Bookiemavon

Thou Shalt Not edited by Alex Davis
Published by Scarier 51 (Tickety Boo Press) on 1st April 2016
151 pages
We have all grown up with the Ten Commandments, but this book puts a spin on each of the commandments. Each story is about one of the ten commandments, and the ten authors who wrote the stories all have their own style and take on the commandments. This book was a quick read and it was great to read so many different authors, and I will be looking out for any more of their work. If you like horror, or stories with a twist than this is a book for you. You will find a story you will like and if like me you will have your favourites. I have decided to review my favourite 2
Dionysus by Jeff Gardiner.
He took the commandment; Thou shalt not have no God before me and put his own twist on the story. If you have teenagers than you know how fixated they can get with a Rock or Pop star. The author uses this as the basis of his story. It follows 2 characters Ben and Emma whose idol is Dionysus a Rock star who everyone falls in love with. As you read this story, you get drawn in to how their lives revolve round the star and the ending was a totally surprise
My other favourite was: The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing by Danuta Reah, who wrote about Thou Shalt not Kill. The story was about a young man who wanted to become a serial killer. He stumbles across a chat room where he could discuss his passion. I loved the way that the story was based around the chat room and concentrated on one main conversation between the young man and another chat room user and you are following him whilst he is planning his first murder, but there is an unexpected ending.

Thou Shalt Not edited by Alex Davis
Published by Scarier 51 (Tickety Boo Press) on 1st April 2016
151 pages
We have all grown up with the Ten Commandments, but this book puts a spin on each of the commandments. Each story is about one of the ten commandments, and the ten authors who wrote the stories all have their own style and take on the commandments. This book was a quick read and it was great to read so many different authors, and I will be looking out for any more of their work. If you like horror, or stories with a twist than this is a book for you. You will find a story you will like and if like me you will have your favourites. I have decided to review my favourite 2
Dionysus by Jeff Gardiner.
He took the commandment; Thou shalt not have no God before me and put his own twist on the story. If you have teenagers than you know how fixated they can get with a Rock or Pop star. The author uses this as the basis of his story. It follows 2 characters Ben and Emma whose idol is Dionysus a Rock star who everyone falls in love with. As you read this story, you get drawn in to how their lives revolve round the star and the ending was a totally surprise
My other favourite was: The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing by Danuta Reah, who wrote about Thou Shalt not Kill. The story was about a young man who wanted to become a serial killer. He stumbles across a chat room where he could discuss his passion. I loved the way that the story was based around the chat room and concentrated on one main conversation between the young man and another chat room user and you are following him whilst he is planning his first murder, but there is an unexpected ending.

The story is about Tara a teenage girl with a famous dad and a psychic power, by touching a person’s belongings it lets her see the person’s death. As she classes this as problems she shies away from people, not making friends at school as she doesn’t want them to think she is weird or be her friend just because her dad was a famous singer. This was until she met Kaolin who had moved to the school after her dad had died. When Tara touches Kaolin’s necklace she see how he dies. From that moment she learns how to be a real friend. Added to this she has to research her family for a school project and finds more about her mom and the secrets her dad had kept from her.
This is an easy read and is ideal for both teenagers and adults. The pace of the story is perfect and I found it a quick read. I was interesting to find out more about Tara’s mom and as a parent I could understand why Tara’s dad kept the secrets of her mom’s death and power, He was just doing it to protect Tara. Yes you knew that Tara was going to investigate Kaolin’s dad death but the way it was done was not what I expected. I enjoyed that throughout the book Tara character developed and that she started caring for others and began loving herself and embracing her power. A great ending and I am definitely adding the rest of the series to my TBR list.

The story is about Tara a teenage girl with a famous dad and a psychic power, by touching a person’s belongings it lets her see the person’s death. As she classes this as problems she shies away from people, not making friends at school as she doesn’t want them to think she is weird or be her friend just because her dad was a famous singer. This was until she met Kaolin who had moved to the school after her dad had died. When Tara touches Kaolin’s necklace she see how he dies. From that moment she learns how to be a real friend. Added to this she has to research her family for a school project and finds more about her mom and the secrets her dad had kept from her.
This is an easy read and is ideal for both teenagers and adults. The pace of the story is perfect and I found it a quick read. I was interesting to find out more about Tara’s mom and as a parent I could understand why Tara’s dad kept the secrets of her mom’s death and power, He was just doing it to protect Tara. Yes you knew that Tara was going to investigate Kaolin’s dad death but the way it was done was not what I expected. I enjoyed that throughout the book Tara character developed and that she started caring for others and began loving herself and embracing her power. A great ending and I am definitely adding the rest of the series to my TBR list.

Ian Troy is a Shinree bounty hunter and for the last 10 years has been avoiding everyone, trying to forget a most devastating mistake. Whilst at war Troy used the Crown of Stones and wiped out everyone including his Queen. Hiding the crown except a piece that he kept on his person, Troy thought that would be the end of it, but he was so wrong. His enemies are gaining strength and are out for revenge. Whilst he is trying to track down who is out to kill him, he makes friends with too unlikely characters Malaq a prince born out of wedlock and Jarryd a messenger who is in love with a princess in danger. With the help of Sienn another Shinree he begins to learn to control his magic and starts to trust other people.
Ian is not your typical main character, and reminds me of a drug addict wanting to stay clean but is craving for his next fix. He has forced himself to stay away from magic and even when he knows he has to use it he is always thinking of others and does not want to kill the innocent. I imagine him to be the damaged hero and everyone he meets is trying to fix him in their own way. Malaq is confusing and you don’t know where his loyalties lie. In his own stumbling way he is trying to fix the country and wants his claim to the throne. Jarraq is the innocent one of the group but at the start of the book he very naive but as he continues on his journey he grows into a strong character.
This is a great start to an epic fantasy, and there is action from start to finish. With Ian as the unlikely hero you will definitely not get bored. Although this book finishes on a slight cliff hanger, you do not have to wait to find out what happens as book 2 is out to buy.

This story is about a man who has recently lost his wife Lizzie from Cancer, set over a couple of months after her death; it follows his life whilst he comes to terms with his loss.
This book is described as a ghost story, but the way the author has written this book I think it is more than a ghost story. It is a story about bereavement and how the main character tries and gets on with his life. Whilst you are reading this book you really identify with the main character and you can feel his pain whilst he tries and lives his life. Throughout the house there are memories and he thinks that he is seeing Lizzie, is it a ghost or is it his grief playing tricks. Cracks appear in the house again I felt that it was the cracks appearing in his life. I enjoyed how the author took him back to Oxford where he reminisced about where they met and were happier. This was the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. Although this is a short story there was so much packed in to the story it made a quick read and you will be lost in the story. Whilst you are reading this have some tissues nearby because you will shed a tear at the raw grief. A must read, it was wonderful

When I started this book, I thought another story about a damaged man who meets a woman escaping domestic violence, but how wrong I was. Stone suffers from PTSD due to his time in Afghanistan. We first meet him getting drunk in Saddles the local bar, he realise on alcohol to stem the flashback, after getting into a bar fight he comes round to find a woman holding a knife. Meet Shannon, owner of the bar which she inherited after her father died. Getting left this bar, gave her the means to escape an abusive relationship.
Both characters are stubborn and whilst they are trying to help each other, they are also trying to be independent. Thrown into the mix is Stones 14 year old son who he didn’t know about and his wife who is dying of cancer.
This book is more than a love story, the author throws a couple of twist into the book and this keeps your interest. Stone’s story was written with an understanding of PTSD and the telling of the flashbacks help you realise what Stone went through.
I enjoyed this book but would have liked to know more about Shannon’s struggle when she escaped her ex.

When I started this book, I thought another story about a damaged man who meets a woman escaping domestic violence, but how wrong I was. Stone suffers from PTSD due to his time in Afghanistan. We first meet him getting drunk in Saddles the local bar, he realise on alcohol to stem the flashback, after getting into a bar fight he comes round to find a woman holding a knife. Meet Shannon, owner of the bar which she inherited after her father died. Getting left this bar, gave her the means to escape an abusive relationship.
Both characters are stubborn and whilst they are trying to help each other, they are also trying to be independent. Thrown into the mix is Stones 14 year old son who he didn’t know about and his wife who is dying of cancer.
This book is more than a love story, the author throws a couple of twist into the book and this keeps your interest. Stone’s story was written with an understanding of PTSD and the telling of the flashbacks help you realise what Stone went through.
I enjoyed this book but would have liked to know more about Shannon’s struggle when she escaped her ex.

Following on from Hellspawn, Kurt and his family are still trying to get to the army base for protection. At the start of the book we get introduced to two new characters, and Ricky addresses a topic not openly discussed here in the UK-domestic violence on a male. Pete is a lovely guy that has one messed up girlfriend Debbie and I personally would have fed her to the zombies straight away. Throughout this book we get introduced to new characters and you can see cracks appear in the group. There is more action in this book and with the added twists involving humans and zombies, Kurt and co really have their work cut out trying to survive. There is a moment in the book that left me with tears in my eyes as the scene was such a shock and so well written, but I understand why it needed to be done
All the characters have developed since Hellspawn as for them to survive they needed to harden up and although Kurt is stronger, he is doing it for the family he loves. There are scenes in this book that will make you laugh, cry and even shout out to warn the characters. A great book that kept the suspense going right to the very end. The action started from page 1 and was so well written I finished reading it really quickly and I cannot wait for the 3rd book in the series. If you love zombies get the Hellspawn series

I love reading about Vampires and I love reading about witches so what could be better than a book or in this case 3 books about both.
Book 1: Avah is a young witch who is about to given The Power, which will enable her to be a far greater vampire hunter. She comes across a group of vampires and feels a connection with one of the Jasik the leader of a group of hunters, Malik is Jasik’s brother, Lillie and Jeramiah. Each one has a different power, their mission is to track down and kill rogue vampires. She doesn’t realise what an impact he has on her life until whilst she is receiving her gift, a rogue vampire attacks her coven and as she is dying calls out to Jasik to save her. Going against vampire law he turns her into a vampire. This causes her to get thrown out of the coven and to start living her life as a vampire.
Jasik has fallen in love with her but she has to fight the prejudice of the other members of his group whilst adapting to vampire life and learning to control her magic. Slowly members of his group come to accept her and she finally feels part of a family. There is a great fight between Rogues and Vampires which results in their leader Amicia disappearing.
Book 2: Following straight on after the battle a new character is introduced. Sebastian is a hybrid: half witch and half vampire. His appearance at first is very suspicious and you do not know the reason for him being there, but throughout the book he helps Avah understand and control her new powers and even helps them search for Amicia. They must return to Avah’s coven to do a spell, where she does not get a warm welcome. Trying to save Avah’s life Sebastian kills Avah’s grandmother and turns her into a vampire. Big mistake. They have to battle more Rogues and to add to Avah’s concerns Sebastian introduces her to a large coven of Hybrids and Avah soon realises that there has been some dodgy dealing in the witching community.
Throughout Jasik and Avah’s love grow for each other but Jasik realises he cannot give her everything she wants, Avah has to really work at getting the relationship she wants.
Book 3: This book was full of action and you will not want to put this book down. You even get to see Avah’s diplomatic skills. Travelling to London and Russia, she comes to understand her powers and whilst her visions are troubling her she realises she must tap into The Power to save everyone, a decision that does not go down to well. Jasik and Avah’s relationship is even stronger and Malik also has a love interest.
This is a brilliant trilogy and was a page turner from page one. Full of twist and kept you guessing to the end. You see the characters develop whilst you are reading these books and whilst Avah started as a naive young witch, she grows in to a strong women who people grow to love. Sebastian is just like your younger annoying brother and even though you don’t want to you, you will have a soft spot for him. Jasik and Malik are the two guys you will drool over, brothers and English as well what is not to like. Malik is your tall strong brooding type, Jasik the one who wears his heart on his sleeve. The way the author has written these books you can feel the love between them all and you can sense that they are part of a family without being told. The relationship between Avah and Jasik is perfect and fits in with the whole story. All three books are full of action and you will not want to put them down making them a quick read. This series could carry on with what happen next or I would like to know the story behind the English brothers

Set in the future, the main character Seth is a hitman, working for an organisation that took out criminals, murderers, the scum of the world. He worked for the organisation for over 10 years but after his last hit, he started to get a conscious. He wanted more, to get his girlfriend off Clandestine, the drug of choice, and to retire to Turkey.
Terra Bloom is the daughter of the last man Seth killed, she started to make connections with the amount of unsolved deaths. As an activist she is used to making noises but when Seth’s bosses started getting worried, they wanted him to kill her, but he couldn’t do it and together they go on the run.
You cannot place this book into one genre category, and the mixture of genres made it a good read. The characters developed with every page you read and it was interested to read how Seth and Terra’s relationship grew whilst they were on the run. The action started from page one and made it a good page turner and fast read.
There was only one section (when he went back in time) that I couldn’t get my head round, but this did not spoil the book at all. I am definitely going to read more from Kelli Wallace

When you start reading this story, you think that it is another zombie story involving the military, but you will be very much mistaken. The main characters Professor Mallory, his daughter Elayna and 3 students Maya, Todd and Allen have all been invited to investigate a newly discovered chamber in one of the Great Pyramids in Egypt. Whilst investigating the chamber Maya comes across a sarcophagus which turns her into Zombie Zero, she quickly turns the rest of the group into zombies and gives them instructions on how to take over the world.
The majority of this book was written from the zombies’ point of view and it was a pleasant change. Also the zombies were not your usual shuffling groaning sort, they were intelligent, they had a game plan, and some even had a conscious and were trying to fight the hunger. The remainder of the story was about the humans trying to survive.
Before you start the story take time to read the acknowledgement, the author has used quite a few Indie Authors as characters and if like me you love the indie world you will recognise them or even find a new one to read.
I was shocked to read that this was the author’s first zombie book and I hope it will not be his last

Arak is a dragon who is very good at trance-minding this has caused him to get teased on a regular basis so to try and prove himself; he goes on the search for copper, the staple diet for dragons. Due to their supply running low, dragons are becoming ill. On his 1st mission he crash lands injury himself. Scree is an octopus who is the healer of her clan. Using sign language Scree fixes Arak and it’s the start of a great friendship, involving both their groups and they begin to trade with each other.
What starts off a simple trading becomes so much more, the octopi help them with their search for copper. Working together they find new forms of transport so they can travel further afield and even start up a friendship with a squid, the monster of the sea.
This is a book of fiction, but as the author is a marine biologist you learn so much about the creatures of the sea. You get drawn into this book as you go on their adventures. This book is for readers old and young, if you are a dragon lover or interested in reading about sea life then this is the book for you. The only complaint I had is that I wished I had younger children as I would have loved to read this to them as their bedtime story.

Meet Hallie, her permanent residence is a mental asylum, where she has been since she admitted that she saw things. She has one friend in there called Josh who sees the same things and she makes a connection with him. One of the treatments she received was electroshock, which she had every week. After one treatment she woke up in a forest, where she met Zander and finds out that she is a jumper. I’m not going to say any more as I do not want spoil this read for you.
This book is well written and you are drawn into Hallie’s life as soon as you start reading. It flows really well and before you know it, it’s finished. Even though this is a short book there are still twist to the story and OMG the ending, I never saw that coming.
If you have a spare ½ hour and am looking for a good story then read this book

Haley is a cop working for the paranormal police, on her 1st day out of the Academy, she is sent undercover to investigate a serial killer. All the murdered women had one thing in common; they all joined the Vampire Dating Agency.
This book was ok, but it did not capture my imagination. Some of the plot was unrealistic, like why a young rookie would go undercover in a really important case, the vampires found a knife in a member’s handbag but they didn’t not find her camera and ear piece. The story was really slow and the only thing that kept my interest was who the serial killer was? Hayley’s back-up team were annoying due to their constant bickering and Hayley did not feel like the main character. In fact the only character I could feel any connection to was Brock who was a recently turned young vampire. The book finishes on a cliff-hanger and I will get the 2nd book just to find out who the serial killer is.

This short story is a great introduction to the books written by the 3 authors that collaborated on it.
LX and Jane characters is Les Lynam’s books are travelling through time and space when there is a malfunction, sending them to the Wasteland the setting of Tim Hemlin’s book, here me characters from his book, Bear and Si-Ting. Knowing that they want to get back to their own time Si-Ling takes them to meet Calla and Valcas, two other time travellers who are also stuck in the Wasteland who have a very strange way of time travelling thanks to a pair of glasses. This part of the story was written by Chess Desalls.
This is the first time I have read a book where 3 authors have used their own characters in a story, and I thought it was a brilliant idea. I am definitely going to read all three author’s books just so I can get to know the characters more. Although I did think that LX reminded me of a certain Dr that liked to time travel and there was a comedy element in the way he communicated.
If you have a spare 20 minutes then read this book. I am now off to read the rest of the books written by these authors