Tag: NineStar Press

Don’t Miss Out on the Halloween collection of stories from NineStar Press! (Giveaway)

Get in the holiday spirit with the Halloween collection of stories from NineStar Press

Releasing between October 9th and October 23rd, don’t miss a single one!

Available October 23rd

Synopsis

It’s been twenty years since the quiet Midwestern town of Lakeview was struck by tragedy. But every year on the anniversary of the event Teddy returns home for ‘The Reunion’. Lakeview, like Teddy, has secrets and not all mysteries should come to light.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis

The path to true love is never easy, especially when you are on opposite sides of the world’s greatest theological debate.

It’s Halloween, and the Demon of Masturbation—Dom, for short—has come to Earth to collect sins and souls for his boss. But a representative from the Interfering Angel Network—Ian—has been sent to put a crimp in his plans. Frankly, though, the two seem less interested in sins and souls than in the three bottles of tequila they down during the night. Alcohol can lower the inhibitions, but it also impacts judgment, and Dom and Ian soon find themselves in the world’s most awkward threesome with a young mortal virgin.

Forget battling for his soul—their real passion seems to be for each other. But Halloween night is waning fast, and the veil between the worlds is only lifted for one night. How can two beings from opposite sides come together when they know they are destined to forever be apart?

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Synopsis

It’s Halloween time in Hawai’i and of course Gabe Maxfield is in business. Gabe owes lu’au owner Hiapo a favor (read Tiki Torches and Treasure to find out why!) so when weird things start happening at his lu’au, strange enough to frighten off his hula dancers, he comes to Gabe for help. Skeptical as always, Gabe steps into a creepy mystery where things are going missing or getting moved around and people are disappearing left and right. Can he solve the mystery before everyone he knows falls prey to the woods?

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Synopsis

Kicked out of private school, Allen has to brave a public high school where most of the kids don’t know supernatural creatures exist. He expects to be miserable, but he finds himself romantically pursued by two people: a shy, but fascinating boy named Jeremy and a spunky girl named Chloe. The demon in Allen wants to feed off Chloe, but the human part of him is falling for Jeremy. Which will win?

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Giveaway

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For all Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Reviews, see the links below.  We highly recommend them all for your reading pleasure at Halloween or any time of the year:

Hula Dancers and Hauntings by J.C. Long

The Reunion by M.D. Neu

Second Level by Drew Martin Frayne

Half Breeds by Sara Codair

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A MelanieM Release Day Review: Half Breeds by Sara Codair

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Kicked out of private school, Allen has to brave a public high school where most of the kids don’t know supernatural creatures exist. He expects to be miserable, but he finds himself romantically pursued by two people: a shy, but fascinating boy named Jeremy and a spunky girl named Chloe. The demon in Allen wants to feed off Chloe, but the human part of him is falling for Jeremy. Which will win?

I liked Half Breeds and thought the story was  intriguing.  I loved the characters and the plot.  I only wish there was a little more of the backhistory filled in because in such a short story, this left some big narrative holes to leap over.

Allan and Jeremy are terrific together and you feel for Chloe.  Sara Codair makes Chloe a girl trying to do the right thing for Allan, not realizing the danger she’s in.

This is a neat little story that actually could make a wonderful larger novel.  It’s still one I definitely recommend and not just for the Halloween holiday season.

Cover art by Natasha Snow

Sales Link:

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: October 23rd 2017 by NineStar Press
ISBN13 9781947904118
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Release Day Review: The Reunion by M.D. Neu

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

It’s been twenty years since the quiet Midwestern town of Lakeview was struck by tragedy.  But every year on the anniversary of the event Teddy returns home for ‘The Reunion’. Lakeview, like Teddy, has secrets and not all mysteries should come to light.

I read The Reunion by M.D. Neu last of the 4 stories I had and I’m glad I did because I’m still thinking about it.  It’s beautifully written, I fell in love with the characters and the format in which the story is told is guaranteed to leave a chill in your heart and your mind running in circles.

I thought I knew where the author was going with the story and time after time, they proved me wrong.  And that ending….

Yes, this is a must read.  Grab it up now.  And let me know what you think!

Cover art by Natasha Snow is perfect.

Sales Links:

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: October 23rd 2017 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781947904156
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Hula Dancers and Hauntings (Gabe Maxfield Mysteries #2.5) by J.C. Long

Rating: 4 stars out of 5:

It’s Halloween time in Hawai’i and of course Gabe Maxfield is in business. Gabe owes lu’au owner Hiapo a favor (read Tiki Torches and Treasure to find out why!) so when weird things start happening at his lu’au, strange enough to frighten off his hula dancers, he comes to Gabe for help. Skeptical as always, Gabe steps into a creepy mystery where things are going missing or getting moved around and people are disappearing left and right. Can he solve the mystery before everyone he knows falls prey to the woods?

Hula Dancers and Hauntings (Gabe Maxfield Mysteries #2.5) by J.C. Long is one of a series of short stories being released by NineStar Press for Halloween and they are all just terrific.  In Hula Dancers and Hauntings (Gabe Maxfield Mysteries #2.5), J.C. Long takes us to Hawaii and an established couple, one of which has never been scared.  Oh Gabe watches horror movies with his lover and things of that nature but he’s never been truly frightened until a friend of theirs comes to his P.I. business needing to trade in a favor.

I won’t go any further.  J.C. Long does a really nice job with bringing in the Hawaiian culture, establishing the location and his people with the colloquialisms and local terms as necessary.  I liked his characters and he totally had me hooked with his premise.  I’ll say no more.  Great job and great story.

Cover art by Natasha Snow is a branding cover for all stories being collected for  the holiday by NineStar Press.

Sales Links:

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Book Details:

ebook, 30 pages
Expected publication: October 23rd 2017 by NineStar Press
Original Title Hula Dancers and Hauntings
ISBN13 9781370101016
Series Gabe Maxfield Mysteries #2.5

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Second Level by Drew Marvin Frayne

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

The path to true love is never easy, especially when you are on opposite sides of the world’s greatest theological debate.

It’s Halloween, and the Demon of Masturbation—Dom, for short—has come to Earth to collect sins and souls for his boss. But a representative from the Interfering Angel Network—Ian—has been sent to put a crimp in his plans. Frankly, though, the two seem less interested in sins and souls than in the three bottles of tequila they down during the night. Alcohol can lower the inhibitions, but it also impacts judgment, and Dom and Ian soon find themselves in the world’s most awkward threesome with a young mortal virgin.

Forget battling for his soul—their real passion seems to be for each other. But Halloween night is waning fast, and the veil between the worlds is only lifted for one night. How can two beings from opposite sides come together when they know they are destined to forever be apart?

Second Level by Drew Marvin Frayne has to be one of my favorites simply because I laughed so much.  And it had such a neat twist at the end.  But mostly because of the humor and the wonderful characters.  Dom the Demon of Masturbation is priceless, especially when he’s musing on how beauty and body image has changed over the centuries.  What’s a short, chunky demon to do?

However, it’s in the swing towards poignancy towards the end where the depth of the story really kicks in and pulls at your heart, surprisingly so after sort of labeling the story a comedy.  No there’s more to this little gem than just that.  Read it and find out for yourself why I highly recommend it.

Cover art by Natasha Snow is again just perfect.

Sales Links:

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: October 23rd 2017 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781947904101
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Review: Honey and Heat by Rian Durant

Rating:  2 stars out of 5

 

Linden has only one thing on his mind a few days away from Christmas—his pending university exams. That is, until he meets his neighbor’s’ son who has returned for the holidays. Brice Stevens is gorgeous, but he’s insufferable.

 

It’s Linden’s first love, and he falls hard for Brice, despite Brice’s occasionally aloof and cool behavior. It’s an emotional ride for both of them while Linden takes a crash course in real love and Brice learns to trust in a relationship.

 

This story was not what I expected and at the same time did not work for me.  This is not the sweet holiday romance that the blurb makes it sound like and truthfully isn’t much of a romance at all.  Linden leads a very lonely life, he seems to do his best to stay on the outside of all that goes on around him.  Brice is basically a jerk from the moment they first meet with only one afternoon that he even acts like a decent human being.

 

I am not one to judge against insta-love most the time I love them, but that’s when the characters actually work.  How Linden could fall in love with someone who never treated him decently just didn’t work and Linden’s relationship with Brice and with his “friends” send out so many warning signals that I couldn’t feel it was possible for him to even be in a healthy relationship.  Unfortunately the ending was the only redeeming part of the book to me actually showing the characters seeming to be in stable relationship and real friendships but nothing else in the book seemed to actually lead to that and it seemed out of place.

 

I love the cover art by Natasha Snow but not sure it’s right for this story.

 

Sales Links: Nine Star Press | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 160 pages

Published: September 4, 2017 by Nine Star Press

ISBN: 978-1-947139-80-0

Edition Language: English

A Free Dreamer Review: Golden by R L Mosswood

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Harem boy might not be the most appropriate role for someone who’s never really seen the appeal of sex, but Elin’s status as dahabi: golden in a land of tan and brown, has marked him for The Dragon’s service since birth. He’s content enough with his life of uncomplicated, if restrictive, luxury, until an unremarkable chore becomes a case of love at first sight.

Mysterious newcomer Hathar, a roguish “merchant adventurer” from far-off lands, ignites an exploration of Elin’s first taste of physical desire, as well as a desire to experience life beyond the palace. Now, they must find a way to escape before Hathar’s ship departs, stranding them forever in The Dragon’s harem.

I love long books and I absolutely don’t mind if a book has 500 or more pages. So it’s very rare for me to pick up a book with less than 100 pages, because I often feel like there aren’t enough pages for the story to completely unfold. The blurb of “Golden” sounded too good to simply pass up because of its length, though. I’m glad I picked it up but at the same time I had my usual issues with short stories.

The premise of the book is intriguing. The Dragon, the empress of a secluded island, has a harem full of golden men. Every male person with a certain hair and skin colour is sent to her harems. She has several dozen men at her beck and call. Elin is one of them. But unlike the others, he’s only ever visited The Dragon once. He’s never really understood why everybody makes such a big deal out of sex. I thought that was a really interesting feature for a harem boy. Definitely unusual.

I was a bit disappointed at how he immediately felt sexually attracted to Hathar, I must admit. The whole lust at first sight just didn’t really fit my idea of Elin. First he’s repulsed by anything sexual and then he meets Hathar and just like that, he’s no longer disgusted. Instead, he’s all too happy to have sex with him in no time at all. There was no real time for the of them to form an emotional bond that might have justified Elin’s change of mind. They barely knew each other.

The whole plot felt a bit rushed. It all plays out in the span of a few days. Aside from the insta-lust, the romance was a bit rushed too. Within those few days, Hathar and Elin develop deep feelings and fall hard for each other. There was no real development of feelings. A little too close to insta-love for my tastes. It didn’t help that none of the characters had all that much depth. They were a bit underdeveloped.

The world building was seriously lacking. It was practically non-existent, really, and that’s a huge no-go for me.

Having said all that, I did enjoy reading this book. It’s short and sweet and it’s a fun read. It could have been great, I think, if the author’s ideas had had more room to fully evolve.

The cover by Natasha Snow is pretty cool. Love the dragon scales and the fire, though there’s not much of that in the actual book.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book details:

ebook, 92 pages
Published September 25th 2017 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781947139916
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Whitecott Manor by Emma Jane

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Alistair Ellis is the proud gardener for beautiful fifteenth-century Whitecott Manor, in England’s West Country. His life changes forever following a gas explosion at the manor, in which his boss—and love of his life—dies. However, his boss hasn’t exactly gone for good and Alistair still finds himself involved in conversations with the deceased.

Circumstances improve when he meets Noah, the handsome dog groomer for the manor’s new owners. Although there are some issues: Noah is already engaged and Alistair suffers from cynophobia—an acute fear of dogs!

Whitecott Manor by Emma Jane is a prime example of a novel that has so many elements to it that they overwhelm the central romance and swamp the characters under a flood of narrative far too heavy for one book to carry.  Honestly, this could be a really adorable romance as it has all the makings.  It could also be a slight cosy mystery that could have been tilted into a murder/mystery story, could have been a suspense/policy tale (lots of that here) and then there’s the paranormal spooky element here with a ghostly ex-lover who hangs about almost the whole time.  And did I say there are dogs here too?  Cute dogs, big dogs….so a doggy tale as well.

It’s as if the author loves all those various genres and when it came to writing this story, couldn’t let go of any of them so she smashed them all together with the result that this story never really flies laden down with its heavy burden of too many themes and exposition.

If you cut everything away to just the romance of Alistair the gardener and Noah the groomer, it’s cute and the ending sweet and heartwarming.  Alistair has to learn to grieve, move on and into a new love.  Done and wonderful.  Even gets to love a pooch!  Perfect.

But there’s stuff about a brothel, and too many characters you couldn’t care less about, and even the ghost gets tiresome after a while.  You want to call for an exorcist and some pruning shears to weed away all the stuff keeping you from Noah, Alistair and the HEA.   I think the word I’m looking for is cumbersome.  Sigh.

So, yes, I really enjoyed parts of this novel.  But at 250 pages,  other parts felt every bit 400 pages long.  I kept thinking, why is Alistair not using his phone, making a vid and calling his beloved employer?  Oh, right because that would mean all those pages would be gone.  Some things just didn’t make any sense to me.  So I’m just not sure I’d recommend this one.  Not unless you’re an absolute fan of the author.

Cover art is glorious.  Love everything about it.  Perfection.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages
Published September 11th 2017 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781947139831
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Calloway by Thad J.

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Welcome to the Township of Calloway! Home of the world-famous Daddy Cains’ Foods Company, a staple for the local community.

No one knows this better than James (Jimmy) Cain, heir to the family business, and his father’s pride and joy. With his limitless resources and a family that is always there for him, his life could not be more perfect. But that changes when he meets Benjamin Rei.

A determined and intelligent man, Benjamin is a junior acquisitions officers eager to close his first major purchase. His company has set Daddy Cains’ between its crosshairs and will stop at nothing to get it. Although Benjamin has a simple enough task, people and forces outside of his control will test the limits of just how far he is willing to go to make it to the top.

First of all, I’m well-versed in Southern small town living, having parents who both grew up in small southern towns and scads of relatives (whole States worth) who never left and send invitations to family reunions regularly. So I always look forward to books that have that theme or location going for them.  Calloway certainly seems to fit the bill.

However, don’t go looking for this to be a romance, as it’s not really.  More like a family drama, southern style.  In Calloway, author Thad J. lays down his foundation of town history, complicated intertwined relationships going back decades (or further), current explosive family dynamics, and the power struggle going on for control of the world-famous Daddy Cains’ Foods Company.  If that sounds like a lot of exposition, it is.   Calloway is crammed full, so much at times you might just need a notepad to keep all the players straight.

It helps that the dialog is lively, the characters interesting… like James (Jimmy) Cain who is both constant sexdog and crafty businessman, ditto his father.  However, I found Benjamin less than charming.  I suspect I’m supposed to like him and connect more with him as an outsider, however, given my background, I saw him more as an interloper and his acts self serving or worse.  No matter where I was in the story, my vision of Ben never really changed, that includes the ending.

There are many twists and turns here, some really neat ones, some you see coming.  And the end is, depending upon how you look at it either a nonexistent or a total cliffhanger, which is my way of saying you have no idea of how it ends.  Not my favorite here or elsewhere and it brought the rating down.

If you’re a fan of southern literature, snappy dialog and surprise twists, Calloway might be the book for you.  Just  don’t way I didn’t warn you about the ending.

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow.  I like the cover.  BBQ contests and pop.  Very appealing.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 271 pages
Published July 10th 2017 by NineStar Press
ISBN13 9781947139404
Edition Language English