Although labelled a fantasy novel, Song of Atlantis is also historical, sci-fi and somewhat of a thriller. Enter to win a copy!

​Book Details:

Book Title: Song of Atlantis by Brian Power
Category: Adult Fiction, 322 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Brian J Power
Release date: December 2014
Tour dates: May 13 - 24, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (No explicit sex scene or excessive profanity)

Book Description:

A shocking discovery leads one scientist down a dangerous path in Brian Power’s compelling debut novel, Song of Atlantis.

When Amon Goro, the master architect of Atlantis, discovers a way to harness the earth’s forces into an infinite source of clean energy, it seems destined to change civilization as we know it.

But 4,500 years later, Atlantis exploration team leader Palen Golendar is brutally captured by a Native American tribe in modern-day South Dakota—derailing any hope Atlantis held of utilizing its energy secrets.

Eight thousand years in the future, Native American anthropologist Gordon Tallbear and his team of highly skilled researchers stumble across a connection between the recent discovery of Golendar’s remains and an intricate cavern system deep in the mountains of Antarctica…a connection that finally reveals the Atlantean secret of perpetual energy.

While Tallbear and his team plan to recreate the energy source that will change the world, a wealthy group with deep ties to carbon-based fuel producers decides this newfound energy source must be destroyed—and they will stop at nothing to assassinate the researchers in order to bury what they know.

Can Tallbear’s newfound knowledge survive?


Although labelled a fantasy novel, Song of Atlantis is also historical, sci-fi and somewhat of a thriller. It has three timelines, beginning its story 12 500 years ago in Atlantis, then 8000 years ago in North America and finally present day America where most of the story takes place. The story had a slow start for me, but it became clearer as I progressed into the book. This was very much a "good versus evil" story, with strong elements of native American spirituality versus Satanism.

I must applaud the author on his imagination and the story's clever and intelligent plot. It was complex and well thought out. Fans of the legend of Atlantis will enjoy the portrayal of this technologically advanced civilization and their hidden world in the mountains of Antarctica. The story, however, was bogged down by writing that told the story rather than showed it. At time I felt like I was reading a history book or a journalistic account rather than a fantasy fiction novel. Professional developmental editing would have helped to make this novel exciting and better paced.

I liked the main characters, particularly Gordon Tallbear. He propelled the story forward. The bad guys, especially Tilcotan made my skin crawl. The ending was good and bittersweet. Love always conquers.

I have always been fascinated by the Biblical account of the Queen of Sheba. If you like historical fiction set in the ancient world, this one is a good one.

Book Details:

Book Title: Song of Songs: A Novel of the Queen of Sheba by Marc Graham
Category: Adult Fiction, 400 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Blank Slate Press
Release date: April 16, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There are rape scenes and violent war scenes)

Book Description:

Lift the veil of legend for the untold story of Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, and Bathsheba, wife, and mother of Israel’s first kings.

When Makeda, the slave-born daughter of the chieftain of Saba, comes of age, she wins her freedom and inherits her father’s titles along with a crumbling earthwork dam that threatens her people’s survival. When she learns of a great stone temple being built in a land far to the north, Makeda leads a caravan to the capital of Yisrael to learn how to build a permanent dam and secure her people’s prosperity.

On her arrival, Makeda discovers that her half-sister Bilkis (also known as Bathsheba) who was thought to have died in a long-ago flash flood, not only survived, but has become Queen of Yisrael. Not content with her own wealth, Bilkis intends to claim the riches of Saba for herself by forcing Makeda to marry her son. But Bilkis’s designs are threatened by the growing attraction between Makeda and Yetzer abi-Huram, master builder of Urusalim’s famed temple. Will Bilkis’s plan succeed or will Makeda and Yetzer outsmart her and find happiness far from her plots and intrigue?

Even though my kids are grown now and I no longer read middle grade books, once in a while I get the itch to do so. Free Pizza was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed it immensely. Check out my review and then enter to win a copy.

Book Details:
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Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

Bonjour les amis! So yes, I've been missing in action the last few months, mainly because I'm working two jobs (one of which is for the French sector of southern Quebec so I'm speaking and writing French daily.) I'm also helping with the caregiving of my mother-in-law who has Alzheimer's so my schedule is full to bursting. But Spring is here and I've resumed biking and that keeps me balanced. Hope you're all doing well and reading good books, of course!

Book Details:

Book Title: The High Court by Chris Ledbetter
Category: YA Fiction, 290 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Month 9 Books
Release date: October 16, 2018
Tour dates: April 1 to 30, 2019
Content Rating: PG (some profanity (damn, ass), no f-bombs, some kissing, no sex scenes, some violence, nothing gory or graphic)

Book Description:

High atop Mount Olympus, dawn breaks on a new academic term. Normalcy has returned to campus following a harrowing expedition into The Underworld to rescue kidnapped students by Zeus and his fellow Olympians. Now, as they prepare to testify in The High Court, Hyperion will be tried for the attack on Crete and death of Anytos. Kronos will stand trial for the murder of Mount Olympus Prep’s Headmaster Ouranos.

As the trials draw near, Mount Olympus Prep students and faculty are besieged repeatedly by a race of gargantuan stone and earth giants. Under heavy assault, the Olympians are forced to flee to the volcanic island of Limnos to regroup. Meanwhile, a toxic poison Zeus has carried with him since a prior fight with a dragoness, creeps toward his brain.

In a race against time and beasts, Zeus and his friends must find a way to survive not only the toxin ravaging Zeus’ body, but also the giants who grow stronger after every attack and somehow make it to The High Court alive.


A few years ago I read The Sky Throne which is the first book in this series and I enjoyed it. The Sky Throne is based on Greek mythology, a  modern YA rendition of a young Zeus and his adventures as he attends Mount Olympus Preparatory Academia and discovers who he is. The High Court is the second book and a continuation of that story. It's not a stand-alone novel.

So The High Court pretty much continues right from where The Sky Throne left off.  I wished I had read The Sky Throne closer to this reading as there is little backstory and I struggled to remember certain details. So if you're just discovering this series, I strongly suggest you read them back to back. The writing style is the same and the characters stay true to their personalities, with Zeus as hot-tempered and likable as ever. Once again, I loved that the characters are flawed and need to continue growing as the story progresses.

The author introduces new characters to the already large cast of characters, and initially it was hard to keep them all straight but eventually as the plot unfolds, it became easier to keep track. Including a character list at the beginning of the book would have been helpful since each character also has a nickname and these are used interchangeably with their full names throughout the story.

There is the usual rivalry among the students, and the author creates great action adventure scenes that are so well described they come alive. But it's the court case, of course, that racks things up. Once again the teens worked together, each with their own distinct character traits and abilities, with some comical one-liners and joviality among the young heroes.

The High Court has a satisfying ending but leaves room for more to come. If you like YA action-packed novels and Greek mythology, this is a fun series to get into.

To read reviews, please visit Chris Ledbetter's page of iRead Book Tours.





Chris Ledbetter is an award-winning author of short fiction and novels for young adults. “Jason’s Quest,” a short story retelling of the Jason and Medea Greek myth was published in the anthology, Greek Myths Revisited. His first full-length novel, Drawn earned him two awards, Library of Clean Reads Best YA 2015 and Evernight Publishing Readers’ Choice Award Best YA 2015, as well as a USA TODAY “Must Read” recommendation. His second novel, Inked, concludes that duology. The Sky Throne is his newest young adult series. It includes, thus far, The Sky Throne and The High Court.

Book Details:

Book Title: Drone Strike: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano
Category: Adult Fiction, 290 pages
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press
Release date: April 15, 2019
Format available for review: ebook (mobi, ePub, PDF)
Tour dates: April 15 to 26, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (for graphic violent terrorist scenes, no sex, no f-words.)

Book Description:

Karim’s family is killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, collateral damage. The Islamic State in the Levant exploits his rage, recruiting him for a terrorist attack on the U.S., and only Anthony Provati can stop him. Drone Strike takes you on a fast-paced adventure across the Mediterranean, into Mexico, finally arriving in the States. Drone Strike explores the psychological realities that seduce Karim to commit an act of terror, includes a love story between Moslem Karim and Miriam, a Christian woman he defends in Turkey and highlights the plight of Middle Eastern and Central American refugees.

Today I'm featuring a book that explores the topic of self-driving cars. I haven't read it yet but it's written in a savvy humourous way and I think this would make a perfect gift for my hubby. Check it out and then enter the giveaway to win a copy!


Book Details:

Book Title: Robot, Take the Wheel: The Road to Autonomous Cars and the Lost Art of Driving by Jason Torchinsky
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 207 pages
Genre: Automobile Technology, Car enthusiasts
Publisher: Apollo Publishers
Release date: May 7, 2019
Tour dates: May 6 to 24, 2019
Content Rating: PG (this book is accessible to everyone)


Book Description:

From the witty senior editor of Jalopnik, Gizmodo Media’s acclaimed website devoted to cars, technology, and more, comes a revealing, savvy, and humorous look at self-driving cars.

Self-driving cars sound fantastical and futuristic and yet they’ll soon be on every street in America. Whether it’s Tesla’s Autopilot, Google’s Waymo, Mercedes’s Distronic, or Uber’s 24,000 modified Volvos, companies across industries and throughout the world are developing autonomous cars. Even Apple, not to be outdone, is rumored to be creating its own technology too.

In Robot, Take the Wheel, Jason Torchinsky explores the state of the automotive industry. Through wit and wisdom, he explains why autonomous cars are being made and what the future of automated cars is. Torchinsky encourages us to consider autonomous cars as an entirely new machine, something beyond cars as we understand them today. He considers how we’ll get along with these robots that will take over our cars' jobs, what they will look like, what sorts of jobs they may do, what we can expect of them, how they should act, ethically, how we can have fun with them, and how we can make sure there’s still a place for those of us who love to drive with manual or automatic transmission.

This unique and highly readable volume is brimming with industry insider information and destined to be a conversation starter. It’s a must-have for car lovers, technology geeks, and everyone who wants to know what’s on the road ahead.





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Today I'm kicking off the tour for this memoir that I'm interested in reading. I'm always attracted to stories of the human spirit that rises above adversity, but I sometimes need to find the courage to read heartbreaking true stories. Check it out. Then scroll down to enter to win a copy!

Book Details:

Book Title: Winter Frost (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery Book 2) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult fiction, 290 pages
Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Cozy
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: January 28, 2019
Tour dates: May 1 - June 28, 2019
Content Rating: PG (It's a murder mystery and there is mild violence. Very mild swearing no F-bombs. No on-stage sex scenes.)

Book Description:

It all started with a chance encounter in the city with Blair, his late wife.

Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad, working under the guise of a book club, dig into the events surrounding his late wife’s supposed death halfway around the globe. A state department employee shoots himself in the back three times. A CIA operative goes missing. A woman is targeted by an international assassin three years after being declared dead in a terrorist attack overseas.

Nothing is as it seems.

In his most personal cold case, Chris fights to uncover why the state department told him that Blair, the mother of his children, had been killed when she was alive. What had she uncovered that has made her a target? Who terrified her so much that she had gone into hiding and why are they now after him?
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I was super excited to get my hands on this book. If you need motivation to get exercising, this book will get you there. Check out my review and then enter to win a copy!

Book Details:

Book Title: HIIT Your Limit: High-Intensity Interval Training For Fat Loss, Cardio, and Full Body Health by Dr. Len Kravitz
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 208 pages
Genre: Fitness and Wellness
Publisher: Apollo Publisher
Release date: October 19, 2018
Tour dates: April 15 to 26, 2019
Content Rating: G (The book is a workout manual. It contains no graphic language or images.)

Book Description:

Get lean, build muscle, and stay healthy in only ten minutes a day! A Fitness Hall of Fame inductee and world-famous exercise scientist explains the #1 new fitness trend and how to get and keep the body you’ve always wanted.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an extraordinarily effective form of training that mixes high- and low-impact activities during periods ranging from seconds to eight minutes. In HIIT Your Limit, Dr. Len Kravitz, who has been inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame and been an internationally-renowned exercise scientist for the past thirty-six years, and sold nearly 100,0000 copies of his last fitness book, explains what HIIT is, how it effects your entire body (externally and internally), gives 50 workouts and a guaranteed plan to whip you into shape fast, and presents a wealth of nutritional and other advice to further its impact.

HIIT was recently rated the #1 new fitness trend by the American College of Sports Medicine and is the key to staying fit for celebrities like David Beckham, Britney Spears, Hugh Jackman, and Scarlett Johansson. In addition to fat loss, it’s been proven to have major health benefits on blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol. Through this groundbreaking volume you’ll learn why, and see how to get fit quick, and have a fun and a truly sustainable exercise program, no expensive personal trainer required.

I was super excited to get my hands on this book. I have seen how exercise has made a difference in my life, and I too believe as Dr. Len Kravitz says, "exercise is just good medicine". My best friend who is also a kinesiologist introduced me to HIIT (high-intensity interval training) a few years ago. She is my workout buddy and has helped me make exercise an important part of my life. When I told her I was reading Dr. Len Kravitz's new book she said she has heard him speak at conferences and he is brilliant.

The book is divided into four sections. The first one is all about exercise, and in particular HIIT. The second section is about weight loss strategies, the third part includes the workouts and the fourth part has 100 ways (great tips) on how to cut calories in your daily life. I found this book stimulating, motivating and easy to use. I felt like Dr. Len Kravitz was talking directly to me in his conversational manner. He backed up his information with lots of research and studies but not so much that it overtook the text. The layout of the book makes it user-friendly with information presented in bite-size portions through subtitles and bullet forms.

Although I exercise regularly and I have goals (mostly in my head) I paid close attention to the author's ten steps to succeed in an exercise program and the exercise mistakes to avoid. My motivation for exercising is not only to keep my ideal weight but to stay healthy and alert, to live well and to prevent illness. I enjoyed reading all four sections and learned many things. The HIIT workouts are very detailed and you can incorporate them easily into any workout you are already doing. I do HIIT training mainly while biking.

I'm also hooked on the author's slogan, "For every 30, get your 3." For those of us who live sedentary lives because we work in front of a computer, we need to make time to move more. So for every 30 minutes you sit, get at least 3 minutes of movement. It's so do-able!

This book is excellent for both a newbie exerciser (or someone who needs motivation to exercise) to the regular exerciser who wants to take it up a notch. I am determined to keep using HIIT exercises and now have Dr. Len Kravitz's help to do so. Highly recommended!





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Book Details:

Book Title: Writer Get Noticed! A Strengths-Based Approach to Creating a Standout Author Platform by Colleen M. Story
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 310 pages
Genre: Non-fiction Writing/Publishing
Publisher: Midchannel Press
Release date: March 2019
Tour dates: April 8 to 19, 2019
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

Stop feeling invisible and start attracting the attention you deserve!

Have you been writing for years, but feel like no one notices? Have you published your stories, only to gain a handful of readers? Do your marketing efforts feel like shouting into a void?

Veteran writer and motivational coach Colleen M. Story helps you break the spell of invisibility to reveal the author platform that will finally draw readers your way.

There are more books out there than ever before, and readers have many other things vying for their attention. A writer can feel like a needle in a haystack, and throwing money at the problem rarely helps. What does work is creating a platform that stands out, but in a sea of a million platforms, how is one to do that?

Writer Get Noticed! takes a new approach, dispelling the notion that fixing your writing flaws and expanding your social media reach will get you the readers you deserve. Instead, discover a myriad of strengths you didn’t know you had, then use them to find your author theme, power up your platform, and create a new author business blueprint, all while gaining insight into what sets you apart as a writer and creative artist.

Writers need readers to achieve their highest potential. Find your way to stand out, and let it lead you to the writing career that fulfills all your expectations and more.

In this motivational and inspiring book, you’ll learn:

• Why simply improving your writing skills won’t take you where you want to go.
• How discovering your strengths makes you a more effective writer and entrepreneur.
• What you really want from writing and why that matters.
• How to use the three-brain decision-making system to build a more successful author platform.
• What truly motivates you and how to use that to propel yourself forward.
• How to use the “find your author theme formula” to write a theme that fits your creative style.
• How imposter syndrome can stall your progress, and how to overcome it.
• Why risk-taking is critical to writing success, and how to make better decisions about the risks you take.

When you find the treasure that’s been inside you all along, don’t be surprised if it opens new doors you never thought possible.


A few years back, I read Colleen M. Story's fiction novel Loreena's Gift, which I loved and then her first non-fiction book Overwhelmed Writer Rescue, a resource book for writers and creative artists. Colleen is the kind of author who knows how to take all of her life experience in the writer and health field and combine it to produce books that are honest and make you see things from a realistic, and very unique way.

In Writer Get Noticed! Colleen helps you to be the best writer according to the strengths you have, and the best part is that she helps you to discover those strengths. No two writers are alike, so it makes perfect sense that creating the author platform customized to your strengths is the way to go. So how does she do this? Through exercises of self-reflection. Some of these exercises are easy, but many of them are hard because they really make you dig deep down, opening up your eyes to the hard, but not impossible, dream of getting noticed as a writer.

Essentially, a writer needs to be a business person whether they like it or not and Colleen talks about this aspect. I loved the anecdotes and experiences from other writers that Colleen included in the book, making this also an inspiring read. It's clear that Colleen is a motivational speaker because this book is actually a workbook too, and she guides you step-by-step with an easy to read, motivating writing style that feels like she's right there with you. I suggest getting the paperback copy so that you can write your thoughts right in the book because that's how it's designed.

No matter what kind of writer you are, whether an author, journalist, or blogger you can definitely benefit from the advice that Colleen dispenses in this down-to-earth but motivational resource book. Highly recommended for all writers who want to demystify the "author platform" concept and get to work creating one that rocks for them.

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Moon Games is a cozy mystery that takes place in the North Carolina town of Black Mountain. Check it out and enter to win a copy.

Book Details:

Title: Moon Games by Shelly Frome
Category: Adult Fiction, 264 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Milford House Press
Release date: August 4, 2018
Tour dates: Mar 15 to April 30, 2019
Content: PG-13 + M for some mild language and mature content matter

Book Description: 

At the outset, Miranda Davis has nothing much going for her. The tourists are long gone by October in the quaint Carolina town of Black Mountain, her realty business is at a standstill, and her weekend stint managing the local tavern offers little to pull her out of the doldrums. When prominent church lady Cloris Raintree offers a stipend to look into the whereabouts of a missing coed, Miranda, along with her partner Harry (an unemployed features writer) agree.

But then it all backfires. A burly figure shambles down a mountain slope with a semi-conscious girl draped over his shoulder. Miranda’s attempts to uncover Cloris Raintree’s true motives become near impossible. The local police keep stonewalling and Harry is of little help.

Tarot cards left on Cloris’ doorstep only exacerbate the situation. Growing more desperate over the captive girl’s fate, Miranda comes across a link to a cold case of arson and murder. With the advent of the dark of the moon, she is summoned to “Tower Time” as this twisty tale continues to unravel.


Moon Games is a cozy mystery that takes place in the North Carolina town of Black Mountain. The setting of mountain ridges, foggy moonlit autumn nights, and a damp chilly Halloween season along with a colorful cast of bumbling characters makes this book interesting. I must admit though, I was confused and scratching my head a lot of the time, wondering if I had missed something as I read along.

I didn't get the sense that I "knew" any of the characters. I was always trying to figure them out. I'm not sure if this was intentional on the author's part and part of the mystery or if I just had to be patient as I tried to figure things out. Things became clearer as I got deeper into the book, but this was a complex mystery nonetheless and it was a slow start for me. Miranda was an unlikely but likable hero, although I thought she acted older than her thirty-six years.

If you like murder mysteries in a small town setting with scatter-brained and sometime humorous characters trying to figure things out, you might enjoy this one.

To read more reviews, please visit Shelly Frome's page on Virtual Author's Book Tours.