The Compeer Review

TW:

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Vomit, Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Blood

Synopsis

When the humans destroyed the Earth, the gods were forced to wipe it clean and start anew. They created four immortal kings blessed with elemental powers to keep the peace among the new world and regulate their land’s climate.


Thousands of years later, when corruption among the four kingdoms interrupts the delicate balance, a compeer emerges with an unlikely band of allies to defeat the evil infiltrating their land.

Winnie Hayward lives a double life between working her family’s tavern and training in secret with the kingdom’s most respected general.

Thad is the mysterious Winter King with a broody demeanor, a disdain for royal life, and a romantic chip on his shoulder.

When the two meet by chance under false pretenses, they fall into a steamy, whirlwind romance that eventually launches a war between kingdoms.

The Compeer weaves an adrenaline-filled tale with betrayal, romance, humor, and jaw-dropping twists fans of New Adult fantasy romance will devour.

My Thoughts

I received the whole trilogy for review from the amazing Jaime and I am so grateful. Jaime herself will tell you that this is your run of the mill fantasy story. It does have its flaws but over all I loved the pacing and story.

I loved everything about this book and even though it may not be the greatest fantasy book I’ve ever read…a lot of tiny things pushed it up to 5 stars for me. The romance, the action, and the bantering/humor were what kept me turning the pages. So good.

That ending though….like what!!! I can’t even process right now. Messing with my cinnamon roll like that. Anyways…

Great start to this trilogy and I’ve heard from the author herself that the next book is going to rip my heart out and burn it to ashes. Can’t Wait!!

Prey Without Ceasing Review

Synopsis

TW: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault (Moderate), adult/child relationship (minor)

This church is haunted.

For Dalton, the son of a preacher man, a longing to serve both his family and his God may be the thin difference between expectation and salvation.

However, when Dalton learns of his brotherʼs kidnapping by a sadistic witch, the unraveling of his familyʼs dark past becomes all too clear. Like a lamb to the slaughter, Dalton bravely wages war on the forces of evil that have plagued his family for generations and ultimately confronts his own destiny while his brotherʼs soul hangs in the balance. Fighting a war in the hellscape of his fatherʼs church, Dalton must challenge the sinister witch, a legion of demonic creatures, and the ghosts of his familyʼs past before Hell lays claim to its latest victim.

Ensnared in the confrontation of truth and the veil of a hidden past, Dalton learns that ultimately, he is the key to abolishing the darkness inside the church.

My Thoughts

I met Andrew on Tikok a couple months ago. He has such an amazing energy, a big nerd and loving father. I love the video where his kids pretend to hit him but his older daughter actually did connect.

https://www.tiktok.com/@franksandbooks/video/7118805966942113070?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7131866496824837674

She actually knocked out one of his teeth. Make sure you go follow him to see all the other hilarious videos on his channel.

We got to talk about life and growing up after he posted a video about the movie Twister. Go watch it!! We had pretty similar upbringings, so when I found out that he wrote a book I had to read it. I was not disappointed.

Dalton is such a sweet 12yr old that is basically just trying to survive living in a very strict household. His father is the head pastor at their church so he is always under the eye of his father and God. He is also trying to navigate puberty so there are some sexual content in this book. Particularly one scene that I am trying to scrub from my eyeballs.

Things start to go wrong and I mean very wrong for Dalton. He gets in trouble due to a friend saying the F-word and its all downhill from there. Throw in some dark and disturbing elements. Like a headless dear, small demons and a very scary witch character and you have a very creepy book.

I wanted to scoop up Dalton and take him to safety the whole time I read this book. Also I love horror but this book made me pull the covers over my head at one point.

Did I read a book or was that just a messed up fever dream? Will I read anymore of his books…..YES!

Amazon

The Troop Review

Synopsis

Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip – a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there – which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier. But for some reason, he can’t shake the feeling that something strange is in the air this year. Something waiting in the darkness. Something wicked…

It comes to them in the night. An unexpected intruder, stumbling upon their campsite like a wild animal. He is shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry – a man in unspeakable torment who exposes Tim and the boys to something far more frightening than any ghost story. Within his body is a bioengineered nightmare, a horror that spreads faster than fear. One by one, the boys will do things no person could ever imagine.

And so it begins. An agonizing weekend in the wilderness. A harrowing struggle for survival. No possible escape from the elements, the infected…or one another.

My Thoughts

This book was just a very disturbing, intense but so so good. I have been battling a reading slump this month due to my mental health. So when a friend asked me if I wanted to do a buddy read of The Troop, I was all in!

I could not put this book down….like at all. I read about halfway through it and had to switched to audiobook because of life. The narrator for the audiobook did such an amazing job and I hope that he does all of Nick Cutter’s books. Not only did he bring the characters to life but also he made the sound effects!

The thought of going to an island and camping out sounds so good right now but after reading this book I am reconsidering it. The whole time reading I just kept saying “I feel so bad for these boys”. It must have been so terrifying to have some guy come ashore sick and dying and have no idea what is going on. To have their Scoutmaster come down with the same thing and then just being left with no help or idea what the heck is going on. Just sitting there watching their leader just shrivel away into nothing.

The boys have to now figure out what is happening while fighting this infection that leaves the person insanely hungry. As they watch one by one go crazy and inevitably perish.

I gave this book 4 stars for the scare factor, plot and another 1 star for the narrator. He was amazing and I believe he does all of the narrations for Nick Cutter’s audiobooks. So I have the next one all qued up.

Into the Drowning Deep Review

Title: Into The Drowning Deep
Author: Mira Grant
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780316379403

Summary

Seven years ago the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy.

Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart, this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost. Whatever the truth may be, it will be found only below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

My Thoughts

This was the book that I picked for my second promt, animal on the cover, for the Tiktok Read Your Own Adventure readathon. I was also reading Jurassic Park, but this book took over my brain.

I have had a fear of the ocean since moving to Florida back in 1992. I enjoy it while I am there but getting to and leaving, I always have an internal panic attack. It isn’t what’s in the water but more of the power of it. Tsunamis and floods mostly, until this book though. Holy crap this was written so well. It would make an amazing horror movie and what would set it more apart than normal movies is that its not just about that token female character. It has a LGBTQ+ rep and there are some characters with disabilities in it, which I loved! The sweet budding romance gives the book a grain of hope to make you root for the survivors!!

The book starts off a little slow but that is all the world building and setting up the voyage. Once they set sail and make it to the Mariana Trench it’s nonstop. I caught myself holding my breath multiple times throughout the story. I don’t think I breathed for the last 4 chapters lol.

The story follows a couple different POVs throughout the book and I loved that because there are a lot of people on this ship. They are all there for different reasons like research, revenge, and even the trophy of killing a mermaid.

If you are looking for a good starter book into the horror genre, I recommend this book. There is also a prequel novella, Rolling in the Deep, that I am reading right now!

You’re My I.T. Review

Summary

Dice meets derby in a new contemporary romance novel by bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.

Fourth try’s the charm… or is it?

The first guy Blaine ever confessed her feelings to dismissed her. The second made her friendless. The third, a viral internet sensation.

And Blaine is praying the fourth will be different.

After two years of pining for the aloof and secretly hilarious IT guy at work, roller-derby-warrior Blaine creates a master plan: after Lysander returns from his transfer in California, she’s going to spill everything. And why not? She’s got a killer undercut, thighs of steel, and shares his love for superheroes. In her book, they’re a match made in heaven.

Lysander has enough self-esteem to fill a thimble and has always struggled with his place in the world. When his father has a health scare, Lysander takes charge of his own, and consequentially loses fifty pounds. Suddenly the people around him think he’s worth his space-especially the women. And when Lysander fishes the literally shallow waters of dating and returns with a girl on his arm, Blaine fears she may have lost her chance with him entirely.

My Thoughts

This book was everything I could have asked for in a Contemporary Romance: friends to lovers, nerdy and pop culture references, and very relatable characters. Mrs. Holmberg did a great job in navigating her first romance novel. She did her own research and most of it sounded like a very fun time. Chasing around LARPers while taking notes, going to roller derby games to cheer on friends while asking her questions, and even playing Dungeons & Dragons with her family. All to make sure she is representing and getting the details right.

This book took me by surprise. I think the thing that made me love it was the fact that I could relate to both of the characters. Blaine was down to earth, kind, and fierce in her friendships. Lysander is the picture of an amazing nerdy person. They both struggle with their own issues, Blaine trying to show Lysander that she actually likes him and Lysander with his weight loss journey.
When he comes back looking like a whole new person it shows yet that no matter how someone changes on the outside,  they are the same inside.

There were times when I wanted to shake them both and make them see each other. They just keep missing each other and there were time that I yelled at my book. Also time that made me smile so hard. I’ve known a few Lysanders in my life who are just as sweet.

This book is coming out on May 31st and the preorder is up right now. Also so is the preorder for the sequel book, Two Damage My Heart!

Charlie N. Holmberg is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series and the Amazon Charts bestselling Spellbreaker series. She is also the author of the Star Mother series and the Numina series, as well as five stand-alone novels, including Followed by Frost, a 2016 RITA Award finalist for Young Adult Romance; The Fifth Doll, winner of the 2017 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction; and The Will and the Wilds, winner of the 2020 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction, as well as Novel of the Year for Adult Fiction. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, and owns too many pairs of glasses. She currently lives with her family in Utah.

Amazon Instagram Website

Upgrade Review

I received this book through NetGalley for my honest review. TW for murder, forced confinement, suicide, violence, and medical content

SYNOPSIS

An ordinary man undergoes a startling transformation—and fears that all of humanity may be next—in the mindblowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion

“You are the next step in human evolution.”

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.

But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.

Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.

Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.

And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope
for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?

Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.

(https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/248189)

MY THOUGHTS

First off I want to thank NetGalley for letting me read this book. I am now a huge Blake Crouch fan and I need all of his books! It was an amazing sci-fi dystopian and it leaves me wanting more.

This book follows Logan Ramsey who is the son of one the top Gene Editors in the world. He also works for the GPA, Gene Protection Agency. His job is to find the scientists who are working on gene editing, whether that be them working on biohazard weapons or just trying to make their childrens lives better by editing their genes so they dont have certain diseases. It is up to Logan and his team to stop these scientists. When his last raid ends in an explosion, Logans’s whole world is flipped upside down. He may have been exposed to something that is changing him but will it be for the better or worse?

This book was amazing and had me turning the pages as fast as I could. Like I said this is the first book I have read from him and I don’t know why it took me so long to read his work. While the story itself was very easy to follow some of the more “sciencey” parts got a little confusing or just went over my head. Which is fine because I am not a scientist haha.

I had a blast following Logan through all the changes he went through and the choices he had to make. To save the ones he loves and also to save the whole world.

Dead Silence Review

As always please check the Trigger Warnings before reading books.

*audiobook was sent by Netgalley for review*

Synopsis

Titanic meets The Shining in S.A. Barnes’ Dead Silence, a SF horror novel in which a woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn’t yet ended.

A GHOST SHIP.
A SALVAGE CREW.
UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts

Holy Schnikes Batman!!! This book was so…..just wow! It did not disappoint me what so ever. I did get to listen to the audiobook through NetGalley and it has become one of my all time favorite audiobooks. Lauren Ezzo did an amazing job with the narration. She made you feel like you were right there with Claire through every single emotion. From humor to absolute terror. I could not stop listening to it as we made our way aboard the Aurora and the insanity that insued on that ship in every detail.

It did remind me a lot of Event Horizon which if you didn’t know is one of my absolute favorite horror movies ever. The Aurora didn’t go to Hell like the Horizon but it is evil all on its own.

I can not wait to get this book on my shelf because it will be a reread for the rest of my life. I also will be adding S.A. Barnes to my instant buy list.

Thanks again to Netgalley for allowing me to listen to the audiobook.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20503057.S_A_Barnes

https://www.staceykade.com/

The Edge of the Woods Review

Synopsis

The odds are stacked against Emma.

Fatherless and poor in a remote village where men, money and faith determine everything, her only hope for a decent life is to marry before her eighteenth birthday. Though her prospects aren’t good and her options aren’t appealing, to live as an unmarried woman is a life sentence of silence and solitude.

Emma has to try to make a match. But when a beautiful, antlered boy appears in her dreams and tempts her to join him in the forbidden woods, another path opens to her. Finally, after a life devoid of possibilities, Emma has a choice to make: to run from her future, or fight for it.

The Edge of the Woods is a new fairy tale for rebel hearts of all ages.

My Thoughts

This book has become one of my favorites really quickly. It reminded me of Grimms Fairy meets the village with more of a feminist twist. Meaning the women were only there to mend clothes, raise babies, and stand behind their husbands. Which quite frankly pissed me off but it also pissed off our main character Emma.
Ever since her father passed, Emma and her mother were seen as outcasts. Her mom is becoming older and more run down as the years progress and Emma is coming up on her 18th birthday. Which means she is old enough to get married. There is quite an amusing merry go round when it comes to which girl is better for either of the two boys of age.
In all of the political there is the mystical. The forest is rumored to steal away girls and women. They are presumed dead because no one ever goes into the woods. Emma however has been seeing a boy with horns at the edge of the woods, eh eh get it 😉, since she was little. Turns out he is more than just a dream.
When the youngest girl is taken Emma can stand by no longer. If the men wont go after her then she will have to.

Full of character growth, a beautifully colorful setting with the flowers, and the book wraps up perfectly in the end. I am giving this book a solid 4 stars and I need to get it for my indie author’s shelf.

Ceiwen Langley https://www.amazon.com/Ceinwen-Langley/e/B00KCNIMZA?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1649800598&sr=1-1 On TikTok and IG @feedthewriter

It’s Release Day!!

🄳🄸🄽🄾-🅁🄸🄵🅃

🄱🅈

🄳🄴🅁🄴🄺 🄱🄾🅁🄽🄴

𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙍𝙊𝘼𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠!

Grab your audio here:

For U.S. – https://adbl.co/3NtAUql

For UK – https://adbl.co/3DEoxmV

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪꜰᴛ.

ᴀ ɢᴀᴛᴇᴡᴀʏ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ᴘʀᴇʜɪꜱᴛᴏʀɪᴄ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.

ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴ ᴀꜱ ᴇxᴛʀᴀᴏʀᴅɪɴᴀʀʏ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪꜱᴀʙᴇʟʟᴀ ᴛᴜɢᴍᴀɴ ʙʀɪɴɢꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟɪꜰᴇ ᴋᴀᴍʀᴇɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴠɪᴠɪᴇɴɴᴇ’ꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴇᴋ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀɴ ᴇxᴏᴛɪᴄ, ᴜɴꜰᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ᴡʜᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇꜱᴇ ᴜᴛᴀʜ ᴛᴇᴇɴꜱ ꜱᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ʜᴏᴍᴇ… ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ.

Want to learn more about 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙑𝙊𝙄𝘾𝙀 behind Dino-Rift’s audiobook?

Isabella Tugman is a Voice-Over Talent, Actor, and Singer based in Phoenix, AZ. With a life-long passion for books and storytelling, it’s fitting that Izzy’s first words were “Read Me a Book.” Now she’s thrilled to use her talents to read to others as an audiobook narrator.  When she’s not pursuing her career goals, Izzy loves to sing, dance, read, practice yoga, play video games, travel, and indulge in spicy foods. An animal lover, she has two cats and two small dogs that might as well be cats.

Find her on FB, IG, Twitter and TikTok: https://linktr.ee/izzyvoiceover

Website: IzzyVoice.com

April E-Book Challenge

Hey everyone! I am kicking myself into gear for real this time and finally getting what I promised. All my reviews actually onto my profile. So, with this new month I am joining my friend Mara over on Tiktok in the April E-Book Challenge. We are going to try to read as many of the books clogging up our Kindles this month.

On top of that I have made a Read-A-Thon challege over on my Discord book club for this month.

So if you are looking for something different this month in your reading, why not join us in our quest to diminish our e-book list. If you are interested in joining my discord please leave a comment below and I will comment back with the link!!