Day 8 ~ Star~ The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle

Its hard to believe we've made it to day 8 of the Great New Reads Blog challenge. For today's Challenge we were tasked with finding a book with a star. I thought a little outside of the box and picked a novel with the Sun (our Star) on the cover. The Atlantis Gene.

The Atlantis Gene

by A.G.Riddle

5 Star

Summary: 

In Antarctica, researchers discover a mysterious structure, buried in ice.

In a lab in Jakarta, an autism researcher identifies a revolutionary treatment that could change everything.

But these two incredible discoveries aren’t what they seem. They will set off a race to unravel the deepest secrets of human existence—and an event that could change humanity forever.

.

My Take: 

This was a change of pace for me. I've been reading mostly serial killer series or Urban Fantasy but there was something about this one that seemed to draw me in. Set all over the world the characters uncover a plot that will change the human race. Fast paced and heart pounding the author manages to mix action with science and a little bit of mystery. It had the enjoyable feel of the DaVinci  Code. Keeping you reading way into the night.

I didn't feel like the science was as heavy as a Crichton novel but there was just enough to make every thing seem plausible. I will admit that this was the first time I had heard about The Great Leap. So I did a little googling and its actually a really interesting. It makes you sit back and think, maybe if history repeats itself the X-Men might be in our future?

I think the sign of a good Science fiction novel is when it leaves the reader really thinking, and this one fits the bill. I can't wait to get to the next book in the trilogy!

#BookReviewBlogChallenge

Day 7 ~ Timeline by Michael Crichton

Well here we are at day 7 of the Great New Reads Blog Challenge. For this Challenge I picked one of my favorite

time travel novels ;

Timeline by Michael Crichton

5 stars

Summary: In an Arizona desert, a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four 

hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world,

 archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off to the headquarters 

of a secretive multinational corporation that has developed an astounding technology. Now this group is about to 

get a chance not to study the past but to enter it. And with history opened up to the present, the dead awakened 

to the living, these men and women will soon find themselves fighting for their very survival -- six hundred 

years ago.

My Take:

The best thing about a Michael Crichton novel is the way he uses cutting edge scientific theories to spur

on interesting and believable story lines in a world that is just over the horizon from where we are.

Timeline follows a group of archeological students who find themselves with the opportunity of a lifetime. To travel,

through the magic of modern science, to the very time in France they are set upon studying. Since I have always 

enjoyed the Medieval times and often fantasized what it would be like to live back then this novel was a real eye opener.

Crichton had an amazing nack to make scientific theories seem like reality. With this novel he takes it one step

further and really showcases how hard life was in the 1350's. Even things like the weight of the armor and swords

would be a huge shock for someone from modern day. This novel really made science and history come alive. 

There is a movie "based" off the book but as is often the case the Novel is so much better. I was glad for the chance to

reread it! Special thanks to Great New Reads for another great prompt.

Thicker Than Blood ~ Mike Omer

Thicker than Blood by Mike Omer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available June 23, 2020

The best one in the series!

I received this novel from Netgalley for an honest review. I was really excited to get my copy. Since I really enjoyed the first two in the series I dove right into the third installment and I was not disappointed.


Summary:
A murderer who drinks his victim’s blood? FBI profiler Zoe Bentley and Agent Tatum Gray thought they’d seen it all, but this young woman’s barbaric murder is especially hard to stomach.

They didn’t expect to work this case. But vampirism aside, the murderer’s MO is identical to that of Rod Glover—the serial killer who’s been pursuing Zoe since childhood. Forensics reveals the murder to be his work, but not his alone; desperate to fulfill his sick purpose, he has taken on an equally depraved partner.

Zoe’s own frustration grows after another woman turns up dead and drained—and another goes missing. Time is running out: Zoe knows her own death will be the climax of Glover’s sinister play, which has been unfolding for twenty years. To stop Glover and his vile partner, she’ll need to plunge deep into their motives; but this means drawing ever closer to becoming another casualty of a dark, dark thirst. 
My Take: **SPOILERS**

We find ourselves on the hunt for the ever slippery Rod Glover. Back in Chicago chasing leads Zoey and Tatum find themselves back in the thick of things with another strange serial killer. I try not to write too many spoilers as a rule but be warned here come a few.
When it becomes clear that the killer(s) are interested in blood drinking Zoe makes contact with the head of Chicago's Vampire scene. I found this plot line intresting on a personal note because a few years ago I was also able to interview a practicing Vampire who was originally from New York and had helped start the New York Vampire scene. As a Urban fantasy lover I also enjoyed that this took place in Chicago the home of some of my favorite Vampires (Chicago Land and Mercy Thompson) so it seems the place to write about Vampirism.
This novel wasn't really about Vampires though it was just an interesting line of questioning. A peak into another lifestyle most people wouldn't even know exsisted. The heart of the novel is the hunt for the Killers and the dissociative breakdown of the blood drinker. Having read many psychological thrillers I felt that the author did an excellent and believable job with Glover and the blood drinker. I enjoyed the realness of the FBI not being able to bust down every door and hack every computer. This isn't an episode of Criminal Minds and that makes the scene much more real for the reader.
The pacing was done well and I didn't feel any lagging moments or weak plot points. Truly a fantastic novel and probably the best FBI novel I have read in some time.

In case you were interested heres the link to my Interview with Vlad from a few years ago.

Interview with a Vampire, No really

Tudor Tuesday ; The Last Tudor ~ Philippa Gregory

Here we are for the second installment of Tudor Tuesday!

The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary: New York Times Bestseller
The latest novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory features one of the most famous girls in history, Lady Jane Grey, and her two sisters, each of whom dared to defy her queen.

Jane Grey was queen of England for nine days. Her father and his allies crowned her instead of the dead king’s half sister Mary Tudor, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her throne, and locked Jane in the Tower of London. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner’s block, where Jane transformed her father’s greedy power grab into tragic martyrdom.

“Learn you to die,” was the advice Jane wrote to her younger sister Katherine, who has no intention of dying. She intends to enjoy her beauty and her youth and fall in love. But she is heir to the insecure and infertile Queen Mary and then to her half sister, Queen Elizabeth, who will never allow Katherine to marry and produce a Tudor son. When Katherine’s pregnancy betrays her secret marriage, she faces imprisonment in the Tower, only yards from her sister’s scaffold.

“Farewell, my sister,” writes Katherine to the youngest Grey sister, Mary. A beautiful dwarf, disregarded by the court, Mary keeps family secrets, especially her own, while avoiding Elizabeth’s suspicious glare. After seeing her sisters defy their queens, Mary is acutely aware of her own danger but determined to command her own life. What will happen when the last Tudor defies her ruthless and unforgiving Queen Elizabeth?

My Take:

This book was the best novel I've picked up in a long time! Honestly, I had trouble putting it down. Even though at times I dreaded continuing on. Thats the trouble with reading Historical fiction. Sometimes you want to wish the best for the characters but you know what really happened. What I enjoyed most about this novel was it showed me a different side of Elizabeth the 1st. Up until this point I had a very romanticism picture of her. The Virgin Queen, leader of the England during the Golden Age.

Although this novel focuses on the lives of three of her lesser known cousins I feel like Gregory gives you a peak inside of Elizabeths Psyche by showcasing her treatment of those around her. 

As the novel went on I had a feeling of "Oh yes she was Henry's daughter" that changeable nature that made his so dangerous seems to have molded his daughter. 

The three sisters are all interesting in their own way. As the oldest of three girls its not surprising to me at all that these sisters would have such starkly different personalities. Jane, the oldest, lives and dies for her faith. Fueled by the desires and ambitions of the men around her. Katherine the middle child is the free spirit. Loving and beautiful, she appreciates court and the courtly ways. Her beauty and status would cause her downfall. Mary, the youngest, and most un noticed still suffers for her relationship to the Queen but not nearly has badly as her siblings, and other cousins for that matter.

This tales of unjust treatment and intense desires for wealth and power follow the Tudor dynasty and thats what makes this book series so interesting. History has never been more alive than when its being told by Philippa Gregory!