Cats of War (Central Galactic Concordance) by Carol Van Natta – Review

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5 stars, Book Review, Carol Van Natta, cats, mystery, pets, Pets in Space, romance, scifi, scifi romance, series

About Cats of War by Carol Van Natta

A tarnished military Subcaptain, a repair technician hiding from her past, and two genetically engineered cats join must forces to save an important factory.

Military Subcaptain Kedron Tauceti counts the days until he can leave the rare metals factory and his current duty station as the liaison to the galactic government’s Criminal Restitution and Indenture Obligation system. The post was protection—and punishment—for exposing a theft ring during his previous assignment. He’s more than ready to get his career back on track on a new base halfway across the galaxy, even if it means leaving behind the one person who makes him want to stay. Not that he’s told her, because technically, he’s her warden.

Former financial specialist and current indenturee Ferra Barray, hiding from her past, only has three months to go on her restitution sentence. She’s lucked into a tech repair job. If she keeps her head down, she’ll soon be free to figure out her future. Unfortunately, the local shark behind every illegal scheme in the facility wants her to steal for him, and she’s running out of excuses. And now the heroically handsome Tauceti, who she hoped could help, is transferring out.

Everything changes when Ferra discovers two genetically modified cats. Saving them takes incredible risks. She doesn’t know what she’ll do if she can’t convince Tauceti to rescue the cats and keep them until she’s free to come for them.

But when trouble erupts at the factory, it might just be the cats who save them.

NOTE TO READERS: Cats of War debuted in the limited edition Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 anthology. It has been edited for clarity, but is substantially unchanged from the original.

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Review of Cats of War

This is the second time I have read Cats of War. The first time, it was part of the Pets in Space 3 anthology. Now available as a stand alone novella, the second time reading this story, I enjoyed it just as much, if not more than the first time. Like the book, my review has not changed substantially from the first time I wrote about it. 😊

Cats of War by takes place in the galaxy of telepaths, telekinetics and patterners where not having those skills seems to be a major handicap, but having them puts one on the CPS radar. In this story, we have two people who have avoided the CPS trap, but find that sometimes, using your talent for good is worth taking the risk.

Our hero, Kedron, is a quiet nerd (I do love the quiet nerds!) who is trying to stay under the radar until he can get off this planet. He has noticed Ferra, but is not sure if he should open up to the lovely techie. He is pretty sure he should not. That doesn’t keep him from saving up week’s work of technical issues that will require her attention.

Ferra is the heroine who is dodging a past by doing time – voluntarily – as an indentured worker. Kedron is definitely out of her league, but when his repair requests put them together, she can’t help but think he is more than he appears to be.

Their mutual attraction goes unnoticed, mostly, until circumstances force them to spend more time together. Whether it is fixing technical problems with dubious causes, saving animals or fending off the gangster indenturees, Kedron and Ferra make a good team. I think you could say they have chemistry.

Wait – I haven’t mentioned the critters yet. Cats. Flying cats. Flying chameleon cats. Flying chameleon telepathic cats. How cool is that?! The cats are some of the animals that needed rescuing and they quickly worm their way into the hearts of Ferra and Kedron and the reader.

I am a big fan of the Central Galactic Concordance series, but the two Pets in Space stories, Pet Trade and Cats of War may be my favorites. Sci-fi reading animal lovers, this book is for you!

Thanks to the author for providing a copy of Cats of War in exchange for my unbiased interview.

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Ghosts of Gotham by Craig Schaefer – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Craig Schaefer, Edgar Allan Poe, horror, mystery, paranormal, romance

About Ghosts of Gotham by Craig Schaefer

Irresistibly drawn to mysteries, if only to debunk them, reporter Lionel Page exposes supernatural frauds, swindlers, and charlatans. His latest case is an obsession—at least for an ancient and wealthy heiress: verify the authenticity of a lost Edgar Allan Poe manuscript circulating through New York City’s literary underworld. But the shrewd Regina Dunkle offers more than money. It’s a pact. Fulfill her request, and Lionel’s own notorious buried past, one he’s been running from since he was a child, will remain hidden.

As Lionel’s quest begins, so do the warnings. And where rare books go, murder follows. It’s only when Lionel meets enigmatic stranger Madison Hannah, his personal usher into the city’s secret history, that he realizes he’s being guided by a force more powerful than logic…and that he isn’t just following a story. He is the story.

Now that the true purpose of his mission is revealing itself in the most terrifying ways, it may finally be time for Lionel to believe in the unbelievable.

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Review of Ghosts of Gotham

First of all, I have to say I connected with the hero Lionel pretty quickly into the story. You see, it seems he has a fascination with New York that matches my own. That is, we read books and watch TV or movies that are situated in that city, but have never been there. Well, Lionel has been there now and learned that books and movies don’t tell the whole story.

There is plenty going on in the Big Apple and Lionel is quickly subjected to a very dark side of the city. A connection with a mysterious woman – Madison (Lionel thinks possible romcom) puts a highlight on his visit, at least for a while.

The reader, and soon Lionel, will quickly realize that Madison is just as involved as Lionel in the mission – finding and authenticating the Edgar Allan Poe manuscript. I’ve been a fan of the master detective writer for many years, but I was always drawn to his creepier stories. So this book is really right up my reading alley.

Lionel and Madison follow a series of linear clues for what seems a good chunk of the story. They don’t seem to connect back to other clues until much later, but they will connect. Once that started happening, I got to the can’t-put-down-this-ereader stage.

There is a secret New York society (cult), vegetarian dining, a mysterious boss, New York culture and the ultimate supernatural villain who is controlled by something he cannot understand. Oh yes, the goddess Hecate. I would say more about her, but I don’t want to spoil how she makes it into the story. I will mention that the secret identity of Hecate was somewhat obvious to me, but I tend to think in those twisted ways after reading so many twisty books.

I would classify Ghosts of Gotham as paranormal/horror/mystery/romance. Yes, all those. Such a good adventure in the streets of New York! This was my first Craig Schaefer book, but not my last.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Audiobook fans: I just noticed that you can purchase Ghosts of Gotham for $4.99 and then get the audiobook for only $1.99.  Bargain!

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Everything Scottish – Guest Post from Nancy Lee Badger, author of Heaven-sent Highlander

Tags

book feature, guest post, Nancy Lee Badger, romance, series, time travel

There are many time-travel stories about a modern day heroine or hero ending up in the past.   I call these historical romances, and while I enjoy the romantic and historical elements, I always think: Ew, who would want to give up modern conveniences for drafty old castles, food of questionable quality, and, most of all, lack of reasonable plumbing.

How about when the heroine or hero comes from the past to end up in contemporary times?  Now that is the time travel story I can get into.  The Warriors in Bronze series, presents just those types of stories.

Nancy Lee Badger is back at Whiskey With My Book to talk about her newest Warriors in Bronze release, Heaven-sent Highlander.

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Guest Post

Years ago, when I moved from snowbound New Hampshire to sunny North Carolina, I wrote lots of books. In fact, Heaven-sent Highlander is my 26th published novel and I am so glad to share the news with y’all today.

Last year, after Soul Mate Publishing said ‘yes’ to my manuscript for Heaven-sent Warrior, I kept writing. Heaven-sent Highlander has a Scottish Highlander out of his time and a heroine who is a full Fae from the Isle of Skye. My Warriors in Bronze series will include a third book, which is nearly ready to send to my publisher. A love for everything Scottish gets me writing. More ideas come from touring the nearby North Carolina Museum of Art. I also love animals and have included two horses and a Samoyed dog as secondary characters. Why not? This is the second book in the series and will soon be followed by Heaven-sent Flame.

About Heaven-sent Highlander

At an American museum, surrounded by Auguste Rodin’s bronze statues, a Scottish Fae beauty is at a crossroads. Now that Gwendolyn’s friends are engaged, and the demon they fought vanquished, should she return home? After committing a terrible act, she could not explain to her cousin why she had appeared on his doorstep.

Alexander awoke in darkness inside a bronze statue, remembering how the green of Scotland’s Culloden field had turned red with blood that day in 1746. Had he died before awakening nude and sightless in front of strangers in present-day Raleigh, North Carolina? The mystery of how was overshadowed by why. Told that another warrior awoke when a demon threatened to take over the world, had a second demon escaped Hell? When the demon appears and demands Gwen join him, Alex must use all his new skills, weapons, and Heaven-sent powers to keep her and the world safe.

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Excerpt from Heaven-sent Highlander

A tap on the outside of his tomb sent a blast of energy tearing through the Highlander. From the sudden screams of the females, he assumed the Frenchman felt it as well. It was very painful, and his limbs convulsed.

The next moment, air was plentiful, the stone beneath his back gritty, and the scent of something both delicious and sensual forced his nostrils to flare. When he snapped open his eyes, to see the people who had freed him from his dark home, he saw nothing.

“Be this nightfall?” he whispered, finding his throat in desperate need of ale, or whisky. He pushed to sit up with nearly useless limbs. Several large hands grasped him beneath his shoulders and helped him to his feet. He stood as still as his numb legs could manage and blinked. Still nothing. He rubbed his hands over his chest and sides. Recalling a brief memory of a cannon blast, he said, louder, “Do ye see any wounds?”

Still nothing, until a whisper of air and a delicious scent told him at least one of the strangers had stepped closer.

“Sam,” a female voice said, “he is naked.”

Really? They can see all of me, yet I see nothing? Did they know he was as helpless as a newborn bairn? Should he share his feebleness, or would that give them cause to dispatch him without a second thought?

He straightened his shoulders, and their hands fell away. He staggered but kept upright and spread his feet, angling for more control of his limbs. A deep breath was invigorating, but where did the scent originate? Whatever or whoever it was, it filled his lungs with hope and sustenance.

His stomach growled, and the female closest to him laughed. “We should have saved some chicken wings for the lad.”

When delicate fingers stroked his arm, he gasped.

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About the Author

Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island, where school field trips to lofty museums were the norm. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire, where Nancy volunteered as an EMT and firefighter while working full-time. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling show became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved with her husband to North Carolina, where she writes full-time.

Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers. She loves to travel and attend Scottish Highland Games and is never far from her laptop. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places. Connect with her here:

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