Season of Hope by Dayo Benson

After a dystopian thriller, what better than a cosy Christmas chick-lit to remind me of all that is well in the world?

The blurb says:

Last Christmas, Robyn Kellett was distraught because her fiancé broke up with her. This Christmas promises to be even worse as Chad Ryder, the man she loved as a naïve eighteen-year old, resurfaces with an invitation to come to a university reunion in Blackpool. Robyn’s only hope of having a merry Christmas is the mysterious man she talks to every night online. They have a date for Christmas Eve, and Robyn hopes he’s as perfect in real life as he seems on the Internet.

Chad Ryder needs Robyn to come to Blackpool. It’s the only chance he has to win her heart before she finds out that the man she’s been falling in love with online for the past six months is none other than him.

At Blackpool, Robyn is infuriated by all of Chad’s efforts to win her heart, and Chad is frustrated with her constant resistance. As Christmas Eve draws near, Chad hopes for forgiveness for his deception, and Robyn hopes for the man of her dreams.

Will either of them get what they want?

I do like Dayo Benson as an author, having got introduced to her writing through Searchlight, the first in the paranormal Crystal series.

Season of Hope is a short romance that is set in the UK, and follows the story of Robyn as she psyches herself up for her university reunion.  Having recently separated from her fiancé, and knowing that her teenage crush is going to be there, Robyn is thankful that she can confide in her online confidant.

It is light, it is predictable, it is Christmassy - everything you want from a seasonal chick lit. 😊

Rift by Andreas Christensen

 

As I read a lot of free kindle books, many are self-published, and many are the result of writing competitions.  When that happens, I find it interesting to see how common starting points can result in totally differing books.  Now, I don't know if that has happened with Rift, but there are definite initial similarities to The Hunger Games: Once a year a group of newly graduated (from High School) students get selected for Service to the State.  The students don't get a choice in where they serve, or whether they serve, but get taken from their home towns and villages for the greater good.

The blurb says:

In the ruins of what was once North America lays the Covenant, a nation forged by the iron will of the Moon people, who descended from their dusty refuge on the Moon after the Fall. The Moon people are wealthy, ruled by a strong government who protects its citizens from the dangers from outside their borders. Their greatest achievement is having learned the secret of immortality, and every citizen has the opportunity to live nearly forever if they choose to, a life of riches and abundance.

The English are the descendants of the original inhabitants of this place, and they live very different lives from that of the Moon people. They only live to serve the greater good, and citizenship is something few have the opportunity to earn. At the age of fifty all non-citizens are subjected to mandatory euthanasia. In order to maintain a sustainable society, they are told.

Every year a number of girls and boys at the age of eighteen are selected for Service to the State. The brightest and most talented are sent to become Students. The strong, the fighters and the athletes become Janissaries, a band of soldiers protecting the northern border from the enemies of the Covenant. The Wardens, a secretive organization known to operate far to the west, near the Rift, which makes up the border to the wastelands, sometimes choses one or two initiates, but nobody knows what becomes of them. And then there is the Corpus, where the whip rules and backs are bent.

Those who complete their Service, may become citizens. And although they will never be equal to the Moon people, they will have access to all the riches and opportunities granted by the Covenant leadership to its citizens.

As Sue is nearing Selection Day, she secretly hopes to be chosen, despite having to leave her mother and brother behind. She doesn't crave glory or wealth though. A man or woman with citizen status can do a lot of good, and although few return to their home towns, Sue hopes to return to give her family a better life on the other side of Service.

But the Covenant is rotten to the core, and as she begins to learn its secrets, Sue must question everything she has always taken for granted. Soon she will find herself in dire peril, for she has seen the truth and there will be no turning back after that...

This science fiction dystopian trilogy is set more than two centuries after the events of Exodus, in a future dystopian society forged from the ashes of global disaster.

Yeah yeah, I know that my two favourite genres are SciFi and dystopia, so when I come across a book that starts a series I will get absorbed and buy the whole series.  I know that it will be of no surprise to you to discover that has happened again, and I ended up buying and reading Covenant and Legacy too, but it had to be done - honest!!

So, Rift follows the story of Sue.  She is well educated and wants to go into Service so she can eventually become a Citizen and help her family have a better life.  She becomes an initiate to the Janissaries - military service designed to keep the English and the Moon people safe from the French and other outsiders, thankful to have avoided service to the Corpus - chain gangs used to mine the earth for raw materials often resulting in illness and death.

During her time with the Janissaries, Sue becomes captured by the French and is treated humanely in a hospital - nothing like the monsters and imagery that she has been fed with.  She discovers more corruption and starts to question everything to do with the Covenant and the Moon people - the saviours and masters of the English.

An amazing series.  The author is really good at conveying the emotion, thrilling, cliff-hangers and menace as you get your head around this future dystopia for Earth. Loved it.

I hadn't actually realised that this series is a sequel to The Exodus Trilogy, and not having the previous knowledge, did not distract from this series at all.  I have added the previous series to my wishlist.

 

Quantum by Patricia Cornwell

 Q in my A-Z of Fiction Titles is Quantum.  

The blurb says:

On the eve of a top secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for sabotage, with deadly consequences.

As it turns out, the danger is worse than she thought. A spatter of dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide—a series of disturbing clues point to Calli’s twin sister, Carme, who’s been MIA for days.

Desperate to halt the countdown to disaster and to clear her sister’s name, Captain Chase digs deep into her vast cyber security knowledge and her painful past, probing for answers to her twin’s erratic conduct. As time is running out, she realizes that failure means catastrophe—not just for the space program but for the safety of the whole nation.

 I don't think I've read any of Patricia Cornwell's books before, though I'm well aware she is a prolific and well-revered author.

The thriller side of this book I enjoyed.  Trying to work out what is going on with Carme as well as finding out why there was a suicide and the mystery of the tripped alarm.  However, I didn't see the point of the NASA background, the rocket launch and all that side of thing.  I get that it's just the backing for the story, yet it seemed so irrelevant, that the story could have been situated elsewhere and nothing much would be lost.

There is also no ending to the book.  I understand the idea of ending on a cliff-hanger, but I much rather books that have some sort of ending, with an epilogue/final chapter that introduces the cliff-hanger.  This book, however, simply doesn't end.

Overall, I'm just disappointed by this book.  Reading other reviews however, have shown me that even Cornwell fans didn't like this book, so that gives me hope should I ever decide to read one of her other series.

I've put the next book on my wishlist, just because I want to know how the story ends, but there are a load of books on my wishlist that I will be buying before the next one. 
(For new readers to my blog - hello, and welcome!  After discovering I had nearly 1000 unread books on my kindle [I love a freebie!], I'm now working through them, refusing to buy any more books until these are read and down to a decent level.  I'm getting there, with only 660 still to go, lol.  The only exception to my no-buying rule, is if a book is so amazing, then I do tend to buy the rest of the series and live in that world for a week or two...)

Pancakes and Corpses by Agatha Frost

After reading a book that was mildly depressing, it's good to read a cosy murder mystery. 😁

Pancakes and Corpses is a great title for this book and lets you know what is going to be in store for the reader.

The blurb says:

Soon to be divorced Julia South never expected to be caught up in solving a murder, until she discovered the body of her cafe's most awkward customer. With a new smug Detective Inspector in town who underestimates her every move, Julia makes it her mission to discover the real murderer, before her village friends are dragged into the frame, and more bodies are discovered.

This is a lovely little story, that introduces you to Peridale Cafe and all the characters in the village.  As cosy mysteries go, this one wasn't predictable which made the read all the more enjoyable.  It's a light read, so is accessible for bookworms like me (I read it in a day as I couldn't put it down) or for people who want to get back into reading and want a fun romp.

The sequel, Lemonade and Lies, is already on my wishlist.

Out of a Dream by Rosemary Hines

 

Out of a Dream is O in my A-Z Challenge.  It is about a woman called Michelle, who starts to have some weird dreams, so looks into dream interpretation.  As she does so, she delves into yoga, meditation and then into tarot and other "New Age" things.  Meanwhile, her life starts to go belly-up:  she has problems in her marriage, and her dad is on the verge of suicide.

The blurb says:

Michelle Baron should be reveling in her new life in Sandy Cove, Oregon. From the outside, it all looks idyllic. A newlywed settling into a quaint coastal town, her husband establishing himself as a junior partner in a law firm—what more could she want?

But a series of disturbing nightmares haunts Michelle. Her quest to understand these dreams leads her to the New World bookstore, where she begins a spiritual journey that will challenge her Christian heritage as well as her marriage.

I have to say, I was not keen on how this book was written.  Even though I'm a Christian, it felt very much like a non-subtle "if you don't become a Christian, your life will be crap" message, which I can imagine will irritate a lot of non-Christians - it annoyed me enough!  I did persevere with the book, and though there was tragedy in the story, it had a good ending.

***Spoiler Warning***

However, the book really comes into its own, when you read the Note From The Author at the end and realise this book is semi-autobiographical: though the characters and events are fiction, the author did become interested in New Age ideologies before the suicide of her father, at which point she turned to Christianity.  Though it would give away the plot somewhat, I do wish this note was at the beginning of the book, so the story could be read through that lens.

***End of Spoiler***

There are two more books in the Sandy Cove Series, however I will not be adding them to my wishlist.

Nocturne by Kat Ross (The Fourth Talisman Series)

 Nocturne by Kat Ross is N in my A-Z Challenge of Fiction Titles.

This is part of The Fourth Talisman series, which is a sequel to The Fourth Element Series, so as a quick recap, I reread the review I had written previously.

The blurb of Nocturne says:

As the net slowly tightens, something ancient and vengeful begins to stir in the arid death zone called the Kiln. A dashing daeva named Darius is pursuing Nazafareen, but so are a multitude of enemies. War is brewing again. Can she stay alive long enough to stop it?

Nocturne, a wilderness of eternal night.
Solis, a wasteland of endless day.

Nazafareen is a Breaker, a mortal who has the rare ability to shatter spell magic—although her power carries a high price. With the memories of her former self erased and nowhere else to turn, she comes to Nocturne hoping to start a new life under the triple moons of the darklands.

But when an assassin forces Nazafareen to flee to the sunlit mortal city of Delphi, she finds herself embroiled in a deeper mystery whose origins lie far in the past. Why was the continent sundered into light and dark a thousand years before? And what really happened to the elegant but ruthless creatures who nearly reduced the world to ashes? The new Oracle might know, but she’s outlawed magic and executes anyone caught practicing it. Nazafareen must hide her powers and find a way out of the city—before it’s too late.

The book starts with Nazafareen being held in Nocturne after she has lost all her memories.  She has been advised not to travel without being accompanied, but she is aware there is more going on than meets the eye, convinced that if she could regain her memories everything would fall into place.  After stowing away aboard an air-ship, Nazafareen discovers the other lands are not all they seem. 

As with the previous series by Kat Ross, I couldn't put these books down, and ended up buying the rest of the series: Solis, Monstrum, Nemesis, and Inferno.  
I don't want to give away too much of the plot of these books, but it is another epic adventure mixing magic, religion, revenge, power, love and action.  

Highly recommended.

Weekly Update - I've broken 2 minutes!

My PT came on Friday for the first time in a couple of weeks (due to a combination of illness, self-isolation and camping) and boy, did it hurt!  It was fun (in a masochistic way) - my PT had 5 A4 pages, which I had to select randomly.  Each one had a different set of exercises, that I had to repeat 4 times.  There was a mix of all the exercises that we had done so far, including boxing, slam balls, weight lifting, Russian twists, sit ups and more.  Afterwards, I ached.  Normally, I don't ache until the next day, but I ached Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and this morning my quads were still aching!

Incidentally, if you've been following my FB page (and if not, please CLICK HERE to like and follow me!), you'll know my husband completed Race To The Stones at the weekend.  Just because he covered 100 kilometres, does not mean that his legs ache more than mine after an hour in my garden, lol!

This morning, my PT returned and made me start off with a plank.  Because I am trying to push myself, I asked her not to tell me the time until 1min30secs had gone past, and then every 20 seconds after that.  Today I managed a whopping 2min 08secs in a plank! Beating my previous PB by 11 seconds, and I think I may have been able to go slightly longer had it not been pouring with rain, as my rain coat was much too warm as the hood fell over my head.

The rest of the session today was mainly arms, shoulders and abs.  I don't really ache right now, but know it'll hit me tomorrow.  At least my legs have stopped aching, so it no longer hurts when trying to go up or down stairs. 😃