Injoy's Blogs + Book Reviews

I'm a voracious reader of almost all genres. I write book reviews for goodreads, NetGalley, Amazon & my own page InJoyful Book Reviews. I have several other facebook pages where I am sole administrator. I stay busy even though I'm retired. I'm a 68 year old grandmother of four from two adult children. I'm happily married & relocated from Washington State to Arizona.

 

 Reviews PublishedFrequently Auto-ApprovedChallenge ParticipantProfessional Reader2016 NetGalley Challenge200 Book Reviews

 

 

 

 

Afflicted - Genesis by Derek Shupert

Afflicted: Patient Zero (An Outbreak Zombie Infected Horror Suspense Series Book 2) - Derek Shupert

Afflicted - Genesis by Derek Shupert is a futuristic/dystopian novella that is frightening. It touches on disturbing unethical genetic research. It shows how the destructive virus came about with Dr. Saunders and his Project Starlight. I gave it four stars.

 

I received a complimentary copy from the author. That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Afflicted-Genesis-Book-Derek-Shupert-ebook/dp/B01M7WL1UY

After: First Light by Scott Nicholson

After: First Light - Scott Nicholson

After: First Light by Scott Nicholson is an intriguing book about a massive solar storm that wipes out all technology.

 

The survivors struggle to adapt only discover some of them have changed. I gave it four stars.

 

I received a complimentary copy from Haunted Computer Books. That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/After-First-Light-AFTER-post-apocalyptic-ebook/dp/B00D5FAP3O

A Motive for Murder (A Misty Sales Cozy Mystery, Book 1) by Morgana Best

A Motive for Murder - Morgana Best

I received a complimentary Kindle copy of A Motive for Murder (A Misty Sales Cozy Mystery, Book 1) by Morgana Best, published by Cozy Mysteries in an Amazon promotion in exchange for a fair review. That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

I gave it four stars.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Motive-Murder-Misty-Sales-Mystery/dp/1503240800

Weight Loss: 21 Simple Weight Loss Healthy Habits to Lose Weight, Feel Great, and Enjoy A Healthy Life. (Weight Loss Motivation) by William Norton

Weight Loss: 21 Simple weight loss Healthy Habits to lose weight, feel great, and enjoy A healthy live.: Weight Loss Motivation - William Norton

Weight Loss: 21 Simple Weight Loss Healthy Habits to Lose Weight, Feel Great, and Enjoy A Healthy Life. (Weight Loss Motivation) by William Norton is an easy how to book to follow. I gave it three stars.

 

"Understand psychology and learn why being overweight is not your fault..."

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Weight-Loss-Journal-simple-healthy/dp/1530043506

Under the Dome: A Novel by Stephen King

Under the Dome - Stephen King

Under the Dome: A Novel by Stephen King is about Chester's Mill, Maine which is sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field.

 

"Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens -- town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing -- even murder -- to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry.

 

But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out."

 

I gave it four stars. I received a complimentary copy from archive.org. That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Dome-Novel-Stephen-King-ebook/dp/B0030H7UIU

Trouble at the Kennel: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman

TROUBLE AT THE KENNEL: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery - Dianne Harman

Trouble at the Kennel: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman is an enjoyable cozy mystery. Mike, the Sheriff and Kelly, who runs the Coffee Shop have returned from Italy where she was involved in solving a murder.

 

They're looking forward to picking up Rebel and Lady who have stayed at a pricey kennel. On the way there, they learn the owner of Doggie Love Kennel, Mary Kennedy, was murdered and that Rebel is missing. There are multiple suspects for the murder and Mike and Kelly need to find them before they also become victims.

 

Because it is a fast book to read that kept my full attention, I gave it five stars. I purchased this on sale and was grateful to find it.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D1SY846

Trouble at the Kennel: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman

TROUBLE AT THE KENNEL: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery - Dianne Harman

Trouble at the Kennel: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman is an enjoyable cozy mystery. Mike, the Sheriff and Kelly, who runs the Coffee Shop have returned from Italy where she was involved in solving a murder.

 

They're looking forward to picking up Rebel and Lady who have stayed at a pricey kennel. On the way there, they learn the owner of Doggie Love Kennel, Mary Kennedy, was murdered and that Rebel is missing. There are multiple suspects for the murder and Mike and Kelly need to find them before they also become victims.

 

Because it is a fast book to read that kept my full attention, I gave it five stars. I purchased this on sale and was grateful to find it.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D1SY846

The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver Episode 2 by Shawn Inmon

The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver (Middle Falls Time Travel Series Book 1) - Shawn Inmon

The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver Episode 2 by Shawn Inmon is an interesting story about second chances. Thomas Weaver returns to his high school years with all the knowledge he has as an adult.

 

"Guess it doesn't matter how cheap something is if you have no money." Thomas thought as he purchased a Marathon candy bar. He wondered when they had stopped making them and savored every morsel.

 

He was returned to 1976 but remembered everything that came after that time. I gave it four stars.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J8FBONO

The Killing Question by Mark Allen

The Killing Question - Mark     Allen

I gave this short book The Killing Question by Mark Allen four stars.

 

"Ever since my tender teenage years, I've had a soft spot for crying women. When a woman turns on the tears, I turn into putty. I can't help it. Maybe I need therapy. Suckers Anonymous, here I come."

 

"It all began with a tentative knock on my door, the one with the frosted glass and big black stenciled letters that spelled JACK REECE, I 2 EYE INVESTIGATIONS. I had felt pretty damn clever when I conjured up that name. The creative thrill had worn off in the twelve years since then, but I still kept the name."

 

The woman who had entered and wanted to hire him showed him a clipping.

 

"I picked up the clipping. No date, but the paper wasn't worn and weathered, so I figured it was fairly recent. The man in the picture looked like a walking whale, rolls of blubber spilling over his collar and straining the seams of his seedy-looking suit. 'Who is he?' I asked.

 

'Charles Hickey,' she replied. 'But from what I gathered at his trial, he goes by the nickname Big Hickey.'"

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/KILLING-QUESTION-Mark-Allen-ebook/dp/B008O4CT5S

The Diary of the Displaced: The Last to Fall by Glynn James

Diary of the Displaced - Book 1 - The Journal of James Halldon - Glynn James

The Diary of the Displaced: The Last to Fall by Glynn James is another great story. I gave it four stars.

 

"I served him as he asked, just a neat whiskey. He didn't have any money and didn't even offer to pay, but that didn't bother me. I think in some way I needed him to turn up at that moment, needed someone to talk to, someone to listen to for a while, just so that I could get my head around what I was preparing to do after he had left.

 

Link to purchase:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005CAW7ZY

The Damaged by Simon Law

The Damaged - Simon Law

The Damaged by Simon Law is a fast reading story. I gave it four stars.

 

Tammy's daughter Jessica had been taken away from her. She walked to her little girl's room. "Jessica’s bedroom was the only room in the house to have remained clean and tidy since her daughter had been taken away, and Tammy took great care to keep it that way. She wanted it nice and welcoming for Jessica, ready for the day she would come home to her again.

 

She stepped inside and quickly closed the door again, as if the mess from the rest of the house might somehow contaminate the room if she left the door open for too long."

 

She worked for an agency as a 'carer'. She was assigned a new patient after one of her older ones had died. Her job was to make sure he took his medicine twice a day.

 

"Tammy left the house and the sunlight embraced her like a warm shower of liquid light. The dark gloom of the house had made her forget what a bright and vibrant day awaited her outside, and the light stung her unprepared eyes."

 

I received a complimentary copy from Amazon in a promotion.

 

That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/

The Damaged by Simon Law

The Damaged - Simon Law

The Damaged by Simon Law is a fast reading story. I gave it four stars.

 

Tammy's daughter Jessica had been taken away from her. She walked to her little girl's room. "Jessica’s bedroom was the only room in the house to have remained clean and tidy since her daughter had been taken away, and Tammy took great care to keep it that way. She wanted it nice and welcoming for Jessica, ready for the day she would come home to her again.

 

She stepped inside and quickly closed the door again, as if the mess from the rest of the house might somehow contaminate the room if she left the door open for too long."

 

She worked for an agency as a 'carer'. She was assigned a new patient after one of her older ones had died. Her job was to make sure he took his medicine twice a day.

 

"Tammy left the house and the sunlight embraced her like a warm shower of liquid light. The dark gloom of the house had made her forget what a bright and vibrant day awaited her outside, and the light stung her unprepared eyes."

 

I received a complimentary copy from Amazon in a promotion.

 

That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/

The Cosmic Bullet, The Enigma Series Part One by Andrew C. Broderick

The Cosmic Bullet: The Enigma Series, Part One - Andrew C. Broderick

The Cosmic Bullet, The Enigma Series Part One by Andrew C. Broderick is a science fiction/futuristic story. I gave it four stars. There is an unknown object traveling toward the earth at a high rate of speed.

 

I received a complimentary copy in an Amazon promotion. That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Bullet-Enigma-Part-One-ebook/dp/B06XPCQS8C

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath to complete my 2015 special reading challenge for a book written by someone under the age thirty when it was written.

 

It is an intense novel and one that seems hellish upon review. I gave this book five stars.

It has a sharp hook in the beginning. I could relate to the description of the scent of the subway.

 

"It was a QUEER, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions. The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that's all there was to read about in the papers -- goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner and at the fusty, peanut-smelling mouth of every subway.

 

It had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't help wondering what it would be like, being burned alive all along your nerves.

 

I thought it must be the worst thing in the world. New York was bad enough."

The protagonist is rooming at the Amazon in New York with a dozen other girls on the same floor. She can relate to Doreen. "Doreen had intuition. Everything she said was like a secret voice speaking straight out of my own bones."

 

After seeing Doreen drunk and falling down into her own vomit, she decided she wouldn't have anything to do with her.

 

She had gone to a Technicolor movie where she began to feel ill. So did Betsy, one of her roomies. "We slipped out of our seats and said 'Excuse me Excuse me Excuse me' down the length of our row, while the people grumbled and hissed and shifted their rain boots and umbrellas to let us pass, and I stepped on as many feet as I could because it took my mind off this enormous desire to puke that was ballooning up in front of me so fast I couldn't see round it." They had food poisoning and some of them almost died. Doreen came to nurse her.

 

She had a problem tipping people for doing things she could just as easily have done for herself. She also had a problem with the amount of tips since she never had the correct change.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Bell-Jar-SylviaPlath-ebook-dp-B082RW9FMP

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath to complete my 2015 special reading challenge for a book written by someone under the age thirty when it was written.

 

It is an intense novel and one that seems hellish upon review. I gave this book five stars.

It has a sharp hook in the beginning. I could relate to the description of the scent of the subway.

 

"It was a QUEER, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions. The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that's all there was to read about in the papers -- goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner and at the fusty, peanut-smelling mouth of every subway.

 

It had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't help wondering what it would be like, being burned alive all along your nerves.

 

I thought it must be the worst thing in the world. New York was bad enough."

 

The protagonist is rooming at the Amazon in New York with a dozen other girls on the same floor. She can relate to Doreen. "Doreen had intuition. Everything she said was like a secret voice speaking straight out of my own bones."

 

After seeing Doreen drunk and falling down into her own vomit, she decided she wouldn't have anything to do with her.

 

She had gone to a Technicolor movie where she began to feel ill. So did Betsy, one of her roomies. "We slipped out of our seats and said 'Excuse me Excuse me Excuse me' down the length of our row, while the people grumbled and hissed and shifted their rain boots and umbrellas to let us pass, and I stepped on as many feet as I could because it took my mind off this enormous desire to puke that was ballooning up in front of me so fast I couldn't see round it." They had food poisoning and some of them almost died. Doreen came to nurse her.

 

She had a problem tipping people for doing things she could just as easily have done for herself. She also had a problem with the amount of tips since she never had the correct change.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Bell-Jar-SylviaPlath-ebook-dp-B082RW9FMP

The Bali Mystery by Linda Weaver Clarke

The Bali Mystery: Amelia Moore, Book 1 - Linda Weaver Clarke, Diane Lehman, Red Mountain Shadows Publishing

The Bali Mystery by Linda Weaver Clarke is an intriguing book. I'm pleased to have discovered a talented, prolific writer with a series I haven't read. I will be looking for more of her books.

 

This is an Amelia Moore Detective Agency mystery. Amelia is serious about her work and wanted to make a positive difference in people's lives. I could certainly relate to that. Her new case is to help Mrs. Brody find her brother.

 

I gave this fast-moving mystery four stars.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Bali-Mystery-Amelia-Moore-Detective-ebook/dp/B00JU2W4ZS