Hey, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host S. R.
Cronin and her new book, “Twists of Time”!
For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click
on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card AND
a gifted Kindle copy of “Shape of Secrets,” Book Two in the 46. Ascending Book
Series!! Also, come back daily to
interact with S. R. and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Twists of Time
by S. R. Cronin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Science
Fiction/Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Alex
once walked away from a rare ability to warp time, thinking it was only a young
man’s trick to play basketball better. Now, as a father and teacher, he needs
to relearn the skill before the past begins to destroy his own future. To
protect his daughter and his most promising student, he must stop the school at
which he teaches from turning the clock back to an era of intolerance. He wants
desperately to use his unique gifts to help an old high school friend solve an
ancient Maya mystery offering a rare chance to bridge the past and the future.
Both are possible, but only if Alex can learn to control his temporal talents
before he runs out of time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT TWO:
Stan
tried to control his enthusiasm the next morning as he woofed down breakfast at
the hotel and supervised loading the trucks. The department head had chastised
him by phone last night for even opening the box, and for doing as little as
brushing off the dirt. Stan expected that and was willing to take the
criticism. He hadn't spent twelve years of his life swatting mosquitoes to let
some senior faculty member fly down here and do all the honors. This was his
research. These were his kids. They deserved their moment in the sun.
Yesterday, he'd taken it.
Today,
however, they'd back off and show restraint, as they photographed and measured
while they waited for more expertise before anything else was disturbed.
There
was lightness in Stan's step as he helped unload the two trucks and made his
way to the cave's small entrance.
"You
first, Dr. Drexler," Nelson said.
Stan
wasn't even all the way in when he noticed mud tracks he was sure neither he
nor his students had made.
No!
Surely we didn't have intruders last night.
He
looked around. Everything else they'd found over the last few days was
undisturbed. Only the ornate box and its half disintegrated cloth covering were
gone, as if they'd never existed.
You've
got to be kidding. Locals? For christsakes, did one of my students tell
somebody? Or maybe one of them is that good at reading hieroglyphics from this
region.
Dr.
Stan Drexler, of course, was quite good at it. He'd studied nothing but for
years. Even though he'd only gotten a quick glance, there are certain words
anyone who's ever loved archeology knows in the culture where they have
expertise. "Treasure" is one. Even higher on the list is any phrase
translating as "the greatest treasure ever."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another successful book in the intriguing 46. Ascending Book
Series!!!
It was enjoyable to
catch back up with the Zeitman family and join them again on their next
adventure!
This
is the third book I’ve read from the talented writer, S. R. Cronin. A couple months ago, I had the privilege of
reading her book, “One of One,” which is Book One of the 46. Ascending Book
Series. Then, a few weeks ago I read, “Shape
of Secrets,” which is Book Two in the 46. Ascending Book Series and I really
enjoyed them both, so I was excited to read her latest work – which also
happens to fall in the same series. “Twists
of Time,” is Book Three in the 46. Ascending Book Series.
Like with the previous books, and with the rest of this book
series, this book follows the Zeitman family.
This particular book focuses on the husband/father, Alex, and his job as
a physics teacher at Early Gulch High School.
This
book follows Alex’s friend, Dr. Stan Drexler and his students while on an excavation
they finally discover a stone box – the “holy grail,” Mayan Artifact Dr. Drexler
had spent several years searching for.
Dr. Drexler opens the stone box and discovers there is a well-preserved yellow
paper inside covered in hieroglyphs.
Before he photographs the box and works on deciphering the hieroglyphics the box is mysteriously gone, and Dr. Drexler’s career and reputation is tarnished. It isn’t until many years down
the road when the box is mailed to him with an apology. Dr. Drexler is then given a second chance at
cracking the hieroglyphic message and partners up with Alex for help solving
the clues – and so a hunt for a mystery Mayan Treasure is afoot.
This
book also follows one of Alex’s students, Xuha.
Xuha, who is bullied and teased for being an immigrant. Xuha is of Mayan decent and is carrying a
deep secret. His plot point focuses on immigration and racism. This is a powerful and compelling part of the story that brings up a revolting and unsavory - but still ever present in today's society - a prejudice and discriminatory culture.
This felt so on the button right now! With Trump Nation it seems immigration
bullying is actually considered tolerated if not acceptable – perhaps even
encouraged in some cities!!!
I
really liked Alex! He is smart,
charming, considerate, thoughtful, helpful, compassionate, and good-natured. Alex’s special ability is that he can warp
time. It’s a very intriguing ability and
one that the science fiction community has been obsessed with so it was very
riveting to see Mrs. Cronin’s take on it.
I
also really liked Xuha and how he didn’t let the bullies – the Neo-Nazi’s aka the
three T’s get to him. Xuha is intelligent,
confident, funny, hopeful, positive, and self-assured regardless of his setbacks and disadvantages.
I found myself emotionally caught up in the characters and cheering
for both Alex and Xuha!!!
I
love the in-depth amount of research the author did while constructing this
book. It was clear she was very familiar
and well-versed on the culture, customs, and traditions of Southern North
America. The author provided so much
detail and such vivid descriptions it made the scenes easy to picture.
Mrs. Cronin goes above and beyond in her research and it
strongly shows in her writing. She
always seems to find a way to add significant historical references into fun
and interesting scenes while showing an active knowledge of the area.
I always seem to learn a vast variety of information from her
books that I find both compelling and intriguing! I had no idea that the Statue of Liberty was
closed in 2001 after 09/11 for security reasons and wasn’t fully reopened until
2009.
This book genre is marketed as a science fiction/fantasy book
and yet the author found a way to throw in adventure, mystery, intrigue,
suspense, and romance elements into the book.
It definitely added a fascinating extra component to the story!
I totally loved the exciting Mayan Artifact treasure hunt
mystery! I had so much fun on the
adventure with the characters and was on the edge on my seat waiting to see what
we would find next!
There are some
predictable scenes. However, there are quite
a few unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
The only negative comments I have is that this
book felt a bit jumpy with the time warp and as it goes back and forth from
past to present scenes. Also, there is a
lot going on in this book and you definitely have to pay attention while you’re
reading. There were a few passages I had
to re-read when I wasn’t totally focused.
And when I was getting texts while reading this book, I got a bit lost
on what was happening and ended up having to re-read a whole chapter.
The last tiff I have is that I was significantly
surprised to find that this blurb was so misleading as it is was a totally
different book inside. I really enjoyed
the book and yes, the blurb does hint at some of the plot points, but it really
doesn’t strike the main jiff of the book or give the book the justice it
deserves.
I really liked all the additions to the book
besides the story. This book included a
map of Southern North America focusing on the settings in the book: Mexico,
Guatemala, and Belize. This book also
included a list of resources the author used while researching and writing this
book that includes songs, cultural, historical, and scientific information,
etc. The website links and books are
listed for easy access to follow up on the data. Also, at the end of this book is a list of
characters names and their role in the book.
These additions provided readers a little something extra. Plus, it allows the reader the chance to
decide if they want to follow up with reading more research instead of having
too much information forced on them by overloading too many facts into the
book.
This
book is book three in the 46. Ascending Book Series. It can be read as a standalone. There is a total of six books in this book
series and all them have already been released for sale. All six books feature the Zeitman family and
their special abilities. According to
the author, all of these books in this series can be read as a standalone.
I will be reading and
reviewing additional books in this series and look forward to sharing my take
on those books with you soon!
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would
absolutely recommend it! I think all
science fiction and fantasy readers will like this book - and this book series
too! So, add it to your TBR List and get
to reading - you won't be disappointed!
**Disclaimer: I received a
complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and
unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Sherrie Roth grew
up in Western Kansas thinking there was no place in the universe more
fascinating than outer space. After her mother vetoed astronaut as a career
ambition, she went on to study journalism and physics in hopes of becoming a
science writer.
She
published her first science fiction short story long ago, and then waited a lot
of tables while she looked for inspiration for the next story. When it finally
came, it declared to her it had to be a whole book, nothing less. One night,
while digesting this disturbing piece of news, she drank way too many shots of
ouzo with her boyfriend. She woke up thirty-one years later demanding to know
what was going on.
The
boyfriend, who she had apparently long since married, asked her to calm down
and explained how, in a fit of practicality, she had gone back to school and
gotten a degree in geophysics and spent the last 28 years interpreting seismic
data in the oil industry. The good news, according to Mr. Cronin, was that she
had found it to be entertaining and ridiculously well-paying. The bad news was
the two of them had still managed to spend almost all of the money.
She
was now Mrs. Cronin, and further good news was that they had produced three
wonderful children whom they loved, even though, to be honest, that was where a
lot of the money had gone. Even better news was that Mr. Cronin turned out to
be a warm-hearted, encouraging sort who was happy to see her awake and ready to
write. "It's about time," were his exact words.
Sherrie
Cronin discovered that over the ensuing decades Sally Ride had already managed
to become the first woman in space and apparently had done a fine job of it. No
one, however, had written the book that had been in Sherrie's head for decades.
The only problem was, the book informed her it had now grown into a six book
collection. Sherrie decided she better start writing it before it got any
longer. She's been wide awake ever since, and writing away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH SHERRIE:
Blog – 46 Ascending:
Blog – Face Painting
for World Peace:
Blog – Fire Dancing
for Fun and Profit:
Blog – Treasure
Hunting for a Good Time:
Blog – Leaving the
Nest to Touch the Sky:
Blog – Touching the
Sky to Save the World:
Email:
lola.zeitman@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author
Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble
Paperback:
The Book Depository
Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million
Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Sherrie will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC and
a gift Kindle copy of Shape of Secrets to a randomly drawn winner via
Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Kristal’s Super Adorable Furbaby Granddogs!!! Husky, Atlas (L), and German Shepherd, Abel (R)
