Unspoken

Publication Date: April 12, 2021

Purchase: Amazon US | Amazon INTL

The Unspoken One has been banished for many years, his very existence erased. Ameera must find his true name and summon him if she has any hope of saving her kingdom from war, and herself from marriage to a ruthless king.

The Kingdom of Nur has been suffering for years under Ameera’s father’s rule. She’s bid her time, carefully keeping her secret hidden and waiting to become queen so she can repair what her father has broken. Then an unwanted marriage to the brutal king of Nur’s enemy threatens everything she’s worked towards.

With her wedding drawing near and the future of her kingdom in peril, she finds the forbidden name. She knows The Unspoken One is her last chance to save Nur, but she risks much in summoning him. His magic is not understood, the crime he was banished for is unknown, and speaking his name carries an unbearable punishment.

For Nur, for herself, she must risk it all. Or lose everything she holds dear.

She speaks the name too many have paid a painful price for uttering. Nothing, not the kingdom, their lives, or her heart, will ever be the same.

About Ari Reavis

Ari Reavis is a wife and mother of six. Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, she enjoys staying in, devouring books and watching movies. Her kids are running around, her husband is trying to show her martial arts moves, and she’s trying to write. Her day in a nutshell.

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If the Chead came out of its trance, no one wanted to be caught in the open. While the creatures looked human, they possessed a terrifying speed, and had the strength to tear full-grown men limb from limb.

The Genome Project (once known as Rebirth) by Aaron Hodges

The Evolution Gene #1 (once known as Praegressus Project #1)
Release - March 27, 2017/second edition April 25, 2019
Genre - SciFi Dystopian Fiction
Multiple POV - 3rd person/Chris, Liz, Dr. Fallow
Heat Level - 1 out of 5/kisses
Format/Source - Kindle Amazon purchase
Length - 320 pages
Publisher - The National Library of New Zealand

In 2051, the Western Allies States have risen as the new power in North America. But a terrifying plague is sweeping through the nation. Its victims do not die—they change. People call them the Chead, and where they walk, destruction follows.

Runaway teenager Liz wants nothing more than an ordinary life. But when she’s abducted off the streets, Liz learns her government has other plans. In a future ruled by a ruthless dictator, there’s no place for the weak, and she’s spirited away to a facility deep in the Californian mountains. There, Liz wakes in an iron cage – and she’s not alone.

Beside her, eighteen-year-old Chris stands wrongfully accused of treason. The two are now volunteers in the Genome Project – an experimental program to enhance the human race and fight the Chead. Stripped of their rights, they will soon learn the true depths of human cruelty. The two must work together to survive, but even then, their chances are slim. Of course, only the lucky get to die.

Find your copy of The Genome Project on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Rsaa0P
It's FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited

I don't know if it's because my mind was in the right place or if I was in the mood to be wowed, but this story, The Genome Project, it hit the right spot for me. It was intriguing and mysterious and horrific and wonderful!

So here's what it's about:
💉 it's the year 2051, the United States is no more, and the characters live in the Western Allied States.
💉 the world seems to be overrun by creatures known as Chead, who seem to be altered humans. I'm sure more information about them will come as the series progresses. All I know so far is that they're extremely terrifying.
💉 right from the start, Chris became a leading star of this story. My heart broke for this character and the many obstacles he had to face. What is the government doing with his mom and all of the other moms out there???
💉 in the beginning, Liz didn't come across as a sympathetic character. She grinned and smiled and smirked at the pain of others who happened to be in the same boat she was. Who does that??? However, by the end, she found an ally in me.
💉 the children of so-called traitors are 'saved from death' by being forced to act as lab rats. They are injected with an experimental serum and it seems that they will be used as weapons against the cheads.
💉 the kids are pitted against each other in a bid to see the strongest survive. I'm talking some seriously traumatic happenings here, people!
💉 and so much more!

I enjoyed the introduction to this series so much. In fact, I'll be reading book two in just a minute. The author's writing kept me engaged, the story was fast-paced, and the characters have begun to chip away at my heart. What happened to Sam and Ashley? What truths will the next book reveal? And is there a real romance brewing between Liz and Chris or was that just isolation talking and doing? So yeah, book two in my hands is a must!

The government had extended curfews across the entire country and increased military patrols, but the measures had done little to slow the spread of attacks. Last year, in 2050, the first Chead sighting had been reported in Los Angeles, and was quickly followed by attacks in Portland and Seattle. Fortunately, they had yet to reach the streets of San Francisco. Even so, a perpetual State of Emergency had been put into effect.

On the television, the SWAT team had reached the grocery store and were now gathering outside, their rifles trained on the entrance. One lowered his rifle and stepped towards it, the others covering him from behind. Reaching the door, he stretched out an arm and began to pull it open.

The Chead did not make a sound as it tore through the store windows and barrelled into the man. A screech came through the old television speakers as the men scattered before the Chead’s ferocity. With one hand, it grabbed its victim by the throat and hurled him across the street. The thud as he struck the ground was audible over the reporter’s microphone.

Aaron Hodges was born in 1989 in the small town of Whakatane, New Zealand. He studied for five years at the University of Auckland, completing a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and Geography, and a Masters of Environmental Engineering. After working as an environmental consultant for two years, he grew tired of office work and decided to quit his job and explore the world. During his travels he picked up an old draft of a novel he once wrote in High School (titled The Sword of Light) and began to rewrite the story. Six months later he published his first novel, Stormwielder, and hasn't looked back since.

I used to be a sister, a daughter, a girlfriend and a friend. A poet, a dreamer and an honor student. But now... now I'm alone, left to fend for myself, with no one to look out for me.

Blood to Dust by L.J. Shen

Standalone
Release - July 17, 2016
Genre - Dark Romance
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5/several scenes
Format/Source - Kindle Amazon purchase
Length - 266 pages
Publisher - Indie

His name is Beat, and I should hate him.

Bound, blindfolded and bruised, I'm tied in his basement, waiting for the men who stripped me from clothes and humanity to collect his debt to them. Me.

His name is Nate and I should hate him, but I don't.

I'm not supposed to know his real name, even worse, I'm not supposed to care. He is nothing to me but means to an end. The plan is simple: break free, collect the pieces of my broken soul, kill the bastards and run away.

His name is Nathaniel Thomas Vela, and I've never seen his face, though I hear that it's beautiful.

Behind the rugged and handsome exterior, there's a quiet murderer, a killer who thinks guns are for pussies and ends people with his bare hands.

His name doesn't matter, neither does his face, but what does matter is my heart. And right now, sadly, it's his.

Blood to Dust is a standalone, full-length novel. It contains graphic violence and adult situations some may find offensive.

Find your copy of Blood to Dust on Amazon
FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited

While it wasn't as dark as I thought it was going to be, considering the blurb, Blood to Dust was full of the off-the-wall craziness I've come to look for in my dark reads. Prescott was a puzzle that I still haven't been able to solve. She was a woman burdened by pain, betrayal and secrets. The life of horrors that she had to live was not for the feint of heart. Good thing this girl was a survivor.


Nate had never had it easy. He suffered through childhood, finally freed himself only to be tried and judged as a criminal. Never really fitting anywhere, this too-pretty-for-his-own-good man carved his own path. When his boss tasked him with holding onto Prescott, keeping her prisoner until his son could 'fetch' her, Nate planned to do just that. Only Prescott had other plans. And when he heard her story, when he found out why she was such a hot commodity, he realized how truly alike they were. His heart, that organ of his that knows the difference between right and wrong, switched sides.


And then it was utter chaos. Granted, what Prescott and Nate did defied imagination. None of it was realistic, but it was still tons of fun to read. She got her own brand of justice and through blood and more pain, these two kindred spirits found their own happily ever after.

“You don’t get a say in this shit,” Ink announces with borrowed authority. I can hear the uncertainty leaking from him. He’s what I call an easy job. If it were just him watching over me, I would have been dancing in Iowan cornfields far away from here by now, Sebastian and Godfrey’s heads tucked in that Nike bag.

“You make me uncomfortable.” I yank my arm away.

“What, and the other guy makes you warm and fuzzy?” He sounds genuinely offended.

Beat inches closer behind me, and I feel the heat of his body drifting into mine. He’s close. Hot-jock-leaning-against-your-locker close. It’s going to be hard to bypass someone his size.

“You think I’m nice?” His breath moves through the plastic of his mask, tickling my ear. I shudder down to my toes. His mouth smells like peach. How bad can a guy who smells like a peach be?

“Nice-r.” I clear my throat, my eyes still trained on Ink in front of me. Ink shakes his head, indicating that I’m dead wrong. The air becomes chilly. Why hadn’t I noticed it’s so chilly?

Because it’s not. It’s August in California, and I’m cold because I’m frightened.

“Let’s test your theory. I’m going to touch you now. Move without permission, and I’m breaking your arm.”

My busted lower lip splits open again as I scowl at his threat. He definitely looks like a guy who makes good on his threats.

“Okay.” I lick my blood, my voice tender.

Beat kicks my legs open and brings my arms up, patting me down dryly, like airport security. His rough fingers stroke the curves of my shoulders as he moves down from my skull to my outer breasts, circling them lazily. Down to my stomach…lower to my tensed inner thighs, pushing the fabric of my mini dress away to make room for his warm paws.

Every muscle in my body is ready to plow forward, to run away, to try and hurt him; the memory of every experience I’ve had that started this way demands for me to take action. But this…it doesn’t feel like a violation. The sour taste of bile has yet to explode in my mouth.

His hands move down my legs, stroking my ankles…then he stops.

“Got something inside?” He squats down, hooking one of his thumbs into my ankle boot. His masked face is eye level with my pelvis, and warmth spreads along my bones like hot wax.

“No,” I lie. There’s still a slight chance he won’t check.

But he checks.

Beat jerks my boot out and a Swiss army knife falls with a clank on the concrete pavement. I let out a sigh and drop my head. Shit.

Happy thoughts.

Frozen yoghurt with Preston down the local mall.

Curling up on the egg-swing with a Mia Sheridan book.

Water lilies blooming over the artificial pond in the Burlington-Smyth’s garden.

A genuine smile from a stranger.

Beat stands up slowly, his gleeful mask zeroing on my face. It all looks like a scene from a horror movie.

And I’m the victim.

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to twenty different countries.

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.