Jacqueline's review of Taken With A Grain Of Salt by Aaron Galvin

Reviewed by -- Jacqueline Driggers

Book Review of -- Taken With A Grain Of Salt (Salt Series Book 2) by Aaron Galvin 

Overall star rating --- 5

About the book:

Anyone can be taken - a simple truth for Salt folk, a stark reality for innocent teens Garrett Weaver and Kellen Winstel. Kidnapped by Selkie slave catchers and dragged into the realm beneath the waves, both teens must adapt to their new surroundings if they hope to see the shore again. 

Yet even if they escape their captors, both will need to embrace their fears. For darker things than Selkies lurk in the Salted depths and not all of them have pure intentions for the innocent ones brought down into their watery world.  

Book creation ratings:

Overall total -- 30 out of a possible 30

-- Story & characters -- 10

-- Cover & title -- 10

-- Editing & formatting -- 10

* based on a 1-10 scale with:  1-4, poor; 5-7, good; 8-10, very good.*

The review --

This book is the sequel to Aaron's first book in this series, Salted; which I reviewed. 

The first book introduces you to the salted world, and the characters. The second book continues their stories, and you'll love it. So you'll want to read the first book in the series before you read this one. But I highly recommend both. This isn't just a 5 star book, it's a 5 star series.

The first book was very good, but this one is even better. It's an awesome series and the author is an awesome writer. This book has a different take on undersea angle, but it has a fast pace that you'll love. I know I did. It's one of those books that you won't want to put down. Both books are simply awesome. I look forward to more in this fantastic series.

Reader Recommendations

Genre -- fantasy, science fiction

Age recommendations -- 18 plus

Sex content rating -- mild

Violence rating -- intense

Links for the book:

Buy it on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Taken-With-Grain-Of-Salt-ebook/dp/B00P9ZWPT0

Author's Amazon page

http://www.amazon.com/Aaron-Galvin/e/B00JSW88DM/

Author's website 

http://www.aarongalvin.com/book-2-taken-with-a-grain-of-salt.html 

Author's facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/Aaron-Galvin-657051757702487/?ref=bookmarks 

Jacqueline's review of Allegories of the Tarot

Reviewed by -- Jacqueline Driggers

Book Review of -- Allegories of the tarot by various authors

My overall star rating, from 1-5 --- 5

About the book:

An anthology of short stories of the Major Arcana of the Tarot by talented new and established award-winning writers, edited by Annetta Ribken.

Book creation ratings:

Overall total -- 30 out of a possible 30

-- Story & characters -- 10

-- Cover & title -- 10

-- Editing -- 10

* based on a 1-10 scale with:  1-4, poor; 5-7, good; 8-10, very good.*

My review:

You don't have to be familiar with tarot cards to enjoy this book.  The cards are the inspiration for some really fascinating stories, and you get to meet a great variety of excellent writers in this book.

I loved all the stories.  Some I enjoyed more than others, but I liked them all. Fascinating angle for an anthology, neat idea for a theme.

Reader Recommendations

Genre -- fantasy, science fiction

Age recommendations -- 15 and up

Sex content rating -- not applicable

Violence rating -- not applicable

Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Allegories-Tarot-Annetta-Ribken-ebook/dp/B00G6S9EYI/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/363468

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18109513-allegories-of-the-tarot

http://www.allegoriesofthetarot.com/

Jacqueline reviews Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again by Simon Oneill

Reviewed by -- Jacqueline Driggers

Book Review of -- Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again (Phantom Bigfoot Series Book #1) by Simon Oneill

Overall star rating, from 1-5 --- 5

About the book:

Late Teen Duane Dexter thinks he has it all, money, the hearts of Big Beaver’s women, hero-worshiped by every kid in Big Beaver and The Elders have chosen him to be Guardian of the Forest.

The Elders are tall, Swedish-looking blond aliens from the planet Abba with a penchant for loving their pets and have chosen young Duane to continue in his father's Bigfootsteps to look after the tribe of Bigfoot deep in the forest. They have genetically altered Duane to have access to his sixth sense.

With this sense, Duane can pick out thoughts and feelings of those close to him and not so close. He can also heal wounded animals with a touch of his hand. But becoming The Phantom Bigfoot has its perks for this notorious prankster, scallywag, and local celebrity.

A side-effect is masquerading as The Phantom Bigfoot and leaving a trail of ludicrous crimes for Sheriff Louise Harper to solve. This he does to keep her mind off her long lost love, Virgil Tuckerwood. But Lou's misery infects the whole town, so Duane must get creative. His creativity leads to all sorts of insane problems for the whole town of Big Beaver, least of which is the abduction of Beau, another notorious prankster.

Now Duane must keep the sheriff and FBI from finding out his big secret in the woods as they search for Beau. But can he keep the Tribe of Bigfoot a secret and protect the forest as the authorities search for the missing teenager? Or will the alien Elders come to regret their choice of Protector and banish Duane from the forest forever?

Book creation ratings:

Overall total -- 26 out of a possible 30

-- Story & characters -- 10

-- Cover & title -- 8

-- Editing & formatting -- 8

* based on a 1-10 scale with:  1-4, poor; 5-7, good; 8-10, very good.*

My review:

Who knew that bigfoot (or would that be bigfeet, if you're talking about more than one) could be so much fun?  Well, this book is a world of fun to read.  If you need a book to sit down with and take a load off your mind, this one is it.  I so very thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Simon Okill's descriptive writing style is wonderful.  You can almost smell and feel the big forests he describes.  And his imagination is genius.  Great book for most any age. 

Reader Recommendations

Genre -- fantasy

Age recommendations -- 12 and up

Sex content rating -- next to none

Violence rating -- none

Links for the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Simon-Oneill/e/B00SN9TNAI/

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tassyoneill

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/500521

https://twitter.com/simoneillauthor

https://www.facebook.com/simononeillauthor