Double Book Review: Looking for Dei by David Wilson

Looking for Dei 

by David Wilson

March 23, 2018

Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 348

Magic, adventure, and a search for the divine…

Fifteen-year-old Nara Dall has never liked secrets. Yet it seems that her life has been filled with them, from the ugly scar on her back to the strange powers she possesses. Her adoptive father refuses to say anything about her origins, and soon, she and her best friend must attend the announcement ceremony, in which youths are tested for a magical gift.

A gifted youth has not been announced in the poor village of Dimmitt for decades. When Nara uncovers the reason, she uses her own powers to make things right. The decision sets her on a path of danger, discovery, and a search for the divine. In the process, she learns the truth about herself and uncovers the biggest secret of all: the power of broken people.

Denise B

Getting 4 sheep 

Nara lives in a small, poor village called Dimmitt with her adoptive father Bylo. Nara knows that she possesses strange powers but her father will not tell her anything about where she came from. Soon her best friend Mykel and herself will have to attend the announcement ceremony and be tested for magical gifts. She is terrified about what they might find in her. A gifted hasn’t been uncovered in her village for decades and when Nara discovers why, she takes it upon herself to set things right. 

This is a creative storyline filled with good versus evil, gifted talents, secrets and more. Wilson crafts interesting characters in this young adult adventure. Nara is loyal to a fault and will stop at nothing to help those that she loves. Mykel is devoted and in love with Nara and will give anything to keep her safe. This well-written book is the first in what I hope continues to be a successful series.

Jeanie G

Getting 3.5 Sheep

Nara, a young girl living in an orphanage, was abducted by someone searching for a "separated" twin with multiple gifts. Raised in an obscure town with her benevolent captor, Nar keeps her magic secret as long as she can.

She does not know she is prophesied as a "savior" and one half of a good/evil pairing.  She sees the gifts as uses to imbue her town with prosperity, not understanding that she is a sought-after commodity.

When her gifts are discovered, her captor/guardian whisks her away to try to hide her from those that would try to exploit her talents.  Along for the ride is her closest friend who is in love with her and a "watcher" (a rival Barron's employer) who has been sent to discover those with magic abilities.

Life becomes a struggle for escape and survival for the group.  Nara has loyalty and treachery among her daily worries as she searches for "Dei" and her destiny.

Enjoyable young adult read even if predictable.  The writing and storyline had a nice flow but I didn't find my heart pounding or my heart melting. I felt that it would be a great read for those that appreciate stories with young adults taking on challenge and strife and trying to do the right thing.

About the Author:
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David A. Willson – I grew up all over the US west coast and Alaska, living more than 20 homes before I was 18 years old.  Through all the change, I found books to be my happy place.  I read YA, sci-fi, fantasy, and as I moved to adulthood, I began to enjoy mainstream fiction. 

Through my life, a recurring interest has been promoting/defending the welfare of children.  Whether it be raising my own kids or protecting others, child welfare has been my primary effort - personally and professionally.  As I get closer to retirement, I hope to entertain and encourage youth through my creative efforts.

Excerpt Spotlight: Dominion (Life After #3) by Julie Hall + giveaway

Dominion (Life After #3)
by Julie Hall
March 19, 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
After defeating the red dragon’s legion of bloodthirsty demons, Audrey can finally settle into the afterlife with the knowledge her family is safe. But her quest for a perfect existence shatters the moment Logan is kidnapped in an attempt to bend her to Satan’s will.

Audrey must now travel to the one place no hunter has ever ventured to save the man she loves . . . Hell.

Savage demons, desiccated corpses, life sucking zombie trees, and a land of death and rot await Audrey and her friends as they battle through the fiery realm.

But Logan’s freedom comes with a price . . . the destruction of Audrey’s happily ever after.

As Satan schemes for dominion over all the realms, Audrey learns that some acts may be beyond redemption.

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Huntress (Life After Book 1) is free right now

EXCERPT:

We sat on his bed, tucked up against the headboard, Logan sitting with one knee bent and an outstretched leg, and me curled into a ball against his chest, practically cuddled on his lap.

When my tears were spent, I let out a shaky breath of air.

“Audrey, I can’t—” Logan’s voice caught on something. His head rested on top of mine. When he continued, his voice dropped an octave, thickened with emotion. “I can’t imagine what you went through down there. I’m so very sorry. I should never have bonded with you.”

I savored the warm thud of his heartbeat on my cheek for several seconds before what he’d said sunk in. The leakage from my eyes along with a bad case of the feels must have dulled my reactions.

I jerked to a sitting position to stare at him in disbelief—and anger. My face was crusted with the salt of dried tears. There was no doubt I was a hot mess and a half. But that was nothing compared to the mess he’d just spewed.

He reached for me again, but I put a hand up to ward off his movements and curled my upper lip.

Where to even start?

“What I went through? Are you insane?” His gaze jumped around my face as if he couldn’t decide on a safe place to land. “Logan, I actually felt an echo of what you went through. I even experienced some of it in a dream or a weird out of body experience where I was you. What I went through was nothing.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I slashed a hand through the air to stop him. “Nothing compared to what had been done to you. You were torn to shreds. Literally, in some spots.”

His face paled. I shouldn’t have gone there and instantly regretted bringing it up—but I couldn’t handle his concern for me when he had been tortured. We’d get to the “should never have bonded with you” comment next.

“You experienced some of . . . of what I went through?” he asked.

Shoot, I gave him another reason to beat himself up. Rookie mistake. “Never mind about that. And what’s this business about regretting bonding with me? Frankly, that’s kind of—hey!”

He grabbed my upper arms and held me still as I tried to push away even farther. His blue eyes flashed, and his face was hard as stone. “If bonding with you caused you to feel even a second of what I endured in that place, then yes, it’s something I deeply regret and would do anything to take back.”

Buried under the caveman response was something sweet, but I wasn’t feeling it.

“Argh. You . . .” I pointed a finger at his face. “You just . . .”

As I sputtered to find the right words, the corners of Logan’s lips just barely tipped up. I stopped talking when I spotted his involuntary reaction. Of course I’d find a guy who thought it was cute when I got mad. Actually, that was probably pretty lucky considering I did tend to have a short fuse.

I pressed my lips together and narrowed my eyelids before performing another visual sweep of his body.

Yep, he looked to be relatively healthy.

I launched myself at him and grabbed the sides of his face, and then I planted my lips right over his. Just like the first time I’d surprised him with a kiss, he was momentarily stunned.

I gently but firmly bit down on his full bottom lip in a silent demand for him to get with the program. Then I pulled back a fraction, just far enough that my lips grazed his when I spoke. “Less talking, more kissing.”

I’d gone to Hell and back for this guy. I wanted to collect my reward . . . with interest.

About the Author:

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Julie Hall is a USA Today bestselling YA fantasy author and 1st place winner of the 2012 Women of Faith national writing contest. She was also was awarded "Best Debut Author" at the 2017 Ozarks Indie Book Festival.

Before writing her first novel Julie worked as a film publicist and rubbed elbows with the rich and famous . . . as in she would gently nudge them to let them know their meal had arrived during press interviews.

She now spends most of her "office hours" with her two furry writing buddies. Her daughter thinks that mommy's superpower is “sleeping all day,” but that’s because she’s often awake until the wee hours of the morning weaving tales of adventure in worlds of her own creation. When asked in an interview what she wanted to be when she grew up, she’s quoted to have answered, “to never have to grow up.”

She currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her four favorite people--her husband, daughter, and two doodles (because dogs are people too).

GIVEAWAY

Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)

A signed paperback of HUNTRESS (Book 1 in the LIFE AFTER series), series SWAG (Character Cards, Bookmarks, Magnets, & Stickers), + a $15 Amazon gift card

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Selah's Manga Mania: Tomie by Junji Ito

Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition Hardcover

by Junji Ito 

December 20, 2016

Genre: Horror

Written by Junji Ito

Published by Asahi Sonorama

ComicsOne (former)

Dark Horse Comics (former)

Viz Media (current)

Demographic: Shōjo

Original run 1987 – 2000

Volumes: 3 (List of volumes)

The complete classic horror series, now available in a single deluxe volume. Murdered, again and again, one girl always comes back for more...

Tomie Kawakami is a femme fatale with long black hair and a beauty mark just under her left eye. She can seduce nearly any man, and drive them to murder as well, even though the victim is often Tomie herself. While one lover seeks to keep her for himself, another grows terrified of the immortal succubus. But soon they realize that no matter how many times they kill her, the world will never be free of Tomie.

Not everything in my life is hearts and sparkles and paranormal boyfriend dreams. Crazy, I know. Today, I want to pause on the shojo to take a look at a truly amazing and horrifying piece of manga: Tomie by Junji Ito.

I checked this out on the recommendation of a friend, and I’m so glad I did. I plowed through this massive volume in an evening, it is that good and that insane. It’s very different than a lot of horror I’ve read, and I like that while it plays on succubus themes there’s no huge attempt at explanation about what Tomie is. People are too busy trying to survive her.

We start off mourning the death of Tomie with her school class, and through events learn that they actually all had a hand in killing her.

And then she comes back to school days after the funeral and slowly drives everyone mad.

The themes of the chapters are pretty much that men fall in love with her to the point of homicidal insanity and women suffer their own madness by being around her, if they don’t end up as her victims. Tomie ends up dead a lot, but she keeps coming back (sometimes as a whole army of Tomies). I guess this is kind of a love-based series in a way, albeit love in all-consuming, toxic, crazed form.

This should come off as sexist and tropey, but somehow, it ends up legitimately terrifying and haunting. Part of it is because Tomie is impossible to escape – when she’s dismembered she multiplies, she can take over someone with a blood or organ transfusion or transplant (or even a bit of hair), she can entrap friends while making them feel broken down, even ensares a little boy and turns him against his parents. She’s vile, she demands attention, she wants absolute focus. She’s smart and manipulative, and I think that’s what raises this above some sort of bizarre slasher story – it really explores a range of emotions with many different types of people and their interactions with her.

Part of the success of this book is the insane art – this is body horror cranked up to eleven, and Tomie’s mutations don’t ever really feel repetitious, which is amazing because she goes through a hell of a lot of them. Between that grossness and her ability for psychological warfare…you end up putting yourself in some of the scenes, thinking how you could get away or outsmart her, and I just couldn’t come up with much. This has a very bleak feel, because she gets her way and keeps getting her way and those around her desperately struggle to regain their lives and get her out of them (or keep her in them, depending on the situation). Her callousness and hunger for love/attention is truly frightening.

This likely isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you like horror that’s both gruesome and psychological, you’ll definitely want to check this one out. 

Five mutating, love-hungry sheep

***

About the Author:

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Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.

Character Confession: The Horseman of Pestilence spills on author D.C. Gambel + giveaway

DC: Hey Sharon. Thanks for having me at I Smell Sheep. When the guys found out that I was coming on, I had a hard time trying to convince them they all couldn’t join. They’re a protective bunch. It was decided I needed at least one of them to come along just as a safety precaution. I’m not sure if you’ve had the pleasure of meeting my good friend Tyler, the Horsemen of Pestilence.
Tyler: I was happy to do it. I had to persuade the guys that my gift would be the best if something unseemly happened. Cam’s rage and brute strength might make a bad situation worse and Derek has to wait until someone is close enough to touch. I can take out an entire room before they even get close to you.

DC: Well, of course, I appreciate your guys’ protectiveness, but I doubt it’s necessary for a guest blog. The fact that you get to state your grievances with me had nothing to do with it though, right?
Tyler: Well, keeping you safe is a bit self-serving. Without you none of us would exist. The confession is just a bonus because I’m a bit upset.

DC: Uh oh.
Tyler: Uh oh is right. Now I’m not saying I wanted to be a love interest cause really there was enough play for Evie, but I wasn’t even considered. How could you do that to me? I thought we were better friends than that.

DC: Well sweetheart. You’re the nice guy. The one that’s friend zoned, at least where Evie’s concerned and we are friends, but I can’t let that rule my decisions. You know I’m just the mouthpiece. You all do what you want.
Tyler: Don’t sweetheart me. I’ve heard Cam call Evie it enough to know that it’s not meant as sweet as it sounds. You’re not going to placate me here. Cam’s a tool. Derek’s selfish. And Asher… Really? Asher was chosen over me.

DC: Ty, trust me when I say it was in everyone’s best interest that you stayed out of that snake’s nest. You’re the calm in the world of chaos. The other’s listen to you, not just because your oldest because let’s face it, Cam wouldn’t even care in the slightest, but because you had no interest in our girl, Evie. You and I know whom she’s meant to be with.
Tyler: (Sighs) You’re right, of course. They deserve each other. They both need happiness. Wait. You just made me say that, didn’t you? You’re the author so you control my thoughts and even my words. You don’t want me to want her.

DC: Well, no and neither do you. I don’t force you to say anything you don’t want. Even though I created you, you’re still your own person.
Tyler: Any chance I can convince you to give me a love interest?

DC: Hmm… Well, I don’t want you to be lonely, Ty. We’ll have to see. The next two books are still going to be all about Evie. Maybe in book three, I can see what I can do.
Tyler: That’s all I ask. I’m not saying I’m superficial, whoever it is, guy or girl, make them panty-dropping sexy. What are you calling the next two books anyways?

DC: Book two is Obsidian and book three is Phoenix. I haven’t set a release date, but a cover reveal for Obsidian is coming very soon. I’ll do my best for the panty-dropping effect.
Tyler: Those are some interesting titles. Any particular reason for those names?

DC: Yes.

Tyler:¬––

DC: You’ll have to wait and find out just like everyone else. Now let’s get you back to the other horsemen before Cam and Derek kill each other.

Awakened (The Horsemen Chronicles Book One)

by D.C. Gambel
March 16, 2018
Genre: Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 1981137491
ASIN: B079FRN2WQ
Number of pages: 391
Word Count: 96k
My vulnerability, that’s kept me secluded from the world, is now the one thing that can save it.

Evie has lived most of her life as a recluse, terrified that she might hurt someone. On her twenty-first birthday she meets Derek who informs her there’s a reason behind her gifts.

As someone that had to spend her entire life avoiding human contact, learning the truth about her origins as one of the Four Horsemen was a hard pill to swallow. Especially once she realizes that her fellow Horsemen are the only people she’d ever met that can withstand her touch.

The struggle to overcome her seclusion becomes very real when Evie discovers an attraction has sprung up between herself and one of her fellow Horsemen. Nothing good can come from pursuing the allure, especially when she knows that it not only would jeopardize her team, but her heart as well.

Amazon

Excerpt: 

“Break it down for us, Cam.”

“I met my informant last night,” he said, leaning between the opening of the front seats. I angled myself to face him so I could hear him better. “He claims that Axel Reese, pack alpha of Summery, was contacted by Asmodeus.”

There was a swirl of profanities, but I was clueless to why. So I asked.

“Asmodeus is one of the seven princes of hell. He’s also the prince of lust. Apparently they were rumored to have met the night the succubus attacked the fraternity party,” Cam went on to explain.

“I’m sure that was no coincidence,” Tyler muttered. “I thought the succubi broke off from Asmodeus decades ago when he started demanding that they worship him as a god.”

“They did, but with the seals being broken the demons of lust are returning to their master in hopes he can protect them from the apocalypse. They don’t even realize that he’ll use them a cannon fodder to save his ass. If Axel really did meet with Asmodeus we need to be prepared for a shift in the packs loyalty.”

“Why not just go to Asmodeus first?” Derek asked keeping his eyes forward.

“Axel would be a lot easier to handle then walking in to Phoenix.”

“Phoenix?” I asked.

“It’s a demon club,” Tyler answered. “We don’t get the warmest reception. Asmodeus owns it.”

“Stole it is more like it,” Derek chimed in. He glanced at me. Seeing the quizzical look he elaborated. “It used to be a safe haven for the powers of good. Demons attacked it as a distraction for whoever is breaking the seals. The club has been in demon hands for almost three decades after two centuries of it being in the hands of good. Only positive thing is the demons can’t put up their wards to keep us out.”

“They’ve tried,” Tyler announced.

“Yes they have,” Cam agreed. All three men chuckled and I felt like I was being left out of the joke.

“Hair of the dog?” I asked when we pulled up outside the dive bar. “I thought you were joking.”

Cam chuckled. “They’re not the most creative bunch.” His hand found the small of my back as we headed to the door. I could feel its warmth seeping though the fabric of my shirt almost like it was melting it away until his skin touched mine. I shook my head subtly clearing those thoughts. “You stay near one of us and we’ll make sure no one touches you. What skin is exposed no one should be touching anyways unless they’re looking for trouble.” The other two nodded in agreement.

About the Author:
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D.C. Gambel is a mother, army wife, and a hopeless romantic. Romance has always been her genre of choice whether it’s contemporary, historical, paranormal, or even pushing towards erotica in both reading and writing. When she first decided to try her hand at writing, romance was the obvious choice. Getting lost in a different world, living unimaginable lives is something she strives for, even if it’s just a temporary enjoyment.

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1 Signed paperback copy

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Sheep Movie Review: Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)

Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)

March 23, 2018

Directed By: Steven S. DeKnight

Written By: Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, Steven S. DeKnight, T.S. Nowlin

Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, Burn Gorman, Charlie Day, Tian Jing, Jin Zhang

Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language)

1h 51min

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Runtime: 111 minutes
Studio: Universal Pictures
Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert and 15-year-old hacker Amara, against a new Kaiju threat.

I was pleasantly surprised by Pacific Rim: Uprising. The movie is pretty true to the trailer. There were quite a few action movie troupes used but they did throw in a few surprise twists. The story focused on being a team player and there wasn't a romantic subplot like the first movie. Kids and adults will leave wanting to pilot their own Jaeger.

I thought the CGI was fabulous. John Boyega does a good job with the rebellious-son-of-a-war-hero character. You know the one that drops out of training program as a big disappointment with daddy issues but then forced back into the program to become the bestest hero ever. But my favorite was Spaney as the young hacker Amara. She kicked butt without acting like a brat. I didn't realize Scott Eastwood (Clint's son) was in the cast...that man is beautiful...I'm just saying...

The movie is full of action and best seen on the big screen. If you love watching big robots fighting big monsters you're gonna love this. You don't have to see the first Pacific Rim to appreciate the action, but I went with a friend who hadn't seen the first movie and they were a little lost. The movie doesn't explain things like drifting and where the Kaiju

There are no after-credit scenes.

4 "Jaeger pilot" Sheep

SharonS