Xi Force series, Book 4 Triptych / S. C. Mitchell / 262 pages

Fourth book in the Xi Force series.  Maggie O'Donnell dreamed of becoming an astronaut, and instead she ends up flying the Xi Force super jet shuttling their superheroes around when needed. But when her grandmother passes away and she inherits the powers of the Irish goddess Morrigan from her, she is able to split herself in three to become the three aspects of Morrigan, the healer, the warrior, and the sorceress.  But she also inherited her ancestor’s enemy. Whenever the power is passed on the prison holding The Fae Queen Genevieve weakens and she can escape to cause havoc. As Maggie steps into an even bigger role with the super team Xi Force she also has to deal with her family’s ancient enemy who's out to destroy her and anyone close to her. Paul Tompkins is leader of Pike's rangers, the Xi Force support team. He’s required to keep Maggie in the friend zone because of his job, but her new position in Xi Force suddenly changes everything now that she’s a civilian contract and not part of the rangers. If all that’s isn’t enough when an earthquake causes cracks and crevices in the Xi Force base’s foundation it reveals that there’s some weird spaceship with aliens inside under the base. Narrated by Larry Gorman 7h 20min.

Accidental Traveler Series, Book 3 Accidental Mage/ Jamie Davis / 344 pages

Dragged back to the game of Fantasma, for Hal Dix, this time it's personal. Hal returns home from Fantasma to find his greatest nightmare has come true. A personal tragedy in the real world drags him back into the game world of Fantasma one last time when he finds that the emperor has left him a message after kidnapping his wife and daughter as leverage against him and his role as the prophesied hero that will defeat the emperor.  After entering Fantasma once again, Hal seeks help from his comrades Kia, the mage Tildi, and warriors he has helped. Hal must master the art of magic this time, gaining abilities and training under four unique archmages and learning their individual elements to complete his quest and fight against the emperor. Does Hal have the discipline to stick with the training and reach the end of his chosen path? He doesn’t have a choice, Hal will do whatever he has to to rescue his wife and daughter. Narrated by Roberto Scarlato 10h 18min.

Accidental Traveler Series, Book 2 Accidental Warrior / Jamie Davis / 320 pages

Hal Dix had success at home after his initial outing into the world of Fantasma after helping a city overthrow the tyrant rulers set in place by the evil emperor. He leveled up in both his job and at home, getting into the management training program.  Everything was going fine in his life. Then, the mage Tildi, the Elder that had first sent him to Fantasma showed up again with news from the other world. His friend Kia was in trouble and only he could help. Hal didn't want to be a hero, but he wasn't the sort of fellow to leave a comrade behind. Whisked away to the game world of Fantasma once again, Hal enters the role of the reluctant hero he thought he'd left behind.  Narrated by Roberto Scarlato 9h 56min.

Accidental Traveler Series, Book 1 Accidental Thief / Jamie Davis / 310 pages

Hal Dix was stuck in an unlucky life. His wife is a successful executive while his IT help desk job leads nowhere. His supervisor is a rude bully and he has applied for management training 12 times already,  maybe this time will be lucky number 13. Even his daughter's daycare teacher thinks he's a loser. Hal can't catch a break. But when he checks out the flea market by his work for any new or interesting games he comes across a strange woman who sells Hal a bootleg release of a highly anticipated game. It is just what he wished for and he can't wait to play it during his long weekend home alone. Has his luck finally turned around? Hal should be careful what he wishes for, when instead of playing a relaxing game at his computer desk in the comfort of his own home, he gets sent to the the game world of Fantasma, is this real or just a dream?  Narrated by Roberto Scarlato 9h 9min.  

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 6 Night Resurrected / Colleen Gleason / 389 pages

Five men emerge from a cave fifty years after an apocalyptic event.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance that is fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. The world they knew is in ashes, and what remains is in peril and these five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope. One of the men that emerges from the cave is Wyatt,  he lost his family forever during The Change, and has nothing left to lose. But just when he thought he'd never feel anything again, Remington Truth comes into his life. The beauty faces unimaginable dangers on her quest to safeguard the mysterious crystal in her possession as the Strangers hunt her, he joins her on her journey-never expecting her to find a way past the wall he's built. Remy's a woman with everything at stake. While protecting the powerful crystal that her grandfather and name’s sake gave her, she dares trust no one with her life and family secret. Yet once she recognizes the ravished heart beneath Wyatt's stony facade, she's willing to risk it all. Together they battle the force of darkness-their very survival at stake.  Narrated by Sebastian Fields 11h 46 min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 5 Night Forbidden / Colleen Gleason / 389 pages

Five men emerge from a cave fifty years after an apocalyptic event.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance that is fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. The world they knew is in ashes, and what remains is in peril and these five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope. Bruno "Fence" Washington survived the apocalypse - emerging from a Sedona cave into a strange and terrible new world... 50 years later. Now, scouring for answers about the malevolent Strangers, the former extreme sportsman encounters a woman who calls to his every desire he just has to work through some of the traumas from his past. While try as she might, Ana can't resist the man who tempts her in ways she never knew possible... if she could just trust him with some of the dark secrets from her own past.  But they must work together to face a new evil rising up from the rolling ocean. Narrated by Sebastian Fields 11h 8min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 4 Night Beckons / Colleen Gleason / 357 pages

Five men emerge from a cave fifty years after an apocalyptic event.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance that is fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. The world they knew is in ashes, and what remains is in peril and these five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope. The Change that devastated the earth did not destroy Theo Waxnick, one of the founding members of the resistance.  However during the Change he was altered, made into something more than human he’s eternally young and beautiful, but not immortal. He dies on a mission against the Strangers, and is lost to the darkness, until a miracle lady brings him back. Born during the apocalyptic storms and earthquakes that left the world in ruins, Selena has dedicated her life to easing the pain of others. But Theo is the first in her care to survive. Responding to Selena's tender touch, Theo starts to live again, to feel and desire again. But they both have secrets they can’t share that make them targets for others.   Narrated by Sebastian Fields 12h 42min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 3 Abandon the Night/ Colleen Gleason / 382 pages

Five men emerge from a cave system fifty years after something destroys human life as they knew it.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance movement fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. Quent Fielding had it all money, power, women, good looks...until he and his friends were frozen in time for fifty years. Now he finds himself lost and alone in a new world of overgrown urban jungles, feeling useless and that he has nothing useful to offer the resistance besides his strange ability to touch objects and know their past.  However his ability comes as a double edged sword and he can sometimes fall into a deep black whole when he touches something and receives too much information. To feel useful he is determined to find and kill his father, one of the leaders of the Strangers and the Cult of Atlantis, he had a chance to do so when he was younger and his father was trying to beat him to death but didn’t take it and now feels slightly responsible for what his father has done. To find his father Quent’s going to need the help of Zoe Kapoor, the sharp-tongued zombie hunter to kill and avoid the zombies and wild animals, But she’s as sexy as she is elusive and has a dark past of her own, trying to hunt down and kill the man responsible for murdering her family and town. Narrated by Sebastian Fields 10h 30min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 2 Embrace the Night / Colleen Gleason / 325 pages

Five men emerge from a cave system fifty years after something destroys human life as they knew it.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. Simon Japp one of the five men has a violent past that will haunt him forever. But when he somehow travels through time to a dark future where civilization is all but destroyed, he sees it as an opportunity for redemption, a second chance. As he becomes familiar with this new, overgrown world of jungle-like cities and overgrown shopping malls, Simon is determined to help the Resistance movement against the immortal Strangers-the repressive, controlling race that has taken over civilization and the ones that caused the destruction. He can't afford to be distracted by the beautiful, soft-spoken woman who haunts his thoughts. Sage Corrigan is the product of a rigid cult that’s goal is to repopulate the world in order to rebuild civilization. She fled when she was a teen to avoid marriage to a man 30 years her senior, who already had several wives and children.  She's learned not to trust anyone, but there's something about Simon and his empty, haunted eyes that tug at her heart. Then there is her friend Theo who also has feelings for her, she not sure what to think. But then Simon and Sage are forced together when they have to pose as husband and wife to infiltrate the cult she once fled. Narrated by Sebastian Fields 10h 43min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 1 Beyond the Night / Colleen Gleason / 324 pages

Everything they knew and loved was gone.  Five men emerge from a cave to find the world that they knew is gone, they have extraordinary new powers, and they must learn and survive in this new world.  When Dr. Elliot Drake and his friends went on an expedition in a system of caves, he and his companions did not expect to awake from a sleep and emerge fifty years later. Cities are now desolate - lacking technology and infrastructure, civilization is controlled by deadly immortals called the Strangers, and there are zombie like creatures that roam stealing blond people for the Strangers and tearing all others apart.  Elliott has an extraordinary new gift, he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences, although he can take the injury away from a patient by touching them if he doesn’t touch another person or animal and pass the injury onto them, then he takes on the injury himself, only more fatal.  Jade Kapiza was imprisoned by the immortals for years and escaped and has now been in hiding for years.  She is determined to help the human race fight back against her old captors but doesn’t trust anyone…. Until she meets Elliott.  Narrated by Sebastian Fields 10h 33min

Ice Planet Barbarians Series, Book 2 Barbarian Alien / Ruby Dixon / 211 pages

Kidnapped from Earth by aliens Liz and a bunch twelve other women are kept prisoner on their ship to become sex slaves but when things go wrong for their captors the alien traffickers dump their ‘cargo,’ the women, on an ice planet until they can come back for them. When Georgie decides they can’t stay in the cargo container, she explores the ice planet looking for natives that might help her and the other women and finds a native. He and his people mate for life when they meet the ‘one,’ and because of the alien symbiote they have inside them that lets them survive the harsh conditions of the planet ‘choose’ their mate. Now the women also have to get symbiotes in order to survive on the planet and her symbiote chooses one of the natives Raahosh, but she doesn’t really like him. Two points of view in the book by Liz and by Raahosh. Narrated by Hollie Jackson & Mason Lloyd 6h 27min.

Ice Planet Barbarians Series, Book 1 Ice Planet Barbarians / Ruby Dixon / 188 pages

Kidnapped from Earth by aliens Georgie and a bunch of other women are kept prisoner on their ship to become sex slaves but when things go wrong for their captors the alien traffickers dump their ‘cargo,’ the women on an ice planet until they can come back for them. Georgie decides they can’t stay in the cargo container, the aliens only need the six women they have in cryo stasis to meet their deadlines and she and the rest of the women were just extras,  if they wait they’re likely to die from the aliens when they come back, the cold, or starvation. While the other women stay in the cargo hold, Georgie explores the ice planet looking for natives that might help her and the other women and finds Vektal an alien, he’s humanoid, blue, has horns, and his tribe is in desperate need of females. Vektal and his people mate for life when they meet the ‘one,’ and now Vektal has met his and she is strange and pale.  Two points of view in the book by Georgie and by Vektal. Narrated by Hollie Jackson & Mason Lloyd 5h 51min.

Xi Force Series, Book 3 Wylde / S. C. Mitchell / 250 pages

When Jonathan Wylde was a child his father experimented on him grafting wolf DNA into his own and treating him like an animal.  When he eventually escaped he made the wild forests his home and joined a wolf pack. Eventually he is captured again and most of his pack killed and Kayla Armstong’s stolen science for self repairing fabric is used on him. Now as the only survivor of that experiment he has super healing powers.  When Joel Weisberg tries to recruit him, he reluctantly becomes a member of the Xi Force super team and keeps to himself unless his talents are needed. Dove Locklear is a childhood friend of Jonathan’s and after being brought into Xi Force to act as a veterinarian to check over Jonathan’s pack, they reconnect.  But returning home from work one night Dove is kidnapped by an agent of Red Guard, the group Jonathan’s monster of a father is a part of, and is also responsible for his new healing powers, and she is whisked away to the secret Russian facility Jonathan was held for most of his formative years. They want her knowledge of her own father’s research as well as to help Mr. Wylde with his unethical research into splicing human and animal DNA.  If Wylde wants to save her he is going to have to go back to his worst nightmare and confront the father who experimented on him. Narrated by: Larry Gorman 7h 12min.

Xi Force Series, Book 2 Phaze / S. C. Mitchell / 254 pages

When Kayla Armstrong stayed late at the Xi Force lab one night working on herself repairing fabric project, she is attacked by an intruder intent on stealing her research to use it on humans.  In the commotion a cart of chemicals spills onto her and when the intruder points his gun at her intending to kill her she suddenly finds herself naked on Joel Weisberg’s bed. She phased through not just the floor of her lab but also her clothes.  Joel Weisberg is the leader of Xi Force a government funded organization created to keep up with advancing science and technology and especially when it has been used on humans to give them abilities. Joel likes to joke about creating his own group of superheroes and trying to find more for his team and he thinks that Kayla would be a perfect new member when she falls into his lap.  However an old enemy that killed Joel and got him brought back as a Z-bot, a human with tiny nanobot machines injected into the blood to heal and repair a person, bringing them back from the dead, affectionately called the zombie bot program until it was discontinued, comes back with new powers. She was suppose to be in prison until she escaped and the things she did to Joel and made Joel do under her control gives him nightmares, and then she kidnaps him and is holding him prisoner again and it’s up to Kayla to try to find and rescue him before he is murdered again.  Narrated by: Larry Gorman 7h 30min.

Xi Force Series, Book 1 Z-Bot / S. C. Mitchell / 254 pages

Chris Johnson never really lived until he was dead. When he decided to get his turn around and stop being such a shut-in with his programmer job and playing video games, he also decides that when he dies he wants to donate his body to science, since he has no family, little money, and few friends. He meet’s Heather Logan signs up to donate his body to her scientific research in the event of his death, he didn’t think he would to murdered less than a week later, he had really want to go out on a date with Heather.  Heather Logan’s newest research is a project she created to use nanobots to reanimate a corpse. Half robot and half something raised from the dead. She had had every intention of calling Chris back and then she finds out that he’s dead and her project brings him back, he is her first successful resuscitation. It was only intended to reanimate and create a living robot with the nanobot controlling him, she had no idea that he would actually come back from the dead and remain the same Chris. Is he truly alive, a machine, or some kind of zombie-hybrid?  And then there are people who want to steal her secret process and take her out of the picture permanently. Chris, with his new superpowers, is the only thing standing between Heather and an assassin's bullet. Narrated by: Larry Gorman 7h 20min.

The One / John Marrs / 412 pgs / Missouri Book Challenge Wildcard / Double Letter

I am so impressed by this book. It was a thrilling ride and each chapter left you hanging and waiting until the story came back to that character. The book is set up so each chapter is from the POV of a different character. The characters are Mandy, Christopher, Jade, Nick, and Ellie, and they have all been matched on a website called Match Your DNA, which purports to find your one, true love based on you and your match's DNA. In each story, you learn about the character and who he/she has been matched with, and how that works. 

There are lots of twists and turns. One character is a serial killer. One is the person who discovered the DNA and is now the CEO of the company. One moves to another country to be with her match. One is a divorcee. And one is engaged to be married. I highly recommend if you like a little speculative fiction in your big thriller/suspense books.

Firestarter/ Stephen King/ 564 pages/ Horror

          Andy and Vicky were participating in a drug trial for extra cash when the two met and fell in love. The trial they were volunteering for was being held by a government agency called The Shop. Soon the two discover their new abilities and are on the run from The Shop. They end up having a daughter named Charlie who shows to also have her own powers- the ability to create fires with her mind. When The Shop learns of Charlie they have even more motivation to track down the family and use her strength for themselves.
           I was really excited to read this novel, it sounded like such a fun story with a chase and super powers! However, I did not like this book. I think the story was good but the way it was formatted was odd. It was told in flashbacks back and forth to present time for the characters. If the story was told normally beginning to end without the jumping I would have liked it a lot more. There also was quite a few slow parts that easily could have been cut or condensed which pains me to say because I love Stephen King's writing and have never wanted less from any of his books so far. This one though was a bit dull at parts. If I had gone in with not as high expectations I would have enjoyed it more but because this is a more popular title I was expecting a lot and it didn't deliver all that I wanted. It also is labeled everywhere as horror but I didn't feel scared at all. Maybe that is just different for everyone, but to me there just wasn't anything that happened to cause anyone to be nervous or fearful for the characters.  Even though the timeline and plot disappointed me a bit, the characters didn't. I thought the characters had great personalities and it was easy to see their struggles and what they were feeling throughout. Especially Andy McGee, if anyone watches Stranger Things he reminded me so much of Jim Hopper who is one of my favorite characters from that show.  Over all I would give the book a 3 out of 5 stars, it was entertaining just wasn't all I was hoping for.

Recursion / Blake Crouch / 329 pages

I am always in awe of Blake Crouch. His has this ability to weave these amazing, mind-blowing stories that never fail to reel me in and keep me reading way past my bedtime. I started Recursion by listening to it via Libby while I was commuting to and from work. After two days of that, and about 25% of the way through the book, I finally got the central premise of the book and I was hooked. I drove around my hometown last night because I didn't want to get out of my car. So, I hurried up and bought the book on Amazon for my Kindle app, and stayed up real late to read the rest of the book. 

I can't say much at all about the book, because I don't want to give anything away. Part of the fun of Blake Crouch's books is trying to figure out what is really going on in the plot. However, I will say that it has something to do with having memories of a life you never lived. If you like to have your mind blown, if you enjoyed his previous book Dark Matter, or if you want your nice little idea of reality to be just pummeled into the ground and substituted with something way crazier, and ultimately, way more dangerous. Then, read this book!

Sky Without Stars / Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell / 592 pgs

I was so lucky to get to meet the authors of this wonderful new book at my library last week. They told great stories about how they came up with the idea of Les Miserables in space and reading this book was a little like a homecoming for me because I love the movie (though I must admit I haven't yet read the book by Victor Hugo).

The story is about how humanity left Earth and 505 years later live in a system with three stars and twelve inhabited planets. Laterre is ruled by the Paress family where there are three estates (royalty, administrative, and the workers), much like how there were three estates in pre-Revolutionary France. The book mainly focuses on Alouette, Chatine, and Marcellus, who are stand-ins for Cosette, Eponine, and Marius in the original Hugo novel. In this far off future, humanity has mostly lost its ability to read the written word save for a few folks who must stay hidden and protect the last library on Laterre. Meanwhile, the Third Estate starves in a rainy, marshy environment while the First and Second Estates live, eat, and play in a massive biodome under a virtual blue sky.

This is the first book in the System Divine series and there are plans for more two books at least. I can't wait for the next one as I really got invested in the characters, especially Chatine.

Also, I don't tend to judge a book by its cover, but the first time I saw this book cover, I knew I would love this book. Isn't it gorgeous? Best Book Cover Ever!

Binti / Nnedi Okorafor / 90 pgs

I really enjoyed Binti so much. It was a quick read, more of a novella than a novel, but the story was tight and not at all wasteful in the telling. I definitely want to read the two sequels that have come out now that I've read the first book in the series.

Binti is a human living in Africa sometime far in the future where interstellar travel is possible and many different alien races have been encountered. Binti is the first of her people to travel to Oomza University, on a distant planet, to study mathematics, and leaving home is both thrilling and difficult. However, her trip becomes a race for survival when an alien race known for its brutality boards the ship she is traveling on with other soon-to-be students. Binti has to call upon her strengths and the knowledge of her people in order to make it out alive.