Tear ME Apart by J.T. Ellison

Synopsis via jtellison.com:

The follow-up to her critically acclaimed Lie to Me, J.T. Ellison’s TEAR ME APART is the powerful story of a mother willing to do anything to protect her daughter even as their carefully constructed world unravels around them.

One moment will change their lives forever…

Competitive skier Mindy Wright is a superstar in the making until a spectacular downhill crash threatens not just her racing career but her life. During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter.

Who knows the answers?

The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.

With vivid movement through time, TEAR ME APART examines the impact layer after layer of lies and betrayal has on two families, the secrets they guard, and the desperate fight to hide the darkness within.

Miss Ellison is a favorite of mine. She is from Nashville and I get to see my city through someone else's eye. Though, in this particular story, the setting is outside of Nashville, but there are a few references to it. She also has a special place in my heart because she portrays the Nashville Police Department is such a positive light (and we know how the police are ragged on right now). You see, my husband is a retired Nashville Police Officer.
But, this is not the first novel of hers that I have read, and it definitely will not be the last!
Miss Ellison really knows how to weave a good suspense story. She takes you round and round, up and down, and has you guessing all the way through the story. She weaves the lives of her characters so well. It is like a spider's web, you have all these concentric circles and then there are these straight lines that intersect the circles all over the place.
The characters are very well thought out. She has a knack for making you feel for each of them, even the bad guy. The intensity of each of the relationships is what really draws you into the heart of the story and the suspense is such a natural part of the flow. I have read some suspense stories that feel like the author was struggling to figure out a way to add that element of suspense. but not Miss Ellison. Oh no, she is a natural at making her story flow like a meandering stream. it is so inviting and easy to follow, but you never get bored of being along for the ride

The President's Henchman by Joseph Flynn

Synopsis via Amazon:

Imagine the United States has elected its first female president. That would make her husband — what?

Well, if he's the ex-cop who solved the murder of the president's first husband and brought the killers to justice … and if he's not the kind of guy to stand on formality … and if he doesn't want to be the head of the FBI … and if he takes out a license and becomes the first private eye to live in the White House … 

That would make him The President's Henchman.

Jim McGill's first case is to find out who is stalking a member of the White House press corps, before that stalker turns the tables on McGill and maybe even threatens the president herself. He's also called upon to be a shadow advisor to a young Air Force investigator who is looking into a he-said she-said charge of adultery leveled against a female colonel working at the Pentagon, a case with the potential to derail the new president's administration before it has a chance to begin.

First of all let me say this, I actually paid for this book through Kindle. I know I do a lot of reviewing for authors, but not this one.
Generally I do not read political thrillers. Heck, I rarely even read the blurb about them. But for some reason, this stood out for me. I can't say it was the book cover because it's pretty generic. But, the blurb really intrigued me. I did go into the book expecting there to be a ton of politics and for the author to take this opportunity to push his own political views. I was also expecting the story to be a "What if Hilary Clinton was elected?" rhetoric. Boy was I pleasantly surprised.
The story line flows very well with just the right amount of politics to tie the president into the story and help the reader to understand the premise. But the truth is, the story isn't about politics, it's about the human spirit, right versus might, and good overcoming evil. But one of the points I really liked was that good didn't wipe out evil. No, he wrote this from a realistic point of view.
So, what did I NOT like about the book? Well, there were a few times when he got very technical with the specs on boats. I found myself starting to skim over those points and then skipping forward to the point where he went back to the story. My personal opinion is that the story was bogged down by these little forays. But, there were only a few times this happened.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next book in teh series.

The Devil Inside (The Game of Gods book 1.5) by Lana Pecherczyk

Excerpt via Amazon:

GOD. HUNTER. OTHERWORLDLY TRICKSTER. PLAYER.
Cash’s soul was falling apart—literally. That was until Roo, his beautiful progeny, stuck it back together. He returns to his home town intending to train Roo and prepare her for the Game but demons from his past scratch from the inside and when he wakes from a nightmare, almost killing her, he decides she’s better off without him. While he runs from one responsibility, others are thrown in his path. Soon he’s faced with the devastating results of his retreat, and learns that while Roo may have fixed his soul, he broke her trust. When the truth about her identity comes out, Cash must overcome his doubts for the sake of her life, but can he overcome his demons in time?

Marc is a god. The god of the in-between. The messenger between the worlds, traveller between the dimensions, otherworldly trickster, shameless lover of all things. You may have heard of him, he’s been known as Hermes, Hoth, Loki … He’d be able to gloat more about his status if it wasn’t for the fact his years have left him a little flakey and his position has kept him tethered to the world of men. He’s on a mission to uncover the truth about the hunter’s inception so he can foil the plot to overthrow the Queen, and if he impresses the new racy red-headed Player, then props to him. But when a way out of his long service is presented, he’s left with a choice: take it, or follow his new friends into a battle they might not win without him.

SECRETS ARE REVEALED AND PROMISES ARE MADE.

*** AUTHOR NOTE ***
This short novel is bonus book in the Game of Gods series. It tells the tale of the two weeks between book one and two from the perspective of Cash and Marc.

While this book is a short timeline continuation of Soul Thing, it is a new perspective on the story line. I enjoy seeing through different characters' eyes. It's like a 3D view of the story. You get to see so many different facets of each character. There's the side that they need the "world" to see, then there is the side their "friends" need to see, and then there is the "real" side.
I have to admit that I have a whole new perspective on Marc and Cash. Because of this book I actually have a new positive view of Marc and have a renewed appreciation of Cash.
What can I tell you without giving away the story? Let me see. . . In Soul Thing Marc is very arrogant with a "devil may care" attitude. In The Devil Inside Miss Pecherczyk gives us a view of what caused him to act the way he acts.
And Cash. . . this will be almost impossible to explain without giving away the secrets of the story. So let me just say that I fell in love with Cash a little more with this story.
For me, if you are into The Game of Gods series, this is a must read to get more of the background into not only the characters, but the story itself. It will help define what is going on in the story.

Soul Thing (Game of Gods Book 1) by Lana Pecherczyk

Synopsis via Amazon:

After a decade long war, witches have been obliterated, or so the world thinks. A precarious peace settles and, for the small town of Margaret River, life returns to normal, but for Roo, the hard work is just beginning.

Roo works at the local bar, is a little facetious and can’t wait to high-tail it out of there to keep her powers secret. She’s not certain where they came from but the last thing she wants is to be burned at the stake. Hiding in plain sight seems to work until Cash, a darkly handsome hunter, arrives with disaster in his wake. Witches aren’t defeated, only hidden, and there’s one gunning for Roo and her family. The recent war only touched the surface of the preternatural world and with Cash’s help, Roo learns there are worse things that go bump in the night... and she might be one of them.

Soon she must make a choice—risk exposure to save her loved ones, or remain hidden and safe. But sometimes safe isn’t an option. Sometimes safe is a never-ending game.

EVOLUTION IS THE GAME, WITCHES ARE THE GLITCH.

This is my first foray into Miss Pecherczyk's world and I have got to say that I am pretty impressed!
She has a fresh, out of the box take on witches, Gods, mythology, and urban fantasy.
I can honestly say this story is like none I have ever read. I didn't want to put the book down. I wanted to know what happened next, who was going to do what, and how it was all going to affect everyone in the story. There is a bit of mystery, excitement, sexual tension, and life all mixed into one little cauldron of a world.
The characters are well conceived and interact very well together. There isn't any awkwardness in the story line. It flows as seamless as a breeze through the trees.
The amount of real world pain and heartache that is injected into the story is really astounding. It really helps the reader feel something for the characters. I know it sounds weird to have someone say a persons pain is good in a story, but this shows how talented a writer Miss Pecherczyk really is. If she can pull you in and make you feel something for the characters, she has connected the world she created and ours together by each individual reader.
When I finished this book, all I could think of was "MORE!! I WANT MORE!!".