Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Sally J. Smith & Jean Steffens - Stealing the Moon & Stars - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

Jordan Welsh and Eddie Marino, Scottsdale private eyes, are hired to find out who’s stealing from the Moon and Stars Children’s Foundation. Foundation employees are suspected, but just as the pieces start falling into place, Jordan discovers a hidden agenda that puts her in the crosshairs of a crime lord. Who can she trust?

Everyone has a dangerous secret, and the bodies are piling up. Even her partner, Eddie Marino, has a dark and mysterious past. Does she dare act on their attraction? Will it destroy their partnership?

The two have landed in a hornets’ nest. Nothing to do now but stir it up.

Book one in a new series featuring Jordan Welsh and Eddie Marino.



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My Review

Let me tell you. It was a treat reading about warm and sunny Arizona while toiling through an extremely long and cold winter. Between the desert heat and the sparks flying off of Jordan and Eddie, this book definitely made me feel all tingly inside. It was nice getting a visual of Eddie shirtless out on the patio soaking up the morning rays. It certainly warmed me up in a hurry!

The author duo really did a great job in setting the scene. Jordan's obsession with air conditioning was a nice touch to keep the reader immersed in the arid climate. And I liked how whenever Jordan and Eddie went on their nighttime missions, they always made sure to include a shiver here and there, indicative of how cold it can get in a desert region after dark. These little details added up to form a complete picture, making everything seem so much more authentic and downright real.

I also enjoyed the descriptions of the breathtaking landscape from the beauty of the bordering Superstition Mountains (what a great name!) to being reminded just how dry Arizona can be when Jordan related how the TV weathermen were hoping for some rain but weren't optimistic. Even in October, Jordan was still sweltering while driving around town, tracking down her next lead. The tension crackles right along with the Southwestern heat, a nice device the authors used to establish the mood.

And the way they showed the different rungs of the Scottsdale social ladder was brilliant. The community leaders and criminal kingpins sharing the same real estate for their opulent (and sometimes extravagant) mansions. Nothing demonstrated the duality of this environment like Eddie's character. He's a blue collar guy who drives a Porsche. He splurges taking Jordan out to dinner at a restaurant with a maitre d' and valet parking but he's just as happy sharing a bratwurst sandwich with her from an outdoor vendor. He straddles both worlds, opening up new horizons for Jordan, showing her every facet of society.

It's good training for a girl who went from being a trust fund baby in Chicago to a fine artist in Paris to hacking computers, breaking into safes and picking locks for a living. With Eddie, Jordan gets a true taste of the Arizona lifestyle from the top of the food chain to the bottom and everyone in between. The contrast certainly makes for a page turner of a read, holding your interest right to the very end.

***

Stealing the Moon and Stars can be purchased at:
Amazon

Price/Format: $13.95 paperback
Pages: 242
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Release: May 15, 2014
Publisher: Camel Press
ISBN: 9781603819831
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Authors

Arizona native Sally J. Smith lives in Scottsdale with her husband. The rarest of breeds, an adult who was born in Arizona, she has been a writer since she could spell. These days she stays busy at her chosen professions of writing (novels, short stories, and articles) and freelance editing. When a free moment appears on the horizon, she’s out the door to a attend a play, a movie, a concert, or just take a long walk in the desert—if the temperature’s under a hundred. Other works include The Ghost Wore Polyester.

Jean Steffens also lives in Scottsdale with her family. She’s a mother, reader, movie fan, and the Steffens’ family chauffeur. She’s also active in church activities. Like Jordan Welsh, PI, Jean grew up in Chicago near Lake Forest. Jean’s mother, however, was nurturing—baking cookies, carpooling kids to school, kissing boo-boos—unlike Jordan’s mother, who’s allergic to the kitchen and thinks a carpool is a hot tub in a limo. Jean’s published work includes “The Night Before Christmas” in the Desert Sleuths Sisters in Crime Anthology, How Not to Survive the Holidays.

Work sessions between these two ladies generally result in a lot of laughter, noshing, and Internet surfing. Both authors are members of Romance Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Links to connect with Sally and Jean:
Web Site
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
YouTube
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Luca Pesaro - Zero Alternative - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

“Sometimes you must destroy first.”

To stay alive, Scott Walker must bring down a corrupt international bank. And possibly shatter the world’s economy. Because finance is a black hole ready to chew up countries and people before spitting them out rich, or broken. Or both.

Framed. Hunted. In love with a woman he can’t trust. As he hides from hitmen across Europe, Walker has only one card to play – DeepShare. A silicon oracle that could predict a slice of the future, and that everyone wants. Governments and insane billionaires, criminals and anarchist hackers stand in his way, some even promising help – though with dangerous strings attached.

As Walker struggles to survive and digs deeper into the dark heart of the global economy, one question torments him: how much will the world have to pay?

Zero Alternative is an action-packed conspiracy thriller that plucks at the heart of human nature. When our grip on love, hope and morality starts to slide, the only future worth living is the one we choose for ourselves.


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My Review

I love when reading a book makes me feel like I've trekked halfway across the globe, and this one certainly did. Scott Walker became my traveling companion, and boy, was it nice to have a suave, handsome man on my arm. Even if he was running from the law as well as a gang of assassins, I still enjoyed the trip from London to Switzerland then on to Italy and Los Angeles before stopping along the Mexican coast. Whew, what a whirlwind! Too bad Layla had to tag along for the ride...

Just kidding. I couldn't have Scott all to myself, now could I? Of course, a player like him would be interested in the company of a drop dead, gorgeous beauty like her. I just never trusted her, that's all, since she was probably leading my Scott to his ruin. Yeah, he got involved in some kind of insider trading scandal, but that didn't mean he and his friends deserved to die because of it. He just knew how to work all of the angles when it came to the stock market, crossing lines that shouldn't have been crossed.

And I never knew if Layla was going to make Scott pay the price for his transgressions. And it put a crimp in my travel plans. We couldn't enjoy the impressive architecture of the Reims Cathedral. Nope, we had to up and run. And we couldn't soak in the majesty of the Swiss lake country. Because we were just there to drain Scott's bank account. Things started to get hot and heavy in a rustic Italian farmhouse. But Layla had to go and ruin everything by opening her big, fat mouth.

It wasn't until the final leg of our excursion that I began to relax. Layla was out of the picture (or so I thought) and I had Scott on a beach all to myself. But he was a mess and couldn't stop thinking about the one who got away. He was too far gone for me to save, but hopefully the charms of another might be able to soothe him. Did Layla come back? I'm not telling, but then I'm not in Mexico with him either now am I?

Oh Scott, I'd circumnavigate the earth for you any day. Just give me a call when you have that whole bogus passport thing straightened out. And try not to deal with the Mafia this time, if you can help it. Because I worry about you, man. I always will.

***

Zero Alternative can be purchased at:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Formats: $5.99 ebook, $16.80 paperback
Pages: 269
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Release: April 25, 2014
Publisher: Three Hares Publishing
ISBN: 9781910153086
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Luca Pesaro was born in Italy in the early seventies, but has spent most of his adult life in the US or UK. After long years gaining a degree and masters in the pseudo-science that is Economics he got bored, jumped the gun and became a derivatives trader in financial markets with several investment banks. Now reformed, he is writing full-time.

Zero Alternative is his first novel, and he is hard at work on his second thriller.

He lives in London, is married to an awesome Italian lady and has two children who always manage to annoy, surprise and delight beyond any reasonable expectation.

Links to connect with Luca:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

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