Friday, April 21, 2017

Denton Little's Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin (Denton Little book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Denton Little’s Deathdate, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“Now he needs a life …”

“You only live once—unless you’re Denton Little!

The good news: Denton Little has lived through his deathdate. Yay! The bad news: He’s being chased by the DIA (Death Investigation Agency), he can never see his family again, and he may now die any time. Huh. Cheating death isn’t quite as awesome as Denton would have thought…

Denton Little’s Deathdate, showed readers just how funny and poignant imminent death could be. Now in this sequel, he takes on the big questions about life. How do we cope, knowing we could die at any time? Would you save someone from dying even if they were a horrible person? Is it wrong to kiss the girl your best friend is crushing on if she’s really into you instead? What if she’s wearing bacon lip gloss?” taken from Goodreads.com

This is the long awaited conclusion to Denton Little’s story and the wait was well worth it. Humorous, snarky and serious at times, Denton begins to unravel the mysteries and reasons behind his survival. I listened to the audio versions of this title and once again, the author does a fabulous job of bring Denton’s story to life. This book is a definite recommend!

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig (The Girl From Everywhere book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Girl From Everywhere, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Please visit the Recaptains blog if you need a refresher on the first book.

“Some things should not be stolen.”

“Nix has escaped her past, but when the person she loves most is at risk, even the daughter of a time traveler may not be able to outrun her fate—no matter where she goes.

Nix has spent her whole life journeying to places both real and imagined aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. And now it’s finally time for her to take the helm. Her father has given up his obsession to save her mother—and possibly erase Nix’s existence—and Nix’s future lies bright before her. Until she learns that she is destined to lose the one she loves. But her relationship with Kash—best friend, thief, charmer extraordinaire—is only just beginning. How can she bear to lose him? How can she bear to become as adrift and alone as her father?

Desperate to change her fate, Nix takes her crew to a mythical utopia to meet another Navigator who promises to teach her how to manipulate time. But everything in this utopia is constantly changing, and nothing is what it seems—not even her relationship with Kash. Nix must grapple with whether anyone can escape her destiny, her history, her choices. Heidi Heilig weaves fantasy, history, and romance together to tackle questions of free will, fate, and what it means to love another person. But at the center of this adventure are the extraordinary, multifaceted, and multicultural characters that leap off the page, and an intricate, recognizable world that has no bounds.” - taken From Goodreads.com

I know I was in a reading slump when I picked this book up. It took me way longer than usual to finish. I liked the story and reading from Kashmir’s point of view. The last 100 pages had me gripped but I did feel like the ending was rushed. The mix of real life characters from history and legend was great but I was left with a few questions at the end.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (Rebel of the Sands book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Rebel of the Sands, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Check out Book Series Recaps for a refresher on the first book.
Please visit the Recaptains blog if you need a refresher on the first book.

“Rebel by chance. Traitor by choice.”

“The sizzling, un-put-downable sequel to the bestselling Rebel of the Sands!

Mere months ago, gunslinger Amani al'Hiza fled her dead-end hometown on the back of a mythical horse with the mysterious foreigner Jin, seeking only her own freedom. Now she's fighting to liberate the entire desert nation of Miraji from a bloodthirsty sultan who slew his own father to capture the throne.

When Amani finds herself thrust into the epicenter of the regime—the Sultan's palace—she's determined to bring the tyrant down. Desperate to uncover the Sultan's secrets by spying on his court, she tries to forget that Jin disappeared just as she was getting closest to him, and that she's a prisoner of the enemy. But the longer she remains, the more she questions whether the Sultan is really the villain she's been told he is, and who’s the real traitor to her sun-bleached, magic-filled homeland.

Forget everything you thought you knew about Miraji, about the rebellion, about djinni and Jin and the Blue-Eyed Bandit. In Traitor to the Throne, the only certainty is that everything will change.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I don’t know where to start with this second book in the trilogy. It is a massive volume that took me a while to read, not because the story was slow but because of all of the new information Hamilton divulges to the reader.. Amani is not only on a journey with her fellow rebels to bring down the Sultan, but she finds herself in a much more personal quest than she ever dreamed of. Secrets about her life and missing pieces fall into place when she least expects it. Several new characters are introduced and readers are submerged into life at the Sultan’s palace where Amani begins to question who the real enemy is. No second book slowness here and the ending sets up the next book perfectly. Readers will be anticipating Amani’s continuing adventure.

Book three is expected to be published sometime in 2018.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Disruptor by Arwen Elys Dayton (Seeker book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, Seeker and Traveler, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.
“One house will rise.”
“Quin has spent her life as her father’s pawn. She was trained to kill and manipulated to guarantee her family’s power. And now that she’s broken free of that life, she’s found herself trapped again, hostage to a plot that has been centuries in the making.
It’s taken generations for the pieces to come together, and finally all is in place. Her best friend Shinobu’s mind has been corrupted, the Young Dread has aligned with her enemy John, and the bloodthirsty Watchers are being awakened and gathered. Now there is nothing that can stop the force of time.
But Quin will no longer be a pawn. Quin is a Seeker. She stands for light in a shadowy world. She will face the vengeance of the past and its enemies and save herself and the ones she loves, or she will die trying.” - taken from Goodreads.com

This is a series that I feel has been overlooked by most readers. Yes, the first book is slow as the author builds the world of the Seekers, outlines their history and sets the stage for the remaining two books in the trilogy. The action really picks up in book two but Disruptor is where all of the pieces fall into place. Our three main characters; Quin, John, and Shinobu, aren’t together most of the book but with the emergence of some new characters, readers will be racing towards the end to see how everything plays out. The ending of the story was not what I was expecting at all. Complete surprise. A must read for fans of action, adventure and science fiction.