#Review: Chance Encounter, by @NancyWarren1

Title: Chance Encounter (Take a Chance, prequel)
Author: Nancy Warren
Rating: 5/5 stars

Daphne and Jack meet on a Greyhound bus heading north from California. The year is 1976 and Daphne is a pregnant teenager. Jack is a guy in search of a future. For these two lost souls, this is a ride that will change their lives and begin a dynasty. This is a prequel to the Take a Chance series about the eleven kids Jack and Daphne will collect over the years and the paths each member of this very untraditional family, will take as they, in turn, fall in love. (description from Goodreads)

I really enjoyed this story. To be honest, there’s not much to it. It’s a short, light read, but I think I got a very good feel for the author’s writing style and what the Take a Chance series will be like once I start it. I think that’s what a good prequel story can do, and in some instances, should do.

I’d like to read more about both Daphne and Jack. I enjoyed these characters from this first encounter. I’m sure I’ll read more of them in the novels, along with the stories of their future family. There is nothing ordinary about these two people, and I was left wanting to read more, in a good way.

Whether you’re looking for a quick and sweet read or looking to dive into something bigger, it’s in this story.

You can grab your own copy of Chance Encounter from:

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

And if you’d like to continue onto the series of novels, here’s what’s out so far…

Book 1. Kiss a Girl in the Rain

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Book 2. Iris in Bloom

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Book 3. Blueprint for a Kiss

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Book 4. Every Rose

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

 

About the Author:

The USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty novels, Nancy is known for her funny, sexy and suspenseful tales.

She’s an avid hiker, animal lover, wine drinker and chocolate fiend, and loves to wander the North American West coast.

Nancy is a three-time Rita Awards finalist, a winner of the Romantic Times magazine Reviewer’s Choice Award, and was once featured on the front cover of the New York Times for her Harlequin Nascar series.

For more:

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#Review: End Dayz, by @Kellie_Sheridan

Title: End Dayz (The Hitchhiker Strain #0.5)
Author: Kellie Sheridan
Rating: 5/5 Stars

“It’s month after the dead first began to walk. The miracle vaccine that was supposed to save us all has failed.

Now, four teens fight to stay alive as a stronger, smarter breed of zombie begins to appear, threatening to end humanity for good.

Four short stories, 11,000 words total.

Prequel to Mortality (March, 2013)” (description from Goodreads)

It’s not hard to find a zombie book these days. They’re everywhere, and it’s not an easy task to find the right one. I feel that End Dayz was a great choice for me to grab, though. It turned out to be one of the more enjoyable reads  in recent weeks.

What makes End Dayz stand out to me is was that it showed the reader the lives of four different youths as they were living through troubling times in the world. In addition to that, the events of this collection take place during a second wave of a zombie virus, not during an initial outbreak. This caught my attention because the characters already went through the crazy initial outbreak, and had the chance to return to a (very new and different) normal way of living. That brings into play a new element to the human condition that I haven’t witnessed in zombie fiction so far.

I think the use of 4 different stories/characters to show what’s going on in the world of the Hitchhiker Strain series instead of  in just one area with one group. Authors can bring a wider world view into books through showing the news reports or something along those lines, but I like when there is a variety of storylines to follow, as long as they don’t get jumbled and confusing, which these don’t’.

I think, overall, this was a great collection for fans of the zombie genre or someone looking for a quick entertaining page-turner. It’s made me want to go out and buy Mortality, the first novel that this is a prequel to. I don’t want to be away from the Hitchhiker Strain world for too long.

You can find a copy of End Dayz from:

Amazon | B&N | Kobo

About the Author:

I have been in love with stories in all of their forms for as long as I can remember. Admittedly, sometimes that means falling into places like Stars Hollow and Sunnydale, but books have always been my true love. In early 2011 I began writing a book blog in order to share my favorite reads with book lovers. From there, the bookish community encouraged me to stop sitting on my own stories and share them instead. Since then I’ve been madly devouring everything I can about digital publishing.

For the past two years I have been mainly obsessed with young adult books, but my favorite stories still come from the adult fantasy genre. As far as I’m concerned, Briggs, Bishop, Vincent and Vaughn are all must reads.

I spent part of my twenties living in Galway, Ireland and swooning after various lilting accents but am now back home in Ontario, Canada. My family includes two Glen of Imaal Terriers and a Green Cheek Conure.

Find out more:

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Review: Patriots and Profits, by J.W. Rolfe

Title: Patriots and Profit (Alan Scott Series 0.5)
Author: J.W. Rolfe
Rating: 4/5 Stars

“Fighting insurgents, something Capt. Keith Ridgely has done on a regular basis and has done so with the zeal of any patriotic solider, but after his latest mission in Zimbabwe, he gets reassigned to a place where careers go to die. With his prospects ruined, Ridgely must contemplate whether to remain in the armed forces or take the lucrative offer of becoming a hired gun. One path leads to loyalty, the other towards fortune. Only he can decide which way to choose.

In this thrilling short-story prelude to For One’s Own Cause, follow Capt. Ridgely as he battles it out in the harsh terrains of southern Africa only to learn that he has to quit the army if he ever wants to see combat again.” (description from Goodreads)

I’m still a reader who’s getting into sci-fi slowly. I think that this story was a good story for those inexperience with the sci-fi genre, though it’s also a good story in itself for many readers.

The reader gets a generalized view of this futuristic world, almost on a need to know basis. It leaves some questions about how the world is and works, in my opinion, but then again this is just a prelude short story to a novel. What you get is a good setup for the novel that follows. Ridgely’s character is well established in this brief time, as well as what is set to occur in the storyline’s near future.

As I said, it’s probably better for those not seasoned in sci-fi. I think it might be lacking in a few aspect for some readers. It might not be the most unique story, but I have hopes of enjoying the novel to see where this leads to.

You can grab a copy of Patriots and Profits from:

Amazon | Smashwords | Kobo | B&N
Free at the time of posting

About the Author:

J. W. Rolfe is a high school chemistry teacher currently living outside of Chicago, Illinois. For One’s Own Cause is his debut novel.

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Review – David: The Beginning, by Amber Jerome~Norrgard

Title – David: The Beginning
Author – Amber Jerome~Norrgard
Rating – 4/5 Stars

“Author Amber Jerome~Norrgard gives readers a glance into the beginning of the relationship between the characters in the erotica short story, “David”.

Every story has a beginning. Find out where “David” began.” (description from Goodreads)

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I read Jerome~Norrgard’s erotic short David a few months back and, like many of her stories, enjoyed it greatly. This is a “prequel” of sorts to that story, and another great one.

This is another example of why I enjoy Norrgard’s work. It’s erotica at it’s best. There’s all the dirty stuff the reader is looking for and a good plot behind it all. I also think it worked because seeing how a couple initially hooks up after reading of a later encounter, solidifies that they didn’t only have one great roll in the hay, it’s a common occurrence and their chemistry is a natural, lasting connection.

Again, another great Norrgard story. Erotic and otherwise, her writing puts her high on my list of favorites.

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You can purchase this story from:

Amazon | Smashwords

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About Amber:

Amber Jerome~Norrgard was first published in her hometown’s paper at the age of seventeen.  Since then, she’s used writing as a free form of therapy to celebrate the best parts of her life, and to work through the rough experiences. She is author of the bestselling collection of poetry, “The Color of Dawn,” as well as “4 a.m.,” a poetry and essay collection, “Wanting,” a collection of short erotic stories and “My Beautiful Jewel: Book One of the Miracles Trilogy”.  She is co-creator, and co-host of “TweepNation with Amber and Dionne,” a weekly podcast loosely related to Twitter and Independent Authors.  She is currently working on her psychology degree, and lives in Dallas, Texas, with her family.

Find more on Norrgard or find her books:

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• Tweepnation Podcast