Locks, Hooks and Books

Friday, June 5, 2020

Audiobook Blog Tour: Innocence on Trial by Rick Bowers

Audio Blog Tour: Innocence on Trial by Rick Bowers

Author: Rick Bowers

Narrator: Eleanor Caudill

Length: 7 hours and 31 minutes

Released: Feb. 5, 2020

Publisher: Rick Bowers

Genre: Legal Thriller

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THIS ETERNITY OF MASKS AND SHADOWS by Karsten Knight Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: THIS ETERNITY OF MASKS AND SHADOWS

Author: Karsten Knight

Pub. Date: June 2, 2020

Publisher: Karsten Knight

Pages: 356

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, TBD

American Gods meets Watchmen in this mythology-inspired mystery from Karsten Knight, author of the Wildefire trilogy.

In a city of gods and mortals, secrets never die.

The gods walk among us. Some lurk in the shadows, masquerading as mortals; others embrace their celebrity status, launching careers from Hollywood to Capitol Hill.

One of them just murdered Cairn Delacroix's mother.

As Cairn sifts through the rubble, she uncovers a conspiracy two decades in the making: a cursed island, the fellowship of gods who journeyed there, and the unspeakable act that intertwined their fates. One by one, the members of that voyage are dying, and Cairn's investigations land her in the crosshairs of the rogue goddess responsible.

With the help of Nanook, a polar bear god turned detective, Cairn descends into Boston's underworld of supernatural crime and political aspiration. To avenge her mother and unmask her assassin, she’ll first have to reckon with a gut-wrenching secret that will rewrite the life she thought she knew.

My Review:

This Eternity of Masks and Shadows is my first introduction to Karsten Knight’s work. I thought it was a good read. It was magical adventure. I enjoyed the important lessons learned within the pages. I thought the main character, Cairn, was a strong young woman. I admired her strength and courage throughout the book.

I am giving This Eternity of Masks and Shadows four stars. I would be interested in reading more by this author in the future.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

About Karsten:

Karsten Knight is the author of the historical mystery NIGHTINGALE, SING, the time-traveling thriller PATCHWORK, and the Polynesian volcano goddess trilogy WILDEFIRE (Simon & Schuster)--though some say his writing career peaked at the age of six, when he completed a picture book series about an adventurous worm. He is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross and earned an MFA in writing for children from Simmons College. Karsten resides in Boston, where he lives for fall weather, bowling, and football season. For more information on Karsten or his books, please visit www.karstenknightbooks.com.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $10 Amazon GC, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

5/25/2020	Lone Tree Reads	Excerpt
5/25/2020	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
5/26/2020	Book Briefs	Review
5/26/2020	Lisa Loves Literature	Excerpt
5/26/2020	JaimeRockstarBookTours	Instagram Stop
5/27/2020	Lifestyle of Me	Review
5/27/2020	Discover Elysian	Review
5/28/2020	Do You Dog-ear?	Review
5/28/2020	Books Beans & Botany	Review
5/29/2020	The Bookwyrm's Den	Review
5/29/2020	Oodles of Books	Review

Week Two:

6/1/2020	@_ebl_inc_	Instagram Stop
6/1/2020	Eli to the nth	Review
6/1/2020	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
6/2/2020	Nerdophiles	Review
6/2/2020	Books_andPoetrii	Instagram Stop
6/3/2020	Popthebutterfly Reads	Review & Instagram Stop
6/3/2020	Hurn Publications	Excerpt
6/4/2020	She Just Loves Books	Review
6/4/2020	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
6/5/2020	Locks, Hooks and Books	Review
6/5/2020	Fazila Reads	Instagram Stop

VBT: The Killer in the Woods by Rick Van Etten

The Killer in the Woods
A Robert Vance Novel
Book One
Rick Van Etten

Genre: Crime Fiction/Mystery

Publisher: Proud Point Press

Date of Publication: June 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-7348269-0-6

ASIN: B087Y9ND2M

Number of pages: 254

Word Count: 78,000

Cover Artist: Eric Labacz

Book Description:

ROBERT VANCE IS A MAN WITH A SECRET…

Robert Vance is a magazine editor who works from home and lives in a house full of books. His neighbors think of him as a quiet, unassuming man. His passion for pheasant hunting with Preacher, his German wirehaired pointer, is typical of sportsmen living in the Midwest. But what isn’t so typical—and what his neighbors don’t know—is that occasionally Robert hunts something besides pheasants.

Robert hates bullies and injustice. When someone has a problem with either, he or she can hire Robert to make the situation right.

But Robert isn’t—in his own mind—just a contract killer. He lives by a set of rules that dictate who, where, and why he can kill. So when a well-meaning citizen discovers Robert’s latest target and winds up being charged with the killing, Robert must take steps to ensure the man’s freedom.

STEPS THAT WILL MOST LIKELY INVOLVE KILLING AGAIN…

Amazon

Excerpt Chapter 1

The money is good, but that’s not why I do it.

Kill people, I mean. That’s what I do, and I’m very good at it. And yes, the compensation is usually more than adequate.

But don’t start jumping to conclusions. I’m not a spook. I’m not some ex-Agency, ultra-ultra-deep-cover, government-trained assassin who got my start in the military and, having discovered a unique talent, couldn’t let it go. Nor was I ever encouraged by my “Uncle” to put my special skills to use for the common good, in which capacity I might still have the occasional brush-up with colleagues who might or might not be among the so-called good guys and might or might not be people I should trust.

No. I don’t play at espionage. I don’t call secret phone numbers and get my orders from people who use lots of acronyms and won’t allow their names to be spoken aloud on an open line, and I don’t have hidden files tucked away somewhere that I can use as leverage if I find myself running afoul of a power player. I never served in the military, and the extent of my contact with the government consists of filing my income taxes every year, renewing the registration on my SUV and voting in the occasional election. The few times I’ve been called for jury duty I’ve managed to get myself excused.

Sounds pretty dull, doesn’t it? You’re right; it is. And that’s by design.

If you saw me on the street or in a restaurant or a shopping mall or an airport—and there’s a reasonable chance you have seen me in some of those places—you’d most likely give me no more than a passing glance. There’s quite a bit about me that’s just plain average—size, looks, clothing. I wear glasses, and my hair is getting thin on top.

I dress comfortably and rather conservatively. I recently became eligible for Social Security—I’m old enough to have served in Vietnam, but I was in college at the time and my number in the draft lottery was high enough to keep me there.

I don’t go out of my way to attract attention, but neither do I live an introverted, reclusive life. I’m not married, but I date casually, and I occasionally get invited to parties and cookouts and can hold my own in a conversation on a variety of subjects. People usually laugh at my jokes, and I keep myself reasonably well informed about most current events. I read extensively, and my house is full of books.

I also have a Browning gun vault full of shotguns, but those are primarily related to my regular job—I’m the editor of an outdoor sporting magazine, a “hook and bullet rag,” as such publications are irreverently referred to within the publishing industry. I’m a bird hunter by avocation, and a six-year-old German wirehaired pointer named Preacher—for Clint Eastwood’s grizzled character in the movie Pale Rider—shares my home.

Sometimes I use one of my shotguns for something besides upland game or waterfowl. That’s a safe enough practice, as I’ll explain later. When a shotgun is too large for the job at hand—when it’s necessary to get up close and personal to the target, in other words—I’ll occasionally use a handgun. But I never keep these after the job is finished. That’s Rule Number 3.

I travel a good bit for my job—I get quite a few invitations from advertisers throughout the hunting season, and by taking advantage of these invitations I’ve hunted in many locations and at many top-drawer facilities around the world. Sometimes—not frequently, but once in a while—my two jobs overlap. The advertiser picks up the tab for my hunt (in exchange for some editorial ink), and by staying an extra day or two—usually on the pretext of visiting an old childhood friend or a seldom-seen relative and always at my own expense—I manage to take care of the other assignment while I’m at it. It doesn’t happen that way very often, but it’s convenient when it does.

OK, so if I really don’t do it for the money, why do I do it?

Simple.

There are two things I can’t abide in this world—a bully, and injustice.

The two often go hand in hand, and when I encounter either, I bristle. When someone else has a problem with either, he or she will sometimes seek me out to make the situation right.

Over the years, I’ve become very good at this. And that’s my real motivation—the feeling of satisfaction that comes from having done a job well, righted a wrong, balanced the scales or eliminated an oppressive threat.

It’s my way of leaving the world a little better place than I found it.

About the Author:

Rick Van Etten is a former college English instructor, corporate communications professional and retired magazine editor whose numerous articles and features have appeared in Gun Dog, Wing and Shot, Sports Afield, Ducks Unlimited, Game and Fish, Petersen’s Hunting, Farm and Ranch Living and Reader’s Digest. An Illinois native and lifelong upland bird hunter, Rick now lives in Iowa with a middle-aged Irish setter and an elderly tortoiseshell cat. The Killer in the Woods is his first novel.

Website: https://proudpointpress.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rick-Van-Etten/e/B087Z4VHVV/

My Review:

I thought Killer in the Woods was a pretty good debut by Rick Van Etten. For a couple of hours, I felt like I was on a thrilling roller coaster ride. There was a lot of mystery and suspense that I could not predict on how it would end. I had no problem having this book read in one sitting.

I am giving Killer in the Woods four and a half stars. I would recommend it for readers who enjoy to read unpredictable thrillers.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Life's A Witch by Skyler Andra

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the LIFE'S A WITCH by Skyler Andra Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: LIFE'S A WITCH Reverse Harem Supernatural Prison Paranormal Romance (Guild of Guardians Book 1)

Author: Skyler Andra

Pub. Date: May 25, 2020

Publisher: Skylar Andra

Formats: eBook

Pages: 266

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!

What is it that they say? Life’s a witch and then you die.

Change and I have never been best friends, something that’s only gotten clearer from my transfer to the Guild of Guardians. Aka punishment for stealing a magical object. Now I’ve got to hunt down criminal supernaturals to pay off my sentence.

The men in my new team don’t want me around. Neither do the other inmates. They just want to push me to my limits, test me, thinking that I’ll fail. But they have another thing coming. I’ll pass everything they throw my way, and I’ll prove I’m worthy.

Life’s A Witch is book 1 in the Guild of Guardians series, a supernatural prison academy reverse harem with plenty of action, swoon-worthy men, and a heroine determined to end up on top.

My Review:

Life's a Witch: Reverse Harem Paranormal Prison is the first installment from the Guild of Guardians series. It is, also, the first book I have read by Skyler Audra. I adored this book. Astra’s story was full of adventure and action with some twists and turns that kept me intrigued from start to finish. I had no problem reading in one day. I loved it!

I am giving Life’s a Witch: Reverse Harem Paranormal Prison five stars. I can not wait to find out what happens next in the Guild of Guardians series. I am looking forward to it.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

About Skyler:

Never say never. That's Skyler's attitude, and she fills her heroines and heroes with that same philosophy. Skyler is an Aussie who loves traveling and her goal is to one day visit every country in the world. When she's not writing, she's snuggling with a good book and her furbabies. At heart she's a gaming nerd, Pilates and martial arts enthusiast.

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