July 28, 2014

The Enclave



FIRE AND ICE BOOK TOUR DATES:
07/22/14-07/29/14


GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION


 
***THE BELOW INFORMATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY
FIRE AND ICE VIRTUAL BOOKS TOURS***
 


BLURB:

Katherine Kirk lived only for vengeance.  Vengeance against the man who destroyed her home, her family and her life.  Sent on a babysitting mission to Junter 3, RAN officer Katherine Kirk, finds herself quickly embroiled in the politics between the New Holland Government and the Val Myran refugees claiming asylum.

After an Alliance attack Kirk and her team hunt the enemy down and discover that they have finally found the lair of the man they have been searching for…  And the captive who has been waiting patiently for rescue.  “What would you do to the man who destroyed every important person in your life?”

goodreads.com  
 


EXCERPT:

Gunfire flew from the cars behind and Katherine turned tail and leapt up the stairs.  Joshua was crouched waiting at the top of the last tier and had managed to get hold of a pistol.  Around them the NHSIO security from the front foyer was now positioned around the portico columns and returning fire to the attackers below.   The defenders controlled the high ground and the people in those cars had no hope of getting them now.
So why were they still attacking?
Katherine dragged Josh away from the stairs back into the foyer as more security personnel streamed past them.  No one spared them much of a glance but Katherine did not care.  Something was not right.  Inexperience (or stupidity), would be the only reason someone would even consider committing to a frontal assault on Federation House.  The place was just too well protected.
Are they Alliance Katherine?” Josh asked as she checked the magazine on her pistol.  Thirty HC rounds remaining.  Hopefully it would do.
The Alliance isn’t this stupid,” she shouted over the sound of fresh gunfire.  But I would bet a year’s pay that they are involved somehow.  “Whoever they are; I think we should retreat back to my brother’s office.  At least I can guarantee that we’ll be well defended there if anything untoward happens.”
Joshua nodded.  Katherine then noted the ease with which he held his weapon.  “You’ve had weapons training?”
I served with the Alliance Infantry.  Every citizen owes three years service.”
Katherine nodded impressed.  Leading families were known for finding loopholes to stop their members from meeting their obligations.  Nice to see the Val Myrans did not use it.  “Then you can cover my back.”
Both entered the stairwell at a run; taking the lifts would have been risky if the power went; and climbed several flights before Katherine was sure they were on the right floor.  As they climbed Katherine open a comm link to the Adelaide.  
Adelaide do you read me?” no one answered her and Katherine repeated herself another three times.  “Come on damn you – somebody talk to me!” she half shouted as they reached the landing she wanted.
Skipper?”  A burst of static broke over the comm unit.
Sue, is that you?”  Abruptly the static disappeared and the musical voice of Susan Mayer came over the wire.  
-interference is shocking, like someone is jamming-”
Sue, is Steve on the bridge?”  Katherine cut across her.
Yes Ma’am.”
There was a click and then Steven Tran’s voice came over the link.
Skipper?”
Steve, I want you and two squads to suit up and get your arses over to Federation House ASAP.  We are under heavy fire and I think the idiots outside will break off if they see some extra persuasion coming up behind them.”
There was a pause and then, “Yes Ma’am,” and the link went silent as Steve cut his connection.  “Sue, has Tom returned to the ship?” Katherine asked hoping for an affirmative but knowing that not enough time had gone by since he had left from lunch.
No ma’am”
Katherine?” A new voice cut into the line.
Richard?  I thought you were taking shore leave – it doesn’t matter.  We’ve got an incident here and I’m afraid that it might splash over to the Adelaide.  Steve is bringing two squads here to me and I want whatever personnel remaining on board to protect the ship and the port in that order.”
How bad is it Kath?” Richard asked.
Ask me again in another hour, I might have an answer by then.”  She cut the connection and turned to Joshua.  She may be overreacting but there was something in her gut telling her that she was right.  But first they both had to get back to John’s office.
Ready?”
Ready.”  Joshua’s voice was firm and there was a look in his eyes that Katherine recognized, she had seen it enough times in her own crew when the situation was tight.
She palmed the stairwell door open and checked that the corridor was clear, then she and Joshua came out, pistols raised to line of sight.  They moved down the empty corridors seeing nothing out of place except for the obvious signs of a hurried evacuation of office personnel.
They wouldn’t be able to penetrate this far into the building?” Joshua flexed his fingers over the grip on his handgun.
Not from the frontal assault, but I have a bad feel-”
Katherine stopped speaking as the sounds of gunfire echoed down the corridor ahead of them.


 
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

In a former life, H.M. Clarke has been a Console Operator, Public Servant, ICT Project Manager, Paper Shuffler and an Accountant (the last being the most exciting.)
She also has a degree in how to blow things up and then write about why it blew up. In her spare time, she likes to lay on the couch and watch TV, read and tell ALL her family what wonderful human beings they are.
She keeps threatening to go out and get a real job (Chocolate Test Taster sounds good) and intends to retire somewhere warm and dry – like the middle of the Simpson Desert. For the time being however, she is an Aussie in Ohio and dreams about being warm…
 
 

April 14, 2014

The Hero

As I mentioned on Danica's Thoughts, I picked this book up while on vacation in Florida.  I didn't do any research about the author or book, and it happened to be one of the handful I skimmed through while pressed for time at Walmart.  And in the end, it turned out to be decent book, whew, got lucky there!

My lucky find is titled, The Hero by Robyn Carr.  I have a soft spot for romance, particularly Western Romance, but this worked out just fine.  Still a romance novel, but placed on the beach in Oregon.  Just reading the way she described this town (Thunder Point) made me want to move there, good job Robyn!  Anyway, it's about a struggling single mom trying to escape a cult, who meets a town full of helpful folk, and of course ***SPOLIER ALERT*** falls in love with another newbie in Thunder Point.  Sure lots of the book was obvious, but here and there she would surprise me.  And for me, I don't read for the suspense, I read because the characters interest me and I hope in the end they do fall in love and live happily ever after.  (Maybe I've watched one too many Disney movies, ha-ha!)  One thing Robyn seemed to really touch on is how intertwined lives can be, whether it be from divorce, death, remarriage, half-siblings, step-siblings, extended family, friends that are like family, etc.  Despite all of the different relationships it never grew confusing.  At one point she seemed to veer too far from the main characters for me, that's when it hit me, this book is part of a series about Thunder Point, she has to do this in order to touch back on old characters and foreshadow new characters.  When I purchased the book I didn't notice it was the 3rd book in the Thunder Point Novel series, oops. 

One thing I didn't quite get was the title, there were mutliple hero's, which one was she referring too?

Before leaving The States it crossed my mind to pick up another one of her books, I liked Robyn's writing style.  But then I made a big mistake, and spoiled part of the book I was reading.  I went online to look up her latest book (The Chance) and while reading the blurb it gave away details about the outcome of The Hero, the book I was still reading, not cool!  Why did I do that?  Should have just gone to the store and picked up another book, oh well.  During my next trip to Walmart, I completely forgot to swing by the book section and before I knew it the time to return home had come.

Will I read/purchase another Robyn Carr book in the future?  If one happens to end up in my hands or on my Amazon wish list, sure!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!
:) Danica

February 6, 2014

The Money Tree

Genre: Children

 

***The below information has been provided by
Fire and Ice Virtual Book Tours***
 
Blurb:

Follow Tyler on his adventure to get enough money for a cool new toy, without the help of his parents. A witty and fun story with upbeat text for your young child with a valuable lesson about working hard and saving money to get something they really want! The clear text and playful illustrations aim to simplify financial concepts like earning, saving, interest, the difference between needs and wants, and the joy of running one’s own business. To make the otherwise boring topic interesting, the concepts have been explained through small anecdotes accompanied with colorful illustrations to stimulate children and ignite a love of saving.
goodreads.com  



Excerpt:

 
 






Buy Link:
About the Author:

LaDonna N. Smith is a certified financial educator whose goal is to educate youth from all walks of life on how to find their path to financial empowerment. LaDonna draws inspiration for her book ideas from several typical parenting routines; watching her children play or argue, overhearing them sing or talk, and listening to all the amazing ideas, concerns, & request that they come up with. The Money Tree, is the first, but her children have inspired many more literary surprises already in the works! LaDonna and her husband reside in New York and have four wonderful children, all with intriguing and different personalities, like the characters she creates in her storybooks.  

Connect with the Author:

Giveaway:
Author LaDonna N. Smith is giving away a copy of The Money Tree on Goodreads! Make sure to enter for your chance to win.
 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Money Tree by Ladonna N Smith

The Money Tree

by Ladonna N Smith

Giveaway ends February 17, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win


 
***MY REVIEW***
I was excited to see a children's book on the Fire & Ice list of book tours.  I jumped at the chance to review the book (even though I have never reviewed a book before).  I'm always looking for new books and stories to read to my 4yr old and since we have been talking about saving money this book seemed perfect.  As a writer myself, I appreciate the work, time, and thought LaDonna put into The Money Tree.  But would I say this book is for the little ones, not exactly.  My daughter appreciated the idea of the book, the colorful pictures, and the concept of a money tree but overall the text was a little too adult for her.  Don't get me wrong, she could follow the story, but it was obviously written for older children.  (The pictures alone could have clued me into that.)  Would I recommend this book, sure, I highly appreciate what LaDonna is doing, kids these days need to learn how to deal with money, but I would recommend it to probably age group 8 and older.  Keep up the good work LaDonna, and maybe your next book can be about how to deal with bullies, something else kids have to learn to deal with in life.
*This book was provided by the author and Fire & Ice for a review, no payment received*