Bunny's Reviews: May 2023

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Bad Realities Review Spotlight

Welcome to the tour for Andrew Schrader's creeptastic collection, Bad Realities. Read on for more details!

Bad Realities is a collection of short stories of suspense, shock, and a touch of horror by Andrew Schrader. Each story is unique in it’s own way. With each one the author takes readers to twisted worlds where the apocalypse has struck, where horrors walk, and where the reality is more twisted than one would wish to truly experience.

The author gives you a taste in the blurb of his book, but what you find inside is more than what would could possibly hope for. Unless you’re looking for a lot of horrific events. Then you might be mildly disappointed, but one thing is for sure – the stories will keep you coming back for more.

Some are super short, only a couple of pages, but there is one that is a full story that gives you a beginning, middle and end. Yet it hints that there could be more.

The stories found inside this book will absolutely intrigue you. You’ll find yourself wondering about certain ones long after you’ve moved on to the next. You’ll wish that there was another one to connect back to one of the ones you’ve read previously. Just to get a little more of the characters, the scenarios told in that particular story. Some you will simply want a clarification as to what exactly is going on.

Regardless of what you find in these pages, you’ll find yourself pulled into the book and not allowed to “escape” until you have read the last page. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself wondering – could one of these be a “potential” future for our world. You just never know.

The two that stuck with me the most, I wouldn’t say that they were the most “twisted” but one for sure took me by surprise. The story titled “Family” paints such a picture that will find you smiling briefly. But the truth is a twisted reality that will take you by surprise. It’s interesting while highlighting a truth that many of us refuse to acknowledge. Technology – while a good thing, can create a twisted reality, one that better suits us, but is far from the truth.

Jack Nasty on the Wind is probably my favorite of the stories. It reminds me of another story that many of us read as children in a certain horror story collection. This particular story drew me in and kept me page-turning to find out what would happen next. The character lays out a thrilling story filled with horror, death, and fear. Part of you is going to want to dismiss it as something – nonsensical, until a particular piece of evidence is laid out for you. Then...that begins the slow jaw drop and you scooting to the edge of your seat. LOL! I loved it.

The blurb of this book is a nice teaser, but the good stuff? The really good stuff? Well, the author leaves those little gems tucked into the book for the reader to discover on their own.

No two stories in this collection are the same. Each one of them is unique and twisted. Bad realities for those who find themselves trapped inside those pages. Though, to be fair, not all of the realities are bad. Not at least in the way that we would think something is bad. There is one story that takes more a neutral stance. So you can think of that one as a – palate cleanser. Something to give you a brief refresher before you are taken and dropped into some new twisted reality.

Andrew Schrader has created a unique collection of stories that will pull at you to dive deeper. Some will tease you with the horrors that they contain in their pages. Others will have you contemplating the potential fall of the world as a whole. The one thing is for sure that these stories will have you coming back for more, and in some cases leave you with unanswered questions. Maybe one day they will be answered, maybe not. We’ll just have to see what the future holds.

For readers who enjoy books that mix of horror, post apocalypse, science fiction, and drama then this is the book to pick up. The blending of those genres in this book will have you eyeing this author for his next book to see what he brings to the table next. It will be like stepping into the Twilight Zone, but as a really good book. This is one book that I absolutely recommend if you are looking for something fun and twisted to check out. I’m sure that you’ll find something to enjoy in this novel.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to the author, Andrew Schrader and R&R Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book. I look forward to what comes next!

Bad Realities: Stories of Shock and Suspense

Expected Publication Date: Spring 2023

Genre: Speculative Fiction/ Horror/ Suspense/ Sci-Fi

To avoid the apocalypse, a boy must cannibalize the dead in . . . THE IMPORTANCE OF EATING ERNEST

A Tarkagen barbarian returning home to retrieve an ancient elixir faces his own worst fears in . . . HONDO RANE AND THE CITY OF ILLUSION

After World War IV, a giant, radioactive floating brain haunts the wastelands. Can a psychic girl harness her powers long enough to stop it? . . . in THE FLOATING BRAIN.

Join these poor souls and many others as they struggle to survive in worlds gone wrong. Can you handle the shock? Or will their stories leave you in a crumpled heap, screaming in vain to escape.

Now Available on Amazon and Free for KU!

About the Author

Andrew Schrader is a Los Angeles-based author and film director known for his fascination with the stranger sides of human nature. He’s directed two feature films, music videos for bands Osees, Moon-Drenched, and White Reaper, and was a script consultant on “Afterlife,” a horror series for Crypt TV.

His three-book series, What Goes On In The Walls at Night, was featured on the Reddit No Sleep podcast and twice won the Red City Review Book of the Year for fantasy and horror. He also wrote several episodes of the animated show Tig n’ Seek. Bad Realities is his fourth book of short stories.

Yes, of course he loves cats.

Andrew J. Schrader

Book Tour Schedule

May 29^th

http://rrbooktours.com – Kick-Off

http://www.ismellsheep.com/ - Feature

https://christinebialczak.com/ - Feature

http://www.thefaeriereview.com – Review

May 30^th

https://instagram.com/jemreader?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== - Review

https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/ - Review

http://readsandreels.com – Feature

May 31^st

https://www.instagram.com/brandikaedesigns/ - Feature

https://lshadowlynauthor.com/ - Feature

https://www.instagram.com/countrymamaswithkids/ - Review

June 1^st

https://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/ - Review

https://www.instagram.com/toomuchcoffeemd/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D – Review

http://ramblingmads.com - Feature

June 2^nd

https://www.instagram.com/ameliaveganreader/ - Review

https://www.instagram.com/punkybookbabe/ - Review

https://www.instagram.com/read.em.if.you.got.em/ - Feature

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Book Tours

The Deset Heiress Cover Reveal Spotlight

We are thrilled to share this gorgeous cover with you all today! The Desert Heiress is the start of a brand-new series by Shoshana Rain!

The Desert Heiress (The Seven Star Empire #1)

Expected Publication Date: April 6th, 2024

Genre: Why Choose Romance/ Second World Fantasy

🌵Why Choose

🌵MMMF Romance

🌵Slow-Burn

🌵Magic

🌵Spicy

🌵Guaranteed HEA at the End of Series

Nothing will stop Lis from regaining her family's power—not even the three tempting men standing in her way.

In the desert port of Cenefra, the Sun Rose is life blood. A magic plant with the ability to grant people greater abilities. Sale of the plant is strictly forbidden, its growth restricted only to farms owned by the Empire's shipping company.

Liseya Moroeste has only ever wanted one thing: to run the syndicate smuggling it. But her family has been cut off for over a century, forced to advise but never lead. When the government cracks down on all illegal export, Lis is ready to seize her chance.

To do so, she must best her three rivals. Filip, Deo and Adrian each want to court her, control her, cajole her into doing what they want.

Liseya finds herself drawn into their complicated web, but to survive, she must learn if she can trust them, or if she must cut them down before they can do the same to her.

The Desert Heiress is the first book in The Seven Star Empire Series. It is a slow burn, MMMF why choose, second world fantasy with steamy scenes and a guaranteed HEA at the end of the series. It contains both MM and FF scenes, and involves the FMC in a relationship before getting involved with her main love interests.

Pre-Order

About the Author

A lover of mythology, sexy romances, and heroines who give as good as they get, Shoshana knew she wanted to write fantasy romance since reading Kushiel’s Dart. When she’s not writing, she’s hanging out with her cat and trying to keep her garden alive in the harsh desert summer.

Shoshana Rain

Cover Reveal Organized By:

R&R Book Tours

Grace Summit Spotlight

We are happy to share Denise Roma's novel Grace Summit with you all today! Read on for more details!

Grace Summit

Publication Date: September 2022

Genre: NA College Romance/ FF Romance (slightly literary bent)

Ann, Amelia, and Jackie arrive at Grace Summit Bible College with their own particular heartbreaks. Ann is lonely and hungry for belonging, Amelia is broken from abuse and separation from her child, and Jackie is searching for friendships to sustain her.

Ann and Amelia find the connection they seek in one another, but they must navigate the college’s religious mandates and eventually, the passage of decades. It is during those passing years that Jackie comes to understand the influence Amelia’s and Ann’s love story has had on her own life.

Grace Summit explores the lives of women coming of age in the late ’80s, navigating their places in a changing world. Giving each woman a voice to reflect on her story, it weaves together attraction, love, religion, and finally, aging, illness, and loss. It’s an achingly beautiful novel that spans cities and lifetimes, capturing the intensity of first loves and women’s friendships.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

You can find Denise Roma’s poetry in After Hours, a Chicago journal of literature and visual art, and short fiction in the online literary journal Thread and the New Town Writer’s Off the Rocks magazine. Grace Summit is her first novel.

Denise lives in the Chicago area with her family. She loves reading, writing, dancing in land or water and early morning air.

Find out more at: Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/GraceSummitNovel

Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/gracesummitnovel/

Book Tour Schedule

May 29^th

http://rrbooktours.com – Kick-Off

https://www.instagram.com/silkybookloverfun - Review

http://readsandreels.com - Feature

http://ramblingmads.com – Feature

May 30^th

https://www.instagram.com/brandikaedesigns/ - Feature

http://www.thefaeriereview.com – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/latishaslowkeylife/ - Feature

https://christinebialczak.com/ - Feature

https://www.facebook.com/CocktailsFairytales - Feature

May 31st

https://www.instagram.com/bingingbooksandcoffee/ - Feature

https://www.instagram.com/margiebythebookcase/ - Feature

https://www.instagram.com/literaryinspired/ - Feature

https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/ - Feature

June 1^st

https://lshadowlynauthor.com/ - Review

https://www.instagram.com/aebennettwrites/ - Feature

https://freelancewriterjannyc.com/ - Feature

https://www.instagram.com/siriuslyjenn_/ - Feature

June 2^nd

https://countrymamaswithkids.com – Review

https://www.instagram.com/katierichardauthor/ - Review

https://www.instagram.com/sharingthebooklove/ - Review

https://www.thesexynerdrevue.com – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/sky.s_library/ - Feature

https://www.booksblog.co.uk/ - Feature

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Book Tours

Friday, May 26, 2023

Trucker Release Day Blitz

Tattooed bad boys and motorcycles?

Happy publication day and congratulations to Lottie Berki on the release of the next book in the Flying Panthers MC series!

Trucker (Flying Panthers MC #2)

Publication Date: May 26th, 2023

Genre: MC Romance/ Spicy Romance

The timing is never wrong when you fall for someone who takes you on an exhilarating, passionate, fear-defying ride at full throttle.

Phill—or “Trucker,” as he is known to his fellow Flying Panthers Motor Club members—has always lived and breathed for one thing—his biker family. Handlebar, Smokey, Knuckles, and the rest of his group live hard, party harder, and put their lives on the line to defend their territory.

The Flying Panthers have “shipments” to make, but they also run a successful security business that is slowly but surely leading them in a more “legit” direction. Despite their success, their safety is constantly under threat, since a rival MC—the Monster Heads—will stop at no cost to sabotage their work and claim part of the territory that has cost the Panthers blood, sweat, and tears to possess.

In the midst of this tense environment, Trucker—who has always been a ladies’ man —meets someone who turns his life around. He knows from the moment he gazes into her beautiful green eyes and takes in her curvy figure that he won’t be able to resist her.

Chloe is the new waitress at Laura’s diner. She has moved to this part of town to get away from an abusive ex who simply won’t take “no” for an answer.

The last thing she expects is to fall in love—until Trucker walks in and gives her a look that ignites a deep desire she has never felt before.

Meanwhile, Trucker and the Panthers are called upon to fight their fiercest battle against the Monsters—or risk losing everything they have worked so hard to achieve.

Trucker is an exciting tale of love, lust, and power. Will Trucker and Chloe ever find the blissful life they dream of? Or will their enemies dash their hopes of building a future together?

Available on Amazon

About the Author

She loves writing contemporary steamy romances that make you feel so many different emotions throughout her books!

She loves to go for long walks on the beach or the woods, she finds that fresh air gives her great inspiration. Also loved to sit and watch people pass by and visit different places and go back home and create beautiful steamy romances!

Lottie Berki

Instagram

Book Blitz Organized By:

R&R Book Tours

Thursday, May 25, 2023

The Many Shades of Midnight Review Spotlight

Welcome to the book tour for The Many Shades of Midnight. This stand-alone fantasy novel will intrigue you, pull you to the edge of your seat, and even leave you with a tear in your eye. Read on for more details and a review of this book!

The Many Shades of Midnight is a stand-alone fantasy novel by C.M. Debell. Prepare to be drawn into this novel, which it has a moderate pace, will absolutely succeed in engaging you fully into the storyline and the characters within.

The Many Shades of Midnight details the story of a duke who was exiled for his refusal to do the king's EXACT bidding. He saw a flaw, the wrongness in an order, and refused to follow it. So, he was punished, stripped of everything that was rightfully his. Everything except for the blades of Isyrium that he carries. Heirlooms passed down through his family but still coveted...even by the king himself.

Isyrium is now a rare metal highly coveted by many and there are those who are willing to kill for it. This beautiful metal hides a deadly secret, but for how much longer will this secret remain exactly that? The consequences of it are threatening all around it, but the mining syndicates who control what's known are hiding this deadly secret as well.

Brivar is sent out with his cousin to recall the exiled duke back into the king's service. Things aren't going to be as easy as the cousin would hope for. You'll see through his pompous attitude that he has high hopes of something more through this task. Brivar finds himself called upon by the duke which only goes to fuel resentment and tension inside the group. Alyas has his own secrets and they are ones that his followers and closest advisor will do his best to keep secret.

The pacing of this story is slow to moderate depending on where you are in the book, but it's engaging nonetheless. The author reveals the dangers that lurk around these characters come in many forms. First there is the sickness that is spreading through not just the humans, but the animal life as well. Some die, some do not but are transformed instead.

Alyas is an interesting character and one that you will find yourself drawn to. He is proud, but he doesn't let his pride dictate his life. He's intriguing and you will applaud how he cares for those under his protection. He goes above and beyond. He holds secets, but mostly for the good. He's a real hero and willing to do what he must even if the cost...is his life.

The Many Shades of Midnight is an intriguing novel and there will be moments in this book where your hair will stand on end, you'll scoot to the edge of your seat, and your eyes will grow larger. Those are the moments where you just know that the author has you absolutely hooked into this novel. That moment for me was when the author has one of the characters talk about - "the shade of midnight" that the victims of this sickness become. My jaw slowly dropped and I couldn't help edging closer to my book as if by doing so I could get just a touch closer to the character detailing what they saw. It was like sitting next to them by the fire and devouring every detail of their story.

Readers of fantasy novels, do not miss out on this book. From beginning to end this book will draw you on to the next page with engaging and interesting characters, and a storyline that is beautifully written. You get the right amount of details and character development. This book has an ending that will be heartbreaking, but satisfying just the same.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to the author, C.M. Debell, and Escapist Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book. I look forward to what comes next!

The Many Shades of Midnight by C. M. Debell

Series: N/A, Standalone

Genre: Fantasy

Intended Age Group: Adult

Pages: 352

Published: February 1, 2023

Publisher: Self Published

Content/Trigger Warnings:

Shown on Page (things clearly told to the reader):

Moderate violence
Blood
Autopsy
Murder
Death/dying
Minor alcohol use
Swearing
Pregnancy/childbirth
Medical procedures
Poisoning
Suicidal ideation
Suicide

Alluded to (things only mentioned in passing or hinted at):

Alcohol abuse
Genocide
Minor sexism

Book Blurb:

Isyr. Stronger, brighter, more beautiful than other metals. Once the most desirable thing in Ellasia, now it is priceless, the pure Isyrium needed to produce it mined to exhaustion. What’s left is controlled by the powerful mining syndicates, and such is the demand for their Isyrium that even kings do their bidding. Yet just as the beauty of Isyr hides a deadly secret, so too do the syndicates.

A terrifying enemy is spreading a plague across the land, a sickness that kills or transforms everything it touches. Unable to contain the outbreaks, the King of Lankara begs the aid of the disgraced former Duke of Agrathon, Alyas-Raine Sera, a man who has spent years fighting syndicate expansion and whose resentment over his exile makes him an unpredictable, dangerous ally in the power struggle between the rulers of Ellasia and the mining companies.

Attached to the envoy to recall the duke, the apprentice surgeon Brivar finds his skills and loyalty tested as his service to his new patron uncovers secrets about Isyr and the plague that link it to the mining of Isyrium – and threaten the life of the man it is his duty to protect.

In their own separate ways, Alyas and Brivar must take on the might of the syndicates and confront the greed, murder, betrayal and impossible choices of a crisis that has been decades in the making – and the price of their failure could be everyone and everything.

See Also:

(This is our attempt at a bit of fun. We ask our authors to come up with a few short, clever, possibly pop culture laden, descriptions of their books just to give a little taste of what’s to come for readers.)

Extinction Rebellion • Cursed Blades • Zombie Apocalypse

Book Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Many-Shades-Midnight-C-Debell-ebook/dp/B0BQCNLDX8

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68757150-the-many-shades-of-midnight

Eager for a bigger taste of this novel? Keep reading for an excerpt!

It was Della who brought word of the massacre. She appeared on the road in front of them, alone, quite still except for her eyes. Alyas dismounted and approached her, waving the others back. Esar had to restrain Brivar from going after him. A surgeon’s trained observation was more than capable of reading her shock. Whatever it was, it was bad.

They spoke for a few minutes. Esar saw the muscles in Alyas’s shoulders tighten, and turned to give quiet orders to Agazi, who nodded and spurred back down the line. Their people were good; they knew what to do.

When Alyas signalled, two groups were already moving forward. He sent them on, each circling round from a different direction to find and reinforce the scouts already out there. When Della moved to join them, he shook his head, leading her back to where Brivar was bouncing anxiously on his horse. She had a wild look about her, one that Esar recognised from their frantic retreat in Flaeres when they had encountered creatures out of a nightmare.

“What is it?” He had a horrible feeling he already knew.

“Mining outpost,” Alyas said grimly, as Della mounted his horse. “Wiped out. They’re still in there.” Alyas looked up at Brivar’s frightened face. “Stay here with Della. We’ll send for you when it’s safe.”

Della, her colour returning, took the reins from Brivar’s slack hands and led the horses off the road. Alyas was already moving away, giving orders, and Esar signed a question to Della. She nodded and he swore. They’re still in there.

He caught up with Alyas, crouched in the middle of a knot of his officers, sketching his instructions into the dust of the track, Corado looming over them. Esar ignored his glare and concentrated on what Alyas was saying. The scouts had come across a handful of survivors fleeing south. They had gone to investigate, cautiously, and confirmed the wild tale. Much as he wished otherwise, Esar knew they could not skirt safely around this. They had to go in. They could not allow what was in the town to get out, to spread its poison further. Preventing that was why Raffa had finally rescinded Alyas’s exile. Not that they were doing it for him.

As Alyas relayed Della’s intelligence, he gave his orders, and Esar was relieved. He was playing it safe. Still, the faces of their people reflected the reality—they knew what they were up against.

“We’ve done this before,” Alyas reminded them. “We know what they can do. We take no chances. They’re still there, we burn them out. Do not engage directly unless you have to. Do not let them touch you, and let nothing out. Do you understand?”

They nodded. They understood, Esar thought grimly. They remembered Flaeres and what had come after.

Alyas stood and came face to face with Corado’s hostile sneer, planted firmly in his path.

“Corado –”

“They probably drank too much moonshine and ran from their own shadows. We’re a hundred miles inside the border. There’s no monsters here.”

“Take your men round to the south,” Alyas told him. “Block the road. Nothing gets out.”

The man dug in his heels and crossed his arms. “So your girl saw something that spooked her. That doesn’t mean shit. This is a Lankaran mine—a syndicate mine. We’re not torching a syndicate mine because a girl got scared.”

“Get your men into position,” Alyas snarled. “Do it now.”

Corado spat. “Make me.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Alyas said, “Shoot him.”

Esar heard the creak of the bow as Lord Sul kicked his horse forward. “You can’t!”

Alyas turned to face him. “Why not?”

“Because he is a Lankaran officer, commissioned by the king, and I will not permit it!”

Corado’s mouth twisted into a triumphant sneer. Alyas shook his head. “Shoot him,” he said again, turning away.

Corado lunged. Alyas had been expecting it. His elbow caught the guard captain in the side of the head, dropping him in the dirt. His foot came down on the wrist of Corado’s knife hand, grinding with his heel until his fingers released their grip. He kicked the weapon away. Esar stooped to pick it up, meeting Alyas’s eyes as he did so. There was no need for his warning.

Alyas stepped back and Corado rolled over onto his knees, his wrist cradled against his chest and loathing in his eyes.

Alyas looked up into Lord Sul’s shocked face. “If he’s a kingdom officer, ensure he behaves like one. That means obeying orders. My orders.” To Corado, as he staggered to his feet, he snapped, “Your men, Captain. In position, now.”

Corado bared his teeth in a snarl. “Next time, Raine Sera.”

Alyas showed his own teeth. “Next time you won’t get a warning.”

Esar held out the knife and Corado snatched it from his hands. At least six bows were trained on him. “You too, Cantrell.”

“Any time, Corado.”

“Your men,” Alyas said. “Now.”

Eyes burning with hatred, Corado gave the order, and his men stirred from their shock. Esar noted the looks that were thrown Alyas’s way as they moved to obey, a mix of hostility and veiled approval. Not all the Lankarans were firmly behind Corado, but there were plenty who needed watching.

He said to Alyas, faintly accusing, “You enjoyed that.”

“That man wants me dead.”

“You threatened to kill him first,” Esar pointed out.

“No, I threatened to execute him. Next time, I will.”

“The sooner the better. The man’s a canker. Alyas, Flaeres –”

Alyas stopped. “You don’t… I remember.”

“Do you?” Esar asked. His own memories were muddled enough, and he hadn’t been semi-conscious and bleeding all over the place. But he would never forget the single-minded nature of that attack. How the creatures kept coming, relentless in their efforts to reach Alyas. In the end, they had set the fire that had saved them and given them time to withdraw. They were lucky it had not been later in the season, when the grasslands of northern Flaeres were tinder-dry and the fires could rage out of control for days. King Diago might not have been quite so grateful if they had devastated an entire region.

“Stay behind,” he said now. “There’s no need to come.” They did not know why he had been a target. What was the sense in risking it a second time?

“Yes, there is,” Alyas retorted, his eyes on Corado’s retreating back.

“Fuck him,” Esar said with feeling. “He makes trouble, I’ll kill him.”

Alyas swung round. “You won’t touch him! We don’t know what Raffa’s game is. I won’t risk putting you at his mercy. When Corado dies, it’ll be by my hand or at my orders. If he didn’t execute me for four hundred deaths, one more won’t make a difference.”

It was an argument Esar would not win. “Fine. Just be careful.”

Author Bio & Information: