Showing posts with label Short Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short Story. Show all posts

Monday, December 28, 2015

Three by Jeff and Erynn Altabef

Second Chances by Jeff Altabef adn Erynn Altabef
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Short Story
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
One night changes everything.
One chance meeting forces a young man to make a choice.
Will he do what’s right?
Or what’s easy?

Ayden is forced to remember old secrets he’d rather not reveal when his daughter returns home with questions about his shadowy past and dangerous legacy. Will she understand when he tells her about the night mysterious strangers came to his sleepy Arizona town looking for a local medicine man?
As his tale unfolds, Ayden pieces together the mystery that connected a recent murder, the strangers, and the medicine man’s bizarre behavior. Will he allow old demons to rule him, or will he get a second chance?


My Thoughts:
This book is a short story that fills in the gaps after Wind Catcher. It is precise and not only answers questions you had left, but leaves you with more so that you must read the next book.   It is a must read, eventhough it is short.


Brink of Dawn by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabeff
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The Opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
They walk among us as if they are gods.
Only the Chosen know what they are.
Only the Chosen know to fear them.
And only the Chosen can defeat them.


Evolved Publishing presents the second book in the multiple award-winning Chosen series of young adult mystery thrillers, which feature an American Indian fantasy and supernatural theme, from the same author who brought you the award-winning thriller Shatter Point, and his daughter.

Juliet Wildfire Stone and her best friend, Troy Buckhorn, barely escaped their sleepy Arizona town alive. Now they’re speeding to New York City to find the three other Chosen. The Chosen must band together to face an ancient foe that threatens all humanity.

Yet Juliet doesn’t know whom to trust, and strange things are happening in the City.

The Chosen will be tested, their resolve questioned, and their flaws exposed. Each must decide whether he or she will fulfill their destiny—or run. To defeat the enemy, they must stop battling among themselves and overcome their own struggles.

Only one can lead them. Will Juliet embrace her powers in time?

My Thoughts:
This is the second book in the Chosen series. I reviewed Wind Catcher here. In this book we find Juliet and Troy trying to locate the other “chosen”. This is the only way they can battle the Deltaite and have a chance of winning. Juliet and her friends must each learn to control the special ability or ‘gift’ they have.  Juliet has a gift of “seeing visions” yet she doesn’t trust herself enough with her gift. This is what makes this book stand out among others with similar plot lines. You have characters, who have a gift, yet they are not robotic. They are very dimensional and fleshed out. They are flawed and we the reader are privy to their flaws. This makes them a character the reader can relate to.
There is enough here to make you wonder if they will be able to save the world; just enough to keep you coming back for more. Definitely an author you want to watch.

I am looking forward to the final book in the trilogy, Scorched Souls.  As far as I’m concerned it can’t come soon enough.



Enemies of the State by Jeff Altabef
Genre: Adult, Thriller, Short Story
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.



From Goodreads:
Steven Cabbott is fighting some serious personal demons, and with America on the brink of civil war, knowing whom to trust is almost impossible. Especially when the person he trusts least of all is himself.
After joining a special operations unit at a young age, the government turned Steven into a killer, and worse—someone who enjoys killing. He tells himself that was a different version of him, and he has changed. Yet one simple question haunts him: does he really want to change?
As civil war threatens to rip America apart, he yearns only for redemption and a good night’s rest. Two young dissident leaders may hold the key to Steven’s absolution, and to peace, but the government is poised to abduct them.
Faced with near impossible odds, Steven must extract the dissidents, but he encounters treachery at every turn, and he’s running out of time. Can he keep his personal demons in check long enough to save the rebels, or will the government claim them all as Enemies of the State?

My Thoughts:
This short story is sure to get your blood pumping. Steven has lived a life full of killing. He grew up in the ghettos where he saw his mom deal with her own demons. He escaped the ghettos and signed up for the military where he became a special asset, a killer. He could kill without blinking an eye. Then one day he walked away from it all. He hired out to work for a man who lives in one world, but he believes truly wants to make a difference in the world Steven came from. When one of his bosses' employees ends up dead it is his job to interrogate the killer and do what he has to do to protect his boss.  The question is, can he keep his demons at bay or will they resurface and turn him back into the man he tried to leave behind?  This is going to be one great thriller. This short story is like a prequel to what is to come.  Love reading the work of this author.

I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.