Kim Cresswell

First in the Sum of All Tears series, Icehaven by Kim Cresswell & MK Chester is a post-apocalyptic tale set in the near future. With echoes of classic and modern examples of the genre, such as Make Room, Make Room!, The Postman, The After War, and The Day After Tomorrow, Icehaven is sure to chill you to the bone!

When an attempt to stabilise climate change for the better goes horribly awry, Yale student August Madison wakes in a frigid tundral wasteland with a woman trying to steal her shoes. The last thing she remembers is waiting eagerly to see how the climate experiment will go, then terrifying chaos as the auditorium collapses under the fury of earth and wind alike. Instead of fixing the climate, the experiment created a 'snowball earth', ushering in a new era for humanity. Everything is frozen. Pockets of humanity exist. In the few short weeks since the incident, many humans have fallen to baser instincts. Groups such as the Sproggs, and the Bleeders, take what they want from others. Other pockets of humanity band together in mutual support. The woman who finds August belongs to one such group and was taking her shoes because she was dead. After her revival, the group takes August in. Another group, Coast Guard officers, trapped aboard a ship now locked in an ocean turned ice, are rescued by a convoy from Liberty. Liberty Station was a prototype for a sealed dome colony able to survive and thrive in Mars. Now, it's the only place that can even remotely claim the title of 'city' in this new world. Greysen Marx is its creator and rules it with an iron fist. But there's something more to Liberty, and it's master. Something sinister. Something desperate.

I don't normally care for post-apocalyptic reads, even though I adore dystopias. I'm very picky in that particular subgenre. I loved this one though! I want to know more about the climate experiment. Why were these effects not considered as possible? What exactly went wrong? And how did it lead to unusual side effects for some humans? At least some of these will likely be answered in later books. I'd never heard of golden blood, and was prompted to research it. Pretty fascinating.

Some of the later developments, well… I can't say it surprised me so much. I don't want to give spoilers, but similar true situations have arisen on a smaller scale. Just eeegghhh. I loved Brandon and Morgan, two of the Coast Guard people. They'd been trapped on a cutter frozen in the ocean when the flash-freeze happened. Morgan is a junior officer, and seems so innocent! I just want to protect him. Brandon is competent and level headed, even when in inner turmoil. He's a good balance for August's temperament. I really didn't care for her much though. Can't really put my finger on why, exactly, except that she was part of the team working on the climate experiment, even if not officially. I'm of the opinion that humans should not muck around with the grander schemas of nature. While, yes, modern humans have exacerbated climate issues, paleo-climatatology demonstrates that climate functions on cycles millennia in duration. Most people can't even comprehend their local decadal weather cycles. It was inevitable that we hit strong "global warming". We are currently in an Ice Age interstitial period. That's what happens. Mind, I fully agree that modern humanity needs to strive to be more respectful of our home planet, and the species we share it with.

Which leads me to question, how are these people surviving at night (and driving at night!!). Cold so ferocious as to freeze the very oceans themselves, tend to not be so friendly to people or electronics, especially at night-time. Liberty has things that help make travel times easier, certain fuels that burn cleaner, but I'm still not convinced it could protect the people and the equipment subjected to these temperatures. Overall, a good read!

And remember- Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

***Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for Silver Dagger Book Tours.… (mehr)

I really like FBI Agent Victory McClane. She’s in a tough business and she’s suffered a tragedy or two. Now she’s on the hunt for a serial killer, maybe two. Yet she still has a sense of humor and she’s totally dedicated to her daughter Jade who is off at college. Her work partner, Ryan, is a steady brotherly type who isn’t above teasing her a bit here and there. They make a really good team.

Derrick makes a really great questionable character. He’s not evil but he’s not really on the side of good either. His paranormal abilities were recruited when he was a young man and he’s spent decades serving his country, albeit for this shadowy group that specializes in assassinations and espionage.

Even as Victory and Ryan narrow in on the serial killer ‘The Wrapper’, Derrick finds himself drawn further into Victory’s circle of influence. He has been ordered to keep the government paranormal group a secret, even if that means destroying evidence, compromising people, or worse.

The tension spirals up and up until this crushing wave comes down on Victory. Derrick has to make a tough decision of whether or not to help Victory, which would mean sharing a few of his secrets with her. The last hour of the book is nail biting and a little heart wrenching. Over all, it was a satisfying murder mystery and a pretty good paranormal tale. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Robin Siegerman has the perfect voice for Victory McClane. She sounds like an older, confident, career woman. She also had a decent voice for Ryan, however I did sometimes get his voice confused with Derrick’s voice. Derrick always sounds raspy (which I wasn’t sure was what was intended) and sometimes Ryan’s voice went raspy as well, blurring the distinctions between these two characters. The male voices sometimes needed a bit of masculinity. Several of Siegerman’s voices were a bit cartoony. For instance, Jade (who is in college) sounds like a 12 year old. Angie, who works at the FBI office, sounds like she’s 16. The newsreporter sounds like a Disney witch. Also, Siegerman didn’t always nail the character emotions. McClane sometimes sounds flat even when she’s joking. Angie sounds way too chipper even when she’s handing out condolences. On the other hand, there were no technical issues with this recording. 3.5/5 stars

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kim Cresswell. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.… (mehr)

Killing Secrets by K.L. Docter

No shortage of villains in this suspense. From the start we know there is a sadistic ex husband just released from prison, a serial killer and a vandal who is escalating and may be more.

The series is about the Thorne family. Momma Thorne likes to take in those that need to be rescued. She had one biological son and adopted the rest. This series will be about all those sons. First up is Patrick who runs his own construction business and has been having a run of bad luck lately with someone vandalizing his sites. Patrick is also still emotionally recovering from the loss of his wife and unborn child. The last thing he needs is a woman and her child staying at his parent house on the run from an ex who wants to do her harm. But when the ex shows up he wastes no time in stepping up to protect her and they both fight the attraction they feel for the other.

Rachel James’ barely survived her ex-husband and her daughter hasn't spoken since that last beating. She thought he was going away for a long time but when he is released from prison just 6 months later she knows he is coming for her and her daughter.

There are lots of twist and turns through out like the real reason Rachel's ex wants her back, the reasons behind the serial killer and saboteur. Through out we meet the other brothers and see the set up for the next book at the end of this one.… (mehr)

Kim Cresswell's Reflection is an action-packed book filled with intrigue, mystery, romance, suspense and tinged with humor. The characters are believable and likable and I was pulled in from the first page! Reporter Whitney Steel wasn't looking for this story but it found her anyway. From a murder in Florida to the desert outside Las Vegas, the consequences of human cloning and a secondary plot of revenge, you'll have a can't put down book that will keep you engaged from beginning to end! I can't wait to see what happens in Ms. Cresswell's follow- up novel, Retribution, due for release early in 2014!… (mehr)