Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer: books

Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

[Review] — "THE IMMORTAL DETECTIVE" is a Well-Written Vampire Tale with Modern Twists

Available to Buy on Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook.
Find it on Goodreads and Books2Read.

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on THE IMMORTAL DETECTIVE by D.B. Woodling Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

[Review] — Star Trek: Prodigy: Supernova by Robb Pearlman

Billy Burgess books ,

Do you get frustrated when your plans go through for any reason? I had meant to write a review for Star Trek: Prodigy: Supernova this past Saturday, but due to an unexpected cold that sneaked up on me, I postponed it until today. I reread this morning while drinking coffee after realizing my poor recollection. (FYI: I first read the book over a month ago.)

[Review] — Preston & Child's "The Cabinet of Dr. Leng"

Billy Burgess books ,

The revelation that the Pendergast series by Preston & Child presently spans 21 novels is mind-blowing. It feels like just yesterday that the film adaptation of Relic was in theaters, but in reality—I just "Googled" this—it's been twenty-six years since the film's release. I feel old. Holy sh*t. Well, time flies. I remember watching the movie in a theater when I was a teenager. The novel Relic is even older, published in 1995.

[Review] — "Three Drops of Blood" is a Fast-Paced Thriller

Billy Burgess books ,

Available to buy on Hardcover, Kindle, and Audiobook.
Find it on Goodreads & Books2Read.

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THREE DROPS OF BLOOD by Gretchen McNeil Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About the Book

A Good Girls Guide to Murder meets Hitchcock in this novel from celebrated author Gretchen McNeil. A mundane office job takes a dark turn when a girl witnesses a double murder through the window.

[Review] — "Star Trek: Prodigy: A Dangerous Trade"

Billy Burgess books ,

It seems like only yesterday—I was hopping out of bed, grabbing a bowl of sugary cereal, and sitting on the floor too near the television to watch Saturday morning cartoons. Fast forward to the present; I'm in my early 40s and rarely watch TV in the early morning hours, but here I am, marginally awake (without the cereal and replacing it with a cup of coffee), writing a review for Star Trek: Prodigy: A Dangerous Trade (Available to buy on paperback.) by Cassandra Rose Clarke, the first book based on Nickelodeon's Star Trek: Prodigy animated series that airs on Paramount+.

[Review] — "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The High Country" is a Strange Western Steampunk Adventure

Billy Burgess books ,

Available to buy on Hardcover and Kindle.

The High Country, the first standalone book based on the Paramount+ series Star Trek: A Strange New World, was just released by Gallery Books. The first Captain Pike novel set in the "Discovery" timeline is technically Star Trek: Discovery: The Enterprise War by John Jackson Miller, who also authored The High Country.

[Review] — "SHADOW SERVICE" is Both Entertaining and Gruesome

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I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SHADOW SERVICE by Cavan Scott & Corin Howell Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

[Review] — The Wild West Meets Hammer Horror in "West of Sundown, Vol. 1"

Billy Burgess books ,

Find the book on Books2Read!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the West of Sundown, Vol. 1 by Tim Seeley & Aaron Campbell, and Jim Terry for the Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About West Of Sundown, Vol. 1

La Sangre es la Vida

A beautiful vampire must flee monster slayers in New York City and reclaim the ancestral soil that restores her undead flesh. But the world has changed since she was reborn in the New Mexico desert, and now, Constance Der Abend and her loyal assistant Dooley must adapt to life in the rough frontier town of Sangre De Moro, where all sorts of monsters have settled.

[Review] — Elizabeth Goddard's "Cold Light of Day" is a Gripping Romantic Thriller

Billy Burgess books ,

The title Cold Light of Day has been bugging me to no end, and then it occurred to me that it is the same name as a low-budget action thriller starring Henry Cavill and Bruce Willis that I purchased the DVD of many years ago on a Black Friday deal but have never watched to this day. Although it has no connection to the movie, Elizabeth Goddard's thriller Cold Light of Day (Available to Buy on Kindle and Paperback), book one in the Missing in Alaska series, is a thriller nonetheless.

[Review] — Ron Franscell's "DEAF ROW"

Billy Burgess books ,

Available to Buy on Amazon, Audiobook, and Barnes & Noble.

Add DEAF ROW to Goodreads.

Retired from a big-city homicide beat to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-detective Woodrow "Mountain" Bell yearns only to fade away. He's failed in so many ways as a father, a husband, friend, and cop that it might be too late for a meaningful life. When he stumbles across a long-forgotten, unsolved child murder, his first impulse is to let it lie ... but he can't. He's drawn into the macabre mystery when he realizes the killer might still be near. Without help from ambivalent local cops, Bell must overcome the obstacles of time, age, and a lack of police resources by calling upon the unique skills of the end-of-the-road codgers he meets for coffee every morning—a club of old guys who call themselves Deaf Row. Soon, this mottled crew finds itself on a collision course with a serial butcher.

DEAF ROW is more than a tense mystery novel, more than an unnerving psychological thriller drawn from Ron Franscell's career as a bestselling true-crime writer and journalist. It is also a novel of men pushing back against time and death, trying not to disappear entirely. DEAF ROW is a moving, occasionally humorous, portrait of flawed people caught in a web of pain and regret. And although you might think you know where this ghastly case is headed, the climax will blindside you.

[Review] — The Sequel, "Little Paula," Fails to Deliver the Thrills

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For those unaware—Little Paula, a new V.C. Andrews novel, was published this month. You might ask, "Didn't V.C. Andrews die in 1986?"

The real V.C. Andrews passed away in December 1986, but that didn't stop the publisher and her estate from releasing more Gothic-inspired thrillers. Andrew Neiderman, author of "The Devil's Advocate," was hand-picked to write new stories under the V.C. Andrews persona, and now in his 80s, he continues to do so—for better or worse, you be the judge.

[Review]—Dean Koontz's "The House at the End of the World" is a Curiously Unusual Thriller

Billy Burgess books ,

I've been trying to remember which Dean Koontz novel I read first all morning. I kept telling myself it was Phantasms (Buy on Paperback or Kindle), which I presumably read after watching the mediocre 1998 Ben Affleck movie adaptation. But after giving it some more thought, I realized that it was Hideaway (Buy on Paperback or Kindle) since I can still clearly recall looking for a copy after seeing the 1995 adaptation starring Jeff Goldblum and Alicia Silverstone. Let's say I was a teenager when I found Dean Koontz, and I'll be 42 later this year and continue reading his novels. That speaks something about the author's impact on readers; they stick with him over time.

[Review]—"Dune: The Heir of Caladan" is a Flawed but Engaging Conclusion to the Prequel Trilogy

Billy Burgess books ,

I apologize for the delay in posting this review, but here I am with my thoughts on Dune: The Heir of Caladan, the third and final book of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Caladan Trilogy. Did you notice the keyword "trilogy"? You must have read Dune: The Duke of Caladan and Dune: The Lady of Caladan before reading the third since several narrative aspects continue. And, given that the trilogy takes place a year earlier, it wouldn't hurt to read Frank Herbert's Dune beforehand.

[Review]—The Dominion War: Behind Enemy Lines (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Billy Burgess books ,

Growing up in a rural midwestern town in the 1990s, I didn't have access to a bookstore other than the local Walmart stores and a second-hand shop; unless my parents drove me to a Barnes & Noble in the city. Even though I wasn't interested in Star Trek tie-in novels at the time, I would pick them up and skim them whenever I came across any. I don't recall ever coming across the Dominion War novels. When these books came out in 1998, my interest in all things Star Trek had already started to wane, but I was still watching Deep Space Nine and would have bought the books if I had seen them.

[Review]—"Dune: The Lady of Caladan" is a Powerful Yet Repetitious Prequel-Sequel

Billy Burgess books ,

The Caladan Trilogy, the most recent Dune prequels written by Frank Herbert's son, Brian, and New York Times bestselling science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson, has left me wondering: Is having a ton of prequels and sequels based on a deceased author's works necessary?

[Review]—Harry Bosch is Back in Michael Connelly's "Desert Star"

Billy Burgess books ,

I can't recall the last time I read a Michael Connelly thriller, but it's been a while. I only became interested in the author's writings again after seeing Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer series, and the first book I go for is Connelly's most recent release, Desert Star. And, no, it has nothing to do with The Lincoln Lawyer, albeit the character Mickey Haller does make a brief appearance. The book is the twenty-fourth installment in the Harry Bosch series and the fifth installment in the Renée Ballard series.

[Review]—"Thief of Fate" is a Satisfying End to Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheet's Trilogy

Billy Burgess books ,

Some may find this unusual, but stay with me: I started reading Jude Deveraux's romances when I was young—far too young, in my view. My "mother's library" was full of historical romances, many by Jude Deveraux, and was where I turned when I got tired of reading the age-appropriate books I already owned. I don't recall my age, but let's assume I was nine or ten, so around 1990 or 1991. That was my first introduction to Deveraux's stories. Let's jump to the present when I've just read Thief of Fate, the third and final novel in Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets' Providence Falls Trilogy, which began with Chance of a Lifetime and Impossible Promise. The trilogy—like the Medlar Mysteries—bears little relation to Deveraux's Montgomery and Taggert novels—not even a distant relative.

[Review]—"Dune: The Duke of Caladan" is a Solid Start to the Prequel Trilogy

Billy Burgess books ,

I know too much about the Dune series, although I've only read the original Frank Herbert novel, which took me over thirty years to finish (see my review of Dune here to understand what I mean), and the anthology collection Sands of Dune. I've spent many sleepless nights scouring the internet for tidbits about the Dune franchise, including the extended universe—the prequels, side-sequels, and sequels co-written by Frank's son Brian Herbert and science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson.

[Review]—"A Christmas Memory" is an Emotionally Charged Coming-Of-Age Story

Billy Burgess books ,

It wouldn't be the holidays if Richard Paul Evans, the king of Christmas romances, didn't release a new book. In his most recent novella, A Christmas Memory, he forgoes the fame-making romance subplots in favor of a sentimental coming-of-age story with a unique twist: the story is based on Richard's childhood.

[Review]—"Honor's Refuge" is a Disappointing Page Turner

Billy Burgess books ,

Hollywood should start producing action-romance films or adapting some of Revell's published books. Do you know why I'm talking about action romances? I recently finished reading Honor's Refuge by Hallee Bridgeman, the third book in the Love & Honor series, which falls into the action-romance category.