Month: July 2016

Review: The Express

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

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The Express by R.K Howard

Are you ready for one hell of a bumpy ride?

A man’s daily commute becomes a hellish nightmare in this harrowing account of a bus crash that transforms a fateful ending into a painful beginning.

Based on an age-old premise with a fresh narrative that visits the undesirable side of life after death.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

The Express on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 5 stars

There is an art to the short story and R.K Howard’s tale of an ordinary man’s every day commute turning into his last has successfully mastered this. Many authors try to pack too much into a small word count and either the flow of the story or the characterisation suffers as a result. This certainly isn’t the case here.

The Express is a quick read that breathes fresh life into the ‘what happens when we die’ question that all of us ask ourselves at some point in our lives. The protagonist discovers the truth when the bus that he is travelling on is involved in a fatal collision.

There is no getting away from the dark subject matter, but R.K Howard has successfully blended sarcastic humour to add some degree of relief. And nicknaming regular fellow commuters is something that we all do in real life!

A fantastic, quick read!

Review: Vacui Magia: Stories

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Vacui Magia: Stories by L.S. Johnson

L.S. Johnson delivers a provocative and original short story collection that ingeniously blends myth and nightmare. Whether it concerns the efforts of an infertile witch to construct a golem-baby, or a daughter’s quest to understand a father’s guilt and a mother’s supernatural infidelities, or a woman’s violent association with a group of possibly imaginary but nonetheless dangerous little men, each story in this remarkable collection demonstrates the limitless capacity of intelligent speculative fiction to enthrall, inspire, and amaze.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Vacui Magia: Stories on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 5 stars

Vacui Magia: Stories is a collection of magical and supernatural themed short stories.

Each tale is very different and all are extremely well-written. The atmosphere of the tales is dark, with plenty of suspense, twists and turns. The characters are written in a way that you are on occasion doubting that what they are exposed to is real and feeling their inner conflict as they experience similar uncertainties. Each story is well-paced and quickly draws the reader in. Some of the endings are a little ambiguous and leaves it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions, which adds to the magic of the tale.

Vacui Magia: Stories is a highly-recommended read for all fans of dark magic and supernatural.

Future Projects

~ sharisakurai ~ 1 Comment

It’s been a hectic few months since Adam’s release and until now I haven’t had time to post about what’s next from me, although there has been a lot going on behind the scenes!

First of all I want to say a massive thank you to my family, friends, fellow authors, readers, bloggers and everyone who helped with Adam’s release – I appreciate the support so much 🙂

In a few weeks you will see my website and blog merge together to form one site so all things writing, reading, reviewing and collecting are in one place! There may be a bit of email downtime at the end of July so please Tweet me or comment on Facebook if you need to get hold of me during the last few days of July.

I’m currently working on the follow up to Demon’s Blood. It’s very much in the draft stages but hopefully at some point during 2017 you’ll find out what happens to Taku, Thane and Akito!

My other work in progress is Book 2 of the Perfect World series.  I haven’t got a release date for this yet but I’ll keep you all updated on it’s progress throughout the end of this year and into 2017.

I’m also going to be taking part in NaNoWriMo again this year and I’m really excited to be re-working a fantasy novel that I first drafted over ten years ago!

So that’s everything I’m working on at the moment! It may seem all quiet but behind the scenes there is so much going on and much to look forward to from me!

 

 

Review: Leave It All

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

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Leave It All (Saint Lakes #1) by April Kelley

Lucas just wanted to be a normal human being, but normal is highly over-rated.

Lucas Speck had been just some guy who worked at an office supply store and house-sat for his snowbird parents. He was nobody special. Or that’s what he thought before the headaches start and weird things start to happen to him. When people start chasing him his whole life gets turned upside down.

Bennett Somerset is a dragon shifter, who likes his quiet life in his quiet town. He isn’t looking for complications. He already has a family that defines the words, weird and crazy, to perfection. Good thing they live in a small town where nothing ever happens. That is until he smells the most delicious thing in the world and realizes it’s his mate. His little witch of a mate just made things way more complicated.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Leave It All on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 2.5 stars

I really liked the premise to this novel.  The main character Lucas thinks of himself as a normal guy until he starts to experience severe headaches. Before he knows what is happening he finds himself on the run and struggling to come to terms with powers that he didn’t ask for and can’t quite explain. Whilst on the run Lucas meets shape shifter Bennett who he soon discovers is his mate. Bennett is determined to do whatever it takes to protect Lucas from the vampires who are hunting him.

Leave It All is a good story with plenty of action and romance. However, I do feel that the pacing and lack of development did let it down. Things seemed to happen almost too fast and I felt that perhaps more time should have been taken to set the scene and develop the characters more. The dialogue was quite poor in places and I felt myself cringing, especially during conversations between Lucas and Bennett. It could have been much better and I felt that it made the characters seem very immature. Taking these points into consideration I can really only give Leave It All 2.5 stars. That being said I would read the next book in the series.

Grab yourself some great reads this holiday weekend!

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

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Support Indie Author’s Presents Hash’s Bash 2.0

This holiday weekend over 50 authors are offering nearly 100 free or heavily discounted books. Head over to Support Indie Author’s Website now to bag yourself some great reads!

Shari Sakurai’s novels Adam and Perfect World (Perfect World #1) are free or discounted this weekend (1st-4th July) as part of Hash’s Bash 2.0!

Adam Cover

Adam – a companion novel to the Perfect World series

Adam Larimore is on a mission of self-destruct. After learning that he was genetically engineered for the sole purpose of inheriting his father’s empire, Adam has been determined to ruin his father’s life and in the process his own. When Ivan Williams, the man soon to become the Head of the London Security Agency (L.S.A), approaches Adam with the offer of a business partnership, Adam discovers the appalling truth behind the technological and genetic advancements that have come to shape England. His relationship with his father is at breaking point and when events take a devastating turn, Adam finds himself pushed further than perhaps he wanted to go.

Price: FREE! This weekend only ! (normal price $0.99)
Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Perfect World CoverPerfect World (Perfect World series, Book #1)

It is the year 2115 and the world is very different. With climate changes, natural disasters and war shaping the landscape, England has become a nation made up of several super cities and wasteland in between.

Eric Rawlins is a genetically engineered superhero created by the London Security Agency (L.S.A) to defend and protect the city against both national and international threats. With his superior abilities, celebrity status and beautiful girlfriend, Eric appears to have the perfect life. However, it is an illusion created by the L.S.A in order to control him.

Eric’s nemesis is the charismatic Adam Larimore. The only son of billionaire business tycoon Victor Larimore, Adam is gifted with a genius level IQ as well as the same longevity as Eric.

When the actions of the L.S.A throw the two of them together Eric finds himself questioning everything that he has ever known as well as discovering the true course of events that led to Adam turning to a life of crime. As they become closer Eric realises that the L.S.A may be the real threat to London. But can he trust Adam or is he part of Adam’s plan for revenge against those who have wronged him?

Price: $0.99! This weekend only! (normal price $1.99)
Purchase Link: www.amazon.com