My 'non-review' of Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions #1) by Aleksandr Voinov

Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions #1) by Aleksandr Voinov DNF
BLURB:You learn your wisest lessons from your enemies. Assuming, of course, you survive the encounter.
Kendras is a casualty of war: injured, penniless, and quite possibly the last surviving member of the only family he's ever known—the elite fighting force known as the Scorpions. When a steel-eyed stranger offers him medicine and shelter in exchange for submission and a secret task, Kendras has no choice but to accept. He is a Scorpion; he’ll do whatever it takes to survive.
But his true goal is to rebuild the Scorpions. Neither Steel’s possessive nature nor Kendras’s shattered foot can keep him from finding the last of his brothers... or the mysterious leader of the Scorpions, a man who held Kendras’s heart long before Steel tried to take it for himself. The goal is simple, the situation anything but. To rescue his leader and escape from Steel for good, Kendras must fight through a morass of politics and intrigue, where enemies are allies and even allies have hidden agendas.

My Review: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review. I really thought I'd enjoy this book as it had many of the things I like, military, fantasy worlds, action, and intrigue. However I just couldn't get into it at all. Now this is no reflection on the writing as that was excellent and from the little I did read it also had great world -building and well developed characters. I think it was either I wasn't in the mood for it because of the Sci-fi military audiobook I am currently listening to or because I wasn't in the mood for such a gritty story. I will be giving this one a chance later and maybe I will actually manage to finish it next time. Meanwhile I suggest you give it a try or at least read the reviews on Goodread before giving it a miss.

Audiobook review of Road Of No Return: Hounds of Valhalla MC by K.A.Merikan & Wyatt Baker.

Road Of No Return: Hounds of Valhalla MC (Sex & Mayhem) by K.A. Merikan (Author) & Wyatt Baker (Narrator) . DNF
BLURB:Don’t talk to strangers.
Zak: Tattoo artist. Independent. Doesn’t do relationships.
Stitch: Outlaw biker. Deep in the closet. Doesn’t share his property.
On the day of Stitch’s divorce, lust personified enters the biker bar he’s celebrating at. Tattooed all over, pierced, confident, and hot as hellfire, Zak is the bone Stitch has waited for life to throw him. All Stitch wants is a sniff, a taste, a lick. What follows instead is gluttony of the most carnal sort, and nothing will ever be the same. Forced to hide his new love affair from the whole world, Stitch juggles family, club life, and crime, but it’s only a matter of time until it becomes too hard.
Zak moves to Lake Valley in search of peace and quiet, but when he puts his hand into the jaws of a Hound of Valhalla, life gets all but simple. In order to be with Stitch, Zak’s biker wet dream, he has to crawl right back into the closet. As heated as the relationship is, the secrets, the hiding, the violence, jealousy, and conservative attitudes in the town rub Zak in all the wrong ways. When pretending he doesn't know what his man does becomes impossible, Zak needs to decide if life with an outlaw biker is really what he wants.
As club life and the love affair collide, all that’s left in Zak and Stitch’s life is mayhem.
Warning: Contains adult content - a gritty storyline, explicit language, violence, and torture

My Review: “I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.” Can I start by saying I was very surprised that I couldn't really get into this one, I've certainly liked all the previous books I've read by this author. Yet it wasn't the fault of the narrator either, although this is the first book I've heard him narrate, he was doing a lovely job and has a rather nice voice. I think it was just not my cup of tea. Even though the blurb piqued my interest, and I was sort of enjoying the start, I just wasn't that keen on either of the two main characters and I just wasn't in the mood to listen to anymore of their story. I certainly won't be giving up on reading any K.A. Merikan books that come my way in the future, nor will I forgo listening to Wyatt Baker because of this one book. Overall I would advice give it a try for yourself and don't let my experience put you off doing so.

Review for Tournament of Shadows by SA Meade

Tournament of Shadows by SA Meade -DNF.

BLURB:

In a shadowy game where defeat can mean death, a deal with the enemy can change things forever.
In 1842, Captain Gabriel O’Riordan of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars is sent on a
mission to Bukhara. His task—to try to free two of his compatriots from the clutches of a mentally unstable Emir. On his way, he encounters Valentin Yakolev, an officer in the Russian Army, who is also on a mission—to persuade the Emir that an alliance with Russia would be in his best interest. Gabriel, disguised as a holy man, is not happy to be the object of Yakolev’s intense scrutiny. After all, he’s working for the opposing team in the Great Game being played between their two nations. When Gabriel realises that his mission is little more than a forlorn hope, a game he has no chance of winning, he’s desperate enough to turn to Valentin for help and offers him anything in return. What he doesn’t expect is to have his plans to return to Calcutta scuppered by events.
Instead, he and Valentin flee north, fighting off bandits, their desire for each other and the hardship of desert travel. Their travails bring them closer together until a secret from Valentin’s past tears them apart.
Can they set the past behind them and move on together?

My Review: I was given a copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I am afraid to say that I could not finish the book. However this was not the fault of the author nor the story and totally down to me. I was just not able to get my mind into the right place to read about spies in India.
It was a well written story and I was upset that I was unable to give it the right kind of attention so I will definitely give this one another try at a later date.

Reviewing Devious Pies: Blushing Apples by Destiny Dawn

Devious Pies: Blushing Apples by Destiny Dawn DNF
BLURB: It was just one small taste, what could it really hurt?
Elana really can't help herself when she steals the first bite and it's all downhill from there. After seeing the fruit every day, she thought one would be enough, but to her flustered surprise it's not. All she can think about is the succulent apple in her hand and the taste across her lips. She hungers for more, and is willing to do anything for another taste.
Blushing Apples is an erotic tale with a twist of fantasy and feeding leading to a hot threesome and leaving a taste for more.

My Review: Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Author
This is only 22 pages but for me even that few pages were too many. The first stolen apple and Elana's sexual eating of it took 6 pages to describe. I know it was meant to be sensual and arousing but it did nothing for me. I'm sure other people will enjoy the book but it wasn't for me and I am afraid it became one of those rare DNF books.

A very rare DNF book!

Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea (The Witch of Two Suns #1) by Diana Marcellas DNF
BLURB: The shari'a people are an ancient race-a proud and gentle people, ruled by witches who harnessed the powers of the world for the benefit of all. When the seafaring Allemanii tribes came to their shores, the two races lived side by side for generations, staying apart but trading and learning from each other in peaceful harmony. But something went horribly awry and the shari'a people were suddenly and brutally slain by the settlers who had come to dominate the land. They feared the shari'a . . . and more important, the witches who led them and who held powers that the Allemanii could barely comprehend. The remnants of this gentle people were scattered, and any shari'a who held the knowledge of the old ways and powers were proscribed and hunted to death.
That was long ago, and young Brierley thinks she is the last shari'a witch in the world. She knows what discovery it would mean, but she cannot deny her gifts as a healer; risking discovery, she goes out time and again to bring solace . . . despite the fact that those Brierley saves are the very people who killed most of her race.
When she saves the life of a nobleman's wife-a nobleman sworn to obliterate any trace of witchery-Brierley stumbles into a web of deceit and power struggles more deadly than anything she has ever faced. But she refuses to walk away-and by staying the course, Brierley gains the possibility of finding a love to last the ages, as well as a way to reclaim her people's heritage.
With Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea, Marcellas has crafted a beautiful first novel that explores what it means to be different, to value that difference, and what happens when one trusts in true love.
My Review: Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley I have not been able to finish this book, even though I have tried to at least three times. The blurb was so very interesting and the concept is wonderful but somehow it failed to grab my interest once I opened the book. I know it must be something about me - maybe the reading mood I am in or the style of writing is unappealing to me - I really don't know. All that I do know is that others have found it worthy of 3 or more stars and I recommend that you give it a try to find out for yourself if the blurb appeals to you.

I don't usually give up on books but this one I did.

Quozl by Alan Dean Foster DNF
BLURB: Rabbitlike aliens from outer space colonize Earth during humankind’s Second World War in a delightfully funny and thought-provoking science fiction adventure
The Quozl just need somewhere to call home. A gentle race of extraterrestrial rabbits, they have a propensity for reproduction that has left their home planet, Quozlene, dangerously overpopulated, and in their search for greener and less-crowded pastures, they have discovered the perfect place to start over: the third planet away from a healthy, warming sun. What they don’t realize is that this world they call Shiraz is already inhabited by a species of violent sentient creatures known as humans.
But there’s no going back now. In the midst of the brutal and helpfully distracting global conflict the Shirazians call World War II, the colony ship lands undetected, and the space rabbits immediately go into hiding. But a secret like the Quozl can be concealed for only so long, especially when their numbers start to increase and certain rebellious members of the long-eared society decide the time is ripe to claim their place in a world they believe is rightfully theirs.
One of the most admired and prolific authors in the science fiction arena, Alan Dean Foster will delight readers who hunger for something different with this funny, thoughtful, and wildly inventive novel of first contact and coexistence. Once you meet the Quozl, you will never forget them.

My Review: Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley DNF! I love Alan Dean Foster and have become a great fan of his Pip & Flinx series as well as his Humanx Commonwealth series but this was a load of drivel. It showed non of his talent that shines through on the Humanx Commonwealth stories and I'm afraid the elaborate rituals and exchanges were too much for me and I stopped reading. I have a nasty feeling that this is a re-release of one of his earlier stories and not a new story at all. It certainly seems like the work of an immature author compared to his Humanx Commonwealth stories.

A DNF for The Learner by Alan Hayes

The Learner (The Learner #1) by Alan Hayes DNF
BLURB: NayéLi has come from the dark side of the universe to learn as much as she can about the third planet from the sun, and to communicate her findings back to her home world. NayéLi is a Learner - and on Earth she assumes the form of a young human female of the indigenous host species.
NayéLi is bound by her rulers' laws of planetary exploration, which state that there can be no involvement with a member of the host species. But NayéLi is more human now than she realizes. And she is about to fall in love.
THE LEARNER is the first book in the paranormal Learner Series.

My Review: Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley. I loved the blurb for this one and really gave it a good try (four attempts) but I just could not get interested in it. It had lots of good points but the overuse of 'alien' terms and the very slow pace of the whole book (or at least the half I actually read) made it impossible for me to stick with it.

Review Of Charming by Elliott James

Charming (Pax Arcana #1)by Elliott James DNF
BLURB John Charming isn't your average Prince...
He comes from a line of Charmings — an illustrious family of dragon slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster hunters who have updated their methods from chainmail and crossbows to kevlar and shotguns, he was one of the best. That is — until he became the abomination the Knights were sworn to hunt.
That was a lifetime ago. Now, he tends bar under an assumed name in rural Virginia and leads a peaceful, quiet life. One that shouldn't change just because a vampire and a blonde walked into his bar... Right?
My Review Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley I was really looking forward to reading this book as the blurb sounded so good. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it. Right from the start there was loads of information and no story to follow and the further I went the worse it seemed to get. In the end I gave up and hope that someone else will enjoy the story to compensate for all the hard work the author has put into it.

Review of Ripped by Shelly Dickson Carr

Ripped: A Jack the Ripper Time-Travel Thriller by Shelly Dickson Carr DNF
BLURB: Katie Lennox wishes her parents were still alive. Having to leave Boston to live with Grandma Cleaves in London was hard, but she's making new friends, working on her British accent and even learning some Cockney rhyming slang. London's cool and actually feels like home in some ways, like she's been here before, belongs here. When a museum visit with her cousin and his cute friend turns funky, Katie finds herself in a long, uncomfortable dress, wearing a ridiculous hat, wondering what happened to her jeans and high-top sneakers? And where's her iPhone?... It's London, 1888. Smart and gutsy, Katie knows she's here to stop Jack the Ripper. The serial killer didn't just slash his victims' throats; he butchered the women. Katie has read about the Ripper, knows the names of his victims and where and when they were killed. She's watched her fair share of CSI. Can Katie save their lives?
My Review: DNF but thank you to Netgalley for a digital advance copy.

If you can get past the over use of Cockney Slang, the awful stereotypical character of the 'boyfriend' and the equally over used plot cliche of dead parents, this might have been a good story. Shelly Dickson Carr (or maybe Michael Karol the name it's copyrighted to)seems to have written a book that was an excuse to show off her(or his) knowledge of the Jack The Ripper history and the rather large amount of Cockney slang in her(his) linguistic basket. The sister is mentioned often to start but, at the point of the book that I gave up, had still not made an actual appearance, so I have no idea why, unless it was just to point out the obvious resemblance to an ancestor who is a victim of Jack's. I personally will not be trying to read this book again at a later date.

Could not finish!

A Month With Werewolves by K Matthew DNF
BLURB:A budding journalist trying to advance her career. A secluded werewolf reservation shrouded in mystery. A secret culture unexplored.
Taya Raveen has taken on the journalism assignment of a lifetime, the chance to spend a month in the infamous Blackfoot Werewolf Reservation, a government operated safe haven for werewolves that has never been seen by civilian eyes. Following a new detainee into the reservation, Taya will get a first-hand account of what it's like to be introduced to pack life.
My Review: Unfortunately this was not my kind of book even though the blurb seemed to say it was.
I know the main character is a journalist but I expected it to read less like a newspaper report of dry uninteresting facts than it actually did.