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Book Review: A Queen’s Pride by N.D. Jones

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On July 02,20 | 0 Comment

Title: A Queen’s Pride (Feline Nation #1)
Author: N.D. Jones
Genre: Urban Fantasy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a timely read.

Asha is the Heir of the Kingdom of Shona. Her parents, Khalid Bambara and Sekham Zarina are the Alphas of the Kingdom. The protectors. They are who stand between their people and the corrupt humans of the Republic of Vumaris. These humans are willing to do anything to acquire more land and power, and shedding blood is only the start.

There are some massive concepts within these pages. N.D. Jones looks at the dynamics of family, race, class, politics, governmental overreaching, and self-sacrifice to start. The idea that humans will use brute force over cunning to acquire power is loud and clear.

There are many trigger alerts in this book due to the realism, despite the magical genre. I warn readers for torture, sexual content, brutal violence, and mental health issues resulting from PTSD. A Queen’s Pride isn’t a YA book.

But it is compelling and delicious, an addictive page-turner.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.

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Cover Reveal: Maleficium by Natalie Bennett

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On July 02,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Maleficium (Devil’s Playground: Duo)
Author: Natalie Bennett
Genre: Dark New Adult Romance
Release Date: 30 July 2020

Summary:

Ave Satanas worship or perish.
The reckoning has begun, the tides are turning.
In the Devil’s Playground morals have vanished, demons run rampant, and the death toll is rising.
The price of freedom looms closer than before, simply crown the king, claim a queen, and make idle
work of the damned.
An ultimatum was given.
Bounties have been placed.
The hunt has begun.
The devil wants his due, and Liliana just so happens to be exactly what he’s been waiting for.

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New Release: Heartbreak Beat by Elle Greco

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On July 01,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Heartbreak Beat (LA Rockstar #1)
Author: Elle Greco
Genre: Rockstar Romance
Release Date: 01 July 2020

Summary:

Nikki Benson is one of LA’s best drummers.
Rock scion Dion Davis, lead singer for the breakout band Rogue Nation, is her stepbrother from
hell.
When Nikki is asked to join Rogue Nation to save their faltering tour, it’s her dream come true.
But drumming for the band means being in close proximity to Dion. And this stepbrother from
hell is the boy she’s crushed on since she was twelve.
For years, they’ve ignored the explosive chemistry building between them. But living in the
tight confines of a tour bus, those sparks will be hard to ignore. And falling in love is the last
thing these fledgling bandmates need right now.
Will saving his band mean breaking her heart?
Heartbreak Beat is the first book in the Rogue Rock Star Romance series. Set in the glam and
gritty Los Angeles rock scene, the series is filled with swoon-worthy men and badass women, all
chasing their dreams in Hollywood’s cut-throat music industry.
Get ready to fall in love with a Rogue Rock Star.

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Blog Tour: This Time Tomorrow by Tessa Bailey

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On June 29,20 | 0 Comment

Title: This Time Tomorrow (Phenomenal Fate #2)
Author: Tessa Bailey
Genre: Enemies-to-Lovers, Paranormal, Romance
Release Date: 22 June 2020

Summary:

Roksana, heiress to the vampire slayer throne, has performance anxiety.

She’s supposed to kill Elias, but so far she’s only succeeded in maxing out his credit card. Now her failure to stake the brooding vampire has sent her back to Moscow in disgrace to face her mother’s wrath. Expecting punishment by death, she’s given a rare reprieve. She now has three tasks to complete, the last of which is to finally kill Elias. She will not fail this time.

If only the memories of one magical evening—back when Elias was human—would stop holding her back. He claims to have forgotten that night. Why can’t she?

Three years ago, Elias was a SWAT team member on a guy’s weekend in Vegas. Playing poker and minding his own business, his life changed forever when a captivating blonde strolled past his table in a light-up bra. He followed Roksana as if compelled, his very bones demanding he do so, his soul resonating with the belief she would be important to him. Always. That turned out to be a vast understatement—and nothing has changed.

Roksana embarks on her mission, determined to win back her mother’s approval, but when an astonishing truth emerges in the eleventh hour, will her stake pierce the very heart that beats in her honor? Or will love triumph over duty?

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Book Review: The Redpoint Crux by Morgan Shamy

Title: The Redpoint Crux
Author: Morgan Shamy
Genre: Gothic Fiction
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book isn’t for me. How do I know? Because I read it and it bored me to tears. 20% in I almost DNF’ed it, but I stuck with it only to skim through the remainder of the book reading it in chunks. Nothing much happens.

The book starts with two disjointed tales; one is Megan Tucker’s in Colorado, and the other is Liam Reynolds and the Theater Company in Nova Scotia–two teenage rebels who are grabbing the world with both hands. Megan ‘Red’ Tucker is a ballerina gone mountain climber well off the beaten path. Liam is a prodigal son who has come back to claim his family’s legacy. But nothing much happens chapter after chapter to advance the story but monotonous exposition and reiteration.

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Release Boost: Forever Only Once by Carrie Ann Ryan

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On June 27,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Forever Only Once (Promise Me Series #4)
Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Romance
Release Date: 26 June 2020

Summary:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan comes a sexy new contemporary stand-alone series.

Hazel Noble has survived horrors she wouldn’t inflict on her worst enemy. Since then, she’s healed, found herself, and connected with a group of women she’s proud to call her friends. However, when they make a pact to start looking for love, Hazel finds herself not only up first but also forced to face a past she thought she’d escaped.

Cross Brady has no need for a relationship. As the oldest of five, he’s always been the one his family can rely on. Now, all he wants is to work in peace and live his life. His priorities shift dramatically, though, when Cross finds himself in Hazel’s path.

Though the two initially fight their connection, they soon learn that it’s safer to fall for each other than keep running from what’s holding them back—not to mention, who wants them dead.

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Book Review: Aggro by Coralee June and Carrie Gray

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ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On June 26,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Aggro
Author: Cora l ee June and Carrie Gray
Genre: Romance
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Coralee June is always satisfying. She’s pizza. I could happily one-click any of her books and come away from the experience without regret. And while Aggro is my introduction to Carrie Gray, it’s a happy one.

Breeze Shirley is understated, and she likes it that way. She doesn’t need to command the room, she lets her bestie, Violet, sparkle, and shine. Breeze is happy being in the ocean on her surfboard, riding waves. She’s loyal. Breeze loves honestly and true. She’s the best, best friend, a best friend could want. And Violet is her true blue. The two are deep in one another’s pockets and never too far apart. This is why when Violet is murdered, it shatters Breeze’s entire world–but worse it shows her all the shadows that existed in Violet’s that Breeze never knew existed.

This book is categorized as a romance, but really it’s much more of a coming-of-age story and a real heartbreaker, so bring your tissues because there are lots of times you are going to tear up. Breeze is an incredibly sympathetic character, and relating to her is so easy to do. She is written so beautifully vulnerable, and so full of graceful strength that you root for her to choose good things. I kept telling Breeze to choose healing instead of grief while tears were running down my face, and my nose was sniffling pathetically.

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Guest Post: Sarah Relyea, Author of Playground Zero

Playground Zero by Sarah Relyea

ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On June 25,20 | 0 Comment

Berkeley in the 1960s: An Unforgettable Character

During recent visits, I have often found the city of Berkeley to be a garden on a hill, lush in its vegetation and breathtaking in its panoramas. In the stunning hill neighborhoods, redwoods soar from a neighbor’s yard as the eye feasts on tangled beach roses. Meanwhile, west beyond the flatlands and the bay, the blinding evening sun drops through the Golden Gate. A glass of wine in such a place is unlike a glass of wine anywhere else. The senses revel and rebel, and so do we.

When I wrote Playground Zero, a coming-of-age novel set in Berkeley during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, I wanted to convey something of the city’s splendor, along with the anarchy of those years. I wanted a backdrop that would contrast with the story of Alice Rayson, a girl growing up under fraying social norms, as large numbers of people sought to jettison the past. The lush landscape would serve to counterbalance unsettling aspects of Alice’s story, offsetting them—not only for the reader, but also for myself during the long process of producing a novel. More ambiguously, I hoped to shine the city’s light on some of the forgotten corners of those countercultural years. After all, contrast creates meaning.

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Book Review: Playground Zero by Sarah Relyea

Playground Zero by Sarah Relyea

ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On June 25,20 | 0 Comment

Title: Playground Zero
Author: Sarah Relyea
Genre: Historical Fiction
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sarah Relyea has penned a coming of age story set in one of the United States coming of age periods during the late 1960s. The Raysons family are all children of their time, and the third person alternating point-of-view lets us see the world they live in through their eyes and experience their day-to-day–Tom Rayson is not a likable man.

The book follows the family as they cross the country from the East Coast to the West Coast to establish new lives in Berkley, CA, during the bussing and integration of black students. Sarah Relyea has a great atmosphere for her story; there are many times she painted the events happening with her words.

In today’s climate, reading books of this nature might shed some light on social dynamics between races — although there are times I felt a little like there was an unconscious bias for the great work the Raysons were doing regardless of what they did. And Tom is thoroughly unlikeable.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.

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Book Review: The Attic Tragedy by J. Ashley Smith

The Attic Tragedy by J. Ashley-Smith

ByMs Ali Cat: Ali Crean | On June 19,20 | 0 Comment

Title: The Attic Tragedy
Author: J. Ashley-Smith
Genre: LGBTQIA+, Coming of Age, Paranormal, Dark Fantasy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes, when I read things written by British or Aussie writers, I feel the story suffers from my lack of knowledge of slang and terminology. It made The Attic Tragedy more beautiful and served its sucker-punches more viciously.

George is dealing with all the things that make adolescence hell: school, the primary devil, and a budding crush with a fellow outcast, Sylvie, a particular demon. Sylvie makes it all worth it though with her gentle whimsy and accepting soul–it doesn’t hurt that Sylvie is magical. It’s not just that she’s beyond a dream, she says she sees ghosts. George can’t help but fall hopelessly for the ethereal beauty. But life doesn’t end at high school; neither does George’s story.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “Don’t ever be sorry. You’re beautiful, George. You’re tree roots and fresh mown grass and the smell of rocks and apples. What’s inside you is so real, so alive. It’s burning you up.”
The Attic Tragedy by J. Ashley-Smith

J. Ashley-Smith weaves a tale of trials, failures, and successes centered around protagonist George and her struggle with self-acceptance and inner squabbles with self-loathing. Centering around vignettes of heartbreak as she watches Sylvie grow up, and away, from the girlhood qualities that made her so unique to become a wife and mother to a smarmy prig.

This book is quite magical. Highly recommendable.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.