“The Devil’s Backbone” is a crazy, delightful blend of science fiction, action adventure, psycho-thriller, and epic Western fantasy with some of the best dialogue I’ve read in a while from an indie author. Holy cow, did I enjoy myself on this wild ride! We follow Sadie Bishop, who is recovering from a massive trauma, as she embarks on a dangerous jaunt through the Badlands of a futuristic America. In this world, only Citizens (basically people who pay off all their debts and remain good little worker bees) can reap the benefits of society—good food, medicine, and the best technology the world can offer. Gaskill has crafted a world that felt so natural to where our current society might be headed, and I LOVED the social commentary that was tied to that. He does a great job of presenting it “as is” rather than beating the reader over the head with a message that is best left as a tumultuous undertone to this futuristic land. Anyhoo, Sadie is plagued by something deep in her urging her to forgo the comforts of Citizen life and head out into the treacherous no-man’s land, where those dangerous men and women who lost their Citizenship now scrape by in a new Wild, Wild, West. Why does Sadie feel such a compulsion to go out there? She doesn’t know, but she can’t ignore the call, either. While that point got a little murky as the story progressed, I really can’t say enough good things about Gaskill’s novel!

Growing up, I loved hearing stories and reading books about dragons. I love good dragons (like those in the Dragonriders of Pern series) and I love greedy evil dragons, (think Smaug). So obviously I enjoyed that this book has both kinds of dragons inhabiting a fantasy world under siege in need of a prophesized one to come in and save the day. This book follows the same formula you find in most adventure/fantasy novels, where a young person (who is living their normal boring life, ignorant of magic or anything fantastic) is met by a person from another realm, begging for help. Saying, essentially, “help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.” That’s pretty much what you get with this book, but with more flavors of Snow White then Star Wars (sorry?).

“Hiding In Third Person” is, on the surface, about an orderly in a mental institution gaining the trust of a patient in order to learn the truth behind his fantastic story about runaways and murder, and keep the troubled man from going to another facility. But things are not as simple as they appear, and the patient, Mr. Rivers, has a story that many think is false, but Ricky, the orderly, knows otherwise. It’s a storyline that should be thrilling, with an intriguing mystery as to what’s real, and who is responsible for Mr. Rivers’ ultimate fate, but the story didn’t really achieve that for me by the books’ conclusion.

****I received the book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review****

“Chromosomes” is a great action-packed page turner. Despite the ominous cover and mildly scary synopsis of a young girl who gets abducted on her birthday and is kept imprisoned by a mad scientist to be tossed at a young man who is not all—and more—than he appears to be, this book is more young adult in its nature than horror, or even thriller. But that’s what I liked best about it. Its themes feel familiar, it has heavy doses of science fiction, mixed in with young adult and romance genres, but everything flowed well together. Reynolds tells this story in first person from the eyes of Emma, and I loved it. First person is such a hard perspective to write in, and the author did a marvelous job, making Emma, and everyone (and thing) she encounters feel authentic, and gripping. I had to force myself to put the book down and get back to work on more than one occasion!

***I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review***

“Delusional”, at its core, is the story of a professional young woman who has her head down, focused only on her work, constantly trying to remove herself from office drama in order to exceed in her career. Which gives her a rather bland personality, Patricia’s only vice is adhering to a strict exercise regimen, and pining to find a new romantic partner because, according to her life plan, it’s about time she start hunkering down and start a family. Then Patricia sets her sights on a married man, and things start getting weird, leaving Patricia to wonder if she’s losing her mind, or if someone is tormenting her, and if so, who, and how? For Patricia’s symptoms and visions are so outlandish, that they can’t possibly be real, right? Right.