RINGING in the NEW YEAR GIVEAWAY (INT)

Hi Everyone,

In order to celebrate another successful year of reading and reviewing at Blood Rose Books, I have decided to have a blitz of a Giveaway. What better way to start the new year off than winning a book, sounds like a fun idea to me. This giveaway will be a Winner's Choice and INT, but there is a catch, you need to choose a book that Blood Rose Books has reviewed in 2013.

I am excited to see which book or books get the most hits. I hope everyone had a great 2013 and an amazing 2014. Good Luck and I look forward to hearing from you all in the New Year!!!

Cheers!!!

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Roderick Thorp: Nothing Lasts Forever

If you were like me, I had no idea that Die Hard was based upon a novel. Once I found this out, I needed to track down the book that inspired a movie that I always watch at Christmas. I don't even think I have to do a premise over view for this book....I mean who hasn't see Die Hard??? Just in case you haven't see the movie, here is the general rundown:

Joe Leland is flying into LA to viit his daughter and family for Christmas, but this is going to be one that he never forgets. He joins his daughter at her Christmas office party, never expecting that he would be fighting for their lives. So becomes a game of cat and mouse through out the building, where Leland tries to put a dent in the terrorist who have taken over the building. But these terrorist are not afriad to kill hostages and it is only a matter of time till the get to Leland's daughter. Can he cause enough grief to the terrorist that they focus more on him and to what lengths will Leland have to go to in order to make it out alive. In the game of Cat and Mouse there is only one survivor in the end.

As I stated above this is the novel that inspired the movie Die Hard (one of my favorite mindless action movies). If you are looking to read Die Hard the book, this is where to look, but I will say that overall it is fairly different from the movie. You can see where the general premise of the movie comes from in this book but that is about it. There were a few things that remained the same, but there was a lot different between the two. For example, the main characters name, the fact that his wife (well ex-wife) has passed away and he is in town visiting his grown up daughter and her family. There is also a difference on how Leland goes about his job in preventing the terrorists for getting what they want and I thought in the book it was more about creating terror than being about money like it was in the movie.

Thorp's novel is a much darker version of what you see on the movie screen. I say that this novel is darker than the movies as there are differences that i think some people may find more distubing. for example all the people that joe kils in this novel are described as young  men/kids or young women. Also it is more descriptive as to how he kills some of the victims and the stps involved in breaking one of the victims not victims but terrorists neck. additionally this novels does not have the happy Hollywood ending that you would expect and that there are deaths on both sides.

You can tell that Thorp is writing in a different generation than we are in now and it was interesting/funny to read something that was not too distant in the past, but wow how has technology changed as well as  the social dynamics of the world and terrorist situation. You can even see this difference from when the movie was written

Joe Leland is an interesting character, always on guard even though he is not a cop (any more), he is a consultant to police department all over the world and that includes know the whose who of terrorists. He is even carries a badge that the NYPD gave him that states on the back that "This guy is a prick", however, Leland is not afraid to put on the appearance that he is still a cop. I appreciated that Thorp allowed Leland to get hurt and this prevented his physical and mental ability to proceed on with what needed to be done. Thorp also showed the emotional toll that killing people especially the women and younger terrorist had Leland's ability to continue one. There are several times that he wanted to give up. I do not think that this came across within Die Hard as well, and I felt that Leland was a more of a humanized character than John was.

One thing that this book was missing was different points of view. I wish that we were able to get either his daughters point of view or of the lead terrorist  Anton "Little Tony" Gruber. I think this would have created a more well rounded story as there is a lot of guess work that is done by Leland and it just felt like there were holes missing in the story that could have been filled with a different perspective.

Not going to lie I actually think that Die Hard the movie was better than this novel and I think this main fact lies in not knowing the whole story. It was hard to see it just from Leland's point of view and not others after seeing the movie. But I think those who are interested to know what inspired Die Hard will want to read this book, but as for an overall action read, I think most people will want to pass.

Enjoy!!!

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Nicholas Kaufmann: Dying is My Business

 

In his debut novel Nicholas Kaufmann introduces a man who is willing to do anything in order to regain the memories of his past, even if it means dying.....a few times.

All Trent remembers from his past is a brick wall, he remembers nothing but the wall where he awoke one year earlier, he did not even remember his name but he is on the ever search for his past, even if that means looking in unconventional places. Trent finds himself working for one of Brooklyn's crime bosses on the hope that he can uncover clues as to who Trent was, but this means that Trent is in the line of fire, constantly. Which really isn't so bad, when you don't die. But when Trent dies there is a price. The closest living individual near him dies as he takes their life force in order to survive. When Trent is sent to steal an antique box he is about to find out that he is not the only supernatural individual in the world and that box is linked to the old as time struggle between good and evil and Trent has to decide what is more important to him, discovering who he is or saving New York City.
 
This was an awesome debut novel, Kaufman was able to keep me on the edge of my seat as there never seemed to be a dull moment in this book, with a mystery that kept me guessing right to the end and I'm sure it will keep you guessing too. I have said it many times before in this genre I want to read something new and different it cannot always be about vampires, werewolves and witches. However, although this book has all three of them I did not find Kaufmann's use of these characters tired or the usual, there were some different aspects to all of them.

I personally think there are not enough male lead protagonists out there within the paranormal genre. I like the change of having a male lead as it offers something completely different all around and can really define how a book is structured. Additionally, I'm always a fan of the anti hero, and Trent fits this description well. All he wants is to find why he unable to die and will go to any costs in order to archive this, even if means stealing for a living. Trent also is trying to find out who he is as (literally) as he cannot remember his past and I found that this made him a more complex character. Trent is also a very meticulous and you can see him weight the pros and cons of every action that he takes, even those that you may not agree with. You can really feel his struggle between whether he should do something for himself or the greater good. 

I'm really interested to see not only who Trent was is the past and who he will become, but also the power(s) that exist inside him. I mean what/who causes him to come back to life each time he dies. Is Trent really a good guy or a bad guy. I am looking forward to the second novel in this series to see what answers Kaufmann has for me.

All of the secondary characters were interesting as well, and as stated above, although Kaufmann does not really introduce new types of creatures, his spin on some of the classics was refreshing. Kaufmann also introduced some creatures that we have heard of before, but often take a backseat to the more popular ones, in this novel there is a heavy presence of gargoyles, which i thought was unique and I enjoyed of Kaufmann seat of their world and culture. In fact overall, the world building and flow of the novel is really well done.

Kaufmann has written a novel that those who enjoy the paranormal or urban fantasy genre will want to flock to. Well written, non stop action, great mystery, well developed characters and an interesting premise will hold readers captivated (there is even a little bit of romance and it really is just a touch, for those who need/want that in their reads). I know I will read the next book by Kaufmann and I hope he continues on the dark path that happens through out the book. I think that Kaufmann is going to be a big name in the future in these genres.

Enjoy!!!

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Russell Blake: Silver Justice

Manhattan is no stranger to murder, but it is usually the most vulnerable in life that are forced to face this fate, but Russell Blake takes this idea and turns it upside down in his first book in a new series:

In the city of Manhattan, there is a serial killer on the loose with your not your typical target, they are targeting the financial industry big wigs, people that the regular individuals are not even aware of. FBI agent Silver Cassidy is assigned to lead the task force and she has a sense there is more to these killing than normal, even though those around her doubt the theory. Silver is determined to see the killer brought to justice, but when they hit close to home, Silver struggles to keep a clear head in order to ensure that she and those she cares about come out alive.

I picked this book up as the premise had me intrigued, as it had a different twist on who the victims were going to be. It was something different than the typical woman victim(s) or those who are more vulnerable due to their lifestyle. It is interesting to see what happens when it is those who have power that are the target and it makes it that more difficult to figure out why. For this I really enjoyed Blake's creativity with the subject and idea.

If you are unable to tell by the premise this novel is also very much about financial crime and this is where Blake lost me a bit I felt that there was too much financial crime in the novel. There were times when the explanation of the financial crime aspect overtakes all the other premises with in the novel, including the murders, it becomes all about the numbers. In the end I think that Silver would have been able to deduce the connection between the victims without the financial information, but it was an interesting and different avenue for Blake to take and I commend him for trying something different.  

You could tell that Blake had a personal opinion as to what caused the 2008 financial crash and his opinion as to what happened are blatant within the entire novel. I'm not going to lie when the financial explanation became too much and too constant I glazed over those parts of the novel skimmed the information that was being given. Yes, the financial crime was important to the serial killer and the why he was killing but I do not think that Blake needed to put that much information within the novel (it was almost like a class within a fiction novel). Those who have an interest in financial crime will enjoy this read and have a better understanding about what was being said, but for the average individual while at times the information was interesting, often there was just too much to process what Blake was saying.

On the other side of things I really liked Silver as a character as both an investigator and a mother. I was interested in her outside of the investigation as well as trying to balance running a task force. I think that being able to see Silver outside of her FBI role made her a more well rounded character as well as a more likeable one. I found that Silver had a very Smokey Barrett (Cody McFadyden series and one of my favorite authors) feeling to her but less a lot less dark.

Those who want a different twist on the typical investigation are going to like the avenue that Blake took within this novel. Although I found the financial aspect too much at times, I still appreciated Blake attempting something different but I also enjoyed is writing style. I would read another novel written by Blake, however, I do not know if it will be within Silver's series if all the books are financially based.

Enjoy!!!

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