Under a Broken Sun by Kevin P. Sheridan.

This novel is a first person narrative set in the present day when without warning the Earth is thrown into chaos. All of a sudden technology stops and anything powered by electricity, mains or battery plus all engines stop. All motor vehicles grind to a halt and planes crash out of the sky. Mobile phones stop working, the internet is down and all radio and television are silent. The sun is unbearably hot as the Earth heats up and people think it is the end of the world. Can 23 year old Adam Dawson live through this strange disaster or will he die with the rest of mankind?

Under a Broken Sun is an okay read as you follow Adam's quest to travel to Chicago where his father claimed he would be safe. Adam's character is well developed for all his strengths and weaknesses. Adam is a cutter and his self harm is compassionately explained.

This novel has a credibility weakness because although climate change could be the end of our world, the possibility of ALL electricity and engines suddenly stopping simply would NEVER happen. But this book does plod along and you can enjoy it for what it is, a mediocre 3 star read.

Under a Broken Sun is available as an 2234 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2013.

Text Message by William Malmborg.

Mallory and her sister Jenna are shopping in a Chicago mall. They separate whilst shopping and Mallory receives a text message from Jenna's phone. Mallory has a choice, ignore the message, phone the Police or play the game. She chooses to play the game and this rollercoaster of a thriller starts.

Text message is all about a sadistic game played within a shopping mall. It is a fast moving thriller set in a short time frame, less than 8 hours. I liked the structure when each new chapter was from the viewpoint of another of the 3 central characters within the same time frame. You get the actions and thoughts of Mallory, a security guard called Dan and Mr Edwards the sadistic game master. Although the pace is fast, there is plenty of back story on each character so you can get a handle on what drives each person. The tasks that Mr Edwards sets for Mallory to play are a sexy challenge and the punishment for failing is very sadistic.

I really enjoyed reading Text Message, it gave a lot of pleasure and I think it would make an exciting film. This is an entertaining read and the games Mr Edwards wants Mallory to play will make most men smile with desire. Women readers may find the games creepy or embarrasing though.

William sets the scene of the shopping mall very well and captures the mood of all the people working there. I have often wondered if things other than shopping is going on in the background within shopping malls. Now whenever I hear a text message notification sound, I will wonder if another game is taking place. Text Message is a very good read and I vote it the top score of 5 stars.

Text Message is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook of 658 KB and was written in 2011.

Skinny Little Black Girl by Rev. Yemaja Sekhmet-Maat.

This book is a first person narrative of a young woman born during the 70's in Stirchley, Birmingham. The author was formerly known as Josephine Mintah and she has written this book for her own peace of mind. Skinny Little Black Girl is a survivor's tale of rape, alcohol and drugs.

This tale highlights the problems many girls have growing up, troubles at home and forming relationships while their hormones are raging. This book showed great promise as Josephine started to make her way in life with many mistakes along the way. She got older with more problems and mistakes along the way. With one setback after another her story rolled along. Because this is a survivor's tale, it has a happy ending as Josephine changes her name to Yemaja. I am pleased that she has managed to turn her life around after some very bad experiences in her younger years.

Skinny Little Black Girl is not a good book to read. I thought Yemaja rambles on an awful lot and her story lacks focus. It is like having an over long conversation with a drunken woman who insists on telling you her life story. There is little structure to this book and lacks editing to make the story clear. Her story lacks depth and this is quite a shallow tale of an ordinary girl having an ordinary life.

I did not really enjoy this book as I did not find it entertaining. There were no bits where I thought "this is good!". I did not develop an empathy for Yemaja as she stumbled from one mistake to the next. The sections involving sex, alcohol or drugs were not exciting and were rather tame. Nothing in this book would offend your grandmother. Some chapters were very brief as these were stand alone chapters of peotry. These poems made no sense to me and I found their inclusion a nuisance and a waste of my time.

I found Skinny Little Black Girl lacking in action. depth and quality of writing. Yemaja lacks the ability to tell a good story and her book left me cold. I read books for pleasure and this book failed to amuse me, so I will give it the minimum score of 1 star.

Skinny Little Black Girl is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2013.

A Proper Stranger by Nicola Ducane.

This novella is an adult erotic tale about sex with a stranger. Monika reads a post on Craigslist about a man seeking to share writing a sexy tale. Monika responds to his post and their relationship develops. Although this is a first person narrative, because you read the emails from the stranger to Monika, you understand how both adults feel and what turns them on. You get both sides of this fantasy, which makes for a great read.

This story is well written and explores the way one adult is attracted to another. Nicola describes the courtship between 2 people and how each person builds on the others input. This is a mature erotic story, told in an articulate and educated fashion. The fantasy of sex with a stranger runs from the virtual writing between Monika and the stranger to a face to face meeting. This whole scenario is told with style and makes for an enjoyable read. The desire that unfolds is very powerful and you are left in no doubts how the characters feel and the pleasure they enjoy. A Proper Stranger is a good read that has class and I vote it 4 stars.

A Proper Stranger is available as a 176 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2013.

Regenge by Bill Ward.

Tom Ashdown stumbles across the kidnapping of a famous American actress shopping in London. He becomes a hero in saving Melanie Adams but then other people are intent on seeking revenge. This novel is a crime thriller that centers on the need of some people to seek revenge.

Revenge is a well crafted novel with good back stories and strong character development. Bill's writng style is similar to Robert Fisk's as his characters describe the troubles in Northern Ireland. The plot and pace of this book is good. It builds like a jigsaw with each character having an integral part to play.

Revenge is an easy and entertaining book to read. It is a full story where you feel you are living with the characters as you pick it up again for another session. I got drawn into how each character planned and executed their own act of revenge. It was all done sneaky so that they would not be found out.

The ending was a little like a Dan Brown best seller but by then Bill had ticked all the boxes for a good crime thriller with some conspiracy thrown in for good measure. Revenge is a good read and I vote it the top score of 5 stars. This is Bill's first novel and he plans to publish his second in 2014, I'll look forward to that.

Revenge is available as a 1499KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2013.

Shih Tzu: Pictures of the Shih Tzu by Missy Robbins.

This is a small photo book of just 26 pages dedicated to the Shih Tzu breed of dog. These photos wlll make you smile as these dogs are very cute looking. There is no information or story in this book, it is simply a collection of photos. Nice photos but that does not make it a good book. This is more like a calendar without the dates. The value of this book is poor and you would be better off buying a calendar. As a book about Shih Tzu dogs this is a fail and I will vote it the minimum score of 1 star.

This book is available as a 2305 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was published in 2013.

Open Source by Matthew M. Frick.

Casey Shenk is a delivery driver who refills vending machines around Georgia. He takes interest in current affairs and in his spare time writes a blog. He is fascinated by a story, the highjacking of the MV Baltic Venture by pirates. Using open sources anyone can find on the internet, Casey tries to find what is going on that mainstream media is not telling the public.

The plot for this book is very good. It is a good conspiracy tale that builds nicely as different characters are fed into the story. It is rather involved and gets you thinking because it is so plausible. This novel is about geopolitics, terrorism and rogue elements fighting for their cause.

Casey puts all of these little snips of open source information found on the internet together and joins up the dots. Through his persistence and research, Casey finds out who the pirates are and what is really going on.

I enjoyed reading Open Source because although this is fiction, it is not far fetched. These sort of dodgy dealings by rogue elements go on all the time. I got to the end of this book and thought, "I wonder just how much of this goes on?" as the general public sleeps happily in their beds. This is a good thought provoking read that I will vote 4 stars.

Open Source is available as a 2047 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2010.