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• Rated 4 stars

Jackie B reviewed a book.

“Read from June 16 to 18, 2013

Book Info

Paperback
Expected publication: June 4th 2013 by Thomas & Mercer
ISBN 1611099846 (ISBN13: 9781611099843)
edition language English
characters Dominic Grey, Viktor Radek
setting San Francisco, California (United States)...”

“Read from June 16 to 18, 2013

Book Info

Paperback
Expected publication: June 4th 2013 by Thomas & Mercer
ISBN 1611099846 (ISBN13: 9781611099843)
edition language English
characters Dominic Grey, Viktor Radek
setting San Francisco, California (United States)
Paris (France)
London, England (United Kingdom)
Source:Netgalley EARC

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BOOK SYNOPSIS


In this gripping thriller, the bizarre murder of a Satanic priest in San Francisco draws Dominic Grey and Viktor Radek, private investigators of cults, to the scene. Witnesses claim a robed figure, seemingly able to appear and disappear at will, set fire to the priest. When the leader of another Satanic cult in Paris dies under similar circumstances, the case only grows stranger… and more dangerous.

Convinced that a charismatic New Age prophet is behind the murders, the investigators undergo a perilous journey into the world of the occult as they try to penetrate the prophet’s inner circle. From the catacombs of Paris to London’s nefarious East End, from the haunted walls of York to a monastic fortress in the Sicilian wilderness, the case plunges Viktor and Grey into a vortex of black magic, ancient heresies, and the dark corners of their own pasts.

The Diabolist is a chilling novel that not only pulsates with action and suspense, but also mines a trove of fascinating historical, philosophical, and paranormal research to probe some of our closest held beliefs. From the opening pages to the astonishing conclusion, this latest installment in one of today’s most original new thriller series is not to be missed.

My Thoughts


Not having read either the first book The Summoner or second book The Egyptian it was surprisingly easy to follow along with Dominic and Victor's characters, especially since their past was touched upon by the Author in a manner that allowed one to grasp enough of their respective backgrounds to make them solidly fleshed out to the reader of the book.

This is described as a "gripping thriller", it indeed lives up to that name as one follows along with Dominic and Viktor to locales all over the world as they determinedly investigate the initial murder of a Satanic priest in San Francisco that is only the beginning of what could turn into a veritable blood bath unless the perpetrator and his accomplices are not stopped.

Racing against the clock both Dominic and Viktor must face seemingly insurmountable odds as their adversaries are much more widespread than they had first believed as well as motivated to the point of fanaticism. The themes that the author incorporates into this novel are not new, after all the battle between good and evil is one that has been played out many times in different literature. The manner in which author Layton Green approaches this conflict however is one that will lead to questioning ones personal feelings as well as ones beliefs as to what constitutes true evil.

I thoroughly enjoyed the strong contrasting characters, both the leads and the villains the author pitted against each other, in this fabulous richly detailed and well researched suspense thriller. If one came into The Diabolist with no prior knowledge of different branches of the occult or Satanists by the time you finish the story you will have a fairly respectable working knowledge as the author imparts a lot of information pertinent to both that rounds out the who/what/when/why and where in the merging plot lines.

This is a fast paced book that takes a stronger stomach to read as it is details practices that are not meant to create sensationalism but rather add reality to the subject matter that is touched upon as the central story line. It is not that it is so very graphically gory but that these details are brutally realistic in their descriptions of the tortures that the victims underwent prior to their deaths. This also includes the trials and tribulations at the hands of one man who viciously beats both Dominic and Viktor in the course of their separate investigations, these scenes alone will cause you pause as you read his callous disregard for the pain of others.

Now that have introduced myself to this series thanks to the kindness of the author, the publisher and Netgalley am planning on going back and seeking out my Kindle copy of book 1 The Summoner the first break that comes in my reading schedule so can enjoy more of the adventures shared by Dominic and Viktor. These two men are worlds apart in both background and age but share a very compelling need to explore the truth and that leads them as well as the reader into some very interesting territory that would love to pursue further. Hopefully this third book will not be the last in the series.

Dominic Grey Novels

[EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]
”

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Jackie B reviewed a book.

“Read on June 13, 2013

Book Info

Kindle Edition, 480 pages
Expected publication: May 28th 2013 by Harlequin Teen
ASIN B00BED2UE6
edition language English
original title Dare You To
series Pushing the Limits #2
Source:Netgalley EARC

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“Read on June 13, 2013

Book Info

Kindle Edition, 480 pages
Expected publication: May 28th 2013 by Harlequin Teen
ASIN B00BED2UE6
edition language English
original title Dare You To
series Pushing the Limits #2
Source:Netgalley EARC

Book Buy Links

AMAZON

B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS


Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all..

My Thoughts


At seventeen Beth Risk has seen more than her share of the sordid side of life than most people, she has lived with an alcoholic mother whose slow spiral into drug addiction puts both herself and Beth at risk from not only the police but the brutal boyfriend who deals the drugs as well as beats them both when he finds something not to his liking. The final blow comes when Beth is arrested for destruction of private property, in effect her mother's boyfriends car, and her Aunt Shirley calls the Uncle who Beth has not seen since she was a small child to come and bail her out. When Beth's Uncle Scott shows up he sees that unless he can remove Beth from her current environment and convince her to try and straighten out her life she will end up either just like her Mom or dead.

Ryan Stone seems to be the exact opposite of Beth, solid family life, the admiration of his peers at school and his future pretty well secured. Funny how appearances can be so deceiving as we have no idea what someone else's life is really like behind closed doors, Ryan may have a more stable background than Beth but his current problems are just as serious to him as hers are even if not as likely to end in tragedy which they very well could for Beth.

The way in which author Katie McGarry sets the stage for Beth and Ryan to meet in the beginning is something that I can totally see a young man doing, out with friends having fun competing with each other to win an ongoing dare. However the way she moves past the original intentions that Ryan had for trying to wheedle Beth's number out of her to his actually finally being able to "see" beyond her facade to the "real" Beth is when his character becomes one that you can truly relate to.

Beth and Ryan are not just another set of troubled teens but they are also representative of a whole culture that it is hard to grasp exists in our modern society and yet at the same time it is very easy to see how their characters could be real people as the truth remains that not every child has a loving set of parents and not every child has a home that they feel safe and secure in.

Just like in the first book in this series the author has managed to create believable teen characters in realistically presented situations that take the reader through a gamut of emotions from anger, to despair, to rage, to happiness and even at times shock at the honest and brutal way she deals with the events that alter both Beth and Ryan's lives.

Reading Dare You To is an experience that you will not soon forget, you will be interested in how the "Skater Girl" and the "Golden Boy" proceed to go from basically antagonistic to flat out head over heels in love with each other. Just like me you will be rooting for their unlikely relationship to work out as both Beth and Ryan need someone in their lives who has no interest in "using" them to further their own ambitions or as in Beth's case to shoulder responsibility that she should never have had thrust upon her.

Having connected to Beth's character in book one Pushing The Limits and seeing just how hard she tried to keep it together being able to delve further into her past, present and possibly her future was something that I looked forward to immensely and now that have read Dare You To am just as eagerly looking forward to book 3 Crash Into You in which maybe finally Isaiah understands why Beth and he can love each other as just friends as it sounds as if he finds a girl to call his own for keeps.

The anticipation is of course going to be well worth it as all my expectations were more than exceeded when finished this book so am going to say that am hoping they will be exceeded with the next as well.

[EARC from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]”

Jackie B reviewed a book.

“Read from June 10 to 11, 2013

Book Info

Kindle Edition, 308 pages
Published 2012 by Endeavour Press Ltd. (first published March 28th 2004)
ASIN B00AEAMRIO
edition language English
Source:EARC copy from author in exchange for honest review

Book Buy Links...”

“Read from June 10 to 11, 2013

Book Info

Kindle Edition, 308 pages
Published 2012 by Endeavour Press Ltd. (first published March 28th 2004)
ASIN B00AEAMRIO
edition language English
Source:EARC copy from author in exchange for honest review

Book Buy Links

AMAZON

B&N


BOOK SYNOPSIS


When Sir Humphrey Miles Pinkerton Strange, huntin' shootin' and fishin' Squire of Batch Magna, goes to his reward (doubtless to find God as true-blue British as his more recent but equally worthy ancestors), his rambling but rotting estate passes to distant relative Humph, a hapless dollar doodler in New York.With $$ in his eyes, Humph decides to make a killing by transforming the sleepy backwater of Batch Magna into a theme park image of rural England - a vacation paradise for free-spending US millionaires.But while the village's threadbare businessmen see the plan as a windfall, the tenants of the estate's dilapidated houseboats are above any consideration of filthy lucre and stand their ground for tradition's sake . and because they consider eviction notices not to be cricket.Each disgruntled faction sees the other as the unwelcome cuckoo chick in the family nest! So, lead by randy pulp-crime writer Phineas Cook and Lt-Commander James Cunningham DSO, DSC and Bar, RN (ret) - a man with a glass eye to suit every occasion (and all painted with naval battle scenes where the Union Jack flies triumphant) - the motley crew takes on Wall Street . broadside to broadside

My Thoughts


When approached by the author the quaint village and inhabitants of Batch Magna sounded like a refreshing change from Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy and Mystery Thrillers so accepted his kind offer to send me the book's Mobi file to read and share my thoughts upon when finished.

Having delighted for many years in watching BBC television shows as well as reading books that were both creatively penned by British authors there was no doubt in my mind that despite the utter serious nature of the passing on of Sir Strange, which left his estate tenants in the perilous position of losing the roof over their heads after years of enjoying life on the River Cluny, that the story would be filled with the kind of droll offbeat humor that I have come to expect which sets it apart from just being a story about inheriting a rundown property with the intent of turning it into a lucrative venture.

The cast of characters in this tale is huge, after all one cannot expect a village to be inhabited by just 4 or 5 people, and range from retired estate employees to families living on the houseboats to shop keepers whose sights are set firmly on expanding their businesses if the proposed vacation paradise venture gets off the ground.

The main characters are of course the ones that we spend the most time with, The Commander and his wife Priny; Phineas, his dog Bill Sikes and for a bit his son Daniel; Owain Owen, his wife Annie and 2nd youngest daughter Ffion; Jasmine Roberts and her brood of children, Clem Wroxley, Miss Harriet Wyndham and on occasion a bit of time is spent with the local shop owner Howell Pugh. This cast of characters are each in their own way endearing, or highly repugnant as in the case of Mr. Pugh, and they capture the spirit of a small town population quite realistically as we read through and learn more about them both individually and as a whole.

This is the type of storytelling that soothes ones need for the simpler flow of scenes that build at a slow pace and so easily followed, it is almost like one feels at home at a gathering listening to yarns spun by the elder family members who love to relive memories of times gone by.

By the time you finish not only will you feel satisfaction at how everything was wrapped up but you will also find yourself chuckling in approval at how young Sir Humphrey Strange finally found himself embracing his heritage instead of willy nilly with the best of intentions destroying it! I would be happy to return to Batch Magna and it's "cuckoos", both the feathered ones and the myriad cast of human ones, if the author ever decided to take us there again in future.

Take a step back in time and immerse yourself in this heartwarming tale of a young man whose dreams come true, just not quite the way he planned them to.

[EARC Copy from author in exchange for honest review]”

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