Review by Krystle - The Sisters of Selene by Thomas DiSanto

The Sisters of Selene
Thomas DiSanto

Blurb

The Sisters of Selene is a secret society of women with a dark side. Besides giving one another a leg up in the world, their core mandate is to root out and severely punish misogynistic, sexist and hateful men who have the wealth and powerful to get away with their abusive behavior.

Congressman Derek Sweenor is an so-called christian conservative, anti-everything politician with a dark side. He rails against women's health and equality issues, while preaching a gospel of morality and conservative values as a cover for his sex addiction.

When Congressman Sweenor becomes the unwitting subject of the Selene's "rehabilitation" experiment, his professional and personal life come crashing down around him, and send him into a tailspin of dangerous self-destructive behavior.

Soon he is whisked away to the Selene's private retreat and what happens next, not only changes the life of Congressman Sweenor, but alters the destiny of the Sisters of Selene forever

_____________________________________________________

The author gifted a copy to me in exchange for an honest review, and wow. Pretty scary stuff, I'm pretty sure that every woman who reads this, will all see that the main character, Congressman Derek Sweenor is a hypocritical Jack-Ass who deserves all of the punishment he receives.

This book is about a secret society of women called The Sacred Order of the Virgins of Selene aka 'The Sisters of Selene' - kind of like 'The Free-Masons'. The Sister's, have been taking scumbag men who've treated woman like garbage (rape, verbal abuse, etc...) and have been punishing/making them pay for their crimes by ways that are extremely brutal and sometimes barbaric, but let's be real. If a man committed those acts upon you, you'd gladly follow thru with his punishment wouldn't you?


Makes me wonder if there are really cults of this kind floating around out there. Hmmmm...

Recently some of the 'Sisters' have been afflicted by their means of brutal punishment, saying that some men can be reformed and re-educated without physical harm. >In my mind I was saying Highly Unlikely!!!< And this is where Derek comes in as their new test subject.

I thought it was pretty clever having his ex-girlfriend in on the grand scheme of things, that would have been a fun part to play for sure. The scene where he wore the "Black Helmet of Shame", ugh, I cringed!!... THEN - The shit hits the fan at the compound and all Hell breaks loose.. I wasn't expecting that, especially the last 2 chapters, with his -New Addiction-.. Lol - Holy American Psycho in the making.. I enjoyed this book and wonder if the Sisters will reconsider their new methods of treatment since obviously it backfired, and hope that they will have their revenge on Derek.

Makes me wonder about this author... LOL Just kidding!!
I appreciate you reaching out to us at The Booknatics, Tom!
Thanks!

________________________________________________

Watch the Trailer for 'The Sisters of Selene'

HERE

 

Purchase this book now from Amazon

 

Amazon 

 

Visit the Authors Website to learn more about him and his work.

 

http://www.thomasdisanto.com/ 

A Booknatic Review: Once Upon a Road Trip by Angela N. Blount

Once Upon a Road Trip by Angela N. BlountPOV: 3rd - Angeli
Blurb:
Eighteen-year-old Angeli doesn’t "fit in." She’s never been on a single date, and she lives vicariously through an online world of storytelling. With the pressures of choosing a practical future path bearing down, she needs a drastic change. Too old to run away from home, she opts instead to embark on a solo 2-month road trip. But her freedom is tempered by loneliness — and anxiety tests her resolve as she comes face-to-face with her quirky Internet friends. Aside from contracting mono and repeatedly getting herself lost, Angeli's adventure is mired by more unforeseen glitches — like being detained by Canadian authorities, and a near-death experience at the hands of an overzealous amateur wrestler. Her odyssey is complicated further when she unwittingly earns the affections of two young men. One a privileged martial artist; the other a talented techie with a colorful past. Bewildered by the emotions they stir, Angeli spurns the idea of a doomed long-distance relationship. But she is unprepared for the determination of her hopeful suitors. In the wake of her refusal, one man will betray her, and the other will prove himself worthy of a place in her future. Angeli sets off in search of a better understanding of herself, the world, and her place in it. What she finds is an impractical love, with the potential to restore her faith in happy endings. A true story with an honest outlook on life, love, faith, and adventure -- Once Upon A Road Trip is a coming-of-age memoir

Sky's thoughts: Five big stars:
We were given a copy of this book for an exchange for an honest review, and I know I normally wouldn’t add blurbs to my reviews, but Angela N. Blount’s writing is so spectacular and so flawless, that I felt the need to share even that. This was a fantastic read and I can't wait for you to venture it on your own!
This is a very promising debut novel that is based highly off the authors own awe-inspiring, cross-country adventure at a young age.

I was so amazingly wrapped up in this story that I just HAD to stay up last and finish it. The chemistry between the characters is undeniable and genuine; it’s easy to lose yourself with the time they share together, almost as if you were there.  Angeli is a tremendously brave –despite her unknowing of it— to take on the long road ahead of her alone. With each cherished friend she meets up with, she is trialed with many different choices to make, and finds pieces of herself along the way.

 

Each character you meet in this story has their own problems they face and have to deal with. I feel that not only with just Angeli, readers could relate to, but there is a character in here that everyone might feel a tad of a connection with. Angeli has witnessed so much. That connection is hard to come by in books, and I feel it is a very important bond between reader and character/author.

Angeli faces a lot of her own struggles before the journey and as it takes place.

The stress she undergoes, as well, and how she comes out stronger in the end is inspiring for anyone who just needs that little push to get up and follow their own dreams-- to live a little.

I love how each chapter ends with a mileage log and a page from her diary for each day, filled with important revelations and the emotions she experienced. Experiences such as being detained on the Canadian border, Ground Zero in NYC, the struggles with two boys who claim their love for her, endless! All in all, she sees that there are others out there who suffer much worse things than her in their lives, the different ways people live and their cultures. She escapes danger, and goodness, just exciting to live vicariously through these pages. I wish I could have gone through with making a trip like this. My best friend growing up and I would mention it in passing but plans just never fell through. What a great learning experience this must have been for the author. This story absolutely proves that life is what you make it.

It reminded me deeply of my decision to leave home at 17. Her New York experience touched me exceptionally, as that is where I stayed for the 4 years of my journey.

In the epilogue of this story, she states that she will never know exactly who she is, or what may become of her career if decides one at all... Well, let me just offer this, she has nothing to worry about. Her unique and refreshing storytelling is going to get her far, very far and I am excited that we were able to witness the debut of a long and beautiful career ahead of her. And I am sure that after the readers finally get their hands on this coming of age novel, that they too will agree. =) !

5 stars! (would give it more!)
Grab yourself a copy and tell us how you loved it. =)
Don't forget to rate it and leave a few nice words for a review where you can!



Krystle's Thoughts:
I'd like to thank the author for asking me to read this great book, it truly is an inspiring read. I wish I had done something like this myself. I've actually been thinking about buying a plane ticket and just disappearing somewhere for a week! Just me, myself, and I! I apologize in advance for the long review, sometimes I can't stop myself from getting all of my thoughts out there, especially if I loved the book!!!

This book is a memoir about a Minnesota girl named Angeli (Angie) who's coming into her own by taking a 2 month 6,000 mile + road trip after her high-school graduation. She's an active member of an online writing community and has made quite a bit of friends there; that's who she will be traveling to meet and stay with, with the exception of 1 person who's a cousin of her best friend Elsie. I think that the way Angie goes about writing her story and sharing her experiences with us is brilliant. She got to see and do so much in a short window of time, I can honestly say that I am jealous of this woman. In her blurb she mentioned that she met her husband on this trip, so the novice sleuth that I am guessed the whole book as to who it could be. By the end of the book, she picked a great man. The RIGHT one!

There are scenes in the book that you will laugh and cry with her, as well as feel the same anger she did when things on her trip got rough or didn't go as planned. And when I say they didn't go as “planned”, I am directing it towards a certain person in the book, who started out with a lot of potential to be a great friend, but after getting to know what kind of person he really was, I was glad when he was out of the picture. =) Also, when she traveled to Dayton, OH, she wasn't far off from my hometown, I thought that was pretty cool.

The time she was in New York City to visit “Scott”, she described the city and the people so well; I haven't been there yet, but I feel like I have a little perspective as to what to expect when I do. She was there just 9 months after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, so her describing ground zero, and the memorials there made by everyone..... I broke down crying right along with her. I was a Junior in High-school when that happened, I'll never forget the dread I felt when one of my teachers said that a plane had just crashed into the WTC....

 

I did laugh out loud when I read that Angie spit off the Empire State Building! And yes, I'm pretty sure that it would dissipate shortly after. “Scott” seemed like a great guy in the beginning, offering his shoulder to her to sleep on as they all made their way into NYC. I did find his juvenile posse greatly annoying, I don't know if I could have handled them as well as you did. 10 minutes would have done me in! ---- Sticking with “Scotty Boy” later on in the book when she's nearing the end of her trip, she meets him at his mothers house in DC. Let me just say that his mother was something else, I'm not sure I would have stayed at her house with the way she treated Angie!! If she was that annoyed to have this extremely polite young woman at her house, she should have just told her so. The author has the patience of a saint, I'll give her that :) The fact that “Scott” told Angie that she should “suck up” to his mother, to get on her good side and that she's not too good for that, KILLED me!!! I mean seriously?!!

I am actually trying to plan a trip to Niagara Falls sometime soon since one of my friends recently moved to northern NY. I loved the way the author described it.

“The massive carving of darkened cliff face bowed to her right in a sweeping, concave formation. It was as though some ancient Titan had taken a bite out of the earth and the Niagara River now poured into the chasm left behind.”

Beautiful!

I really enjoyed her time spent up in Canada with “Zak”, the lover of Egg Nog. I had no idea you could freeze and keep it a while, good to know! I love the stuff as well, lol. The Tulip Festival and hike along the Canadian Shield really sound like something I would enjoy, among many other things that beautiful country has to offer. I also didn't know that mace was illegal in the there. I wanted to slap that silly ferret man while he was interrogating Angie. Granted he was just doing his job, but clearly it was obvious that she were just a kid who was touring and didn't know. 

Her trip and experience down south to Alabama, had me cracking up. Things are really different than up north with the accents, slang, and ma'ams. I really liked “Vince's” character, and how he opened up the more he was with Angie to be more of himself rather than the know-it-all jerk persona he was putting off at first. I actually thought that his friend Grady might have even been the guy she ended up with because of the way he was flirting with her. I DON'T think I'm in a big hurry to come face to face with a scorpion just yet. That's one thing I don't envy Angie of!

-She lightened her voice and smiled, willing his gaze to lift. “It'll make a great story one day.”-

  _________________________________________________________________________________
Links!

http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Road-Trip-ebook/dp/B00E91R8NS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376558951&sr=8-1&keywords=once+upon+a+road+trip

 

Want to keep up with her news and blog? Check her out here!
http://www.angelanblount.com/

 

 

Review by Krystle : Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

I'm going to start off by saying that I really, really enjoyed this book. The story and characters really took off and sucked me in. It wasn't anything I was expecting it to be, it was better!

Abby Abernathy is starting fresh with her best friend America at Eastern University. Early on in the book you keep getting some clues that Abby's past wasn't so great, and it really gets you guessing as to what it could be. Then you find out what it is, and it pretty much threw me for a loop, I wouldn't have thought it would have had anything to do with having a dead beat poker playing father in Las Vegas, and that she herself is a bit of a card shark thanks to her good for nothing dad. Now with of that all in her past, and wanting to start fresh, she gets dragged to a secret type of “Fight Club” on campus and the person fighting is not only her best friends boyfriends cousin Travis, but everything Abby needs to avoid altogether if she's serious about starting fresh.

Travis 'Mad dog' Maddox..... I fell in love with this broken young man. He's the perfect example of a boy you would want to keep your daughters away from, or your parents told you to stay away from, but couldn't. He's the school slut, shaved head, covered in tats, cigarette smoking, drinking and swearing bad boy that all of us (yes you) would love to be with at some point in our lives. Or have already.....? Raised in a house full of testosterone since his mother passed when he was so young he became a hell of a fighter fighting off his older brothers and now uses these skills in what they call the “Inner Circle” fights that only a handful of college kids know about. He makes a lot of money from the bets placed so this prevents him from having to have an actual job... And this is where he meets Abby, and you can tell he instantly falls in love with her. I love the nickname he gives her.. “Pigeon”..

He pretty much finds Abby as something he wants like a shiny beautiful trophy, but he never thinks he's good enough to have her. His reputation of sleeping with all of the women on campus (by sleeping I mean “bagging” them on the couch since they're not good enough for his bed and then sending them away in the morning telling them he won't even think of calling them) definitely isn't helping him win Abby over either. She see's him for the pompous arrogant ass he is and wants absolutely nothing to do with him at first. Until, she loses a bet and has to stay with him for a month. . . Sleeping with him, in his bed, BUT without any funny business.

“I know we're fucked up, all right? I'm impulsive and hot tempered, and you get under my skin like no one else. You act like you hate me one minute, and then you need me the next. I never get anything right, and I don't deserve you . . . but I fucking love you, Abby. I love you more than I've loved anyone or anything, ever. When you're around, I don't need booze or money or the fighting or the one-night stands. . . all I need is you. You're all I think about. You're all I dream about. You're all I want.” - Travis Maddox

During the duration of the bet a man named Parker who's pre-med, clean cut, rich, everything Abby should be going for if she wants to get away from her past lets her know he's interested in her.. They try to go out on a few dates, but Travis makes it damn near impossible playing the needy best friend, when actually he doesn't want his pigeon having eyes for anyone but himself. So Abby and Parker decide to try and give it a shot after the bet is over and she's back to staying at her dorm room. Well.... too many sweet things happen for Abby to really consider giving Parker a chance, although they did fool around a few times and I even thought what in the world is she doing? Travis is doing a completely 180 for you and you're fooling around with this guy? A Mr. Rogers wannabe??? Get with the program girl LOL!!!..

There's so much more I want to gush about but I just think that I will just tell you to go get this book and read it for yourselves. You won't be disappointed, it will send you on an emotional roller coaster, but it'll be worth it!!

**I will say this tho, the one thing that did really bother me was when Travis would become a complete control freak of Abby. Getting pissed off at her when a guy buys her a beer at a bar, wanting her to change a dress because it was cut too low in the back, punching a guy who tries to dance with her at the club, when they'd have a fight and Abby would leave and he'd lose his mind with crazy antics trying to win her back, etc... That was a bit much, and I think the author wanted that to tie in with the fact that he lost his mother at a young age and never really had “that connection” with another female until now.. I do get that, but still... It would have freaked me out too being with a man that had a temper like that. **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Get the book!

 

Amazon / B&N

 

Visit the authors website

 

Jamie McGuire



There's a lot of popular titles being released this week! Are you planning on picking any of them up?

 
 
 

Review : The Tycoon by Anna Jeffrey



First off I would like to thank the author for gifting me with this great read in exchange for a review! I'll admit it's my first western style romance, I've been so caught up in the paranormal romance genre I haven't really sought out to read anything different, and I'm glad I did, change is good... Especially this book, haha!!! I enjoyed it very much, and can't wait for more in this series. =)

You learn about two very independent people, Shannon Piper and Drake Lockhart. Shannon comes from a rough upbringing and didn't really find herself until she broke away from some bad decisions she made in her younger years and Drake had a more “cushy” lifestyle coming from a very wealthy family of ranchers (yep cowboys...tight wranglers.../sigh lol).

Shannon is now a very successful business woman, owning her own real estate company dealing with selling high end homes in the Camden, TX area. Not bad from her ending high school with a GED, getting mixed up in sticky situations, going from odd ball job to bad job, then moving back home to live with her grandmother and getting her real estate license thru night classes at a community college. Once she got her business off the ground she was finally coming into her own and couldn't have been any happier.. Until she met Drake, she didn't need any kind of distractions what so ever. But how do you keep yourself from having a bit of fun, especially when he's so attractive?

Drake Lockhart is the son of Bill Lockhart owner of the Double-Barrel Ranch, founder and CEO of a major real estate investment company, and is no stranger to having lavish women dangling from his arms. Like his current flame Donna, but her view point of life begins with throwing around meaningless words like “fabulous/marvelous”, countless giddy friends who act like spring break is all year round, and ends at the bottom of a martini glass. Something Drake is tiring of since he is now 35 years old, lately now the idea of possibly starting a family and settling down have been becoming more appealing to the cowboy.

These two meet at a charity ball event hosted by the high end of the real estate world. Shannon is excited to be networking among the top of who's who and putting her name out there. She bought herself “The Dress” that makes her absolutely shine, she mingles, she laughs with people she doesn't know.. And then she sees him..

"Her first thought was how different he looked from the others in the room, like a nineteenth century throwback who might walk outside, mount his horse and ride away."

And vice versa

"Drake was taken aback. He had to make himself stop staring at the red-haired woman. She was wearing one of those glittery dresses and in the room's special lighting, she looked like an exquisite emerald."

They have an exciting meeting indeed, followed by an exciting rest of the evening and into the wee morning hours. And just like that she's gone without a trace. Doesn't take him long though to track her down (especially since her face is plastered on a giant billboard in town for her company) since they're both in the same business, and when he does I loved it. As I read it I said allowed, “You are so busted girl”. I even felt embarrassed for her because the author puts her in a tricky situation where Drake has the upper hand LOL. Loved that scene.

Ms. Jeffrey does a great job with this book, she makes you feel all of the emotions the characters are portraying, it's very streamlined, and it has great characters that make everything work! Like I said, can't wait for more. The only thing I wanted to see “more of” would be that I would have loved to of had like an epilogue or maybe she'll carry Shannon and Drake on over to the following books of the series, or maybe I wasn't ready to be done with them and just want more, haha!.... I also liked that the book wasn't told in just Drake and Shannon's point of view, that way you see more of what's going on, more character building for more of what's to come, etc..

I also kept thinking that I could easily see this as a movie/mini-series for the Hallmark Channel or Lifetime Channels.

“You're the kind of girl who eats supper, aren't you?” He gave her his best smile. “Anything beyond that is strictly up to you.” - Drake Lockhart

 

 

Review by Sky: Vixen by Jillian Larkin

I am naturally drawn to this genre, as it is something that always sparked curiosity; what would it have been like to be a woman of that decade, where it was risqué to be a lady who defies the cultural standards of proper conservation. Minus the whoring around, I would love to have witnessed such a turn in history for women. To be a part of the underground activities of jazz, dancing, booze and adventure! I know it sounds silly, because such outlandish behavior from a girl who braved the bob and dresses, were often frowned upon by their family. But as a history nut, the turn of events of the worldly tradition, is just too appealing for a wish to observe in the present of that act.

I enjoy the historical accuracy of this book, and how the story takes place in multiple girl’s point of views. You have the girl, Gloria, who is what everyone in school wishes to be; beautiful, intelligent, president of the class, and even has the most handsome guy to herself. She is to wed him at the end of the school year in order of an arranged wedding in attempts to save the family money on both sides. But she yearns to break free of the pressure from peers and family, which is so hard on her, she breaks. She’s desperate to release the fearless flapper within her, to live once in the name of adventure before she marries the, oh-so boring traditional young man.

Then you have Gloria’s 18 year old cousin, Clara, who is just out of a New York prison for her time as a fearless flapper exploits, who is forced by her parents to live with her cousin to relearn the values of being a conservative and bright young lady. She dreads moving there, as she is forced to set an example for young Gloria, feeding her lies how she wishes to be a nun, or a school teacher. Gloria finds this cousin repulsively boring, but has no idea the truth behind Clara’s racy, revolting ways.
Then you have Gloria’s best friend, who is the rebel of the book, and not ashamed of her flapper ways. She is the poster child for the modern-day flapper of the 20’s. Though her love for her best friend is strong, she grows jealous as Gloria makes her transformation to a flapper girl, how easy she makes it look, how beautiful she is, and the guys who drool over her.
This book comes to life with a well painted picture of the dynamic 1920’s; full of risqué escapades, bold interracial relationships, law-breaking exploits, love, music, jealousy, and a first-hand experience of what it is like to release the chains of a customary and old-fashioned world, to becoming an independent young woman on fire.