Tag Archives: self published

Book Review of Shifted Under Construction, by C. E. Black

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I snagged a copy of C. E. Black‘s Shifted Under Construction on Amazon when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
Bedroom eyes and rock hard abs make for yummy eye candy, but Harper Mattox knows a bad boy when she sees him. She’s been there, done that, and refuses to buy the T-shirt. The scar was enough of a souvenir.

When Harper agrees to be the temporary secretary at H&V Construction as a favor to her best friends’ husband, Adam Hughes, she thought her days would be spent behind the desk, organizing until her heart was content. She had no idea she’d have to put up with the walking sex-on-a-stick Christian Viera. AKA, her other boss. No matter how many times she turns him down, he just oozes more charm in her direction, weakening her knees, as well as her resolve. And it’s only her first day!

When Harper’s life is threatened, Chris is ready and willing to protect her, showing off an animalistic side she never knew existed. She’s known violence in her past and has no room for it in her life now. Is the fiery passion between them enough to stick it out? Can she accept him? Fur, claws, fangs, and all?

Review:
This was entertaining enough for an evening read, but it’s one we’ve all read a couple dozen times by now. Abused woman meets shifter in the morning, insta-love, explosive sex before lunch, a little unnecessary drama to fill out the pages, more sex, and in love by dinner. Meh. Nothing special there, no world-building, character development, or base for the love.

I did like how Harper stood up for herself and how Chris was often described as looking panicked or confused. It was cute. But I disliked how he came on so strong from the moment he met Harper and wouldn’t back off, even when she clearly told him to. He felt like a player, which he’s supposed to have been, but the sort that pressures women into sex they don’t want to get him to go away. It did not make him endearing.

Further, everyone kept saying, “Yeah, he’s a player, but he’s really a nice guy” or “He doesn’t treat women well, but he’s a good person.” Um, how exactly can you take that aspect of his character out, exclude it and say he’s good. They are one and the same, there is no BUT. If he’s a dick to women, he’s a dick, period. He sure felt like one to me and never redeemed himself. He got what he wanted from Harper, pusher her away, got possessive, told her didn’t want a relationship but still wanted sex, then claimed her again. And she just went along with his every whim on this issue. Meh. I never came to like him.

For a quick read that you can go into knowing what to expect, get a couple chuckles out of this is worth picking up. Just don’t expect anything deep or well-developed.

Pledge Allegiance

Book Review of Pledge Allegiance (The Finch #1) by Rider England

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I won an Audible copy of Pledge Allegiance, by Rider England, narrated by Greg Tremblay.

Description from Goodreads:
Shaun Blake had once had it all. As captain of the ISS Oregon, he‘d commanded his crew in the Horde War and helped to protect Earth. It was a dream come true for a farm boy from Idaho. 

But the dream shattered a year ago when a Horde ship blew the Oregon out of space, leaving Blake and a single crew member as the only survivors. 

Now, Blake is a gambler and a drunk living in the slums on Iton-3. His only interest is winning money at the WarZone tables and trying to forget who he was. He blames himself for every death that occurred under his command. 

When a woman named Jane Baltimore approaches Blake in a bar and says she has a job for him, he isn’t interested. Until she tells him the job is to captain a ship about to embark on a search and rescue mission. 

There are more surviving crew members from the Oregon. 

And they’re stuck on a planet deep in Horde space.

Review:
This was a fun, if simplistic (and familiar to any sci-fi fan) story. I liked Blake and his crew, but I never felt I got to know them well or that there was the opportunity for any significant character growth. I liked that two of the main characters, two of the best fighters were women. But it felt a little cliche that one was almost childlike in her joy and the other basically emotionless. (To be fair, the male soldiers were even flatter.)

This is a good set up for a further series, but on its own it’s largely a protracted fight scene. And even in that it’s pretty weak, as the characters seemed to triumph a bit too easily. But as a just-for-fun read, I call it a success.

Kudos to the narrator though, I don’t know if Blake would have felt as charismatic if he hadn’t had his distinct drawl.

Lady of the Sea

Review of Lady of the Sea (Aureate Chronicles #1), by Heather Zwygart

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I downloaded Lady of the Sea when it was free on amazon, completely because I was entranced by the cover. It’s gorgeous. I don’t think I even read the blurb. And then when I noticed the authors name is Heather  Zwygart, I decided to read it right away. I promised myself that this year I wouldn’t reach December with an author beginning in Z being the last left in my alphabet challenge.

Description from Goodreads:
Avelessa has always had someone in her life to make decisions for her. With no family left and her mentor near death she has to make the biggest decision of her life. 

She goes in search of a pearl, known as Sol Fyre, all the while crossing the boundary the Elders put in place for their safety. 

She discovers a few things along the way. The Elders are keeping secrets. And humans… well they are not as evil as she has been taught to believe.

Review:
This is 100% a YA novel and I have 100% gone off YA books. But even if I set that aside, I was disappointed. I thought it inconsistent, juvenile (yeah, I know YA), unfocused and incomplete, being that it ended on a cliffhanger.

The writing was ok, but the editing was a little rough. Most of the book is Avelessa doing unimportant things with the two boys who she coincidentally meets as soon as she comes ashore, which irritated me. I kept thinking, don’t you have more important things to do? Her choices made little sense to me, she waffled back and forwards about her decisions, the emotions whipped around so fast I couldn’t follow them, I dislike love triangles, I don’t see why if a novel is set in 1850 New Zealand a European has to be one of the main heroes, and I needed more information about the world.

This really might be a matter of the wrong book for the wrong reader and others might enjoy it a lot more than me. But I can’t say the story lived up to that beautiful cover.