Subspecies written by Mike Arsuaga and published by MuseItHot a division of MuseItUp publishing is an erotic paranormal romance at 73,000 words and 19 chapters in length.
Mike Arsuaga lives in Orlando, Florida with his Editor/Author wife Cynthia and his partner-in-crime his Yorkshire terrier, Thumper. Mike has completed careers in the US Navy Submarine Force and The Transportation Security Administration. Mike has already completed the next book in the five part series called Subspecies Inc, he has also published another book titled My Life As A Dog.
When math teacher and vampire Jim/ James White steps into the library out of the rain little does he expect to meet someone intriguing, Samantha Johnson, with a fascination of vampire lore who reminds him so much of his past victims and loves. But there is something about her he can’t quite put his finger on, so when he agree’s to help with her assignment who is it that is really doing the hunting? And who is the hunted?Interrogating Jim about his hobby of vampires Sam drugs Jim and soon reveals that she is in fact a lycan, Jim reveals he is a vampire and both are left in shock of one anothers existence thinking each other to be only myth.
Both meet many times to learn about the other, to listen but their connection lies purely through sex and the hunt.
As time passes the relationship grows and the pair hunt together, sharing kills and decide to create a group of fellow lycans and vampires to spread the word. But as the number of dead bodies grow with the addition of a campus Serial Killer known as The Poser, attention is drawn to the pair and their group by the Police.
With the young runaway Cynthia on the verge of emergence it is down to the pair to protect and help her through this difficult time.
Jim like many other vampires having thought for decades he was sterile, soon discovers that with Sam this is not to be the case and the whole future of the Subspecies is brought into perspective as the dawn of a new future or light at the end of a very dark tunnel is suddenly realised bringing a new hope to all those Subspecies far and wide.
However, with an ex-member of the group threatening to bring their existence to light, the Police getting closer to the bodies in the fridge, and with the campus serial killer The Poser at large could all their hopes and dreams come crashing down.
Subspecies by Mike Arsuaga is a wonderfully written novel that has you feeling for the charaters, often gasping or laughing with them and wondering exactly how big is Jim’s fridge where he stores the bodies.
The beginning of the story seems reminiscent of the movie An Interview with the Vampire, if Christian Slater’s Daniel Malloy were a hot little female lycanthrope entrapping Brad Pitt’s vampire, and vice versa. The talk of diseases which harm species appears in depth and quite interesting.
Even the young Cynthia is a reminder of Claudia from AIWTV except she is much older and in this case not a vampire but a lycan.
For people sex can make or break relationships, for lycans and vampires it is a necessary act that goes deep into their soul whether it be for sex or the hunt.
When you have to hide who you really are but want to help others in your situation the only thing you can do is hide in plain sight and hope that more will find you. So what do you do, create a support group.
Subspecies by Mike Arsuaga is a story with many complicated aspects to its intricately woven plot that dissects the past to save the future of two species. Although there is an increasing body count to lose count of as well as the number of companions Jim has had over the years I would highly recommend this novel to anyone above the age of 18 years, due to the explicit content contained within almost every chapter. A story of love, loss, murder and survival across many variations I give Subspecies an impressive 5 stars.
By R.N.Hadley
12 Dec 2011
9 Nov 2011
Diamonds and Deceit
Diamonds and Deceit written by Amy Talbot and published by Eternal Press is a thriller at 55,000 words across 20 chapters.
Amy Talbot lives in Christchurch, New Zealand and is a multi-published writer of books and articles in both online and printed format. She spends a lot of time reading, writing and editing books as well as teaching people how to read, write and appreciate the art of literature. However her time spent away from writing books is spent as a Freelance Developmental Editor and Creative Writing Tutor.
Grace Summerville runs her families cabins at Lake Tekapo, a place of natural beauty with a rough edge.
When Andre Castile rents a cabin for a few days, Grace wonders what the likes of this man, a city man with far too much money, a sports car and a large chain of hotels is doing here in her little corner of the world.
Having discovered a family betrayal Andre is in search of his brother Marc who having stolen the families greatest asset The Queen of Hearts, a blue diamond over 400 years old, has suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth.
Grace once in love with Marc before his unexpected departure becomes suspect one in Andres hunt for that which belongs to him. But how far will he go to get back that which is his?
When strange red postcards arrive on the doorstep stating that someone knows exactly what is going on, panic sets in and in the middle of nowhere you’d be mistaken for thinking there is anywhere to hide when clearly whoever the mysterious and dangerous Nimrod is, the man behind the postcards, knows all there is to know about Grace and her cabins.
Can she discover the where abouts of The Queen of Hearts?
Who is Nimrod? And why is he trying to kill her?
And what really happened to Marc?
Diamonds of Deceit is a quick witted and fast paced thriller following the recently heartbroken Grace Summerville on a journey to discover what secrets the man she thought she knew and loved had kept secret from her. In the end secrets never truly remain secrets and while blood is thicker than water, love is by far the greatest of reasons to keep going.
A warning to the wise, be careful who you trust because in the middle of nowhere it is more likely no-one is going to save you but you.
Personally being a bit of a thriller fan I was capable of discovering where The Queen of Hearts was hidden however with all the twists, turns and trust issues throughout the story I was gladly mistaken in my suspicions of who the infamous Nimrod could possibly be.
Amy Talbot has done a marvellous job in keeping Nimrod’s identity secret from the reader for as long as possible and setting as many characters up in line for the job each being knocked down at pivotal moments.
For location Amy has chosen a beautiful wild location full of possibilities and has completely used the area of Lake Tekapo to its limit. Searching online it is easy to picture the story taking place here.
I would recommend the book Diamonds and Deceit to anyone over the age of 18 years and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
By R.N. Hadley
Amy Talbot lives in Christchurch, New Zealand and is a multi-published writer of books and articles in both online and printed format. She spends a lot of time reading, writing and editing books as well as teaching people how to read, write and appreciate the art of literature. However her time spent away from writing books is spent as a Freelance Developmental Editor and Creative Writing Tutor.
Grace Summerville runs her families cabins at Lake Tekapo, a place of natural beauty with a rough edge.
When Andre Castile rents a cabin for a few days, Grace wonders what the likes of this man, a city man with far too much money, a sports car and a large chain of hotels is doing here in her little corner of the world.
Having discovered a family betrayal Andre is in search of his brother Marc who having stolen the families greatest asset The Queen of Hearts, a blue diamond over 400 years old, has suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth.
Grace once in love with Marc before his unexpected departure becomes suspect one in Andres hunt for that which belongs to him. But how far will he go to get back that which is his?
When strange red postcards arrive on the doorstep stating that someone knows exactly what is going on, panic sets in and in the middle of nowhere you’d be mistaken for thinking there is anywhere to hide when clearly whoever the mysterious and dangerous Nimrod is, the man behind the postcards, knows all there is to know about Grace and her cabins.
Can she discover the where abouts of The Queen of Hearts?
Who is Nimrod? And why is he trying to kill her?
And what really happened to Marc?
Diamonds of Deceit is a quick witted and fast paced thriller following the recently heartbroken Grace Summerville on a journey to discover what secrets the man she thought she knew and loved had kept secret from her. In the end secrets never truly remain secrets and while blood is thicker than water, love is by far the greatest of reasons to keep going.
A warning to the wise, be careful who you trust because in the middle of nowhere it is more likely no-one is going to save you but you.
Personally being a bit of a thriller fan I was capable of discovering where The Queen of Hearts was hidden however with all the twists, turns and trust issues throughout the story I was gladly mistaken in my suspicions of who the infamous Nimrod could possibly be.
Amy Talbot has done a marvellous job in keeping Nimrod’s identity secret from the reader for as long as possible and setting as many characters up in line for the job each being knocked down at pivotal moments.
For location Amy has chosen a beautiful wild location full of possibilities and has completely used the area of Lake Tekapo to its limit. Searching online it is easy to picture the story taking place here.
I would recommend the book Diamonds and Deceit to anyone over the age of 18 years and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
By R.N. Hadley
24 Aug 2011
The Rajah's Chosen Bride
The Rajah’s Chosen Bride written by Amy Talbot and published by Eternal Press is a romance novel at 54,000 words in length across 15 chapters and 165 pages.
Amy Talbot lives in Christchurch, New Zealand and is a multi-published writer of books and articles in both online and printed format. She spends a lot of time reading, writing and editing books as well as teaching people how to read, write and appreciate the art of literature. However her time spent away from writing books is spent as a Freelance Developmental Editor and Creative Writing Tutor.
Arranged marriages are the norm in Rajput, India.
For Devendra Jain the idea of marriage is completely out of the question, he is happy with his bachelorhood and business travels that take him far afield so he has little time to think on the wants of a family of his own.
That is until he meets Vania di Bergolo at the funeral of her Grandfather Henry in Australia.
Vania, of Indian heritage herself is a challenging distraction to Deven, she is soft and gentle, reserved and determined. Even though they are the same they are also different in many ways. Vania has dreamed of Deven for so long since finding a photograph of him, will the reality shatter the dream.
So when it becomes known to them both, that both of their Grandfathers have arranged for them to be married some 20 years previously, it comes as quite a shock. Even more so for Vania when she learns her’s and her cousin’s inheritance rests on her and Deven saying, I do.
Will past secrets or lovers stop the wedding?
Will Deven or Vania decide to marry? Or go back to their individual lives on separate continents?
Although, perhaps there is a way out of this arrangement or a way around it at least...
The Rajah’s Chosen Bride is first and foremost a romance novel set amongst the opposing backdrops of Australia and India.
The character of Vania aids in the marriage of these two cultures throughout the story sometimes described as a child or child-like she manages to describe for us her experiences and emotions when experiencing something new.
This is a story about family honour; what it means to fore fill or deny a dead man’s wishes. Whether arranged marriages should be practised and whether they can work. This book shows that people are never what they seem and never what we imagine and neither are circumstances. We all have a choice but if you don’t take the risk you will never find out what could be.
What secrets would force you to say I do to a complete stranger? Or how far would you go to keep a secret safe and repay those in pain and release the regret felt for over a decade. Could everything be made ok in one fell swoop?
Secrets old or new can destroy relationships but sometimes just sometimes they can unite people. Here we see whether there is strength in forgiveness and forgetting of the past.
Personally I am intrigued by how easily the dialogue flows off the page and how exact the banter between the two main characters holds the story together and yet progresses it onwards quite fluidly. It is almost as if these characters are talking and the author has heard every single word and recorded it.
Amy Talbot has never herself visited India and one could be mistaken to say that she had, she has painted a beautiful picture of India’s culture and people and I now know that this novel was written from other people’s own experiences along with Amy’s own hard research.
I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this book to anyone over the age of 17.
Amy Talbot and The Rajah’s Chosen Bride receive 4.5 out of 5 stars for an enlightening and often colourful tale of love and honour across the globe.
By R.N. Hadley
Amy Talbot lives in Christchurch, New Zealand and is a multi-published writer of books and articles in both online and printed format. She spends a lot of time reading, writing and editing books as well as teaching people how to read, write and appreciate the art of literature. However her time spent away from writing books is spent as a Freelance Developmental Editor and Creative Writing Tutor.
Arranged marriages are the norm in Rajput, India.
For Devendra Jain the idea of marriage is completely out of the question, he is happy with his bachelorhood and business travels that take him far afield so he has little time to think on the wants of a family of his own.
That is until he meets Vania di Bergolo at the funeral of her Grandfather Henry in Australia.
Vania, of Indian heritage herself is a challenging distraction to Deven, she is soft and gentle, reserved and determined. Even though they are the same they are also different in many ways. Vania has dreamed of Deven for so long since finding a photograph of him, will the reality shatter the dream.
So when it becomes known to them both, that both of their Grandfathers have arranged for them to be married some 20 years previously, it comes as quite a shock. Even more so for Vania when she learns her’s and her cousin’s inheritance rests on her and Deven saying, I do.
Will past secrets or lovers stop the wedding?
Will Deven or Vania decide to marry? Or go back to their individual lives on separate continents?
Although, perhaps there is a way out of this arrangement or a way around it at least...
The Rajah’s Chosen Bride is first and foremost a romance novel set amongst the opposing backdrops of Australia and India.
The character of Vania aids in the marriage of these two cultures throughout the story sometimes described as a child or child-like she manages to describe for us her experiences and emotions when experiencing something new.
This is a story about family honour; what it means to fore fill or deny a dead man’s wishes. Whether arranged marriages should be practised and whether they can work. This book shows that people are never what they seem and never what we imagine and neither are circumstances. We all have a choice but if you don’t take the risk you will never find out what could be.
What secrets would force you to say I do to a complete stranger? Or how far would you go to keep a secret safe and repay those in pain and release the regret felt for over a decade. Could everything be made ok in one fell swoop?
Secrets old or new can destroy relationships but sometimes just sometimes they can unite people. Here we see whether there is strength in forgiveness and forgetting of the past.
Personally I am intrigued by how easily the dialogue flows off the page and how exact the banter between the two main characters holds the story together and yet progresses it onwards quite fluidly. It is almost as if these characters are talking and the author has heard every single word and recorded it.
Amy Talbot has never herself visited India and one could be mistaken to say that she had, she has painted a beautiful picture of India’s culture and people and I now know that this novel was written from other people’s own experiences along with Amy’s own hard research.
I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this book to anyone over the age of 17.
Amy Talbot and The Rajah’s Chosen Bride receive 4.5 out of 5 stars for an enlightening and often colourful tale of love and honour across the globe.
By R.N. Hadley
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