A.R.R - The Forsaken by Estevan Vega

The Forsaken by Estevan Vega
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 2 days

Blurb From Goodreads

DON'T LET IT IN.

The first victim has no natural wounds. No prints left behind. No lacerations. But the life has been gruesomely drained from the corpse, and a broken cross is now imprinted inside the skin.

Left for dead a year ago by his former partner, reckless and medicated Detective Jude Foster now endures mindless therapy sessions in order to be given another chance at his life.When the chief of police discovers the first victim strangely killed in this sadistic fashion, Jude enters a dark world all-too-familiar. He knows he’s seen this method of murder before, but he never caught the killer.

Could this be a copycat, or is it the one that got away?

Forced to take on a new partner for the case, Jude must come to terms with the fractured memories of his past, attempt to keep his younger brother safe, and chase down a ghost killer who is collecting human souls. But time is against him. How many more victims will there be before the killer is satisfied? And will Jude Foster be able to survive this new hell or in the chaos, will he risk becoming something else entirely?

My Review

Where to start! Detective Jude Foster is our main character and in a bit of an emotional state. He is back on duty after being left for dead by his partner and a whole mystery surrounding the partners disappearance. Bodies are turning up at an alarming rate and have a distinct link to a series of killings that previously went unsolved. Is it the same killer or just a copy cat? the bodies seem to be drained, a shell of their former selves and something supernatural is involved. Jude just needs to find the what, how and why and stay.

I actually liked the start of this book and some parts of it throughout but a lot of the time I found myself having to reread parts as I felt I was missing out on key parts of the story. It jumps around a fair bit too, some of the characters visit their past and why they are the way they are now but the chapters aren't headed so it takes a bit of getting used to it to figure out what has happened.

The supernatural aspect of it is original and some of it is explained, however for me there was so many parts I was left wondering actually how did that happen, where did it come from and the way of it all which isn't explained(sorry it is vague but I don't do spoilers). I know plenty of people will love this, it has a bit of everything - intrigue, murder, mystery, religion and demons. I found it interesting but hard going with it jumping around so 2/5 for me. Thank you so much to the author for introducing me to their work and giving me the opportunity to review this book.

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Review - Hollowlands (The Hollows #1) by Amanda Hocking

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 2 days

Blurb From Goodreads

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

My Review

Remy is our main character and on a mission to be reunited with her little brother. All that stands in her way is a world over run with zombies and some of the dregs of society that survived the infection. With a small band of survivors Remy travels across towns and land trying to locate him and picking up some acquaintances along the way.

If you follow my reviews you know I love all things Zombie however this really impressed me as it is YA although written that the mature adult can enjoy too. A lot of zombie books don't deal with the how and why but this one does which I also really liked. Without spoiling it (I don't do spoiler reviews) my love of animals comes into play in part for liking this book so much and once you meet Ripley you will understand.

There is a bit of everything in this book, gore, romance, sex (although briefly so no need to worry about that I only mention it as some people do like a heads up), loss and angst. I really enjoyed it and my only moan would be there wasn't enough, I feel more could have been explored and given in some of the situations (although it might be covered in book two). Had the author joined this and book 2 into just one meaty read it would have been better however at the time of posting this, the first book is free whilst the second one is just over £4. If you like your zombie reads this is worth checking out, it is free on Amazon (kindle only) so give it a go, 4/5 for me this time.

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ARC - Fate by L.R. Fredericks

Fate by L.R. Fredericks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - dipped in and out for over a week

Blurb From Goodreads

London 1717: on the day of his seventeenth birthday, Lord Francis Damory stumbles upon a book - a family heirloom - that will change the course of his life, linking him to the mysterious great-great grandfather Tobias, an alchemist who may yet still be alive... So begins Damory's quest for the elixir of immortality:fro the gilded salons of decadent nobility to the brothels and debtors' prisons of Georgian London; across the Alpine passes to Venice and the pirate-infested Mediterranean Sea; through love affairs and deadly duels, as Damory encounters courtesans and castrati, alchemists and anatomists, Rosicrucians, visionaries, monsters, charlatans, spies and assassins.

My Review

Lord Francis Damory is the main character in this weird and wonderful tale. Francis comes upon a book from his families past that they would rather forget which opens up a world to him that you can only dream/hope and pray about. What follows is a quest for immortality, love, murder, deceit, loss and secrets.

To be honest, much as I enjoyed some of this book there were parts I didn't love so much or became bored by. It is a huge read at 512 pages and it splits into two main parts, one follows Francis's life outside the quest. His love life, struggles, family issues and travels etc and the other part follows his quest for the truth and his work as an alchemists and the colleagues and trades he comes upon. I would be getting into the whole quest when it would go off on a personal tangent as Francis got caught up in life and love as you do then I would get into that and it would fall back into the quest.

I found myself having to look up lots of words(which is always a good thing) and read up on a bit of history to clue up on some of what was happening in the book. It is definately enjoyable and the chapters (which, as you know I love) are only a handful of pages long so you can dip in and out as you please. If you fancy something a bit different that is set back in the 1700s with a bit of science and mystery (with some brothel visits, duelling, murder and a bit of everything really) then this is the book for you. 3/5 for me this time and thank you to John Murray Publishers for introducing me to this author and giving me the chance to review this.

This book is available from all good retailers (published on 5th july 2012)

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About Julys Pre-loved giveaway

As you may have noticed it isn't up yet. I am on holiday and have another two trips booked this month so rather than delay picking a winner and posting a book out, I thought instead of having a pre-loved giveaway this month I am going to host a amazon voucher giveaway to the value of £5 (or the equivalent in you countries currency).
The giveaway as always is open worldwide and all you need to do is fill out the form below (just put your name and email address or web addy) and for an additional entry leave a comment on this post.

Click here to enter the competition

June Pre-loved Giveaway winner is...

Ian (no website given) although he did share a wee story with his competition entry which I will share below. Thanks to everyone who took part. As always if the book isn't claimed another winner will be picked.

Ian's short story

'I prefer to shop at night and thankfully in the 21st century, 24 hour supermarkets mean I can always maintain my needs without needing to venture out into the daylight. I had just run out of my special blend toothpaste and tonight was the night my favourite butcher was working. He takes a regular brand toothpaste and blends the minty fresh stripe with a thick course pigs blood to provide a tasty alternative to healthy gums. In my line of work, strong teeth, healthy gums and fresh..... wait, no, fresh breath is optional. You see, I am a Vampire and I take care of my teeth!

Night Of The Living Dad, Confessions Of A Shabby Father by Sam Delaney

Night of the Living Dad: Confessions of a Shabby Father by Sam Delaney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read 5 days

Blurb From Amazon

A mop of black hair, wrinkled skin, a blueish-grey complexion and pretty, open eyes that dart around the room. You could call her scary and weird-looking I suppose but I quite like her.


Sam Delaney is happy: he is a new dad. He plans to be a caring, wise and reliable father.

Except he worries he might be none of those things. He worries that he might be an idiot. His nieces and nephews see him as a lovable buffoon. He is a clumsy oaf and sporadic binge-drinker who doesn’t have a proper job and cites ‘Teen Wolf’s dad’ as his biggest role model. Is he really fit for this new position of responsibility?


There’s only one way he’ll be able to find out. Follow Sam in his first year of fatherhood as he tries to figure out what a good dad should be, and, even more importantly, what sort of dad he should be.

My Review

This is quite an amusing wee book although that said some of it is a tad un-pc and if your easily offended (by boy humour and bad language) then I would avoid it. Sam takes us through the journey of just before (deciding on) and having a new baby and how his life changes.

The book has two main focus points, obviously Sam's life (work, relationship and everyday doings) and his baby and how he adjusts to being a dad. He has some great stories and has done quite a bit of work with some well known companies and famous people (until I read this book I hadn't heard of him). Sam makes some mistakes along the way and one of my favourite parts was him constantly getting caught and told off on the baby monitor. I have actually laughed out loud at one or two parts of it

It's easy to read, fairly light and you can just dip in and out of it. It has been written with quite a comical feel to it and had I had less things to do I would have read it in one day. Worth a read if you fancy something light and with cheeky fun, 3/5 for me.

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ARC - The First Cut by Ali Knight

The First Cut by Ali Knight by Ali Knight
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 2 days

Blurb From Goodreads

Five years ago, Nicky's best friend Grace was brutally murdered.

No one was ever charged with this terrible crime and Nicky in her grief sought solace in the arms of Grace's widower.

They're now married but he is often out of the country for work, and when Nicky meets Adam, who is young, good-looking and obviously interested, she's tempted.

But what starts as an innocent flirtation leads to a terrible ordeal, and a dark secret. A secret that involves her husband, and Adam, and what happened to Grace all those years before.

Nicky finds herself fighting for answers. But when love is worth killing for, the price paid for the truth can be very high indeed...

My Review

We start off with the murder of Grace and quickly flip to present day. Nicky and Greg (Grace's then husband) are now married and things are far from perfect. He is always away for work, they aren't talking and things are just strained. Along comes a chance encounter and she meets Adam, young, fun and very flirty. Soon the fun turns to danger and Nicky finds herself caught up in murder, lies, deceit and a secret that will change everything.

I was gripped after the first few pages and really drawn in until soon after she meets Adam. Then things change dramatically and I found myself having to re read parts incase I missed something as it didn't seem to make sense. I found myself thinking that a few times in parts where characters would say something and I had to go back incase I was missing the link. The confusion did take away from my enjoyment as I kept trying to work out the what and why in different parts (sorry for being sketchy but I don't do spoilers in my reviews).


Another thing I liked about this book is the chapter length is a handful of pages between each (like James Patterson does) which means you can race through it inbetween doing your daily chores.I did enjoy the book and the things I liked far outweighed those I didn't and all of the confusion was pretty much cleared up and all the boxes ticked by the end. My first encounter with this author and I would read their work again. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for introducing me to yet another new author and giving me the chance to review this book. An on the fence 3/5 for me.

This book is available from all good retailers from the 5th of July 2012.

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