Reprise Review: Night Undone by @AuthorKSBrooks

Genre: Action-Adventure/Thriller

Description:

“Former Special Agent Kathrin Night is not adjusting to civilian life. More than a year after her career-ending injury, she still can’t get the hang of it. This is wearing thin on her lover, Russian FSB Agent Aleksey Khovechkin, who tricks Kathrin into seeing a psychiatrist specializing in post-military/espionage patients.

The therapy doesn’t go exactly as Aleksey hopes, but before he can react, Russia recalls him to make him an offer he can’t refuse. Before his departure, Aleksey reveals his deepest, darkest secret to Kathrin. Had he, in fact, used her to escape his duties in Russia, or was his allegiance to her?

Determined to see justice served, Kathrin hatches a scheme to help Aleksey while at the same time reviving her career in espionage. The Vancouver Winter Olympics could be the perfect venue for her plan, but can she pull it off without destroying their relationship, causing an international incident, or getting either of them killed?”

Author:

K.S. Brooks has written numerous books in multiple genres including romantic suspense, satire, and educationally oriented children’s books. She is administrator of Indies Unlimited (a multi-author blog “celebrating independent authors”), where you can often catch her pontificating on matters of interest to both readers and authors.

For more, visit Brooks’ website.

Appraisal:

As with the last book in this series, Kiss of Night, this book is character driven more than the typical story in this genre. However, the action, adventure, and intensity are jacked up, as you’d expect from an action-adventure or thriller. Much of what leads to that action is driven by Night’s desire to find a way for her and Aleksey to work together in a way that will satisfy the desires and needs of both.

Night Undone not only satisfied my need for a vicarious adrenalin rush, but left me wanting more to see where Night and Aleksey’s relationship goes next. Brooks has a history of long waits between books in this series. Hopefully, I won’t be waiting too long.

Buy now from:       Amazon US    Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and situations.

This is the third book featuring Kathrin Night. The first of these, Lust For Danger, I haven’t read and don’t feel this is required to get the most out of this book. However, the second book, a novelette called The Kiss of Night, has a lot of Night’s history as well as establishing much of the backstory for this book. Although this could possibly be read as a standalone, I’d recommend reading The Kiss of Night first.

Added for Reprise Review: Night Undone was a nominee in the Thriller category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran December 27, 2013.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Reprise Review: Bad Book by @AuthorKSBrooks @StephenHise & @JD_Mader

Genre: Satire/Parody

Description:

“The name’s Case. No first name. He is a man among men and therefore only one name is sufficient. Women want to smack him – men want to smack him, too, just harder. Join Case on his epic travels through multiple literary genres as he ruins horror, space-adventure, noir detective, spy-thriller, westerns, classics of literature, pop culture icons and more with his own unique panache.”

Authors:

Three people who write a bunch. Want more?

K.S. Brooks has written everything from thrillers to children’s books (I count eleven, not including those where she was a coauthor or contributing author, which adds another handful – the number of fingers on Honey Boo Boo’s hand if you count this book).

Stephen Hise is the author of the suspense novel Upgrade and has contributed to several others including Creepier by the Dozen, a short story anthology written by Hise, his son, and his daughter. He’s also the founder and (with Brooks) the co-administrator of the Indies Unlimited website.

JD Mader has two novels to his credit, a short story collection, and a collection of essays to scare any dad-to-be, You Hate Me Because I’m Pregnant (a survival guide for expectant dads). He’s also contributed to and co-written several others.

For more, visit the individual websites for Brooks, Hise, and Mader.

Appraisal:

Humor may be dependent on the reader, but if you can’t laugh at this book, you must have had a funny-bone-ectomy as a child. The laughs started with a disclaimer that begins …

Bad Book meets or exceeds the recommended daily allowance of vowels and consonants, and is safe and effective when used as directed. Use of Bad Book in any manner inconsistent with its intended purpose nullifies its warranty, which is neither expressed nor implied.

… and finishes with, “If you experience an erection that lasts more than four hours, congratulations.” It only gets better from there. As the hero (villain, idiot, or at least protagonist) Chase bounces from genre to genre the authors poke fun at every one with references to the wild (or is it mild) old west and even the books J.K. Rowling wrote before The Casual Vacancy.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and tottered around to see some geezer dressed in a long gown and a pointy hat like that old dude in that book about that weird little kid that goes off to some magical school to find a ring. What’s the name of that thing again – “Hobbits Take Manhattan,” or something like that.

How could you go wrong for less than a dollar to get your own copy of the Kindle Edition. (Hurry, they may try to cash in on the critical acclaim and bump the price up to three digits. Even split three ways, they’ll be hundredaires in no time.)

Buy now from:    Kindle US    Kindle UK     Paperback

FYI: Added for Reprise Review: Bad Book was a nominee in the Humor category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran June 25, 2013.

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Review: Incontinence Man by K.S. Brooks with Nicholas Forristal (illustrator/art effects)

Genre: Graphic Novel/Humor/Superhero/Parody 

Description: 

“Real people turned into comic book drawings! An aging crime fighter who can’t control his intestines! A sexy nurse, a dangerous foe, and a loyal servant. Our hero must fight danger at every turn, and not a bathroom in sight!

Out on the big hill overlooking Gothingham, trouble brews in the bowels of Payne Manor. Luke Payne, a once-effective crime fighter, has become a recluse — a toilet never far away. His trusty servant, Alfreda, makes him an offer he can’t refuse: see a doctor about his incontinence issues, and she’ll fashion him a new crime-fighting suit out of stylish brown tones to, you know, conceal his shortcomings.

Will Luke go to the doctor? Will he be able to defeat a new arch-rival who’s come to town? Will he get his superpowers back? Did he actually ever have any superpowers? Why are we asking so many questions? Some of the answers may or may not be inside this spoof comic book, with images derived from real people in staged scenes.”

Author:

“K.S. Brooks has been writing for over thirty years. An award-winning author and photographer, she has written more than 20 titles, is currently the co-administrator for the superb blog Indies Unlimited and is founder of "Authors for Hurricane Sandy Library Recovery" and the "Liberty Library" for soldiers and veterans.” Learn more about her at her website.

“Nicholas Forristal has a B.S. in Psychology (aka a B.S. in BS). With his "free" time, he regularly dislikes house work, remodeling his home, and a sordid list of other lousy tasks. When no one is looking, Nicholas works on The Chronicles of M, an ever growing series of fantasy books that range from Historical fiction, to modern day wackiness. He's published some other stuff in the past. For example, a psychological paper on perception, but no one cares about such things. That's for nerds.” Learn more about him at his blog.

Appraisal:

This is the first graphic novel I have ever read for a review. I was embarrassed for Luke Payne; however, I snorted and laughed so hard I peed a little all while reading this spoof of a superhero suffering from a bout of incontinence. Sure he could have worn Depends, but one doesn’t connect those dots unless you are an elderly person. I remember when I was once taking a certain medication that caused sudden bouts of explosive diarrhea and I never thought about using adult diapers. (I wish I had and so do the people I was with!) Incontinence is a real problem people! Someone has to talk about it and I am glad Ms. Brooks is brave enough to tackle the subject with this fun parody on a superhero. 

I have to wonder how often Mr. Forristal lost control of his sphincter while illustrating and adding art effects to this pile of sh… words, words! Words is the word I was looking for here. Honest! The fact that Ms. Brook’s own photos were used and artistically manipulated by Mr. Forristal was creative brilliance. 

At any rate, everyone needs a copy of this short graphic novel in their throne room. Who doesn’t keep reading material in there? You will find common sense, as well as the beginning of a romance, misunderstandings, a revengeful nurse, inconsiderate men, and some super powerful toilet paper. All while reclusive Luke Payne strives to make the world a nicer place, despite not having access to clean public restrooms. 

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Expect lots of toilet humor. 

Format/Typo Issues:

I ran across no issues and I was able to read this on my Kindle Paperwhite; however, the pictures were gray tones. Reading the book on my computer offered a more colorful and more enjoyable experience. A color eReader, although not necessary, is recommended.

Rating: **** Four stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate page count: 26 pages