Deception (The Dark Matter Trilogy) (YA)

In this the second book of the Dark Matter Trilogy, Shay, Kia, and Callie are each in their own way hunting for answers to the mysterious flu epidemic and each of their role in spreading it or in the game it seems someone is playing with them.  But the further they go the more questions they have and still no answers to the ones they started with, but the one they are figuring out real fast is they can't trust anyone except themselves.  But will they ever find each other again?
This book is so fast that you can't blink or you will miss a ton, of action, suspense, plot twists, and what is going on.  I missed a lot by missing out on the first book but quickly caught up on the jist of things, not that I wouldn't mind going back and picking up the finer points of book one, but you can just read this one and be cool.  These characters are so well developed and work well with  the story as are the others, and  the story line is so smooth this is such a wonderfully written book.

Résistance (Stories of Singularity 7) (YA)

A novella from the Singularity world, this is Kimali LeClair's story.  This is about her dance, why she dances, and why she turned to the resistance.  I love Susan Kaye Quinn's stories, always have, but these novellas let us get really close to her characters, let us get to know them, and I like that.  Kimali the dancer had intrigued me when I met her previously, I guess because I can't even phantom someone who can dance that good.   This is a really good short story and fits in this world well I can't wait to read more from Singularity.

Extinction Inferno: Extinction Cycle: Dark Age, Book 2 (ADULT AUDIO)

While Reed, Horn, and Dr. Lavato are working on cracking the variants language code, team Ghost is on the other side of the USA deep in variant territory trying to get the machines they need to protect what outposts are left.  As they all race against time and human annihilation, they find that there is another force working against them, one that comes from within.
This is a great action packed, hold onto your seat book.  Team Ghost and the rest will take you on the wildest ride you have been on in a long time so hold on tight.  The voice of narrator R.C. Bray will pull you into the this world of kill or be killed by the awful variants that think nothing of  ripping you apart limb from limb.  Bray makes you feel as though you are there and part of team Ghost, helping them, or maybe Reed and his group when they are in trouble.  This book is so  wonderful it is like the book was written for Bray to narrate, these authors are such a good team and I cant wait to find out what happens next.

Zombie Paradise Lost: Still Alive, Book Six (ADULT AUDIO)

Mo and everyone are back, but this book is a bit different as this comes from the perspective of the islanders during the same time period of the book Zombie River Run.  So  while Mo and the Viva Ancora are still making its way downriver, a demon has embedded itself in Guntersville and it is praying on its children, and trying to usurp the elder Collins as mayor.  But when it is the Techs semi adopted son that the Collin's are watching while Gene is on the river that goes missing things change, and the detective decides to go rogue to check out the new beloved preacher man.
This was a different kind of book/audio for Bonds and while it didn't have as much laughter it was needed I think to allow the series to grow, after all these are the weirdos you would meet in your new and ever changing neighborhood after a apocalypse event.  There is still lots of action and suspense but I would have happily died a gruesome death had I been able to take the demon with me.  As always narrator S W Salzman did a awesome job with all the characters and all their voices, I love listening to his books, and I can't wait for the next still alive book.

Death Walk: A Short Story (ADULT AUDIO)

This is a interesting but somewhat disturbing short story.  Scott is devastated after his wife is killed on their honeymoon and finds out that yes, he will do anything to bring her back, despite the fact that he is repeatedly warned she will not be the same.
This was a creepy but good short story that was well written.  If you are lucky enough to get the audio narrated by Fred Wolinsky than you are really lucky, with his voices for all the characters it just ups the stories creep factor that much more.

Zombie River Run: Still Alive, Book 5 (ADULT AUDIO)

Mo Collins and the crew of the Viva Ancora are back and there is talk of a doctor down the Mississippi with a cure for the blunatics, so what else is a pirate ship for but to go pillage for things like cures for the zombie apocalypse.  So with the crew and a few other carefully chosen people to accompany them on this mission the Viva Ancora sets off.
This is another winner of a book/audio by Javon Bonds.  What seems  like a comedy of errors to most is all in a days work for this group and somehow Bonds brings it all together and makes it work like a charm.  Narrator S W Salzman works his magic on the audio side recording  the book with nary a laughter heard in the background, how, I will never know, as I laugh all through it, Mo is funnier than anything.  I really hope this team of Bonds and Salzman don't stop anytime soon, because I need more.

The Star Shepherd (MG)

Kyro and his dad watch the sky's at night for falling stars they retrieve them give them better casings than send them back up into the sky where they act as a net protecting the people of earth from the creatures of the night, but when many start to fall and they are disappearing before Kyro or his dad can get there to save the little stars Kyro's dad fears there is something sinister at work and leaves Kyro to watch the sky's alone while he goes off in search of what is stealing the stars.
This is a great book with lots of action, tons of suspense, and imaginable twists and turns so hang on to your seat and prepare for a page turner because you will not want to put this book down.  When this book grabs a hold of you, you won't want to let it go until you are done, especially once the robots come in to play.  I really hope this becomes a series or at least one more book is forthcoming.

Zombie Oasis: Still Alive, Book 4 (ADULT AUDIO)

This is a building book, it builds the characters, adds some new ones, builds some of the story parts the writer hasn't been able to tell  you before, so it might not be like the other books but still very important and yes it still has some very funny parts.  One of the new characters you will meet is Mo's cousin Benji, a Naval flight officer (NFO), and his crew who have been out looking for survivors across the southeastern US.  But now that the crew of the Viva Ancora are getting ready to go down river to look for this doctor that is said to  have a cure for the peevies, Benji and his eye in the sky will be more helpful than ever.
This was another great book/audio by Bonds who can turn the littlest thing into big bad Mo killing, peevie pooping thing, that will have you laughing so hard that you won't be able to go to sleep, so best not to read these books at night.  If you have the audio than its even better because you can hear Mo complain about it all in a Mo voice that narrator S W Salzman does so well  along with all the other characters.  It is so worth it! Bond and Salzman are a awesome team and I hope they are together for many many more.

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Strong Novel, A Book 1) (MG)

Tristan has lost his best friend and the only thing he has left of him is his notebook of stories.  But one night at Tristan's grandparent's  house he sees something odd but is stealing  the notebook so he chases it and falls though to a very different place, a place he has only heard of through his grandmother's stories.  Now he has to find his inner strength the one only his best friend know he has to save the people here and to get him home, but will Tristan believe he has the strength to get the job done.
This was a wonderful book filled with characters that everyone will know and enjoy.  There is action all throughout, and suspense that will keep you reading well past your bedtime.  The main character is a boy but the second is a girl that whips him into shape in this new land real quick so don't think this is just a boy book and for that matter don't think this is just a kids book, as adults will love hearing some of the stories come alive again for them that they have not heard for many years.  This book supports a wonderful cast of characters and I can not wait for book 2 as this was such a fun book to read and I can not wait to see where the characters take us next time.

Harvest (Stories of Singularity #5) (YA)

This was such a passionate story about a AI that just wanted to preserve life.  That of a plant that would have been considered a weed and trampled out on the farm it worked on to a human that was caught on the same farm as a trespasser and would have been shot and composted, no questions asked, worker robots shouldn't ask questions.  But this AI has ascended to see that life was precious and needed to be protected.   This another short story hit by Susan Kaye Quinn and I just adore this series it just keeps getting better, and I can't wait for more.

Zombies on a Plane: Still Alive, Book Three (ADULT AUDIO)

Mo and the crew of the Viva Ancora are back and ready for a new mission, to try and find Mo's brother Easy in Birmingham and bring him back home to Guntersville.  The oracle, Smokes, has foreseen it so they must go, no matter how much Mo would rather just spend time with his girl, instead of fighting the crazy blunitics.
I love these books, I get the audios for a few reasons but the first is the narrator, S W Salzman is awesome,  he has really captured these characters, and how he can do them all, especially all of Mo without loosing it and laughing I do not know, because I know I look funny just cracking up in my car going down the road. These two must have a special relationship, Bonds and Salzman, because they make these books so awesome I can't wait for the next adventure of Mo Collins.

Zombie Island: Still Alive, Book Two (ADULT AUDIO)

Mo and the crew are back, and so are the peevies (the weird zombie like creatures that are around now, did I tell you they are naked and blue?).  So the only way to be really safe is to make their home, Guntersville, into true island and than make sure it is clear of all peevies.  So that is what our rag tag group of true Alabamans do, with what you ask, well explosives of course, the Tech and Expert can handle that stuff.  But what else does the story writer have in store for them?
This is not only a great book/audio (I had the audio) it is hilarious!  I wonder at times how narrator S W Salzman read the lines without loosing it, because I was laughing so hard in my car.  Mo is a true and true southern boy who just wants to live through this time in his life and hopefully see his would rebuilt, or at least not die shooting poop everywhere, and I think Mr. Salzman captured all of the characters awesomely with his wonderful narration.

The Erkennen Job: A SynCorp Saga Story (The SynCorp Saga: Empire Earth Book 0) (ADULT)

This is Stack's story as he is out on a job for Tony Taulke, to find out what Ra'uf Erkennen and his faction is doing that could mess up the delicate balance of the four factions.  So enter Stacks and his ability to get to the bottom of things by starting from the bottom and in this story that would be Mason Blalock.  But as often happens when Stacks is involved there is a big gun fight and then he is left to figure out what is going on from what is left.
Stacks by far is my favorite character in the Syncorp series so I am very happy he got his own story, I am also sure there could be many many more.  This was such a good story and a bit of a back story explaining the MESH, and stunners that they use.  If you like the Syncorp stories this one is not to be missed.

Very Lulu: The (Mostly) True Story of a Training School Dropout (PICTURE BOOK)

Very Lulu is book about a rambunctious black lab that has been tapped to become a police dog.  But while all the other dogs bark on command, sniff out evidence and do the obstacle course, well poor Lulu, as hard as she tries, she becomes the obstacle course.  Lulu soon becomes saddened and doesn't enjoy trying to do police work anymore, and her trainer sees this in her and decides there might be a much better job for Lulu, one she might just love a whole lot more.
This is a wonderful book about staying true to yourself and what you like to do, there will always be things we have to do that we don't like so why choose to do things you don't like just to make others happy.  This book tells this story in a light and pleasant way with awesome illustrations of the cutest black lab, this book will go far, and will be a great outreach tool for K-9, and police officers that talk to young children.

Cilka's Journey (ADULT)

This continues Cilka's story from the Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey continues after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau only she isn't liberated she is charged as a collaborator and sent to a Siberian gulag.  Now she is might be lucky again and taken under the wing of one of camps doctors and is asked to help in the hospital but can she do it, to save her life?
This book is fiction, but it is so easy to see it really happening to some of the women of that era, and how horrible it must have been for them.  This book is such a powerful book to tell what happened to this one woman after the supposed liberation, and how she had to keep her hope alive even longer when it would have been so much easier to just give up.  This is a not to be missed book of the year, and would also make a great book club book as well.  It is one of those books you can not say enough about as Cilka is one of the strongest women I know, she is a hero.

Memory Thief (YA)

Memories rule in Creawick, they are the preferred currency but all Etta wants to do is keep her head down and wait for her mom to wake up from the coma Etta is sure she caused.  When the ruler of Creawick, Madame, threatens her mom Etta will do anything to protect her mom, even go back to the rebel group, Shadow, for help.  First she must prove herself to Shadow by stealing a map, but that opens up a whole new set of issues for Etta.
This book was not what I thought it would be, it was better.  There is a ton of suspense, non-stop action, and twists you just won't see coming.  The characters are believable and work well with each other.  This is just a really good book and it is the kind that will have you up past your bedtime.

Throwback (MG)

Corey has a wild imagination, he actually thinks he sees things that aren't there. But when he travels back in time using a picture a friend of his has.  When he accidentally saves a life in the past and finds his grandpa he start to learn the rules of time travel and how special he is.
This book is action packed. full of twists, turns, suspense, and surprises that will keep  even the most reluctant of reader engaged. The characters are believable and fun.  This book tests the authors knowledge of New York past and present, as well as events throughout history that happened there.  I wonder if a little bit of Corey reflects the author as a boy?

Dragonwatch, Book 3: Master of the Phantom Isle (MG)

This book picks up right where book two left off, Seth has disappeared after loosing his memories and Kendra is fighting for Wyrmroost.  But really if I tell you much more it will give things away so I think I will stop here and just say if you have liked the other books, you are going to love this one!  It is full of action and suspense, manipulation, unknowns.  There are new creatures to join with and fight against.  I just find my self in aw of Mr. Mull and his awesome imagination that brings this whole world of Fablehaven to life for us the readers.  If this is your first book I suggest you start at the beginning at lest of the Dragonwatch series if not of the Fablehaven series, you won't regret it.  It is a pretty cool world, one where every specie can be good or evil, dragon, fairy, and unicorn.

Cursed (YA)

This is such a cool book and from what I have heard soon to be a mini series on Netflix come spring of 2020.  This is a wonderful but refreshing tale surrounding the whole knights of the round table, Merlin and the Lady of the Lake.  This book is non stop action from the start and comes with all the suspense and twists and turns one can possibly fit in this book, and they are awesome and fit so well into the story line.  The illustrations are interesting and fit with the story, they tell a story of themselves but still leave a lot to the imagination.  It is no surprise this will be one of my favorite young adult books of the year so far, I hope Netflix keeps true to it.