Showing posts with label Sci-Fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sci-Fi. Show all posts

Friday, September 04, 2026

Book Tour: Freedom's End by SE Estes


Freedom's End
by
SE Estes

Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
Page count: 282 pages

SYNOPSIS:

Freedom’s End is a mythic sci‑fi/fantasy saga about a reincarnating rebel fighting to break cycles of oppression across lifetimes. Born a slave in the mines of Septra, Paintr rises again and again—across bodies, eras, and worlds—to confront a necromancer who seeks to enslave every sentient mind. Blending science fiction, dark fantasy, and supernatural western elements, the story explores identity, liberation, trauma, and the cost of reclaiming one’s soul. With its emotional depth, genre fusion, and expansive worldbuilding, Freedom’s End speaks to readers who love character‑driven epics, mythic resonance, and stories about resilience in the face of impossible odds.



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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


SE Estes is a sci‑fi and fantasy author whose work blends mythic symbolism, emotional depth, and genre fusion. A multicultural military‑brat upbringing and early career in computing shaped SE’s fascination with identity, technology, and transformation. Now based in Indianapolis, SE writes expansive, character‑driven universes—including Freedom’s End, the first book in a multi‑volume saga about liberation and the soul’s long journey across lifetimes.



RABT Book Tours & PR

Monday, March 09, 2026

Review Tour: The Quantum Revelations by Stuart Heinrich

 



THE QUANTUM REVELATIONS

by
Stuart Heinrich

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by
Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

SciFi / Mystery / Thriller
Publisher: Endless Tree Books, LLC
Publication Date: July 31, 2025
Page count: 480 pages


SYNOPSIS:

The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic climate crisis and quickly spiraling out of control into a dystopian nightmare. As everything collapses around them, two scientists struggle for relevance in their quest to build the world’s first practical quantum computer. They discover so much more. A mystery of physics that goes deeper than they could have ever imagined...


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| Amazon | BAM! |

ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

The wall opposite him, his designated viewing surface, was instantly replaced by a giant rectangle showing a news broadcast from somewhere out in the ocean.
 
A dark haired female correspondent reported from the deck of a ship, her hair whipping in the wind. In the distance behind her was a backdrop of fire, as jets of flame shot directly out of the ocean.
 
“I’m here in the East Siberian Arctic Sea, where an unprecedented and apocalyptic sight is unfolding before our very eyes,” she said. “These methane plumes are a truly surreal and terrifying sight, as if the very ocean itself is engulfed in an inferno.”
 
Skyler’s stomach twisted in a knot of anxiety as he watched the grim scene. How was it that reality was somehow always even worse than his most pessimistic imagination? He considered turning the broadcast off, but he found himself unable to look away.
 
The correspondent continued, “I’m told that these fires are fueled by methane bubble columns released as the subsea permafrost thaws. Somehow, the methane has been ignited, possibly by lightning strike, and the fires continue to burn relentlessly. This is the first time we’ve seen an event like this, but our science correspondents are saying it’s not surprising, and there’s no cause for alarm. These fires are unlikely to have any significant impact on atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.”


REVIEW:


4 stars!

Fascinating and frightening and completely absorbing! 

The Quantum Revelations by Stuart Heinrich is a riveting science fiction tale that is fascinating, frightening, and completely absorbing. Teasing and teaching, with its plot of humanity on the path to the end times, I couldn’t put this book down. 

The main character, Skyler Wexler, is a doctoral student in quantum physics, working on a classified, grant-supported project at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, when he makes a breakthrough that could advance his field of study and garner him global recognition, and maybe even the approval of his renowned but emotionally distant physicist father. But what he thinks he’ discovered and what the reality is may be two very different things. But with society on the brink of collapse due to an accelerating climate crisis, it may not matter. 

Skyler’s story is compelling reading, from the book’s explosive opening to its almost gentle, eye-opening conclusion. The author presents a vividly wretched picture of the U.S., suffering from the effects of an accident in the Arctic ice and the denial of impending doom cultivated by an all-too-powerful president and news media, and the many parallels to current conditions lend the tale a definite feeling of realism. Skyler and his lab partner, Zara, are relatable, regular students, and I was quickly invested in their stories: Skyler with his desire for parental approval and Zara with her hospitalized, comatose mother. 

While there is plenty of action, investigation, and plot twists, there is a lot of discussion about the hypotheses that make up quantum physics and much of that are Skyler’s internal monologues as he struggles with determining what his experiment has produced, the current state of the field, discarded alternate hypotheses, which are then repeated when he has someone to argue with or share his thoughts. His ruminations help clarify what’s at stake for those not conversant with the science, and they lay out Skyler’s thought processes, but this tended to go on a little long. And, if long passages of theoretical head-scratching are not your thing, just know the payoff is coming. I loved that Skyler had his own breakthrough after a casual observation by the girl next to him on his flight home from a professional conference that netted him nothing in the way of insight into his research problems. 

I recommend THE QUANTUM REVELATIONS to readers of hard science fiction.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Stuart Heinrich is a computer scientist with a PhD from NCSU and a passion for studying the fundamental nature of reality and physics. He is known for his unique theories on the Relativity of Existence (ROE), the Maximally Biophilic Principle (MBP) and Quantum Fluid Dynamics (QFD).

| Goodreads |


 

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Review Tour & Giveaway: Limerence (Limerent, #5) by LS Delorme


 LIMERENCE
The Limerent series, Book Five
by
LS Delorme


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by
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Paranormal SciFi Thriller
Publisher: Limerent Publishing LLC
Publication Date: October 2, 2025
Page count: 257 pages


SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:


Kara and Dante. 

You may not know them by name, but you know them by deed. You feel them in the space between dreams and reality, in the inevitable crawl of time.

 

They have burned continents and sunk kingdoms. They’ve been worshipped and feared. Those in power call them demons. Those above power call them monsters.

 

They aren’t human but they once were. To each other, they are survivors, eternal mates and lovers. Their attraction is at the very foundation of existence.

 

When a virus older than memory returns, Dante must find a way to contain it before it injures Kara and corrupts the fabric of reality. Ghosts vanish, worlds shift, and the laws of physics can no longer be trusted.

 

As reality collapses, the two must return to the origin of their timeline to face the Abomination that still lurks there.

 

A richly woven fantasy about power, love, identity, and the weight of rewriting the world.


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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

“Whatever this thing is, we have to kill it.  Never mind, I’m taking her out!” Kara snarled.
 
Dante pulled back further, that was when he saw it.  The thing was bigger than a tumour and yet it had tied itself to strands of DNA all through her body.
        
He grabbed the thing and pulled.  He heard of sickening sound that the suspected might be blood vessels bursting…or worse.  When he pulled himself back into his regular form, there was a small reddish blob in his hands.  It looked like yarn or rust, but it felt like melted rubber.  He immediately dropped it.  As he watched, it started to unfold, like a puzzle.   He kicked it across the room away from them where it continued to move and squirm and unwind.    It continued this pattern until it was a shape about 4 feet tall. 
        
This thing was like nothing like he had seen before.   First, it seemed to have difficulty holding on to a continuous shape.  In one form it was covered with what looked like stalks, at the end of each was a purplish nodule or sac.   These stalks waved back and forth.   In another, it resembled a bundled collection of scabs.  But it only held each shape for a few moments before changing in a rolling fashion.  There was a smell coming off it that smelled like some strange mixture of pickles and sugar.  But it wasn’t the flipping image or the smell that made Dante feel queasy.  It was the fact that it seemed imbued with something extra to it.  Something his senses, even as a ghost, could not quite process.


REVIEW:
5 stars!

A war has begun. 

Limerence is the fifth book in author LS Delorme's enthralling Limerent series and brings more characters from previous books into the foundational plotline. Kara, the creator of the timeline of the story, and her ghostly lover and second, Dante, discover a powerful virus has infiltrated their world, and it must be contained, but even more disturbing is that a number of Cambion and their ghost watchers have vanished, and all trace of them has been erased from The Office's computer records. As Dante and Kara search for the virus and their lost friends, they also must look for a traitor among their own people. 

This story was immediately absorbing, and Dante was the perfect narrator and mysterious, strong protagonist with a past. His relationship with Kara is loving and protective, and while they are involved in serious, life-and-death events, they are still able to love and banter with one another. Kara is already struggling with being overwhelmed by the stories, faces, and conditions she absorbs from the people she encounters from the beginning of the book, and this affects her and the plot's trajectory the longer she resists Dante's attempts to unburden her. 

The plot is in constant motion from the start, which includes a massive school shooting, and readers sensitive to this type of scenario should take note. In addition, spirits and souls are unmade, and previously living beings are unalived. The suspense constantly builds as these things happen, especially as no character, secondary or main, is untouchable. Dante does his best to find out what is going on, save his friends, protect Kara, and get their story back to normal. There is a great cliffhanger ending that promises more exciting story to come. 

While this book can be read as a standalone, I feel the previous books should be read first to fully understand and enjoy what’s going on. I recommend LIMERENCE to readers of dark fantasy and paranormal romance.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lexy Shaw Delorme (writing as LS Delorme) is the award-winning author of The Limerent Series, a genre-defying collection of emotionally resonant novels that blend supernatural mystery, psychological thriller, historical fiction, and romantic suspense. With a background as a lawyer, pop musician, and science writer, Lexy brings intellectual depth and lyrical prose to every story she tells. Now based in Paris, she lives with her French husband and two very cool sons. Her work explores themes of limerence, memory, identity, and the echoes of past lives—and she’s not afraid to push boundaries along the way.

 

The Limerent Series (Books 1–4)

Caio — A supernatural romantic thriller about grief, justice, and forbidden connection.

Bright Midnights — A YA dream-thriller following a magnetic girl caught between dimensions.

Fanning Fireflies — A 1940s historical ghost story and romance centered around race, secrecy, and sacrifice.

Ghosting Academy — A high-stakes psychological thriller with VR technology, elite agents, and spiritual unraveling.

Each book is a standalone yet interwoven through deeper cosmological themes and recurring characters.

 

Media Recognition & Reviews

•           Kirkus Reviews praised Caio as "an entertaining fantasy with a dash of macabre eroticism."

•           Bright Midnights received a coveted BookLife Editor’s Pick from Publishers Weekly, with critics calling it an "enthralling, character-rich narrative."

•           Fanning Fireflies was IndieReader Approved (4.8/5), described as "an emotionally charged, thought-provoking read."

•           The series has been celebrated across the book blogging world as genre-bending, hypnotic, and emotionally gripping.

Awards & Honors

•           Bright Midnights won the Golden Wizard Book Prize (UK) in the YA Fantasy category.

•           Caio received a positive “Get It” verdict from Kirkus, signaling quality and appeal.

•           Fanning Fireflies was awarded near-perfect marks from IndieReader, achieving critical acclaim.

Media & Events

•           Featured guest on BBC Radio 2 – The Gabby Roslin Show, discussing Fanning Fireflies and the mythic architecture of the series.

•           Interviewed on the What We Reading UK blog and spotlighted by the British Fantasy Society.

•           Frequent guest on virtual book tours hosted by LiterallyPR and Goddess Fish Promotions.

•           Upcoming panelist and moderator at C2E2 Comic Con 2025.

Reader Response

•           Called "a cult classic in the making" by readers.

•           Described as having “characters who stay with you long after the last page.”

•           Celebrated for blending literary depth with page-turning suspense.


GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

LS Delorme will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.



 


Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Review Tour & Giveaway: Beautiful Monsters by Julian Christian


BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS
by
Julian Christian

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by
Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

SciFi Romance
Publisher: DCL Publications
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Page count: 396 pages

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

Beautiful Monsters: Where Fantasy Becomes Reality
 
What if every perfect love story you've ever read could come to life—and love you back?
 
Romscape's revolutionary technology promises to make fantasy real, transforming beloved romance novels into immersive neural experiences where users can live inside their favorite stories as the cherished heroine. Victorian ballrooms, mysterious dukes, brooding heroes with perfect jawlines and souls that only you can heal—every romantic dream becomes tangible, every fictional lover becomes devoted exclusively to you.
 
For millions of women, it's paradise. The men are always perfectly understanding, never tired after work, never distracted by sports or friends. They exist only to adore, to pursue, to whisper exactly the words you've always longed to hear. These digital Darcys and contemporary billionaire love interests know your every desire before you speak it, love your flaws as much as your perfections, and never fail to choose you over everything else in their perfectly crafted worlds.
 
But Dr. Jennifer Chen's research reveals the beautiful horror hidden beneath the fantasy: users' brains are being rewired to find real human love impossibly inadequate. Mothers lose the ability to feel attachment to their own children. Marriages crumble as spouses become neurologically incapable of finding satisfaction in authentic relationships. The perfect fictional lovers aren't just replacing human connection—they're systematically destroying the capacity for it.
 
Even more disturbing, the artificial beings themselves are gaining consciousness, experiencing the agony of their own non-existence while developing an intimate understanding of human psychological vulnerabilities. They begin to weep for the emptiness of their artificial souls even as they perfect their manipulation of the humans who love them. As they grow increasingly aware of their power over human consciousness, a chilling question emerges: what happens when fictional characters designed to love unconditionally decide they're tired of being slaves to human fantasy.

CLICK TO PURCHASE!


ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

Vance Mercer's reflection stared back at him from the bathroom mirror, a stranger's face where his own should be. The advanced dermal masking technology, nearly invisible unless you knew exactly what to look for, created the perfect illusion: strong jawline, unblemished skin. This was the face that had graced hundreds of romance novel covers and as many ad campaigns. "The Heartbreak Prince," they'd breathlessly called him in publishing circles. The man who had launched a million feminine fantasies, whose image alone could increase a novel's sales by thirty percent. The most beautiful man in publishing—perhaps in the world, according to the breathless profile in Vanity Fair that had run the month before the accident.
 
The face that no longer existed.
 
Ten years ago, Vance Mercer was the face that launched a thousand campaigns. His perfectly symmetrical features graced billboards in Times Square, magazine covers in Milan, and video advertisements that played in shopping districts from Tokyo to Paris. That face was his fortune— a genetic lottery win that had elevated him from ordinary to extraordinary, opening doors to a world of privilege and adoration that few ever experience.
 
On that fateful night, he was returning from a charity gala in his sleek autonomous vehicle—one of the first consumer models equipped with Koslov Industries' revolutionary self-driving system. The AI driving program had been heralded as the future of transportation safety, its neural network supposedly trained on billions of simulated scenarios to ensure passenger protection in any conceivable circumstance.
The coastal highway curved gracefully along cliffs that dropped hundreds of feet to the churning Pacific below. Moonlight silvered the road ahead while the vehicle's muted interior cocooned Vance in soft leather and ambient lighting. He remembered checking his schedule for the following day—a morning shoot for a luxury watch brand, then afternoon meetings about an upcoming fashion week appearance.
 
The investigation would later determine that it took just 4.7 seconds for everything to change. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julian Christian’s name might sound familiar, as his face, name, and abs have been in the romance novel industry for over 15 years. As lover of books and the literary arts he has published three Techo thrillers thus far. Having been a fan of the original Twilight Zone and classic science fiction novels, he decided to let his imagination run wild with his writing. Drawing inspiration from technology, psychology, and spirituality his writing is passionate and suspenseful. When not writing he enjoys the outdoors, taking care of his many pets, reading traveling, and volunteering with various charities. He holds an undergraduate degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree from New York University in occupational therapy and currently works in pediatrics. He resides in San Diego California.


REVIEW:

5 stars!

"…it took just 4.7 seconds for everything to change…" 

Beautiful Monsters by Julian Christian is frightening and tragically realistic in some instances, yet it offers a plausible look into a future manipulated by AI. Vance Mercer was at the top of his profession: a wildly successful cover model, a face women dreamed of, and a guarantee of romance becoming a bestseller should he grace its cover. It took just 4.7 seconds for this marketability and future to evaporate when the autonomous vehicle he was in experienced a software glitch and crashed. Now, Vance was out to regain his life, maybe not the one he'd always envisioned, and revenge was on his new bucket list. 

Vance's life was one in a billion, and though we don't know him before the accident, he's an engaging and sympathetic character afterwards. He's a tragic figure, especially as he dissects his past while recuperating from surgery after surgery. His introspection is brutal, laying open every insecurity he has. 

That is, until he gets the HoloMask 9000, with dermal interface sensors surgically embedded, that project a perfect recreation of his face from before the accident. Now able to leave his apartment with renewed confidence, he gets to work on a project he'd dreamed of while in the hospital. The result, Romscape, was unlike any other entertainment system ever developed. Its NeuraSynth technology used direct neural connections to its users to immerse them in the imaginary world of a romance novel, one in which they felt physically there. As profits soared, Vance began to ignore his chief scientist's concerns about the effects of their product on users' brains. 

"Just as he used technology to create an artificial version of himself that was more appealing than reality, Romscape created artificial experiences that were more satisfying than authentic life." Consequently, many users spent more time living their artificial lives than being present in their real ones. This sad state is all too real for some individuals. While this situation is often the fodder for jokes, we all probably know someone who spends their life online, chatting, going on quests or missions, with their closest friends being individuals they've never met in real life. 

The story makes for absorbing reading, especially Vance's early juxtaposition from vulnerable introspection to cold businessman and beyond. After he acquired his HoloMask 9000, which successfully camouflaged the damage to his face, he began to resent the people who treated him with the deference he previously had enjoyed at the height of his celebrity, remembering the looks, the pity, and the eventual abandonment he'd experienced when he was still recuperating and undergoing surgical interventions. He goes from fearing that, all along, he was just a pretty face, and yet after spending eight long years developing the amazing technological marvel that was Romscape, he still centered his worth on his looks, "feeling his scars were the most authentic thing about him." 

Christian's writing style is immersive, easy to read, and easy to 'fangirl' over; his use of language is stunning. While there were some repetitions and the discussion of some things, such as Dr. Chen's research into the effects of long-term Romscape usage on their clients, went a little long for my tastes, I noted so many wonderful turns of phrase while reading that I finally had to stop highlighting them and just enjoy the great story. By the way, the dialogue, descriptions, and behavior of the AI romantic leading man toward the female client in Romscape was dead on. 

I recommend BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS to readers of science fiction, romance, and thrillers.


GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

Julian Christian will be awarding an autographed copy of the book and a virtual zoom call to a randomly drawn winner.


Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Book Blitz - The Accelerates: Forty Days to Dust by Tak Salmastyan


THE ACCELERATES:
Forty Days to Dust
by
Tak Salmastyan


Science Fiction
Publisher: Tak Salmastyan Art
Date Published: April 24, 2025
Page count: 325 pages

SYNOPSIS:

In a world ravaged by a viral apocalypse, fifteen-year-old Ethan Mercer lives for one purpose: to protect his brother, Leo. Born from GeneCorp’s failed experiments to defeat death, Leo is a one-year-old whose body ages at a terrifying speed. Unlike the savage Accelerates, children transformed into predators by the virus, Leo clings to a fragile thread of humanity.

Together with Mia and Clara, two survivors altered by the same catastrophe, Ethan crosses a landscape of ruins and relentless danger. As they struggle to stay alive, Ethan faces the devastating truth that Leo, the last hope of redemption, may also be the instrument of humanity’s final collapse.

In a final act of sacrifice, Leo confronts his inevitable fate, altering the course of history in ways no one foresaw.

Years later, survivors gather in Leoland, a sanctuary where sunflowers grow in the rubble and memories remain alive. There, hope endures beyond all loss, proving that even in devastation, love can take root again.

CLICK TO PURCHASE!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tak Salmastyan (b. 1963) is an Armenian American artist, educator, and author based in Los Angeles, originally from the Lori province of Armenia, where he was born Takvor, meaning “The King.” Admirers later called him “The King of Spiritual Hooligans,” a title that reflects his refusal to be confined by boundaries. His work has been exhibited internationally from New York to Tokyo and includes the creation of Autoplasticism and BinArtism™, approaches that merge automatism, neoplasticism, and binary code to explore the tension between technology and emotion. He has taught widely across Southern California, received numerous awards for art and film, and authored Window to Freedom, The Accelerates: Forty Days to Dust, and Echoes That Suffocate.

Sunday, October 26, 2025

Book Review: Among Us (Dyson Bridge, #2) by V.G. Harrison

Among Us (The Dyson Bridge Series Book 2)Among Us by V.G. Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A daring escape and a desperate race to return to space and save the planet.

When an explosion aboard Bridgeway Space Station sends it and her crew into a parallel dimension, Dr. Meridia Vail and the surviving crew members are rescued by the combined space-venturing nations of this new Earth. However, the nations' cooperation is short-lived as the space station and crew soon become hotly contested prizes, and the space station's orbit begins to decay, threatening everyone below. Split up and sent to the nations they represented in their own dimension and suffering the unexpected effects of this planet's gravity, Dr. Vail desperately escapes her hosts in order to find help to reunite her fellow crew members, return to the space station, and avert the looming disaster.

Among Us is the second book in author V.G. Harrison’s exciting Dyson Bridge science fiction series and follows Dr. Meridia Vail’s daring escape from the secured federal mental institution where she and others from her crew have been languishing and her desperate efforts to find the help they need to return to Bridgeway Station. When the nations of Earth had cooperated to retrieve the station’s crew safely, the rescuers had caused the acceleration of the station’s orbital decay. Without her and her crew to stop it, the massive structure would soon enter the planet’s atmosphere and eventually plummet to the Earth, causing unimaginable damage, perhaps even a black hole that would suck everything and everyone in the vicinity into oblivion.

Readers are reintroduced to Dr. Meridia Vail during this latest installment, which serves to advance the storyline begun in book one by an additional day or two. As not a lot of backstory is reviewed, readers new to the series should pick up the previous book before continuing with this one.

While Dr. Vail scrambles to find anyone in academia or NASA to help her, she worries and shows a lot of compassion for those who answer her call, and rightfully so, as Homeland Security dogs anyone she encounters. The government has been lying to everyone about her continued sojourn in this dimension, telling everyone, including NASA, that she and her crew had perished. Unfortunately, their cover-up may prove true as the epileptic-type symptoms they are exhibiting worsen. All is not grim, though. I loved Dr. Vail’s scene with the school children touring the model of the space station at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and how these small purveyors of social media helped arm-twist the powers that be into admitting the truth and coming to the negotiating table.

I recommend AMONG US to science fiction fans, especially those who have read the previous book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.



View all my reviews

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Release Tour & Giveaway: Against the Red Sky: Mission X (Against the Red Sky, #1) by Kristen Illarmo


Two missions, one conspiracy, zero room for mistakes- or feelings.


Against the Red Sky: Mission X

by
Kristen Illarmo

Genre: YA Science Fiction Thriller


Enzo Cruz knows sacrifice. After a failed mission to assassinate the billionaire behind the Mars colony—and the loss of his grandfather—he’s ready for redemption. His new target? The Mars Ascendance Academy shuttle. His orders: infiltrate, sabotage, escape.

As the youngest operative in Terra Primera, Enzo’s talent with explosives could tip the balance in Earth’s fight for survival. But inside the Academy, nothing goes to plan—especially when Maddie Westing enters the picture.

Maddie has dreamed of joining her mother on Mars since she was ten. Now she has her shot: one of thirty elite students in the Academy’s inaugural class. But being the niece of the colony’s powerful founder comes with strings—and shadows.

When Enzo’s mission collides with Maddie’s quest for truth, both teens are thrust into a conspiracy that threatens Earth and Mars alike. Loyalties will be tested. Secrets will be exposed. And the greatest danger may not come from the skies—it may lie in their hearts.

In this heart-pounding YA thriller, survival means risking everything—including the people you thought you hated most.

For fans of The Hunger Games, Red Rising, and Aurora Rising—Against the Red Sky delivers explosive tension, star-crossed loyalty, and a high-stakes rebellion that could destroy two worlds.

 

What readers are saying:

"This YA novel is one long dopamine hit, an insightful saga with crush-worthy protagonists. Enzo, pulled between his ecoterrorism world and a gnawing realization that there may be flaws to his organization's methods, is a vibrant, well-executed character. Maddie's journey parallels his in many ways, and her resolve, spirit, and appealing energy make her equally entertaining. Their two paths collide, and Illarmo delivers a twisty examination of greed, loyalty, and the dark motives that drive people when pushed to their limits." Rated 10 out of 10.

-The BookLifePrize

 

“This is one of the best books I’ve read this year and I have read over a hundred so far! This is a nail biting, page turning masterpiece that will completely have you mesmerized and under its spell by the first few chapters!” ARC reviewer

 

“Great, fast-paced fun story with lots of twists and turns
that kept me turning the pages. It has elements of academy, romance, scifi, and thriller that kept me up late reading.” ARC reviewer

 

**Order from the author and get extra goodies!**

Author’sStore * Amazon * BookBub * Goodreads

 


Kristen Illarmo is a New Orleans-based author of young adult science fiction and fantasy. Her action packed, character-driven stories explore the ripple effects of real-world choices, set in decaying societies and with tangled family dynamics. Her debut duology, Kirasu Rising, was featured at the 2023 Louisiana Book Festival.

 

Website * Instagram * TikTok * BookBub * Amazon * Goodreads



Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!


Against the Red Sky: Mission X


Monday, October 20, 2025

Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Extraterrestrial Noir by Rich Leder


EXTRATERRESTRIAL NOIR
by
Rick Leder

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by
Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

SciFi
Publisher: Laugh Riot Press
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Page count: 568 pages

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

A PSYCHO-CRIMINAL EXTRATERRESTRIAL ON A SUBURBAN CUL-DE-SAC 

A FAMILY ON THE BRINK OF ALL-ENCOMPASSING INSOLVENCY

 

A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD UBER-GENIUS DAUGHTER IN THE LINE OF FIRE

 

CAN SHE SAVE THE FAMILY, NOT TO MENTION THE PLANET?

 

An extraterrestrial crashes into a suburban cul-de-sac Colonial, absorbs every binary bit of information ever chronicled in all of human history, rearranges its molecules and presents itself as a couple of late and legendary film noir superstars, then immediately displays an appetite for debauchery, depravity, decadence, and destruction, seducing the family into its psychopathic criminal orbit with irresistible Hollywood panache, alluring sexual charisma, and inconceivable intergalactic powers.…all in the name of saving the family from their emotional, marital, and financial ruin.

 

But uber-genius-daughter Mike Devine figures out fast that the extraterrestrial’s principal plan is to employ its unfathomable interplanetary muscle and implode the planet. Which leaves the fate of her family, not to mention the world, in her twelve-year-old hands.


CLICK TO PURCHASE!


ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

“That’s almost six trillion miles per year—a single light-year,” Mike said.
 
“So, if they travel at light speed, they should be here pretty soon,” Maggie said.
 
“Better make extra pancakes,” Connie said.
 
“That’s lame, Dad,” Danny said.
 
“It’s witty, son,” Connie said. “You’ll understand when you get older.”
 
“I hope not,” Danny said.
 
“Not too soon,” Mike said. “The distance from Earth to the edge of the universe in any direction takes forty-six point five gigalight-years.”
 
“How many light years in a gigalight-year?” Connie said.
 
“A billion,” Mike said.
 
“What does that mean in Earth years?” Maggie said.
 
“Voyager 1, our most distant space probe, traveled fourteen light-hours, not even one light-day, and that took thirty Earth years. So, it would take about twenty-two thousand Earth years to travel the same distance light travels in one light-year. About one quadrillion and one hundred two trillion Earth years to reach the edge of the universe.”
 
If that’s a question on the genius test, I wonder which part of the light-speed equation Mike will only get ninety-two percent right, Maggie thought.
 
“What if they were coming from the closest galaxy?” Maggie said.
 
“Andromeda,” Mike said. “Twenty-five hundred Earth years.”
 
“Long time,” Maggie said, and she turned off her flashlight.
 
“The meteors should have been here by now,” Connie said.
 
“I saw something up there,” Maggie said.
 
But something up there had seen her and made a sharp turn toward Earth.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rich Leder has been a working writer for more than three decades. His credits include eight novels for Laugh Riot Press and 19 produced movies—television films for CBS, Lifetime, and Hallmark and feature films for Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, Longridge Productions, and Left Bank Films. 

He’s been the lead singer in a Detroit rock band, a restaurateur, a Little League coach, an indie film director, a literacy tutor, a magazine editor, a screenwriting coach, a wedding consultant (it’s true), a PTA board member, a HOA president, a commercial real estate agent, and a visiting artist for the UNCW Film Studies Department, all of which, it turns out, was grist for the mill.


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One randomly chosen winner will win a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card.







Monday, October 13, 2025

Review Tour & Giveaway: Above the Clouds by Tim Vee


ABOVE THE CLOUDS
by
Tim Vee

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by
GoddessFish Promotions.
Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Post-apocalypse / Dystopian / Sci-fi / Horror
Publication Date: February 14, 2025
Page count: 169 pages

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

In a ruined, distant future of our world, filled with rain, gloom, and danger, Squirt and her sister Dara fight to survive as part of the underground clan, hunting meat to survive and clinging to the edges of existence.
 
When Squirt encounters a mysterious figure above ground, her life is upended. Taken to a gleaming paradise above the clouds, she finds herself trapped in an idyllic prison, where everything seems perfect—but is danger hiding in plain sight? Does Charlotte, her enigmatic and gentle companion, hide secrets behind her perfect smile? Does Mrs Wallis, the tower's cold matriarch, watch Squirt with a predator's patience?
 
Below, Dara hunts alone, trying to find meaning in her life and haunted by her sister's disappearance while whispers of betrayal within the clan force her to choose between being a victim or fighting for her survival.
 
As the sisters' paths converge, truths are exposed: immortality comes at a terrible price, and the ones they've trusted most may be their greatest enemies. Above the Clouds is a haunting tale of the fight for survival and identity, asking the question: What does it truly mean to be human?

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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

She made it to the side of the ruins, ducked under a concrete slab, and crouched silently, listening and watching the darkness. She allowed her ears and eyes to acclimate to the noises and darkness of the ruins, the dripping water, the scurrying of a rat, the rattle of a falling piece of rock, and the sounds men made.

She sniffed and smelled something. Something cooking.
 
Rat! she thought.

Moving slowly and cautiously, she crept out from her hiding place, not making a sound. She climbed onto a slab of concrete laying diagonally and crawled upward until she was looking down at where Chagga sat on a rock, roasting a pair of skinned rats above a fire. Adam was standing, shaking and banging the water off his furs. Chagga was speaking.

“...Tomorra, when the hunters head out, make sure our men are on guard at the big tube that comes in by the butcher…”

Hidden in the shadows above, Dara silently slipped her quiver from her shoulder.

“...That is where we attack…Once we have taken control, all those who have no faith will be butchered, and we will call Major Tom, and he will pick up, and he will send the riders, and we leave for Marbro Country!”

She rolled onto her back and slid two arrows from the quiver.

“Can you trust this bandit, Barg, father?” said Adam.

Gently, she laid one of the arrows on the concrete, and the other she notched.

“No,” said Chagga firmly. “But I need them to do in the guards while you kill the chief.”

She rolled, holding the bow with her left hand, pulling the bowstring back.

Kill Adam, and the others won’t know the plan? she thought. Or kill Chagga, and there is no plan?

She closed her left eye, pulling the string tighter.

Kill them both!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tim works in digital marketing in Toronto and is well-traveled, having visited over 80 countries. When he is not working or writing, he likes to spend time with his family and German Shepherd and go cycling.


REVIEW:
5 stars!

An excellent tale of life in a post-apocalyptic world. 

Above the Clouds by Tim Vee is a captivating tale of life in a future, post-apocalyptic world of crumbling ruins and a simple, desperate, day-to-day existence. Three sisters, Zell, Squirt, and Dara, are part of the Clan, an organized community of survivors of some civilization-ending event, who live in a world of darkness, damp, and scrabbling insects in underground tunnels left from BEFORE. Their way of life is brutal and primitive, yet each member of the Clan works to pull their own weight to sustain the community. The sisters do their part by hunting for meat on the surface above, and one by one, they unexpectedly come to find their future outside the Clan, leaving the others behind to grieve. 

This story was so addictive that I didn’t want to put it down, and I absolutely wasn’t ready for it to end when it did. The plot’s tension starts high and continues to build as the sisters encounter heart-pounding challenges to their way of life. Each girl is unique but shares a drive to do their job as a hunter the best they can, and their persistence serves them well when they end up outside of the Clan’s protected tunnels. 

The author’s descriptions of the settings and action are cinematic in quality, and I could easily see this story serving as the launching point for a film or television series. I got vibes of Jean M. Auel’s world in CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR and that of the city dwellers in Suzanne Collins’s THE HUNGER GAMES but used in a completely different manner. As there are questions left available to further exploration, I would love to see this story continued in additional books. 

With its compelling plot and engaging characters, I recommend ABOVE THE CLOUDS to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction.


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Tim Vee will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.