Balance of July 2015

During the month of July, 2015, I reviewed the following:

Books:
- "Glassford Girl - Book 3" by Jay J.Falconer. Read my review.
- "Ghost in the Flames" by Jonathan Moeller. Read my review.
- "The One" by Kiera Cass. Read my review.
- "False Pretenses" by Scott R.Kramer. Read my review.

Guest Author:
- Scott R. Kramer - "False Pretenses"

Book "False Pretenses" by Scott R.Kramer

About the Book: A stolen election. Domestic terrorism. Extortion. Once in power, and consumed by greed, Pete Reeves will stop at nothing to have more of both. It's a non-stop race around the world to prevent the President from going to war to further his own ambitions. Politics takes one unexpected turn after another in "False Pretenses," the new political thriller by Scott Kramer.

Purchase False Pretenses at Amazon

About the Author: Scott Kramer is a former investment advisor and now runs a manufacturing company. He grew up in New Jersey and has a Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree, both in finance. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children. False Pretenses is his debut political thriller novel.

Follow Scott on twitter: @scottrkramer

My Review: This is what I would call a very intense book. The author did a superb job of creating a novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the turn of the last page. All conspiracy theories you have heard on stolen presidential's election and much more is adapted to this novel, making you think a lot on what is possible in the real world and what is fantasy (if any).
Basically you can find a perfect analogy in the real world to all topics brilliantly covered in the book. Stolen election, misleading information of threatening forces against USA in order to force a war, domestic terrorism, bribes and corruption are treated in this book with such a mastery that it is hard to believe this is just the debut novel of this author. The author is a natural storyteller and his style is very smooth. The plot flows in a fast pace and there is no idle moment in the whole story. His characters are real, credible, and fully developed, and you feel like cheering for the right thing to prevail. This book will keep you entertained for hours. It took me around 10 hours to read the whole book.

This is really a masterpiece. I recommend this book to the permanent library of all readers who appreciate a very well written political thriller. Hopefully it will attract attention to some Hollywood producer and we might have a movie based on this story.
I cannot stress enough how much I liked this book and how much I am hoping this author continue to produce other novels at this level.  Kudos to the author in his debut novel.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment!

Book "The One" by Kiera Cass

In the process of transferring our  blog to a brand new domain, this archived post has been adapted to BooksCrier.com

About the Book: The highly anticipated third book in Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series, The One will captivate readers who love dystopian YA fiction and fairy tales. The One is perfect for the fans who have followed America's whirlwind romance since it began—and a swoon-worthy read for teens who have devoured Veronica Roth's Divergent, Ally Condie's Matched, or Lauren Oliver's Delirium.

The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice ... and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Find out who America will choose in The One, the enchanting, beautifully romantic third book in the Selection series!

About the Author: Kiera Cass graduated from Radford University with a degree in History. She grew up in South Carolina and currently lives in Blacksburg, Virginia with her family. In her spare time, Kiera enjoys reading, dancing, making videos, and eating unhealthy amounts of cake. You can learn more about Kiera at kieracass.com, follow her on twitter via @kieracass, and see her silly videos at YouTube.com/user/kieracass.

My Review: This is an entertaining book, very well written and with a captivating plot that will keep your attention till the last page. The story is based on a classical love triangle, with the young lady (America) being the attention of a prince (Maxon) in one hand and a castle guard (Aspen) in the other hand. Kiera is so good describing the environment and her characters, that you fell like you are in the story, following every step of our heroine and her two loves. This book brings battles with rebels and more intrigues and discussions among the remaining ladies until the final decision is made by Prince Maxon. And all this happens after a lot of action and battles and revelations.

Although this book is classified as a novel for young adults, I am sure it will please even those not that young anymore. I would recommend this book to any reader that wants to be entertained for some hours (It took me around twelve hours to read the whole book) with a very well written book by Kiera Cass. But I strongly recommend you read the previous two books of the series before reading this final book that ends the trilogy.

If you read this review, feel free to leave your comments.

Book "Ghost in the Flames" by Jonathan Moeller

About the Book: Caina is now a Ghost nightfighter, with the cunning of an elite spy and the skill of a master assassin.

But this time, it might take more than that to keep her alive.

Caina has been sent to hunt a murderous pyromancer, a master of fiery sorcery, and she soon discovers that more is at stake than just a few murders.

Because if she doesn't find the pyromancer soon, the entire world might burn.

Starting with her...

About the Author: Standing over six feet tall, Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.
He has written the DEMONSOULED series of sword-and-sorcery novels, the TOWER OF ENDLESS WORLDS urban fantasy series, THE GHOSTS series about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the COMPUTER BEGINNER'S GUIDE sequence of computer books, and numerous other works.
Visit his website at: http://www.jonathanmoeller.com 
Visit his technology blog at:  http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed

My Review: Surprisingly this is a very entertaining book, keeping the pace of the first book of this series, Child of the Ghost, with a plot very well constructed and characters enjoyable. Our main character is a young lady named Caina. She joins a legendary society called the Ghosts, that act as spies and assassins for the Emperor of Nighmar. Caina is trained on how to disguise and stealth, how to infiltrate and murder. She becomes a powerful weapon for the Ghosts in their fight against the sorcery. Now that her training is complete and she is a Ghost nighfighter, she have her first mission. Stop a pyromancer. Hunt him down and destroy him. Is she up to the task? The book is full of twists and will keep you entertained for hours. But I recommend that you read the first episode prior of reading this one.

I recommend this book to the permanent library of all readers that enjoy a very well written book with an young adult theme. Opinion expressed in this review is my own.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment!

Guest Author Scott R. Kramer - "False Pretenses"

My guest today Scott R. Kramer author of False Pretenses talks about why he decided to write a political thriller and what was his inspiration.Scott Kramer is a former investment adviser and now runs a manufacturing company. He grew up in New Jersey and has a Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree, both in finance. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children. False Pretenses is his debut political thriller novel.

Follow Scott on twitter: @scottrkramer

Scott:  My inspiration to write "False Pretenses" was the election of George W. Bush, the Iraq war and the prosecution of it by the George W. Bush administration. 

The election of George W. Bush in 2000 was mired in controversy, and may or may not have been won fairly. I felt that a story about a stolen election would be an interesting one. 

Shortly after Bush took office, America was attacked on September 11th, and we went to war with Iraq. As time went on, it became clear that the war was sold to the public under false pretenses. We were told that the Iraqi's had weapons of mass destruction. They didn't. We were told that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the U.S. He wasn't. We were told that the war wasn't about oil. It turns out that it probably was.

The Bush family had very close, long standing, business and personal ties to the Saudi royal family. Even though fifteen of the nineteen September 11th hijackers were Saudi nationals, the Bush administration attacked Iraq because they were an easy target. Saudi Arabia, with their large reserves of oil, and close family ties to the Bush's would have been problematic.

Once the war was going, it also became clear that Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, was getting no-bid contracts, enriching the Vice President and his friends. With the Bush family history in the oil business, it was also reasonably clear who the war would benefit.

As I learned more about what was going on, and became more disheartened by what I saw as political corruption, I decided to write the book, both as an escape for me, and to provoke thought in a public that seems to have accepted corrupt politicians as the norm.

About False Pretenses 

A stolen election. Domestic terrorism. Extortion. Once in power, and consumed by greed, Pete Reeves will stop at nothing to have more of both. It's a non-stop race around the world to prevent the President from going to war to further his own ambitions. Politics takes one unexpected turn after another in "False Pretenses," the new political thriller by Scott Kramer.

Purchase False Pretenses at Amazon

About Scott R. Kramer

Scott Kramer is a former investment adviser and now runs a manufacturing company. He grew up in New Jersey and has a Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree, both in finance. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children. False Pretenses is his debut political thriller novel.

Follow Scott on twitter: @scottrkramer

Feel free to leave comments or questions to the author!

Book " Glassford Girl - Part 3" by Jay J. Falconer

About the Book: Time jumper Emily Heart narrowly escaped the deadly encounter at the reporter’s home, but now finds herself floating in a cold, damp place filled with a sea of colors and certain death.
Drawing another breath won’t be easy, not after her jumps have become even more erratic and unpredictable. So, too, have her relationships with Derek and the rest of her friends, forcing Emily to question everything and tighten her circle of trust as her troubles escalate.
Should she rescue Junie from a deadbeat mother and keep her friend from a life in foster care?
Is the Orange Man stalking her, or just her friends? What does he want?
Now that Detective Alison has tracked her down, will he arrest her or set her free?
When the national media gets involved, how will Emily avoid the spotlight and stay alive?
Part 3 in the series chronicles the tragedy of Emily’s life as her very existence is twisted and transformed beyond anything she could have ever imagined or believed.

About the Author: Jay J. Falconer is an independent author, publisher, blogger, editor, engineer and Sci-Fi junkie who lives in the mountains of northern Arizona where the brisk, clean air and stunning mountain views inspire his workday.

He makes his online home at www.JayFalconer.com and is the author of the critically acclaimed Narrows of Time book series. If the mood strikes you, please use the Contact the Author form on his website to connect with him. Mr. Falconer would love to hear from you. He personally reads and responds to all inquiries. You may also connect with him on Facebook

www.facebook.com/NarrowsOfTime

Mr. Falconer is currently developing an all new action Sci-Fi series called Redfall. The first season is expected to be released in 2015.

His blog can be found online at www.IncursionMag.com.

Check it out if you're interested in reading about the latest breakthroughs and announcements within the science and technology fields.

My Review: This is the third part of this time travel series. I strongly suggest that you read the first two episodes before reading this one. The story will make more sense if you know what happen up to this point. In the previous episodes, Emily Heart, our heroine, is a high student that is abducted together with her mother, when they are going to church. The abductors ended up killing her mother and she manage to escape. Having her body genetically altered, she now possess abilities that she cannot control. She starts jumping forward in time when she goes over strong emotional stress. Now she is homeless in Phoenix, trying to survive between her jumps in time. One of the most important rule she created is to never get involved with anyone, but she ends up meeting Junie in a homeless shelter. Junie is a young girl that lives in the streets. Emily also meets Derek, another street character, member of a dangerous street gang. One of Emily’s new abilities is to sense the real interior goodness of people when they are close to her and she knows that deep inside Derek is a good person. Another character is Jim Miller, a reporter that is following Emily’s appearance and has a full folder on her, with photos over a 30 year span showing that she did not age at all during this period. He tries to contact and protect her.
In this new episode Emily faces more challenges and the story starts from her escaping a deadly encounter with the "Orange man", one of her abductors. She starts questioning the loyalty of some of her friends. Duane and Nora come to her rescue, increasing her group of friends. An unexpected twist at the end changes the balance and her life gets new meaning and new uncertainties.
The author raised the bar on this episode, increasing the interest of the reader to a level that I have to scream that I want more and more.

How will that story end? The author did and incredible job creating a whole plot with his innovative way of exploring time travel. His characters are real, credible, and fully developed, in a way that we start cheering for Emily in every turn of the pages. Very well written, with excellent grammar and vocabulary, the author got me hooked. I will be buying the remaining of the series to find out what will happen to Emily Heart.

I recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader who appreciates a very well written time traveler story. They will not be disappointed at all.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment!