The Diamond Conspiracy (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #4) by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

Steampunk

From Goodreads:

For years, the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has enjoyed the favor of Her Majesty the Queen. But even the oldest loyalties can turn in a moment…

Having narrowly escaped the electrifying machinations of Thomas Edison, Books and Braun are looking forward to a relaxing and possibly romantic voyage home. But when Braun’s emergency signal goes off, all thoughts of recreation vanish. Braun’s street-wise team of child informants, the Ministry Seven, is in grave peril, and Books and Braun must return to England immediately.

But when the intrepid agents finally arrive in London, the situation is even more dire than they imagined. The Ministry has been disavowed, and the Department of Imperial Inconveniences has been called in to decommission its agents in a most deadly fashion. The plan reeks of the Maestro’s dastardly scheming. Only, this time, he has a dangerous new ally—a duplicitous doctor whose pernicious poisons have infected the highest levels of society, reaching even the Queen herself.

Books and Braun are off on a new adventure and it is the most dangerous one yet.  It starts when the Ministry Seven go someplace they should have skipped and ends when they discover something from Books past.  In between they face danger as the tension builds and builds.

For me he interaction between Books and Braun is what makes this such a great series.  In The Diamond Conspiracy there is a more of the romance element and it adds spice to the story. 

I did think the first half of the book was better than the last half.  Even though the action and tension continued I thought the authors got just a little too cute with their side characters.  I was left wondering how the discover at the end would play out in the next book.

Ace published The Diamond Conspiracy by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris in 2015.

I received an ARC of  The Diamond Conspiracy from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

EMP by Wilson Harp Virtual Tour and Giveaway

THE AUTHOR IS GIVING AWAY:  $25 Amazon/BN GC - To Enter Go To the Rafflecopter Below

EMP

by Wilson Harp

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BLURB:

In a flash of searing light, the world changed. A massive solar flare has crippled the modern world and brought chaos and destruction. David Hartsman is stuck in the remote farm town of his youth on what was expected to be a short visit to check on his ailing parents. While his wife and his daughter are hundreds of miles away at home in Chicago, David must face the dangers associated with his own survival and the pressures of not being with his family. In a worldwide catastrophe, every struggle is personal.

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MY REVIEW:

EMP follows a familiar theme.  There is something , in this case a EMP Spike, that burns out all modern electronics.  Now everyone is back to basics.  David Hartsman is at the small town where his parents live when it happens and this is his story and the story of how the town survives.  The story is interesting with enough tension and danger to keep everything moving.  Mixed with that are the things that have to be done to survive. This is a easy book to read and in spite of the theme one that leaves you feeling good.  I did wonder if there will be another book to follow.  David still had issues to be resolved so maybe we will meet him again.

EXCERPT:

The days had turned warmer and the rains had come to a stop. The fields were planted with the food that would allow us to survive, and everyone anxiously awaited the first harvest of lettuce and beans. Anything other than radish and turnip soup seasoned with a little green onion and boiled squirrel.

I walked past one of the fields and waved at the boys. Two of them carried rifles and several others had sharp spades. Those with the rifles were scanning the edges of the field making sure no rabbits came in to eat the precious crops. Those with spades walked along each row, making sure no moles or other burrowing varmint was making itself at home.

The boys waved back and went back to their vigilant sentry work.

I shook my head as I thought about what Lexi would say if she had seen this. She was afraid of guns. She never grew up around them and did not like them. I didn’t care one way or another. To me, they were just another tool. One I grew up with, but found no particular joy in using. It was like a hammer. Lexi was afraid of them and didn’t want one in the house, so I acquiesced to her demand.

But now they were needful things. The right tool for the right job. At night, the dogs were set free in the field and the snares were set along the edges. But in the daytime, a stray rabbit taken with a .22 meant not only saving our crops, but more meat in our stew.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Wilson Harp is a writer based out of the American Midwest. As a military brat, he traveled and met people from many cultures and backgrounds. Exposure to so many different views has led him to an appreciation of an eclectic collection of music, film and literature.

His sense of wonder at stories and folklore started young and continues to this day, often affecting the themes and ideas in his writing. In his works you will find the old fashioned ideas of virtue and honor as the lifeline that pulls many of his characters through the situations they often find themselves.

www.wilsonharpbooks.com

www.facebook.com/wilsonharpbooks

@WilsonHarp on Twitter

Buy EMP at

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LYPFMAS/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday - March 24, 2015

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhyme.  Anyone can play along! Just do the following:"
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book.   

The Teaser:

"You're having a joke with me buddy," the young man said glancing back at us and giving us and specially Starlight another wink.  "I'll take a hundred and twenty, but even that's way less than it's worth."

Page 35 in Mother of Eden by Chris Beckett.  I got this book from Vine and am just starting to read it.  So far so good.

I also have a blog tour and giveaway going today so check out my other post.

Musing Mondays - March 23, 2015

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme sponsored by A Daily Rhythm that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What is your favorite lesson learned, or quote, from a recent book you’ve read?

I am currently reading Empire of Dust by Jacey Bedford.  It is a Science Fiction book that I purchased a few weeks ago.  My goal right now is to read some of the books I purchased and bring down my TBR pile.  There are some on that pile that are over a year old.  

Empire of Dust is a very good story with great world building and interesting characters.  What starts out with one character running turns into a first settlement story with a lot of tension and danger.

This Heart of Mine (Whiskey Creek #8) by Brenda Novak

Contemporary Romance

From Goodreads:

First love. Second chance?

As the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate not to lose him—especially once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating next!

Unfortunately, there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison, Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and get to know her son. But Jacob's father isn't exactly welcoming.

Riley doesn't trust Phoenix, doesn't want her in Jacob's life. He is, however, ready to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea that he's about to find both—if they can forgive the mistakes in their past.

Phoenix has been a much-mentioned character in the Whiskey Creek series but this is the first time to meet her in person.  She was not what I expected.  Instead of being slightly crazed and obsessive she is very centered.  After spending 17 years in prison for a crime she did not commit she is not bitter but focused on living her life in the present.  She is very very strong.

Riley did not expect to find her admirable.  Of course that did not happen right away but over the course of the book.  Jacob, their son, accepts her on their first meeting. 

This is a really great story about love and forgiveness between two people with a very difficult past.  Brenda Novak gets great marks for making Phoenix such a great and admirable character.  It goes on my keeper and re-read shelf.

I think I saw a hook for Kyle’s story.  See what you think.  I guess time will tell.

Mira published This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak in 2015.

I received an ARC of This Heart of Mine from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Stacking The Shelves - March 21, 2015

Books Stacked on My Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

Only one book this week.  I purchased The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy  (Ptorix Empire Book 1) by Greta van der Rol .  I read A Matter of Trust by the same author and really liked it so decided to give her Iron Admiral series a try.  Both are Science Fiction Romance stories.

Book Beginnings and The Friday 54 - March 20, 2015

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and join the fun.

The Beginning:

"I get this call, out of the blue. A woman. First, she reminds me that I saved her life. Then says she wants me to do her a favor.."

Page 56:

"So you are crying about a cat, and you don't like cats? And this cat hurt you and it wasn't even your cat?" .... I don't think that the cat made you cry:

Maybe you needed to cry."

From Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman. Anne is Tony Hillerman's daughter and she is continuing his Leaphorn and Chee Novels. These were some of my favorite mystery novels. Both my sister and I loved them and even took a trip to see the area where they are set. I haven't started this so don't know if Spider Woman's Daughter will be as good as the books written by her father but I did want to give it a try.

King of Thieves (Star Rogue #1) by Evan C. Currie

Science Fiction/Space Opera

From Goodreads:

Earth’s survivors face devastating new challenges in the wake of recovering from an alien conflict. Battered and mourning tremendous losses, the once fractious peoples of enemy nations must work together to rebuild their shattered world—and prevent the possibility of their attackers’ return. What they don’t know is that a new, deadlier enemy unlike anything they’ve ever faced will usher in the dawn of another war.

Captain Morgan Passer commands the Rogue Class destroyer Autolycus, charged with an interstellar recon mission to detect traces of the repelled enemy while gathering information for the fortification of Earth’s defenses. What the expedition finds instead is a deeply disturbing mystery: a discovery that redefines everything they thought they knew about Earth’s place in the galaxy…and reveals deadly new horrors. In this original story set in the Odyssey One world, former enemies unite for their own survival, and Passer and his intrepid crew seek answers to help them save their people. Instead, they find that the invasion may be over, but the danger is just beginning.

King of Thieves is set in the world created by the Odyssey One but works well as a stand-alone.  Back-story is there but in very small doses and that is all you really need.  The world building for King of Thieves is simple.  A new and unusual structure is the focus and setting of the story.

That is where the danger and the thrust of the story reside.  Captain Morgan Passer and his crew face new and unusual threats both in and around the structure.  There is a large cast of characters who are caught up in the danger that is at the heart of King of Thieves.  The action drives the characters and there is a lot of action to do that.

For fans of military science fiction this is a good choice.  This appears to be the first book in a new series so it will be interesting to see where else Passer and his crew go.

47 North published King of Thieves by Evan C. Currie in 2015.

I received an ARC of King of Thieves from Netgalley in return for an honest review.