Shape of Secrets by S. R. Cronin - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host S. R. Cronin and her new book, “Shape of Secrets”!  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 Kindle eBook copy of “One of One,” the first book 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!

Shape of Secrets

by S. R. Cronin

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GENRE: Science Fiction/Fantasy

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BLURB:

Seven year old Zane vowed to become a superhero. As a child too smart to fit in, he studied chameleons and muscle groups to learn to alter his appearance.

Now Zane is starting his first job at Penthes Pharmaceuticals, where he finds layers of corporate secrets and learns that knowledge is dangerous. Good thing he excels at blending in.

Once upper management discovers him, life gets more complicated. A sales trip to the South Pacific leaves Zane dealing with an unsolved murder, an unsavory boot camp manager, and new friends with abilities as surprising as his own and with problems far worse.

Zane wants to help them all. First, however, he has a few work-related issues to handle. Someone at Penthes will kill to protect mysteries the company has worked so hard to keep hidden. He has to figure out who, and then use his unique talents to stay alive.

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EXCERPT TWO:

He started his engine when he noticed three stout Samoan men wearing the traditional lava-lavas marching towards his boat. The oldest of the three waved at him and shouted. "Stop your engines. We need to check your boat for a missing boy we saw head onto this dock."

"Oh, sure, I saw him." Toby pointed to a shirt lying on the pier as he yelled back "He jumped in. He didn’t bother me."

"We'd like to make sure he's not on your boat," the Samoan said as the three men approached the craft. Toby shrugged. "Look for yourself."

There wasn't much looking to do on his vessel. Seating for up to six was above deck, and below was a cabin with a head and shower, a compact galley area and sleeping for up to five, depending on what was raised or lowered. The men boarded without further courtesy, which irked Toby. He was sensitive to people walking into his home. One man began opening each of his storage areas above deck, while another descended below and opened the door to the head. The small toilet seat had no one on it.

"I've been right here. I promise you, no one is onboard." Toby wasn't anxious to have strangers pawing through his possessions, legal though they were. "Please gentleman, I'd like to be on my way."

The man who'd opened the door to the head ignored him, opening the larger storage areas below deck, starting with those beneath the sleeping and sitting areas. One was filled with kitchen supplies, another held clothes and toiletries, yet another lifejackets. He shrugged to his cohorts.

"Guess he jumped in the water then. Radio back if you see him. He could be dangerous."

Toby's dark brown eyes widened. "Really? What's he done?"

"We don't know. He's one of the young men at that special school for troubled teens. These kids are lavished with good care and opportunities, but sometimes they don't realize what they've been given, and try to escape so they can return to their troubled ways. We help the school by returning these misguided ones.

"Well then, I hope you find him."

As he headed out into the harbor, Toby thought maybe the men had a point. He hadn't realized there were schools for misguided youth. Go figure.

He’d gotten past both reefs and was tacking under a nice slow breeze, heading northwest on a course for Fiji, when he decided to go below and grab some water. A movement caught his eye. The lid to one of the smaller storage areas was opening. No person could fit into it; it had to be an animal. Toby looked around for something to use as a weapon.

He grabbed a knife as the stowaway tumbled to the floor in a mess of ropes. A small young man in the briefest of underwear stood, shook himself, then turned to face Toby with apology in his eyes.

"I’m sorry. And sorry about no clothes. Please don’t hurt me."

Toby took a deep breath and decided to hear the other side of the story.

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

This book is filled with science fiction, fantasy, action, adventure, mystery, suspense, and a dash of romance!

This book is intriguing, captivating, compelling, well-researched, with complex characters, elaborate plot points, and touches on multiple topics including real-life issues.

This is the second book I’ve read from the incredible writer, S. R. Cronin.  A couple months ago, I had the privilege of reading her book, “One of One,” which is part of the 46. Ascending Book Series and I really enjoyed it, so I was excited to read her latest work – which also happens to fall in the same series.  “One of One,” is Book One in the 46. Ascending Book Series, while this new book, “Shape of Secrets,” is Book Two.

Like book one, and with the rest of this book series, this book follows the Zeitman family.  This particular book focuses on the son, Zane and his first job, working at Penthes Pharmaceuticals.

I really like Zane’s tenacity to want to help everyone and do the right thing – the superhero complex.  Zane is peculiar, intelligent, misunderstood, and a bit socially awkward.  But he’s also sweet, kind, considerate, and thoughtful.  Zane’s special ability is camouflage.  He can change his body type, hair, skin color, etc. to blend in and disguise himself – like a chameleon.  It’s a pretty cool ability that definitely comes in handy and it’s a craft that will hopefully help him stay alive while he tries to solve the murder investigation and catch the culprit!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I love the messages the author conveys and the questions she inspires throughout the book.  For example, this book touches on greed, wealth, intolerance, pharmaceutical overreach, teen rebellion, teen boot camps, corporate politics, social and ethical issues, moral dilemmas, etc.  These quandaries encourage you to think, evaluate, empathize, and connect with the characters.  There really is so much to this book in just 264 pages!!!

Unfortunately, I have the same tiff about this book as I did with book one – the pace.  This book started out very slow-paced and again was difficult to hold my attention.  Thankfully, it also picked up about half-way in and finally got captivating where I was actually hanging on to every word.  I was glad I stuck with it as the second half of the book made up for the slow start.

This is very disappointing, because the author’s writing technique and style in all other aspects is superb.  However, I struggle to understand her slow start writing method.  There is so much going on in this book, and the author writes almost consistently in such beautiful, detailed passages.  Yet, somehow, this does not translate within the beginning of the book as it is more dragged out and the words stagnate on the page.

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 the South Pacific Islands.  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.

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 really liked all the additions to the book besides the story.  This book included a map that Toby drew for Joy and includes all of the locations they were discussing in the book.  It’s not to scale, but it shows you the jiff and helps you kind of see where everything is located.  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 all the places mentioned in the book and a short description of how they played into the book.  In addition, 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 on sailing, fire dancing, the pharmaceutical industry, biomimetics, the South Pacific Islands, etc. instead of having too much information forced on them by overloading too many facts into the book.

This book is book two 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.

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.**

Did you find this review helpful?

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1W8DNN4UX0VR5

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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.

Apparently 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.

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CONNECT WITH S. R.:

Blog – 46 Ascending:

https://46ascending.org

Blog – Face Painting for World Peace:

http://tothepowerofzero.org

Blog – Fire Dancing for Fun and Profit:

http://ytothepowerof1.org

Blog – Treasure Hunting for a Good Time:

http://zsquaredblog.org

Blog – Leaving the Nest to Touch the Sky:

http://ctothepowerofthree.org

Blog – Touching the Sky to Save the World:

http://dtothepowerof4.org

Email:

lola.zeitman@gmail.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Number46Ascending

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/cinnabar01

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805814.Sherrie_Cronin

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44064978-shape-of-secrets

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/2SYuW36

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/2VaPsDw

Amazon Paperback:

https://amzn.to/2J93HS7

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

S. R. will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC and a kindle copy of One of One (the first book in the 46. Ascending Collection) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**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.