In August I spent two weeks traveling around Ukraine by train, using my sketchbook to document quotidian existence in the shadow of Russia’s invasion. By the time I arrived the Ukrainian army had largely pushed the war back to the country’s south and east. Lviv, Odesa, and Kyiv had returned to vivid life. Kids tore […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2022/09/09/ukraine-in-the-shadow-of-invasion-sketchbook/
Narrated by Lidia Dornet, Dance with the Devil by Kit Rocha is the third audiobook in the Mercenary Librarians’ fantasy series. Our band of mercenary librarians are gearing up to take down TechnoCorp. Failure is not an option. Filled with suspense, romance and a motley crew you’ll fall in love with.
Dance with the Devil
by Kit Rocha
Series: Mercenary Librarians #3
Narrator: Lidia Dornet
Length: 12 hours and 11 minutes
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Rating: 
Heat Level: 
Tobias Richter, the fearsome VP of Security of TechCorp is dead. The puppetmaster is gone, and the organization is scrambling to maintain control by ruthlessly limiting access to resources to Atlanta, hoping to quell rebellion. Our band of mercenary librarians have decided that the time for revolution has come.
Maya uses her wealth of secrets to weaken the TechCorps from within. Dani strikes from the shadows, picking off the chain of command one ambush at a time. And Nina is organizing their community—not just to survive, but to fight back. When Maya needs to make contact with a sympathetic insider, Dani and Rafe are the only ones with the skill-set and experience to infiltrate the highest levels of the TechCorps. They’ll go deep undercover in the decadent, luxury-soaked penthouses on the Hill.
Bringing Dani face-to-face with the man who turned her into a killer. And forcing Rafe to decide how far he’ll go to protect both of his families—the one he was born to, and the one he made for himself.
Victory will break the back of Power. Failure will destroy Atlanta.
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Even though each audiobook in this series has its own romance and storyline, advances to the overall series arc, making listening in order of release a must.
Our motley crew is still working with the people in their area to build a community. The group has created a library, sick bay, school and community garden. They are organizing ways to share resources and assisting those in need. They’ve done this despite the greedy people at TechnoCorp who are only interesting in lining their pockets. Actions that benefit the wealthy in society, while young children are cloned and citizens experimented on.
In Dance with the Devil, we get Rafe and Dani’s story. These two have been dancing around each other since this first audiobook, and the buildup of sexual tension and banter had me eager for their story. Rocha did not disappoint. They shared their backstories and introduced siblings. The two, despite their baggage, work well together. That is when they are not fighting their attraction to one another.
We get updates and spend some time with the crew, Nina, her librarians, along with Knox and his Silver Devils. I enjoy seeing them around the breakfast table fighting over pancakes and bacon.
We head to the “Hill” for some intel gathering. Their mission yields good contacts and allies, which allows them to take over and put others in power. The tale was suspenseful with plenty of action and while this story had some closure until TechnoCorp is stopped, I will worry about our Librarians and their community.
Lidia Dornet rocks the narration, skillfully capturing the voices of these characters. The story works well in audio format, bringing the scenes to life in vivid color.
Fans of science fiction, romance, suspense, strong Kick-Ass characters and team building will want to dive into this series.
Amazon | Audible
Dance with the Devil by Kit Rocha delivered from romance to action. #MercenaryLibrarians #Fantasy #Audiobook #LidiaDornet #AudiobookReview #NewRelease
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Kit Rocha is the pseudonym for co-writing team Donna Herren and Bree Bridges. After penning dozens of paranormal novels, novellas and stories as Moira Rogers, they branched out into gritty, sexy dystopian romance. The series has appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, and was honored with a 2013 RT Reviewer’s Choice award.
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Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2022/09/dance-with-the-devil-by-kit-rocha.html
A Place Called the Way by Corrine Ardoin is set in the fictitious Pine Valley in the early 20th century. It’s a sweeping drama that follows the births, lives, and deaths of the inhabitants of a small rural town known as ‘The Way.’
This novel is the third in Ardoin’s Pine Valley series. The main protagonist is Jim Hart, a man who was physically abused by his uncle as a child in the event that left both physical and emotional scars. As a result of his trauma, his life is blighted by depression and a self-harming habit. As a result, he tries to commit suicide, lets the only woman he ever really loved slip through his fingers, and even loses the right to call his son, ‘son’. The Way is a haven and a blessing for some residents; it seems to offer only a curse for others. Yet, ultimately, it offers hope.
At the beginning of the book, Ardoin helpfully provides a detailed description of the connections from one character to the next. The reader will need these signposts if they want to keep track of the story and the complicated relationships between all the individuals. The characters’ relationships ebb and flow through the novel as they face their own personal challenges and heal from their past experiences.
As the book is named for the town, it’s a nice touch that it’s presented almost as another character, with deep flashbacks interspersed throughout that examine its history. The town’s mysterious healing powers and history give it its own personality adding to the reader’s experience that the town is its own character and just as important as the people residing in it. At one point, I mistakenly thought the main story was just background to a plot twist that never came. However, the strong personal story of the characters and their experience with the town made this novel enchanting.
A Place Called the Way is a coming-of-age novel set in a small rural town with a long tradition of helping the inhabitants heal from their past. Fans of soft-focus historical drama will enjoy it for its sense of community and the complexity of its interpersonal relationships.
Pages: 208 | ASIN : B09WZYQPNS
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/09/09/a-place-called-the-way/
Rowe and Antonette are long-lost soul mates who found each other but were then separated by life’s challenges and war. In wishing to pursue their patriotric duties, Rowe and Antonette had each joined the military at a young age. Their paths intersect at Fort Jackson, South Carolina; and both knew there was something special and sacred about their destined meeting. Their souls were attracted to each other like magnets, it was a much deeper bond than either one had ever known.
After years of separation, they finally reunite in Richmond, Virginia. The embers of true love that had smoldered in their hearts for more than a decade still burned. The physical chemistry of their new union brings them closer together as loyal partners. But chaos threatens the Nation and the two patriots must face their deepest fear, the risk of losing each other again, as they join together with faith and hope to fight for their country.
Rowe and Antonette’s journey is a thrilling romantic adventure, written for patriotic fans who enjoy fantasy and science fiction.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/09/09/indivisible-book-trailer/
Annihilation by Kaylin McFarren is a story that explores the age-old issues surrounding light and dark or good versus evil, the balance between the two, and the blurred edges between distinguishing them. Following the central family of Ariel, once an angel now trapped in a demon’s body, her husband Crighton, a half-angel half-demon, and their children living between Heaven and Hell. As both realms are on the brink of the ‘Red War,’ it becomes clear that their family, especially their children, are going to be vital in the outcome, and Lucinda, the Queen of Hell, is not going to take any chances.
This novel is scattered with references to well-known myths, legends, and fables such as the ‘eternal fire from hell,’ angels, demons, and werewolves. These are all prominent symbols of the battle between good and evil, and they assist the reader in understanding some of the stories. However, throughout the story, things are not always so clear, which enables people to think more about their perception of where the line between the two would be.
McFarren has done an excellent job of telling the story from various perspectives through short chapters dedicated to specific characters’ points of view. It is easy to follow, ad each storyline overlaps. Imagery is another element that has been successfully used, for example, ‘belied by the unshed tears glistening in her eyes or ‘sheets of bubbling flesh.’ These are powerful images that allow you to see the story as you are reading it.
McFarren is imaginative and explores themes such as the power of women and how everyone is constantly battling internally with good versus evil. From the wonderful use of dialect to the flow of the story itself, this was an excellent read, one I would read again and recommend to others.
Annihilation is a gripping paranormal fantasy novel that explores good vs. evil and shows that things are not always split down the middle. Readers of occult horror will find this book thrilling and different from your usual dark fantasy novels.
Pages: 428 | ASIN : B09KMNBNQG
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/09/09/annihilation/
End Man is a tech-noir thriller set in the near-future. Raphael Lennon is an End Man, someone who works for the NDMN: “Norval Department of Marketing Necrology.” These IT workers have the jolly pleasure of gathering every bit of digital data left by the recently deceased and packaging it into a marketable product. As Raphael tries to track down an elusive “possum” (someone who faked their own death) he discovers a plot that could alter the course of life, and death, as we know it. To top it all off, Raphael suffers from dromophobia, a fear of crossing streets. This leaves him trapped in a tight square mile of dystopian Los Angeles.
I really enjoyed End Man. Raphael’s day-to-day work, with its “mindfulness videos,” horrible bosses, and questionable morality, feels all too real. Future L.A. is different, but grounded, being based on the real-life area surrounding the La Brea Tar Pits. Raphael is plagued by hallucinations of deadly winds to the south, fires to the north, a glacier to the east, and chasm to the west. This gives the story a claustrophobic feel as the walls close in on the him as he delves deeper into the mystery of the possum Jason Klaes, ominous warnings, and strange murders.
While I really enjoyed this absorbing technothriller I felt that the story took a little while to get going. The mystery-thriller aspect is the meat of the story, but I felt that the book gets bogged down a bit in the beginning with the inner workings of Norval. A few characters are introduced with a handful of sentences and disappear with little consequence, while the inner workings of Raphael’s mind and his self-imposed artistic therapy are prevalent. Raphael’s character is one that I enjoyed following otherwise. The plot and his character make for a unique read that was wildly entertaining and fun.
End Man is an exciting cyberpunk novel that creates a fully realized and compelling world for a fascinating protagonist to exist in. It’s a really interesting read that is incredibly relevant to the technological and social state of the world today. This is a slick and explosive dystopian thriller that I highly recommend to science fiction fans.
Pages: 379 | ASIN: B0B649S5B9
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/09/09/end-man/
The Annihilation of Ashar, by Trevor Bartlett, is the story of The White Wolf and the Crown Princess of Ashar. Unknowingly, they bring about the end of the Kingdom of Ashar and try to usher in a new age of salvation.
The story begins with a prisoner, unable to be broken by the Inquisitor, and defying death at every turn. The Crown Princess, Isabella, becomes curious about this prisoner and what he may offer to the kingdom. The prisoner, Sven, takes a liking to Isabella and reveals his true nature. He is a god, metamorph, and the savior of Ashar. Sven is looking for his second, someone equal to him, and the elves are convinced Isabella may be who he is looking for. When her brother, the Crown Prince, betrays Sven and orders his execution the metamorph shifts and brings destruction to the kingdom. Isabella stands against him after losing her family, her kingdom, and everything she has ever known. Isabella dies, is transported into the ethereal plane and shown Sven’s past, then revived to ensure he works by her side to save Ashar. Together, they will be ushering in a new age over the entire realm.
The writing style in this epic fantasy novel is engrossing throughout. As a reader, you feel fully immersed in the story. The plot unravels methodically, ensuring a high level of intrigue as we slowly learn more, this also leaves readers wanting more. The relationships between the characters is intricate, and I really enjoyed the surprising depth to their back stories. The relationship between Sven and Isabella is my favorite and I enjoyed following their characters and watching their relationship develop.
I hope this is the first book in a series because the world being built here feels big and the lore feels deep. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, and I feel this story is not over yet. I can’t wait to read the sequel. The Annihilation of Ashar, by Trevor Bartlett, is a rousing fantasy novel. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoys adventure, magic, and fantasy.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/09/09/the-annihilation-of-ashar/