Monday Book Review: MIND: The Message, by Jenn Nixon

MIND: The Message (Book 4)
By Jenn Nixon
Published March 2017


About the Book:

After years of trying to fit in, Casey Wu made her own path, her own way, working as a private security consultant in New York City. When Casey’s apartment is broken into and she and her mother become targets of powered individuals with ties to her long-missing father, reality is turned upside down as she’s pulled into an exciting and treacherous world she’s more connected to than she realizes.

Former General Theo Struck left the military behind to shore up the strength of the MIND team, worried about the significant emergence of psychic and visitor abilities on Earth. While trying to recover from the trauma he suffered during The Reckoning, and attempting to keep the entire team safe, he learns a mysterious private investigator is tailing him. The moment Theo confronts the powerful descendant sparks fly, but her story, almost too unbelievable to consider, isn’t something he can ignore.

Determined to help Casey learn the truth about her extraordinary powers, Theo agrees to help, and when they uncover connections between her father and a government chip his former unit used on human psychics, their blossoming friendship is tested as the dangerous investigation puts the entire MIND team at risk.

My Take:

Jenn Nixon creates a rich and complex future world with enough foundation in the present to be totally believable and thoroughly engaging. From the very first book in the series, I never doubted that there could indeed be alien visitors living and working among us, some with evil intent and some with the desire to safeguard the planet and the human race.

In this installment of the series, the Cartulian Theo finally meets his soulmate, Casey, a human/Cartulian hybrid, who coincidently helps the MIND team come one step closer to solving the next puzzle on their horizon. While there are still plenty of chapters in the POV's of Dina and Liam, the pair from the very first MIND novel, I most loved the story and heat between Casey and Theo, from both POVs.

Casey's father disappeared years ago, and her mother won't talk about it at all. When her apartment is broken into and her mother put into a coma, Casey must seek help to unravel the mystery that is her past. Along the way, she discovers her mixed race birth and what that means, including the telekinetic powers hiding within her.

Fans of modern sci fi should love this matter-of-fact futuristic story, and Nixon's view of how our world might be in the future, if we know about the aliens among us. While this is a much better story if you know the characters, it also works well as a stand alone novel... Except that it will totally make you want to go back and read the earlier books. And totally leave you wanting to hound Ms. Nixon for the next book in the series!

Grab your copy on Amazon.

Candy Hearts Romance series: REAL LOVE by Charlotte Copper

About the Book:

As a young girl, Monda was placed into the tutelage of Mistress Teevac. Trained to use her empathic skills and educated in the ways to please a man, Monda is on her way to her new mate and master when her spaceship crashes. Rescued by a handsome space lieutenant, who literally makes her heart race, Monda’s eyes and heart are opened to new possibilities.

When Lieutenant Patrick Lancaster looks at the exotic Monda, he sees beautiful not alien. With an instinct to protect her and the desire to have her, he’d be honored to call her his own, but the starts have something else in mind. Or do they?

My Take:

This was the first novella of the Candy Hearts series that I picked up to read, since it shared a release date with my own novella. And I have to say I was so impressed that I started to doubt my own book a little bit and had to back and retread some of it to make sure it was up to the task of being part of such a fun, inventive series. (And phew, yes, I think my book is pretty good too.)

Real Love is a futuristic romance set in space with alien life forms a normal part of everyday reality. Think Star Trek without the battles.  Most of the story takes place aboard a huge space transport ship, which is why I made the Star Trek analogy instead of Guardians of the Galaxy or Star Wars.

The main character has led a specifically sheltered life, and is at first overwhelmed by all the new concepts and choices surrounding her on the ship. She's never had to make her own choices or consider what she wants, but faced with sudden freedom to choose, her world begins to open to possibilities, including real love, as the title suggests.

I whipped through this story in no time, and loved every minute of it. If you like your contemporary romance with a touch of alien, grab this sweet story and be ready to smile.

About the Author:

Charlotte Copper lives in Stouffville, Ontario - that's in Canada, eh. When she isn't working at her full-time job, Charlotte likes to craft, read, go to movies, and, of course, write. Charlotte hopes to have all of her stories published some day because, as a romance writer, she believes in happy endings!

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BOOK REVIEW: TIME RETURN (Red Moon Trilogy Book 2) by Micah Caida

TIME RETURN by Micah Caida
Published by Silver Hawk Press, February 2014


About the Book:

In this coming of age debut trilogy, USA Today Micah Caida turns dystopian young adult fiction on its ear with a breathtakingly fresh science fiction, fantasy story that is as much a thriller as it is a romantic tale.

Her Time. His Time. No Time

Rayen promised to return, Gabby must return, and Tony can’t return.

Three teenage friends are connected by a shared secret that forces a decision with consequences no one expects. When Rayen arrives on the Red Moon sphere again, she finds shocking changes. Her arrival causes more upheaval and danger for the MystiK children, creating a heart wrenching challenge for Callan who must choose between duty and holding onto the one girl he can’t have. But walking away is harder than he expects when a new MystiK male in the sphere is poised to take Callan’s place. Under threat of attack from an unexpected enemy, Rayen and Callan must put their personal feelings aside to unite a village in chaos.

Choices backfire, trust is forfeit and alliances shift as elements of the Damian Prophecy begin to fall into place and the time of reckoning is closer than anyone expected.

MY TAKE:

This is a fun, fast-paced dystopian sci fi series, but if you haven't read the first book you need to do that first. Some series you can jump into - this one you can't. Read my review of TIME TRAP (book one) Here.

TIME RETURN by Micah Caida has time travel, science fiction, coming-of-age, first romance, and dystopian futuristic worlds all rolled up into one fast-paced rollercoaster package.

Each chapter has a specific POV and voice, with each character having a wildly different agenda and interpretation of each situation. Even our three time travelers - Rayen, Gabby and Tony - have different reasons and different goals for returning to The Sphere.

As with the first book, most of the story is from Rayen's viewpoint as she is the catalyst for the story, but this time we have additional POVs and insights, including more chapters from Callan, the love interest who draws Rayen back into this dangerous world. Most of the intricate world-building was established in Book 1, so again, you really need to start at the beginning of the series to appreciate the twists and turns and complexity.

The scenes between Rayen and Callan were frustrating at times, as they deal with the overwhelming emotions of an impossible situation. Their reactions swing between hormonal teenagers to battle-hardened adults - which seems jarring until you remind yourself this is a Lord of the Flies kind of situation, where Callan has been forced to be the adult of the group for far too long, never having a chance at dating or falling in love like a normal teen would.

The ending of this installment leaves the reader dangling on an even larger cliff than the first book. Luckily, the third book is due out this summer (hopefully!) to conclude this thrill ride.

If you like dystopian YA sci fi, you'll enjoy this series. Grab your copies of TIME TRAP and TIME RETURN soon, and then you can eagerly await the final installment with the rest of us! Each book is available on Amazon for $2.99 - well worth a trip on Micah Caida's rollercoaster.


About the Author:
Micah Caida is the melding of two voices, two personalities and two minds - one NYT bestseller and one Award-winner - which often turns up the strangest ideas. Micah enjoys exploring how different characters react and deal with similar situations. Life is often filled with the unexpected - both good and bad. While creating the Red Moon series, Micah hit upon a very unusual "what if" that exploded into an epic story filled with teenagers who face impossible odds, but are the only ones who can save the world from itself.

For more information, visit http://www.MicahCaida.com or Micah Caida on Facebook