Review: The Collected Lives of Chuck Burke by Shawn Inmon

 

Genre: Science Fiction/Time Travel

Description:

“Chuck Burke dies surrounded by clutter, isolation, and the remains of a life that never found its way—but Middle Falls, Oregon, offers the rarest gift of all: a do-over.

Waking in his nineteen-year-old body with all his memories intact, Chuck sets out to break the cycle of hoarding that has destroyed him. But as the weight of old patterns bears down, it’s not just his life at stake—it’s his chance to love, to connect, and to truly live.

In this quietly powerful tale of recovery and renewal, Chuck must learn that real change isn’t about what he can keep—it’s about what he’s willing to release.”

Author:

Former DJ, business consultant, and real estate agent, Shawn Inmon is now a fulltime author. He can’t seem to decide whether to write fiction (Rock’n Roll Heaven) or non-fiction (a couple travel memoirs) or something in between (a couple books he wrote that were slightly fictionalized memoirs mostly based on truth). He has a couple long running series, one of them the Middle Falls Time Travel series.

Appraisal:

It’s been a while since I read one of the books in this series, and decided it was time I dove into one. The premise of each book is an interesting one. The protagonist typically makes some questionable decisions or choices in life that eventually lead to his or her death. Then they wake up, but rather than being dead they’re at some earlier point in their life before it headed down that route with a bad ending. On the positive side, they remember that first life and given a second chance can hopefully do better this time around. But being human, the same impulses and tendencies have a way of making a different route a struggle even when you know how bad the repercussions might be. The result is often some improvement the second time around, but eventually the character falls into the bad habits and dies again. And again. And … continues to do so until they finally get things right.

As a reader we can often sympathize with the protagonist and while hopefully things work out better for us than for them, we might see ourselves in them and experiencing their lives will get us thinking about our own. In Chuck Burke’s case, he’s an obsessive collector. A little of this is okay. I tell myself it doesn’t matter how many books and CDs I have, but at some point I’ll run out of space. Chuck’s numerous collections do exactly that leading to fatal consequences. I really enjoyed watching him as he fought these urges and figured out eventually how to control them. As with the other books in the series, this was a fun, yet thought-provoking read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

While this book is the 23^rd in the Middle Falls Time Travel series, each book stands alone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Reprise Review: The Redemption of Michael Hollister by Shawn Inmon

 

Genre: Time Travel

Description:

“All Michael Hollister wanted was death.

What he got, was time travel.

Convicted of murder, and with nothing left to live for, Michael commits suicide in his jail cell in 1977, then opens his eyes in 1966, in his eight-year-old body, all memories of his previous life intact.

His first thoughts are of the dark intentions of his father. When the man who raised him once again tries to do the unthinkable, Michael has a chance to right his childhood's greatest wrong. But, can he do that without becoming a killer all over again?”

Author:

“Have you ever noticed how almost every author on Amazon is both a ‘bestselling’ and ‘award winning’ author? Well, so is Shawn Inmon. He once dominated the Lithuanian Clog Dancing Romance category for two heady days back in 2013. He also was named third runner up in Mrs. Marsh's third grade spelling bee in 1968. Somewhere, he still has the certificate to prove it. Although he has never matched either of these two career highlights, he keeps plugging away.

Shawn hails from Mossyrock, Washington--the setting for his first two books, Feels Like the First Time, and Both Sides Now.

He is a full-time author who lives in picturesque Seaview, Washington on the Pacific Ocean.”??

Appraisal:

This book is being billed as the second in the “Middle Falls Time Travel series.” The first, The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver, had as its protagonist a character who died and found himself in a new life, kind of. He’d wake up as the same person, taken back in time to when he was a kid, but with all the knowledge of what he’d done in his past life or lives. Maybe a better term would be a “do over.” In that book Thomas had a classmate, Michael Hollister. If you’ve read the book you’ll know Michael wasn’t a very nice person. In fact, he was Oregon’s most prolific serial killer.

With that introduction to Michael you might wonder how he could possibly redeem himself. But when Michael finds a way to “end it all” while in prison, then wakes up in his boyhood bed in his boyhood home he’s smart enough to recognize the chance he’s been given. That’s the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what to do differently this time around.

The author does a masterful job of taking a character that was irredeemable to those who read the prior book and somehow redeeming him. Not excusing him for the crimes he committed in his past life, but helping us to understand how he got to that point and drawing us into the story so that we were pulling for Michael to find a different path for his life the next time around. The premise of the books in this series of being given another chance is an interesting mind exercise that makes for entertaining books. Well done, Mr. Inmon.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Review: Timeless by Jacqueline Hopkins

 

Genre: Historical/Romance/Time Travel

Description:

“When Liza Starr Love, an historical romance author, travels back in time with her main character, Ross York, who is a Peterson Detective in her tenth historical romance novel, she must prevent him from altering the future and try to save the life of her infamous ancestor--Belle Starr.

Liza is frantically working on her book deadline because without it, she has no way to keep her farm afloat after her husband died in a freak framing accident. She needs the money from the sale of her book, but a thunderstorm with tornado prevents her from working on it when the power goes out. When she gets it back, her hero and his daughter from her books appear in her office.

Ross, who lost his pregnant wife, is traveling on a wagon train to Santa Fe across the territory of Oklahoma, to take his daughter to live with his brother and his wife, he must also protect the gold he's carrying to pay the Peterson Detectives and keep it from falling into the wrong hands of the Younger Gang. But a severe thunderstorm one night finds himself and his daughter in a strange home with strange surroundings in the future he doesn't understand.

Together, Ross and Liza must figure out how to get Ross and Sara back to the 1880s. For Ross to arrest her ancestor without hurting Liza, the woman he's fallen in love with. For Liza to figure out how to save her farm, let a man help her and fall in love all over again. And for them both to figure out how their love can transcend between two worlds they travel between.”

Author:

Born in Durant, Oklahoma, Jacqueline Hopkins describes herself as a “displaced Okie with a bit of Choctaw blood.” A bit of a nomad her place of residence has bounced around a bit, with stints in states as varied as Hawaii, Alaska, Florida, and Connecticut as well as internationally, living for a time in Iceland. She currently lives in Idaho and is the author of several books that range from romance, to memoir, and even one that while primarily a cookbook has a little memoir thrown in as well. That’s a mashup you don’t see very often.

Appraisal:

This combination of historical fiction and romance (aka historical romance) and time travel isn’t one you see very often. I’m sure they’re out there, but not common in my experience. The couple examples I’ve come up with involved people from modern days traveling back in time and having to adapt to a time that was simpler in some ways, but also harder for the average person as well. This is different in that while we have a people going back to the 1800s, but also people from the 1800s who travel to modern times for a while. An adult man from the 1800s who thinks he understands things getting thrown into the modern world with various motorized vehicles, washing machines, hot tubs, and … well, let’s just say that just like with a toddler starting to explore, an adult thrown into modern times needs a close eye kept on them too. That all makes for some intense, but humorous things to happen.

Along with those new twists from traveling back and forth in time we’ve got the tension of a typical romance, complicated due to differences in how certain things from dress, to action, to gender roles were viewed in the 1800s compared to today. Throw it all together and the result is a fun read that also got me thinking about the changing world. I’m afraid I wouldn’t handle it well if I was transported a hundred years into the future.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on an advance reviewer copy so I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Reprise Review: Being Travis by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Science Fiction/Historical Fiction/Time Travel

Description:

“Two years ago, a weird trick of time sent Travis Merrill spiraling from 2016 to the year 1877. Committed now to his life in frontier Arizona, Travis is married with a child on the way and is homesteading a ranch. His knowledge of the future, however, keeps him at odds with his neighbors, his friends… and his wife. He finds it more and more difficult to protect his home without alienating his family, yet he can’t ignore what he knows is – and will be – true.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of genres: action/adventure, paranormal, biography, fantasy, romance, spiritual and satire. She has been both traditionally and independently published, and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. For more information, visit her website.”

Appraisal:

In the first book of this series, Finding Travis, the main character (in case you haven't guessed, a man named Travis), is transported back in time. In the first book he was adapting to his new environment, trying not to raise too many red flags, and wondering how, when, or whether he could get back to modern times. But then he fell in love and you know how that can mess with plans.

Being Travis picks up a couple years later. Travis is married, moving a few miles away from the army camp where he landed in the first book to settle down with his pregnant wife.

I typically find books and stories with a time travel element to be interesting thought experiments. When the person has gone Back to the Future it introduces some interesting things to consider. How does the person deal with advancements in knowledge that they're privy to, but the rest of their cohorts aren't? What things can they do safely without changing the future in some way that they'll regret? This book has some of that, as well as plenty of tense moments, balanced out by some feel good moments, and even a run in with a historical figure. It was a fun and entertaining read as well as provoking a bit of thought. I'm looking forward to the next series installment.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Although the second in a series and a situation where I think this story would be more enjoyable if a person has read the series opener, those who choose to read this as a standalone should be able to follow the story reasonably well.

Original review published March 14, 2017

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Reprise Review: Scattered Souls by Erica Lucke Dean

 

Genre: Time Travel/Romance

Description:

“Ava Flynn is cursed. After barely surviving an epic battle between her warring soul mates, Ava is stranded in the past with Laith, while Maddox frantically searches across the decades. Laith will stop at nothing to prove his love to Ava, and a desperate Maddox must race against time to find her before his brother can win her heart.

Torn between the two brothers, and with her eternal soul at stake, Ava comes to the horrifying conclusion that only she can break the curse. But the cost may be more than she is willing to pay.”

Author:

“After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains where she lives in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180lb lap dog, and at least one ghost.

When she’s not busy writing or tending to her collection of crazy chickens, diabolical ducks, and a quintet of piglets, hell bent on having her for dinner, she’s either reading bad fan fiction or singing karaoke in the local pub. Much like the characters in her books, Erica is a magnet for disaster, and has been known to trip on air while walking across flat surfaces.

How she’s managed to survive this long is one of life’s great mysteries.”

To learn more about Ms. Dean, visit her website or stalk her on her Facebook page.

Appraisal:

Scattered Souls begins with a short jaunt into the past, and we learn how both Maddox and Laith acquired their time-jumping abilities. Ava is also given a small glimpse into Maddox’s, Laith’s, and Elizabeth’s history while falling through time. Timelines are little problem if you know the rules of the game. At least as long as you have possession of a magic stone. Learning those rules were trial and error for both Maddox and Laith. Both are in possession of their own stone.

After Laith rescues Ava from the cliff at the end of book one, Splintered Souls, he settles her in his Chicago home sometime in 1928. From there Laith begins his campaign to win Ava’s heart through a whirlwind series of jumps through time to fulfill her every heart’s desire. These were a thoroughly enjoyable distraction from the vital weightiness of the plot. This plan is working in Laith’s favor until Maddox catches up with them and all hell breaks loose.

Ava has a sharp learning curve and serious decisions to make concerning the curse that has plagued Maddox and Laith since they were born. Although Jane, apprentice witch of the old witch who placed the original curse, insists it was a blessing because her mentor didn’t dabble in the dark forces. Getting to know Jane was an enthralling bonus in this book. She was able to give Ava a lot to consider, and it seems as if Ava will have to be the one to put an end to the blessing/curse. But how can she manage that when she doesn’t wish pain or heartbreak to either brother?

This story is a true rollercoaster ride through history and emotions. The game changing ending will leave the reader reeling. I was totally beside myself. I need the next book NOW! Ms. Dean had better be writing her heart out…

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Scattered Souls is book two in the Flames of Time series. Adult situations and a few F-bombs.

Original review posted January 10, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Reprise Review: The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver by Shawn Inmon

 

Genre: Science Fiction/Time Travel

Description:

“A second chance to make it right; a second chance to screw it up again.

Tragedy is the name of the game for fifty-five-year-old Thomas. At least that's what he tells himself as he washes down the handful of little white sleeping pills stolen from his mother. Lying back on his bed, he waits for the reaper to take away the despair. Instead he is transported to a different kind of hell--puberty. Thomas wakes in his childhood bedroom, with his teenage body, and all his memories intact. With a new lease on life he has a chance to do it all right. He will save his brother, change the course of history, find love, and stop a horrific killer. That is, if he can overcome being a pathetic screw-up.”

Author:

Former DJ, business consultant, and real estate agent, Shawn Inmon is now a fulltime author. A regular contributor at Indies Unlimited, Inmon can't seem to decide whether to write fiction (Rock'n Roll Heaven), or non-fiction, like the book based on a trip he took called A Lap Around America. Then there are his first two books that were novels based on truth or fictionalized memoirs or … I don't know what to call them, but they were somewhere in the middle.

Appraisal:

One reason I always seem to like Shawn Inmon's books is that we're around the same age and overly obsessed with music. So his books have references like the character in this book saying “Oh, and Pablo Cruise sucks. Ten years from now, no one will know who they are,” and I agree and laugh. More importantly, I get the reference. Many of you won't. If your high school years were sometime in the 70s and you haven't read all of Inmon's books, you should.

If high school was before or (even more so) after the 70s there are still plenty of universal and timeless themes in all of Inmon's books. The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver possibly more so than any other. We've all made decisions in our life that we wonder about. Was that a good decision? What would have happened if I'd done this instead? If I'd have known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have done that.

The basis of this story is a different twist on time travel when the protagonist who has been haunted by a big mistake in high school finds himself transported back to before that mistake. He's not only back in time, but he looks like he did back then. The only difference is that he knows what's coming. Unless he can change that. It's a great premise. I found myself pulling for Thomas, wondering what he should do, and hoping he'd figure it out. That's at least part of what you'd hope for in a story like this. And really that's enough. However, if it sparks a little introspection, if you start wondering what you'd do differently if you were transported back in time, even better. (If you wake up tomorrow and find out that I've become a major shareholder in Amazon, that means my plan worked.)

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Original review posted on December 21, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Reprise Review: Finding Travis by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Western/Historical Fiction/Time Travel

Description:

“Travis Merrill’s life isn’t going according to plan. He’s quit several career paths, his wife has left him, and his only solace is volunteering to portray a cavalry surgeon at historic Fort Verde in Arizona, a place where time seems to stand still. When a weird trick of time actually sends him back to the year 1877, he’s boxed into impersonating the post surgeon for real. Unfortunately, he finds his medical knowledge is no match for the primitive practices of the day, and he’s forced to make life or death decisions, not always successfully. He wonders if he will ever be able to return to his own time, or if he might find a life—and a love—140 years in the past.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic author who writes in a variety of genres: action/adventure, paranormal, biography, fantasy, romance, spiritual and satire. She has been both traditionally and independently published, and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. For more information, visit her website.”

Appraisal:

Finding Travis is hard to nail down genre-wise. The setting, in both time and place, fits for a Western. But the story isn't what you'd expect (or at least what I would expect) from that genre. It isn't a romance, although there is a romance story line that is a major part of the tale. Is isn't science fiction, but time travel is the premise that sets up the story. The best way to view the book is probably as historical fiction with a twist or two.

One of the things that I like about historical fiction is considering the way the world has changed in the interim. Comparing how the characters react to the situations they encounter to current day norms. Determining what those norms are and trying to conform to them in order to fit in is one of the things our protagonist Travis does. Or at least tries to do. It's tough enough for Travis to have to fake being a surgeon, but working around the differences due to time travel make it that much more difficult. This was an enjoyable kickoff to this new series. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here. 

Buy now from:    Kindle US     Kindle UK

FYI:

Original review posted July 20, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars 

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Review: Shattered Souls by Erica Lucke Dean

 

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Time Travel

Description:

“Ava Flynn walked through flames to erase the past and bring her little brother, Josh, back from the dead. But the reboot doesn't come without strings. While navigating her new reality, Ava must avoid Maddox... without fracturing the timeline. If she fails, she may never find Laith again.

With her own heart at stake, Ava scours time for the key to unraveling the curse binding her soul to both Laith's and Maddox's. One brother is the love of her life. And the other... not even death will stop him from keeping them apart.

As Ava's present collides with the brothers' pasts, she discovers that breaking the curse might have unintended consequences. And this time, her soul isn't the only one on the line.”

Author:

“After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains where she lives… with her workaholic husband. When she's not busy writing she's either reading bad fan fiction or singing karaoke in the local pub…

Erica is a magnet for disaster, and has been known to trip on air while walking across flat surfaces. How she's managed to survive this long is one of life's great mysteries.”

For more, visit her website.

Appraisal:

I am sitting back in awe at the twists and turns Shattered Souls takes the reader on. Ava walks through the flames of time to reset the timeline to save her little brother Josh’s life. However, she has to be careful not to fracture the timeline too much or she may lose Laith forever. This third book of the series will break your heart as the story unwinds. It’s like a cat playing with a ball of yarn batting it around the room who then gathers it all up into a hopeless knotted mess that will never be the same. Erica Lucke Dean manages to not drop a single thread with her cohesive prose enthralling the reader.

I enjoyed the secondary characters who surprisingly had roles in the past and present. They were able to shine light on the turbulent souls of brothers Maddox and Laith, like the lighthouse beacon warning ships of the rocky shore. The secondary characters from the past add an unexpected richness to the story. You can tell Ms. Lucke Dean poured her heart and soul into Splintered Souls. The ubiquitous emotional rollercoaster is turned up a couple of notches to an F-5 tornado’s ferociousness.

Don’t miss this climatic ending to the Flames of Time Trilogy. I recommend reading the entire series in order from Splintered Souls, book 1, to Scattered Souls, book 2, and then Shattered Souls for your full enjoyment. And now you can read the whole Trilogy without having to wait for the conclusion. I loved every book in this Trilogy, and I’m not too proud to admit Erica Lucke Dean made me cry at the end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Shattered Souls is book 3 in Erica Lucke Deans, Flames of Time Trilogy.

Format/Typo Issues:

The copy reviewed was an ARC (advanced reader copy) and therefore I can't judge the production version.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon by Shawn Inmon

Genre: Time Travel

Description:

“Nathaniel Moon is the reluctant messiah.

He has powers that define the word miraculous. But when he used those powers to help others, he brought about a world of trouble.

Now Nathaniel lives a life of quiet obscurity, performing anonymous miracles. But, his anonymity has to end, because evil is coming to Middle Falls, Oregon, and threatens the people Nathaniel loves most.

It's going to take a reluctant messiah to put things right.”

Author:

Married to his high school sweetheart, Dawn (a romance chronicled from both Shawn and Dawn’s point of view in Inmon’s first two books), Shawn Inmon lives in southwestern Washington where he writes fulltime, or at least as fulltime as he can without interfering too much with grandkid and pet obligations. You can follow him on Facebook.

Appraisal:

I’ve read a few of the books in this series and thus far they all had the same basic premise. The lead character dies, then comes back to life at some point in their past, but with memories of their past life or in some instances lives as they can die multiple times and return multiple times. In all cases, the new lives are all restarts from the same point in their past. Probably needless to say, this basic premise has an almost endless potential for unique characters and possibilities for how they use their new lives. Some try to get things right that they didn’t get right the first time (or first three or four or five times). Others try to prevent something bad from happening to someone else the next time around. Given the number of successful romance books published that are built around one basic story, I’m confident Inmon could have done many more time travel stories without messing with his formula here. But he has.

This time around we have a character (actually we have two) who fit the basic premise, but the main character is different. Yes, he appears to be living another life (his last one according to the title) but there are some differences in him that make a big difference in the story, where it can go, and where it does go. The places it sends the reader’s thoughts are also a lot different than the prior stories, no longer wondering what you might do differently if you could “do it all over again” but also wondering about the concepts of good and selflessness as well as the difficulty of balancing your personal needs with those of others. Shawn Inmon’s books, especially those in this series, have a way of prompting thought which to me is one of the main reasons I read, to see and consider things from different points of view. If you feel the same, this book should hit the spot.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Part of the Middle Falls Time Travel series. These books largely take place in the same fictional Washington town and may sometimes have characters that show up from other books, but all of them also stand alone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Review: The Witch of Bergen by Meriam Wilhelm

Genre: Paranormal/Witches/Time Travel

Description:

“An innocent trip to a second hand shop launches Carynn Cinnamon on a life altering adventure. Whisking her back in time to the 1600's, Carynn lands in the arms of a handsome witch who claims to be her husband. Is her heritage really tied to this man? Has she discovered her own wrinkle in time or is fate playing a cruel prank on this young witch? And what of his claim that the future of magic and witches everywhere depends on her next move? If she agrees to travel back in time again will she lose her heart or her life in the process?”

Author:

“For thirty-five years, Meriam Wilhelm worked in education. From high school teacher to college dean to her favorite job of elementary school principal, she took an excitingly non-traditional pathway, always passionate about shaping young minds.

When she retired, something magical happened. Wilhelm was bitten by the writing bug and her chosen genre was the paranormal world, specifically of the witchy persuasion… A world traveler, Wilhelm has researched the history and culture of witchcraft and found inspiration as far away as Bergen, Norway and as close as her home town. A Redondo Beach, California resident, she decided there was no better location for her family of witches to reside than the beaches outside her own front door.”

Appraisal:

Carynn Cinnamon is a novice witch who hasn’t come into her full witch powers. Losing both her parents when she was nine set learning her witchy skills back. Lately she’s been busy with mundane young adult stuff like finishing college and starting her own travel agency named Mystical Travel Tours. She has settled in Redondo Beach, California where she inherited a two bedroom beach-front condo that is right upstairs from her business. Life is good, until she enters a secondhand store searching for an old, but new to her, ornate metal bed frame. As she is making her way around the store a painting captures her attention, and whisks her back in time, but just for a short confusing time. Now, the painting won’t let her leave the store without it. Of course she finds the bed just as she had pictured in her mind. But, it is the painting that is her ticket to a destiny in the past that she must fulfill.

Carynn’s female friends, Penelope, Drip, and Brooklynn are all great characters. Leif Calland is a handsome young lawyer who lives down the way a bit who Carynn has a standing friendship with. Then there is Carynn’s familiar, Tag, a talking parrot who is a hoot! He lives cage less, however, he has a perch and free range of the house and an open window.

Carynn keeps getting thrown back in time to the 1600s in Bergen, Norway during the height of the witch trails. She and her friends are scrambling to figure out why this is happening. With each trip back Carynn is able to gather a little more physical and emotional information. Brooklynn, a Librarian and a witch, is helping by gathering the written history of Bergen in the 1600s. The twists in the plot are a web of emotions and conflicts. It’s also getting harder and harder to keep the witchy stuff from Leif as he becomes a more permanent fixture in Carynn’s life. Then Leif’s grandfather shows up, and he seems to have some knowledge of that time period.

I enjoyed the way all the many ends were tied together in the end. I can see this being an interesting and fun series if the author goes that way with this book.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

I came across a number of small proofing issues, wrong words, extra words, missing words, and spaces between words. I would like to see these issues resolved.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Snow by Mikayla Elliot

Genre: Paranormal/Time Travel

Description:

“Taken from all she has ever known and loved, Neva finds herself swept into a world of vampires where she learns she will determine their future. Yet she quickly discovers she is the target of a vampire, Zachariah, seeking to stop her from altering the vampire lineage. She must decide which path she will take while trying to protect the family she left behind, and discovering a past she cannot escape.”

Author:

“Mikayla Elliot is an avid reader and writer of fantasy novels. She is a single parent to two beautiful children and their rambunctious corgi, Sheila, living in Atascocita, Texas. When Mikayla isn't creating new worlds and adventures she spends her time working as a Planner in the energy industry, which has unveiled various landscapes in multiple states for site visits. Mikayla holds a Bachelor's in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and feels the debt deep in her soul and pockets.”

To learn more about Ms. Eliot please visit her website or visit herFacebook page.

Appraisal:

With a dramatic and gruesome start Neva begins describing, in purple prose, how she was turned into a vampire by Thedryk as he tried to save her. The purple prose continues as Ms. Eliot sets up her world. Mostly told through Neva’s eyes. Her white aura reveals she is a chosen one and Thedryk has been following her for centuries.

Ms. Eliot has developed a new unique vampire story. It takes a while to get into, but it is intriguing. So if you can get past the purple prose you will enjoy this story. There are many supporting characters who are introduced who add tension and drive the story forward. Emotion runs high as Neva comes face to face with a reality she never dreamed could happen.

As this is a trilogy there is a larger story arc that continues past the end of this book. However, this story comes to a satisfying closure. If you are looking for a new vampire story that breaks free from typical vampire trope this might be the book for you. As long as you can tolerate the purple prose that adds far too many descriptive words, which is why I gave this book the rating I did.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Snow is book 1 in Mikayla Elliot’s Black Ice Trilogy.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner by Shawn Inmon

Genre: Science Fiction/Time Travel

Description:

“How many lives would you spend to find your beloved?

Dominick Davidner was murdered. Then things got worse.

Instead of going on to the afterlife, Dominick found himself back in his nine year old body, all memories of his previous life intact. All he can think about is Emily, the love of his life, left behind when he died.

Unfortunately, she is now thousands of miles away. How can Dominick find his way back to the woman he loves, and what will he say if he finds her?”

Author:

Former DJ, business consultant, and real estate agent, Shawn Inmon is now a fulltime author. A regular contributor at Indies Unlimited, Inmon can't seem to decide whether to write fiction (Rock'n Roll Heaven), or non-fiction (he’s written two travels books, partially chronicled at his A Lap Around America website). Then there are his first two books that were novels based on truth or fictionalized memoirs or … I don't know what to call them, but they were somewhere in the middle.

Appraisal:

This is the third book in Inmon’s Middle Falls Time Travel series. Each book can be read as a standalone novel because while each of the protagonists spends some time living in the fictional town of Middle Falls, Oregon, knowing what happened in a prior story isn’t needed to follow newer books in the series. The main thing each book has in common is the protagonist dies. Upon his death the character is shocked to discover that they’ve gone back in time, to some point in their childhood. They have the body of a child, but retain memories of the life they led before, which gives some clue as to what might be coming, both for them personally and for the world in general.

The first two stories in the series focused on second chances with the main characters trying to live their lives better the second time around. In one case this was by avoiding a big mistake. In the other it was mainly by trying to prevent someone else from making a major mistake that effected many others.

This installment of the series is different in that Dominick, the protagonist, has only one goal when he starts his life over, to meet and marry his spouse once again. Easy, isn’t it? Just do everything the same as you did the first time around and it should work out fine. But it seems foolish to take the same boring route through life, especially when there is an obvious shortcut to get where you want quicker, right?

The premise of this series makes for some entertaining and thought-provoking stories. As they illustrate, maybe if we had life to live over again, knowing what we know after having learned a thing or two from the school of hard knocks, it may not actually be as easy as we think to get a better result. Just like my rewriting that sentence didn’t result in one that ran on less, sometimes things don’t turn out better, just different.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is the third book in Inmon’s Middle Falls Time Travel series. It can be read as a standalone novel.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words