Dark Horse SBB

Blurb:

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she's made a powerful ally--a fellow prisoner with whom she's formed a strong bond. Sazo's an artificial intelligence. He's saved her from captivity and torture, but he's also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn't know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he's not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5's owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn't the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he's going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

Excerpt:

Gee stretched himself impossibly straighter, his slightly rounded chest puffing up. “Iʼm finished talking to you.”

Dav stared at him until the Tecran turned away, then he walked over to the one cell that was different.

He could feel Geeʼs eyes on him, sense Appalʼs interest, as she also picked up what he was seeing.

This was the cell of an advanced sentient. He could see a chair and table, a handheld tablet and a bed made up with sheets and blankets. He looked up and down the row, but this was the only cell set up like this. He looked over at Gee, but the captain was still turned away, his shoulders stiff.

Dav shrugged. Heʼd be wasting his time trying to get anything out of the Tecran. Borji could give him the lens feed. Give them an idea what they would find on Harmon.

He walked out of the holding area, taking a deep breath of clean air when he and Appal were on the other side of the closed door, although now that the air filtration was working again, the smell was not as bad as it had been.

That, or heʼd gotten used to it.

“He didnʼt know the explorer craft had left the ship.” Appal almost whispered the words.

“No. We might have to consider this was a rescue and revenge mission.”

“Someone rescued the prisoners, punished their captors?” Appal looked at the dead Tecran littering the passageway. Whistled. “Some punishment. What were they holding in there? If Borji is right, whoever they are they hijacked a Class 5ʼs internal systems and used it against itself.”

“Whoever or whatever they are, I donʼt think the Tecran realized they were quite so powerful. Or perhaps they simply have powerful friends.” Dav frowned. While the animal in the launch bay looked fierce, in fact sent a primal chill down his spine, he had the sense it wasnʼt an advanced sentience. But one of the prisoners definitely had been.

“Weʼre going to Harmon?” Appal asked, and there was a keen edge to her words.

“Weʼre going to Harmon."

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Author Bio and Links:

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

Website    |    Blog    |    Twitter    |    Google+    |    Facebook

Buy Links:

Amazon     |     B&N

Wellness Wednesday - Uplifting Music Day

Sorry for the lack of a post today. We’re replacing all the flooring in the entire house and I just started another college course, so things have been really hectic lately. Plus, my cat got out of the house two nights ago, and we haven’t been able to find her yet, so I haven’t had the time or been in the mood for today’s post. So, since I’m feeling down right now, I’m just going to share some of my current uplifting songs. Hopefully they’ll help make your day better as well. 

Jökel Unbreakable Stemless Silicone Glasses Review

The Jökel stemless wine glass is made of unbreakable BPA-free food-grade silicone and is both stain-resistant and dishwasher safe.

Whether it’s a tailgating, a day at the beach, pool party, camping or picnic, the Jökel stemless silicone wine glass is perfect for the on-the-go lifestyle and its compact, squishy design make it easy to stuff in a small bag or backpack.

It looks great and fits comfortably in any size hand making it ideal for outdoor parties with guests of all ages, the durable, high quality silicone will never break, chip or crack

Jökel stemless silicone wine glasses are specially designed to prevent taste transfer and keep drinks colder than standard cups or glasses  allowing guests to fill with the beverage of their choosing.

My Review:

4 stars

These are great to use, especially for an outside BBQ like I had on the 4th, as these really are unbreakable (and they did get knocked around/dropped numerous times). They were very easy to clean, and I liked that they are BPA free as well. They are a very decent size, and could be used with other drinks as well as wine. My biggest concerns when using these were that they wouldn’t stand on their own well and that they would be easy to spill. Fortunately, these stood up well on their own, and the only difficulty spill wise came when people would forget that these were collapsible, and would squeeze them too hard, causing the drinks to spill out. But I knew that was a possibility when I bought them, and it didn’t happen very often, so I’m still very pleased with these cups.

The only downside was the smell. Even after repeated washes, I could still smell the silicone even after repeated washes. I do however have a very sensitive sense of smell, and only one of my friends was able to smell the silicone as well, so this probably wouldn’t be a problem for most people.

All in all though, these were very useful glasses period, and I will definitely be using them more in the future if I’m able to get rid of the smell totally. They are expensive glasses, but just from the amount of use I put them through, I have a feeling these will last a very long time and be worth the money spent.

*I bought this product at a discount in exchange for an honest review*

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans! I hope you all have a fun (and safe) Independence Day! 

Children's Books Reviews

A little while ago, I was able to spend the day with the two children I was a nanny for in the past. Since I was asked to review these two books before I spent time with them, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity, especially since one of them is getting ready to start kindergarten (Morning Magic), and I was interested in reading My Warp Speed Mind since I have ADHD and I work with children with ADHD as well. So, here are my reviews of two of the books I read with them:

My Warp Speed Mind

By Donalisa Helsley

Do you have trouble paying attention and being still? Do you feel like everyone is always mad at you? Drake knows how you feel. With some help he will learn how to control his impulses. A spaceship that can go warp speed is great, but only if you know how to make it slow down too!

My Review:

3 stars

I read this with the 3 year old and the 5 year old I work with and had to stop reading it partway because they absolutely lost interest in the book. Though the book is a helpful way to talk and explain ADHD to children, I had some trouble with the formatting and age demographic. It states that the age group for this book is 3-9 year olds (and I’ve worked with children professionally in that age range), and I felt like the book format didn’t really fit well with any of the age demographics.

The biggest problem was the wordiness. The book is 32 pages long, which wouldn’t be that bad, except for the fact that there was so much text. I felt like I was reading a chapter book, not a picture book. Plus, some of the ideas and explanations in the book were two complex for 3-5 year olds, which are part of the age demographic this book is aimed towards. I felt that there were parts that could have been omitted that would have improved the story, while making it more “kid-friendly” for 3-5 year olds.

On the other hand, while the explanations would be great to use with say 7-9 year olds, I think it would have been better had this been written as a chapter book rather than a picture book. I tried reading this to two of my neighbors’ children, aged 8 and 10, and they didn’t want to read it with me because it was a “baby book”. Plus, ages 7-9 is about when you want to start transitioning your children to reading chapter books, not picture books. Also, while the explanations work, the book is sometimes very simplistic which works well for 3-5 year olds, but not so much for 7-9 year olds.

I think the people who would find this book most useful would be parents and teachers looking to explain ADHD to the children they work with, since the book includes many useful ideas that I would use with my children. However, I don’t think it’s very well-written for a child’s point of view.

While the book does have some great ideas, as well as a great section at the end of calm down exercises to use with your children as well as parent and teacher tips, both of which I thought were the best part of the entire book, it doesn’t fit well into the demographics it says it does. I think if you wanted to read this book with your children, you would need to break it down for younger children.

The other book I read was Morning Magic by Giles Smith.

It's the first day of a new school year for Emily, a trainee witch. After a hasty breakfast she rushes to her room to get dressed. After all, she doesn't want to be late on day one! But her clothing seems to have other ideas. Her chest of drawers is feeling grumpy and won't open. Her socks don't want to be worn and make a mad dash for freedom. And her witch's hat is simply missing in action. Despite these delays, can she figure out the 'Get Dressed' spell and still make it to school on time?

Morning Magic is Book 1 of the new Everyday Magic Series. This series will be the basis for a new programme of sight-word tools for kids aged 5-7, where the main stories will be developed into small self-readers packed with sight words.


My Review:
4 stars

I loved this book! It was such a fun book to read, and the kids absolutely loved it. Though the story was slightly  The illustrations were plentiful and fun, and I liked how there were extra illustrations without words showing the continuation of the story, yet also leaving it open for interpretation. I had a fun time with the kids coming up with our own stories about what Emily did next based on the illustrations. I also liked that there was a rhyming scheme throughout the book. The rhyming scheme and the story (getting ready for school) makes this a great book to read with your 3-6 year olds, as my two (3 and 5) loved it.

The book was also very sturdy, a highly appreciated quality, especially with children who like to turn the pages themselves but haven't quite learned to be careful when doing so. The pages were thick and easy for the little one to turn, and they hold up since they're not just made of paper.

All in all, this was a great introduction to this series, and I would highly recommend this book, and I cannot wait to see further books in the series.

*I received both these books in exchange for honest reviews.*

Throwback Thursday - Enos by Zarug Thane

Okay, so I’m still feeling a bit nostalgic. Plus, I was the first person to review this book. So here’s a review I did back in December of 2013.  This is one of those books that I felt like I shouldn’t have liked just based on the beginning, and then by the end of the book, I fell in love with it. It’s hard to explain…oh well, hopefully my review of Enos makes more sense.

Blurb:

Enos is a private investigator with a problem: he’s four months behind on the rent, and he hasn’t had a decent case in months. When the beautiful Jayleen walks into his office, matters go from bad to worse. Not only is she hoping to locate her missing roommate (who will almost certainly appear on her own within a matter of hours), Jayleen isn’t able to pay Enos’s normal rate. At least, she isn’t able to pay in cash....

To his surprise, Enos discovers that not only is Jayleen’s roommate truly missing, the young woman has been kidnapped for a most sinister purpose, by powers best left alone. There are dark forces at work, and Enos finds himself far more involved in the simple missing person case than is good for him.

Continuing his practice of having sex with anyone who doesn’t say no fast enough, Enos is soon in danger not just of eviction, but of evisceration.

Warning: For Adults Only. Heterosexual and homosexual behavior; coerced and reluctant participation; light dominance and discipline. 

My Review:

4.5 stars

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, especially after reading the warnings, so I was looking forward to something different. And this book certainly delivered. Though, I should warn you, this is apparently book 2 in a series, which I wasn’t aware of when I read Enos, so I would recommend reading the first book well...first.

Anyways, this was an interesting and conflicting book for me. I had quite a few problems with it, and yet I loved it. Though, my biggest problem was that I was thrown into a paranormal world with no explanation or background. However, like I said above this is book 2, and I did not read book 1 first, so I’m assuming the world building was primarily in that book. When I realized that, I wasn’t quite so upset at being so lost.

And the sex...truthfully, I was a bit against all the sex scenes at first. I know this is an erotic romance, but there was so much sex. I’m normally not a big fan of tons of sex scenes, and while there were times where I just wanted the story to move on, Enos surprised me. I actually liked reading most of the sex scenes, as they were all different and exciting (and included both heterosexual and homosexual scenes). I didn’t get overly bored reading them, which is unusual for me, which definitely made me enjoy the book more

Problems aside, I greatly enjoyed this book. Because for all the problems I had with it, I couldn’t put it down. I was drawn into the story, and I can’t wait to read the first and the third book in the series so I can learn more about this world. And considering I spent the majority of the book clueless about the world the story was set in, and ended the book with tons of questions in my head, I actually loved this book. Therefore, I would definitely recommend this book, as it surprised me and captured my attention to such a degree that I was able to put aside my problems with the book and truly enjoy it.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Wellness Wednesday - A Healthy Mirror for Change Review

So I was originally going to report on which smoothies my roommate and I had tried and liked best, but unfortunately, things didn't quite go according to plan. For one, I started a 6 week Writing for Publication college course the same week I had my blogoversary. Yeah, wouldn't recommend that in the future. So, things have been hectic, and so we haven't gotten around to trying two of the flavors. Plus, Blogger decided to not post any of the odd numbered posts...so I'm still trying to get days 3, 5, and 7 to show. *facepalm* Oh well, just another day in my life as a blogger.

Anyways, I was going to do the smoothie post, and then I read this book. I was offered a copy to review, and it sounded interesting to me, especially since I am trying to get healthier and lose weight. I surprisingly enjoyed the book, and so I wanted to share it with you: A Healthy Mirror for Change by Jerzy Gregorek.

Blurb:

Though we all desire a healthy and happy life, it is ironic that we often follow a path that is complex and self-destructive. One never knows which words will provide the kind of insights and inspiration to help us right the course. Each poem in this book developed in response to the struggles of the many individuals who have tried to implement the simple but often difficult solutions to the obstacles they faced with regard to exercise and food.

For those who face such obstacles, it is the author's hope that these poems will strike a responsive chord, guiding you toward constructive changes that will make a positive difference in your life. Once you begin to travel this path, you will be able to focus your energy and attention on that which is truly important.

Jerzy Gregorek has been mentoring people for more than 25 years to help them attain a happy and healthy lifestyle. He is the co-creator, together with his wife Aniela, of The Happy Body Program.

My Review:

Stars

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*