Guarding Her Heart by Ashlynn Monroe

January 31, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Guarding Her Heart by Ashlynn Monroe
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Nightmares have tormented Tragedy Michaels since her mother’s murder. Her relationship with her crime boss father is strained. All she wants is to turn twenty-one so she’ll have her trust fund and can finally go to college. Her dream is to do something good with her life and make the world a better place. The darkness her family has brought into society has weighed heavily on her shoulders. What she wants most? Redemption.

Eriq Brock was hired to protect Tragedy when she was fifteen. She’s an adult now, but at thirty-six he feels ancient in comparison. Her beauty and kindness make her a constant temptation. He’s had to save her life twice—only she doesn’t know it. Her father wants her sheltered as much as possible from his ugly feud with Dominic Santiago and family secrets.

Tragedy Michaels’ father is a man used to getting his way. When her father decides she needs full time surveillance he blackmails Tragedy and her bodyguard into a wedding that neither of them can refuse.

A hot story with a hot couple and some harsh circumstances.

I like Ashlynn Monroe’s work. It flows well and the story always draws me in. This book was no different. I liked Eriq and Tragedy right away and hoped they’d have a happy ending. It’s a good one-sitting read and very hot, too.

Tragedy has been sheltered, despite living with a crime boss for a father. Her mother was murdered and she’s been scarred by the situation. Eriq is her stability. I liked that they had a bond before getting into bed together. Eriq wants what’s best for her and has been drawn to her. I liked his protective quality and the way he gets her to come out of her shell. There is a forced marriage aspect to the story, which might put off some readers, but was handled well by the author.

There’s a lot of drama and action in this story and it’s hot, too. Did I mention the heat? Yeah, there’s a lot of that. The chemistry between the characters is off the charts. I liked the age gap and while it might be too much for some, it wasn’t too much of a gap for me. I liked the pairing.

If you’re looking for a romance that’s got some darkness, some sweetness and a lot of heat, then this might be the one for you.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The City Below by William Meikle

January 20, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The City Below by William Meikle
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

THE CITY BELOW continues the adventures detailed in THE LAND BELOW and THE SEA BELOW

Our adventurers have escaped a conflagration only to find themselves in a great underground city.

They quickly discover they are not alone.

And when a natural disaster threatens to engulf them it becomes a battle for survival.

Can they find the route home to the sun before it is closed to them forever?

Danny, Ed and Stefan have made a monumental discovery – a hidden city under the Earth. With paves streets, temples, homes and even terraced gardens the abandoned landscape was equal parts eerie and amazing. Can the three adventurers find their way back up top amidst all the dangers that lurk below?

This story picks up exactly where the previous story left off (The Sea Below) and in a similar vein to both the other books in the series is an action orientated adventure style of short story. This time though, Danny and Stefan are determined to escape back up to the surface and Ed, too, soon realizes the three of them need to regroup and agrees to head for the surface.

I have to admit I’ve come to adore our three main adventurers – the younger Ed who has an unquenchable thirst for adventure and discovery, the more elderly Stefan who remains brave and strong – the wiser, more seasoned local and calm head of the ground. And Danny, the old soldier and reluctant hero of the group. I love how while the three characters are quite different, they’re each at heart strong, brave and heroes in their own right, and through those adventures they’ve forged a friendship and bond that has been amazing to follow along with and watch develop. While I absolutely found their time discovering amazing sights and monsters under the ground has been well worth the read – these three characters and their interactions, growth and slowly building friendship has been a true joy to read and journey along with.

While our group’s explorations are full of new discoveries, danger still lurks everything – from enemies as well as monsters. I really enjoyed the pace to this story – it wasn’t crazily fast but it was definitely a good clip most adventure readers should really enjoy.

This book seemed to me to span a good mixture of adventure, suspense and paranormal “monsters dwelling below the earth” and I feel should appeal to a wide range of readers and they should thoroughly enjoy it. While it can definitely be picked up by itself, I feel reading this will have a stronger impact and better experience by going back and reading the two previous installments first. These are short, sharp, witty and exciting stories and well worth the investment in reading them in order.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Day Unto Night by TammyJo Eckhart

December 8, 2021 By 2 Comments


Day Unto Night by TammyJo Eckhart
Publisher: Liminal Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Erotic Romance, Horror, Paranormal, LGBTQ, Action/Adventure, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A Sumerian child named Ningai survives the murder of her entire family and cries out to her people’s gods, who answer her prayer in an unexpected way. Now, as the first of the Akhkharu, the living dead, Ningai embarks on a journey across the millennia to rebuild what she lost. The best of her offspring must maintain some shred of goodness to prove worthy to their Child-Mother while fighting the deadly impulses of their kind. Join their journeys across time in a series of interconnected stories from the earliest cities to a brutal future where humans are mere pawns in the hands of near gods. Like all of us, Ningai and the best of her children will stop at nothing to protect her family. Can they succeed before they lose what’s left of their humanity, or will all of humanity become enslaved to the Akhkharu forever?

Fear is an excellent teacher.

Anyone who is patient will eventually discover the many ways in which Akhkharu are nothing at all like humans. Some of these differences weren’t revealed until the last hundred pages or so. Seeing them gradually shared with the audience only made me more excited to learn more. I was never quite sure when the narrator would stop remembering more things to add to this list. Each one of them was important regardless of how often they showed up in the plot, so it was a great deal of fun to keep discovering them up until almost the end.
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This book included dozens of characters who were human, Akhkharu, or a god or goddess. Sometimes I struggled to keep track of who everyone was and how they were connected to other characters, especially for individuals who only showed up occasionally. As much as I enjoyed the breadth of it all, the gigantic cast was a little overwhelming for me at times. I did find myself wishing that the glossary in the beginning had included the names of everyone instead of only some characters.

With that being said, I adored seeing the wide variety of responses people had to meeting an Akhkharu for the first time or, even better, to becoming one themselves. These creatures tended to feed on folks who lived at the margins of society because it made it less likely that anyone would come looking for someone who had died or joined their ranks. This had fascinating repercussions for how Akhkharu society evolved over time and why Ningai struggled so much with the behavior of some of her followers.

There were pacing issues. Some sections seemed to move much more quickly than other sections. When combined with the multiple time jumps and large number of characters to keep track of, this made my reading experience feel disjointed at times. I never knew who I’d meet next or how quickly their tale would be wrapped up. The storyline itself was complex and well written. I would have gone with a much higher rating if there hadn’t been pacing problems and if it had been easier to keep track of everyone.

The horror elements of the storyline were well done. Blood-sucking creatures like the Akhkharu are frightening enough by themselves, so I was pleasantly surprised by how many other things the author thought of to make things even scarier. Some scenes relied on graphic descriptions of battles or surprise attacks, while others used mental or emotional fear to amplify smaller events into much bigger deals than they would have been if the characters had known in advance what was coming for them. This is something that I think would work best for readers who enjoy thrillers and many different types of horror.

Day Unto Night was well worth the read.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

December 7, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Anomaly by Michael Rutger
Publisher: Zaffre Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure, Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Not all secrets are meant to be found.
Nolan Moore is a rogue archaeologist hosting a documentary series derisively dismissed by the “real” experts, but beloved of conspiracy theorists.

Nolan sets out to retrace the steps of an explorer from 1909 who claimed to have discovered a mysterious cavern high up in the ancient rock of the Grand Canyon. And, for once, he may have actually found what he seeks. Then the trip takes a nasty turn, and the cave begins turning against them in mysterious ways.

Nolan’s story becomes one of survival against seemingly impossible odds. The only way out is to answer a series of intriguing questions: What is this strange cave? How has it remained hidden for so long? And what secret does it conceal that made its last visitors attempt to seal it forever?

Nolan Moore is part of a tv crew on their first big break from their own YouTube channel and trying to crack the cable network. As an amateur archaeologist and host of “The Anomaly Files” Nolan and his small crew travel the country unraveling conspiracies, investigating strange occurrences and always seeking the truth. For their first attempt at a broader audience, however, they’re going big, trying to find a secret and long hidden cavern in the Grand Canyon rumored to have ancient treasures deep within. What they discover is so much more wondrous and dangerous than they could have ever believed.

I admit I am a total sucker for cave adventure style stories and I also have a soft spot for “finding the treasure” or “discovering something new” type of adventures as well. This story had both of those – and having been twice now to the Grand Canyon myself I absolutely adore this awe-inspiring and magnificent setting so that just sold me more on the story. I found this story started out fairly slowly, which in my adventure/mystery stories I’m not always a fan of, but this time I really appreciated the time to get to know the small group of characters. I also enjoyed the author taking time to really lay out and explain how the tv show and their trip into the Grand Canyon came about. Explaining their actions and reasons helped me get a good grip of where the story was coming from and so when the exploration and adventure began in earnest I was emotionally on board with the group and ready for the fun to begin. Had the author jumped right into the action I might have struggled a little connecting better with the characters.

Like so many mystery/adventure stories I thought there were a number of excellent reveals and that wonderful sense of exploration. This part of the story was really well handled and in part I feel it helped propel the bulk of the story along. While not the usual fast pace of other adventure style stories I thought this was still really gripping and I was quite eagerly along the trip with the others. Toward the end of the story there were a few big twists (one in particular I hadn’t seen coming, though a few of the smaller shifts I had an inkling about) so I feel readers who enjoy their mysteries not straight forward or procedural should definitely feel this appeals to them.

I also was surprised by how light a touch the author made with the paranormal aspect of the story. Indeed, for much of the book (almost three quarters of it) there is virtually nothing paranormal at all, and even when that element does get woven into the story it’s not along the usual line of “monsters going bump in the night” which I had partly expected. I have read more than my fair share of “monsters eat everyone in the party” style of stories (and I love them – that was a deciding factor in me trying this new-to-me author) but it was with surprise and pleasure I discovered this is far more of a “cave adventure” and “uncovering hidden secrets” sort of story and not a monster trapped and killing everyone sort of paranormal adventure. I think readers expecting a “monsters” or strongly paranormal story might not be satisfied with this aspect of the story. I feel this book is far more suited to readers wanting a mystery and adventure story which has flavour of paranormal/other worldly plotline to it towards the end

Two of the lead men are not your traditional style protagonists or “hero” type of material, they are both excellent characters and I enjoyed them, but they are flawed and not shy about it. Also two of the other characters were recent additions to the group and so watching them interact and become meshed into the group with the other characters was interesting but meant the group didn’t start from the first page as a cohesive well oiled working group of people. This all made for excellent reading to my mind, but did slow the pace of the adventure itself somewhat. I found this slower start really paid off once the adventure began and the trip started falling apart – the action and plot wound higher but my emotional attachment to the group and characters was solid enough by then I really cared what happened to them and that was due in large part to the slower beginning where I as a reader could become more invested in the people rather than just along for the adventure.

Readers who enjoy action and archaeology based stories should really enjoy this book. I loved the sense of wonder the exploration gave the story (and it reminded me slightly of other Egypt-based type of treasure hunting stories that I’ve read) and the small tidbits of history and facts peppered in through the story really helped me feel that while clearly fiction there were truths and factual elements to the story, more than enough to have me Goggling and researching myself both during and after reading the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and was pleased to find the author has a number of other stories under different names. I’ll eagerly be looking into these and I will absolutely enjoy re-reading this adventure again in the future. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Stick and Stone – Best Friends Forever by Beth Ferry

November 26, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Stick and Stone – Best Friends Forever by Beth Ferry
Publisher: Clarion Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Stick has always wanted to find his family tree. It’s probably big and beautiful! Is it an oak? A maple? What other sticks might he meet?

Stone is happy to accompany his friend on the journey to find the tree he comes from—until it gets dark, and a bit scary in the forest . . .

With bright, engaging illustrations from best-selling creator Tom Lichtenheld, Beth Ferry’s story explores the importance of learning about our roots, as well as the ability of friends and found family to help us grow strong in heart and mind.

Everyone should know where they come from.

I mentioned wanting more plot development in my review of the first book in this series, so I was thrilled to see how much more was happening in this sequel. The characters dealt with multiple conflicts and plot lines at once. They were simple enough for the smallest readers to understand, but it was delightful to have those extra layers of meaning for older readers to think about as well.

With that being said, I wish the adoption subplot had been given more space to grow. Stick had such a strong yearning to know where he came from and what sort of tree he was. There was a lot of space here to explore his origins and how he felt about them. If only he’d had the opportunity to do so! I hope that the author will consider revisiting these themes in the future as I was disappointed by how all of this was resolved.

As always, the friendship between Stick and Stone was wonderful. They both genuinely loved each other and would have done anything to help one another. That’s the sort of friendship everyone should have whether they’re a preschooler or a senior citizen! Ms. Ferry’s best moments were the ones that showed all of the little ways in which friends can make each other’s lives richer and happier.

This is the second instalment of a series. I strongly recommend reading Stick and Stone first in order to fully understand the characters’ backstories.

Stick and Stone: Best Friends Forever was a heartwarming adventure.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Brilliant White Peaks by Teng Rong

November 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Brilliant White Peaks by Teng Rong
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A beautiful story of life, love, and loss in the animal kingdom.

Brilliant White Peaks follows a young wolf and his companions as they battle harsh weather conditions, scarcity of food, and other predators to survive in the wild.

Raised by a loving Ma and Pa, a wolf pup grows up with his shy sister White-Ears to be a ferocious hunter. However, while foraging for food in the winter, the family is attacked by a pack of hostile wolves, leading the young wolf and his sister astray from their parents.

Desperate to find his parents again, the young wolf slowly nurses White-Ears through her injuries and sets off for the ocean, where Ma and Pa promised they would be waiting.

Surviving in the wild is difficult even for predators!

The character development was well done, especially when it came to the protagonist. He was such a persistent and courageous wolf who often put himself into danger to save the ones he loved. I was also fascinated by his canine conceptions of what might happen to an animal after death. That was not a topic I’d ever expected him to think about, so reading his thoughts on it later on in the plot was a real treat.

My sole criticism of this book involves the ending. The main character spent almost the entire storyline searching for his missing parents. It was such a powerful source of motivation for him that I was a little disappointed to see how this conflict was resolved even though the author’s reasons for writing it that way did make sense to me. I’d love to see a sequel that addressed this topic in greater detail and explained it fully for the reader as I would have otherwise given this a full five-star rating.

I was impressed by the numerous plot twists. Like all wild animals, the main character was surrounded by danger every moment of his life. Food could be difficult to find, and even the simplest hunt or chance meeting with another predator could go wrong in an instant. There was no telling what might happen to him or his family next, and I was surprised more than once by how things turned out for them.

Brilliant White Peaks was an exciting adventure that I’d recommend to adults and young adults alike.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Honour’s Rest by Judith Crow

November 2, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Honour’s Rest by Judith Crow
Publisher: Crowvus Choughs, Stempster House
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult (13 – 18 y.o.)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

“So, it’s – what – like magic?”

No, according to Pen’s uncle, the Rite is not magic at all. But, if it’s not magic, then how could Pen push the school bully into a pond while he was really studying alone in the library?
When Pen’s family realise he has the Rite, he is sent to live with his Uncle Napier, who can help him control his ability.

But Napier has other duties. He is the Rendelf, in charge of the Rite in the UK, and he has gathered many enemies over the years…
…enemies who would be delighted to use Pen against him.

What fun to read the kind of book you just don’t want to end. This is a story of a boy born with abilities he doesn’t even realize he has. A boy who has an uncle that can help him tame and hone his skills. There are many stories with this theme. I am saying “theme” not plot. This one has its own unique plot, and it is as magical as can be. This is also a book that has wonderful names and words. A boy named Pendragon (Pen, for short) living with a family called the “Shipperbottoms”. I could see the author has a sense of humor as well.

Judith Crow has created a story of what I call real characters. The kind of characters I could see in my mind. The kind of characters I cared about. It’s as if I was watching a stage play. The kind I hope will be in a long series.

This is easy and quick to read and a real attention grabber. I think all young adults and tweens would enjoy this story. I barely put it down myself. Honour’s Rest is Book 1 of a series titled “The Rite Way”. I hope Judith Crow is working on Book 2.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe

November 1, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe
Nena Knight series, book 1
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Stolen from her Ghanaian village as a child, Nena Knight has plenty of motives to kill. Now an elite assassin for a powerful business syndicate called the Tribe, she gets plenty of chances.

But while on assignment in Miami, Nena ends up saving a life, not taking one. She emerges from the experience a changed woman, finally hopeful for a life beyond rage and revenge. Tasked with killing a man she’s come to respect, Nena struggles to reconcile her loyalty to the Tribe with her new purpose.

Meanwhile, she learns a new Tribe council member is the same man who razed her village, murdered her family, and sold her into captivity. Nena can’t resist the temptation of vengeance―and she doesn’t want to. Before she can reclaim her life, she must leverage everything she was and everything she is to take him down and end the cycle of bloodshed for good.

She’s beautiful and she’s dangerous, but she’s the one you want on your side when you need a heroine.

This is the first book by Yasmin Angoe and while at times it reads like an initial novel, it’s still gripping. I read this over the course of a few days and while there were moments I could put it down, I needed to know what would happen next.

Nena is a complicated figure. She’s been through a lot. As in, there are a lot of triggers that might upset some readers, the violence, the killing, the abuse…it’s not pretty and can be a bit extreme, but it’s the life she’s lived through. I have to admit the violence was a bit much for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be too much for other readers. Just be warned.

I liked how Nena grew and changed through this book. The author took what could’ve been the standard assassin trope and made it fresh. I’m not heavy into thriller books, but this one satisfied me.

If you’re looking for a heroine that’s out of the norm in the best way, who has a past and isn’t afraid to face it and a story that’s packed with action, then this might be the book for you.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Alice’s Adventures Under Water by Lenny de Rooy

September 27, 2021 By 1 Comment


Alice’s Adventures Under Water by Lenny de Rooy
Publisher: Millennyum Publications
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

If you enjoyed Lewis Carroll’s books “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There”, this is the book for you! Finally, there is a third story in the ‘Alice’ series – written in Carroll’s familiar style, but packed with a great number of completely new puns, parodies, and poetry. This time, Alice explores an under-water world, in which she meets new characters who again make her wonder about their strange logic and behaviour. The story can be enjoyed by everyone, even those who have never read Carroll’s books. However, the more familiar you are with them, the more references you will recognise in this exceptionally clever tale…

Anything can happen during a boat ride.

The storyline was every bit as delightful and occasionally nonsensical as I was hoping it would be. Honestly, many of the chapters could have worked as standalone stories, and yet they still all came together in the end to explore deeper subjects that kids might not quite understand yet but adults would pick up on.

Ms. de Rooy captured the essence of Alice and her adventures beautifully. This tale contained all of the magic that was included in the original Alice books. I especially loved the subtle modern twists the author added in her references to public figures, songs, and more. She struck the perfect balance between copying the original tone of this series and including things that would appeal to the sensibilities of twenty-first century readers.

I was thrilled to see how many different age groups this was written for. It’s not easy to write for middle schoolers, teenagers, and adults simultaneously, but the author did a wonderful job of speaking to all three of these groups by including multiple levels of meaning in her writing. This was something I’d love to read aloud to a classroom or at an extended family reunion. It truly had something for everyone.

One of my favorite things to do while reading this story was to take note of as many cultural references as I could find and find out where they came from. It certainly wasn’t necessary to figure out all or even any of them, but it was a great deal of fun to determine which classic poems inspired a lighthearted underwater version of itself here or why certain characters had such unusual names.

Alice’s Adventures Under Water was an incredible adventure I’d recommend to kids and adults alike.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

To The Center Of The Earth by Grieg Beck

September 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment


To The Center Of The Earth by Grieg Beck
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

An old woman locked away in a Russian asylum has a secret—knowledge of a 500-year-old manuscript written by a long-dead alchemist that will show a passage to the mythical center of the Earth.

She knows it’s real because 50 years ago, she and a team traveled there. And only she made it back.

Today, caving specialist Mike Monroe leads a crew into the world’s deepest cave in the former Soviet Union. He’s following the path of a mad woman, and the words of an ancient Russian alchemist, that were the basis of the fantastical tale by Jules Verne.

But what horrifying things he finds will tear at his sanity and change everything we know about evolution and the world, forever.

In the tradition of Primordia, Greig Beck delivers another epic retelling of a classic story in an electrifying and terrifying adventure that transcends the imagination.

“Down there, beyond the deepest caves, below the crust and the mantle, there is another world.”

When a million dollar prize – as well as some serious bragging rights – are put up for grabs for the caving team who can travel the deepest under the earth the race is on. Two separate teams decide independently to try their luck with a long closed down cave in Russia, one that’s rumored not only the be the deepest anywhere on earth, but also possibly far more than anyone realizes. What the two teams discover is a whole new world – equal parts paradise and hell.

I really enjoyed this new adventure story from Mr Beck. His stories are always really really well balanced with both thriller, monsters, discovery of the unknown and adventure and this one certainly delivers in spades. I was quickly drawn in both by the characters, but also the caving adventure itself. Readers who enjoy a good “let’s discover something new” story should certainly find this suits their tastes, and readers who also enjoy “monsters eat most of the party” will find this book ticks a lot of those sorts of boxes as well. I’d hesitate to label this story as horror though – while there are certainly “monsters come and eat the characters” moments and there’s absolutely a few chilling scenes with alien creatures found deep deep under the earth – I’m not sure it really fits the “horror” genre in the sense of gore or serial killers or a more typical sense of a horror novel. Readers who are squeamish or not interested in monsters going bump in the dark style of books probably should shy away or be prepared to skim a few scenes – but I feel aside from that it’s not really horror at all but more adventure/thriller in style.

I also really appreciated the variation in the characters and how none of them were cartoonish or overdrawn. Even the antagonist was – while still not hero material – practical and willing to work with the team when the chips were down and it was very much an “us verses the monsters” mentality. I really really enjoyed this, partly because it would have been very easy (and far less satisfying I feel) if the antagonist had been an overblown villain character, but I could well believe how tempting that might have been. Indeed I found Mr Beck taking the harder road and notching down the characters arrogance and bravado and having the two teams come together and work in tandem as one merged team really satisfying and I was so pleased about this it really stuck with me.

As a longtime fan of this author I was amused at a few Easter Egg like tidbits where I recognized the author cleverly sneaking in subtle pointers to some of his other books where fans will notice this cheeky nod but others shouldn’t feel anything too amiss by the seemingly casual comments. It gave me a chuckle and flush of pride for each one I caught and it made reading this book all the sweeter to know I’d not only caught the reference but read and own the book as well.

Overall this was an amazing book and one I am pleased to have in print as I definitely expect to enjoy it a number more times in the future. I am also impressed with my own foresight – I have the sequel already purchased and ready to go. I’m thrilled I can move right onto it and not have to wait!

Readers who enjoy adventure stories, caving stories and monsters eating everyone should be as deeply satisfied with this story as I was. Mr Beck is a masterful storyteller and I feel this tale is well balanced, engrossing and sure to have you up reading half the night. A brilliant read and one I shall enjoy again in the near future.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
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