adults in town who blame Violet’s former boyfriend, Jake, whom she just caught cheating the night before she died, but there is no plausible evidence to validate that. Michael’s father Dale threatens to send his son to therapy, if he continues to talk about monsters.

Michael does love scary stories about supernatural powers, but he sincerely believes that the town is in danger. So one night when he is home alone with Tom, Michael succeeds in sneaking out with a supernatural emergency kit, containing a canister of garlic and a wooden cross made from a chair leg. Michael is determined to prove that he is right, solve the mystery, and slay the monster.

Are the ten year old’s fears substantiated? Will he encounter a supernatural force? What part did Jake play in the murder? The reader already has lots of questions he wants answered. There are quite a few twists and turns in this short story.

I would recommend this book for adults and young adults over the age of twelve. There are one or two curse words, and some mention of nudity, but the book does not present overt sex or gruesome horror scenes. The book is a fast paced, exciting read.

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Terror at White Otter Castle

Written by Bonnie Ferrante

This short novella could probably be best categorized as a young adult horror story, but it certainly will grip a mature adult audience as well. The language is simple, and the author deftly manipulates the reader into total involvement within the first few pages.

Three high school seniors are taking a summer canoe trip through the Canadian wilderness as a final get together before splitting up for college. Lauren, Aster and Beth have been together since first grade and have formed a “Power Triangle” pledging to always be there for each other in times of need. The girls are unique in terms of their backgrounds, skills and personalities. When their guides decide to camp in the shadow of the castle of James Anderson McQuat, the reader learns the legend of how Jimmy built his magnificent castle for Jane, the girl he longed to marry. Then he refused to meet her parents and their marriage plans collapsed. No one seems to know what happened to Jimmy.

Upon awakening on the beach, Aster sees a figure wearing a floppy hat and a long raincoat. No one believes her story. She mysteriously disappears and the real adventure begins. After a series of mishaps involved in the search, it becomes apparent that Aster has been kidnapped. Communication is cut and sabotage is indicated. What other dangers will the group encounter? The girls have pledged to always be there for each other, but can they find each other again and escape successfully?

There are lots of twists and turns, surprises, and a bit of horror combined to make this less than one hundred page story keep you on the edge of your seat. Next time you are looking for a well-written quick, exciting read, take a look at this one.

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Hazardous Unions:Two Tales Of A Civil War Christmas

Written by Alison Bruce and Kat Flannery

This book is an unusual combination that works well in this instance. Two different authors have teamed up to write two separate stories about twin sisters, Maggie and Matty, who find themselves separated by circumstance on opposite sides of the border during the Civil War. Due to their father’s death, these two sixteen year old sisters feel compelled to help support their mother and brother, whom they love dearly. The setting of both tales begins in the Fall of 1862. Both protagonists encounter physical and emotional trauma; both sisters succeed in rising to the occasion to assume control. They will each need to solve a mystery, navigate through romantic attachments, and survive the war.

In the first novella focusing on Maggie, we meet the twin who has traveled with her employer to a southern plantation in Tennessee. She is a servant girl employed by the Hamilton family. Soon the Union army comes to occupy the plantation; Maggie is the only person who has the strength of character to assume control. But the story does not so much revolve around the events of the war as much as the personal struggles of all the characters on both sides. It deals with their hopes and fears, racism, and family ties as well as the divide between the rich and poor. Maggie hopes to survive and someday be reunited with her own family.

The second story centers on Matty, a servant girl whose employer, General Worthington, has been sent to a fort in Illinois to train soldiers to fight for the Union. Her story rapidly switches to a mysterious piece of paper and Matty’s trickery to deceive a disabled bachelor named Colonel Cole Black into marrying her. The reader learns that she is remorseful for the deceit, but that she is determined that this letter and its information get into the right hands. This is the only way she could find to do so. There is danger for both of them now, and she fears that her solution might come about too late. Still, like her sister, Matty possesses a strong will and a determination to do the right thing, regardless of personal cost. The matter comes to a head at her father -in-law’s Christmas party resulting in lots of unexpected events and consequences.

The first of these stories about Maggie is more leisurely, filled with lots of well defined characters facing complex issues in treacherous times. Matty’s story is shorter; more intense with fewer characters, but a powerful, tighter knit plot. Even though the characters’ struggles and not the events of the Civil War are the focus of each story, the stories are well researched and documented in historical details. In less than one hundred fifty pages, the reader is treated to two tales of mystery, romance and historical fiction. I recommend this highly enjoyable work to young adults and adults who are interested in any of these genres.

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Blucy

Written by: Julia Dweck

Illustrated by: Erika LeBarre

I am excited to post a preview of Julia Dweck’s newest e book to be officially released on August 13, 2013. This time around Ms. Dweck has teamed with Erika LeBarre to produce a short sweet tale in verse about a very strange kitten.

The story begins with Mandy, the only other character, visiting the local shelter in search of just the right cat. Her eyes set upon Blucy, peacefully curled up in sleep. Mandy falls in love with her and adopts the kitten. But Blucy proves to be quite cantankerous and obstinate. She refuses to eat and drink. In fact, she disappears whenever it is time to eat. The only thing she eats are blue jellybeans! Blucy possesses a unique talent. This cat turns blue whenever she is excited or feels moody. Blucy chooses to camouflage herself by blending in with all things blue. What havoc Blucy wreaks!. She destroys the curtains, birthday gifts, and draws on walls with blue crayons. The kitten shreds all the clothes in the laundry pile. Poor Mandy is at her wit’s end. The playmate that she hoped to have causes nothing but trouble. Then one day, Mandy discovers a secret that will allow Blucy to eat and even want to come home at night to play with her. You will have to read the book to find out how Mandy accomplishes this feat.

This book is approximately twenty pages with full screen images and pop up the text. The illustrations portray such lively animation that you will think you are in the story. Mandy has a unique, almost multicultural appearance, and Blucy’s eyes will mesmerize you. There are two bonus features included at the end of the story, a hidden picture puzzle for younger readers and a page of amazing cat facts for the older reader. Children four and older as well as adults will enjoy the clever four line verse on each page. The rhymes make it fun to read aloud.

You can reserve a copy online on Amazon before the release date and receive a 20% discount. Just use the link http://ow.ly/n1BHT   ENJOY!

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