Castle Brave delivers a fast-paced, gripping plot

Castle Brave by Hawkings Austin is military Sci-fi/fantasy at its best. The plot follows a Vani Army’s Special Forces Team Forward Division. Trained to get behind enemy lines, they get the job done. They infiltrate, assassinate, and extract. And they never deal with civilians; until now. For this mission, the target is a civilian. The psychics see Dragons in the sky, armies buried by ancient weapons, and cities burning. Things feel rushed. Mistakes happen.

 

 

Book Review

 

Castle Brave includes well-known fantasy races like elves and dragons and offers new races like the Vanir, Numen, Aesir, and Jotuns. The plot is rich with magic and futuristic tech. Author Hawkings Austin rolls out the story from a first-person point of view, but not with a single narrator. The reader gets to hear from each member of the squad. Each chapter delivers the story from a single perspective. It feels like a first-person shooter game that lets you get into the heads of the team members, know and understand their tech, weapons, background, what they are up against, and how they feel about it. This first-hand information draws the reader in. Provides understanding of what motivates them. Know their strengths and weaknesses. It builds an emotional connection and makes you care.

 

 

The introduction to individuals in this group of men and women in the foundational chapters builds the world around the Team. Once they deploy, the military operation action builds and converges into an epic fantasy. Castle Brave delivers a fast-paced, gripping plot. Once I passed page 40, I couldn’t put the book down. I give it 5 stars and recommend Castle Brave to readers who enjoy military Sci-fi/fantasy thrillers like Forgotten Ruin by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole.

 

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer. I received a free review copy of this book and have not received compensation for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

  

About Author Hawkings Austin

Hawk’s current supervillain title is “Director of Radiation Effects.” In his quest to take over the world, Hawk has landed a series of jobs with NASA, DoD, and Missile Defense. Currently, he’s testing spacecraft for the rigors of the natural (and unnatural) environments that only he can conquer. The recent loss of his sidekick, Vlad (to a paying job) has been painful, but he’s managed to work through the loss to conquer large swaths of Colorado.

Hawk has a number of professional publications in engineering, science, history, and fantasy. He has been performing as a Mad Scientist for many years and is very close, at this point, to taking over (or destroying) the Earth. He can be found blogging on Urban-Fantasy.com, Madsci.us, and tweeting as @Sablehawk. He loves to speak at Science Fiction Conventions, such as Dragon Con, and will be happy – over a beer - to talk about any of these things for hours.

Hawk currently lives in Denver CO and is enjoying the heck out of spoiling his wife and current baby girl with all of his ill-gotten gains.

 

 

The Bone Key Curse delivers a plot riddled with mystery & suspense

The Bone Key Curse by Mike Scantlebury is an adventure/thriller with a religious premise. Think of Raiders of the Lost Ark but bring it to modern day Bristol England where students from Bristol University have been excavating for years. The story centers on what they discover in the River Trym, which flows through north Bristol and empties into the River Avon. It’s an ancient ship, and it holds well-preserved secrets. Mickey and his team arrive on site due to a terrorist threat. He’s out of his element, but his co-worker, Amelia Hartliss, provides him with enough information to give him a foundational understanding of the importance of the find and why religious zealots might want to capture or destroy the artifacts. 

 

Book Review

 

This story explodes with action in the first chapter and introduces a plot riddled with mystery and suspense. Scantlebury weaves a web of intrigue as Mickey, and his team, follow ancient clues to catch the terrorists. The Bone Key Curse is book 7 in the Mickey from Manchester series and the first I’ve read. The story stands alone, but it would be fun to pick up this series from the beginning. I wish the characters were more developed so I knew them better and could care more about what happens to them, but overall, I give this book 4 stars and recommend it to readers who enjoy books like The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown or Altar of Eden By James Rollins. The Bone Key Curse entertains and keeps the pages turning.

 

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer. I received a free review copy of this book and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About Author Mike Scantlebury

 

Free-wheeling author Mike Scantlebury confuses a lot of readers. Most days he writes adventurous stories, but he has so many other creative interests as well, it’s hard keeping up. Sure, you can find his books in all good online book-stores, but there’s e-books and paperbacks too, as well as a slew of audio-books that he’s narrated himself. Is that why he’s on Sound Cloud? No, he’s also got songs up there, as well as podcasts. You can also find him on You Tube. Talking about writing? Of course, but also performing, (songs, yes, and he’s also made a series of short drama movies, with local friends).

For a dedicated author, it’s almost as though he has NO PLAN at all. Well, yeah, That’s why they started calling him ‘Free-wheeling’. He’s so laid back, you never know what he’ll be doing today.

Still, if you want to read what he’s written - novels, short and long - try the usual book outlets. But if you want to hear him TALK, search out audio-books, (as well as podcasts on Sound Cloud). If you want to hear him SING, it’s Sound Cloud again, (plus You Tube), and if you want to see him act, try You Tube (and Vimeo.com).

That voice? It will tell you one thing. Mike Scantlebury is from the West of England. In fact, he’s the North West’s only West Country crime writer. That sounds like fun. He deserves an Award for that in itself!

The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn is a story of restoration

A pastoral ghost story set in Japan, The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn by Amber Logan is a tale of transformation. As a fan of the classic, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the thought of a retelling of the story intrigued me. I was not disappointed. Subtle ties to the original such as Mari Lennox stepping into the shoes of the protagonist and replacing the child Mary Lennox of the original are cleverly deposited throughout. While it is a fully new story, it is jam-packed with elements only fans of the classic will recognize, and it delivers the same compelling sense of mystery with a theme of emotional healing. Those who haven’t read the original will thoroughly enjoy this story of restoration as well. Logan's retelling draws readers deeper with each inkling, suspicion, or clue until they are immersed into the story told from Mari's perspective. ]

 

About The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn

Amber Logan’s protagonist is a middle-aged woman traumatized by grief, loss, and guilt. After being offered a grant to photograph Yanagi Inn for a client, her sister talks her into returning to Japan where she lived until age 10. She arrives at the sprawling Yanagi Inn to find it neglected and in need of refurbishment, much like Misselthwaite Manor of the original version, but this story sweeps the reader into Asian culture giving the tale a whole new flavor.

Una, a young Asian woman, brings meals to Mari’s room and straightens things while she is out. She becomes a friend and confidant. Much like Martha in the classic, Una’s surprising personality doesn’t fit Mari's preconceived assumptions. The younger woman brings a refreshing vitality to the declining inn, and she stands in contrast to the older, dour antagonist Okura.

When Mari takes her camera outside, she finds the gardens forsaken, run-down, and overgrown, but as she snaps pictures, she sees what was and the potential of what could be again. When a crane catches her attention, she follows it. It disappears across the pond to an island with no way to cross. When she talks to Una, she learns the island is off-limits, with no explanation.

When Mari hears weeping of a child in the night, she is compelled to find the source. She steps out of the familiarity of her room into “the inky darkness […] so complete I felt I could touch it and come away with my fingertips blackened. I kept one palm on the right wall and my bare feet shuffling along the cold wooden floor to keep from tripping over unseen objects.”

The narrative unwinds slowly like following a thread through a dark passage in search of a dropped ball of yarn. What she finds propelled me into an interactive experience as clues invited me to join in the suspense and mystery within the corridors and gardens of Yanagi Inn. Mari’s thoughts say it best. “Maybe I should just leave. I could sense two diverging paths in front of me: one in which I fled the inn and left all the mysteries behind, and one in which I stayed and saw both my duties and my curiosity through to the very end, no matter how unsettling the results.”

Book review of The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn

I recommend The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn to fans of the classic version of The Secret Garden, and to those who enjoy mysteries, ghost stories, and Asian themes. While some may think the pacing slow, I thought it perfect and in keeping with the tempo of the original story. It is delightfully symbolic. A story of rebirth for the inn and the woman searching for meaning within its corridors. Mari arrives filled with grief, anxiety and loss of direction following the death of her mother. It’s a tale of growth; from isolation to friendship, a renewed love of nature, and the re-emergence of curiosity as she wonders about the island that’s been off limits for decades. I give this book a strong four stars. 

As Book Hookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with Black Pheonix Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About Author Amber Logan

Amber A. Logan is a university instructor, freelance editor, and author of speculative fiction living in Kansas with her husband and two children—Fox and Willow. In addition to her degrees in Psychology, Liberal Arts, and International Relations, Amber holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

When she’s not writing, Amber enjoys trips to Japan, exploring unusual vegetarian foods, and reading Haruki Murakami.

Amber’s debut novel is THE SECRET GARDEN OF YANAGI INN - out late 2022.

 

Elven life in space brims with futuristic technology and magic

The Boyhood of Kaede: The Empire of Elves Book 1, blends Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Japanese mythology into an inventive adventure featuring elves, giants, orcs, ogres, goblins, witches, and dragons. For this adventure, they no longer live on their home planet but have traveled into space. Mars is now home, and travel by spaceship routine and space pirates are a real threat.

 

About The Boyhood of Kaede

The premise of The Boyhood of Kaede uniquely pulls together a strong Sci-Fi theme. Elves build a fleet of spaceships and search for a new home planet. A few of the ships experienced FTL drive malfunctions and couldn't make the jump, but no one discerned this until after the jump. At the heart of the story is the flower elf, Kaede, son of Prince Hiro, who is the son of the Emperor, Takahiro. Kaede shows extraordinary abilities from birth both intellectually and physically. As a toddler, he acts and sounds like a very clever twelve-year-old, and at the crux of the story are those who want to dethrone his family.

Book Review

Author David Applegate delivers a linear plot brimming with believable futuristic technology mixed with magic and a slew of characters providing several layers of subplots. These characters and their history is often introduced through strong dialog. However, he lays out the historical backdrop for this story in the prologue, so don’t skip it. I would like to see the prologue developed into a prequel trilogy for this book series which include Power Games: The Empire of Elves Book 2 and Into the Elves’ Mound: The Empire of Elves Book 3 .

 

I recommend The Boyhood of Kaede to readers who enjoy Sci-Fi/Fantasy. It is a unique story many will enjoy. With that said, in my opinion, the book could use the gentle hand of an editor. It meandered at times, with verbose descriptions distracting from the plot, and I would have enjoyed a little more world-building.

 

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received a free review copy of this book and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it.Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About author David Applegate

David was born in Sydney, Australia and currently lives in Brisbane. He attended QUT, where he studied computer science. David has travelled to Europe and parts of Asia. As a boy, he dreamt of Elves, spaceships and magic. He now intends to share the exciting journey of discovery and adventure with you.

Memoir delivered with humor to ease the pain & a heart full of forgiveness that brings hope

Shake that Cream: Battling Gods and Monsters in the Backwoods of East Texas by Ellen Black weaves the warp and weft threads of her past into a tapestry depicting an abusive childhood growing up in a dysfunctional household that joined Herbert W. Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God cult in the late 1950s as well as her lifelong quest to escape to normal.

 

Black chronicles events growing up in small-town Texas, attending Herbert W’s church and school. As a bonus negative, her father also taught at the school and knew her every move. Nowhere in her childhood did she receive affirmation, encouragement, or love. Yet, while she longed for it and lived in a sea of disappointment, she hung on to hope that somehow eventually her parents would love her.

When she goes away to college and graduates, she finally escapes the clutches of the church and her parents, but does she really? What happens when her racist parents learn she has a bi-racial child outside of marriage? They travel to New York City to kidnap her baby daughter and in a blink, the nightmare stands at her door again.

Shake that Cream is a moving, highly readable, firsthand account of what Black underwent being raised in the Worldwide Church of God cult. She articulates how Armstrong influenced her parents and so many others. While the details are disturbing, even as Black describes the abuse she and her brother suffered, this enthralling and harrowing memoir carries the reader on a journey of hope through a quagmire of false Christian doctrines, control, abuse, lies, anger, and more. Shake that Cream masterfully weaves Ellen’s story in a way that lays out her dire situation but doesn’t get mired in the negative. She tells her story from the first-person point of view and delivers it with enough humor to help ease the pain, and a heart full of forgiveness that brings hope. She not only escaped but survived with her sense of self intact and the toxic cycle broken.

I recommend Shake that Cream to the cult curious, those interested in secret societies, and false religions, and those trying to learn more about the Worldwide Church of God. I also recommend it to other survivors who have grown up with such physical and emotional pain and are trying to find their way to their own new normal. I award this book a strong four stars.

 

As Book Hookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received a free review copy of this book and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with BookTasters. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

Cozy mystery filled with layers of enigmas to unravel

John J. Delaney’s murder mystery, A Dangerous Fossil (a Jurassic Jemma Mystery), is set in the small coastal town of Lulcombe, England where two-hundred-year-old seams of fossil-filled rocks from the early Jurassic period attract fossil hunters and tourists. When native-born, 43-year-old Jemma Thorne and her Springer Spaniel, Dino, head out to scour the beach for fossils following a storm, she has no idea how it will change her life. 

Dressed in heavy boots and a long-waxed coat she steps out into the dark of a windy, rainy early morning with her rucksack, dog, and hopes of beating the local fossil hunters to what the waves have kicked up on shore. Dino’s barking draws her attention to a large section of cliff that slipped during the storm, and Jemma makes a lifetime discovery. A plesiosaur skull. And it gets better. The whole skeleton is preserved. And it is huge. A major find. “Jurassic Jemma” is excited. Not only will it put Lulcombe on the map but it will also save the museum from being bought out and replaced by a large development that would ruin the sleepy little town. But time is not on her side. The tide is rising.

A Dangerous Fossil book review

This cozy mystery murder takes place in the museum. Delaney masterfully weaves a tangle of complicated relationships linking several people with possible motives in this entertaining whodunit. Jemma’s independent lifestyle becomes cramped with surveillance. All she wants is her independence back. When the police can’t come up with answers, Jemma makes a plan of her own. It puts her life at risk, but she’s willing to take the chance if she can get her life back and, if she’s lucky, get “Plessie” back in the process.

A Dangerous Fossil features a strong independent female protagonist in Jemma Thorne. Fossils are her passion and her home life as a divorced, single mom with a college-aged daughter and detective boyfriend let her personality, independence, strengths, and weaknesses shine. I recommend this page-turner to fans of cozy mysteries, detective novels, and soft-boiled mysteries. If you enjoyed reading the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths or Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series by Deborah Crombie, this book is for you. Delaney provides plenty of neatly packaged clues for readers to follow. A Dangerous Fossil is a five-star cozy mystery winner filled with layers of enigmas and secrets ready to be unraveled. 

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As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received a free review copy of this book and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About author John Delaney

 Since 1999 John has written plots for thirty murder mystery party games (boxed and downloadable) with worldwide sales in excess of 100,000 copies, mainly in the UK and USA.

John has written three musicals (Directions, Dream Home and 68 The Musical ) and a pantomime. He has also written an opera called Tir na Nog and one of the arias from the opera, This Mortal Man, was included on the composer's album which reached number 1 on the Classical charts in the UK and number 18 on the USA Billboard chart.

A Dangerous Fossil is John’s first novel and features sassy fossil hunter ‘Jurassic’ Jemma Thorne. A tale of discovery, greed and murder set on Dorset’s Jurassic coast.