Storm Lake and L-2011

Two reviews this time. The first, Storm lake is by Val Tobin. I reviewed her excellent Injury before on this site. Only one quibble with this book; it was too short and left me with many questions. But the writing as with injury was good. I gave it 4 stars.

Storm Lake by Val Tobin on Amazon.com

Storm Lake has all the elements a good horror story should have. An eerie build-up of tension, a young family alone in a remote cottage and a gradual realisation that all is not as it should be. It ends in a dramatic and gory acceleration of events. My only problem with this well written and exiting story is that it was too short. I hope Val Tobin will revisit Storm Lake at some point as there is much to explore and I have many questions I would like answered. I would say; great introduction to what could be a great horror novel.

 
The second book is by a writer from Glasgow that now lives in Australia; Mark Gillespie. I liked his version of what could have happened with the events leading up to the London Olympics in 2012. I gave it 5 stars:

L-2011 (Future of London Book 1) by Mark Gillespie on Amazon.com

This book is set in the not too distant past and hypothesises what could have happened in the events leading up to the London 2012 Olympics. The fact that the events never happened doesn’t make this book any less enjoyable. It still taps into the events of today like; corporate greed, the social media and discontent with our politicians and the establishment.  I liked this book a lot but I think a little understanding of modern Britain is required to fully get this story. It is well written and moves at a good pace. I liked that the story was told from the POV of Mack, a young white Scottish boy, caught up in the riots, where he finds himself amongst mostly black youths. Events came to a rather shocking climax and I can’t wait to see where Mark Gillespie takes the story next. Part two; Mr Apocalypse is already sitting ready to read on my Kindle.

 

The Welcome: and other Sci-Fi stories

I love and hate Sci-fi almost in equal measures.  I don’t understand tech- babble at the best of times, add to this warp-speed, phasors and other futuristic tech-speak and I’m completely lost. What I do love is where the writer’s imagination can take you. Sci-fi is a wonderful blank canvas to paint your own colourful picture. In The Welcome: and other Sci-Fi stories, Tom Benson and his six guest authors have used their canvas well. If Techno-babble is used it is to quickly outline a futuristic world and to set the scene.  I loved that each of the guest authors had chosen a completely different theme and style; which makes this book a great show case for Sci-Fi writing. This is selection of short stories that is easy to read, with something for everyone. (Even for fans of erotica!) I gave this 5 stars.

The Welcome: and other Sci-Fi stories on Amazon

Injury by Val Tobin

As I mentioned previously, Romance is not my favorite genre, but this book turned out to be more than that. It luckily was mostly devoid of the will they wont they, longing looks and yearning hearts. There was also a more gritty story line to keep me entertained. That I read this book in a few days says a lot, so I'm happy to give this a five star. I also like to mention that the cover of this book was designed by Paradox book covers, that recently revamped my Language in the blood covers:)

Injury by Val Tobin on Amazon

Daniella Grayson seems to have it all, a successful career in films, money and good looks. Her reason to seek the limelight been the abandonment by her father when she was five; somewhere out there he might be watching her and proud. I thought this was a very touching and realistic motivation for the character to be into acting. Then they find Daniella’s father’s body and her abusive mother is arrested for his murder. What I liked most about this book is the character of Daniella, she had to cope with a lot in her young life and being from an abusive home, she fell into an abusive relationship, which led her to drugs and alcohol addiction. She managed to walk away from that and turn her life around. She’s not a victim and able to steer her life onto the right path, despite her past conspiring against her. I would say this is a romance, but there is also a tense thriller story line within it. It’s well written and easy to read, it kept my attention from start to finish. The love scenes between her and Cope are quite hot and steamy, but not too explicit. I would recommend this if you like romance with a grittier edge. Very enjoyable read.