This Monday is Labor Day, a holiday that celebrates workers’ contribution to the American Economy. Are you relaxing this holiday weekend? Why not start a new book!
We have suggestions from a variety of genres below.
War
We Were Soldiers Too: The Unknown Battle to Defend the Demilitarized Zone Against North Korea During the Cold War, by Bob Kern
The soldiers were responsible for enforcing the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. The North Koreans violated it almost daily sending spies, marauders, hit squads, and ambush patrols into the southern controlled portion of the DMZ in their never-ending effort to destabilize South Korea and cause its collapse. Their blatant violations of the agreement have left a bloody trail of dead bodies that includes many American soldiers. This book takes the reader on a journey through the history of the Cold War and the defense of the DMZ from the perspective of nine American veterans, and eleven tours, who served in different capacities in South Korea from 1962 through 1991.
Thrillers
The Touch: A Supernatural Story, by Robert Flynn III
The old beast is up to something out of character here.
Gabriel appears autistic because he hears a voice. The voice is real, but it is a supernatural presence. This voice gives him a power that he can transfer by touch. Gabriel does not trust this presence, though he finds that the wonder of what he is experiencing is far too great for him to resist.
Gabriel's “autism” is really a defense against the weight of the power that has engulfed his heart, mind and soul, from the very beginning. He has no memory of his parents and in actuality, the voice, which causes him so much distress, is the only reality he has ever known. Living in an orphanage in Austin, Texas, all of his life, the voice has shown him more attention and love than any other person.
He befriends one other special young person in that orphanage, Joshua Fellows. Joshua also has experienced little love in his short life. The bond between these two young boys is the beginning of an amazing journey.
The Planck Factor, by Debbi Mack
On a dare, grad student Jessica Evans writes a thriller, creating a nightmare scenario based upon the theory that the speed of light is not a constant—one that has a dark application. Her protagonist (the fiancé of a scientist killed in a car crash) is pursued by those who want to use the theory to create the world’s most powerful weapon.
However, Jessica is soon running for her life when events mimic that of her protagonist. She’s threatened by terrorist conspirators who intend to use the knowledge to create an event that causes mass destruction—even threatens the global extinction of all life. As the clock ticks down, Jessica must outwit the enemies and avert an apocalypse.
Inspired by a true story about a scientific challenge to Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Gabrielle: An Erotic Thriller, by Randy T. Lane
Michael Wesson decides to drop out of college and head to New York to pursue show business. Sure, his parents are a little worried. His sister and best pal think he's making a mistake. Still, Michael is ready to follow his dream of becoming an actor, even if he can barely afford rent and knows nothing about the city, including news of the Silk Stocking Killer. Turns out, Michael arrives in the Big Apple in the midst of the biggest manhunt in thirty years. A psychotic murderer is hunting the rich women of the Upper West Side. The victims are found bound by silk stockings with the name “Gabrielle” written in red across their chests. As the fresh-faced New York newbie struggles to find his way, the media can't get enough of the horrors happening to the rich and beautiful. Why does the Silk Stocking Killer target such high-class women, and who is Gabrielle? Soon, Michael gets sucked into the investigation as he plays the role of his life, trying to stop a vicious psychopath before more women end up dead.
The Ice Racer, by Richard Cozicar
The 23rd century. The third planet from the sun is now a revolving, uninhabitable sphere of ice, void of sunlight. Volcanic ash clouds the skies and the air, toxic.
A small, isolated cluster of earth’s surviving population labours in caves deep beneath the expanding ice cap. Ice Racer, Mike Ryan, is among the brave few who dare venture to the frozen surface in search of supplies to sustain the city’s struggling inhabitants.
In a vast cavern, stories below the surface, exists the City of Adams Mountain, and a civilization long thought extinct. Stranded and alone, a chance discovery reveals a paradise unlike anything Ryan could have imagined.
The prophets ruling Adams Mountain are intent on keeping their shiny city and its existence hidden from the outside world. For Mike Ryan, the newly discovered paradise holds dire consequences for unsolicited visitors.
A rebellious young woman, a free thinker among a society of followers, aids the young hero on his quest to escape the clutches of the prophets and return to the ice caves of his home.
Beach Kill, by Phyllis Smallman
Beach Kill is the second book in the Singer Brown series. The first book won a gold medal from the Independent Publishers book awards in 2014.
After her life on the streets Singer Brown figures only a dance with an orangutan could still shock her. The music is playing and the waltz begins when the body of a teenage girl is discovered out on Ghost Island. Singer identifies the remains, attacked first by man and then by nature, from a blue butterfly tattoo. Suspicion, toxic and dangerous, begins to poison the small community of Kilborn, corrupting relationships and leaving no one without fear or guilt.
Mystery
Open Season, by Maryann Miller
The first book in the critically acclaimed Seasons Mystery Series introduces two women homicide detectives in Dallas. Amid racial tensions and the deadly force controversy sweeping the city, Sarah Kingsly and Angel Johnson are unlikely and unwilling partners. They both see the pairing as better PR than policy.
The Dallas Review Board wants Sarah's badge because she shot a young black boy when an undercover drug operation went bad and her partner was killed. Angel is under pressure from her family to refuse to work with “this white, Honkey bitch.”
Their first case, dubbed the Mall Murders, begins with the death of a maintenance worker at one of the Metroplex shopping malls. A security guard is then killed at another mall. The final murder victim is a young window dresser whose body is left like a mannequin behind the glass of an exclusive boutique at the Galleria Mall.
The Child on the Terrace, by Virginia Winters
Anne McPhail, retired pediatrician, shattered by her experience in Bermuda, rents a tiny house in Setenil, Spain, hoping to reconcile what she learned about herself and Thomas after the gunfire in that dark room on the island.
But she sees a child on the terrace of the local cafe who doesn’t seem to belong to her minders and then Ari, the Mossad agent who saved Anne’s life, seeks her out with a plan to rescue the child from kidnappers. Should she trust him? Three days later, she is on the run with Ari and the little girl, with killers Esti and Sergio on their trail. She glimpses a man she thinks is Thomas. Is he, too in Spain? And why?
How far will Anne go to save Naomi?
From Spain to France to Italy, this is Anne’s most dangerous journey.
Spiritual
Spirituality 103, the Forgiveness Code: Finding the Light in Our Shadows, by Iván Figueroa-Otero
A battle between the light of your knowledge and the shadows of your ignorance is happening as you read this cover. Your warrior of light is receiving wounds that cause your life’s suffering.
Do you want to give your internal warrior the best weapons to reach victory?
In this book, the third in the School of Life trilogy, Dr. Figueroa-Otero helps us discover our mind’s magical mirror, where this epic battle determines where we are in the road to return to our light source. You will learn about your spiritual DNA, emotions, and where to find the healing code for our emotional scars—forgiveness.
Romance
CeeCee: finding the perfect house for the perfect woman, by B.L. Wilson
CeeCee Willis has always used her wealth she earned from her craft to buy what she wants. She sculpts, creating wonderfully simple but elegant modernistic stone shapes.
Some things and some people aren’t for sale, like Maya Brooks, a realtor CeeCee hires to find the dream house for her and her twin sons. The two women bump heads about scheduling issues. Maya seeks revenge when CeeCee keeps wasting her time, turning up late for appointments or cancelling them at the last minute and leaving Maya with no sense of the style of house CeeCee desires.
Eventually, the two women have a romantic encounter, but fate intervenes. Will a potential tragedy squash the blossoming relationship, making it impossible for Maya to find the perfect house for the perfect woman?
Shabby Chic at Heart, by Kirsten Fullmer
Tara has always been too engrossed in her work – refurbishing the historical homes in Smithville. She keeps a tight rein on her jobs and her emotions buried, but she’s losing control of both since that ridiculous city boy investor showed up.
New in town, Justin is confident that his ultra-modern resorts will bring Smithville into the twenty-first century. If only the local-yokels and their ringleader, the gorgeous and peculiar Tara, would stop interfering.
With her quirky and protective hometown behind her, will Tara confront Justin and the town’s long buried secrets to take on the financial and emotional risk of a lifetime?
Sci-Fi
Adventure to Destiny: The Unity Objective Series, by Sandra Golden
Cousins J.R Black, and Helaina Unity are struggling. Helaina's dreams, and visions are telling her things she doesn't understand, and J.R's drawings of a mysterious machine are driving them forward into the unknown as they seek answers. Answers to questions like: “Why are they developing unusual skills? Why can they have private conversation without even speaking one word? And what are the people of Hope Island hiding.” Helaina's visions and J.R's skills will take them to astonishing and unique places, as they battle dangerous enemies, from Earth, and beyond. Discovering that accepting what they are is much easier than accepting who they are. Which is “The One's”.
30th Century: Escape, by Mark Kingston Levin
Which side will you be on? The side of the Syndos, genetically-altered humans, or the side of the Naturals.
Captain Jennifer Hero is leading a task force from the thirtieth century on a one-way trip to the Diversion Point. Their goal is to plant a virus that will disrupt the genetic tendency toward sociopathy among the Syndos. After an intense attack on their remote South Pacific island base, Jennifer sends her colleagues back 300 years. But she does not go with them, opting instead to travel alone back to 2015 to grieve the loss of the love of her life, the time machine’s inventor, and to find herself.
After months spent alone on the radioactive atoll of Moruroa, Jennifer is rescued by an amphibious aircraft, piloted by a marine biologist and his crew. History sources she studied left out much about twenty-first century culture, causing culture shock and conflicts. She struggles to hide her superior intellect and nanotech-enhanced abilities.
Among these ordinary humans she is as alien as the Syndos are in her native century. Her attitude toward sex diverges totally from theirs, for a start. So much so, it raises a question mark over whether she can even survive in 2015.
Liquid Gambit, by Bonnie Milani
Death is never more than an airlock away for the denizens of Hell, the last deck before the Void on the last station in human space.
It’s a place where justice is for sale and slavers hawk their human merchandise to the highest bidder. But to Rick, a scarred, bitter Lupan warrior, it’s home – or at least the one place in the known universe where he can ignore all the death warrants on him throughout the rest of the Commonwealth. It’s also the place where a few drops of the most precious liquid in all of human space can buy him a berth on the last ship back to his birth world. Until a mysterious, vaguely familiar woman walks into the dive Rick runs. And brings his deadly, ugly past in with her.
Somehow Rick must unlock the secrets she carries. Because if he fails, he will lose far more than just his life.
Rise of the Altered Moon: Altered Moon Series: Book One (The Altered Moon Series 1), by AZ Kelvin
“Rise of the Altered Moon” Book one of the Altered Moon Series by author AZ Kelvin, merges science fiction with science fact in a space adventure of intrigue and espionage that takes a small group of privateer relic hunters to the very edge of the galaxy.
Set at the time of humankind’s first interactions with sentient alien beings, the crew of the Altered Moon finds itself caught up in an already-brewing alien war. Mutiny and betrayal leave the ship powerless and drifting toward trouble in forbidden territory.
Newly appointed and untested Captain CJ Evermore must figure out how to get his ship and crew back home before the ruthless Kang war machine descends upon an unsuspecting Human race.
Fantasy
Apollo's Raven, by Linnea Tanner
Can a Curse Control Ancient Britannia?
The world is in turmoil. Celtic kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren's former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that foretells Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him.
King Amren reveals to his daughter, Princess Catrin, the grim prophesy that his former queen pronounced at her execution for treason to him.
The gods demand the scales be balanced for the life you take. If you deny my soul's journey to the Otherworld by beheading me, I curse you to do the same as mine. I prophesize your future queen will beget a daughter who will rise as a Raven and join your son, Blood Wolf, and a mighty empire to overtake your kingdom and to execute my curse.
Catrin is trained as a warrior and discovers she is the Raven and must find a way to block the curse of the evil former queen. Torn between her forbidden love for her father's enemy—Marcellus, the great-grandson of Mark Antony—and her loyalty to her people, she must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that awaits her.
Alyssa Mccarthy's Magical Missions: Book 2: Wizardry Goes Wild, by Sunayna Prasad
After months of living a normal life, thirteen-year-old Alyssa McCarthy faces magic again. Only this time, though, she is cursed with it, thanks to an old depressed skeleton named Errol. Alyssa’s time with her godfather, Alex, will never be the same again, as she can perform sorcery, but never control it.
From letting out enchantments at school to creating outdoor disasters, Alyssa is bound to face consequences. She can only get rid of her powers if she can boost her confidence levels and improve her bravery. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. She must measure those abilities with a special device called a skillometer. Will she be able to get rid of her unwanted wizardry?
The Sun God's Heir: Return Book One, by Elliott Baker
For three thousand years a hatred burns. In seventeenth century France two souls incarnate, one born the child of a prosperous merchant, the other, determined to continue a brutal incarnation begun long ago.
In ancient Egypt, there were two brothers, disciples of the pharaoh, Akhenaten. When the pharaoh died, the physician took the knowledge given and went to Greece to begin the mystery school. The general made a deal with the priests and became pharaoh. One remembers, one does not.
The year is 1671. René Gilbert’s destiny glints from the blade of a slashing rapier. The only way he can protect those he loves is to regain the power and knowledge of an ancient lifetime. From Bordeaux to Spain to Morocco, René is tested and with each turn of fate he gathers enemies and allies, slowly reclaiming the knowledge and power earned centuries ago. For three thousand years a secret sect has waited in Morocco.
After ages in darkness, Horemheb screams, “I am.” Using every dark art, he manages to maintain the life of the body he has bartered for. Only one life force in the world is powerful enough to allow him to remain within embodiment, perhaps forever. Determined to continue a reign of terror that once made the Nile run red, he grows stronger with each life taken.
Self Help
The Lazy Girl's Guide to Life: 100+ Ways to Hack Your Look, Love, and Work By Doing (Almost) Nothing!, by Jennifer Byrne
This collection of humorous life hacks features 100 easy, low-commitment solutions to the everyday problems of the twenty-something woman.
Do you have a lot to do but can’t seem to bring yourself to do it? The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Life can teach you how to get things done with as little effort as possible. Learn to simplify your beauty routine, keep up with your friendships, hack the dating game, and get by in the corporate world with these easy, low-commitment suggestions. You’ll find over 100 solutions to your most common problems, including:
-Smoothing out frosting on store-bought cupcakes so they look homemade
-Hiding dirty dishes in a soapy sink before company arrives
-Washing and styling bangs (only) to avoid the limp hair look
-Faking it as a food blogger to snag a dinner reservation
-Reading the plot summary online before a book club meeting
With lazy girl–approved hacks that range from humorous advice to quick fixes, you’ll be able to find a temporary solution to simplify your life in no time!
Learn Russian to work with Russians: The Easy Way to Speak Russian, by Elena Kaledinova
Learn Russian to work with Russians: The Easy Way to Speak Russian provides readers with:
- Quick start guide to conversational Russian
- Illustrated teaching material
- Plenty of written as well as spoken exercises
- Clear structure
- Useful tips
Highlighted keywords
Basic business terminology for business communication.
This is a book for learning basic/intermediate Russian.
This book is a must buy for anyone looking to work with Russians, or gain a quick knowledge of how to communicate with Russian speakers.
Social Issues
Code Blue: An Oath to the Badge and Gun, by Jamell Crouthers
This story deals with a police officer who has been on the police force for a few years. He feels he’s doing a great job of serving and protecting his community. Soon he realizes that he’s part of a police force where there are some police officers who dishonor the oath they all took to protect and serve their city and he knows what is going on around him is all wrong. He has a decision to make, whether to report it and risk his career and his badge or be part of the cover up. He chronicles all of these events where he talks about different cases and everything that occurred during that time period. This book addresses racial issues and whether good cops know who the bad ones are and what can be done about it.
Women’s Fiction
Sly: Jagged Edge Series #4, by A.L. Long
Being under the control of one man, all Nikki Jennings wanted was to pay off her father’s debt and get as far away as possible from Carlos Giordano. When a tragic accident from her past surfaces, she finds that his hold on her will never be over.
As complicated as her life is, it was hers, that was until Alpha-male Sly Capelli entered it. She knew the closer she got to him, the greater the risk would be that he would find out about her past. A past that she wanted to forget.
Sylvester ‘Sly’ Capelli never thought a woman could be so suborn and irresistible at the same time until he met Nikki Jennings. There was something about her that he needed to know about, only every time he tried to get close, she would push him away.
Wanting to know the truth behind the woman he was falling for, Sly finds that her past is no different than his. Keeping her safe is the only thing he wanted to do, but when obstacles get in the way, he has no other choice but to call on his brothers at Jagged Edge Security to help him out.
Will Nikki finally be able to admit the love she has for Sly or will her destiny catch up with her before she can?
Will Sly be able to get to her in time before she is gone forever?
Young Adult
Oric and the Alchemist's Key (The Oric Trilogy Book 1), by Lesley Wilson
Oric returns from an early-morning foraging expedition to find his home, Dunburton Manor, sacked by a band of marauders. Alchemist Deveril, Oric's mentor and friend, lies fatally wounded. The old man thrusts a key into Oric's hand, saying that it will unlock the secret to great wealth. Deveril also warns of terrible danger should the key fall into wrong hands.
Esica Figg, moneylender and arch villain is determined to steal the key – even if he has to kill Oric to get it. Oric escapes the burning manor and wanders the countryside until he stumbles upon Bayersby Manor, the ancestral home of Sir Edred and Lady Myferny. Together with his new friends, Ichtheus the apothecary and kitchen maid, Dian, Oric experiences many adventures, some hilarious, some life threatening. The trio is helped, but more often hindered by Sir Edred's comical wolfhound Parzifal, and a donkey named Braccus.
