Castor by Shaun Young Guest Post & Excerpt!

Shaun Young - Castor Banner

Hi peeps, we have debut author Shaun Young popping in today with his upcoming release Castor, we have a brilliant guest post and a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy <3 ~Pixie~

Shaun Young - Castor Cover M

Castor

by

Shaun Young

James Fisher’s memories of Earth are distant, replaced by the harsh realities of life on the planet Castor. As a “Half-Adapt,” James is one of many who were biologically engineered to survive conditions on Castor—and to labor for the benefit of the ruling class. Indentured to servitude, James has no way to defy or escape the severe caste system… until he meets Vidal Centa, his master’s nephew. The draw they feel toward each other is instant, powerful, and maybe even enough to move beyond the unyielding regulations of their society.

But not everyone blindly accepts the absolute power of the oligarchy. The Independence Society fights for freedom and equality, and since James shares in their ideals, he joins their ranks. Soon he’s faced with an impossible decision: continue the fight against the oppressors or choose the love of the young man who embodies everything the Society loathes. With a looming conflict threatening to tear the planet apart, James fears he cannot continue to fight if he wants to keep his relationship with Vidal.

Release date: 30th June 2016

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The Star Host by F.Y. Lukens Blog Post, Excerpt & Review!

F.T. Lukens - The Star Host Banner

Hi guys, we have F.T. Lukens popping in today with her new release The Star Host, this is a great science fiction story and F.T. is sharing an excerpt so you can check it out for yourself, so enjoy the post! <3 ~Pixie~

F.T. Lukens - The Star Host cover m

The Star Host

by

F.T. Lukens

Ren grew up listening to his mother tell stories about the Star Hosts – a mythical group of people possessed by the power of the stars. The stories were the most exciting part of Ren’s life, and he often dreamed about leaving his backwater planet and finding his place among the neighboring drifts. When Ren is captured by soldiers and taken from his home, he must remain inconspicuous while plotting his escape. It’s a challenge since the general of the Baron’s army is convinced Ren is something out of one of his mother’s stories.

Ren finds companionship in the occupant of the cell next to his, a drifter named Asher. A member of the Phoenix Corps, Asher is mysterious, charming, and exactly the person Ren needs to anchor him as his sudden technopathic ability threatens to consume him. Ren doesn’t mean to become attached, but after a daring escape, a trek across the planet, and an eventful ride on a merchant ship, Asher is the only thing that reminds Ren of home. Together, they must warn the drifts of the Baron’s plans, master Ren’s growing power, and try to save their friends while navigating the growing attraction between them.

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Refraction by Hayden Scott

refractionTitle: Refraction

Series:  N/A

Author: Hayden Scott

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Length: 52 pages

Publisher: Harmony Ink Press, Dreamspinner Press (March 24, 2016)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts

Blurb: Max Jackson is your typical teenage boy, concentrating on his classes at school and being accepted into a good university after graduation.

There’s just the small matter of the bomb in his basement, one Max and his fellow members of the “Injustice League” plan to use to level their city’s unethical government. Too bad superhero Crush Goodman puts a stop to their plans. Max understands why Crush would steal the League’s doomsday device, but why is Crush following him around and acting like they’re friends?

When the reprehensible Doctor Decay butts his head into Max’s business, Max has to figure out how to save the city he’s always worked to destroy—with or without Crush’s help.

ISBN-13: 978-1-63476-388-2

Product Link: https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/refraction-by-hayden-scott-373-b

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: An interesting story about supervillian dynanmon, Max and superhero, Crush. The thing that intrigued me about the story was just because someone is a supervillian does not mean they are not working towards the greater good.

I loved the fact that these two young men despite fighting worked together to achieve the same goal. Well written with plenty of action and drama that has the reader on the edge of their seat.

Highly recommended.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

Refraction by Hayden Scott Guest Post & Excerpt!

Hayden Scott - Refraction Banner s

Hi guys, we have new author Hayden Scott stopping by with her upcoming debut YA story Refraction, I’ve nicked Hayden’s YouTude announcement so you can get to know her and her story a bit 😉 , Hayden writes a guest post for us about her story and we also have a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy!  <3 ~Pixie~

Hayden Scott - Refraction Cover s

Refraction

by

Hayden Scott

Max Jackson spends his days worrying about the same things most teenagers do—homework, college admission, and how to detonate the doomsday device his mom built in their basement. As a member of the “Injustice League,” Max has devoted his life to destroying his city’s corrupt power structure. Everything is going according to plan until all-American superhero Crush Goodman steals the device right out from under him. Max’s life gets even more complicated when Crush starts stalking him at school and acting friendlier than he ever should to his archnemesis. Caught between his evolving feelings for Crush and wanting to protect his secret identity, Max has to steal his device back and show Crush the true meaning of supervillainy.

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Living With the Fall by Hannah Thompson

LivingwiththeFallLGTitle: Living With the Fall
Series: N/A
Author: Hannah Thompson
Genre: Science Fiction/ Other Paranormal/ Teen Fiction/Dystopian
Length: Novel (254 Pages)
Publisher: Harmony Ink, Dreamspinner Press (August 6, 2015)
Heat Level: None
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Blurb: In a Dystopian future ravaged by a zombie virus, teenaged Flo dreams of becoming a hunter. Instead, he becomes infected, and while plagued by hunger, he is able to control his urges. Hoping his life can still hold some meaning, Flo agrees to travel with hunters Hulme and Dihr, and he discovers a world unlike anything he imagined.

On the continent, people are struggling to hold back the apocalypse by finding a cure to the disease, and Flo might be the key. But friendships and trust are tested as the trio crosses hostile territory and faces dangers beyond the zombie infestation.

In the end, only Flo can decide if he can live with what he’s become.

ISBN: 978-1-63476-147-5

Product Link: https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/living-with-the-fall-by-hannah-thompson-322-b

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6706

Reviewer: Lisa

Review: This was the first book I have read by this author and was quite surprised. I wasn’t too sure what to think, however. The title caught me, but the cover had me wondering. I have to admit that I didn’t even look at the blurb for the book, so I was definitely caught off guard.

I think in my whole life I have read one book that involved zombies and maybe watched a handful of movies. This book was a surprise and very gory. The surprising part was I had fun with it. It was not something that I would have chosen if I had looked at the blurb. I was happy that I had not looked at it and gave it a chance. Although I wished it had not starred a teenager. I do not much care for characters that are that young.

Flo’s family takes care of their farm and their sheep. Sounds like a smelly job that is for sure. It is however his time to do it. He is bored out of his mind, and knowing teenagers as I do well you can guess what he does. He thinks he is a hunter of zombies when he decides to go find out who rang the bell. Although he did have a good guess who it was or I should say what it was. Thank god for Hulme getting his ass out of trouble.

The story itself is told from Flo basically. He is an adorable teenager who well acts like a teenager. I didn’t much care for Hulme though, nor did I like Dhir. They act like total asses and come off like that. However when these guys get to arguing, it is quite a blast to watch. Although to a teen or a young adult this book would be fun for them. For me it was a bit off.

I would recommend it to those who love, dark, gross, nasty creatures and a story that will definitely have you thinking. The author has an amazing talent of giving me a story that freaked me the hell out though.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

Ragnarök by Ari Bach

RagnarokLGTitle: Ragnarök
Series: Valhalla #2
Author: Ari Bach
Genre: Science fiction/Lesbian/Young Adult
Length: Novel (350 pages)
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press, Dreamspinner Press
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5 Hearts
Blurb: After a year spent hunting for Mishka and Wulfgar, V team is no closer to finding them. If they’re going to locate their nemeses, they’re going to have to break some rules. As they begin their most dangerous mission yet, the stakes grow higher than they ever imagined as they uncover not only the subjects of their hunt, but the greatest threat the Earth has ever known.

To save the planet, their path will take them across the globe, across the solar system, and deeper into their relationships with each other than they’ve ever dared to look. Sacred bonds will be tested, the closest alliances will fall, and Violet will come face-to-face with a far more daunting and dangerous challenge than saving the planet – her growing love for Vibeke – a lover that could be her salvation, or the cause of her ultimate downfall.

ISBN: 978-1-63216-624-1

Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5785

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This book is the second in the Valhalla series, which should be read in order as it has an ongoing story line. However, in saying that, I have not read book one and have had no problems with following the story. Ragnarök was an interesting choice for me. I do love sci-fi, but I have not read a lot of lesbian same sex fiction. However, just the name Ragnarök attracted me. It’s all about the Viking connection for me. I love history, particularly Norse mythology. However, as much as this is a good book, for various reasons, I am torn with this one. It is certainly a niche story.

The first book is called Valhalla, which many will recognise this as the Norse Viking belief that warriors who die in battle pass to the afterlife aided by Valkyries to reside in the hall known as Valhalla in Asgard with the god Odin. Ragnarök, this book, is named after a Norse poem, which basically talks about the End of Days. After the death of some key gods and many natural disasters which lead to the flooding of the earth, two humans remain to repopulate (not good for genetic diversity!) and the surviving gods will return to mortal realm (or Earth if you like the Marvel Comics version of the Norse gods).

Onto the actual story itself, it was easy to get into. I think it was the level of detail that drew me in, making it so easy for me to imagine this dystopian world of the future. However, the flip side of this being was that this detail occasionally made this a tad on the tedious side. But I am willing to overlook that.

The world we are presented with is partially recognisable to what we know now, but then again this is a few centuries into the future where Norse mythology has apparently taken root again, at least in order to organise resistance/military units. There have also been some catastrophic disasters that have changed the face of the earth. We dive straight into the action of Violet, the main character, who is undergoing a dangerous jump during a mission and a fight midair involving some pretty nifty, futuristic fighter jets. There is some jumping about, again this got a little tedious on occasion, but at the heart of this story is Violet and the beginning of her romance with Vibeke. Both Violet and Vibeke are very strong characters, though for some reason I don’t know, I found myself liking Vibeke more than Violet.

The action does not let up throughout the story, so it was an exhausting novel to read. If it weren’t so exhausting, I probably would have rated it higher. But the ending, oh wow, it was great and totally not what I expected. Neither did I expect to like an ending like this, which is most of the reason for the decent rating. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but the ending of it was my favourite part purely because of how it played out. Though it does make me wonder if Ari Bach is misleading us just a tad and there is going to be another book.

Some sci-fi you can read and know that anyone will enjoy it, but this is the type of sci-fi where you need to enjoy the genre. There is an abundance of sci-fi terms, some of which found in various other stories, but if you’re not into the genre, it may take more concentration to keep a track of what is going on. There is also biology jargon such (e.g. RNA and DNA), but I’m sure it’s nothing that will put anyone off and nothing beyond other sci-fi books.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

A Deal with the Enemy by Jessica Ennis

18718868Title: A Deal with the Enemy
Series: A Prizm Books Short
Author: Jessica Ennis
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Short Story (17 pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press (October 2013)
Heat Level: Mild
Heart Rating: ♥♥2Hearts
Blurb: All-American Brenden has a crush on the weird boy at school. Brenden’s best friend Alex is also gay, so that’s not the problem. The problem is that Alex hates Brenden’s crush with a fiery passion. Can he prove to Brenden that he’s a good enough friend to support Brenden, no matter what?

The price may be more than he or Brenden are willing to pay, though, when Brenden’s crush stumbles upon their deadly secret and nearly dies in the process.

Product Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=4032

Reviewer: Tams

Review: Short. Why yes, yes we are missing two colors there, aren’t we.

Brendan has a crush on Alan, I think, and he doesn’t want his best friend Alex to know. Alex doesn’t like Alan very much, but he wants to support his friend. Then somehow, they all end up in a tunnel or the subway, and then you learn all the friends have a secret that could be deadly. Okay now someone is having sex against the wall in the dark tunnel, and it’s a little bit sexy BUT, I still couldn’t really tell you who was having sex.

I read this book, twice, and I’m still confused. The names of characters ran together and even after two runs, I couldn’t completely tell them apart. The author went from using first names to last names and there were entirely too many characters for 17 pages.

This seems to be more of a draft for a book than an actual book. I’m sorry guys but this one did not work for me.

The Fall by David L. Dawson

15713052Title: The Fall

Author: David L Dawson

Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction, YA

Length: Novel (314 pages)

ISBN: B00734OB42

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Inc (October 5th, 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Eric

Blurb: The future of planet Earth is bleak.  Two warring gods have decimated the planet.  Fanatical religious cults, cannibals and cat/human hybrids are just some of the dangers out there.  A young boy called Ben Casper lives in a crumbling shopping mall called The Glass Palace with his family. He’s just come back from a rites of passage into the brutal outside world that officially makes him an adult. Now he must get married and be trained to take over from his father as Mayor. Except he sees things differently now.  He doesn’t want responsibility. The only things he truly wants is to go back out into the world and win the love of Brian, who happens to be his best friend’s brother.  Only he might have responsibility thrust upon him when he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to kill the gods and save the world; a plot that could lead everyone he loves into mortal danger…

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Fall-God-Slayers-Quartet-ebook/dp/B00734OB42/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1393519955&sr=8-5&keywords=david+l+dawson

Review:  Interesting, fresh, a brand new take on Gods and Goddesses, this book is everything perfection when it comes to science fiction. It truly is the next Hunger Games and as long as The Stand essentially. I found this novel addicting, strong, and well written.

David Dawson truly does have a vision when it comes to writing science fiction. He truly does have a strong understanding on what it means to be out of this world. The author provides very strong characters that face so many complications it will make your head spin. I couldn’t get enough of it once I started. I stayed up into the late hours reading this novel.

The characters were fantastic. I couldn’t get enough of how well this book is written. He shows how powerful it can be when it comes to writing first person perspective. He shows—the author—what can happen if we set our minds to something. The more I read, the more immersed into the storyline I became.

Altogether, this novel is just beautiful. Strong writing, strong storyline, and excellent characters this is a book well worth the time you put into it. He truly does have the power to take you away from your problems. I highly recommend this book.

Lessons on Destroying the World by Gene Gant

LessonsonDestroyingtheWorldLGTitle: Lessons on Destroying the World

Author: Gene Gant

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Transgender

Length: Novel (200 pages)

ISBN: 978-1-62798-793-6

Publisher: Harmony Ink Press (6th February 2014) (Dreamspinner)

Heat Level: Nil

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½ Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Micah McGhee has struggled all his life against prejudice and abuse. Forced to drop out of school after the death of his mother, Micah works full-time to support himself and his alcoholic father. One night, on his way home from a party, Micah’s hard life ends when he’s beaten to death by a street gang.

Three days later, Micah awakens with godlike abilities granted by the alien device that resurrected him. His work helping the downtrodden and performing miracles soon earns him worldwide attention—including the notice of conservative Reverend Vaughn Titus. Micah’s friends, devout Christians Antonio and Monica, along with Reverend Titus, urge Micah to use the power of the artifact to impose Biblical rule on the world. But Micah is all too familiar with how Christian law treats LGBT people, and he opposes the idea. When Antonio, Monica, and Reverend Titus gain access to the device, Micah must risk everything to stop them from forcing their religion onto everyone on earth.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4684

Review: Micah has had to fight for what he has, dropping out of school and getting a job to survive after his mother died and to keep a roof over his dead-beat fathers head Micah has avoided the pitfalls that others have fallen into. But, one night the actions of another has Micah being brutally beaten and he awakens to a whole new awareness. Resurrected by a mysterious orb, Micah now has Godlike powers and he sets about easing people’s pain, it isn’t long before he falls foul of the Government and the devote worshipers of religion. When the orb falls into the hands of his friends Antonio, Monica, and the fervently devote Reverend Vaughn Titus, Micah tries to convince them of the wrongness of their plans for Christian rule and now Micah must risk everything to stop their religion from being forced on the world.

So first of all I have to hold my hands up and admit I was drawn in by the title and the great blurb and I’d secretly hoped for a couple of tips, but alas unless I find an alien artifact my bid for Universe domination will have to wait. So to the story, this is a brilliant story that is very down to earth and has great characters that are engaging and entertaining. We start out by discovering a lot about Micah, his life, his family and what he hopes for and we quickly take him to heart. As we follow him through the story we are drawn to his level-headedness seeing how he uses his new powers for good and not for selfish gain (well, with a few blimps for revenge), nobody is below his help until his good deeds start to backfire and draws unwanted attention.

Micah is a fantastic character who is superbly written, each character we come across comes to life, but it is Micah who sticks with me. While I remembered this was a transgender story I kept thinking it was going to be a secondary character because Micah was just a boy, a brash cussing boy, but when the big reveal came it really knocked me off my feet because of how well written Micah was. Antonio, Monica, and Titus were great in their roles but annoyed the hell out of me for their belief that if everyone followed the bible then the world would be a better place… I nearly laughed my ass off when it backfired. I also really liked that even though Micah tried his best for others he learned that no matter how much good you do people still wanted more; you heal a few sick and more people demand to be healed, you stop a famine and give them a bountiful land and people will go to war over the spoils.

Starting this story I really didn’t know what to expect but I was extremely pleased with the entire story, it led me on the journey of a young adult who knew what he wanted to do when he was given godlike powers, we follow him through the ups and downs, the repercussions and the pitfalls and the final solution.

I recommend this to those who love young adults finding their paths in life, science fiction that is intriguing, characters that are brilliantly written, and the startling discovery that just three bible verses could wipe out humanity.