Book Review "Shinobi, Book One ..Concealed In Shadows" by Sessha Batto

Book Review:

“Shinobi, Book One…Concealed in Shadows” By Sessha Batto

This is a book for readers over the age of 18.

For those of us considered adults this book is a journey that will at times push your comfort zones, it is violent, gut wrenching and perhaps one of the most tender love stories I have read in recent years.

Homoerotica is not a genre I have read prior to Shinobi, and because of that I was unsure of exactly what to expect. What I found between the pages of Shinobi is the warmth, love, fear and utter loyalty expected and demanded in a modern day story of Ninja.

Torture and abuse are portrayed brilliantly by author Sessha Batto, you are witness to the scenes of what happens when political manipulation reaches the zenith of its struggle for power.

The characters become real. At times almost more real than you can take, you suffer with Yoshi..you feel his mental anguish, his determination to obey, his absolute immovable loyalty, and you share in his pain and the longings of his damaged soul.

Sasaki Makoto is the inflicter of much pain, yet he himself is a soul in search of the tenderness he has long been denied. Both these characterizations are beautifully drawn, the author gives you an insight into their psyche and their motivations that generates the way you the reader feel, despite the violence, despite the emotional turmoil they undergo the author draws you in: you can’t help but care deeply for them both.

Their love … and make no mistake for love is precisely what they feel; is erotic, sensual and tender, the sexual scenes are penned with a passionate and unapologetic hand as they should be.

Author Sessha Batto has not written this book merely to arouse the sexual desire of her readers, she has crafted characters rich in detail and painted for them a tapestry of colour and vibrance.

The darkest side of the human spirit is explored in this book. The violent underbelly of political intrigue is exposed. You will find the tenderness of the healing scenes between Yoshi and Sasaki moving.

For readers who are unafraid to explore erotica, and in particular Male on male erotica I urge you to read this book. It is an unforgettable journey.

BUY "SHINOBI" ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054M51TE/ref=sc_vs__shinobi_2520by_2520sessh

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Shinobi-Book-One/Sessha-Batto/e/2940011321122/

Book Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9yK9Yk8HBE&feature=player_profilepage

Book Review: "The Spellbinder" by John Booth

 BOOK REVIEW 2012. " The Spellbinder" by John Booth (Book 1 in The Tom and Laura series)

John Booth has done it again, His depth of characteriztion in this the first book of a new series is stunning. His capacity for insight into the female psyche is a joy to read, and his depth of empathy with strong females in particular is refreshing. Make no mistakes, there are no stereotypical characters in this work.

The central character is Laura Young. Others have expounded on the storyline and I don’t wish to rehash what has already been said.

Let's focus on Laura…confused and not a little afraid in discovering her abilities as a Class A Spellbinder, she is catapulted into a world she has no real knowledge of.

A place where her abilities will be honed and used as weapons of destruction. 

A place where she is a walking target for foreign assasins. 

Author John Booth has himself a touch of magic in his pen…you breath with the characters, you can through his wonderful wordcraft hear them, see them and feel for them.

You are left with no choice but to keep reading as the pace is rapid and loses nothing in the structure of a world that seems both feasible and frightening to contemplate.

Other folks have briefly commented about the adult content in the book. I find that most teens of my aquaintance are well aware of this aspect of life. 

Accordingly that content is completely acceptable in my view, in fact I think that the characters would have been less accessable and real without it.

 
I have no hesitation in recommending this work. As book one in a new series it leaves exciting and wonderful possibilities to come.

Buy The Spellbinder here 

Book Review: "Count To Ten" By Sheila Mary Taylor...non-fiction.

Book Review: "Count to Ten" Sheila Mary Taylor.

Non-Fiction.

No parent can be prepared for the news that their child has cancer.

The author of this work is no exception; Sheila Mary Taylor recounts the days and nights months and years of disbelief and despair as their eighteen-year-old son Andrew faces a nightmare that no teenager should be expected to deal with. The moments of elation at receiving good news; then plummeting back into the darkness of despair when things went badly wrong.

Andrew underwent major surgery at the tender age of eighteen, told beforehand that their existed a possibility that he may have to have his right leg amputated.

How does a healthy sports minded eighteen-year-old boy deal with such a thing? Andrew dealt with it by facing it head on, he asked questions and sought explanations of the doctors that were treating him. He needed to know all the details, no holds barred...that and the love he was surrounded with spurred him on through the horror of Chemotherapy and the years of almost unrelenting pain.

“I have counted your toes, and there are ten” that was the note scribbled on the back of his business card and left by Andrew’s father on his pillow after he had undergone major surgery to save his live by removing cancerous bone from his leg.

Andrew was to undergo many such operations over the ensuing years, and his mother the author of this work lived and breathed every moment with him.

His parents, siblings and friends each handled the situation in different ways, but above all else they handled it with unstinting love and support.

This book is a journey into courage in all its guises, it is written with love and understanding yet it’s not a plea for pity. It is at times terribly sad, yet written in such a way that the reader’s spirit is uplifted.

The dreadful pain that Andrew bore so well, and the love that surrounded him are all clear to see.

 Author Sheila Mary Taylor re-lives the nightmare of preparing for loss although no-one really can. She is effusive in her praise for the marvelous dedication of the team of distinguished doctors that quite literally saved Andrew’s life and his leg.

Her delight and pride in her son fairly leaps off the page and you smile with her at every small triumph, and rejoice with her when life altering surgery at last succeeds in giving Andrew as close to a normal life as anyone could wish.

An uplifting and emotionally charged book.  Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Count-To-Ten-ebook/dp/B006GQXR4I/

Book Review: "House of Silver Magic." By John Booth

Book review: “House of Silver Magic.” …Book One of The Magic series   By John Booth

Book Blurb

The House of Silver Magic is the first in a series about a mysterious entity called The Source and those who choose to serve and protect it.

The Source may have been around forever, but since the 1920’s it has resided in a house in the suburb of a small town outside London. Gold, Silver and precious stones are imbued with magic power if they spend any time near it. In the hands of a human, such objects grant them power to do what they really want. Some use that power for good and some for evil.

Mandy, William and Jenny aren’t as human as they think they are. When their father dies in an apparent accident, they find the world has turned against them. Hounded from their home by the courts and bailiffs, they find themselves in a strange house that shows every sign of being haunted.

Worse, the enemies of The Source are gathering. Those who seek its power for nothing more that personal gain and the control over others its power can bring.

How can a bunch of kids save The Source from adults who kill for pleasure and without conscience?

The House of Silver Magic will be on sale in all eBook formats and paperback from the 11th of November.

Book review: “House of Silver Magic.” …Book One of The Magic series   By John Booth

John Booth has been a favorite author of mine for a while now, and I am so delighted to have the opportunity to review his soon to be released “House Of Silver Magic” the first in a brand new Magic series.

Meet the Grange family. Mandy the eldest at fifteen, followed by William and twelve year old Jenny. With the mother Eleanor ever present to keep a watchful if disbelieving eye on her 3 children.

The relationship between the siblings is crafted with a sure knowledge of young people and their interactions.
The dialogue is marvelously accurate.

When husband and father James Grange dies in mysterious circumstance the powers that be appear to turn on the shocked and bereaved family, forcing them out of their home without a place to turn and no money.

Until their solicitor arrives with strange instructions and a cheque for 30,000 pounds.

His instructions make no sense to the family, how is it possible that they could win at auction a millionaires home for such a paltry sum. But win the house they do, and their adventure into the world of magic and mystery begins.

The three youngsters each have strange instances of seeing what can’t possibly be there.…Or can it?

Meet the Dees. The beautifully described magical protectors of the home. They are there to defend the occupants that are of “the blood’.

The relationship develops between the three Grange children and the protectors of the 'Source'

What follows is a young adult reader’s delight, and older readers me included will enjoy Author John Booth’s marvelous powers of description and clever, well delivered dialogue.

Evil doers intent on murdering the Grange family…carrying magic silver from the mysterious 'Source’ Mrs. Constance and her psychopathic son are the very epitome of evil, characterizations so well drawn that the reader can despise them without effort.

What follows is reading pleasure as good versus evil. With enough twists and turns to keep readers satisfied and interested.

The retaliation of the Dees against the murderous Mrs. Constance and her deranged son will have young readers satisfied that justice prevailed.

The pacing is masterful. The plot line just terrific…and the intricate weaving of these things and that x factor  all  authors crave make this a must read for not only young adults, but for all readers that remain young at heart.

I look forward with pleasure to the remainder of the series.

Highly recommended. This book would make a wonderful Christmas gift for young and old alike.

Soooz says 5 stars.

Book Review:" Diary Of a Small Fish" By Pete Morin

 Blurb:

When Paul Forte is indicted by a federal grand jury, everyone suspects prosecutor Bernard (don’t call him “Bernie”) Kilroy has more on his mind than justice. Then the FBI agent in charge of Paul’s case gives him a clue to the mystery: Kilroy is bent on settling an old family score, and he’s not above breaking the law to do it.

Paul is already dealing with the death of his parents and divorce from a woman he still loves. Now, with the support of an alluring grand juror, Paul must expose the vindictive prosecutor’s own corruption before the jury renders a verdict on his Osso Buco.

Book Review: Diary Of a Small Fish by Pete Morin

Author, Peter B Morin has written an outstanding debut novel.

Irrespective of your nationality or familiarity with the laws of the United States of America, this author writes in such a way that it is clearly understood.  His professionalism is clear in every wonderful court sequence.

The character of Paul Forte is such that you just cannot help liking the guy.  His wicked humor, ability to laugh at himself and his touch of innocence in a non-innocent environment has you caring what the hell happens to the him.

 Hell erupting into this guy’s life is pretty much what happens.

 He has an addiction that is not fatal, but it is an addiction; albeit one that most folks seem to understand…what is it?  Golf …he has a handicap to die for on the best golf courses the U S of A has to offer.

Hyannisport  anyone?

Paul Forte is being hunted; he may be a small fish, but a sufficiently interesting fish to be subpoenaed to appear before a Grand Jury.

  

Assistant U.S Attorney Bernard ( don’t ever call him Bernie) Kilroy has his sights set on the coveted position of Attorney General of The United States of America…he wants exposure, he will do anything he has to do to get it.  Is he also motivated by something far less altruistic?

The author allows us to smell the set up, yet this is not a predictable story, far from it.  This fast paced and clever work takes you to the most unexpected places…

The character of Paul Forte is not one dimensional..  He is capable of deep and abiding loyalty, his heart is able to be broken, and his love is yearning to be earned.  We share with him his abiding love for his father, his relentless loyalty to friends he believes in, and his sudden and unexpected love for a woman that completes his life.

Meet Shannon, a beautiful, quirky, lovable, odd ball.  A complex woman; a character crafted with skill and a depth of understanding into unresolved guilt that is moving and right on the money.

The technical aspects of the trial are beautifully handled.

The dialogue is rich and often darkly funny.

The willingness of good people to do what is right in a bad situation is attacked, and…

I will not spoil this for you. 

It is a damned fine read, fast paced, and at times intensely moving. 

A fine debut novel indeed.

I look forward to reading much more from this author.

Author Bio:

Pete Morin has been a trial attorney, a politician, a bureaucrat, a lobbyist, and a witness (voluntary and subpoenaed) to countless outrages. He combines them all in this debut novel.

Pete’s short fiction has appeared in NEEDLE, A Magazine of Noir, Words With Jam, 100 Stories for Haiti, and Words to Music. He published many of them in a collection titled Uneasy Living, available on Amazon and Smashwords.

When he is not writing crime fiction or legal mumbo jumbo, Pete plays blues guitar in Boston bars, enjoys the beach, food and wine with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two adult children, and on rare occasion, punches a fade wedge to a tight pin surrounded by sand or water. He lives in a money pit on the seacoast south of Boston, in an area once known as the Irish Riviera.

Pete is represented by Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency.

 Links to where you can purchase this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Small-Fish-ebook/dp/B005Q33C1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317216686&sr=8-1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91217

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1105969700?ean=2940013335851&itm=1&usri=diary%2bof%2ba%2bsmall%2bfish

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Book Review: "The Egyptian" by Layton Green.

Book Review: "THE EGYPTIAN" by LAYTON GREEN RELEASED: AUGUST 27th 2011.

SYNOPSIS: THE EGYPTIAN: A Suspense/Thriller

At a mausoleum in Cairo's most notorious cemetery, a mercenary receives a package containing a silver test tube suspended in hydraulic stasis. An investigative reporter tracking rogue biomedical companies is terrified by the appearance of a mummified man outside her Manhattan apartment. A Bulgarian scientist who dabbles in the occult makes a startling discovery in his underground laboratory. These seemingly separate events collide when Dominic Grey and Viktor Radek, private investigators of cults, are hired by the CEO of an Egyptian biomedical firm to locate stolen research integral to the company's new life extension product. However, after witnessing the slaughter of a team of scientists by the remnants of a dangerous cult thought long abandoned, Grey and Viktor turn from pursuers to pursued. From the gleaming corridors of visionary laboratories to the cobblestone alleys of Eastern Europe to a lost oasis in the Sahara, Grey and Viktor must sift through science and myth to uncover the truth behind the Egyptian and his sinister biotech - before that truth kills them. For fans of Douglas Preston, Steve Berry, Dan Brown and the X-Files.

BOOK REVIEW: THE EGYPTIAN by LAYTON GREEN.

What have I missed? Damn this is a good read, it stands alone, yet I am now aware that another book ‘The Summoner’ exists encompassing the same pivotal character, Dominic Grey.

I had no preconceptions when I began reading “The Egyptian” and at that point had not read any of this fine authors previous work, rest assured that is about to be rectified.

I base my reviews on several very simple yet intrinsic parameters… Plotline. Characterizations. Dialogue. Research.

And the ever illusive X factor…that strange compelling thing that makes a work un-put-down-able!

So last things first…The X factor? Was it present in The Egyptian? By the truckload!

The pacing is almost breathlessly fast, and the superb writing grabs the reader by the throat and holds them in its grip until the last sentence ends. And…Then? This reader went online scrounging frantically to find more books by this author…I’m smiling ‘cause I now have a copy of “The Summoner” to look forward to.

But I digress… “The Egyptian” is fascinating on many levels; it has a psychological jolt that makes you wonder just how you would react given the opportunity to access “the Elixir of life.” Author Layton Green permits his characters to explore their own values and integrity when confronted with the reality of the factual existence of the mythical Elixir.

He doesn’t spare the characters from self-destructing by greed.

The characterizations are crafted with a clever and intelligent pen. Author Green makes you care for the central character of Dominic Grey, by making him worthy of caring about, yet not infallible by any stretch of the imagination. Grey is a mystery to everyone but himself, with a vulnerable underbelly that he shields as best he can. In this novel he harkens back to a female that I believe appears in The Summoner…his feelings and memories of her are very strong…that doesn’t mean that he isn’t attracted to Veronica, who is in search of the “Story to end all stories.” Her job as a freelance journalist has her scrambling to follow Dominic as he travels to Bulgaria on his mission to locate the “Elixir.” Enter Stephan and threats to the lives of all three of them as the nightmare investigation begins throwing mutilated bodies in their path.

The research is impeccable; cleverly utilized descriptions take the reader from the streets of Manhattan, to villages in Bulgaria, to the endless fascination of the land of Egypt.

I walked the bazaars, tasted the sand, and felt the sun scorching my limbs; such is the power of the description used by this author. That alone makes this a stand out book, yet when I factor in the believability of the plot, the beautifully drawn characters, the dialogue which is flawless…well I just keep finding more reason to give this work five stars. I love it when I find an author whose next book I can’t wait to read. Layton Green has me as a fan... hook, line and sinker.

If you love a fast paced, well written, and exciting read, you can’t go past this one. The Egyptian has become my favorite read so far in 2011.

About the Author: Layton is also the Kindle bestselling author of the suspense novel The Summoner (first in the Dominic Grey series of stand-alone novels), as well as the mystery novella Hemingway's Ghost. Please visit him at laytongreen.com.

Buy it below:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Egyptian-ebook/dp/B005IGUVYG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314316904&sr=1-1

Book Review "Better Than 8: Fantasy" by Erin Jamison

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