REVIEWED BY L.A. ASHTON

​Genre: Action/Light Sci-Fi

Pairings: F/F, M/F, M/M, MMFF (polyamorous setup for future installments)

Queer Rep: Bi/Pansexuality, Polyamory

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence.

My Rating: Four Stars

[Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

Synopsis

This novel was described to me as “Resident Evil” meets “Maze Runner” by the author, and honestly that was all it took to hook me. Going in with as little knowledge as possible wound up being an excellent experience, and I would recommend the same to you. The gist? Nasty zombie-esque creatures, an evil mega-corporation, and main characters who are trained to kill. What more could an action junkie ask for?

General

Omen Operation is an action packed thrill ride that will have you screaming for answers just as much as it will have you screaming for everyone to kiss. It is a new adult novel that ages the characters right beneath your gaze and forces a group of wildly varied individuals to tackle a horrifying situation. It satisfied not only my thirst for well-written on-page violence, but also for soft found families and a bisexual disaster MC.

Plot

From start to finish, this novel delivers everything it promises. Action, intrigue, and just-beneath-the-surface-please-God-kiss-already sexual tension. Something I wasn’t expecting was the overwhelming sense of found family illustrated between all the leading characters. It was a soft mortar that held the sharp edges of the book together, and it was expertly done. The fondness and familiarity they had in each other, the comfort and casual adoration... it was enough to make my heart swell every time. That sort of love and trust created something in them and in me. It wasn’t enough to just love the main character; if she adored someone else, so did I. If they loved another, oops—now I do too. I became happily entangled in their web, and it made every interaction something I wanted to read.  
It also made me absolutely desperate for them to kiss, please, SOMEONE, ANYONE, GOD--
One of the main themes of the novel is something the MC wrestles with quite extensively. It felt like love vs. reality, or perhaps how our insides sometimes clash with our outsides. What appears to be outwardly “right” simply can’t be so, what we feel must sometimes be allowed to override logic. What’s left of ourselves if we set aside all feeling? The struggle our MC faced was a real one, and it was satisfying if sometimes painful to watch.

Setting

The setting changed often, but was always described with intricate detail. It was easy to get a sense of where our characters were at all times

Characters

Do I even need to do this? They were all great. They were very different, but not in a cliché or eye-rolling fashion. They felt very much like real people we could all know and love. There is no perfect or infallible character. They were not built on stereotypes. I have a feeling the author has an extensive backstory for every single one in their head, and I hope one day we get to see some of it.  Hopefully, also, with more kissing.

The kissing thing isn’t actually a complaint. I love slow burn.

I’m just dying inside.
 
I honestly feel so blessed having read this book when I did, as the second instalment of the series will soon be up for preorder. I can’t wait to see more of the characters and unravel more of the mystery behind them. If you’re at all interested in action novels or found families, I highly recommend giving this title a read.

Taylor Brooke’s official site is here, and their twitter is over yonder.
 
Note: I am an Amazon Associate and I am using affiliate links. These do not affect you or my reviews.
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From NineStar Press:
Omen Operation (ebook) — $5.99
From Amazon.com:
Omen Operation (print) — $15.99    |    Omen Operation (ebook) — $5.99
 


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Genre: Horror/Post-Apocalyptic

Pairings: N/A

Queer Rep: Bisexuality

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence,  discussion of self-harm, suicidal ideation, emetophobia, domestic violence, pregnancy, childbirth, and gore.
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REVIEWED BY L.A. ASHTON

M. Rose Flores’ official Facebook is here, and her twitter is over this way.

Note: I am an Amazon Associate and I am using affiliate links. These do not affect you or my reviews.

From Ninestar Press:
The End (ebook) — $6.49
From Amazon.com:
The End (print) — $15.99    |    The End (ebook) — $6.49



[Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

Synopsis

Being a teenager is rough. Being a queer teenager? Moreso. And being a queer teenager during the zombie apocalypse, well... at least it can’t get any worse.

Cate’s life takes a cataclysmic turn on her seventeenth birthday. Now living in a world where the dead live and the living have lost their humanity, Cate and her sister struggle to survive. As if suddenly having to acclimate to zombies being a real thing isn’t bad enough, Cate soon discovers that not all zombies are as simple as they seem, and she just so happens to be immune to their virus.
General
“The End” is a book with a strong voice and a focused plot. If you’re itching for a zombie thriller, the biggest strength of this novel is that it’s everything you expect it to be. Unfortunately, its biggest weakness is that it’s everything you expect it to be.

Plot

My first few moments with The End had me jumping back to the book’s listing to check for a Young Adult tag. The End is not shelved as a young adult novel, and I honestly believe that was an error on the press’s part. The age of the characters notwithstanding, the narrative is highly colloquial and felt geared toward a younger reader. Or, at the very least, for someone looking to read YA.

The book is told on two timelines: “THEN” and “NOW”. This works well for the piece, and helps give the reader momentum. It was a saving grace at times, as the catch 22 for this novel becomes apparent very early: this book will give you the zombie story you think you want, but it will almost never surprise you.

We’ve seen zombie stories plenty: The Walking Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Day of the Living Dead... you get the picture. We know the rhythm and tropes by now. This novel follows them almost to a T, which made some of it fall just this side of boring. I could guess how things would play out, what would be introduced next, etc. Unfortunately, the hook the author promises in the synopsis—zombies who aren’t “just zombies”, and an immune MC—makes almost no impact on the narrative. Yeah, fighting the abnormal zombies is a bit rough, but they don’t do anything truly jarring or horrifying, and you never find out the how or the why behind them. For the most part, there’s not even speculation. Cate and her comrades handle them the way they handle all the rest, and they move on. I wanted something creepier, or something with more narrative weight, and all I got were some zombies that could run.
On the other foot, I’m a picky jerk about a lot of things, but I’m even more of a picky jerk when it comes to written action. M. Rose Flores is good at action, describing things clearly and succinctly with just enough gross “oomf” when necessary. In general all her descriptions and prose were wonderful. She had a tendency to over-explain things to the reader—obvious things that we could glean from context or would inherently understand—but the cadence and feel of her words was good. If she plays it less safe with her next project, she could hit one out of the park. She just needs to do the weird thing, give us the plot twist we weren’t expecting, and give the middle finger to some of the standard genre tropes.

Setting

The descriptions were good, so the setting was fine. We’re given the rundown towns and cities you’d expect from a zombie apocalypse. I actually wish the characters would have spent more narrative time in one place so we could have explored these places more; it was difficult to get attached to places and people when Cate and Melody moved at such a break-neck pace.

Characters

Cate is a cool kid. You get a sense of her character right away from the narrative style, and it sticks with you. She is just a kid though, and I sometimes had to remind myself of this when she did something stupid. Would teenage me have been smart enough to know better? Maybe, but maybe not. She also deals with real problems that make real sense given her current (awful) circumstances, and I liked seeing a proper portrayal of the mental strains a person would face.
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I really liked Marco. I eventually grew attached to Calvin as well, but some of the more superfluous characters (especially toward the end) didn’t really stick with me, which made the climax less impactful.
 
I think if you’re looking for a YA zombie narrative, The End is for you. If you want something that’s gonna knock your pants off with new ideas, it’s not for you. If you just want to chill alongside some dudes while they cleave into zombie heads, dig in! Despite my very par feelings about this particular novel, I look forward to what else Flores will bring to the world.

A while back I had the pleasure of writing a book review for a fantasy horror novel called Daimonion, by J.P. Jackson.  It was one of the first M/M stories I'd ever read, and the first horror I'd read in years.  As such, it's fantastic to welcome J.P. to ceLEStial books for an Author Q&A. 


​1. What book is next in line on your 'to read' list? What drew you to it? 

See that’s a hard one to answer, because right now I have a string of books I’m reading as a judge for an awards contest, and I can’t very well state what I’m reading! Let’s just say that there have been some great books, and some not very good books. Regardless of the quality of the story, it’s been fun and I’ve been introduced to some ‘new to me’ authors!
 
But if we’re talking personal reading list? I have a couple that are on hold until I’m done my assigned reading:

One Bullet by Casey Wolfe
When Heaven Strikes by F.E. Feely Jr.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
 
What drew me to my personal selection?  Well, Casey is a fellow author at NineStar and I’ve been meaning to read this book for a long time, and it’s had great reviews. I’m looking forward to picking that up!

When Heaven Strikes – I’ve become online acquaintances with the author and after reading reviews and having other friends recommend the book, I really want to give this a read.
American Gods – well, because it’s by Neil Gaiman!
 
2. Aspiring writers often undertake a lot of research about publishers. In the spirit of helping those writers find a publisher that's right for them, could you tell us about your experiences with NineStar Press?  

My experience all started with a Twitter contest.  I pitched my recently completed (at the time) book Daimonion, Book One of the Apocalypse.  When NineStar Press liked the tweet – in all honesty – I knew nothing about them.  After doing a little digging, I decided to submit my book to them, and then I forgot all about it.  Two weeks later I got an email with a publishing contract. I haven’t looked back since.
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Now, keep in mind I’m a newbie in this game. Unlike others who have also been published at NineStar, this is my first novel ever, and I was unbelievably fortunate to get it published.  But frankly, I can’t imagine looking elsewhere. The folks at NineStar Press have been nothing short of amazing to work with, incredibly supportive and have encouraged me to attempt new projects.

3. The Beatles or Elvis?  
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Ha ha ha …oh, that’s funny. Neither! But if you’re going to make me choose one, I’ll say The Beatles.

4. I've read your new speculative horror novel, Daimonion and I got the feeling you undertook a fair amount of research into the supernatural. Was that the case? Did your research play an important part in forming the plot?  

Absolutely. I spent hours creating and developing themes, creatures, backstories, and even a grimoire. Even though my book is based in the realm of fantasy, I still needed it to have touches of realism.  There’s a scene in the book where Dati steals a car from a drunk driver, and the driver argues back (obviously), and Dati punches him in the head, knocking him unconscious. I spent probably two hours online researching if that was even possible, what kind of a punch would do that, how much strength it would take, etc.

The magical elements, well, a lot of that may seem random, but I did a lot of searches to make sure I had the correct elements (colors, plants, crystals etc) for the various spells. I may or may not have a small library of my own to choose from!

As for the demonology aspect – some of the creatures are completely made up, others are borrowed from mythology, and some are well known tropes and demon archetypes. Still I wanted to stay true to them, if not create them in a bit of a different way.

Even the names for all my characters have all been researched. Their meanings all trace back to values that are true to the characters they portray.
  

5. If you could re-make any Disney movie to include more gender and sexual diversity, which one would it be?  

***Rubs hands together with a mischievous little grin***

Okay, see, now this is where you get to see how twisted my mind is.  Funny you should ask me this because recently, my husband and I watched the live action version of Beauty and the Beast, and I was totally captivated by it. I thought they did a fantastic job, but all the while I was watching the movie, I couldn’t help but think Belle’s name should have been Beau, he needed to be some muscular farm hand, and be lured off into the woods to become the Beast’s captive.

Except even when they did fall in love, the Beast still remains the beast.

How’s that for switching things up a little?
I know, I’m weird.
I’m sorry.
I’ll go sit in the corner. Again.

6. Which character in Daimonion would you most like to have a drink or a meal with? Why?  

​Well Master is out of the question – he’s just an asshole.

Jenae would drive me completely insane in five minutes, so no.

I’d actually like to sit down with both Dati and Alyx, but the Alyx after his change (I’m not going to elaborate on that. ;o)  ). Dati is a complicated mess, but I’d want to have the opportunity to touch his tail, and Alyx I find to be young, flirty and dynamic. He kind of reminds me a little bit of myself when I was his age, except he’s way cuter, and well, a redhead. Given their dietary restrictions, I think it would be safer to go out for a cocktail or two instead. I think they’d be a fun pair to hang out with. And the funny thing is that I’ve had imaginary conversations between the two of them about situations that are completely removed from the book – like, what would the two of them sound like grocery shopping.
 

7. What are your writing goals for the next twelve months or so?  

Well, the first goal is to keep writing! I have so many hobbies, I need to start balancing some things. But, beyond that, I have two projects in the works right now both are around the 50,000 word mark. One I want to finish here in the next couple of weeks. It’s quite a bit different than Daimonion, a little lighter (I think), but still has demons and magic and mayhem.

After I’m done that project – I think I’m going to shelve the other one for a while and focus in on starting the second book of The Apocalypse series.  It will be called Nephalem.

8. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts! To finish off, could you let us know how people would go about buying your fantastic new book?  

Oh, wow, well thank you so much for having me! It’s been a pleasure. And by all means, people can find Daimonion, Book One of the Apocalypse in the following spots:
 
Links:
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NineStar Press

Amazon

Kobo

Goodreads