Friday, March 22, 2013

Readers' Choice Spotlight (Speculative Fiction, Thriller/Suspense, and Young Adult)

Remember to vote for your choices on this page and don't miss the other entry options for the giveaway.


Speculative Fiction


Flaming Dove by Daniel Arenson






"Outcast from Hell. Banished from Heaven. Lost on Earth.

The battle of Armageddon was finally fought... and ended with no clear victor. Upon the mountain, the armies of Hell and Heaven beat each other into a bloody, uneasy standstill, leaving the Earth in ruins. Armageddon should have ended with Heaven winning, ushering in an era of peace. That's what the prophecies said. Instead, the two armies--one of angels, one of demons--hunker down in the scorched planet, lick their wounds, and gear up for a prolonged war with no end in sight.

In this chaos of warring armies and ruined landscapes, Laila doesn't want to take sides. Her mother was an angel, her father a demon; she is outcast from both camps. And yet both armies need her, for with her mixed blood, Laila can become the ultimate spy... or ultimate soldier. As the armies of Heaven and Hell pursue her, Laila's only war is within her heart--a struggle between her demonic and heavenly blood."


Loki by Mike Vasich






"God of Mischief. 
Father of Lies.
Harbinger of Destruction. 

Exiled and tortured by the gods, Loki swears vengeance. 

He will summon the mighty Fenris Wolf and the legendary Midgard Serpent, and they will lead an army of giants and all the dead in Niflheim. 

Brimming with the power of the most destructive being in the Nine Worlds, he will not rest till Asgard is in ashes and all the gods are dead under his heel."


Machines of Eden by Shad Callister





"PARADISE GONE WRONG. Awakening on the beach of a tropical island, a combat hacker finds himself at the center of a plot to turn Earth into a new Eden where humanity has no place. Caught between an advanced A.I. and her sadistic physical counterpart, and with the clock ticking toward an apocalypse, only one thing is clear: they picked the wrong man to push around."


Seized (The Pipe Woman Chronicles) by Lynn Cantwell





"The winter solstice 2012 won't be the end of the world. It will be the beginning of the end....

Naomi has a pretty sweet life. Respected as a skilled mediator, she has an almost uncanny knack for getting people on both sides of a dispute to agree. And her handsome boyfriend Brock has just proposed to her. But a white buffalo calf is bowing to her in her dreams. And who is the Native American man who has been following her around?

Naomi doesn’t know it, but things are about to change..."


The Succubus Gift by BR Kingsolver






"Urban Fantasy with a dash of romance. The Succubus Gift is a completely different take on the succubus myth. Brenna's life isn't the same after she discovers her unusual and mysterious heritage. In addition to being a telepath and having other paranormal Gifts, Brenna learns she has the Succubus Gift. She's always been a good girl and isn't comfortable seducing men, except one she really loves. That's just the beginning of her problems. Someone is stalking her. Then there's the tall, dangerous woman who shadows her and hints a Goddess has linked them. And what is she going to do with a handsome, charismatic, womanizing man she knows she should avoid? 

Some days a girl just wants to pull the covers over her head and stay in bed -- with a willing young man of course."


Wool (Omnibus) by Hugh Howey






"In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo.

Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies.

To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism.

Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside.

Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last."


Thriller/Suspense


A Referendum on Conscience by Christopher Truscott






"A terrorist attack. A vote against a popular war. A re-election campaign.

Rebecca McElroy is looking forward to retiring as she nears the end of her second term in the U.S. Senate.

Clarissa Rogers, the senator's young speechwriter, is glad to be out of the campaign business and has no intention of ever going back.

Then terrorists launch a devastating attack on Washington that drives the country into a bloody war and changes everything for the pacifist senator from Minnesota.

Clarissa's sent home and is tasked with managing a campaign the experts predict is doomed to fail. They're running against fear and anger—and public opinion. All they have to go on is the senator's conscience."


Deeds of Mercy by M.P. McDonald






"An unexpected visitor from Mark's past brings him unwanted attention from the authorities. Unable to decide who is friend and who is foe, Mark becomes a fugitive from the law, but with thousands of lives at stake, he is forced to put aside his fear of capture, and instead, seek help from his pursuers."


Hope for the Wicked by Edward Lorn





"Sometimes, bad people do good deeds.

Larry and Mo Laughlin are retired killers turned private investigators with monetary woes. So when their handler introduces them to the Trudeaus, one final job is placed on the docket.

Jacob and Bernice Trudeau need their teenage daughter, Amy, found, and they also want the men responsible dead. Two million dollars is an offer Larry and Mo can’t refuse.

To find Amy, the Laughlins must travel to Mexico, where they are thrust into a world of debauchery so foul they will be forever changed.

One crazed pimp, a veterinarian turned doc-for-hire, and an enigmatic facility called “The Show” lie in wait for the wayward couple.

Is there any hope for the wicked?"


Long Way Down by Tony Black





"Gus Dury is down on his luck and looking for distraction when Danny Murray asks him to find his old school friend, Barry Fulton. Fresh from jail, and attracting the attention of a new breed of Irish gangster, Barry is treading a fine line between his past and the activities of present-day Edinburgh crimelord, Boaby 'Shakey' Stevens.

Dury knows Barry has put a time-bomb round his neck and if he can't defuse the situation the consequences for his old friend don't bear thinking about. As the clock ticks Dury finds himself sliding the Long Way Down a winding spiral of tension and despair as he tries to save Barry from his own impending destruction at the hands of those who know brutality as a way of life."


Lost in Thought by Simon J. Townley






"A journey into the labyrinth... where the monsters lurk

Imaginative, madcap slipstream fiction, a psychological thriller with a fantasy twist.

A secret that could change the world, lost inside a dysfunctional scientist's comatose mind. The only hope - Richard Trescerrick's own invention, the Brainscape device, an unproven, untested mind-link technology and doorway to the subconscious. 

To save his life, solve the crime and recover the formula, a team of doctors, police and scientists link with Trescerrick's mind, entering the Brainscape, a world created by memory and controlled by metaphor. With them, estranged son Luke - part fisherman, part artist, devoted father and full-time drunk. 

To unmask a killer and expose a conspiracy, Luke journeys into the deep subconscious, searching for the hidden algorithm and a metaphor that leads to freedom. But in the labyrinth of the Brainscape, death is real. Enemies lurk behind every memory. Secrets spawn riddles wrapped in metaphor. Stories come alive. And monsters are made flesh."


Young Adult


Integration by Imogen Rose



"Second haiku warning:

A boyfriend missing
A lover must pay in blood
A princess must die

Welcome back to Bonfire Academy."


Our Summer of Discontent by S.L. Baum





"Summer. A time for travel, relaxation, and above all - fun. But for Charity, her family, and her friends, this summer holds more in store than any of them anticipate.

While Charity learns to harness her newfound powers, others around her discover their own surprising abilities. And a vacation to New York becomes a catalyst that has their paths crossing with the unexpected, yet again.

Emotions run high as life-altering games taunt and test them all. Who will win and who will lose, during their Summer of Discontent?"


The Ugly Stepsister Fights Back by Sariah Wilson





"Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake. 

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back is a sweet, clean, contemporary young adult romance."

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