BLOG TOUR: Being Free by J.H. Lyons

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BEING FREE by J.H. Lyons Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: BEING FREE

Author: J.H. Lyons

Pub. Date: November 1, 2023

Publisher: J.H. Lyons

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 273

Find it: Goodreads, https://beingfreebooks.com/

Based in part on the author’s own spiritual journey, Being Free: On the Inside is a magical realism novel of hope and redemption.

Corey Astin is a lawyer who will spend the next six years in prison.  He knows he did wrong, and wants to make amends, but needs guidance and protection.  The nature of his crime makes him an instant target for other inmates.  As you might expect, county jail offered only a tiny preview of the harsh environment in the maximum-security state prison.  Corey arrives in shackles in the middle of the cold Maine winter, to a poorly-heated cell block, knowing only one person, Carl, from his time in jail.  Corey soon meets Dalton, a man who will become his mentor and teacher of a special way of seeing and using energy called The Choice.  Being chosen is a great honor, but Corey doesn’t know it yet.  He is just beginning to understand what kind of magical world exists within for those who can manifest it.  Told from a first-person perspective, Corey explains his experience in the prison, and his growing friendship with Dalton.  He tells the story as if you are with him, listening to his concerns, and baring his soul.  Get ready to experience the first part of a private and perilous journey into a world that few have ever known.

 Review: coming soon

About J.H. Lyons:

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but raised in New England, J. H. Lyons now lives in rural Maine with his husband, their Mini Aussie dogs, and a cat in a "big house, little house, barn" farmhouse. He holds degrees in law, political science, computer science and French.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of BEING FREE, US Only.

2 winners will receive audiobook codes for BEING FREE, International

Ends April 30th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/15/2024	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt
4/15/2024	Comic Book Yeti	Excerpt/Twitter Post
4/16/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
4/16/2024	@darkfantasyreviews	Excerpt
4/17/2024	Karma Zee Readz	Excerpt/IG Post
4/17/2024	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
4/18/2024	Fire and Ice Reads	Excerpt/IG Post
4/18/2024	nerdophiles	Excerpt
4/19/2024	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Blog Spotlight/IG Post
4/19/2024	@evergirl200	IG Review

Week Two:

4/22/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review/IG Post
4/22/2024	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
4/23/2024	The Book Critic	Review/IG Post
4/23/2024	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
4/24/2024	Books and Zebras	IG Review
4/24/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
4/25/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/25/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/26/2024	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review
4/26/2024	The Momma Spot	Review

Review: Burned by Ellen Hopkins

 

This has been on my TBR for 8 years and last year I had been eyeing it every month on my shelf and I finally picked it up and it got me. I am not a big reader of books in verse and I figured this would be a quick read but this took me a week and I gave it a 4 star. The content is so hard to digest and fly through. I wanted to take my time and also speed because I needed to know what was going to happen to Pattyn and how she would deal with her situation.

Pattyn is our main character who is 17 and she is a Mormon. She is the eldest of 7 girls and her father wants a boy so damn badly. Her mom is described as a lazy breeder who doesn't fight back when Pattyn's father goes hitting. Her father is a former Vietnam vet who joined as soon as he could. He is now an abuser and an alcoholic who have the church leaders in his pocket because he is a man. The church believes that everything belongs to man and that his wife and daughters are property to do to as he pleases.

Pattyn starts having "impure" thoughts about boys and one day she is out shooting in the desert and one of the guys she has a crush on comes by with his girlfriend and his buddies. One of the buddies Derek gets close to Pattyn and they are an item for a couple weeks. She almost gives up her virginity and then her dad catches them in the desert while they are drunk and he threatens Derek. Derek ends up dumping Pattyn and getting with another girl named Carmen and it enrages Pattyn. She starts a fight and causes damage to the school. Her father decides to send her away to his sister's in the middle of no where and he thinks that will be a punishment, which it backfires because it becomes a saving grace and life changing summer for Pattyn.

She learns to question the world around her including her faith. She learns to drive instead of waiting for permission from a future husband if he wished her to learn. She learns to ride a horse and be free. She falls in love properly with a boy who is so perfect. Then the end of summer comes around and she has to go back to her old life. Her mom is pregnant finally with a son and Pattyn is getting physically abused by her father. 

I will not spoil the ending because I was fliping through the book before I finished and sadly I spoiled myself and ruined the "twist". I have read another book this year with this same plot device and I honestly hate that plot device because what it includes is a phobia I have and it impacts my life on the daily.

I am going to be starting the sequel right after I publish this post because I need to know what happens to Pattyn and her family. I want to know what happens to Aunt J and if there will be any justice.

BLOG TOUR: A Thundering of Monsters by S.A. Patrick

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the A THUNDERING OF MONSTERS by S.A. Patrick Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: A THUNDERING OF MONSTERS (Songs of Magic #3)

Author: S.A. Patrick

Pub. Date: April 2, 2024

Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 400

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/A-THUNDERING-OF-MONSTERS

The spell-slinging, shape-shifting, and epic fantasy adventure concludes in Book Three of the Songs of Magic trilogy!

After confronting the evil Hamelyn Piper, Patch Brightwater, his dracogriff friend Barver, and an army of Pipers have been transported to a mysterious island where they find themselves trapped with monstrous beasts. Meanwhile, their shapeshifting friend, Wren, has been captured by the nefarious villain and is working hard to escape a pair of magic-dampening manacles.

Clad in his suit of impenetrable black armor, with traitorous dragons on his side, the Piper of Hamelyn hunts for a mythical amulet to achieve true immortality. But Erner Whitlock, an apprentice in the Piper’s Custodian Elite, is on the verge of discovering yet another foe with even more sinister plans . . . Can Patch and friends reunite in time to prevent destruction from raining on the world?

S.A. Patrick’s Songs of Magic trilogy is a brilliant retelling of one of the darkest legends of all time, "The Piper of Hamelyn." Combining folklore with the very best of modern storytelling, the books will delight young fantasy fans who are hungry for perilous quests, friendships forged on the road, and an inventive magic system that thrills the imagination.

 Buy the complete series now!

 

Review: One of my favorite middle grade series. Review coming soon

 

About S.A. Patrick:

S. A. Patrick was born in Belfast. When he was a child, he wanted to write video games, become and author, and have magical powers. The first two came true. If he ever does get magical powers, he hopes people like dragons and griffins because there will suddenly be a lot of them around. He lives in England.

Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of  A THUNDERING OF MONSTERS, US Only.

Ends April 23rd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/8/2024	@darkfantasyreviews	Excerpt
4/8/2024	MoonShineArtSpot	Excerpt/IG Post
4/9/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
4/9/2024	@thepagelady	IG Review
4/10/2024	@callistoscalling	IG Review
4/10/2024	onemused	IG Post
4/11/2024	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
4/11/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/Tiktok Post
4/12/2024	Log Cabin Library	Review
4/12/2024	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review

Week Two:

4/15/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Review/Tiktok Post
4/15/2024	@pagesforpaige	IG Review
4/16/2024	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
4/16/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
4/17/2024	More Books Please blog	Review/IG Post
4/17/2024	The Book Critic	Review/IG Post
4/18/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
4/18/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review
4/19/2024	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review
4/19/2024	The Momma Spot	Review

Review: Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher

 

My daughter and I have finished watching season 2 and I got to read this. I have the watch and reading order and I am loving this order. It is immersing me more into the show. I also started this when I had three episodes left of season 2 and I got spoiled, so I definitely learned my lesson for the next book which I currently have out from my library.

This book is all about Hopper and his time as a detective in New York post his Vietnam service. He is telling his story to Eleven in the cabin in the woods. This takes place at Christmas time two months after the end of season 2. So IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW!!! If not, then I will not spoil you. She is asking questions, wanting to know more about him. She asks about New York and pulls a piece of evidence from his New York box that is essentially the whole book.

The only connections to Stranger Things is Hopper and Eleven and the cabin. No other characters and anything in Hawkins. Hopper tells Eleven how he got his new partner who was a Cuban woman from Queens and they get handed this case where the killer is leaving white cards with shapes and the shapes are also on the bodies. After working on the case for a couple weeks, it gets taken from them by the feds because it turns out that the victims were part of a special task force who are looking for someone who calls himself the saint and is targeting vulnerable veterans.

Hopper and his partner Delgado decide to still work on the case even though they can both get in trouble, but Hopper gets found out and gets offered to go undercover. If not, his wife and his daughter Sarah will not be seeing each other again. 

Hopper goes deep undercover and it is all disturbing and very upsetting that this villian served his country and then tossed aside by said country and he is taking out his revenge with other vulnerable Vietnam service men. 

I ended up giving this a 4 out of 5 stars. I wanted more of present day other than the story telling and I was annoyed by all of the descriptions of the characters clothing when they were introduced. Paragraph upon paragraph and I was skimming it. All of it took me out of the story because it did absolutely nothing for the story. Agent Gallups slicked back hair that was so glossy it could have blinded someone did nothing to fight agaist The Saint.

The next book I have to read is Runaway Max and that comes before season 3. 

BLOG TOUR: Resonant by David Andry

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the RESONANT: THE COMPLETE SERIES by David “DB” Andry, Ale Aragon, & Skylar Patridge Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: RESONANT: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Authors: David “DB” Andry, Ale Aragon (Illustrator), & Skylar Patridge (Illustrator)

Pub. Date: April 2, 2024

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats:  Paperback, eBook

Pages: 264

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/RESONANT-THE-COMPLETE-SERIES 

In a terrifying dystopian world,true horror arises and chaos rules when humankind's moral defenses fall and our worst impulses run wild. RESONANT is a post-apocalyptic horror story where Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD meets THE ODYSSEY, by way of THE WALKING DEAD - for fans and readers of Bird Box, Y: The Last Man, A Quiet Place, Road Warrior, and The Walking Dead.

NOW IN SERIES DEVELOPMENT FOR BET+ with Gerard McMurray as executive producer, director, and writer
Adapted for television by CBS Studios, Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions, and Gerard McMurray

RESONANT: The Complete Series FOREWORD BY GERARD McMURRAY!

OUR WORST IMPULSES UNLEASHED.
A decade has passed since the first Waves hit, unleashing humanity’s darkest impulses and plunging the world into chaos. Paxton, a single father of three, must venture from the secluded haven they’ve built to restock the medicine his chronically-ill youngest son needs to survive. When the somewhat routine trip goes awry, Paxton and his children—now separated—will battle everything in their path to reunite.

Can you resist the Call of the Void?

Collects the entire ten-issue series in a deluxe trade paperback omnibus with a foreword by Gerard McMurray (Director - The First Purge, Director, Executive Producer, and Writer - Burning Sands)

For fans of The Walking Dead, The Road, Bird Box, A Quiet Place, Y:The Last Man, and Road Warrior.

"What stands out in RESONANT is how the real horror comes not from the waves, but the other people...The scary moments are amplified by the great character development."
- Horror DNA

Top 25 Best Comics of 2021 -- Comics Bookcase

“…an odyssey even more terrifying than Bird Box.” -- The Beat

“…a firestorm of raw emotion, anxiety, and fear that any horror buff is going to appreciate.” – AIPT

“Pick this one up if you like apocalyptic stories and comics that speak to something dark and creepy in all the worst ways, even in the light.” – Black Nerd Problems

 

About David "DB" Andry:

David "DB" Andry is a physical therapist and comic book writer from Sacramento, CA. His works include RESONANT and END AFTER END from Vault Comics and the self-published graphic novel, THE WILD UNCERTAIN. Follow him on Twitter @dbandry for updates and excessive amount of chicken pictures

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

About Ale Aragon:

Alejandro is the co-creator of DEATH ORB, a sci-fi cyberpunk story, written by RYAN FERRIER and originally published by DARK HORSE in 2018. The same title is going to be translated to Spanish and published through MULTIVERSAL EDICIONES in Argentina along 2021.

Alejandro has been working around the industry over almost a decade, with credits at DARK HORSE COMICS (Death Orb, Eve: True Stories), BOOM! STUDIOS (28 Days Later, Robocop, The Expanse), IDW (Sons of Chaos), VAULT COMICS (Resonant), IMAGE COMICS (Overlook) and lots of other cool projects.

He lives in Rosario, Argentina.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

About Skylar Patridge:

Skylar Patridge: Comic artist, illustrator, and sometimes writer. Currently working on RESONANT from Vault Comics. Has done work for Image, Dark Horse (REVERSAL), Vault, Black Mask & Scout (VOLUME) as well as a variety illustrations and pinups for comics, anthologies & books.

Home location: New Mexico

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive finished copies of RESONANT: THE COMPLETE SERIES, US Only.

Ends April 23rd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

3/25/2024	Comic Book Yeti	Interview/IG Post
3/26/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Post
3/27/2024	@darkfantasyreviews	Excerpt
3/28/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
3/29/2024	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt
3/30/2024	The Momma Spot	Excerpt

Week Two:

3/31/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
4/1/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
4/2/2024	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
4/3/2024	The Book Critic	Review/IG Post
4/4/2024	Callisto’s calling	IG Review
4/5/2024	Karma Zee Readz	Review/IG Post
4/6/2024	@evergirl200	IG Review

Week Three:

4/7/2024	@sparks_books	IG Review
4/8/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
4/9/2024	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review
4/10/2024	nerdophiles	Review
4/11/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review
4/12/2024	Books and Zebras	IG Review
4/13/2024	@enthuse_reader	IG Review/TikTok Post

Week Four:

4/14/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review/IG Post
4/15/2024	@shangread_la	IG Review
4/16/2024	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
4/17/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/18/2024	FUONLYKNEW	Review
4/19/2024	Sadie's Spotlight	Excerpt/IG Post