From the Sky, Book 1 of the Beyond Moondust Trilogy by JE Nicassio.
Published September 6th of this year. Book two came out two days later.
Book 1 of 2 in Beyond Moondust Triliogy (2 Book Series)
4.4 stars on 20 Customer reviews.
From the Sky from best-selling author J.E. Nicassio writes the kind of close encounter that will leave readers spellbound. When high school junior, Samantha Hunter, and her father move to New Mexico, it's a chance to leave tragedy behind and start over. However, the arrival of a dark-haired stranger changes everything. Lucien introduces Sam to the prospect of enjoying life again, and to the hidden world of aliens. But crazier than that, Lucien doesn't feel entirely like a stranger. Redemption and romance follow Sam in her new life as she works to understand the alien-human romance she's developing--a romance that feels beyond her control. There's something bigger happening around her, and to her, too, and this is just the beginning....
--J. E. Nicassio packs in the action like a superhero movie-- From the Sky has all the hallmarks of a Hollywood blockbuster--ready to light up the sky like a fleet of UFOs. "A must read! It had me from the very beginning to the last word. Every page had a plot twist and turn to make my imagination run wild." --Online Book Club.org Nicassio is a freelance writer and MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) Field Investigator in Pittsburgh, PA, where she resides with her mother, two sons, and German Shepherd, Ava. She loves writing and is passionate about creating stories that entertain and comes straight from the heart. Her Children's book, Rocky (About Rockefeller Center and a tiny Christmas tree named Rocky) made the Amazon Top Ten Christmas Book List in 2016.
The Amazon preview has the Prolog and the first four chapters. I'm going to read you the prolog and the first two chapters.
(Read Chapters)
How did I like this so far?
I thought the first chapter, er, rather, the prolog, was great. It was a fast paced introduction to the main character and some unknown characters. They didn't say their names, but one of them says, "There'll be consequences, Brother." So either these first two strangers are brothers, or members of a religeous order. Anyway, it appears the Brother heals Sam.
Could this be Lucien, the love interest mentioned in the Amazon blurb?
If you read on in the preview, Chapter 3 is titled, Lucien. So, if you want to find out before you buy the book, you can read further than I did. I have to admit that by the end of chapter two, the pace of the story had slowed sufficiently that I wasn't really interested enough to read on at this point.
I thought chapter one was good and built on what we learned from the preview.
I felt like chapter 2 was mainly filler and slowed down considerably as she walks out to the bus stop.
I give this a three star rating and if I had nothing else to read, I'd read a few more chapters to see if this one picked up.
Part of what drags the recommendation down for me is the poorly written Amazon blurb. An Amazon blurb needs to grab you with the first sentence and drag you to the second which pushes you to the third and then shows you an emotional reason why you need to buy this book right now. This blurb starts out with telling us how great the author is.
From the Sky from best-selling author J.E. Nicassio writes the kind of close encounter that will leave readers spellbound.
Not only is the first line of the blurb improperly punctuated, it tells me nothing about the book--only claims that I will be spellbound, but not why. And frankly, "Best Selling" means nothing anymore. Maybe she's made some list somewhere. If I don't know the author's name and what they had written that was best selling, saying so will mean nothing.
So, in conclusion. If what the blurb promises appeals to you, it could be worth reading the next two chapters on the Amazon preview, or just paying out the 99 cents it costs right now to get book one. If you like it, there's at least one more book in the series, or two it it's a trilogy.
Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.
Bianca Rowena is the author of the Gift Stone Series and the Virgin Diaries. She was born in Romania, Transylvania and now lives in Southern Alberta with her husband, daughter and little dog Molli. Bianca graduated from Film Studies at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. You can check out her website at www.biancarowena.com or follow her on Twitter (@biancarowena) or Facebook www.facebook.com/biancarowena
I was born in Palmer, Alaska, but lived in every time zone of the lower 48 (and Taiwan) before I went to college. I studied at Brigham Young University and in East Asia (China, Japan), which proved amazing exploration territory.
Ten plus years later my exploration has turned inward, and "Hurricane Coltrane" reflects the difference. My people settled that lonely stretch of southern Utah desert. Some would call it barren earth, but I have discovered it fertile beyond anything I initially imagined...creatively. Welcome to the first fruits of my prosperous literary garden!
I now live in Bountiful, Utah with my story-adoring husband and daughter.
Hurricane Coltrane (April 2015)
Merrill Hinton is a lightning rod in a town named for bad weather. He’s an ace in math, but not smart enough to put together the pieces of his puzzling life, especially where finding his unknown father is concerned.
Musical genius Robbie Stubbs was born in nearby polygamist compound Colorado City. He has the chops to become another John Coltrane, but that will take running away from home, and into a firestorm of controversy–the kind his friend Merrill knows best.
Merrill sets Robbie onto a course that could rocket them both onto center stage, but being the focus of wide public attention will create serious issues. Robbie’s mother is not well, and the shock of her son breaking the family rules like this may put her over the edge.
And Merrill Hinton? His precarious future would be compromised in ways he doesn’t yet realize.
BIO:
Thedore FIcklestein is a writer of various poetry books and young adult and humor novels. He takes great influence from Shel Silverstein, JD Salinger and George Carlin. His novel A Day in the Life follows college student Nicholas Cripp. Through the eyes of a young yearning for meaning in a meaningless world, Nick learns that in life, the joke is on you.
Book Synopsis:
A Day In The Life is Theodore Ficklestein’s debut novel about Nickolas Cripp, a college student finding his way in the world. Although Nick won’t admit it, he is the main focus to a young adult book that follows him from his home to college to the city, where he wants to attend an open mic.
Along his path, he encounters a teacher who asks about the apocalypse, a drunk on the train and two friends who feel writing isn’t Nick’s strong point, among others. Nick soon finds out that the funniest things in life aren’t that funny at all, and the greatest comedians never go up on stage.
As he goes through his day, one oddball character at a time, Nick starts to question if the comedy club he dreams of being in, is really for him. Should he be who he wants to be? Or who the world thinks he should be? Neither of which, he is entirely sure about.
A personal journey of self-discovery through the eyes of a youth yearning for meaning in a meaningless world; Nick learns that in life, the joke is on you.
Links:
Official Website: theodoreficklestein.com
Twitter: twitter.com/theodorefickle
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35446255-a-day-in-the-life