The Candidates: Based on a True Country

                The Candidates Based on a True Country is a tongue-in-cheek look at the presidential race ran by two rather crude characters who will stop at nothing to achieve the power of the big office. This is the second book by this author that I have read and find his very unique albeit raunchy and violent humour to be highly amusing. In this book he has taken the skeleton of a presidential race and the people involved and put his own meat and muscle onto it to make it into a wild and hilarious adventure that spoofs the entire thing. Even a character whose name had me laughing resembles, in my mind, a certain famous pop culture figure. I’m surprised he can get away with it but everything he writes, although over the top, is so very true. This is not a book for those people who get easily offended but anyone who knows Mr. Hiley’s writing is aware of this. If you have an open sense of humour then this book is very funny, even if you hate politics. I can’t say I found everything funny (poor Pepper) but I did have a good laugh and found it hilarious how the author subtly takes real-life situations and blows them all out of proportion. I read this book on my ereader and the formatting and editing were fine. The cover is also great for giving the reader an idea of what the book is about and the fact that it will be humorous. This will definitely not be the last book that I read by Matthew S. Hiley.

Blood and Magic

                Mix together some romance, lots of magic, a fair amount of adventure and, let’s not forget, a healthy helping of sex and you have the recipe for the book Blood and Magic. It’s a fast paced read with an enticing storyline and excellent characters. Luke is an enforcer for the Coven and is tasked with finding witches that have turned dark. Abigail is a powerful witch who is supposed to take the child she is looking after to her parents who just happen to be important people in the Coven. The only problem is that her job is not all it seems and dark magic brings Luke and Abigail together. As they fight for their lives and those of others, their romance ignites and sparks fly.

                This is the first book I’ve ever read by this author but after reading it I know it won’t be the last. It has a bit of everything in it to keep the reader entertained, including some pretty explicit sex scenes. There’s plenty of magic, lots of action and likeable characters. It’s perfect for an afternoon at the beach. The cover is romantic and fits the genre of the book perfectly and the editing and formatting worked perfectly on my ereader. This was such an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to read other books by Ms. Gimpel.

Baseball Dads

                I can’t say that I was really excited when I picked out this book to read. Based solely on the cover, I assumed it was only about baseball, a sport that I find about as entertaining as watching grass grow. However, I was in for a wonderful surprise from pretty much the first page. This story follows a group of friends who all have kids playing in Little League baseball and agree on how much they despise the coach. They decide to take matters into their own hands and when that works, why not take care of some other nuisances as well? This has to be one of the bloodiest books I have ever laughed so hard at and, believe me, it is brutally violent by places. This is a dark, dark comedy but I found it so compelling that I pictured the actors I would cast in the movie version which I hope happens at some point. It’s not your typical beach read if you want something light and fluffy but I took it with me to the beach and ended up reading parts to my husband because I was laughing so much out loud. The author basically wrote a book about the things we all really think at one point or another but won’t admit to….except maybe the raccoon part and probably everything that Russ does or says. This book is great and I’m so glad I picked it up. The editing and formatting worked well on my ereader. The cover, as I said at the beginning, didn’t catch my eye and made me think it was all about baseball. It was only on closer inspection that I saw the blood dripping off the bat and I figured it was twisted enough for me. Superb!!