Review :: 2024: A History of the Future | Chris Oswald

Title: 2024: A History of the Future

Author: Chris Oswald

Publisher: Newmore Publishing

Year: 2017 (2^nd edition)

 

Buy: Bertrand | WOOK

Synopsis: 

Something had to change. 

Someone had to lead that change. 

But was he up to the task?  

 

George was an intellectual, a journalist, a writer: more theory than practice. Could he lead the country to a new beginning? 

 

Someone had to stand up to the tyranny, the controlling force that had crept up to overtake their lives. Someone who could espouse the principles they all believed in. 

But George had always been on the sidelines, involved but not committed. A product of the establishment but not a driving force.

Until now. Until he made the ultimate decision. A decision that would dramatically alter the fate of their country.

Britain was a sorry state; controlled, whittled down, oppressed and depressed. 

Until now. 

 

2024: A History of the Future is an engaging tale of the struggle to make change to a nation and to all those involved. Both historical novel and political thriller, it will take you into the future and back into the past, tying the two together in one story. One drama to fashion our future.  

 

Through the Past. 

 

Review: 

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the reading of this book as much as I thought I would. Its subject is really interesting and was very well written, but I took too many time reading the book and, somehow, it didn't get me. 

 

Nevertheless, I enjoyed some aspects, mostly when it talked about History (the Second World War, in this case). I liked the link between the past and the present, which is very important for the History of the future.

We are a product of what came before us.

 

I also liked the fact that the book has a lot of inspiring quotes, such as the incitement for people to change something when it's needed. In this story, the country was struggling with political problems, and the power to solve them could be in everybody's hands. Of course that this advice fits in many issues of our lives... and that's even better. 🙂 

 

To sum up, the book is good but didn't catch me. Maybe if I read it later, I could enjoy it a bit more. 

 

I must thank once more the author for sending me a copy. I wish all the best for your career and your life!

Pile of books :: Read in 2017 #2

Continuing my reading digest of this year, I wanted to write another post with my English readings – and they were more than I had in mind. So, in 2017 I read nine English books, which six were won in Goodreads giveaways and three were e-books. Well done! 😃

Books won on Goodreads.

• Carson - Melissa Foster
• Forever More: A Love Story from the Edge of Eternity - Michele DeLuca
• Jais - Jason Kasper 
• Logos - John Neeleman
• Robot Coconut Trees - Kelsey Horton
• The Quiet Way - Chris Lilley

Out of the pile of books (e-books, in this case):

• Between Before and After - Amanda Dick
• Borrowing Alex - Cindy Procter-King
• My Name Is Tiarra -  Mimi Marten

Received book :: "2024: A History of the Future"

Hello! I'm here today to share with you my newest book, won on Goodreads: 2024: A History of the Future, gently sent by its author, Chris Oswald. The book looks very interesting, once it addresses the issue to the past and the future of Britain.

I guess I will have a challenging reading, since the book has 401 pages written in English, but I will read it as soon as I can so I can tell you what I think about it.

I must thank Chris Oswald for sending me this copy with a very special message on it! 🙂

Title: 2024: A History of the Future

Author: Chris Oswald

Publisher: Newmore Publishing

Year: 2017 (2^nd edition)

 

Buy: Bertrand | WOOK

Synopsis: 

Something had to change. 

Someone had to lead that change. 

But was he up to the task?  

 

George was an intellectual, a journalist, a writer: more theory than practice. Could he lead the country to a new beginning? 

 

Someone had to stand up to the tyranny, the controlling force that had crept up to overtake their lives. Someone who could espouse the principles they all believed in. 

But George had always been on the sidelines, involved but not committed. A product of the establishment but not a driving force.

Until now. Until he made the ultimate decision. A decision that would dramatically alter the fate of their country.

Britain was a sorry state; controlled, whittled down, oppressed and depressed. 

Until now. 

 

2024: A History of the Future is an engaging tale of the struggle to make change to a nation and to all those involved. Both historical novel and political thriller, it will take you into the future and back into the past, tying the two together in one story. One drama to fashion our future.  

 

Through the Past.

Review :: Carson | Melissa Foster

Title: Carson (Bad Boys After Dark)
Author: Melissa Foster
Publisher: World Literary Press
Year: 2017

 

Synopsis:

Second chances really do exist...

 

As the founder of a multimillion-dollar international security business, Carson Bad exposes secrets for a living. He knows better than to forge relationships built on them. But for years he did just that with his best friend, and secret lover, Tawny Bishop. She brought a sense of calm and understanding to his life — in and out of the bedroom. Until one fateful night when a knock at the door changed everything. 

 

Tawny is no longer a naive college student. She’s a sought-after perfumer living in Paris. She has plenty of resources at her fingertips, and lots of lonely nights to think about the only man she’s ever loved—the one she ran away from all those years ago. She needs to move forward with her life, but how can she when Carson still owns her heart? 

 

Maybe showing up in the middle of the night unannounced isn’t the best route to unraveling the past and figuring out her future, but Tawny has played it safe for ten long years, and it's only made her long for the man she never should have walked away from. Now she's back in Carson’s life, and he’s determined not to make the same mistake twice. If only he knew what that mistake was.

Review:
This book belongs to a series of erotic novels and when I started reading it, I decided not to create high expectations, once the last erotic book I read was a bit disappointing. However, I found this story much more interesting than I could imagine.

 
The story is all about Carson Bad and Tawny Bishop. They've had a romance when they were college students but life pulled them apart, even if they did not forget each other. Thus, after so many years, they meet again and relive their hot romance, while they fight against some ghosts and unsolved problems from the past.

 
I loved discovering Carson and Tawny's personalities, as their life as a couple. The story is full of love and sex, with a lot of erotic descriptions; although they are pretty detailed, I didn't find them obcene or nasty. Also, I think the novel has good content and talks about nowadays' important issues.

 
I enjoyed very much the author's writing, which was informal, fun and very rich. What I appreciated the most was the fullness of adjectives, mostly referred to the sense of smell, once Tawny is a perfumer and that is her most particular sense.

 
In the end, this story might seem to be a cliché happy ever after, but I loved it anyway. I think I'd love to read the other series' books or even more about this couple!

Received book :: "Carson"

Hello everybody! Today I have a new book to show you, won on Goodreads: Carson (Bad Boys After Dark - Bad Billionaires After Dark series), by Melissa Foster. This romance has a misterious synopsis and a story that I really want to meet soon! 

 

By the way, after winning, I was looking forward to receive the book because I was really interested on it. Thank you so much, Melissa! I'll try to read and review it as soon as possible. 🙂

Title: Carson (Bad Boys After Dark)
Author: Melissa Foster
Publisher: World Literary Press
Year: 2017

 

Synopsis:

Second chances really do exist...

 

As the founder of a multimillion-dollar international security business, Carson Bad exposes secrets for a living. He knows better than to forge relationships built on them. But for years he did just that with his best friend, and secret lover, Tawny Bishop. She brought a sense of calm and understanding to his life — in and out of the bedroom. Until one fateful night when a knock at the door changed everything. 

 

Tawny is no longer a naive college student. She’s a sought-after perfumer living in Paris. She has plenty of resources at her fingertips, and lots of lonely nights to think about the only man she’s ever loved—the one she ran away from all those years ago. She needs to move forward with her life, but how can she when Carson still owns her heart? 

 

Maybe showing up in the middle of the night unannounced isn’t the best route to unraveling the past and figuring out her future, but Tawny has played it safe for ten long years, and it's only made her long for the man she never should have walked away from. Now she's back in Carson’s life, and he’s determined not to make the same mistake twice. If only he knew what that mistake was.

Review :: Jais | Jason Kasper

Title: Jais (David Rivers Series #1)

Author: Jason Kasper

Publisher: Jason Kasper

Year: 2016

 

Synopsis: 

Welcome to the war.

 

David Rivers returns from combat to find the silence of peace deafening. Escaping into the thrill of BASE jumping keeps a darkness growing within him at bay, until a discharge from military service pushes him over the edge. 

 

After brutally settling his final score, David is confronted by three men who emerge from the shadows, having watched unseen as he committed ruthless, cold-blooded murder. 

 

Now, they want him to do it again. 

 

David undertakes the single most dangerous assignment of his life, earning admission into the dark underworld of ex-special operators for hire and plunging headlong into a new war, where victory is defined by profit and the rules are set by the highest bidder. 

 

But as the stakes – and the payoff – continue to rise, his pursuit of the impossible is turning into a battle for survival, and David must confront the growing realization that his greatest enemy may not be within after all.

 

Jais, the debut novel by Jason Kasper, is the first book in the David Rivers Series. 

 

Review/opinion: 

I won this book on Goodreads and, in return, I must write a honest review of it. 

 

First, I must say that this is not my favorite book genre at all. Perhaps, that's why I didn't like it as much as I wanted, because I always make an effort to enjoy every book I read. 

 

This is a book about war. So, most of the excerpts are violent, heavy and sometimes the descriptions are quite explicit. While reading these parts, I felt a bit uncomfortable and now and then I didn't pay much attention on it. 

 

Besides that, I found other things much more interesting about the story related to the main character, David Rivers, such as his problems and struggles in life. He writes about them and through it we can see how psychologically damaged he is. Thus, the depression and suicide issues are very present here. 

 

Sometimes, romantic excerpts appear and, for me, as a romance fan, those are the best parts, although they are few and not as developed as I'd enjoyed. Anyway, this is not a romance book! 

 

Final thoughts: my personal taste didn't allow me to enjoy very much the story but I didn't totally disliked: it was OK. I think it is a good book for thriller lovers because of its adrenaline. 

 

The author's way of writing is appropriate for this type of story, which is a good aspect. 

 

Once more, I must thank the author for the opportunity to read this book and I wish all the best for his career!

Review :: Logos | John Neeleman

Title: Logos: a novel of Christianity's origin

Author: John Neeleman

Publisher: Homebound Publications

Year: 2015

 

Synopsis: 

Logos is a bildungsroman about the anonymous author of the original Gospel, set amid the kaleidoscopic mingling of ancient cultures. 

 

In A.D. 66, Jacob is one of Jerusalem's privileged Greco-Roman Jews. When Roman soldiers murder his parents and his beloved sister disappears in a pogrom led by the Roman procurator, he joins Israel's rebellion against Rome. The rebellion he helps to foment leads to more tragedy – personal and, ultimately, cosmic: Jacob's wife and son perish in Rome's siege of Jerusalem, and the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, and finally extinguish Israel at Masada. Jacob wanders, and in Rome, he joins other dissidents – plotting vengeance not by arms, but by the power of an idea. 

 

Paul of Tarsus, Josephus, the keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the historical Jesus himself each play a role in Jacob's tumultuous fortunes, but the women who have loved him compel the transforming and subversive climax.

 

Review: 

Just out of curiosity, I started reading this book the day before Easter and I was quite curious about its content: not only due to the paschal feasts in which I was envolved (and the similar ones I found on the book), but also because I had never read a religious book, not even a fictional one, before.

 

In Logos, we find the story of Jacob, a Jew who struggles with a lot of personal problems and, at the same time, joins the Israel's rebellion that wants to save the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple from the Romans. However, it all ends destroyed and he finds himself lost. Along the reading, we discover his unexpected destiny.

 

This book is not an easy book: the writing is heavy, mostly when we read the descriptions of the wars, the worship rituals and sacrifices and sometimes the sexual episodes. The first part of the book was the hardest for me: now and then I lost my attention on it. Nevertheless, there are also many descriptions of the places where Jacob was: all of them reminded me of those movies that we see on TV on Easter day. Also, the story has its own romantic vein, which was very agreeable.

 

The end of the book was unexpected for me and I liked the origin of this new religion: Christianity. In the end, I understood the relation between the whole Jacob's life and the story told on his writings, The Gospel. This gave me a better idea of this book.

 

I must say it was a really tough reading, but I enjoyed very much.

Received book :: "Sense & Sensibility"

Hello! Recently I received a new book: Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. I won this book in a giveaway ran on Maggie's Books' blog.

 

This is a classic from the early 19th century which depicts the English society in a comic way.

 

Have you already read this book?

Title: Sense and Sensibility

Author: Jane Austen

Publisher: Dover Publications

Year: 1996 (first published in 1811)

 

Synopsis: 

Within the insular world of the English countryside, among struggling clerical families, husband-hunting mothers and daughters, country fools and snobs, Jane Austen found the raw material she needed to write brilliant novels widely admired for their satiric wit, subtlety and perfection of style. 

 

Sense and Sensibility is one of the best of these. It is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who represent sense and sensibility, respectively. When both appear to be deserted by the young men they had intended to marry, the stage is set for a delicious comedy of manners that not only showcases Austen's perception humor and incomparable prose, but offers a splendid glimpse of upper and middle-class English society of the early 19th century.

Review :: My Name Is Tiarra | Mimi Marten

Title: My Name Is Tiarra

Author: Mimi Marten

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Year: 2016 

 

Synopsis: 

Tiarra Simon comes from an impressive international family of diplomats. She now lives a comfortable and somewhat routine life as a soccer mom on the island of Maui. But that changes when she, and Reese Martinez, youth soccer coach, arrive to London for a meeting with Alexei Ibramovich, the powerful, intimidating, and rich owner of the Chelsea United Football Club. 

 

Coming to secure an endowment and coaching assistance for soccer youth on Maui, she quickly realizes that much more is at play. Alexei is as mysterious and dark as his past seems to suggest. From the moment they meet, there is electricity in the air and they both feel the magnetism. Alexei is overwhelmed by Tiarra, but he doesn’t know what to do with his feelings for her or even with the woman herself. 

 

Tiarra’s family is at the heart of everything she does. Her husband Sergio, who himself comes from an international and political family from Argentina, and her two boys. Thus, as her integrity, her values, and her relationships get tested, she attempts the impossible in London. 

 

Tiarra Simon is a force of nature. Love her or hate her, she will get to you. As Tiarra sweeps through their lives, no one is the same. 

 

Review:

I love Tiarra! She is confident, strong and independent: everything that everyone would like to be. Also, she comes from an international family and she travels a lot and knows many languages. For me, she is complete, even an idol! However, sometimes I felt that her qualities were too highlighted, which made people around her look a bit submissive, although that fact gave the story a lot more fun!

In this book, we find Tiarra's special goal: to help the kids of Maui, her home, in Hawaii. In order to achieve it, she travels to London with Reese to meet the board of directors of Chelsea's football club and its players, so they can help them monetarily.

The story is a serie of events of this trip, where we can follow Tiarra's adventure and get to know the reasons why she chose this club in particular.

I felt that this story should be real! The willing of this woman to help children is praiseworthy and I think she made a great choice by speaking to the rich people of Football. Those who have millions should help the ones that have less but still admire them. The world would be so much better!

Besides, I loved the traveling aspects: they flew from the other side of the planet to London, being also in Paris, for this special purpose.

Because it's about football, Cristiano Ronaldo's name had to appear! 😀 And I was not expecting to see José Mourinho playing a role in the story. As a Portuguese, I felt very proud!

I enjoyed the author's writing. There were plenty of formal scenes and dialogues, but the majority of the descriptions were informal, comic sometimes, and very easy to read. 

 

The way it ends invites us to read the next two books. I confess that I'm interested! 

 

I recommend this book to those who like the football's world, travels and people that help others. You really need to meet Tiarra.

Do you know Tiarra's series? What do you think?

Received book :: "Logos"

Hello, everybody! I want to show you my new book: Logos, by John Neeleman. This is another book won on Goodreads and I was looking forward for it. Now that I have it finally in my hands, I must say that this book looks amazing! I love historical novels and I'm eager to start reading this one, but I confess it'll be a challenging read, since it's a big book, with a strong subject, in English. Anyways, of course I'll review it once I'm finished! 🙂

Title: Logos: a novel of Christianity's origin

Author: John Neeleman

Publisher: Homebound Publications

Year: 2015

 

Synopsis: 

Logos is a bildungsroman about the anonymous author of the original Gospel, set amid the kaleidoscopic mingling of ancient cultures. 

 

In A.D. 66, Jacob is one of Jerusalem's privileged Greco-Roman Jews. When Roman soldiers murder his parents and his beloved sister disappears in a pogrom led by the Roman procurator, he joins Israel's rebellion against Rome. The rebellion he helps to foment leads to more tragedy – personal and, ultimately, cosmic: Jacob's wife and son perish in Rome's siege of Jerusalem, and the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, and finally extinguish Israel at Masada. Jacob wanders, and in Rome, he joins other dissidents – plotting vengeance not by arms, but by the power of an idea. 

 

Paul of Tarsus, Josephus, the keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the historical Jesus himself each play a role in Jacob's tumultuous fortunes, but the women who have loved him compel the transforming and subversive climax.

Received book :: "Jais"

Hello, readers! Recently I received a new book won in a Goodreads' giveaway: Jais, by Jason Kasper. I'm not used to read this genre, but of course I'll review it just after finishing my reading. 

By the way, this copy came autographed by the author! Thank you so much!

 

Title: Jais (David Rivers Series #1)

Author: Jason Kasper

Publisher: Jason Kasper

Year: 2016

 

Synopsis: 

Welcome to the war.

 

David Rivers returns from combat to find the silence of peace deafening. Escaping into the thrill of BASE jumping keeps a darkness growing within him at bay, until a discharge from military service pushes him over the edge. 

 

After brutally settling his final score, David is confronted by three men who emerge from the shadows, having watched unseen as he committed ruthless, cold-blooded murder. 

 

Now, they want him to do it again. 

 

David undertakes the single most dangerous assignment of his life, earning admission into the dark underworld of ex-special operators for hire and plunging headlong into a new war, where victory is defined by profit and the rules are set by the highest bidder. 

 

But as the stakes – and the payoff – continue to rise, his pursuit of the impossible is turning into a battle for survival, and David must confront the growing realization that his greatest enemy may not be within after all.

 

Jais, the debut novel by Jason Kasper, is the first book in the David Rivers Series.

Review :: Borrowing Alex | Cindy Procter-King

Title: Borrowing Alex

Author: Cindy Procter-King

Publisher: Blue Orchard Books

Year: 2013 (2^nd edition)

Synopsis:

Nikki St. James wants to get married more than anything. But what’s she to do when her fiancé spends his days sucking up to her rich father instead of helping with the simple task of, oh, setting a date? Why...fake a fling with the best man, of course!

 

Nikki is the first to admit that ambushing Alex Hart and whisking him off to secluded Lake Eden is a tad desperate. But maybe pretending she’s hot for the handsome history professor will kick-start the attention of her future groom. Besides, a sojourn at a lakeside cabin is exactly what uptight Alex needs. Not that Nikki cares what he needs or how sexy he is....

 

Alex is not on-board with Nikki’s plan. Yeah, he’d love a break from his quest to achieve tenure at warp speed, but getting kidnapped by a crazy blonde hardly tops his to-do list. If what he’s heard is true and Nikki is perfectly happy with her “open” engagement to his former college roommate, why bother getting married?

 

Quickly, he realizes Nikki isn’t a wild party girl at all. She’s cute, sweet — and faithful. Against his common sense, he’s falling for her. Should he spill the beans about her cheating fiancé? Or will he ruin his own chance for a happy ending? 

 

Review/opinion: 

Borrowing Alex is a romantic comedy which, in the beggining, didn't captivate my full attention. That might be due to Nikki, the girl who borrowed Alex, kidnapping him, in an ultimatum attempt to her fiancé, Royce. I found this act too foolish and desperate and it gave me a bad image of her. However, as I kept my reading, I felt just like Alex: jumped to conclusions about Nikki without knowing her well enough. 

 

Along the story, Nikki and Alex meet each other (just like they were completely strangers) and new and beautiful feelings start growing. 

 

I think that the end is too predictable. Despite that, I enjoyed very much the comedy aspects in the story and truly loved Nikki's pets: two dogs, a cat and then a bunny (also a snake appeared in the story, but I don't like snakes: I respect them!). 

 

In general, I liked this book. It is light, funny and also makes us look at what really matters for true love. 

 

I recommend this book to everyone who loves romances in general. Read it, it's worth it!