Review: Mariner Valley

Title:  Mariner Valley
Author:  James Crawford
Grade: A

Review:
 If you know e in real life, you know that I love sparkles, all thing pink, and dancing. Basically I am a girly-girl. Mariner Valley. Is not at all a book that would seem to fit my personality. This is why I love books. You can read about things that would not necessarily interest you in real life. Mariner Valley tells the story of a settlement on Mars. In that settlement there is a crime problem. Recently there have been several murders. Police man Ben O'Ryan and his team must try to figure out who is responsible for these murders and why. They must travel across the planet chasing the criminals before it is to late.

I was a big fan of this book and finished it in a little over 24 hours I loved that the book describes what a possible settlement on Mars would be like. This book is unlike any other books I have read. Ben O'Ryan is such a likable character that you find yourself rooting for him to win the hunt for the murderers. Ben and his team have to travel to different settlements on the planet.  I liked how Crawford has several different types of living areas on Mars. One settlement is basically New York City is a bubble, another settlement is completely underground, and yet another is in a space ship type place. They also travel in a rover/hummer type vehicle. The only part of the book I was not a huge fan of was the budding romance between Ben and one of his team members, Beth. Once they kissed and started "dating" they instantly started to call each other sweetie, and honey. I did not like how the relationship jumped from just friends to basically married. I felt it was very unrealistic. I think that this is a must read for all science fiction/dystopian fans out there and for people looking for a fun, suspenseful, read.

Happy Reading!

Bookaholic

Emotobooks Guest Post

Hello readers!

I am very excited to have Ron Gavalik as a guest on my blog! Ron has developed Emotobooks and is here to tell us all about them! Take it away Ron:

Emotobooks: The Fusion of Written Fiction and Expressionistic Art

Ron Gavalik

Thank you to Shirley for allowing me to guest post.

As a writer and publisher, it’s always been a goal to bridge the gap between the cerebral gratifications of well-plotted fiction writing and the visual stimulation of illustrative art. The one day I had a mini-epiphany. Insert expressive, emotionally representative imagery in written stories, during moments of emotional consequence. By delivering a visual of what a character feels, the reader becomes more intensely immersed in the story.

Emotobooks are written fiction stories, not comics or graphic novels. The few emotional abstract images woven in the stories are the dream-like visuals each of us experience in the middle of the night.

The term Emotobook is a portmanteau word I conjured as a memorable label for the very first fiction medium for smartphones and tablets. For the first time, readers can now see actual representation of character emotions right on the page for a fun, interactive experience.

Stories are published as EmotoSerials or EmotoSingles. EmotoSerials are monthly-released, continuing stories, much like TV dramas or miniseries that continue until their climactic ends. EmotoSingles are individual experiences.

I launched Grit City Publications in July of 2011, with the first Emotobook series titled Grit City, a seven-part story about Dillon Galway, an idealistic freelance journalist, who scrapes out a living reporting on corruption. Since then, we’ve grown the Emotobooks Catalog into an array of fun genre fiction titles in Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, and Horror.

Each Emotobook title consists of three creators: the author, editor, and illustrator. It’s our philosophy that three contributors on each Emotobook delivers a richer, more flavorful story. The creators even offer Autograph Cards and suggest mood settings, such as food, drink, and music. This way our fans can achieve a full-bodied experience.

Emotobooks accommodate a new audience, who desire a fast “full story experience” on smartphones, iPods, computers, or tablet readers in about 30 to 60 minutes. They can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers.

Our editors are currently seeking the best genre fiction for the Emotobooks transformation. It’s required that fiction writers read our submission guidelines and the free handbook, How to Create Emotobooks, before submitting. Our publishing model is unique and we require long-term participation from authors for everyone’s success.

Now that you’ve been introduced to the Emotobooks Revolution, I hope you’ll join our Readers Cult and begin collecting the coolest titles. We even offer free Autograph Cards to our fans. What it really comes down to is we write, edit, and illustrate the best modern fiction for our fans. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. Thank you.

Ron Gavalik’s Bio:

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ron Gavalik is a seasoned freelance journalist and fiction author of the successful Grit City thriller series. As Publisher for Grit City Publications, he oversees the Emotobooks Revolution. Ron holds an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and a B.S. in Marketing Communications from Point Park University. When not writing, you can find him in the outdoors of Southwestern Pennsylvania on his trail bike, hiking, or fishing.

Review: Night of the Purple Moon

Title: Night of the Purple Moon
Author: Scott Cramer
Source: Review from Author
Grade: A+

Review
 This book completely blew me away. Abby lives on a small island with her dad and brothers.When the Earth passes through the tail of a comet, everyone that has reached puberty gets very sick and dies.  Abby finds herself alone with her brother and younger sister with no idea what to do. She and other children survivors must figure out how to survive together.

This was a quick and suspenseful read.  The story is a mix between the Gone series by Micheal Grant and Life as We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer. When I read the synopsis for  Night of the Purple Moon I wondered if it was going to join the ranks of the above mentioned books. I can say that it definitely delivered! Cramer's writings made sure to keep the reader of their toes. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, the plot would switch to something unexpected. The character of Abby grew from a typical teenager to someone who had to learn to take charge to keep her family and friends alive and well. The end of the book is a cliffhanger so I am wondering if Cramer will write a second book.The one thing I did not like about the book is the cover. Other than an obvious purple moon, I did not understand the rest of this picture. It looks like a werewolf/ vampire is about to attack. I think the cover had absolutely nothing to o with the book. If you love dystopian literature, then this book is a must read. You will not be disappointed! You can read more about eh book and Scoot Cramer at his website.

Happy Reading!

Bookaholic

Review: A Love Story

Title: A Love Story: How God Pursued Me and Found Me, An Impossibly True Story
Author: Samantha Ryan Chandler
Source: Review from Author
Grade B+

Review

One of my favorite genres is memoirs, so I was very excited to read this book! One of the things that initially grabbed my attention about Samantha Chandler was the fact that she co-founded a children's ministry. Like Samantha, I am a Christian, so I was interested in hearing her story. Samantha has been through more rough time in her life, than calm times. She grew up with an abusive mother, her husband was verbally and physically abusive, and took her children away from her. Every time she thought her life was finally settling down, something else would pop up. Reading about the way her husband treated her made me cringe. He was very wealthy, but would only give her a certain amount of money. If she overspent, he would become very angry. When Samantha tried to leave the relationship, he took her children away. But, through all of her trials and tribulations, she found the love and trust of The Lord, and her faith in Him grew.

My favorite part of the book was when Samantha was talking about her ministry, Childspring International. She devotes several chapters to talking about the children she has worked with. The ministry helps bring sick children to the USA for surgeries. When talking about some of the children her ministry has helped, you can tell that she is very passionate about her work. I also love that she used scripture in her chapters, which to me shows that everything leads back to God. Through the many struggle and bad relationships Samantha has had, she has learned that God will always be with her and will never leave her. I think that this book will really help people, like Samantha, that are going through rough times in their life. They can see that giving your life to God and leaning on him, will help things work out in the end. You can read more about Samantha and her book on her website.

Happy Reading!

Bookaholic

Review: True Medical Detective Stories

Title: True Medical Detective Stories
Author: Dr. Clifton K. Meador
Grade: A+

Review
This was one of the most fascinating books I have read in awhile. Dr. Meador has put together a book of fascinating medical stories that stumped even doctors. All of the stories are true and baffled doctors until one person was able to discover the cause behind each medical condition. The story that fascinated me the most was of a epidemic at a school. A odd smell enters the school and cause several people to pass out, causes people to get violently sick, and mass chaos. The school is cleared out, but the cause of the smell is not discovered. When the school is opened back up, it happens again. The school is closed and specialists are brought in, but are still not able to discover the cause of the smell and are not even able to smell anything. I won't tell you what happens, and I can tell you that you will be shocked!

I read this book in 1 sitting. I was so riveted by the stories that I stayed up reading the entire book.I t was interesting to read that there are stories that even stump doctors. It goes to show that the human body is a mystery that is continually being solved. I think that this book is amazing and I suggest it to everyone! It will keep you on your toes the entire time you are reading it. You won't want to put it down!

Happy Reading!

Bookaholic

Review: Vizcaya

Title: Vizcaya
Author: Lina Rivera
Grade: B-

Review
Nikki and Diego fell in love at a teenage bonfire. They were the perfect couple until they met Nelli. Nelli is a rich, beautiful girl who always gets what she wants. Nelli wants Diego and will do what ever she has to to get Diego. Diego is an artist who draws what inspires him. Nikki feels threatened when she finds Diego drawing Nelli at the beautiful museum, Vizcaya. All three of their worlds change at this moment.

Vizcaya is coming of age story about teen dating and desires. It is a pretty typical young adult love story; boy dates girl, beautiful girl enters picture, beautiful girl steals boy from other girl, other girl is not happy. I always enjoy a good romance, but I have to say that this book was very predictable, until the very end. The end did surprise me, but I won't give it away.  I liked the mixture if different character dynamics and personalities of Nikki, Nelli, and Diego. I loved that Nelli was a dancer because I am a dance. My favorite parts of the book were reading about Nelli and her privileged world and seeing Diego's normal world being mixed in. Diego has to make himself fit in with Nelli's family and the customs of the rich and famous. Other than that, I was slightly bored during the entire book. I thought that the plot was very drawn out and could have been shortened a bit. I do think that young adult romance fans will enjoy this book, but otherwise it is a hit or miss. You can read more about Lina and her books on her website.

Happy Reading!

Bookaholic

Review: I Thought I Saw a Dragon Late Last Night

Title: I Thought I Saw a Dragon Late Last Night
Author:  Clayton J Liotta
Source: Review
Grade: B+

Review:
As said in my previous review, I am a preschool teacher so I love picture books. I Thought I Saw a Dragon is a picture book about a little boy who thinks he sees a dragon and sets out on a mission to find the dragon. He thinks about all the places a dragon might be and the reasons behind each hiding place. The boy goes through his whole town looking for the dragon and eventually convinces himself that he imagined that he saw the dragon.

Liotta both illustrated and wrote the book. He has drawn beautiful and and colorful pictures that I think any child would love. I really like that the main character's face is hidden in each picture. I think it would make it easy to imagine that the reader is the child. The book is written as a rhyme which I love because I can talk about rhyming words when I read it to my preschoolers. The only thing I did not like was that the book is not very large. This would make it hard to read in a large group setting because I can just hear my students complaining about not being able to see the pictures. Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book and I think many children would enjoy reading it! You can read more about Clayton and his books at his website.

Happy Reading!

Bookaholic