Kelly deVos: Day Zero

The clock was always ticking and Kelly DeVos takes us to Day Zero, once all the time has run out:

Jinx Marshall did not have a regular childhood. She spent all of her free doomsday prepping a drilling. Her Dad never let her have a days rest or a regular childhood it was all about being prepared. When her parents divorce and her mother remarries, Jinx thinks that she can take a break, have and easy normal life from now on. But all the training comes in handy when a building explodes right next to the one she, her brother and step sister are in, she is able to get them all out alive. However, this was not some random attack the world is about to go through a huge change, one that only a few saw coming, and Jinx just hopes that she has trained enough to help keep her family safe.

Wow, i'm not quite sure where to start with this book, there are quite a few things that I liked about it, the pace (super fast and right from the start), dooms day, some pretty good action scenes that I was not expecting and the overall plot in the story but I struggled with the main character and some of the political avenues. I get that she is a teenager and I tried to forgive that as I read the story but there were a few things about her that just irked me especially as she is really the key to everything.

With that said I am unsure whether I am supposed to like the main character, Jinx, or not. She has some great qualities like taking care of her younger brother, Charles and there are times when she's great to have in a stressful situation, seems to have some fighting abilities but for most of the story I found her to be whiny, selfish (which I guess can be good when the apocalypse is happening) and not smart most of the time aka being distracted by boys. There are multiple times she forgets what her Dad taught her and I feel like if you ran doomsday preps for YEARS of you life you would not forget so many things so easily. I mean when she is taking it easy after her mom and dad split and no longer having to do drill every day she is planning video game campaigns, I feel like that is something that is directly related to her dooms day prepping training. I actually thought that MacKenna was a more likable character (which I did not think would happen at first as she comes off as the spoiled rich girl with entitlement kind of vibe) as at least she stayed true to herself and her ideas and beliefs and wasn't afraid to question everything.

I found the political setting of the book a little confusing, and I don't think the full history of how the USA got to this state is fully explained. I get everyone is for Everyone’s for Rosenthal, but why? And why is it so bad to have a change in government. I mean Ammon Carver does start to sound like a nut bar  but it sounded like the people in the USA wanted to move back to a capitalistic market and away from a more socialist or communist one? I think? Honestly i'm not 100% sure at this point. I mean I like a political intrigue in a book but it needs to be well laid out and explained for me to get on board with it. I'm hoping maybe a bit more will be explained in book number 2. Maybe have Dr. Doomsday explain a few more things and what Carver was thinking as they used to be friends and why he had helped him before this point.

This was an interesting Doomsday, literally zero day, zero hour, type of book that basically start  you running from the beginning and you are looking to catch up about what is going to happen next. I think this is where deVos lost me a bit as I struggled to understand the political landscape of this book and where the USA was before a new president took over. That said I think that deVos has something here and I would check out the next book in the series.

Enjoy!!!!

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Alice Blanchard: Trace of Evil

A small town is about to be rocked by a murder of one of their own, and everyone in town is a suspect:

Burning Lake is an interesting town that has connection a sordid past with hanging witches, and this fact means that witchcraft and forming a coven is something that the locals, mainly teenagers, drift towards. Natalie Lockhart is a rookie detective who handed the Missing Nine, nine people who have disappeared from Burning Lake over several years and with each new detectives who is promoted they give fresh eyes to the decade or older cases. However, Natalie is about to be handed one of the toughest cases that would fall onto any detective's desk, the murder of someone you know and the wife of a cop, Daisy Buckner. As the investigation deepens Natalie gets more suspects the more evidence that is found and the risks get higher and higher.

While I was reading this book, I was totally convinced that it was a debut novel, I was surprised that it was not. While the plot and main character seemed laid out there were some what I think basic details missed that would have changed this book from a good read to an amazing one, aka The Devil is in the Details. This book would have been such a stronger book and story if Blanchard would have done some extra research about police officers, their culture and some general forensic information. Even a google search would have helped her with these details. So I guess i'll deal with the no so good first and then get to the good.

First off, police do not carry pagers any more, everyone has smart phones and that is what they would use if you are on call. Police Department will issue the officers a work phone for this purpose so there would not be a rotating pager for whomever is on call that night. Can you think of how many times a rotating pager would get lost? Second, if you take a bullet in your vest you will have to replace that vest as it has been compromised, you would no longer be safe if you were to take another bullet to the vest. Sure you can keep it but it would have to be replaced as it would be no longer safe to wear it but it would probably have been needed to be taken into evidence first as part of the proof about the shot as well as to obtain the bullet out of it.

Thirdly, there is a lot of emphasis on time of death. Time of death is the least precise forensic out there, there are too many factors that can affect when a person was killed. Simply asking the coroner or pathologist when the person died shows a lack of research, they cannot narrow it down to hours, more like days. Additionally when Natalie enters the house and states that she could smell the dead body, this is not true, decomposition of the body where a smell occurs does not normally happen within the first few hours of death, it begins two to three days after as it takes a bit for the bacteria within your Body to start breaking it down for food which in turn releases gas. I was able to find most of this out with a basic google search so I feel that Blanchard could have done that as well. Blanchard did get more to the right track when she started to try and figure out what Daisy had done that day and who had seen her last but this is later in the book. Lastly, you as a police officer always always secure the suspect(s) and scene first, yes you can save a person if they need saving but once that is done after you secure your suspect(s), if you don’t there is still a risk to you and the victim that could lead to even more dire consequences. You don’t know what other weapons that may arise by you not securing them. I feel like this aspect is common sense.

Alright now to the good part. WOW, what a plot and story, I did not have everything figured out till the very end, there were too many suspects in this small town where everyone and everything and everyone are interconnected. God, I love small town books and Burning Lake is no exception. I appreciate that Blanchard kept this book to one murder, one who done it, with the historical cases also being investigated. i think sometime the plot and book becomes too muddied with so many homicides that all interconnected and even though there was only one recent murder to investigate that didn't mean I was able to figure everything out, it was a great twisty, did not see that coming ending, which is always amazing when that occurs.

Burning Lake is an interesting town and it has the reputation for burning (though the actually hung them) witches just like Salem did and the town uses this as their “claim to fame”. This also means that people dabbling in witchcraft is a common theme amount the youth and this creates a whole different avenue if investigation for the police department. This book is set in our time in our world so the whole witch thing is more wishful thinking but it does not mean that people, mainly teens, aren’t willing to try a spell or two, however, witchcraft needs to be considered with every crime that is committed. This adds an extremely unique perspective in this book and one that I have not read before outside of the Urban Fantasy/Paranormal genres. It appears that Blanchard did so research on witchcraft as she talks about symbols, knots, spells and what those spells hope to achieve and I found it all very fascinating.

Natalie is an interesting character, she’s smart, know how to play the game and really caring about her family and those who shew grew up with. Even the lady who had a psychotic break and ends up on the street, Natalie is there if she needs help. It never seems like Natalie gets exhausted with trying to juggle all her cases and family life, she just keeps going and going with little sleep, so maybe she is a super human detective. There is a hint of a romance to come, it kind of became redundant throughout the book (oh i've liked him forever, maybe now will be the time he makes a move ect) and I don’t think the book or plot needed it as it doesn't really add anything to the murder investigation or story.

Don't get me wrong, overall I enjoyed this book. I feel like Blanchard likes the idea of writing from the point of view of a rookie detective but lacked the knowledge or research about police, police culture and investigations to really pull some of this book off. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the plot and story that Blanchard laid out in this book and the small town setting. I would read another book from Blanchard and if she were to release another book featuring Burning Lake and Natalie.

Enjoy!!!

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Susan Illene: Stalked by Flames

Susan Illene shows the readers who is on top of the food chain when Dragons enter our world:

Bailey had just graduated from college and was looking forward to traveling home, but her life is about to change forever. While leaving town from home a massive earthquake erupts and releases Dragons into the world. Bailey is just trying to survive but when trying to save others she becomes the target and is about to become BBQ. But the unthinkable happens, she does not burn in the flames, she is a Dragon Slayer. With the help of a shape shifting Dragon named Aidan she is starting to learn how to harness her knew skills. But Aidan has his own plans for forming a relationship with a Dragon Slayer, he can only hope that she is ready when he needs her.

I was thinking that this was the first apocalyptic series that featured dragons, but i actually started (and admittedly never finished but I still recommend it, hmmmm I need to get back to that series) J. A. Pitts Black Blade Blue series several years ago and if you like regular women becoming extraordinary and dragons make sure to check out that series as well. Illene starts the book off with a bang with a massive earthquake that seems to occur throughout the whole country and then BAM dragons appear out of nowhere and start eating/capturing people. These are not your friendly dragons, which I appreciative, let them be the fire breathing, human eating monsters they were meant to be. Well not all the Dragons are this way, some of them are shape shifters and have a human and dragon form. This is where we get the two points of view; Bailey the human who becomes a dragon slayer and Aidan the shape shifter who does not eat humans and sees them more as a tool than anything else.

The two points of view are really interesting as we have Bailey showing what has happened to her town and people now and how they are struggling to survive now that Dragons rule the world and how much things have changed and what has been sacrificed. Then Aidan's point of view is one that is more medieval in description with him and his siblings vying for the role to rule their clan once their father dies.

I liked Bailey as a main character, she is strong, willing to help others and surprisingly trusting of those that she should not be. She has some pretty cool powers, and being burned by dragon fire is high among them. I equate her powers similar to that of a Slayer's not just in the extra strength but also that she comes into them under a high amount of stress and danger.

There is an attempt of a romance here but the characters do their best to ignore their possible feelings with each other, but you can tell things are going to flourish later. At least the Dragon Aidan has a human form and I don't have to stop reading this series due to some sort of weird bestiality of a human with an actual dragon; Just not my cup of tea.

This was a good start to a series, and I am fan with the use of dragons which is not something that we see too much of these days in more mainstream books. I look forward to continuing on with this series and seeing where Illene takes it.

Enjoy!!!

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K. L. Slater: The Mistake

K.L. Slater takes readers on a journey where You think you know the truth about the people you love, But one discovery can change everything:

Eight-year-old Billy goes missing one day, out flying his kite with his sister Rose. Two days later, he is found dead. Sixteen years on, Rose still blames herself for Billy’s death. How could she have failed to protect her little brother? Rose has never fully recovered from the trauma, and one of the few people she trusts is her neighbour Ronnie, who she has known all her life. But one day Ronnie falls ill, and Rose goes next door to help him… and what she finds in his attic room turns her world upside down. Rose thought she knew the truth about what happened to Billy. She thought she knew her neighbour. Now the only thing she knows is that she is in danger…

This is the second book that I have read by Slater and I am disappointed with it, and maybe I should have given more time but when I'm 35% into the book, according to my kindle, and I was not interested in the story/plot/main character I had to put this book down. I'm sorry to say that this is my fist DNF book of 2020.

I liked that there was back and forth between the past and presence as we know that Rose's brother is going to be kidnapped and murder and I liked that Slater was going to take the time to lays things out on how they got there, but it was just taking too long to get to anything substantial.  And the in the present time it was more about the library closing and how Rose is going to survive that if it happens, Rose is not questioning the murder of her younger brother, though she is still feeling the affects of it. So I question why are we visiting the present and not just telling the story in the past?

I know i'm in the minority with this review, but I'm Sorry Slater that this book was not for me. It was missing the intrigue and thrills that was in the previous book of yours that I read. Although this one was not for me, I will read another book by Slater.

Cheers!!!!

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Christina Henry: The Girl in Red

In a retelling of the classic Red Riding Hood Story, Christina Henry shows what Red is really like in a world going to hell:

The woods were never safe, but with the end of civilization they are even more dangerous than before; A stranger has a high possibility to kill you intentionally or not. Red is on her way to her grandma's house, a 500 mile journey that she started with her family, but now she is alone. She has lost everyone along the way. Red knows if she can just make it to her grandma's house she will be safe, but there are many wolves standing in her way to get there.

First off, I adore this cover. It was the cover that drew me to this book as I have not read a book by Henry before. You knew that this was going to have a connection to Little Red Riding Hood but this was not your traditional retelling or even modernizing of it. It used some of the aspects within the story, like the main character being called Red and the people trying to prevent her from continuing on in journey as coyotes or wolves but Henry makes the story her own throughout.

When we first meet Red she was on her own and she is constantly telling herself not to think about Adam and this piques your interest as a reader, who is this Adam and what happened to him and further why is Red traveling alone. This was a great way to tell this story as you have the times getting closer and closer to when we first meet Red as well as her surviving on her own. This made Red a more defined character and you can see how she has adapted along the way even though she was fairly well prepared in the beginning.

Alright lets just get it out there, Red only has one Leg. There said it, now we can move on to more important things. Red does not use her Leg to define her so as a reader I didn’t want to as well, two legs or one she is an amazing character. Her survival instinct is one point, she has the ability to adapt, take care of herself, but is caring when she sees children suffering. And she takes no BS not from anyone in the story, Red is strong even when she feels weak.

I Feel like there are still some unanswered questions by the end. Maybe another book featuring the Ltd? Maybe something more with Red, I don't know. The story just felt unfinished in a way. This is not to say I did not enjoy this book, maybe I just want more Red.

Enjoy!!!

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Kelley Armstrong: This Fallen Prey

This is the third book in Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series (City of the Lost and Darkness Absolute) and it is one of my favourite series right now. If you like mystery, thrillers and small town secrets this series is for you.

It starts with hearing a plane overhead, normally this would not be a concern for most small towns, but Rockton is different, plane do not just find their way there. The town has only one plane and it is currently parked in the hanger. Casey and Dalton head for the hanger and see a plane lading on their runway.They get a shock when a new resident, Oliver Brady, for their town embarks, claiming that he innocent and has been sent here falsely. The council has sent them a dangerous criminal to keep imprisoned for at least 6 months. The longer Brady is imprisoned in Rockton the louder he states his innocence of the crimes he has supposedly committed. Rockton is not sent up to a prison and it is only a matter of time before some of the town folks believe him and then begins the biggest and deadliest man hunt in Rockton history..

If you finished Darkness Absolute, you were itching to get your hands on this book because of that cliffhanger ending, I was just happy I was late to the Rockton party and only had to wait for the book to come in the mail. This is one of my favourite thriller/mystery series out there and Armstrong is one of my favourite authors, so you can say that I have high hopes for all of her books. Overall I enjoyed this book. I liked that this book ventured a different path from the first two book in that is a man hunt book with sides of murder. This book does not stop from the very beginning and I really enjoyed the Cat and Mouse game that occurs both within Rockton and in the forest as well as mentally as people try to determine if Brady is innocent or not.

Once again having to rely on no technology in order to get things done. I like that they are training Storm to be a working dog especially a tracking dog. I also like that it seemed that Mathias is getting a larger role as I find him extremely fascinating in both his motives and all of the reasons that he was put in Rockton. He's such an interesting character and one you would never want to find yourself on the bad side of. I hope that we get to know even more about the other residence that live in Rockton especially with the new additions that occurred in this book. There are also some revelations about some of the people that Casey has relationships with in this book that I don't think most people will see coming.

Alright, I know that Casey and Duncan are making Storm into a working dog, but Storm was such a focal point throughout the story that other aspects suffered at times. I get that Storm is now an important part to Casey's life and job, and while Storm did find some key evidence some of the times that she ran away from Casey, it seemed to happen over and over again, that it became redundant. Maybe this was to showcase that dog never stops working, but there were quite a few times where she was more of a hindrance than an assets which makes me think that Casey should have just left her at home. I feel like in Casey's case most of the problems that she got into this book were caused by Storm. So I guess what I'm trying to say is I appreciate what Casey and Duncan are trying to do with Storm, I just don't want the dog training aspects to take away from the rest of the plot.

Another good addition to this series, I love the settings, characters and the overall lack of technology around. I look forward to seeing what Armstrong can come up with next for the town of Rockton.

Enjoy!!!!

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