#Throwback Thursday – Rosepoint Publishing

The Atlantis Stone (The Project Book 12) by Alex Lukeman – An #Audiobook Review #atlantis

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

Book Blurb:

A photograph forgotten for a hundred years holds the key to finding the legendary lost civilization of Atlantis and an ancient artifact of mysterious power. When a letter with the photograph and a faded map of Egypt shows up in the mail, the Project is launched into a search that takes them from the depths of the Atlantic to the sands of Egypt and places unseen for thousands of years.
Elizabeth Harker’s Project team is caught up in a power struggle between two of Russia’s vast intelligence services. As the trail to Atlantis emerges from the mists of the past, the team is stalked by agents of a man who will stop at nothing to gain another rung on the ladder of his ambition.
Whoever succeeds will gain knowledge to benefit the world or destroy it. The stakes don’t get any higher…
Can the Project keep the secrets of Atlantis out of the wrong hands?

My Review:

Yes, I’ve found a treasure trove of Alex Lukeman novels, The Project series audiobooks through Free Audiobook Codes for Audible. Here is my chance to catch up on the ones I missed. I was astounded to see there are twenty. This time I chose The Atlantis Stone, The Project Book 12.

For those who aren’t familiar with this series, it began with White Jade in 2011. The Project Book 20 was released in March 6, 2020, The Lair of Anubis.

In this episode, the team is mostly back (minus the fella still recuperating from the last mission). They don’t quite have that exuberant edge they did in the beginning. When Selena gets a package with a map and some pictures of hieroglyphics she sets about to decipher them. This is her forté. Her discovery sends them into foreign lands to investigate. Unfortunately, the Russian team has been on the same cryptic mission of discovery and follows them. If she is successful, it won’t just prove the legend of Atlantis but find an artifact of mysterious power that would answer a lot of questions passed through down the eons.

Elizabeth Harker’s Project Team answers to no one except the president and she has his ear. The team has long been under investigation by two highly classified intelligence teams in Russia and they’ll likely be caught in their power struggle as they clash with each other as well as The Project. Selena’s Russian half-sister, Valentina, is fully engaged in the other side and almost as competent as Selena.

Atlantis has long been the subject of philosophical historical discussion. Did it exist or not? If so, what happened? These stories originate somehow, but like garden-variety gossip, perhaps facts get distorted. So many theories…so suspend your disbelief and just enjoy this possible premise.

These narratives are punctuated with a lot of fascinating ideas and facts, non-stop action, good guys and bad guys, strong, beautiful, intelligent, and very proficient women. It’s iconic, pure escapism adventure. At this point, there is little character development except for occasional back reference and while you might enjoy as a standalone, it’s always good to follow the origin and growth of characters by starting with Book 1. Alex packs his clean reads with strong characters and a touch of romance.

Years ago, before I started posting reviews on his blog, I read a ton of digital books from Bookbub and got started with The Project series by Alex Lukeman. Many were shared with the CE and we both devoured what we could get at the time as we were on the road. Many were also shared on Goodreads and only one, I’m sorry to say, was shared on this blog as a #ThrowbackThursday, The Seventh Pillar, Book 3, September 14, 2017. I also read White Jade #1, The Lance #2, The Seventh Pillar #3, Black Harvest #4, The Tesla Secret #5, The Nostradamus File #6, The Ajax Protocol #7, The Eye of Shiva #8, Black Rose #9, and The Solomon Scroll #10. After a while, we didn’t have to think about it, just said: “It’s a Lukeman.” A go-to-author. Check him out.

Book Details:

Genre: Espionage, Men’s Adventure

ISBN-10:
ISBN-13:
ASIN: B01FKRBG8C

Print Length: 258 pages
Listening Length: 6 hrs 34 min
Narrator: Jack de Golia
Audible Release Date: May 13, 2016
Source: Free Audiobook Codes
Title Link: The Atlantis Stone

The Author: Alex Lukeman writes action/adventure thrillers featuring a covert intelligence unit called the PROJECT and is the author of the award-winning books The Tesla Secret and High Alert. Alex is a former Marine and psychotherapist and uses his experience of the military and human nature to inform his work. He likes riding old, fast motorcycles and playing guitar, usually not at the same time. You can email him at alex@alexlukeman.com. He loves hearing from readers and promises he will get back to you.

#ThrowbackThursday – Moon Signs by Helen Haught Fanick

#throwbackthursday-winter

Renee began the #ThrowbackThursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. I’ve gathered up some old reads and reviews from Goodreads to share with you–a good book never gets old. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out. And, if you’d like to join the fun, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic from her website. Just provide the link back to her please).

This week I am highlighting Helen Haught Fanick, another terrific, prolific author who wrote Moon Signs (Moon Mystery #1), which I reviewed on Goodreads. This novel was published on October 6, 2011 and now has five in the series with a new one to be added this year. She consistently runs approximately 4-5 stars for any of her books sold on Amazon.

Originally posted July 2, 2015

Book Blurb:

Retirement is a time for knitting, gardening, and an occasional quiet lunch with friends, according to Kathleen Williamson. Her sister Andrea has an altogether different point of view. When the sisters go to the Canaan Valley to search for paintings mentioned in a document found in an old hotel once owned by their grandparents—paintings that might be Monets—Andrea immediately becomes involved in tracking down a murderer. Kathleen would much rather be looking for the paintings, but she goes along with Andrea, since the victim was their hotel-keeper, murdered just down the hall from their room. The question is: Does the murder have something to do with the elusive paintings?

There are many clues and many suspects, including hotel staff, valley residents, and the mysterious foreigners who come from the Eastern Seaboard for skiing. There are also many types of danger—icy roads, sub-zero temperatures, and a killer who doesn’t care how many people die in the attempt to make sure the right ones do.

My Review:

Taking a short break from their retirement, two sisters (a widow and never married school teacher) go on a search for possible Monet paintings acquired by their grandparents who owned and decorated a West Virginia ski resort hotel. Their niece works out of the lodge as a ski instructor and is in love with the male co-owner whose recalcitrant “sister” is found in unfortunate circumstances very early into the plot.

I enjoyed several aspects of the book in that the protagonists were intelligent, mature senior women, Kathleen (the narrator) being the widow with a slightly dependent affinity while her take charge, level-headed former school teacher sibling, Andrea, charges full steam into the mystery leaving the discovery of the Monet paintings one of the sub-themes. She is definitely on the nosy side. Also enjoyed was the interaction of the sisters–found to be pretty plausible. There is a second fatality, but we are spared the gory details as well as the mushy romance between the niece and her struggling lover.

They eventually fit in the painting search, discuss whether or not the moon position had anything to do with the doin’s, and include a moody teenager among the characters. Leveled for a senior sensibility, interesting deviation from the usual testosterone driven, four-letter mentality, it’s a cozy mystery and although well-plotted tends to take it slow and easy. I downloaded the free ebook from BookBub and liked it. Would recommend to those who enjoy a mystery with a different but trending, emerging protagonist focus.

About the Author:

Helen Haught Fanick - author Helen Haught Fanick is a member of a family of writers. Her mother was the author of many children’s stories and articles. A brother is a well-known newspaper editor who has won more than twenty national awards. Another brother writes short stories, and his wife is the author of a memoir. And even closer to home, her son, Ben Rehder, is the author of two popular series–the Blanco County Mysteries and the Roy Ballard Mysteries.

Helen is currently working on the sixth novel in her Moon Mystery Series. These books are set in West Virginia, Helen’s home state, and the novel in progress takes place in the beautiful Canaan Valley. Watch for Blue Moon, Black Heart in 2019. And if you’re not familiar with the Moon Mysteries, check out Moon Signs–it’s free for Kindle.

You can reach Helen through her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Author

More Throwback Thursday Blogs

Renee at Its Book Talk

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Rebecca at The Book Whisperer

Lynne at Fictionophile

Sam at Clues and Reviews

Holly B at Dressedtoread

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Annie at The Misstery

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Laurie at Cozy Nook Books

Ann Marie at LItWitWineDine

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Cathy at Between the Lines

Amy at Novel Gossip

Diana at A Haven for Booklovers

#ThrowbackThursday – The Hawks of Kamalon by Michael Reisig

Throwback Thursday-The Hawks of Kamalon

Renee began the #ThrowbackThursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out. And, if you’d like to join the fun, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic from her website. Just provide the link back to her please).

This week I am highlighting Michael Reisig, another terrific, prolific author who wrote The Hawks of Kamalon, which I reviewed on Goodreads. He has actually written a number of amazing books and series, many of which I’ve already alluded to on this blog, either introducing a new Key West series novel, a Caribbean Gold series novel, or another Throwback Thursday offering. This novel was published by Write Way Publishing on December 16, 2013. He consistently runs approximately 4.5 stars for any of his books sold on Amazon. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading one of his action-adventures, you owe it to yourself to check them out!

Originally posted February 20, 2015

Book Blurb:

The Hawks of Kamalon is an amalgam of gripping science fiction and wonderful storytelling, with imagery that becomes more believable with each page. A Number One Nation-Wide Best-Selling Book for Books In Motion Audio Books!
A small squadron of British and American aircraft depart at dawn on a long-range strike into Germany, but as they cross the English Channel, the squadron vanishes.

Drawn thousands of light-years across the galaxy by Kamalon’s “Sensitive Mothers,” ten men and eight aircraft are greeted by a roaring crowd in a field before the provincial capitol, on the continent of Azra; a land in desperate need of champions.

Captain Ross Murdock and the ’51 Squadron are cast into a whirlwind adventure of intrigue, treachery, and romance as they are “culled” back and forth across the universe, outwitting and outrunning the Germans, while they attempt to foil the invasion of Azra by the neighboring continent of Krete.

The Hawks of Kamalon is a heart-hammering adventure in the classic tradition of Robert Heinlein, but it also examines the parameters of faith and friendship, the qualities that define civilization, and the width and depth of spirit.

Continue reading “#ThrowbackThursday – The Hawks of Kamalon by Michael Reisig”

#ThrowbackThursday – author Melissa Stevens – Book Review

#ThrowbackThursday

Renee began the Throwback Thursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Sounded like a good reason to join! Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out. And, if you’d like to join the fun, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic from her website. Just provide the link back to her please).

Change by Melissa Stevens This week I am highlighting author Melissa Stevens and stepping considerably beyond my comfort zone in genres (shape-shifting, fantasy). I met Melissa when I also had a table at the craft fair in Yuma at the Country Roads RV Park, probably my favorite of the delightful RV parks where I sold my grandfather’s books during the winters of 2013/14 and 2014/15. Melissa published Change, the first in the Kitsune series in January 2012 (which I reviewed on Goodreads), and was light years ahead of me in promotion. She obviously had a solid marketing plan and knew how to manipulate the ins and outs of Kindle and Smashwords. Change was newly revised in 2017. She is a prolific author who has gone on to writing stand alones, another series, as well as collaborating with another author. She was part of Wicked After Dark, a paranormal romance anthology that hit #13 on the New York Times Bestseller’s list in October of 2015. It would appear she is progressing nicely!

Originally posted April 1, 2014 Continue reading “#ThrowbackThursday – author Melissa Stevens – Book Review”

Rosepoint Reviews-September Recap and #Bookstagram Fun

September was busy! Reading and writing furiously, nine new books including many ARC’s, #ThrowbackThursdays highlighting some of my old favorites, and a new #Bookstagram feature I created called “Wharf Reads.” (I love that tree!)

Wharf Reads - Hello Again by Brenda Novak

Well, I didn’t really name it, but looking to ramp up Instagrams, got myself into yet another project consuming WAY too much time! Continue reading “Rosepoint Reviews-September Recap and #Bookstagram Fun”

#Throwback Thursday – Just The Pits – Hetta Coffey Mystery, Book 5 – Book Review

Renee began the Throwback Thursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk” to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Sounded like a good reason to join! My TT posts will not come from current ARCs or new releases. Means I’ll be going back over some of my oldies but goodies, my favorite authors, and some of my favorite stories from authors you might not have previously experienced. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out.

Originally posted December 4, 2013

Just the Pits – Hetta Coffey Mystery, Book 5

Book Blurb: As a self-employed engineering consultant with a penchant for oddball—read: shady—projects, Hetta Coffey has a history of inviting trouble. But now that she’s been hired for a legitimate mining project in Mexico’s Baja, it looks like smooth sailing ahead…until she discovers that people and pesos are disappearing faster than you can say, “This job is the pits!” And Hetta Coffey as a sleuth? Goodness knows she’s nosy enough, but her detective skills leave a lot to be desired. Luckily for her she gets help from her best friend, Jan, and a mysterious Velveeta thief. Continue reading “#Throwback Thursday – Just The Pits – Hetta Coffey Mystery, Book 5 – Book Review”