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Debbiereadsbook (1437 KP) rated Black Sky Morning (Mind + Machine #3) in Books

Aug 14, 2019

Black Sky Morning (Mind + Machine #3)

Hanna Dare | 2019 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

doesn't quite hit THAT spot!

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 3 in the Mind + Machine series, and it's not totally necessary to read the other two books first, but I personally think it would give you a bigger better picture of Jonathan, and his work.

I LOVED books one adn two, this one though, did not quite hit THAT spot, you know? And it pains me, deeply, when I cannot figure out why!

Jonathan is Rylan's brother (book one, Metal Machine Magic) and Xin pops up on both previous books (I think!) they just haven't crossed paths just yet. Not til Jonathan enlists Xin in a mission that goes a bit wrong. But then Xin enlists Jonathan in a mission of his own and the pair end up stranded on a distant planet, faced with possible death. They have to work together to get free. Neither is used to trusting though.

I liked the way the story developed, at an even pace, fast enough to keep up but not so fast you miss something. I liked that there wasn't rally any attraction brewing between them (at least I didn't pick it up!) until Xin brings up a possible physical relationship to get them through their predicament. I liked the way that things crept up on them both.

It's well told, from both Jonathan and Xin's point of view, in the third person. Each voice is clear and distinctive, given their very different upbringings.

I liked the way their story unfolded. I just didn't LOVE it like the other two!

So, gonna leave it with this, a good solid sci-fi read, that I did read in one sitting!

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated A Window Breaks in Books

Mar 1, 2020

A Window Breaks

C. M. Ewan | 2020 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Dripping with tension and atmosphere

Well, that certainly was a page-turner with non-stop action from the sound of breaking glass to the sickening crack of metal against bone.

Tom, his wife, Rachel, and their daughter, Holly, have been through it. First their teenage son, Michael, and his girlfriend, Fiona, die in a road traffic collision when Michael was driving and if that wasn't bad enough, Holly is viciously attacked by a mugger. What's needed is for them to getaway and take Tom's boss up on his offer of time away at his secluded and secure lodge in Scotland ... what could possibly go wrong?

Written mainly from Tom's perspective, we are taken on a thrilling journey of survival; we are lulled into a false sense of security when Tom and his family arrive at the lodge but are quickly plunged into a nightmare when they are awoken by the sound of someone walking on broken glass. When Tom goes to investigate, what he sees makes his heart drop to his toes and so it begins 😰

Tom's voice is a breath of fresh air because he is not your usual macho Bear Grylls hero, he is a "normal" husband and father ... vulnerable, fearful and afraid but determined to protect his family despite not being particularly brave, strong or fit ... this made him more real somehow and because of this, you are never quite sure how this was going to end.

With an easy to read, flowing style, this book is dripping with tension and atmosphere with many hold-your-breath moments that had me gripped and eagerly flipping my Kindle® ... I couldn't read fast enough.

Recommended reading for action/thriller/suspense lovers.

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest review.