Book Review: When we collide by A.L Jackson : Blog Tour

Title: When we collide
Author: A.L Jackson
Publisher: Saphire star publishing
Pages:338
Price: Rs 230.33
Genre: Supernatural/Thriller
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: Review copy @RABT

Buy When we collide from amazon.com

Summary:
In a moment that will change his life forever, William comes face to face with the girl who, with one look, captured his heart. He is unable to ignore the buried desires and the hope for the future they’d once believed they’d have.

Now William is ready to fight to take back what had been stolen from him six years before.

But he never imagined what that fight might cost him.  

A.L. Jackson gives you an intimate look into the lives of a family bound by an unseen connection in this romantic thriller with a supernatural twist.

Review:
Maggie is going through hell, brought in an abusive environment in the heights of mistreat, she is worn out, yet she holds it all together, she has never let the bitterness of her life to pay it forward upon others,she is kind, warm and a wonderful person one could come across, in spite of all the things she has been through.. Through her shaky relation she is unable to find a good life she has hoped for.. According to her
"I would never know what home meant.To me it'd been a prison, a place I longed to escape.A place where horrors were harbored, concealed behind closed windows and lies."
Along the way William happens, he complements Maggie in every possible way, better things happens consequently, he rescues her from the emotional trauma and goes to any extend to resurrect her, thereby  beginning a wonderful relationship but in secret...All William wants is her happiness , they decide to escape into a world of happiness away from this heck, but on that night something terrible happens and there are thrown apart..Six years pass William has a job he doesn't even care about, nor he is able to move on with his life away from Maggie, yet he has avoided every possible chance to go home and find her, but this time his duty back home calls out to him and he comes face to face with the girl he has been in love for eternity..But this time can he pull along???

I read this book in one sitting, need I tell you more...Jackson has taken care of every aspect of human emotion through the characters she has developed with utmost care..My heart went for Maggie through her abusive days back home, at times I felt like shaking her to voice against the things she deals with  rather be a victim through it...Jackson has taken care not to go overboard dealing on this issue..The emotion is good enough to strike a chord on the reader...William is a treat to read, he is caring, lovable and adorable, he goes on to the edge to save the person he truly loves...The novel is combo of past and present the reader shuttles also from the vantage of both Maggie and William ...I loved the cover page too...A wonderful read to sit back and relax ...

About the author

 

A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student.  She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.
Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.
 

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Excerpt

I’d been in love once. It was that stupid kind of love that had kept me awake at night, wanting more. But she’d never really even been mine. I’d been young enough—foolish enough—to hope what we felt for each other could overcome her past, but not naïve enough to really believe it would ever work out.

Knowing that didn’t mean losing her hadn’t torn me apart. Even if she didn’t choose me, I’d been desperate to save her from that path. But some things had been so deeply embedded in her that I doubted she’d really ever had a chance of breaking free of them. It was so ingrained she believed it was the only way to live.

I rolled onto my other side and squeezed my eyes shut as I attempted to force the memory of her face from my mind, but it was just as vivid as the day she’d forced me out of her life.

She’d touched me deeper than anyone ever had—deeper than I’d believed anyone could.

Pressing my face into my pillow, I allowed a glimmer of her presence to invade. That smile. . .so innocent and sweet. How she’d look at me with those warm brown eyes. The way her timid, trusting hands felt as they lightly skimmed over my skin. Even the memory stole my breath.

Sometimes I wished I could erase the mark she’d left on me, that I could finally be free of this ache. Another part of me held onto it because it was the only thing she’d left me with. The only thing I had to prove that what we’d shared had been real. 

Disclosure:

I'm a member of reading addiction blog tour and I received a review copy for my honest opinions.

Book Review: The Erroneous Talibani by Richard Asner : Blog Tour

Title: The Erroneous Talibani
Author: Richard Asner
Page:213
Price: $18.68
Publisher:Vantage Press Inc
Genre: Thriller/ Suspense
ISBN:0533162165
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Review copy from innovative online book tours

Buy The Erroneous Talibani from amazon.com

Summary:

The Erroneous Talibani showcases all the essential components of the classic espionage novel. Exotic settings, broken hearts, treacherous allies, love, violence, redemption and vengeance spin through the book, which moves at a breakneck pace worthy of the best examples of the genre.

    Greg Damet, an Annapolis graduate with eight years in Naval  Intelligence is recruited by the CIA where he meets and falls in love with Jacquie Dean. Together they are sent to Afghanistan to work with the Special Forces. Greg is sent into the field while Jacquie remains at Bagram Air Base.

    During Greg’s tour of duty, his plane is shot down, eats raw snake to survive and is ultimately captured and beaten nearly to death by the Taliban. He is discovered by Aysha, the daughter of a tribal chieftain and she nurses him back to health. During his recovery, the two develop a romantic attraction for each other. It is also while he is recovering that he is able to obtain information that has dire international consequences, information supplied by a CIA mole. Armed with this information, Greg is forced to kiss a tearful Aysha good-bye and do whatever it takes to get to the American Embassy in Islamabad. Greg’s initial action there is key to unraveling the mystery of the mole’s true identity.

Review:
If you go by the cover you would totally misguided ...Initial impression was that of a book with a feel of 007 and Impossible movie but along the way I felt a dash of Rambo series , well of course that would be an exaggeration but yes the reader would feel a mix of all the three movie in a rush..Being that said the book traverses all along those power packed thriller movies that I watched as a teenager with towering spirit and enthusiasm and the protagonist Greq Damet would impress you from page one with his humor, intelligence and quick sense of action and why not , he has eight years of Naval Intelligence experience to his credit, before being recruited into CIA and how could I miss, he is six feet two lol all set for any kind of action yet he is not a super hero, he has his initial trouble of setting his feet firm on day one of his office,  also to get accustomed to the troubles of Taliban on his first assignment, he also falls for the charismatic Jacquie Dean on day one, gets almost fired by his pro Hamid Hanif, yet he uses his sense of reasoning and experience and his grit to wade through hard water..His plane is shot down, still he maintains calm carrying his injured capt to shelter and follows his judgments and decisions..Feeding on raw viper flesh for survival he gets his lessons first hand  for survival ...The story doesn't end there but just begins with a bang, he is captured and goes through hard days and near death state, yet he has to survive and move on to uncover the secret behind the biggest names and disguises....Romance, double -cross, violence, heart break, treachery, determination, terrorism, extremism, the book has it all..


It is very quick read that highlights many aspect of CIA's mode of actions, their code of actions, undercover assignments and so on..The novel shuttles from the vantage of U.S to China to India to Pakistan on key issues, and there are agents all around working to keep up their respective secrets all along while trying to get their hands on their counterpart...I don't want to spoil the book by revealing it here... But at a point I was wondering when am I going to read about the actual theme of the book but then caught up with it soon too.. This book  is for anyone who love a action thriller that sprints away..

About the author

Richard Asner describes himself as having led a “very fruitful life,” and it would be impossible to dispute him. A veteran of the U.S. Marines, which he joined at 17, he went on to graduate from the Naval Academy, like his hero Greg Damet. He then spent eight years as a naval aviator teaching midshipmen at

Northwestern University during the last three years of his flying career.

    Mr.Asner moved his focus to engineering and spent thirty years working in that field in the Chicago area before retiring. His primary enthusiasm is working out in his health club, but the keyboard will continue to compete with the weight room as a focus for his energy.

Disclosure:

I am a member of innovative online book tours , I received a review copy for my honest opinion..

www wednesdays

It is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be reading ...To play along , just answer three (3) questions..

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish?
• What do you think you'll read next?

And here I go...

My current read 

Recent read
none....I haven't been reading for the past three weeks.. so there is
nothing much I can talk about it..

Next read

Book Review:Once upon a twisted time an anthology of dark adult fairytales by Tara Stogner wood, Trish Marie Dawson, Lindsay Avalon and Miranda Stork: Blog tour

Title:Once upon a twisted time an anthology of dark adult fairytales
Authors: Tara Stogner wood, Trish Marie Dawson, Lindsay Avalon and Miranda Stork
Publihser: Moon Rose Publishing
Pages: 250
Genre: Fairytale/ Paranormal
Rating:3.5 out of 5
Source: Review copy @ Bewitching book tours



Summary:

Think you know your fairytales? Think again. These aren’t your normal happily-ever-after. Within these pages, a murderous Little Mermaid gets her revenge, the Cinderella doesn’t really want to wear the slipper, Snow White is up to her eyes in industrial experiments, and the Beauty is in fact the Beast.

This collection of four novellas will surprise you, make you gasp in horror, sigh with relief, and sit on the edge of your seat. And most of all…they will make you rethink everything you think you know about dark fairytales…
Review:
I have a sweet tooth for fairytale and happily ending tales...I also love the fantasy that gets me into a world away from reality for a change..This book is a collection of four dark fantasy that roots from famous fairytale with a difference...
My favorite is the first one in the group Song of the Abyss...Losing her parents in a tragic accident Princess Nerissa had been content to slip into a life of contentment to be married to the crown prince Lyulf ,instead she feels as though she is to be thrown to the ware wolves and to be killed by the very same man who had owed to protect her but then escaping into the sea she learns she had some powers , powers that helped her to survive but not enough to get back to her past life, yet with her sheer grit and a new found love she has to seek revenge and protect the countrymen from a man who is imposing to be the king..It is a slow starter that goes to the era of beautiful Princess and Prince living a fairytale life in the gone by era with special world with their own powers and magic..Oh how much as a young girl I loved these kind of  tale to live those magic moment wround me...
Miss Cavendish and the spark of salvation is about George and Huntsmen, Huntsmen though with a disturbing and twisted past leading to George herself needs his help to unravel the milestone that she is all set to open up to the world but oh no there is a vamp to stop all of it and its that is none other than her aunt Xenobia....Enchanting beauty and a fierce dashing man how will they get it through??? This is a power packed full throttle ride that will race through after a slow start of Song of the Abyss..
Hawk and the beast-Trish Marrie Dawson takes you through the curses and the reversal of it by love and honesty that would  remind of the fairytale that you once read as a child leaving you all enchanted...Beauty and the beast a unequal combo that always attracts each other...
Reborn city which is like a coming of age tale of Nyx who has only one desire in life  to erase the brainwashing of the Omsk's citizen but how will she pose an imposing threat to the giants who are well down playing their part well, but Nyx has to fix it for the benefit of the people but how??Its vivacious and bubbly tale...

All in all its a total package of entertainment ...Great for an easy breezy read...

Book 2 for 2012 short story reading challenge

About the authors

Tara Stogner Wood-

Tara Wood divides her time between creating domestic bliss and creating hot paranormal romance with the occasional side of kink. When not playing June Cleaver for her hubby and daughter, she can be found at the local Starbucks slamming back Frappuccinos and plotting out her next idea. Or she’s watching the BBC. Tara resides with her wonderful and tolerant family in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. She is currently at work on several projects, one of them being the next book in her In Blood series.

Trish Marie Dawson-

I was born and mostly raised in San Diego, California where I live now with my  family and pets. I’ve been writing short stories and poetry since high school after an obsession with Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’. After over fifteen years of crazy dreams and an overactive imagination, I began my first book ‘I Hope You Find Me’ in December of 2011. When I’m not writing, I am homeschooling my amazing daughter and mildly autistic son, reading whatever I can get my hands on, or enjoying the Southern California sun. As a strict Vegetarian, I hold a special place in my heart for animal rights and dash into the backyard weekly to rescue lizards and mice from our mini-lab/aussie shepherd/cocker spaniel mixed dog, Zoey…who is always getting into some sort of trouble.

Miranda Stork-

I was born in Guisborough, North Yorkshire in 1987 and have lived in various places around Britain, including Newcastle and Glasgow.

My writing is inspired by various writers, including the vivid characters of Charles Dickens, the imagination of Stephen King, and the gothic imagery of Anne Rice.

My love of horror began at an early age, when I was only three or four. I could read proficiently at the age of three, and devoured fairy-stories, but I always had a bent towards the darker stories, such as the Brother's Grimm's tales...Red Riding Hood was always a firm favourite, although I always felt sorry for the wolf, despite him having tried to eat everyone!

Lindsay Avalon-

I am a wife, a mother to an adorable mini schnauzer, a programmer, and now an author. I love reading romance because no matter what may be happening in my life, I can always count on my books to end happily ever after. My sister drilled into me an appreciation for fantasy and mythology, something I try to bring to my books. After hearing me complain a few too many times that I had “nothing” to read despite the hundreds of paperbacks scattered around the house, my husband began suggesting I write my own stories. When I finally took his advice I discovered that although I enjoy my day job as a software engineer, my true calling is to be an author.

Book Review: Flesh by Kanh Ha : Blog tour

Title: Flesh
Author: Kanh Ha
Publisher: Black Heron Press
Price: $24.96
Pages:368
ISBN: 0930773888
Genre: Historic fiction/ Suspense
Source: Review copy Novel Publicity & Co
Rating: 4 out of 5



Buy Flesh from barnesandnoble.com
Buy Flesh from amazon.com

click to participate in the giveaway

Summary:
From the back cover
The setting is Tonkin (northern Vietnam) at the turn of the 20th century. A boy, Tai, witnesses the beheading of his father, a notorious bandit, and sets out to recover his head and then to find the man who betrayed his father to the authorities. On this quest, Tai's entire world will shift. Flesh takes the reader into dark and delightful places in the human condition, places where allies are not always your friends, true love hurts, and your worst enemy may bring you the most comfort. In that emotionally harrowing world, Tai must learn to deal with new responsibilities in his life while at the same time acknowledge his bond, and his resemblance, to a man he barely knew-his father. Through this story of revenge is woven a another story, one of love, but love purchased with the blood of murders Tai commits. A coming-of-age story, but also a love story, the sensuality of the author's writing style belies the sometimes brutal world he depicts.

Review:
The novel opens up with a scene of execution like the ones stripped off from the pages of history were the culprits are beheaded..A young boy Tai the protagonist witnesses his father's last moment by his great granduncle, and he has a sense of admiration for his father's bravery even during his last moment and yes Tai goes after his father's skull,he acts acts weird at atimes yet there is something fierce about him..Tai's life is clouded by sorrow and resentment, he runs away from his home away from his mother with a single ambition to bring back his father's head..He is forced to grow up faster than his age, he struggles to live up to the expectation to hold up the family honor and finally lay his father to rest, his only companion is his determination growing hard and sound....The story is a boy's quest to find the man who took away his father from him, even when he hardly knew about his father....A sense of melancholy lingers all along the novel..Tai works hard to to earn money to support his mother back home and to pay of the debts...Another character that comes clearly apart from Tai is that of Xiaoli's...

The plot moves slow and unfolds slowly , it took some time to get the hang of it..The novel explores Vietnam not the one usually comes across during the war but the one in its native form , fresh and raw...The local slang, the cuisine (don't miss out the snake delicacy) every bit of the story is a refreshing read..But I would admit that at places I was too detached from the plot .. Kanh Ha impressed me with his lyrical prose at places..Kanh ha's writing could invoke the mystic fragrance of jungle , sense of fear, apprehension, sorrow and dash of happiness,still it didn't help me to get over the boredom in the few pages ...The landscape of Vietnam in the 90's  is a treat to mind...All in all the book is a unique work of historic fiction...

About the author

Khanh Ha was born in Hue, the former capital of Vietnam.  During his teen years he began writing short stories which won him several awards in the Vietnamese adolescent magazines.  He graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.  He is at work on a new novel.

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Sunday Post

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer..It's a chance to share the news...A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received  and share news about what it is coming up on the blog  for the week ahead....

Like I said, I was away from the comfort of technology , even laptop and e- readers, though I had  fun and enjoyed every moment of it I missed out a bigger junk of blog posts....I hope to make up this month...There are three blog tours I am gearing up for and few  others book I dying to share my views...There were no shopping tooo :((....I know my Sunday post sounds boring but I hope I try to make it more interesting in the coming days.. Happy week ahead....

October wrap up

I know I am late for a wrap up post..But for weeks I have been away from the blanket of technology though it was a refreshing change away from virtual world..But I missed blogging and quality time for reading...I am done with good reading challenge and down to few books in other challenges as well, only thing I hope that I work well to make up for the last months lag..happy days ahead!!!!!!!!