Alexis DeSousa's Blog, page 5

The Softwire: Virus On Orbis 1

The Softwire: Virus On Orbis 1 – 5/5 Stars

PJ Haarsma

I have to say that this book had me from the start! It was really an enjoyable read, one that I wish I had been able to come across as a teen reader. And what's also awesome about it? It's FREE on Kindle (click the image to get there).

So, The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 is a sci-fi novel, that, although it is considered a young adult novel, appeals to all ages. I really found the characters highly relatable and very interesting. As soon as I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

The novel centers around a young boy, J.T., and his fellow human children. The group is traveling on a seed-ship to a remote place called Orbis, their new home. We find out early in the novel that there are no adults on the seed-ship, the Renaissance, and that they all mysteriously perished. They were originally headed to Orbis, to work one year on each of its rings. The children arrive to find out that they must work off the agreement their parents made as, sort of, a bunch of indentured servants.

J.T. is one of the older kids and he is a tough one. We find out he can talk to the computer by just thinking. The aliens on Orbis call people with this talent Softwires. J.T. doesn't take too kindly to being singled out. Who could blame him?

The world of Orbis is described with great wonder. I really wish I could see this place. It seems awesome. J.T. has a few friends, and a silent sister, that follow him around and help him out during their time on Orbis 1. Just as they arrive, however, things start going wonky with the central computer – a supposed infallible piece of technology. Many of the citizens blame J.T.

You'll have to read to find out who the culprits are behind this, but it is full of plenty of intrigue and information regarding a fully developed world. I really want to know more, and I have already purchased the second novel, The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2.

Nice New Review for Shifting Fate

Hi all,

I received a nice review from Adriel over at Sapphire Book Reviews! I hope you are able to take the time to check it out!

A Modern Witch

A Modern Witch – 5/5 Stars

Debora Greary

I have to say, I really enjoyed this novel! I was lucky enough to win this through a LibraryThing giveaway! A Modern Witch is set in modern day, following a group of witches who find a new friend and family member in a woman who never knew she was a witch! Lauren is a real estate agent in Chicago and she inadvertently gets pulled into a Witches Chat while she is grocery shopping online. The women there are all witches and as they try to convince her that she just might be one, she gives them quite a hard time!

Lauren is slow to believe that she could possibly be a witch. The group sends her, Jamie, a trainer to scan her for any magical powers. It turns out that Lauren really has some magical mojo!

Following Lauren on her journey into this world was a great way to explain all of the lore and information surrounding the magic of this place. The magical ideas and information was very fleshed out and felt very concrete, almost as if the author laid everything out beforehand (which is very good!)

My favorite character was Aevryn, a young witchling with great power. He and Lauren bond, and their bond is cute and funny at the same time. They are really quite a pair. They love to play practical jokes and though Aevryn is young, I feel that he is going to grow into a very great witch.

I thought the storyline with Jamie, the trainer witch, and Lauren's best friend Nat was very cute. They make a great couple and I can't wait to see how their little witchling turns out!

I really enjoyed the novel and I can't wait until the next installment! If you want to read something light-hearted and magical, this is the novel for you!

Dead Before Morning

My newest book review, for Dead Before Morning, went live on bookpumper.com.

Check it out HERE.

The Hambledown Dream

The Hambledown Dream: 4/5 Stars

Dean Mayes

The Hambledown Dream is a contemporary fiction novel with a supernatural twist. The novel centers around drug addict and mule, Andrew DeVries. At the start of the novel, his life is a complete mess. He overdoses and dies on the table, only to be brought back to his drug addled life. When he is brought back, something happens to him that changes his life for the better.

The novel starts out with a character other than Andy. We see the death of a man we do not know. At first, I wasn't sure why we were seeing Denny's death at the very beginning, but the pieces come together later as Andy starts to find himself "transforming" into a mix of Andy/Denny. Not only does he remember Denny's memories, but he feels his emotions, and is taking on his physical traits as well.

I have to say that I enjoyed this transformation immensely. I think it was done in a neat way, though the physical transformation seemed much more gradual than the emotional transformation. I felt bad for Andy that he needed another person's soul inside him to force him out of his bad habits. I really wished that Andy could have managed to survive the drugs on his own, rather than with Denny's help. I think it would have showed that Andy had a certain strength that was admirable.

Andy is a virtuoso at the guitar, which I thought was very interesting. I haven't seen much on classical guitar in the past and I think this book shed an cool, new light on this type of classical music. From the start, this is something that both Andy and Denny have in common; it is a common thread that could have pulled their two souls together when they died.

The supernaturalness of the novel was light and I loved that. This is very much a love story, of two people finding each other again and anew. In taking in Denny, Andy starts to see his love, Sonya. She is very much alive in the town of Hambledown, saddened by Denny's death. The two – Andy and Sonya – see "dreams" of each other in a way that comes to connect them, later when they meet in Australia.

I also have to add that I really love the cover. It brings out the essence of the book in a way that is very appealing. It is a crisp cover that definitely draws the eye.

Lastly, the book was very well written. I enjoyed seeing the love story develop from afar and then again together. It was nice to see Denny reunited with Sonya, even if it was in someone else's body, and a new love start to blossom.

Quick Updates

Just posting a quick update on what's going on! Right now, I am working on the sequel to Shifting Fate. I am about 70k words in! I would say I am more than half-way done! Yay!

Also, I have had the privilege of being asked to guest blog on Cookie's Book Club today. I hope you head over there to check out my post!

Paradox – The Angels Are Here

Patti Roberts

I was able to snag a copy of Paradox from Smashwords. I was kinda interested, because I had never really read any Angel type fiction before. The book started out really nicely, with some interesting background about the Angels and their different houses. I was definitely pulled in by these characters, they seemed to have depth and the civil war that seemed to be going on between them definitely excited me to find out more.

Where I lost interest was in the switch from the Angels and their possibly evil natures up above to the people down on earth. I know that the author was attempting to set a background of the human characters and how Angels interact with the humans below, but I felt disconnected from them. I think that I would have liked to see more of the Angels we had started out with interspersed with the humans (I haven't finished, so I'm not sure if this actually happens, or if the Angels that are interacting with the humans are from the opposing house). What made it harder to get through were some of the word choices used that were a bit confusing for me to understand.

I definitely really liked how the story started out and that part of the story still interests me, however, the bit of human background has sort of burnt me out at the moment and I'm not quite sure yet how much they fit into the story.

 

I also posted this on goodreads. Check me out over there and add me: Goodreads!

Birthday Wishes + Updates

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

The Shifting Fate giveaway has now ended! Winners will be emailed shortly. Congrats to all that participated.

Also, I have recently joined GoodReads. If you are over there, please add me: Alexis Leno on Goodreads

 

I just recently finished reading Dead Before Morning by Geraldine Evans and will be posting a review shortly (after it goes up on bookpumper.com)

Also look out for an official website from me, coming soon

Great Review + New Release

Hi everyone!

I received a nice review from G. Rutz on Amazon.com for Shifting Fate. You can check it out HERE.

Also, I've released a new set of short stories that were on my "About" page.

RED SAND AND OTHER STORIES. It includes 4 science fiction short stories. It is now available on Amazon and Smashwords. Here's a sneak peak below:

"Red Sand" – A thriller surrounding an up and coming base on the planet Mars. When a science team goes missing, military man Alexander Castillo is sent to investigate. What he brings back with him changes the lives of everyone on the base, forever.


"Trial and Error" – When Doctor George Peters gets the funding pulled on a project he has put his blood, sweat, and tears into, he'll do anything to get it back.


"Specimen E3101″ – In a world where babies are few and far between, Elizabeth learns what she was made for. And in the process, she finds something else she hadn't been looking for along the way.


"In Space" – In space, everything is quiet. There is nowhere to run.

Don't forget to check out the GIVEAWAY in the post below!

Giveaway!

Hi all,

In honor of my birthday on March 19th, I've decided to host a giveaway of 5 Shifting Fate e-books. If you would like to enter, please reply to this post with your Name, Email, and Preferred E-book Type OR email me at ALEXIS dot LENO @ GMAIL . COM, with Giveaway in the title of the email, along with the post information.

Check out this flyer and let all your friends now