Blog Tour + Giveaway: Expression: Telepaths Rising by Colin D. Vaughn

Searching for new sci-fi to try? Don't miss today's blog tour stop for Expression: Telepaths Rising from author Colin D. Vaughn and Other Worlds Ink! Learn more today and enter in the $20 Amazon gift card giveaway!

Colin D. Vaughn has a new queer multi-racial sci fi book out: "Expression: Telepaths Rising." And there's a giveaway!

It’s the year 2113. Telepaths are real. They’re exalted. Feared. Hunters. Hunted. Kingmakers and slaves. With his expression, Ken is catapulted into the ranks of a tiny elite. With immense telepathic potential, he will have to learn how to use his powers and whom to trust. And quickly. Because there are enemies, both within and without, and they’re not going to wait.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN

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Giveaway

Colin is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47158/?

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Excerpt

Tarrington placed his datapad on the table. “This begins the psychic assessment of Kenneth Jared Kawashima. Nigel Tarrington, Authorized Facilitator of the Ministry of Citizen Services and Mauricio Vargas, an Authorized MCS Liaison from the Ministry of Psychic Affairs, presiding. Also in attendance are the subject’s father, Takahiro Kawashima; mother, Claire Alma Reed; and sister of minor age, Stephanie Fusako Kawashima.”

Tarrington turned to me: “Kenneth, pursuant to the Telepath Registration Act, as a suspected telepath you are required to undergo psychic assessment. You may not decline, delay or obstruct this hearing in any way. You may, however, have the presence of counsel at this proceeding. If you do not have one available to attend within 24 hours, one will be provided to you by the Ministry. Please touch the datapad and state whether you request or waive counsel.”

All of this was rather pro forma – I was surrounded by my family and it wasn’t as if a lawyer could stop or save me from this process. Not that I wanted it to stop. I touched the pad. “I waive counsel.”

The datapad chirped: “Identity confirmed. Waiver of counsel acknowledged.”

Tarrington turned to my parents. “Please touch the datapad to confirm that you have no objection to this proceeding, its recordation, or your son’s waiver of counsel.”

My parents touched the pad and it chirped: “Identities confirmed. Acknowledgements confirmed.”

Tarrington smiled, “Well, now that all that fussy business is complete. I will turn things over to Mr. Vargas.”

Vargas smiled at me, and then, clear as a bell in my head, I heard him sing a jaunty tune: I am the very model of a modern major general. I am the very model of a modern major general.

I laughed and asked him, “So you’re a general, eh?”

He smiled: No, more like a lowly foot soldier, little brother. Ask me a question. In your head – look into my eyes and say the words of your question one at a time. Remember, don’t speak.

I looked him straight in the eyes and thought: Where. Are. You. From?

Honduras. Suddenly I could see a wide stretch of forest, leading to deeply forested mountains, their tops veiled in low-lying clouds. Though I knew I was still crouched on the floor of our living room, I cool also feel moist spongy earth under my feet, a cool breeze across my cheek. This is my home. Well, actually, my hometown is the metropolis of Gracias a Dios, but the rainforests on the outskirts are what I think of as “home.”

For a moment, I almost felt like it was my home, too. I, who had only ever left Tennessee for our family’s annual trip to the Japan Territory, almost ached to return and hike those forests. Gracias a Dios. Thank you.

It wasn’t until Vargas smiled and said aloud: “My pleasure” that I realized that I had spoken to him mind-to-mind again, but in a natural, almost instinctual, way.

Was this what it meant to be a telepath? This incredible sharing, this intimacy? I felt as if Vargas – no, Mauricio– was some long-lost friend. Could he sense the same about me? I was just about to ask him for more when Tarrington clapped his hands once and said, “I take it that it was a success? He’s a true expressive?” I came to and looked around. My family was just staring at me. At me and Mauricio.

Mauricio nodded, then reached and touched the datapad: “Confirmed that subject’s telepathic gene has expressed, as verified through the receipt and transmission of audio, visual and tactile stimuli between subject and myself.”

Tarrington said: “Excellent! Now, Ken… I may call you ‘Ken,’ yes? . . . You understand that you will be more fully and properly assessed by the Psych Ministry at a later point?” I nodded. He then continued, “However, for myMinistry’s purposes an initial, somewhat rough assessment is necessary. Mr. Vargas will perform this. I am sorry for any discomfort.”

Mauricio then said aloud: “Ken, I will now force myself onto you” – at my sister’s gasp, he addressed everyone and continued – “in a very safe and controlled way, I assure you all. Though unpleasant, I will not harm Ken, I promise you.” Then turning to me: “Ken, what you must do is push me away. Pretend there’s a door that you’re trying to push closed. Or pretend there’s a pot on a heating unit bubbling over that you need to slam a lid onto. Or think of it however you think right – trust your instincts. OK, here goes.”

Then, before I could even begin to ponder what Mauricio was getting at, I saw his green light brighten and felt him touch me as he did before, but somehow both heavier and louder than before. Where before I felt like I was sharing with Mauricio, walking in his shoes, I now felt like he was walking on me. Instead of beautiful forests, I saw a man wielding a leather strap. The man – Father! – started hitting me over and over with the strap, shouting. It hurt! God, had this really happened to Mauricio? Or was this all part of the test? I couldn’t imagine my own gentle father or mother (however strict) ever acting so. But – ow! – the bastard kept hitting me! And I felt so angry, that he was hitting me, that he might possibly once have beaten my friend this way. I jumped up and yanked the strap from him. I then pushed him and lashed the strap across his face. He started to back away and I lunged after him hitting him again and again with the strap…”

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Author Bio

Colin is a Midwesterner by birth who lives in Washington, D.C. with his husband. Lawyer by day and aspiring writer by night (and lunch break). Since discovering Asimov and Tolkien as a child, he's had a lifelong love of science-fiction and fantasy. And he has enjoyed the explosion of wonderful stories featuring fellow LGBT and people of color.

But the more he read, the more he realized that he had his own tales he wanted to tell. And themes he wanted to explore - power and temptation, social progress, the fall of civilizations, ways to love, futurism, beloved community, and many more.

He very much hopes you enjoy his story!

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/colin.vaughn.5203

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Colin-D.-Vaughn/e/B08FJBW69M/

Review: Ardulum: Second Don by J.S. Fields

The Charted Systems are in pieces. Mercy’s Pledge is destroyed, and her captain dead. With no homes to return to, the remaining crew sets off on a journey to find the mythical planet of Ardulum—a planet where Emn might find her people, and Neek the answers she’s long sought. Finding the planet, however, brings a host of uncomfortable truths about Ardulum’s vision for the galaxy and Neek’s role in a religion that refuses to release her. Neek must balance her planet’s past and the unchecked power of the Ardulans with a budding relationship and a surprising revelation about her own genealogy.

Ardulum: Second Don blends space opera elements and hard science into a story about two women persistently bound to their past and a sentient planet determined to shape their future.

If you haven’t read the first book then do that now. I didn’t and regret it heavily. There is a lot going on in this story, and even though I picked up most of what I needed, it would have been better for me to know the backstory from First Don.

Now that my recommendation for not skipping ahead is out of the way….

This story was pretty epic. I loved the concepts, the writing style, and the world building. While I’m sure a lot more happened in book one, there is plenty in this book to understand what is going on.

I’m not an avid sci-fi reader, but I do dabble occasionally, and this was high up there in concept and execution. I didn’t feel totally lost once I read through the first few chapters and my mind bent around what was happening in this universe. There was a lot, but it wasn’t messy. There were a few POV but it was to progress the narrative. Nothing was wasted on unimportant detail, and I admire the author’s mind, both in plot, and staying on point. This story could branch off into so many different directions, but there was a clear path and it was easy to follow. I will point out that some of the names for beings and planets were tongue twisters in my mind and well outside my imagination for pronunciation so I gave up a little bit and just pretended I knew what I was looking at. This is because I’m boring and frequently butcher other languages with my ridiculous self. Made up stuff has to be told to me out loud and even then I’ll probably get it wrong. It’s a flaw, and no reflection on anyone else but me. It’s inspiring and admirable that people can create this stuff out of thin air and maybe other people can understand it too.

There is a bit of a thing in this story between Neek and Emn but that isn’t the main focus. The broader politics and what is happening on Ardulum is where this story leads. There is an obvious political situation happening abroad, but more importantly, The planet Ardulum and its inhabitants is going through some turmoil that takes precedence over the wider story arc.

I am also impressed by the conflicting feelings that were triggered by the Eld and their rule. It was difficult to tell whether they were power drunk villains or not. I enjoyed this aspect of the story. It really had my mind racing, and I was eager to understand what the true intent was of the Eld and the Andal.

The relationship building between Neek and Emn was a nice touch. Neek is having a lot of conflicting feels about everything in general, and the beliefs she was brought up with are being completely turned on its head. This emotional turmoil frustrates Emn but she is patient and provides room for a Neek to work through while being forgiving and supportive. I really loved Emn. She had her own issues, but she provided space in her heart for Neek to fit when she was ready.

If you’re looking for romance, this is probably a little light on that, but if you enjoy a great story with fantastic world building, this is definitely one to consider. It took me a while to pick this up, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. I’m excited for book three.

Release Blitz: Machine Metal Magic by Hanna Dare

Celebrate with author Hanna Dare and Signal Boost Promotions for the release of Machine Metal Magic!

Universal Buy Link

Cover Design: Nastasha Snow

Length: 65,000 words approx.

Blurb

The galaxy's a dangerous place. Best not to travel it alone.


It's been over a century since the AIs rose up and attacked, driving humans from Earth and leaving them scattered across the galaxy. Humanity survives, but always fearful of the technology that allows them travel among the stars, never knowing when it may turn against them once more.


An interstellar fugitive.


For Jaime Bashir, born with the ability to communicate telepathically with computers, his gifts are more of a curse. They also make him a target. On the run, he finds himself among a starship crew, one transporting a mysterious cargo. Even more intriguing is Rylan, the muscled guard watching his every move. Jaime has no reason to trust him, but nowhere else to turn.


A disgraced ex-soldier.


Rylan Slate is looking to leave his past behind. Joining a crew of smugglers is one way to do it. But capturing Jaime is both an opportunity and a danger. He starts out as a prisoner, but then becomes something more, testing loyalties in ways Rylan never expected. Will regaining his honor mean betraying Jaime?

A writer-for-hire for more than ten years, Hanna Dare now writes what she loves to read: well-written, character-driven stories of men exploring their identities and discovering their own unique kind of happily ever afters… usually through sexytimes.


Find Hanna on the internet enjoying pretty pictures, procrastination and caffeinated beverages!

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

Review: Countermind by Adrian Randall

In a postprivacy future, secrets are illegal and all communication is supervised. Telepaths are registered and recruited by a government with no qualms about invading the minds of its citizens. Fugitive psychics are hunted by the Bureau of Counterpsychic Affairs, or Countermind.

Alan Izaki is one such fugitive, as well as a hacker, grifter, and thief.
Countermind agent Jack Smith is hunting him through the twisted underbelly of Hong Kong.

But Alan possesses a secret so dangerous and profound it will not only shake Smith’s loyalties, but the foundations of their society.

And Alan isn’t the only one on the run. Rogue psychic Arissa binti Noor escapes Countermind, in search of brilliant game designer Feng Huang. She hopes that together, they can destroy the government’s intrusive Senex monitoring system.

Their goals seem at odds, and their lives are destined to collide. When they do, three very different people must question their alliances and their future, because everything is about to change.

I’m going to go with my initial rating and feelings about this story. I’ve had a bit of time to consider the story, and while I’ve recognise the holes in it, I still really enjoyed this and think this deserves this rating from me.

I binge read this story with only work in between. I really enjoyed the concept of it, and the characters that are part of this story were really intriguing to me.

Futuristic fantasy sci-fi can be a bit hit and miss, and while there were some bizarre bits thrown in, I was so absorbed that it melded into the overall plot in a way that satisfied me.

Alan was a surprise. Extremely intelligent and secretive, we learn more about him through Countermind’s Jack Smith than from himself. The clues are there for the picking, but the unveiling happens slowly, as Jack hunts him as a rogue psychic.

Countermind as an agency was interesting and fairly easy to follow. The supporting characters helped to weave this story together, including Noor and Feng. This subplot created a wider net for this story to encompass, which kept me completely absorbed.

The scenery was a bit two dimensional and didn’t convince me this was set in Hong Kong. I had some difficulty placing the story due to the lack of visual descriptors and world building. Outside of Countermind and the chase for Alan, nothing really stood out to me, which is why this didn’t get a five star rating.

But this story did excite me, and I felt really good while reading it. I enjoyed the characters, the ideas, and the overall story plot. The details were given out slowly enough that I didn’t guess all the secrets right away, and that made me happy. I enjoy following breadcrumbs, but I don’t like to know everything until near the end. I like surprises in my stories and this story satisfied that part of me.

Recommended for those interested in sci-fi and futuristic fantasy. This is not really a romance so ignore the Goodread tags.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion

Find on DSP Publications or Goodreads!

Review: Unspeakable Words (The Sixth Sense #1) by Sarah Madison

2nd Edition

Special Agent John Flynn is everything Jerry Parker is not: dangerously handsome, coolly charismatic, and respected by his peers. Special Agent Parker is dedicated and meticulous, but his abrasive personality has given him a reputation for being difficult. When new information on a cold case appears, Parker is assigned to work with Flynn, and the sparks fly as their investigative styles clash. Contact with a strange artifact changes everything when it bestows unusual and unpredictable powers on Flynn… and the two men must learn to trust each other before a killer strikes again.

First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2010.

This book was a fabulous surprise. It seemed, at first glance, to be your everyday cop/special agent type fic. The important part of the blurb to note is the bit that says "Contact with a strange artifact changes everything when it bestows unusual and unpredictable powers on Flynn… ", it changes this from a straightforward crime story to one with a supernatural twist.

I suspect I could have had a healthy dose of cynicism if I'd thought too much about this before hand. Why ruin a perfectly good crime novel by adding in a supernatural element? Or, why risk a supernatural novel being a boring old crime fic? Luckily, I didn't think about it too much before hand, so no sceptical thoughts formed and I was just swept along in a story that I really, truly enjoyed. A crime stopry enhanced by the supernatural.

The story was great. I loved the characters from the start. I loved how their working relationship developed, how the trust developed and how their feelings developed. Sarah Madison is an author I've not read before but her story kept me hooked and I am itching to read the next in this series. It twisted and turned just the way I like a crime novel to do and kept me guessing at what and who and why. 

The only thing I didn't like about this book, in fact, is the cover - and that's only because the bloke reminds me of Simon Cowell. Not that I've anything against Simon Cowell, but he's just not how I pictured either of the MCs. Not sure I can blame the author or cover artist for my perceptions of the characters in the book though! 

A great read that I really enjoyed and another author to check out more of...

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
For more information see Dreampinner Press or  Goodreads

Blog Tour: Countermind by Adrian Randall

Adrian Randall is making his clubhouse debut today to talk about his new cyberpunk dystopian novel, Countermind.

A queer thing happened when I wrote the first scene of Countermind. Alan Izaki, a fugitive telepath, hacker, and petty thief, is robbing a pawn shop in Hong Kong. Jack Smith, a government agent charged with catching rogue psychics, attempts an arrest. Both of these characters are gay.

I didn’t “decide” to make them gay. They’d already emerged that way, fully-formed, into my imagination. The thing is, as the story grew larger and kept adding more characters, the new arrivals were all queer, too. Here was Arissa binti Noor, a government psychic with dissident sympathies, unaware of the danger awaiting her. And here’s Kim Kyung-min, a privileged neuroscientist who carries a big revolver and an even heavier regret. And then there’s Feng Huang, a brilliant game designer working on a program so secret, even she doesn’t know about it. Every time they showed up, I asked myself, “Is this realistic?” And every time, the answer was “Fuck it, I’ve already got psychics. This is nothing.”

“Realism” as a critique of representation is kind of misleading. Of course queer people are real, and they really could end up in the same story together. And those stories don’t have to be “queer” stories. We care about coming out, and being accepted, and winning equality. But we care about a lot more things besides, like privacy, and freedom, and art (and even dumb shit like video games). So it’s not unrealistic for queer characters in a cyberpunk dystopia to find themselves caught up in a tense game of cat-and-mouse as their agendas bring them conflict with each other before they (hopefully) end up working together for a greater good.

“Queersploitation” is a pretty new term, coined by comic scribe Steve Orlando (who’s doing yeoman’s work of his own in expanding representation) to describe a queer take on the exploitation genre. It doesn’t have a concrete definition yet, though it’s a useful label for the broad set of stories about queer people doing badass shit. (And that’s not something that has to be justified as realistic, because we already rock pretty hard.) Even if the term itself is new, the genre has been around for a long time. Melissa Scott’s Trouble and Her Friends is a great example—I don’t think Countermind could have been written if she hadn’t already carved out a space for queer cyberpunk escapades.

I loved writing Countermind because I loved watching these compromised, driven, awesome characters kick some ass. I hope you’ll love them, too. Check them out.

Blurb

In a postprivacy future, secrets are illegal and all communication is supervised. Telepaths are registered and recruited by a government with no qualms about invading the minds of its citizens. Fugitive psychics are hunted by the Bureau of Counterpsychic Affairs, or Countermind.

Alan Izaki is one such fugitive, as well as a hacker, grifter, and thief.

Countermind agent Jack Smith is hunting him through the twisted underbelly of Hong Kong.

But Alan possesses a secret so dangerous and profound it will not only shake Smith’s loyalties, but the foundations of their society.

And Alan isn’t the only one on the run. Rogue psychic Arissa binti Noor escapes Countermind, in search of brilliant game designer Feng Huang. She hopes that together, they can destroy the government’s intrusive Senex monitoring system.

Their goals seem at odds, and their lives are destined to collide. When they do, three very different people must question their alliances and their future, because everything is about to change.

Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Buy link: https://www.dsppublications.com/books/countermind-by-adrian-randall-357-b


Excerpt

It was past midnight, and some parts of Hong Kong actually did sleep at this hour. The pawnshop was near Kwai Chung, its customer base mostly local workers pawning valuables just to squander their money on the races, men who wouldn’t have the resources to track down the goods they’d put up as collateral. Alan had chosen the shop for its proximity to a body of water, and it was just a minute’s hard sprint to the nearest container yard, then through that to the channel.

Alan charged downhill on roads still slick from the afternoon’s rain, gleaming with the reflected glow of the city. No neon signs or electronic billboards, just streetlamps and a few lit office windows. Droplets ran in steady trickling streams off the buildings, canopies, streetlights, AC units. Steel shutters of closed storefronts shimmered wet, and Alan’s skin glistened in the damp air. He didn’t hear any pursuing footsteps, didn’t bother turning his head to check.

He’d only gotten a brief glimpse of the attacker in the pawnshop, but that had been plenty. The man looked just a few years older than Alan, Eurasian, tall and lean, hale, clean-cut, clean-shaven. His attire had been dark but utterly nondescript. There was an impression of a black suit jacket, black slacks, and a black button-down shirt (but no tie, and open at the neck). Alan hadn’t the time for more lingering impressions, but the man would’ve been attractive under more civil circumstances.

The man wasn’t the shop owner, and was too well-dressed to be another crook or a triad member. That probably meant law enforcement, ample reason for Alan to make the quickest possible escape without sparing even a backward glance.

Alan vaulted from the sidewalk over a steel railing, dashed across the street, leapt another rail, and charged down a covered stairway, letting gravity lead his charge toward the water, angling toward the red lights atop the cargo-loading cranes just visible over a row of gently swaying palm trees. He hit the next street with such speed he lost some momentum to a brief stumble. A red-and-silver taxicab blared its horn at him, and Alan ducked under the canopy of a shuttered dim-sum shop to get his bearings. He glanced up at the building corners in the nearest intersection and spotted the closed-circuit cameras. He couldn’t see which way they pivoted in their housings, but didn’t think they’d have a clear look at him where he stood. Just to be safe, he’d have to circle around, keeping shy of major streets if he was to stay clear of any more traffic cams, though his pursuer couldn’t be far behind.

Or was it pursuers? The man had attacked Alan alone, not a standard practice for an officer of one of the world’s most famous police forces. If he was a government agent, he had to know what Alan was, right? And what such agent would be so reckless as to challenge a rogue telepath completely solo? Alan doubted even a state psychic would risk such a confrontation, and this man had given no sign of being a psychic himself, had not attempted any telepathic attacks, relying entirely on physical force. Who was he?

Whatever he was, if he caught Alan, it would mean death or worse. He had no need to know who this man was, only to escape him.

Alan pulled his jacket tight around him and popped the collar up. He turned a corner for a side street with fewer cameras and fewer lights and strolled a leisurely path into the shadow of an elevated highway, traffic rumbling above him. From there, he made his way through a hole in a chain-link fence he’d prepared earlier tonight with the help of his bolt cutters, slipping into the container yard, and then he sprinted across the yard toward freedom.

He ran straight into the agent.

The man stepped around the corner of a container and flashed Alan a razor smile as he kneed him in the stomach, allowing Alan’s own momentum to double him over. Then the man threw Alan into the side of the steel container with a clang that echoed inside his head as his arm was twisted behind his back. Alan was strong for his size, but the agent was using some sort of judo leverage shit. Alan tried to wrench free, nearly succeeded, and then the man compensated for his strength by spinning him into the side of another container.

The man tightened his hold and hissed into Alan’s ear.

“How many counts of resisting arrest?”

Alan gasped, gulped, and tried to talk his way out, forcing the words. “Come on, man. You never said you were arresting me.”

“I thought it was implied. You did flee.”

“After you shot me!”

“With a government-issue ranged electroshock device. Pay attention.”

The agent tripped Alan roughly to the ground and buried his knees in Alan’s back. His hand forced Alan’s face against the concrete, and Alan wheezed as the air was squeezed out of his lungs.

Alan screwed his eyes to the edges of their sockets, trying to see up through the corner of his eye. The light of a passing ship winked between the container towers and slid over the man’s features: dark eyed, dark haired, darkly smiling.

“Resist some more,” the agent said. “I don’t need to excuse brutality, but it helps with the paperwork.”

Alan realized—a bit belatedly and with scant sense of relief—that he was now very much in danger of physical harm.

He expanded his thoughts outward and upward, seeking out the luminescent glow of his assailant’s mind as if reaching for a firefly in the night. He found it, wrapped telepathic fingers around it, and squeezed tight.

There you are, Alan thought at him.

Fleeting impressions of the man’s surface cognitions filtered through the permeable membrane of Alan’s consciousness: mild surprise, then recognition, and then a strange kind of resigned satisfaction.

“And there you are,” the man whispered.

 
Author bio

Adrian Randall is a PhD and a dual-class bureaucrat/scientist. A native Floridian, he lives in Alexandria with the love of his life and their many beautiful board games. He has a tenuous grasp on reality, owing to a steady diet of novels, comics, and other distractions. All his ideas start as character backstory for MMOs and RPGs, and he does all his writing while listening to video game soundtracks. So if he's gaming instead of working on a book, it's not procrastination, it's workshopping. He usually spends his free time geeking out about some damn thing or another. You can geek out with him through any of his social media channels. If he doesn’t respond, it means he broke his phone again.

Twitter: @cyberpreppy

Tumblr: cyberpreppy.tumblr.com

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/cyberpreppy

Review: Heartifact by Aisling Mancy

Harper Kidd is a highly respected marine archeologist. Yet, with the economy in a slump, he’s trapped working in an oil company’s exploration division. Now, at the ripe age of thirty, Harp is disgusted with his employer’s damage to the undersea world he loves, tired of his ATM-card-filching ex, and tormented by beautiful dreams of an undersea lover. It’s time for a change and when his best friend, Stick, pleads with him to assist on a deep-sea dig in the Mediterranean, he jumps at the chance.

Harper’s spirits are high when they discover the ruins of an ancient civilization, and soar to the heavens when they discover a statue of an ancient pelora, a mysterious hybrid creature said to mediate between the worlds of reality and fantasy—and the very lover who holds the starring role in his dreams.

When the crew discovers the site is teeming with unexploded ordnance from the conflicts in the Middle East, and the excavation turns deadly, Harper must choose between saving his best friend and the pelora he’s fallen in love with.

The net proceeds from this book benefit The Trevor Project in the US, le Refuge in France, and Arcigay in Italy.

NERDS! This one might catch your fancy!

If you're a nerd who loves mythology, marine archeology and a lot of nautical terms, there are terms galore in Heartifact by Aisling Mancy. It's a research dense novella that stars a marine archaeologist and a trapped mythological deity that only get physical in the mind. A mythology-dense contemporary suspense with romantic tones Are you nerdgasming yet? I have a microfiber cloth for your fogged up bifocals. Oh baby!

Dr. Harper Kidd is having a rough time in reality. He doesn't have a romantic partner, he's not working on a job that best uses his capabilities. His best friend offers him an out by joining her on a mission in the Mediterranean where the pay is great and there is possible treasure (of the historical variety) to be discovered. But from the beginning of the story as Dr. Kidd's life appears to be what he'd like it to be, it seems his subconscious has created a dream man that takes care of his sexual needs.

A creation that he can't see, but knows ALL of his thoughts and desires.

But the dreams feel real. And what starts as sporadic, moves to a constant night time occurrence. Harper's dream man is taking over, meshing into his reality as he and his friend, Stick and the archaeology team discovers ruins that hasn't been touched for centuries.

Something Harper is drawn to...especially when a discovery at the site seems to be a centuries old statue of his dream lover.

Pelora or Dr. Manhattan?

His dream lover, or Pelora is described as this otherworldly being that is ripped and blue. And once the descriptions were given, I couldn't get Dr. Manhattan out of the brain.

I'm unsure how to categorize Heartifact.

Is this romance? In a way, it is. And in a way, it isn't. The great thing about romance is that it's subjective. Heartifact doesn't fall under the traditional romance category. So if you're a reader who needs tradition, I wouldn't recommend. However, if you like puzzling history/mythology laden suspense trips, well then...welcome aboard.

The subject matter is interesting, the plot is fast paced. The mystery is not easily solved. But while the story is interesting and readable, the plot isn't as developed in crucial spots: Dr. Kidd falling in love (rather than having the reader told). The thoughts of Harper weren't as easily shared though it's told from his POV, so getting a grasp of what stage he was at different points during the book was not impactful as it could have been. The meld between the technical terms and romance could have been a little smoother. Since the most interaction we get of Harper and his dream man are in his dreams, I kinda wish just as much detail went into those dreams as the archeology parts.

For me, it was an unequal balance.

Interesting, but it could have been a touch longer to smooth out those parts. As is, we get brief dreams and nighttime moments to base the L word on.

The suspense part was cool. The ending is surprising (you couldn't get it on your best day). The epilogue...eh...I'm iffy on. The rest of the book sold me. I definitely dug the ideas this author has, and would read more from them.

If there was ever any follow up, I'd read it.

Do you need some alone time to nerd it out? Dr. Manhattan did it for you, huh?

I thought so. Our little secret. ;D

On a serious tip: net proceeds from this book goes to the following organizations: The Trevor Project in the US, le Refuge in France, and Arcigay in Italy!

Read for worthy causes! *Nerd high five*

Find on Goodreads!