REVIEW Amy Bartelloni GEN ONE

Title: GEN ONE

Author: Amy Bartelloni

Genre: Upper YA science fiction

Cover Designer: Covers by Christian

Editor: Toni Rakestraw

Publication Date: July 29^th, 2018

Hosted by: Lady Amber's Reviews & PR

Blurb:

Generations after robots conquered Earth, the remaining population survives in the ash of their defeat. Within their walls in Authority City, bots test and develop super soldiers. Rumors of horrible experiments are enough to keep humans in line. At least, most humans.

Eighteen-year-old Delilah O’Connor scavenges the ruins with her friend Zane, and Gen, a generation one bot they repaired off the grid. Gen’s curiosity gives Delilah hope for the future, but not enough hope to go against the Authority. She finds Zane’s dreams of a human resistance pointless, and it’s enough to keep their on-and-off relationship mostly off.

When they discover two dead guards in a shady trading stop known as the Banks, everything changes. Framed for the murders and pursued by Authority bots, Zane takes Delilah to the only safe space he knows—the headquarters for the Human Coalition. Even there Zane isn’t safe. When he’s captured, Delilah and Gen must join an unlikely alliance of bot and human to go in to Authority City and save him before he becomes another casualty. Things in Authority City aren’t as they seem, they’re worse. And Delilah might lose more than her friend within its walls.

Review:

[Flora]

I was pleasantly surprised by this first in a series book.  Usually first books are not exciting because they need to set up the backgrounds of the characters and setting.  This one did that and so much more. The book pulls you in with the family just before an invasion of Earth.  The heroes are a strong female character, Delilah and a rebel spirited male character, Zane and the most human robot I have ever read, Gen.  The story tells of the invasion of the world in which the humans live in fear of their overlords.  The fear of terrible crimes against humanity and missing people among the citizens make it hard to rally up a rebel and even worse to have a romance.  I was intrigued by these people and their lives.  I am so looking forward to the next book in this series. I would recommend this series to seven grade level or higher reading level children.  The theme of how to survive balanced with wanting freedom is an interesting concept.  I found the story adventurous and romantic and thoughtfully written and I look forward to the next book.  What will happen to our heroes and the world? 

Rating :

Amazon/Goodreads Rating: 4/5

In Patti's Imagination Rating: 7/10

Amy Bartelloni is a reader, writer, coffee addict, & musical lover who lives with her husband, 3 children, and various animals in the northeast US. When she's not playing mom-taxi, you can find her with her nose in a book or her head in the clouds. A people watcher and science fiction junkie, she still believes dreams can come true. The author of the Andromeda series with Limitless Publishing, (Andromeda, Orion's Curse, and the Scorpio Project), and contributor to Prep for Doom, Tricks, Treats, and Zombies, and 13: Resurrected, some of her favorite authors include Neil Gaiman, Jasper Fforde, Paulo Coelho, and Stephen King.

Author Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2K1At4w

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8180825.Amy_Bartelloni

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-bartelloni

Facebook: www.facebook/com/amybartelloniwrites

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyCipWrites

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2uSC1ZI

Gen’s shoulders slumped.  “Biological experiments.  Merging humans and robots.  Creating, essentially, a new species.  Delilah...”  She looked up and met Delilah’s eyes. She had always thought it was hard to read Gen’s emotions.  Her engineering made it possible for her to cover what she was thinking, but not now.  Fear was written all over her face.  Gen even paled.  When had that been added to her programming? “They’re experimenting with souls.  They think if we can merge human and robots, we can take it from you, somehow.  Souls.  Humanity.”

            The look of abject misery on Gen’s face was more than Delilah could bear.  She walked back to the table, angled the wiggly chair so she was sitting right across from Gen, and sat down so close their knees touched.

            She knew the debate.  According to the stories, it was one of the reasons for the bots and humans to go to war.  That bots weren’t real.  That they were a construct, and thus, had no soul.  The fact that the new bots were all attached to a central command, so to speak, made them mindless machines.  But they didn’t have to be.  Gen was proof of that.  She took Gen’s hand and curled their fingers together.  There was no difference. Flesh was flesh.  Born, or created.

            “You have a soul,” Delilah said, quietly.  She’d never come out and said it, but she knew it in her heart to be true.  Gen was as much a person as she was.  The realization had come on her slowly, after living with Gen and seeing the bot learn to handle human emotions: anger, pride, even love.  These last few days had cinched it for her.

            A single tear streamed down the bot’s cheek, it’s salty makeup configured so as not to affect her systems.  Gen pulled her hand back and wiped it.  “We don’t even know if you have a soul,” the bot joked, the humor returning to her eyes.  It was true, no matter how many experiments they did, the idea of a soul was theoretical, at best.  No one could prove or disprove it.

            “Gen,” Delilah leaned in, “whatever it is that makes us human.  You have it.  I’m not sure why the bots are trying to experiment with humans when they had it right the first time.  Your independence.  Your curiosity.  Your sense of right and wrong.  Your spirit of adventure.”

            Gen made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a hiccup, and Delilah continued.  “And I consider you more than a friend.  You’re a sister.” They both stood and Gen pulled her into a hug.

BLOG TOUR AND REVIEW LA Casey OUT OF THE ASHES

☄Out of the Ashes by L.A. Casey is NOW AVAILABLE!☄

LA Casey brings her readers OUT OF THE ASHES — the first Sci Fi Romance book in a new series of sexy standalone novels. These other world alphas are looking for their perfect mates that can bring them to their knees… and human women fit their criteria perfectly.

BOOK INFO:

Title: Out of the Ashes
Series: Maji Series
Author: LA Casey
Genre: Sci Fi Romance
Publication Date: July 11, 2017

Synopsis: 

For Nova, a twenty-three-year-old survivalist, wandering a barren wasteland was a lonely existence. But her day-to-day life was about to drastically change forever. Gone were the days when her only worries were rabid animals, augmented humans, the unforgiving scorching sun, and rogue watchmen. Now, Nova found herself faced with a new threat, and he was tall, grey, and horribly stubborn.

For Kol, a two-hundred-year-old daredevil, sailing the never-ending waves of deep space was a vast and thrilling life to lead. He had one objective on Earth—rescue as many human females as possible and return them to his home planet. It was supposed to be simple, but no one told Kol that a human female’s tongue could slice a male like a blade. His charge was short, strikingly attractive, and she talked way too much.

Nova wasn’t going to be kidnapped without putting up a fight, but Kol was more than ready to go toe to toe with her. These two species set out on a collision course that would redefine the phrase “The Big Bang” forever.

Out Of The Ashes

Add to your TBR: http://bit.ly/2mesEk5

#OutOfTheAshes #LACasey #Maji #NewRelease #SciFi #Romance

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33898152-out-of-the-ashes

Read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2p7Q7Fw

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Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2pG1Ya9

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2p83J3J

REVIEW:
[Flora]
Amazon/Goodreads rating: 4.5/5
In Patti's Imagination rating: 8/10

I am a lover of Sci Fi, but my niche is usually young adult books reviews, mainly because I have a degree in education and think YA books are an overlooked genre.  This is not in that genre.  It is sexy, romantic and cheeky.  L A Casey has developed a background for the new series and yet this book could be a standalone.  The main characters Nova and Kohl are so good together.  The premise is that humans are an endangered species and Nova is a hardened survivalist, who Kohl is set on making his own.

The heroine is a balance of bad-ass and sassy.  The hero is an alpha male with heart.  Kohl is a member of the alien race known as Maji and he happens to be  leader.  The way he and Nova spar is witty and I was smiling turning pages  I found myself mad at somethings these guys did and swooning over other things.  The sex scenes are steamy, too.    I can't wait to find out more

AUTHOR BIO:

L.A. Casey is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who juggles her time between her mini-me and writing. She was born, raised and currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. She enjoys chatting with her readers, who love her humour and Irish accent as much as her books.

Casey's first book, DOMINIC, was independently published in 2014 and became an instant success on Amazon. She is both traditionally and independently published and is represented by Mark Gottlieb from Trident Media Group.

To read more about this author, visit her website at www.lacaseyauthor.com

L.A. Casey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LACaseyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorLACasey

Website: http://www.lacaseyauthor.com/

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Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/L.A.-Casey/e/B00J1TCQLW

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Subscribe to L.A. Casey’s newsletter: https://www.lacaseyauthor.com/newsletter

TWEETS

Now Available from @AuthorLACasey OUT OF THE ASHES — the first Sci Fi Romance in a new series of sexy standalones http://amzn.to/2p7Q7Fw

Now Available from @AuthorLACasey OUT OF THE ASHES. Finding his female wasn't part of the mission. #SciFi #Romance http://amzn.to/2p7Q7Fw

EXCERPT:

I swayed from side to side as my pain and shock became too much for me. I focused my blurring vision dead ahead and made out six dark figures walking toward me. Six huge figures. When they stopped a few metres from me, they stared at me, and me at them. They were fully clothed in a black armour of some kind, and it only made them look that much more intimidating.

The man in the front said something in a language that didn’t sound of this planet, and without thinking, I stammered, “Wh-what?”

The man grunted and turned to his right and spoke to the person behind him in that same strange language.

“No,” the man behind replied in strained English. “We’ve practiced for weeks; you have not. You need to learn how to speak the human languages to make this mission easier, just until we fit them with translators of their own. Do what I told you to do. Repeat what your translator says through your comm, and the female will understand you like you can understand me right now. I’m not responding to you anymore unless you use this particular human language.”

With a defeated sigh, the large man turned back in my direction.

“I sa-said,” he rumbled in a bizarre accent as he switched to an extremely choppy version of English, pausing every couple of words as if he was trying to form them as he spoke. “What ‘re … you ‘oing … out … ‘ere?”After he had spoken, he removed the mask that covered his face. The now well-lit area shone brightly on his face and revealed all I needed to know about him to be terrified. He had vibrant grey skin, dazzling violet eyes, and menacing sharp teeth with gold caps on them. That was the moment I dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes and began tumbling into darkness.

“Why do fe-females … ‘eep ‘oing … dat ‘round me?” the Maji asked with a tired sigh.

Without missing a beat, the other voice said, “I told you that you were ugly. How many human females must faint before you until you realise that?”

BLOG TOUR -- Yessi Smith's QUIETLY MAKING NOISE!!!

Title: Quietly Making Noise
Author: Yessi Smith
Genre: New Adult

Life and love are like juggling.
With the slightest of mistakes, the whole thing can fall apart.

Dreams tug, tease, and sometimes retreat into a subtle promise of a different tomorrow. A tomorrow Elio Delacruz never expected. Not after a lifetime of chasing a single goal.

Alongside his closest friends, Elio lives and loves his passion—his art. His existence depends on the whimsical, on the intangible, on the constant motion of a traveling busker.

When a tumultuous shadow from his past forces him to return to the suffocating island of Key West, his every instinct tells him to run. To flee from the scars of his youth.

And then he meets Vianella Manco. She’s only supposed to be a temporary distraction until he can break free of the island. His heart is never supposed to beat for her. And she’s never supposed to wish for anything beyond the easy moments they steal from one another.

But, sometimes, purposes change and the truths you believed turn out to be nothing more than pretty lies.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

[Janet]

Amazon/Goodreads Rating:  5/5

In Patti's Imagination Rating: 10/10

Elio Delacruz has a complicated life growing up, but to say his life now was any simpler would not be true and his plans are changed in a way he never expected.  Living his passion as a traveling busker with his friends, Elio is loving his life sharing his art with others but  things from his past have him returning to his home in Key West.  He doesn’t want to return and face the scars of his youth, yet there isn’t much else he could do. His life just got more complicated and painful.  Now Key West is haunting him again.    

His plan was to let Vianella Manco be his distraction while back on the island until he is able to leave again. A place that suffocates him. He wasn’t suppose to have feelings for her.  She was just a way to feel free while dealing with his overbearing past.  Once again life plans are changed.  Truths that were believed were actually lies.  Can Elio believe these recent turn of events?  Will he see that his past and his future are intertwined in his budding relationship with Vainella?

Will Elio be able to handle the lies and find his freedom from the suffocating island and find his happiness again?

I really didn’t know what to expect going into this book as this is the first main character that was a traveling busker.  You can tell the author did her research to be able to write the passion Elio has for being a busker.  I really enjoyed this new experience.  I learned more about those who entertain the public on the sidewalks of every town.

While at times this book is light and fun, there are some very emotional topics being discussed.  There is so much to this book you will not be able to put it down.  The twists and turns from a young Elio to the adult Elio are so unexpected they don’t go where you think they will.  The interactions with all the characters are great and these relationships feel very realistic.  Again the author has spent time researching things to make this book have that true to life feel.  I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

Too full of energy to sit, I follow Vianella into my mom’s kitchen, leaving my mom in the living room. Sensing my watchful attention on her, Vianella turns from the cupboard with two empty glasses, one in each hand.

“Do you want something to drink?” She shakes a glass in front of her face.

I sit on the countertop, assessing just how comfortable she is in my mom’s space. Curiosity grabs me, and I wonder how close she and my mom are. How much they’ve entrusted with one another. “Sure,” I agree. “Water.”

She nods, and after filling both glasses with ice and water, she brings it to me. Once I reach for the glass, she pulls it away from my grasp and cocks a hip out.

“Do I get a please? Maybe a thank you?” she asks, the corners of her mouth twitching. “Or are manners completely lost on you?”

Widening my eyes, I jump off the counter and walk to her. I take both glasses from her grasp and place them on a nearby counter. With her hands in mine, my thumbs run over the backs of her hands. I lean into her, smelling the subtle flowery scent of her shampoo, and immediately, I wish I hadn’t gotten so close. Now that I know just how sweet she smells, I want to taste. My tongue slips out, and I lick my lips.

“Please,” I say, tilting my head to the side.

My hand moves to her face where I trace the outline of her features with a single finger and rest it on her parted lips. She takes my finger between her teeth, and I touch her chin with my thumb.

“Sweet Vianella,” I whisper seconds before she digs her teeth hard into my skin. “Ow,” I complain, holding my hand against my chest.

She laughs and points a taunting look in my direction. “That was your fault. Touching me when I didn’t give you permission. Not using your manners. Calling me Vianella instead of Vee.” She shakes her head, pursing her lips together, as her eyes dance in merriment over my body.

“Is this our first fight?” I ask. Ignoring her statement about touching without permission, I reach for strands of stray hairs that have fallen from her messy bun and twirl the unruly dark hair around two fingers. “I feel like it is. I think we should have make-up sex now.”

“Make-up sex before you even know my favorite color?” she snorts.

“Hazel,” I reply, pointing to the color of my eyes. “Mine is violet. Now that we have that nonsense taken care of, my room or yours?”

“I-I,” she stammers, color draining from her cheeks. “I—” she repeats again.

But I cut her off, needing to see her back at ease with me, “Is that English? Maybe we need a translator?” I tilt my head to the side again.

She lets out a loud huff of air, her cheeks rising with the smile I hoped to put back on her face. “Are you always this difficult?”

“Difficult? I think I’m pretty easy. The straightforward kind.”

Yessi Smith lives in South Florida with her husband, seven-year-old son, and newborn baby. She is also owned by a neurotic border collie and “ferocious” rottweiler.

She has a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s in human resource management. She has held several jobs, from picking up dog poop to upper management positions. Now, she hopes to leave the business world behind, so she can live full-time in a world that does not exist until she places her fingers on a keyboard and brings it to fruition.

Previous work includes Life’s A Cappella,  Love, Always, New Forever,  Life Interrupted and Pieces of Camden.

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BLOG TOUR AND REVIEW of E.M. Rinaldi's Evading the Dark, The Cross Chronicles

Title: Evading the Dark
Series: The Cross Chronicles
Author: E.M. Rinaldi
Genre: YA Paranormal
Cover Designer: Regina Wamba at Mae I Design & Photography
Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing
 Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Publication Date: April 11, 2016

Synopsis:

High school sucks. It doesn’t matter who you ask; jock, cheerleader, computer nerd, or
band geek, they will all say the same thing: It’s a nightmare. But Casey is still wondering
how she got the short end of the stick. Just a Sophomore at the prestigious Luthos
Academy for Magical Beings, Casey already knows more about heartache and fear than
any almost-sixteen- year-old should. Orphaned and left to be raised by the Academy,
she spends her days training to become a Guardian, but that dream is looking dimmer
with every day that passes.Unlike the wand-waving heroines in all her favorite books,
Witches in her world don’t cast spells, they are born wielding the power of nature: water,
fire, earth, or air; powers Casey never developed. She’ll be lucky if they even allow her
to take her final exams.

She is top of her training class, but that doesn’t keep her from being looked down upon
by every other being at her school. All Casey wants is to be given a chance, instead she
finds the only life she’s ever known targeted by an unfathomable evil. Thrust into the
center of an age-old prophecy, a war is coming with Casey at the reins.

Will relying on her hard earned training be enough for her to make it out alive?

Buy Link:

 Amazon

Goodreads

Review:
[Flora]
Amazon rating: 5/5
In Patti's Imagination rating: 10/10

The book is funny, full of mystery and adventure.  The author has a talent for helping the readers get into the mind of the main character. She references iconic events and media which helped me relate to the characters. It is filled with old prophecies, private school problems, and mystery surrounding  violent deaths.  The book ends in a cliffhanger and  seems to be on a sixth grade level.   Strong female character, addresses bullying and good versus evil.  The book is from the point of view of sixteen year old, Casey, who is training to be a guardian witch.  She has had a hard time of it.  Her mom was killed, she is bullied by pretty much everyone and even teachers.  The high school is for paranormal children so their are references to witches, spells and shapeshifters and vampires.  Casey is a witch and her best friend is a handsome boy, Cedric. They have been friends since she arrived at age six. Will they become more?   Now not only does she have to navigate the dramas of high school she must find a place in this world.   Will she find her powers? If she does how will that change her world?   Will the students ever stop their bullying?  Her sixteenth birthday has been very eventful and I can’t wait to see what happens next.    

Excerpt:

All I knew was pain. It consumed me, its excruciating strength refusing to let my mind
focus on anything else. I struggled, an unwilling passenger of my own mind, as I felt
muscle being separated from bone and each individual tendon tear as they were twisted
in a direction they were not meant to go. I suffered the deep throb of a bone being
pulled from its natural joint. I wanted to give up and just let the agony overwhelm me
until it hurt too much to stay conscious. When my body could no longer take the torture,
I would be free.
But before I could give in, my attacker made a crucial mistake. As he made another tug
on my arm, a twinge shot through my shoulder forcing a strangled yelp from my mouth,
and he laughed. The bastard stood there—I bet with a damn smirk on his face—and
laughed.
Oh, hell no.
His laughter reached a part of me that I hadn’t noticed until that moment, a part of me
that was literally fighting to get out and kick this guy’s ass. Anger fueled the adrenaline
that now pumped through my body in full force. Muscles coiled and tensed in
preparation to fight. My foe felt my change in posture and went to tug on my arm again,
but I was already moving.
I let instinct guide my free hand right into his nose. The sickening crunch of breaking
cartilage filled the air, but I didn’t have time to enjoy the surprised look on his face
before my well-practiced side-kick sent him flying toward the back wall of the gym.
Reality came back to me slowly; I was still standing in a fighting stance, blood roaring in
my ears, heart pounding in my chest, as I became aware of the other students in our
training class.








Author Bio:

E.M. Rinaldi lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her boyfriend, Milz, and their slightly
psychotic pup, Boone. By day she is a Registered Radiologic Technologist taking
pictures of mangled bones and by night she writes about all the bizarre situations her
characters get themselves into while she was away. She is a Second Degree Blackbelt
and can’t write a story without at least one fight scene in it.
When she’s not writing or trapped at work, E.M. likes to read (obsessively), clear her
DVR, and have all night Buffy marathons with her friends, complete with cookies and
cinnamon rolls.
Her love for writing stems from an early age where she would create stories on an old
computer program and force anyone within grabbing distance to read them. Not much
has changed; be warned: stay out of grabbing distance.
Evading The Dark is her debut novel and the first of The Cross Chronicles.

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BLOG TOUR AND REVIEW NJ Walters DRAKON'S PROMISE (BLOOD OF THE DRAKON)

TITLE: Blood Drakon
SERIES: Drakon's Promise
AUTHOR: N. J. Walters
GENRE: Adult, Entangled: Otherworld, Paranormal Romance
PUBLICATION DATE: December 5, 2016

Synopsis: 

Darius Varkas is a drakon. He's neither human nor dragon.

He's both.

He's also the target of an ancient order who want to capture all drakons for their blood. When fresh, a drakon's blood can cure any illness and prolong a human's life, and the Knights will stop at nothing to get it.

When librarian Sarah Anderson stumbles across a rare book belonging to the Knights of the Dragon, she's quickly thrust into a dangerous world of secrets and shifters and things she never would have believed possible. When the Knights realize Sarah has a secret of her own, she becomes just as much a target as Darius. Her scary dragon shifter just might be her best chance at survival.

BUY LINKS for Drakon's Promise:

 Amazon

 Paperback

 Amazon CA

 Amazon UK

 Amazon AU

 B & N

 Kobo

 iBooks

 Goodreads

Review:

[Flora]

Amazon/Goodreads Rating: 5/5

In Patti's Imagination Rating: 10/10

This is a action packed mystery with steamy romance.  The author's creation of another world and the half dragon half man is very imaginative.  Strong characters, plot twists, paranormal events and steamy romance what's not to love?
Darius and Sarah were thrown together when Sarah over hears a plot to kidnap Darius.  She was so scared yet felt the need to warn the dark brooding, rich, businessman.  Can a librarian, with an unusual talent, really help the handsome businessman with a secret double life?
Darius is strong, tall and has a body like Adonis.  He can charm a woman just by walking in a room.  He is a shrewd businessman who has traveled the world.  He will protected what he treasures literally tooth and nail, if need be.  He and his brothers are not quite human.  They are drakons.  As half dragon and half man they live with the inner conflicts  between their human and dragon sides.  Man has killed his kind in the quest for immortality.  Can Darius protect his treasures - his brothers himself and now this spunky, intelligent librarian ?
Sarah loves her new job because she gets to be surrounded by books.  She is hired by Mr. Temple to catalog his extensive collection of old rare books.  She finds here new job is no so wonderful after all when she finds herself in the middle of an ancient war.  She must find and warn Darius about a particular dark book.   Can she find him before its too late?  When she finds him will he believe her? Will she believe him?
This first book in the series is the start of a winning story-line.  The author does a great job at capturing the nature of the dragon without losing the human.  I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more about these drakons. 

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

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