The Contaminants by Devin K. Smyth

When the American Government plans for a global purification of sorts, it sets of a chain of events resulting in a nuclear holocaust.

They had ships set in place to take people into space, but only this one survived. Jessil was forced to leave her father behind, and only has her two brothers – Ben and Lo.

The Contaminants is told through the eyes of the two protagonists Raj and Jessil.

Raj’s father is a scientists that works in the laboratory trying to regenerate part of the Earth’s surface to make it safe for their ship to land. They are naming this new area New Dakota and they only have about six months left to orbit the Earth before they run out of fuel.

Then they discover something amazing. It appears as if there is grass growing back on Earth, and after further examining the camera feed from New Dakota, they see a human. A human that Jessil believes is her father.

Was he actually able to survive the nuclear holocaust on Earth?

This is a very character-driven book. The characters are all really strong, and a lot of effort has been put into creating them.

That being said, I didn’t necessarily like all of them. My least favorite characters were Lo and Jessil.

Lo was a whiney little brat throughout the book, and I didn’t feel there was really a need for him to be there. He didn’t add anything to the story for me. The fact that he was adopted didn’t really matter to me either.

Jessil seemed like a know-it-all that didn’t want to listen to others. Her personality was a little too strong, and it took away from the plot at times. Being strong-willed obviously led to getting her way, but I would rather have read some dialogue about making decisions rather than her bossing people around and going off by herself.

Raj was sort of a redeeming character. He is very smart, yet he is able to put up with Jessil and tries to cancel out her overbearing self at times. He was probably the best character in my eyes. 

This book was pretty easy to not put down. The chapters I guess you could call them were pretty short so it was easy for my mind not to wander. There was plenty of action to hold my attention, and the flow of the book allowed for a lot of pages to be read without realizing it.

For a genre of fantasy/sci-fi that I don’t dive into as much, I wasn’t disappointed with this one.

3/5 stars

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Vigilare by Brooklyn James

When the authorities do not handle cases in an acceptable way, who is going to get justice on those who have caused irreversible damage to a victim’s life? Who will step up when no one else will to punish rapists and sex offenders? Vigilare.

Vigilare is watching over everyone in Vanguard. Vigilare punishes sex offenders for their crimes when they get off too easy in the court system.

When Detectives Gina DeLuca and Tony Gronkowski are assigned to a case that appears to be serial murders, the details get weirder and weirder. There is talk of a vigilante, a superhero of Vanguard who is punishing these men for raping women in the city. The name they give this superhero, Vigilare.

They talk about Vigilare having glowing green eyes that captivate its victim. It can look into their soul.

When Detective Gronkowski goes investigating on his own one night in pursuit of a known molester, what he finds turns the case completely upside-down.

This book is completely different from Brooklyn James’s other book that I reviewed recently, The Boots My Mother Gave Me. That one was heavy and memoir-esque.

Vigilare is pure fiction mixed with paranormal and science fiction story lines.

It builds suspense well, and while I guessed the twist, I was never 100% positive that was it until it happened. I always love a good twist.

Also I am a sucker for a good courtroom scene, and this book delivered that.

The writing was great. It pulls you in right from the beginning. I really like how Brooklyn James goes into plenty of detail in her books, but it isn’t so overdone that the chapters drag on. Every detail is important to the story in some way and that really keeps it interesting.

It ended sort of abruptly, but there is a sequel to it so it makes sense to leave off where it does.

The character development was spot on. I liked the characters that you are supposed to root for, and I disliked the ones you are supposed to be skeptical about.

The dialogue flows naturally, it doesn’t feel forced which is one of my biggest turn offs with reading sci-fi/paranormal books. Sometimes the dialogue is really forced and hinders the flow of the novel. The dialogue complements the novel and was written very well.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of sci-fi books or “superheroes” you might want to pick this one up.

It has a very strong female character, so if you like all of those things, I do not think you will be disappointed with this read.

4.5/5 stars

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Revelations by Léia Kiuski

Thera’s Eyes Series Book 1

Revelations sets the foundation for the Thera’s Eyes series.

It follows a group of young people who are given special gifts. They are considered “Warriors” and are the only ones that are able to fight the demons that threaten to destroy their town of Silver Blade.

The main character, Beth, was specially chosen by Thera (a goddess) herself to be the leader, but she is also the main target of the demons threatening them and the town. Her friends are her guardians and their job is to help fight the demons and make sure that Beth is safe and stays alive in order to carry out the necessary tasks.

The book begins with Beth struggling to accept her current life situations. Her parents recently died in a freak plane crash (which is later explained in the book). Her twin brother was also on the plane but mysteriously had no physical damage. He was in a coma though, and the doctors could not figure out why or when he would come out of it.

Beth constantly wakes up screaming from what the doctors tell her are “night terrors” although she doesn’t quite believe those are exactly what she is experiencing.

When a stranger named Leon comes into town and rents out Beth’s guest house, everything is set into motion. The warrior in her and her friends is awakened, and their abilities are used to fight the demons.

There is one main quest, they must find and close the portal before noon on Halloween day, or else the demons will have complete access to their world. This includes the strongest demons that they have not yet had to come in contact with. They must accomplish this all while trying to protect the town and the people in it.

Did I mention Beth and all of her friends are still in school?

They miss basically every day of school, but because her parents are dead, and the parents of the other warriors are out of the country, no one can be contacted and made aware of the problem.

I didn’t think I would find myself connecting with these characters and getting as invested in them as I did. By the end I was really rooting for them, and rooting for the budding romance that takes shape as well.

The ending leaves much to be imagined, but I would assume that is because this is only book one in a series, and the answers will be revealed in the upcoming books.

The writing was pretty smooth. I felt that it had a pretty good flow, and despite coming in at about 200 pages (PDF version so I don’t know what the published versions will be), it was a pretty quick read. The chapters were kept relatively short so it didn’t seem as though it was dragging on.

My one complaint is that it does need some more editing before being called a finished product. There were time were I found the incorrect word being used (have instead of has), and that was pretty consistent throughout the book.

Otherwise, the writing overall was pretty good. It kept my attention which isn’t always an easy thing to do with sci-fi type books.

4/5 stars. 

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Supernatural Freak by Louisa Klein

The title of this book is very fitting. That is exactly what it is about, a supernatural freak. The main character is Robyn. She has abilities that no human has, and abilities that many people that do have supernatural abilities don’t have, and that makes her a target.

Many strange things happen around her that she has no explanation for, so she enlists the help of her wizard and witch friends, and also the ghost that conveniently lives in her attic.

This book is packed with action, but is also packed with tons of humor and wit, with a dash of romance... just a dash!

I find books a lot more enjoyable to read when there are good characters. That was the case with this one. I enjoyed all of the characters. They all had their own unique personalities, and they meshed well together to make this book exciting to read. You never knew what was going to come out of their mouths next.

Also, I wish I had an awesome ghost that lived in my attic.

5/5 This was thoroughly enjoyable. It was hilarious, it was suspenseful, and it was full of action! AND the characters were awesome!

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Capella Bright by Tara McCausland

The end of this book is TERRIBL…….Y SUSPENSEFUL!

My jaw dropped as I read the last line.

If you like cliff hangers, don’t even read the rest of this review, just go directly to the link and purchase this book! I promise, you won’t regret it!

But I shall continue this… even though the top part should convince you right away to get it.

Moving on…

This book is geared toward young adults and features romance, family drama (that can be very relatable to some), and….. aliens again? Common theme here in February I see!

Actually, this book was fun to read after the last one I had read because they were both so DIFFERENT! It was kinda cool to compare the way the “others” were portrayed.

Anyways, the main character is Capella Maggie Hart. She meets the new kid in town, Alex, and there is a bond between them right away. One that neither of them could have possibly predicted the outcome of.

Maggie’s best friend has instant interest and is lusting over Alex. But he wants nothing from her. He is more interested in Maggie, quite to her surprise.

As they grow closer, the truth about who Alex really is comes out, and the rest of the book is a wild adventure involving Hunters, Pods, and strange guns.

Will Maggie and Alex be able to grow their budding relationship? Youll just have to read it to find out J

5/5 stars The character development was great. I grew super attached to them, and the story was just as good!

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Splintered by Nick Wisseman

Book Nine:

This book went from being a bad nightmare to being more like Shutter Island. It has a sci-fi element to it as well.

It follows a man named Jason through a collapsing universe. This is where the bad nightmare comes in. The events he had to endure felt like something you would witness in an awful nightmare and wake up severely confused. It was fun to read.

Then, at the end, we are thrown with a twist, which is when it becomes like Shutter Island.

Is he actually  crazy?

That is up to you to decide.

5/5 stars. Very interesting read. One of the better ones in the series.

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Revisions by Nick Wisseman

Book Seven:

You may want to sit down for this one. It takes you on a crazy journey.

It is about a man named Blake. He is a Shifter, and this story takes you through how he figured out what he is and what it means to be a Shifter.

I felt as if I was on the journey with him.

He was being slung into different situations and he had no way of stopping it.

I like the way it was written. It was very effective in telling this story.

I was confused for a while as to where this story was leading, but it came together at the end, and it was very interesting.

5/5 stars. I really enjoyed this one. The way it takes you along on the journey made it even better. 

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Islanders by John Barlow

This novel reminded me of a modern day Lord of the Flies. Not with the plot, just with the concept of the children being the main characters. I’m sure there are many novels like this, but I feel like this could replace that book in school curriculums.

It does have lessons that you can take away from it, such as you need teamwork to succeed, and also to never give up.

This novel is a sort of spin on a post-apocalyptic. There was a major war on the mainland including biological warfare. Some of the survivors were able to escape to an island unknown to the ruler of the mainland.

When a boat washes up on shore of the island carrying a messenger from the mainland telling Ben Brewer that his father is still alive, he and a gang of children set off to uncover the true story of what happened.

Will they be able to find Ben’s dad? Or will they get killed along the way?

You just have to read it and find out!

5/5 Stars. I spent all day reading this book and didn’t get bored once! It is full of adventure and get crazy at the end!

To learn more click here!

Read ahead for spoilers

The Last Bad Job by Colin Dodds

There aren’t many other ways to describe this book than that it is interesting.

This novel basically involved everything in its storyline: religion, cults, drugs, sex, alcohol, and the apocalypse.

It is an apocalyptic thriller based on the teachings on a cult leader “Dizzy” and the reporter put on the assignment from hell.

From how it starts, you will never guess the ending. I like books like that, though. Very unpredictable they keep you engaged.

 It takes you through Dizzy’s cult and teachings.  Then the reporter gets in some trouble and has to hide out in California. As if the beginning wasn’t strange enough, this is when everything begins to get VERY weird.

The part where he is hiding out felt a bit like a Rob Zombie movie to me. Take that however you please, but The Devil’s Rejects is one of my favorite movies, so that isn’t a bad thing to me.

Then it takes a turn toward an even WEIRDER story line. This is where we find out how life will be post apocalypse.

This book takes you on many different turns. Right when you get used to one part of the story line, BAM it switches over to a different place/story. It was a very interesting read. I’m not usually one for apocalyptic books, so for my first read, this one was rather good!

3.5/5 Stars. It isn’t for everyone, but it gives a different twist on the story of the apocalypse, and I think those who enjoy the genre will really appreciate this read!

The release date for novel is November 13, 2012!
To find out more, here are links to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Bad-Job-ebook/dp/B009OPW154/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1350007206&sr=8-2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-bad-job-colin-dodds/1112889677?ean=9781479301461

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/234441