Monday, May 31, 2021

Days of Steel Rain: The Epic Story of a WWII Vengeance Ship in the Year of the Kamikaze

 Welcome to my review for Days of Steel Rain: The Epic Story of a WWII Vengeance Ship in the Year of the Kamikaze 

Title: Days of Steel Rain: The Epic Story of a WWII Vengeance Ship in the Year of the Kamikaze
Author: Brent E. Jones
Narrated by : Dan Worren
Genre: Nonfiction - WW2
Published :May 11, 2021
Audiobook: 25.98
Accompanying PDF
Duration :13 h 8 m 7 s
Unabridged
Published by Published by Hachette Audio
Rating: 5

First off I  want to say a  huge  thank you to the publisher Hachette Audio and to the author Brent E. Jones,  for the invite to listen to it as well as review it. And second I'm so glad that this was my second pick from their list that they sent me , because  reading  about WW2  is one of my all time favorite things to read wither it's nonfiction or historical fiction based on that time period. 
Also there every time I go in to read either nonfiction or historical fiction WW2 stories there's a few questions I ask myself each and every time and they are as fellows : 
1: author has done their research : For his first book I would say yes , and it shows throughout the story.  


2: they bring their characters and their settings to life? Yes ,  he did a wonderful job of drawing the reader in by introducing individuals involved with the ship and what their lives was like before the ship. 

3: they make you feel everything that the characters feel? Yes, everytime a character was introduced you could feel their pain, and their fear .


4: and by the end of the book your a emotional wreck? Yes , because of how well the narrator told the story with each turn of the page , the more he told about the history of the ship and the one it was named after, the men who lived and lost their lives, it broke your heart  not only for them but for their families. 



An intimate true account of Americans at war, Days of Steel Rain is an epic drama about an unlikely group of men forced to work together in the face of an increasingly desperate enemy during the final year of World War II.

Sprawling across the Pacific, this untold story follows the crew of the newly-built "vengeance ship" USS Astoria, named after her sunken predecessor lost earlier in the war. At its center lies U.S. Navy Captain George Dyer, who vowed to return to action after suffering a horrific wound. He accepted the ship's command in 1944, knowing it would be his last chance to avenge his injuries and salvage his career. Yet with the nation's resources and personnel stretched thin by the war, he found that just getting the ship into action would prove to be a battle.

Tensions among the crew flared from the start. Astoria's sailors and Marines were a collection of replacements, retreads, and older men. Some were broken by previous traumatic combat, most had no desire to be in the war, yet all found themselves fighting an enemy more afraid of surrender than death.

The reluctant ship was called to respond to challenges that its men never could have anticipated. From a typhoon where the ocean was enemy to daring rescue missions in the Philippines, a gallant turn at Iwo Jima, and the ultimate crucible against the Kamikaze at Okinawa, they endured the worst of the final year of the war at sea.

Days of Steel Rain brings to life more than a decade of research and firsthand interviews, depicting with unprecedented insight the singular drama of a captain grappling with a prospective mutiny amidst some of the most brutal fighting of World War II. Throughout, Brent Jones fills the narrative with secret diaries, memoirs, letters, interpersonal conflicts, and the innermost thoughts of the Astoria men. Days of Steel Rain weaves an intimate, unforgettable portrait of leadership, heroism, endurance, and redemption

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Call Me Elizabeth Lark

 welcome to my blog tour stop for  Call Me Elizabeth Lark which is being hold by Partners in Crime

Rating: 5

Would I recommend it ? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes


My thoughts

It checks off every thing I  like in a mystery :

Small town

Disappearance

Lies

Secrets

Murder

Had me setting on the edge of my set with each turn of the page, wanting to know if Elizabeth really was Myra Barkley's daughter and if so where had she been and if not then who was she. As for the plot line in  it worked in the way that you got to see the past and the feature which made the story that much enjoyable . And the author has a way with her written that makes a story come to life, like it's not a book your reading but instead your watching a movie . 


Book Details:

Genre: Domestic Suspense
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: March 9th 2021
Number of Pages:
ISBN: 1643856820 (ISBN13: 9781643856827)
Series: Call Me Elizabeth Lark is not a part of a series.
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads


Author Bio:

Melissa Colasanti

Melissa Colasanti is a mother and an author. She has a BFA in fiction from Boise State University. Her writing has appeared in Lithub, Memoir Magazine, The Coffin Bell Journal and others. She is the Stephen R. Kustra scholar in creative writing for 2019, and was awarded the Glenn Balch Award for fiction in 2020.

Catch Up With Melissa Colasanti:
MelissamColasanti.com
Goodreads
BookBub - @melissamcolasanti
Instagram - @melissacolasanti
Twitter - @mmcolasanti
Facebook - @melissacolasantiauthor

Thursday, May 27, 2021

June's TBR & Plus Summer NetGalley Challenge

Summer NetGalley Challenge


Hosted by Bookstacks & Golden Moms 

 tag us @bookstacksngoldenmoms on Instagram and use the hashtag #bookstacksnetgalleysummer21

June 1, 2021 – August 31, 2021



NetGalley ARC's I'm reading in June 
Note: I haveThe Twelve Dogs of Christmas both as a Physical book and as a NetGalley ARC so that one counts for both 
IF I can get to Steel Fear then it'll be on this list , but if not I'll have it on my July TBR , I just wanted to added it on here just in case I could get to it , even though there is already 23 books on this one TBR .
2nd note: Just in case I can get to it Dead Until Dark ( the first Sookie book is been adding ) 
















Rest of my June TBR is as fellows 









Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Hard Sell

 Welcome to my blog tour stop for Hard Sell which is been hosted by Carina Adores- HARLEQUIN - Carina Press



Series: Jade Harbour Capital #1

Author: Hudson Lin

Genre : LGBTQIA  Romance ( gay romance)

My thoughts

Rating: 4

Would I recommend it? Yes

Would I read more of this series ? Yes

First off I  want to say a  huge  thank you to the publisher Carina Adores- HARLEQUIN - Carina Press , the author Hudson Lin , and to NetGalley for inviting me to join the blog tour for this book as well as letting me read and review it.One other thing I want to say before I post my thoughts is that Carina Adores- HARLEQUIN - Carina Press is doing an amazing job with their LGBTQIA  Romance especially their gay romance ( m/m ) , which is one of my all time favorite romance to read , thanks to them I've found and discovered quite a few new authors and series to read just like this one and others that I've read and loved in the past. Now on to my thoughts: What a great start to a new series ,that ist every thing I love in story  which is that its addictive,has all the  angsty and swooning I could ever want and that its a  second-chance as well as a  forbidden love m/m romance. 



Hard Sell by Hudson Lin is available in eBook, trade paperback and audiobook formats on May 25th!


Book Description

One night wasn’t enough.


Danny Ip walks into every boardroom with a plan. His plan for struggling tech company WesTec is to acquire it, shut it down, and squeeze the last remaining revenue out of it for his Jade Harbour Capital portfolio. But he didn’t expect his best friend's younger brother—the hottest one-night stand he ever had—to be there.


Tobin Lok has always thought the world of Danny. He’s funny, warm, attractive—and totally out of Tobin’s league. Now, pitted against Danny at work, Tobin might finally get a chance to prove he’s more than just Wei’s little brother.


It takes a lot to get under Danny’s skin, but Tobin is all grown up in a way Danny can’t ignore. Now, with a promising patent on the line and the stakes higher than ever, all he can think about is getting Tobin back into his bed—and into his life for good.


If only explaining their relationship to Wei could be so easy…


Jade Harbour Capital

Book 1: Hard Sell

Book 2: Going Public

Buy Hard Sell by Hudson Lin

Harlequin.com: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335500151_hard-sell.html 

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335500151 

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Jade-Harbour-Capital-1-Hard-Sell-Paperback-9781335500151/789839963 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Sell-Jade-Harbour-Capital-ebook/dp/B08HX2S5WD 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hard-sell-hudson-lin/1138272518 

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hard-sell/id1531566162 

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Hudson_Lin_Hard_Sell?id=uar8DwAAQBAJ 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hard-sell-12

About the Author

Hudson Lin was raised by conservative immigrant parents and grew up straddling two cultures with often times conflicting perspectives on life. Instead of conforming to either, she has sought to find a third way that brings together the positive elements of both.


Having spent much of her life on the outside looking in, Lin likes to write stories about outsiders who fight to carve out their place in society, and overcome everyday challenges to find love and happily ever afters. Her books are diverse romances featuring queer and disabled people of color.


When not getting lost in a good story, Lin hosts a podcast, interviews queer people of color, and a does bunch of other stuff.


Connect with the Author

Website: https://www.hudsonlin.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hudsonlinauthor 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hudsonlinwrites 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hudsonlinwrites/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17681173.Hudson_Lin

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Lin/e/B07B6RKS72 


Monday, May 24, 2021

The Secretary

 Welcome to my blog tour stop for The Secretary which is been hosted by  Bookouture


Title : The Secretary

Author: Catherine Hokin 

Genre: Historical fiction World War II 

Rating: 4

My thoughts

First off I  want to say a  huge  thank you to the publisher  Bookoutre,  the author Catherine Hokin , and to NetGalley for inviting me to join the blog tour for this book as well as letting me read and review it.Once again its a win for Bookouture when it comes to their historical fiction WW 2 stories. And the author did amazing job bring her story to life as well as her characters, this is the second book that I've read where the story takes place in Berlin, and one of the things I loved about the story was how she handled the topic of how the Jews was treated , and the different politics that was going on at that time. The way she wrote her story shows what life was like now and then in the different time periods and how it still effected the people living in 1990 that remembers the war of 1949. 


Buy Links:

Google: https://bit.ly/3bbcEYY

The Tower House. Down a secluded path, hidden by overgrown vines, the crumbling villa echoes with memories. Of the family who laughed and sang there, until the Nazis tore them from their home. And of the next woman to walk its empty rooms, whose courage in the face of evil could alter the course of history…


Germany 1940. As secretary to the leader of the SS, Magda spends her days sending party invitations to high-ranking Nazis, and her evenings distributing pamphlets for the resistance. But Magda is leading a dangerous double life, smuggling secrets out of the office. It’s a deadly game, and eventual exposure is a certainty, but Magda is driven by a need to keep the man she secretly loves safe as he fights against the Nazis…


Forty years later. Nina’s heart pounds as she steps into an uncertain future carrying a forged passport, a few bank notes, and a scribbled address for The Tower House taken from an intricate drawing she found hidden in her grandmother’s wardrobe. Separated from her family and betrayed by her country, Nina’s last hope is to trace her family’s history in the ruins of the past her grandmother ran from. But, when she finally finds the abandoned house, she opens the door to a forgotten story, and to secrets which will change everything: past, present, and future…


A poignant and gripping novel about bravery, loss and redemption during the Second World War. An unputdownable read for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones and The Alice Network.


Author Bio:


Catherine Hokin is the author of two World War Two inspired novels set in Berlin, her favourite city. Following a History degree at Manchester University she worked in teaching, marketing and politics, while waiting for a chance to do what she really wanted which was to write full time. Her short stories have been published by iScot, Writers Forum and Myslexia magazines and she was the winner of the 2019 Fiction 500 Short Story Competition. She is a lover of strong female leads and a quest.


Catherine now lives in Glasgow with her American husband. She has two grown-up children – one of whom lives, very conveniently, in Berlin – and a life long addiction to very loud music. 

https://www.catherinehokin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/cathokin/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

https://twitter.com/cathokin

Sunday, May 23, 2021

The Frozen Girl

 Welcome to my blog tour stop for The Frozen Girl which is been hosted by Bookouture 




The young woman’s mouth is slightly parted, as if waiting to speak. Her body is frozen in ice and her blue eyes stare at the sky, 

My thoughts
Rating: 5
Series:Jessie Novak #2
Would I recommend it? Yes
Would I read more of this series? Yes, in fact I have the first book to read .
Would I read more by this author? Yes
First off I  want to say a  huge  thank you to the publisher Bookouture ,   the author Roberta Gately , and to NetGalley for inviting me to join the blog tour for this book as well as letting me read and review it. This was my first time reading anything by this book and all I can say is way did it take me this long to read anything by her I'll never understand it , especially since I have the first book to read. at the time I start this I had plain to read a few pages then go back to the other book I was read but nope that didn't happen at all in fact I ended up finishing it the same day I started it, just couldn't put it down at all. Plus other thing I loved was  the dynamic between Jessie and Sam , and the interaction they had with each other as well as with the other characters though out the story . Can't wait to read more of this series and see what happens next.


Author:      Roberta Gately    


Book:                   The Frozen Girl  

 

Publication Day: may 18th 2021

 

Buy LINK  

Amazon: https://geni.us/B08XMTCBN2social

Apple: http://ow.ly/ObXK50DLC5R

Kobo: http://ow.ly/gfNV50DLC5k

Google: http://ow.ly/98Yp50DLZKh


Description:


 


The young woman’s mouth is slightly parted, as if waiting to speak. Her body is frozen in ice and her blue eyes stare at the sky, perhaps wanting to look at the stars one last time…


When the body of a woman is found in the frozen Neponset River, just where it meets the sea, Jessie Novak and her partner Detective Sam Dallas rush to the scene. When Jessie sees a flash of a familiar silk scarf, she’s shocked to realize the girl in the ice is Sheila Logan, who she worked closely with for years at Boston City Hospital. Jessie desperately wants to find out how this young and talented nurse ended up an innocent victim.

But who would want to kill her? As she digs into Sheila’s past, Jessie realizes she was having an affair with a colleague and may even have been pregnant. Was her lover unwilling to be a father to her child? The pain of Sheila’s death threatens to tear open Jessie’s old wounds—Jessie’s own mother walked out on her when she was just a baby and never looked back. She can’t change her own past, but she’s determined to get justice for Sheila.

When Sheila’s neighbor is found dead, also wearing a distinctive scarf, Jessie sees a lethal pattern forming. Next, someone breaks into Jessie’s car and she knows she’s being warned off the case. But with the killer in her sights, will she take the deadliest risk of her life? Can Jessie catch him, before he catches up to her?


This utterly addictive novel will keep you up all night! Fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Abbott and Tess Gerritsen will be totally hooked until the last heart-thumping page.


Author Bio:


 


Roberta Gately, lives in Boston where she works as a nurse at the Boston Medical Center. It was in the ER where she developed an interest in the investigations behind the crimes and the victims she encountered. Working in a busy ER is much like being a detective—the search for answers is a methodical process, not unlike the work required to solve a murder!


 


Her crime series with Bookouture stars the brave and brilliant ER nurse Jessie Novak who teams up with her detective friend to solve tricky Boston murder cases. Expect addictive mysteries, breathtaking suspense and a gutsy heroine you’ll never forget. When she’s not writing or working at the hospital, Roberta enjoys reading, working out and spending time with friends and family.

She has also worked in humanitarian aid, providing medical care in some of the world’s bleakest spots ranging from Africa to Afghanistan. Her two previous novels, Lipstick in Afghanistan and The Bracelet were based upon her experiences of nursing abroad. Her memoir—Footprints in the Dust tells the true stories of some of the extraordinary people she met.

Author Social Media Links

Roberta loves hearing from readers and you can get in touch with her using the links below.

Author website: robertagately.com

Twitter: twitter.com/RobertaGately

Facebook page: facebook.com/RobertaGatelyAuthor

Instagram instagram.com/roberta_gately

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Status-6: An NCIS Special Ops Thriller

 Welcome to my blog tour stop for Status-6: An NCIS Special Ops Thriller which is been hosted by Partners In Crime 


Status-6

by W. Craig Reed

May 1 - 31, 2021 Tour



What’s the next nightmare after the coronavirus?
My thoughts
Rating: 5
Would I recommend it? Yes
Would I read more of this series ? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
First off I  want to say a  huge  thank you to the publisher  Permuted Press, the author W. Craig Reed, as well as Random Tour Things for inviting me to join the blog tour for this book as well as letting me read and review it.Non stop action from the very start, and didn't let up until the very end . Which means I was 100% hooked and didn't want to stop reading . A great start to a new series and I'm so glade that I said  yes because this is something I would pick up in a heart beat. The characters are real and come to life with each turn of the page.


Deep beneath the Arctic Ocean, a covert team of Chinese operatives uses stolen U.S. technology to capture Russia’s newest attack submarine. Loaded with 100-megaton nuclear torpedoes, the sub is headed west. The Americans want to sink her, the Russians want her back, and the Chinese claim they’re not responsible.
NCIS agent Jon Shay is a former SEAL Team Two operator. Still shattered by the murder of his wife a year earlier, he places the barrel of a revolver against his temple, spins the cylinder, and squeezes the trigger. He hears only a click—and the chime of his phone. Activated for a mission in the Arctic, Jon pairs with British scientist Kate Barrett to battle a ticking clock, trained operatives, and top government officials. Together, they must find and stop the world’s most lethal submarine. The stakes  are raised when they learn that the Russian sub is controlled by an infected AI system bent on completing its mission to create a nuclear winter.

Book Details:

Genre: Military Thriller
Published by: Post Hill Press
Publication Date: April 13th 2021
Number of Pages: 256
ISBN: 1682619354 (ISBN13: 9781682619353)
Series: Status-6 is the first book in the NCIS Special Ops Thriller series.
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads


William Craig Reed is the New York Times bestselling author of thrillers and non-fiction military and business books including Spies of the Deep: The Untold Story of the Most Terrifying Incident in Submarine Naval History and How Putin Used The Tragedy To Ignite a New Cold War and the critically acclaimed Red November (HarperCollins). Also, The Seven Secrets of Neuron-Leadership (Wiley), an award-winning business book, and Tarzan, My Father (ECW) co-written with the late Johnny Weissmuller, Jr.

Reed served as a U.S. Navy submariner and diver during the Cold War and earned commendations for completing secret missions, some in concert with SEAL Team One. Reed’s military experience and inside contacts help infuse his writing with intrigue and realism, and inspired his next non-fiction book, Also, this novel: STATUS-6 about a former SEAL Team Two operator turned NCIS agent that teams with a British female scientist to stop a Russian submarine controlled by an infected artificial intelligence.

Reed holds an MBA in Marketing and was a former vice president and board director for the Silicon Valley American Marketing Association. Reed is the co-founder of Us4Warriors, an award-winning Veterans Non-Profit and serves on the Board of Aretanium, a wellness firm that leverages the neuroscience he wrote about in his leadership book to provide personalized wellness and professional development programs to accelerate brains, careers, and relationships.

Catch Up With W. Craig Reed:
WCraigReed.com
Goodreads
BookBub: @wc14
Instagram: @wcraigreed
Twitter: @wcraigreed
Facebook: @wcraigreed

Good Half Gone

 Welcome to my show case for Good Half Gone which is been hosted by Harlequin “911, WHAT IS your emergency?” “Hello? Help me, please! They t...