Book Review: Time Slice by Kerry Downing

Time Slice

By Kerry Downing

Release Date: June 11, 2011

Summary: Newly retired workaholic Roy Washburn is not ready for a life of leisure. On a trip to the mall with his wife, he finds a small metal cylinder with odd markings. One nudge of the cylinder's triangle-shaped pointer and Roy finds himself embarking on an exciting new adventure in the Time Stream. There he meets The Traveler, a tall, gangly being who shows Roy how to use the cylinder to visit other civilizations that co-exist on "his" Earth, each occupying a different, thin Time Slice. The Traveler solicits Roy's help in recovering an object invented by his murdered father and beyond his own reach. Roy is his last hope. At first it seems that the Traveler's wish might be easily granted. But after Roy's wife Emily becomes ill and his daughter's long-held resentments rise to the surface, he can no longer "travel" at a moment's notice. He also discovers the very real physical and mental risks involved in roaming the Time Stream. Despite the dangers, Roy is determined to help the Traveler. But he can't do it alone. Fortunately he has a loving wife and a core group of loyal friends. But first he must convince them-and his daughter-that he isn't crazy ...


Review: I normally don't read straight sci-fi books, so it was nice being able to read one for a change! Time Slice is all about a guy named Roy who finds a device that allows people to travel through different slices of time. The idea of being able to travel through slices instead of time was really interesting and the author does a great job introducing his readers to this new idea. 

The characters in the book were really interesting too. Rah, the alien from another slice, was a really cool character and I liked how he became good friends with Roy, despite his freakishly tall stature and living in a completely different slice. Roy was pretty likable and I enjoyed how he wasn't perfect; his wife loved him but his daughter resented him for never being there was she was little. The book was a bit slow at times, but the originality of the story made that aspect bearable. 

There were sad parts and nail-biting parts, but in the end this book ended up being a little predictable. I think if there was more of an element of surprise or something unexpected happened, the story would have been more enjoyable. The part of the story I really enjoyed was how the story started at a certain point, went back to explain how Roy ended up where he was, then by 3/4 of the way through came back to where the book started. This gave the story an element of mystery in the beginning and kept the reader intrigued. So overall this book was a pretty enjoyable, original story. I would recommend it to those in the mood for a simple, new sci-fi book.

Blog Tour: Time Slice by Kerry Downing

Today I am excited to announce that Peace Love Books is a stop on the Time Slice blog tour! Here's a little bit about the book! 

Time Slice 

By Kerry Downing 

Release Date: June 11, 2011

Summary: Ordinary People. Extraordinary Adventures. Science Fiction with Heart.

Newly retired workaholic Roy Washburn is not ready for a life of leisure. On a trip to the mall with his wife, he finds a small metal cylinder with odd markings. One nudge of the cylinder's triangle-shaped pointer and Roy finds himself embarking on an exciting new adventure in the Time Stream.

There he meets The Traveler, a tall, gangly being who shows Roy how to use the cylinder to visit other civilizations that co-exist on "his" Earth, each occupying a different, thin Time Slice. The Traveler solicits Roy's help in recovering an object invented by his murdered father and beyond his own reach. Roy is his last hope.

At first it seems that the Traveler's wish might be easily granted. But after Roy's wife Emily becomes ill and his daughter's long-held resentments rise to the surface, he can no longer "travel" at a moment's notice. He also discovers the very real physical and mental risks involved in roaming the Time Stream.

Despite the dangers, Roy is determined to help the Traveler. But he can't do it alone. Fortunately he has a loving wife and a core group of loyal friends. But first he must convince them--and his daughter--that he isn't crazy ... ***Check back tomorrow for my review of this book***

About the author:

Kerry Downing set out to become a meteorologist, but was hooked by the world of computers instead, becoming a systems analyst and programmer. Astronomy and science fiction are his passions. He’s been gazing at the stars at all hours of the night since the age of 10, when he received his first telescope. As for science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke and his brand of “it really seems as if it could happen” has always been his favorite. In the 90s, Kerry found the third love of his life: his wife, Lucy. They live in St. Louis, Missouri, with their five children. Time Slice is Kerry’s second science-fiction novel. His self-published, debut work is The Collective.

Check here for more information on Kerry Downing and his novel: 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords 

Kerry Downing's Website

Kerry Downing's Blog

Twitter

Time Slice Blog Tour Site

Historical Romance Blog Tour and Giveaway

I am super excited to announce that Peace Love Books is a stop on the Secrets of an Accidental Duchess blog tour today! Here's a little bit about the author, Jennifer Haymore...

Why writing? Have you always loved it or was there a point in your life where you discovered that's what you wanted to do?

I’ve always loved it. I thought I’d spend my life just doing it for fun because I had it in my mind for the longest time that becoming published was a pipe dream.

Why did you decide to write historical romance?

I actually started off writing historical fiction--my first completed novel was a historical fiction novel. But my critique partner was a romance writer, and she told me that my book was really focused on the relationship between the hero and heroine and that she thought romance might be the way for me to go if I was serious about getting published. She was right. J


If you could be anyone from any of your books, who would you be and why?

I’d be Jessica Donovan, the youngest Donovan sister. She has so much spirit and goes after what she wants with everything she has (and she usually gets it). She makes an appearance in SECRETS OF AN ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS, but she finds her happily ever after in book 3, PLEASURES OF A TEMPTED LADY, which comes out in August, 2012.

Secrets of an Accidental Duchess

By Jennifer Haymore

Release Date: January 31, 2012

Summary: With her pale hair and slim figure, Olivia Donovan looks as fragile as fine china, and has been treated as such by her sisters ever since a childhood bout with malaria. But beneath her delicate facade, Olivia guards a bold, independent spirit and the kind of passionate desires proper young ladies must never confess... 

It was a reckless wager, and one Max couldn't resist: seduce the alluring Olivia or forfeit part of his fortune. Yet the wild, soon-to-be Duke never imagined he'd fall in love with this innocent beauty. Nor could he have guessed that a dangerously unpredictable rival would set out to destroy them both. Now, Max must beat a madman at his own twisted game-or forever lose the only woman to have ever won his heart.  ***Check out my review of this wonderful book right here***

***Giveaway***

For being a part of this tour, I have two copies of Jennifer Haymore's book to giveaway! Just fill out the rafflecopter below! US only! Giveaway will end February 10th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox is a meme that I picked up from The Story Siren's blog. It's where we share the new books that we've gotten for that week with our readers. These books could be from the library, the store, or from the writers/publishers for review. Whatever the reason, I will share my new books every Sunday!

From the Library 

I had quite the successful trip to the library! I am so excited to start reading these books, especially THe Perks Of Being a Wallflower because I want to get through it before the movie comes out! Now if I just had time to pick them up in between all of the books I have to review, I'd be happy even happier!

From the Publisher

I love contemporary retellings of old stories, and this one is the retelling of Anne Boleyn set in LA. I love the color of the cover and it just sounds like a great read! The blog tour is on Tuesday, so make sure to come back then to check out my review! 

That's it! What did you all get in your mailbox this week? Please share! 

Movie Review: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

Summary: In the 4th installment of the Mission Impossible series, Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt by the team to stop him at the Kremlin ends in a disaster, with an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF being implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to invoke Ghost Protocol, under which the IMF is disavowed, and will be offered no help or backup in any form. Undaunted, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks to Dubai, and from there to Mumbai, but several spectacular action sequences later, they might still be too late to stop a disaster.


Review: I haven't seen the other three Mission Impossibles (at least if I haven I don't remember them), so I went into this without any big expectations. That being said, I feel like it ended up being just okay. It seemed like the entire movie all they said was "this is impossible" or "oh well, guess it's all over" and it got annoying really fast. Yes, I know this is Mission Impossible, but it's not like you have to remind us every 5 minutes. Other than that little thing, the rest of the movie had its ups and downs. 


The action was pretty good; the fight seems were awesome and the gadgets were cool but I felt like there could have been more. The storyline was just okay and I got confused at some parts, especially because some characters weren't really explained so I had no idea who they were. Some scenes were pretty cool though, especially Tom Cruise scaling an insanely tall building or Tom Cruise chasing a bad guy through an insane sand storm in India. His team was okay, but I feel like the girl's story wasn't really believable because she just complained about her boyfriend or whatever he was who had died. I really liked the other two guys though, so I guess they made up for her. 


So overall, the fourth installment of this movie was just average when it comes to the big hype that comes with it. It wasn't as amazing as I though it would be, but it still wasn't bad. I would give this movie a 3.5 stars, but more on the lower side. I just don't think it was good enough to deserve a whole 4 stars. I don't really know what this movie was missing, there just could have been more. 

Shelf Candy Saturday (24)

Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews and every Saturday, bloggers choose a book whose cover really catches their eye. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but I always do, so I'm choosing books whose cover alone made me pick it up. So I hope you enjoy my shelf candy!

I remember seeing this cover and I knew right then that I had to read this book! Too bad it doesn't come out until June :( But it looks so good! I'm a sucker for any book where there's a couple that looks completely in love on the cover. When I looked at the summary, it said that the story is like Romeo and Juliet and I totally get that from the cover! They look "tempted" to kiss each other, but it's a temptation because they know it's wrong! And the lighting and colors behind them really make the cover work. I just love looking at this cover and am excited to see it in person when it finally comes out! 

Follow My Book Blog Friday (26)

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Question: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kick ass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male? 

Answer: Oh, I think you all know what my answer is going to be. All of my favorite books have to have sweet, romantic guys who will stop at nothing to get the girl that they want! As long as that happens, I am bound to love the book! Like having a guy write forever on your shoe because he wants to be with you forever...

Or when there's a guy who will do everything in his power to make your life perfect...

*sigh* Okay, I think you get the point. And now I'm going to watch a Nicholas Sparks movie for the thousandth time while eating a tub of ice cream and pretending that that's me in the movie. Because guys like the ones in those movies (and books) are what have made me addicted to reading :)