L.A. Kelley's Blog, page 20

Book Review: Armada by Ernest Cline

Zach Lightman is a dreamer. He has no plans for the future other than to get through the last few months of high school and graduate. The teenager lives a lackluster life of dull routine, hoping for an indescribable something to give his life meaning.  Then one day he sees a spaceship outside his classroom window. Next thing you know Zach is recruited by a mysterious global organization to protect Earth from an alien invasion. World governments have been secretly training soldiers by the use of video games that mimic actual battlefield technology. One of the games is called Armada, and Zach just happens to be a top player.
Armada starts out surprisingly slow, the action doesn’t ramp up until the last two thirds of the novel. Meanwhile, the story is crammed with cultural references and video-game speak. If you don’t like sci-fy or have at least a passing interest in gaming then this book will bore you to tears. For those of us who’ve frittered away too many hours watching cheesy TV or playing video games the book also has few surprises. The plot will feel eerily familiar as if different parts of sci-fy venues had been strung together. As I read, I mentally connected plot points from old favorite books, TV, and movies. Yup, this theme comes from Star Wars...this twist comes from a Stargate episode...this is Star Trek...this is The Last Starfighter. It was actually kind of fun tying all the pieces together. That’s not to say the book is completely derivative or a total waste of time. It has the same appeal as summer superhero movies. You already know what’s coming, but you buy the ticket and order extra butter on the popcorn anyway.
The weakest part of the book is the characterization. You’ve met all these types before in dozens of different books and shows. Everyone has a role to play and doesn’t deviate; the misunderstood hero, the gamer dudes, the hacker chick who is (guess what?) beautiful, tattooed, snarky and drops the f bomb at every opportunity. Wow, I’ve never seen any of them before. No, wait, that’s my inner snarky hacker chick speaking. Yeah, unfortunately I’ve met them all before and they’re not any more interesting the hundredth time around.
Anyone who is a fan of the sci-fy genre can see the ending coming for the entire final third of the book. For that point alone, I didn’t find it particularly satisfying. It’s also pretty obvious who will live and who will die. The conclusion hints at a sequel. Again, no surprise. So does every other summer blockbuster.
Is this a terrible book?  No, but it isn’t terrific, either. It falls somewhere in between. A pleasant way to waste a few hours, but not interesting enough to look forward to more of Zach Lightman’s adventures.

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a review.

99 Cent Sale for Love's Battle by Angela Hayes

If love isn't worth fighting for, what is?
Love's Battle is on sale for 99 cents July 17-July 31
Love Howard has more than a knack for matchmaking. Born from a forbidden passion and a twelve-hundred-year-old promise, she and her sisters can literally see true love. And while Love has no problem bringing other couples together, her own romantic life could use a little help.
Danton DeAngelo has always been well grounded in reality. So it throws him for no small loop when the woman he’s fallen for believes that she’s been reincarnated eleven times and can actually see true love.
Now Danton is faced with the biggest decision of his life. Accept Love for who she really is, or walk away from her forever.
Title: Love's Battle Genres: Time Travel, Paranormal, Fantasy 
Rating: Sensual (PG13) 
Page Count: 310
Excerpt
             The hand Love pressed to her brow was visibly shaking. “There’s something I need to tell you. I just need you to keep an open mind.”            “What is it? Are you sick?” Danton asked.            “No, I’m not sick.” Her voice trembled on a forced laugh. “It’s something else. Something I‘ve been trying to prepare you for. This would be so much easier if you believed in magic. If you could believe that what I’m about to tell you is the honest truth.”            Turning, Love opened the iron chest, the hinges groaning with the effort as specks of rust littered the floor. From its depths she pulled out a clear plastic bag that she held tight to her chest, eyes closed, before handing it to a confused Danton.            “This is my tartan, my plaid. Before it faded and was dinner for the moths, it was once patterned in checks of green, gray, and brown. The purple and white stripes that ran through the hem identified the wearer as part of the royal family.” Love tapped the plastic, her finger pointing out where each color should be. “It was a gift from my father. The first and only time my sister’s and I met him, he was on his deathbed, we were eighteen. A week later our mother died in the same moment he drew his last breath.” Needing the extra air Love drew a breath of her own. “That day was the thirteenth of February, eight-hundred and fifty-eight AD. My father was Cinaed mac Alpin, crowned king of the Picts and Gaels. He was Scotland’s first king.”            “Eight- hundred and fifty-eight?” That couldn’t be right, she was only twenty-five. “Don’t you mean Nineteen-eighty-seven?”            “No. I was born for the first time in Scotland during the middle of the ninth century.”

Buy links:Amazon http://bit.ly/LovesBattleAmazon Uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Loves-Battle-True-Blue-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00J9VXWGKThe Wild Rose Press  http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=indexHYPERLINK "http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=1103"&HYPERLINK "http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=1103"manufacturers_id=1103Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/loves-battle-angela-hayes/1119985601?ean=2940149742493All Romance Books https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-love039sbattle-1576941-143.htmlBookstrand http://www.bookstrand.com/loves-battleItunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/loves-battle/id903146052?mt=11
Book Trailer:http://youtu.be/t2_eJMzk9wA   or embedded you tube link   :<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://lakelleythenaughtylist.blogspo..." frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Author Bio:A married mother of two, I split my time between bringing characters to life by computer, and yarn to life with needle and hook. You can find me at www.authorangelahayes.blogspot.comwhere I help connect readers and the author’s they love. https://twitter.com/imahayes www.pinterest.com/imahayes http://www.manicreaders.com/AngelaHayes/ www.amazon.com/author/angelahayes  https://www.goodreads.com/author_angelahayes

Book Review: Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett

Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett
I thought I knew rain. I’m not too proud to admit I cower in a corner during hurricanes. You try keeping your cool when screeching winds blow raindrops sideways from the sky. Seriously, sideways rain. I swear during the last storm there were whitecaps in my toilet. Now, that’s rain.
However, storms are only a small part of rain’s mystique. Cynthia Barnett, an award winning environmental journalist, gives a fascinating account of rain’s cultural, historic, scientific, religious, and, yes, even musical effect on humankind. There’s a surprise on every page, beginning with the shape of a shower. Rain is not a conglomeration of droplets. Instead it falls like “tiny parachutes, their tops rounded because of air pressure from below.” Since there is no standard global measurement for rain, its description is often personal. That’s why it rains cats and dogs here, but “shoemakers’ apprentices in Denmark, chair legs in Greece, ropes in France, pipe stems in the Netherlands, and wheelbarrows in the Czech Republic.”
Barnett describes the important roles rain has played in such far flung topics as presidential elections, human evolution and fashion design. She even tackles the effect of a wet versus dry climate on spiritual development. Monotheistic religions were born in the arid climates of the Middle East while people of damp rainy lands worshiped many gods. In the dry desert it made sense that a god could create something out of nothing. While in rain-soaked lands, where flora and fauna abounded, life was seen in a continuous circle of birth, death, and rebirth.
The best writers on nature and the environment weave words with a lyrical skill. Barnett is no exception. You will never hear a rainstorm the same way again after reading her description of a walk through the Hoh Rain Forest in western Washington State. “Drops strike a muffled plunk in the moss, a gentle splat on the muddy trail, a solid thwack against the mammoth logs and tree roots, a quiet pluck on fern fronds, and a louder snap when they hit the maple leaves scattered on the forest floor.” Nice, huh? Makes you want to ditch the umbrella.
Good science books are not dull and preachy recitation of facts. Barnett comes across with a cheeky sense of humor. (Global rain patterns are described as Mother Earth’s Bikini.) An entire chapter is even devoted to rain’s effect on entertainment; from the artistic use of rain wands in movies to the development of grunge rock. Could Kurt Cobain have written Nirvana’s angst-ridden songs in sunny Miami Beach? Would there have been any grunge rock at all if Seattle’s climate wasn’t so dreary. Barnett argues convincingly that rain “can create a mood and inspire a melody.”
This is a lovely book with an ecological lesson that falls as gently as a summer shower. Humans plow native grasses and settle in floodplains and expect rain to behave. Instead of craving mastery over the elements, it’s time we learned to live in harmony with them. I highly recommend this book. Save it for rainy day and you’ll never look at the sky the same way again.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

A Heavenly Sale for 99 Cents: Heavenly Desire by J. L. Sheppard

Heavenly Desire by J. L. Sheppard99 Cent Sale thru July 10th
Will he sacrifice his wings for a woman he loves but can never keep?
Clyde, an angel, battles the one thing he believes will lead to his fall from heaven—his new found emotions, forbidden among his kind. Nonetheless, the Angel Lords promise to promote him to warrior when he completes his last assignment—to find Jade. When he does, emotions he never knew possible arise. For the first time in two thousand years, he cursed his existence. Knowing she can never be his, will he sacrifice his wings for a woman he loves but can't keep?
Excerpt: He bent toward her, wrapped one arm around her waist, the other around her back, then buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled. Relishing the feel of her body melded against his, he forgot the worries consuming him. She soothed his ache with a mere touch, with a mere embrace.
Exactly what he’d wanted, exactly what he needed.
She then pressed her full lips against his cheek, kissing him lightly. An innocent kiss. There was no passion behind it, but an unconscious consuming need, one he’d never felt, swelled inside him—desire. It was exciting, overwhelming and terrifying, blocking logic and reason. All he wanted now was a single kiss. All he could think about was how her soft lips would feel pressed against his.
Marvelous, he concluded.
It was absurd to want what he did and feel what he felt, for he was an angel. Carnal desires even as insignificant as kisses were for others, for all others except his breed, and yet he felt it so deeply it seared him.
The desire that gripped him didn’t release him even after she unhooked her arms from around his neck, and the warmth of her body melted away. There he stood, immobile, battling the desire she’d sparked. He didn’t want to leave yet knew he had to before he’d acted out his longing.
He willed his body to move. Finally, he placed one foot behind the other, stepped back and strode away praying the yearning he had no right to feel for a woman who would never be his would soon subside.
Buy Links: TWRP: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=5800Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Desire-Elemental-Sisters-Series-ebook/dp/B00N26EWG2 B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heavenly-desire-j-l-sheppard/1120325495?ean=2940150739291 Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Heavenly-Desire/piDMp0Ld1UGfCsvPPlLOeg?MixID=piDMp0Ld1UGfCsvPPlLOeg&PageNumber=1
Author Bio: J.L. Sheppard was born and raised in Miami, Florida where she still lives with her husband and son. As a child, her greatest aspiration was to become a writer. She read often, kept a journal and wrote countless poems. She attended Florida International University and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelors in Communications. During her senior year, she interned at NBC Miami, WTVJ. Following the internship, she was hired and worked in the News Department for three years. It wasn’t until 2011 that she set her heart and mind into writing her first completed novel, Demon King’s Desire, which was published in January of 2013. Besides reading and writing, she enjoys traveling and spending quality time with family and friends.www.JLSheppard.com  www.facebook.com/JLSheppardAuthor https://twitter.com/JL_Sheppard http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6894176.J_L_Sheppard http://pinterest.com/jlsheppard5/

New Release: The Detective's Dragon by Karilyn Bentley

The Detective's Dragon by Karilyn Bentley

As a Halfling with little magic, Jamie is barely considered a Draconi, his sole talent finding jewels and lost people. But when he dreams of a human female in trouble, he has no choice but to save her, even if it means crossing dimensions into a different realm.
Unfairly accused and placed on administrative leave, Detective Ruby Parker is determined to regain her position on the Denver police force. When an attempt to kidnap her fails, she must learn to trust the stranger who appears from nowhere to help her.
Unlike in Draconia, Jamie's powers work in Parker's world, his longing to wield magic finally fulfilled. But is working magic worth leaving his family and friends? When Parker realizes she loves Jamie, she must make a choice, follow her heart to a different world, or remain alone and attempt to regain her beloved job. What happens when the one you love lives in another dimension?
Excerpt: The squeak of hinges snapped Parker’s attention to the door. Hottie stood in the doorway, one hand on the frame, the other on the handle, a look of determination plastered on his face. A look she was familiar with. A look she saw reflected in her mirror on a daily basis. A look mirrored on her coworkers’ faces when working a case. A look she never thought to see directed her way. Which was a bit unnerving, but not nearly as unnerving as the realization he’d followed her. He stood in the doorway like he owned the place. Or owned her.
Her limbs shuddered like a car without shocks. He. Followed. Her. Was he stalking her? Was he with the ones who tried to kidnap her? What was he doing here? More to the point, how did she get rid of him? Her muscles might be coming out of a deep freeze, but that didn’t mean she could hop off the bed and toss him out the door.
Where was the damn call button?
Parker patted the mattress. Hottie took a step closer. Then another. No button. Her heart shook an uneven rhythm, the beat a warning drum in her veins. Her hand moved faster against the mattress, searching, seeking, not finding.
Damn it.
“Be of ease. I mean no harm.”
She stilled, her hand paused mid-pat as if his words flipped her off switch. Deep and soothing, his voice stroked across frazzled nerves, slowing her racing heart. If he could bottle that sound, women would fall at his feet.
Buy Links: Amazon Wild Rose Press
Author Bio: Karilyn Bentley's love of reading stories and preference of sitting in front of a computer at home instead of in a cube, drove her to pen her own works, blending fantasy and romance mixed with a touch of funny. Her paranormal romance novella, Werewolves in London, placed in the Got Wolf contest and started her writing career as an author of sexy heroes and lush fantasy worlds. Karilyn lives in North Texas with her own hunky hero, a psycho dog nicknamed Hell Hound, a crazy puppy, and a handful of colorful saltwater fish.
Website: www.karilynbentley.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarilynBentl...Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/karilynbentley1Blog: http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.comGoodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/karilynbentleyNewsletter: http://eepurl.com/ba_0Rf

New Release Sale: Fairest of the Faire by Susabelle Kelmer

The renaissance fair is filled with characters and romance, but will it end in storybook love?

New Release Sale for $2.50 only at Wild Rose Press.
Schoolteacher Connie Meyers is suddenly a young widow, her husband killed in a horrific car accident. Heartbroken to find out he had gambled away everything they had, she moves to her sister-in-law's Midwest home to rebuild her life. A trip to the local Renaissance Faire with her nieces leads to a summer job as a costumed storyteller.
Avowed bad boy and fair performer Gage Younglood is infatuated with Connie at first sight. Despite his deliberately commitment-free life, and Connie's don't-touch-me attitude, he soon has her in his arms, realizing quickly she is also in his heart.
When she is threatened by her late husband's bookie, he steps into the role of protector, his fate forever sealed with hers.
Genre: Contemporary RomanceRating: Spicy (PG13)Page Count: 296
Excerpt: “Who said anything about a relationship?” he said, standing up so he could tower over her again. “I’m just trying to have a little fun. You know, fun?”
If he’d been an animal, she was sure he’d have had hair raised on the back of his neck, he seemed so angry, and it struck her painfully. She hadn’t wanted to anger him or hurt him. She turned away from him and closed her eyes to tamp down the tears she knew would come if she let them. She crossed her arms over her chest, to hold in the pain. Being tired made her much too vulnerable.
“Yes,” she finally said. “I know about fun. Life isn’t always fun, though.”
“Princess.” His voice was soft, tender. “I won’t hurt you. It’s not in my plan.”
Despite herself, she felt the shivers of desire race down from her shoulders, down her arms and legs, and back up to that secret, soft place at her core. She bowed her head and gritted her teeth, hoping for the feeling to go away.
“And what is your plan, Gage?”
“It’s a simple plan. I want you to feel good. I want to feel good, too.”
Buy Links: Wild Rose Press (Sale Price Only Here!) Amazon
Author Bio: Susabelle Kelmer is a wife and mother living at the base of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. She believes in romance, second chances, and the magic of moonlight. When she isn't writing, she works with students with disabilities in the college environment. Find her at: http://www.susabelle.com Blog: http://journal.celestialchicken.comTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/SusabelleKelmerFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/SusabelleKelmerGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/susabelleEmail: susabelle.kelmer@gmail.com

Book Review of Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World

Recent articles on gender inequity in Silicon Valley serve to remind that women still have a long way to go to achieve employment parity. The distance, however is nothing compared to what all the female scientists experienced in the new book by Rachel Swaby. Today’s women in STEM fields may have a difficult time climbing the corporate ladder, but it wasn’t that long ago when the corporate ladder was clearly marked, Women Not Allowed.
Swaby’s book is divided into short chapters each highlighting an individual’s life and career. Don’t be surprise if you haven’t heard the names of most of the honorees. The author specifically selected women who, although produced significant contributions, are relatively unknown. No current women are included as Swaby also chose to concentrate on scientists whose professional life’s work is completed. The struggles to gain an education were impressive, doubly so when you realize they all lived in times when feminine worth was judged by looks and marriage potential. Education was often frowned upon or considered unnecessary, but each of the women in the book was gifted with an iron will and a burning desire to learn. Students often took many years to complete degrees as schools balked at accepting women into graduate programs and financial assistance for them was nonexistent. Education could come in fits and starts. Menial jobs had to be taken in order to earn enough money for classes to continue. Yet, they all persevered.
The list of accomplishments will surprise you. Every parent of a newborn has heard of an Apgar score, but almost no one knows it was named after the developer, Dr. Virginia Apgar. Have a family member in the military or police? Say thanks to the inventor of Kevlar, chemist Stephanie Kwolek, for helping to keep them safe.
A few names are familiar; Rachel Carson, Sally Ride, and Florence Nightingale are included. One will surely raise an eyebrow. The actress Hedy Lamarr was known for her beauty, not her brains, but during World War II she patented the idea for a frequency hopping system as a way to guide torpedoes. Years later, the technology found unexpected uses in wireless cash registers and bar code readers.
This book would be good companion piece for a teacher or anyone interested in the history of science and technology. The biographies are short, but engaging, and neither too technical nor preachy. The reader comes away with respect for these pioneers, and an understanding that the good old days were never that good for women. One quibble I have is that there are 52 profiles, but the only pictures are on the cover. It would have been nice to start each biography with a visual image.

Mobicon

Thanks to all the lovely readers who made my trip to Mobicon a success. 



Can't believe all the detail in this costume. (The puppet on the hand of the Queen of Hearts was an adorable touch.)










Don't mess around in Mobicon. They are armed and dangerous.











Where's a Jedi when you need one? In Mobile, Alabama, of course.

99 Cent Sale for One Enchanted Evening

Ebook Sale for 99 Cents from May 1-14
Scroll to the bottom for a chance to win an autographed copy of One Enchanted Evening.
Enchanted clothing has a mind of its own.
Restlessness plagued Charlotte Becker. Unable to settle down, she moved from place to place searching for an elusive something to calm her turbulent spirit. A sudden invitation sends her across country to Lobster Cove, Maine. Anchors abound by the sea, but surely nothing would keep her rooted in place in a pokey resort town during the off-season.
Drawn into a consignment shop named One Enchanted Evening, Charlotte is confronted by a mysterious article of clothing requesting her help to stop a man in a wolf mask from killing women. Charlotte agrees to protect the citizens of Lobster Cove and find the hunter before an innocent is slain.
Luke Maddox’s hunting days are over. Wounded in action, he left the Marines to return to Lobster Cove. Hiding his disability, he accepts life will be nothing more than dull routine. Then he meets a singular young woman wearing an unusual cloak. She tells an incredible story of a wolf that walks on two legs.
And the hunt begins…

In One Enchanted Evening fantasy, humor, and romance are wrapped up in the cheeky retelling of a fairy tale. You will never look at a clothing from a consignment shop the same way again.
Except:Swallowing back her unease, Charlotte rolled up the window and got out. Except for her car, Main Street was empty. She pushed through the scrubby overgrown yard. Clearly illuminated on the door was the By Appointment Only sign. Somebody must be inside and she wasn’t going anywhere without a tow truck. Butterflies fluttered about her stomach as she scampered up the steps and knocked on the door.
“Excuse me,” she called out. “I don’t have an appointment, but my car and phone died and I need a tow—”
The door swung open. Charlotte drew in a breath and set a hesitant foot over the threshold. The interior lights activated, sending her heart pounding.
 “Nothing to worry about,” she muttered. “Motion sensors or something. Hello?” she called louder. “Anyone home?”
Charlotte stepped inside. With the interior illuminated, more than a few armoires were visible. The old front parlor was crammed with trunks and bureaus. Battered chests stacked on top of each other lined the walls. Had all this stuff been here before? The size of the building was deceptively small from the outside.
“Great places to stuff a body,” she muttered.
“That’s true,” said a voice.
Charlotte made a leaping half spin around. Her heart shouldered her esophagus out of the way to race up her throat. She swallowed hard to force it back down. The elderly woman with the peasant blouse and purple bandana stood right behind her.
“However, I don’t recommend it,” she said, cheerfully, “as you’ll never get rid of the smell.”
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Writing that Drives me Bug Nuts. It's a Short Hop.

Illogical situations When you get down to the nitty gritty all fiction is just making crap up. Whether the author is writing realistically or not, the world is still fake. That’s okay as long as the fake world is believable and functions in a logical manner. Harry Potter’s world is fake. So is the world of Shakespeare’s King Richard, although he is based on a historical character. The actions in both are understandable within the context of human nature. The reader understands why Harry went right and Richard so horribly wrong.
The biggest offenders are the latest glut of dystopian novels. The authors have no understanding of basic human psychology or motivation. Characters act irrationally. The worlds they inhabit make no damn sense; politically, psychologically, economically or otherwise. Settings are idiotic as well as impractical and could never function. On the other hand if magic existed, Harry Potter’s world could, too. It’s fake, but feels real.
Apostrophes & Unpronounceable words D’Chtulk, g’g’duba of the Mmor’a’c’z’anits, wielded his mighty blorknog. “Fraaaanaka,” he screamed. Tolkien invented a whole new language. There are no Tolkien's out there writing now. If an author has to add a pronunciation guide, the story is bad. Vowels are free. Add a few. Apostrophes feel no pain. Kill them with a blorknog. While we’re on the subject, what exactly is a blorknog? A sword. The hero’s pet name for his genitalia? I don’t know. I don’t care. Neither does anyone with a dash of sense.
Sex instead of chemistry Sex is not romance. If you don’t know the difference, stop reading right now and get counseling immediately. In erotica, sex matters. In romance, sex doesn’t. You can have it, or not have it. With good writing, the lack or addition won’t affect the story. Sex never makes a bad story better. The only importance is the chemistry between the hero and heroine. If they don’t have an emotional and intellectual connection along with the physical attraction, the sex in the story comes across as either sad, creepy, or exploitive.
Character Confusion Men are different than women. Seriously people, they are. Not so, according to many authors who write supposedly tough female characters. Yeah, these gals fight like the men. They talk like the men. They walk like the men. Hell, they are men, only with boobs. It drives me crazy when there is no discernible difference between the sexes. Just because a female character wields a weapon and curses, doesn’t make her either tough or memorable. I find her annoying.
Confusion can also occur because there are too many characters. I once read a good one hundred page novelette that would have been a great novelette if it weren’t for that fact that it had over thirty characters. I kept having to flick back and forth trying to remember who all was whom.
Which leads me to the last item...
Unrealistic Dialog A physical description shouldn’t be required to tell the difference between every man, women, or child in a story. Dialog should do that alone. Each character needs to be a unique voice on the page. You should get a good sense of gender, age, economic status, and other variables. Characters that sound alike have no separate personality or identity. If dialog can be switched around between men and women and not sound weird, I’m ready to pitch the book across the room. 
I have plenty more, but a good rant is exhausting and I feel the need to lie down.