Random Review: Ride The Lightening by Aimee Nicole Walker #Review #Giveaway

Title: Ride the Lightening
Series: Sinister in Savannah #1
Author: Aimee Nicole Walker
Self published
Publication date: June 23, 2020
Length: 274 pages

Reviewed by Jenn

Synopsis

Truth seeker. Promise keeper. Guarded heart.

By day, Jonah St. John is a criminal analyst for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. By night, he produces Sinister in Savannah, an investigative podcast, with his two best friends. Jonah’s life revolves around three principles: a man’s word is his oath, friendships are priceless gifts, and love is for other people.

When the Sinister in Savannah team delves into the thirty-eight-year-old murder of a drag queen, they quickly discover that the story doesn’t end with the alleged killer’s confession in 1995. Continuing the investigation could have fatal consequences for Jonah and everyone he holds dear, including his irresistible intern.

To love is to lose: a lesson Jonah has learned the hard way. For a decade, he has embraced solitude as his penance for a past mistake. Then came Avery Bradford, a man whose warmth and sunshine infuses Jonah’s battered soul and challenges his resistance. Over the past eight months, Jonah has soared closer and closer to Avery’s flame until the thing he’s feared the most becomes the one he can’t live without.

The chill of danger merges with the heat of desire, forming a deadly superstorm. Will Jonah seek shelter or ride the lightning?

Sinister in Savannah series is a fictional podcast exploring the city’s most nefarious crimes with Southern-fried snark. The books explore friendship, love, loss, and the irrepressible human spirit. Ride the Lightning is book one of three. While each book is written about a different couple, the series should be read in order. Sinister in Savannah is an LGBT romantic suspense series with mature language and sexual content intended for adults eighteen and older.

Purchase on Amazon

Review

Ride the Lightning is Aimee Nicole Walker’s first book in her new Sinister in Savannah series and it’s off to a great start!

Jonah St. John is a criminal analyst for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) by day and at night, he produces the Sinister in Savannah podcast with friends. Jonah is a character I was so excited to get to know better having met him in the Zero Hour series. He is what many would call a “gentle giant” in some ways, but still waters do run deep in this man. Jonah is living in his deceased grandparents’ house and has a nice life, even if it’s become a little predictable. When Jonah comes home one night and his next door neighbor has a favor to ask of him…his life will start to change quickly. When the Sinister in Savanna group agree to look into a thirty-eight year old murder of a drag queen, they stir up a surprising amount of trouble. Luckily, Jonah has some extra help in the form of his intern, Avery Bradford.

Avery has been working beside Jonah for eight months on a project that could help change how crimes are solved. Avery is a genius on the computer and bringing him in to help with the old case becomes necessary. Jonah and Avery have been tiptoeing around their attraction to each other from the beginning. Both have their reasons, but soon those reasons go out the window. As the case and Jonah and Avery’s relationship heat up…things get real interesting!

I loved this book, I love when Aimee Nicole Walker has a suspenseful twist to her novels because she’s just so good at writing them. This book is no exception, the action, the mystery are on point and we do t lose the relationship in the mix. The friendships as well as the romantic relationship are the heart of this book. We meet new friends and see familiar faces and it’s a fantastic ride. I absolutely cannot wait for what comes next in this series…this next book is going to be so much fun to read. I’m so highly recommending this one and hope you love it as much as I did.

Giveaway 

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Random Review: Zero Divergence by Aimee Nicole Walker #Review #Giveaway

Title: Zero Divergence
Series: Zero Hour #3
Not a Standalone
Self Published
Author: Aimee Nicole Walker
Publication Date: March 17, 2020
Length: 295 pages 

Reviewed by Jenn

Synopsis

Zero Divergence, noun: no deviation from a course or standard.

After a key piece of evidence goes missing, a suspected serial rapist and killer evades prosecution. More than Royce Locke’s reputation is on the line when his investigation into the failed chain of custody suggests Franco Humphries might’ve had inside help. There’s no one Royce trusts more than Sawyer Key to help him right a wrong and uncover the traitor in their midst, but can they do it before the Savannah Strangler strikes again?

Relentless plus fearless equals flawless. Sawyer and Royce have come full circle—from hostile strangers to best friends and lovers. Neither a sniper’s bullet nor an arsonist’s fire could keep them apart, but what about a psychopath hell-bent on revenge? The stakes are high, and there’s no turning back now because the zero hour is upon them. Tick tock.

Zero Divergence is the conclusion to the best-selling Zero Hour series, which follows Locke and Key’s investigations and evolving relationship. This is a series you MUST read in order. It contains mature language and sexual content intended for adults 18 and older.

Trigger warning: Part of the storyline involves coming to terms with a friend’s suicide, which may be difficult for some people to read.

Purchase Link

Review

Zero Divergence is Book 3 in Aimee Nicole Walker’s Zero Hour series. This book, this series is this author at her best. She blends love, friendship, banter, mystery, and humor like nobody’s business with these guys! Sawyer and Royce are the perfect partners…on and off the job.

With this book we get the culmination of all the clues leading up to putting away the baddest of bad guys and finding out just what Royce’s deceased partner was up to. Locke and Key are at a great place in their personal lives and they’re working together as a team at work pretty seamlessly. All is great, right? Not so fast because Franco Humphries is out of prison due to a missing piece of key evidence. This is a case that Royce and his former partner and best friend worked before Marcus’s suicide. They did everything by the book, the nail should have been pounded into the coffin…so what went wrong? Maybe the question we should ask is…WHO went wrong? This case isn’t just a matter of public safety, it’s also personal for Locke. He has so many questions surrounding the life he didn’t know Marcus was leading and the doubts he’s feeling. Luckily for him, Sawyer is by his side and has his back. Key has given him so much more that someone to love, he’s given him someone to trust completely. They’ll need that trust and each other to take down Franco and to finally understand what Marcus was up to.

Locke and Key have been explosive together from their first meeting and they get better with each book. All the baggage and swagger Royce is carrying around is no match for Sawyer…he can take it and dish out plenty of his own. As much fun as it was watching these two fight their chemistry, watching them revel in it is so much sweeter! Oh the way they love and respect each other is gorgeous. The fun they have, the competition for Bones’s favor (Sawyer’s cat and BFF) is adorable. These two are hard to take your eye off on the page. This is a trilogy, but the author assures is that we’ll see Locke and Key in the future…I cannot wait. Such a great series and very recommended!

Giveaway

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Contest ends May 31st

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Featured Guest: Aimee Nicole Walker~ Trying to Maintain Normalcy When Normal is Constantly Changing #Giveaway

Diverse Reader is thrilled to have Aimee Nicole Walker here today. I love her guest post. It comes at such a vital time. Please take a moment to check it out. There's a lovely giveaway at the end too.

Trying to Maintain Normalcy When Normal is Constantly Changing

First, let me say thank you to all the blogs like Diverse Reader, who are doing their part to spread love and joy while chaos ensues. Like us, they’ve had their worlds turned upside down and are trying to maintain a sense of normalcy when our normal is changing daily—hell, hourly.

I am honestly struggling with emotional energy right now. I’m the consummate cheerleader and, for some reason, take it upon myself to inject positivity and enthusiasm while the world is burning all around me. I’m going to share some tips I’ve found helpful over the years to take back control of my emotions and harness my energy.

1.     Limit negativity. Nothing kills your happiness, peace, and creativity than nonstop negative energy. That means I have to walk away from conversations, even limit interactions with certain people, and reduce the amount of time and energy I focus on social media. Twitter is a dumpster fire right now, and Facebook is filled with well-meaning but misguided people who are convinced this or that will prevent the spread of a deadly virus. We cannot turn a blind eye to what’s going on out there, but we don’t need to watch 24/7 coverage, and we don’t have to engage in fights with imbeciles online. People, we need to protect our mental health just as much as our physical health. Know your limits and when to tap out and take a breather.

2.     Many of you are working from home for the first time and are surrounded by your family. I feel your pain. Noise-canceling headphones. Set boundaries and mean it. Start practicing your mean face in the mirror when you brush your teeth in the morning.

3.     Invest in a white noise app. It was the best .99 cents I’ve ever spent. I get to choose from various different sounds and can create a playlist.

4.     Get up and stretch hourly. Get the blood flowing, prevent blood clots from forming, and energize your brain.

5.     Peppermint oil improves focus. On my desk, I have hand lotion, lip balm, and an essential oil roller I put on the back of my neck to help combat hot flashes. They work really well. If you don’t like peppermint, I’m sure there are other scents that can stimulate focus too.

6.     Try the Pomodoro Technique. It’s where you work in concentrated intervals of 25 to 30 minutes, take a break to stretch or refill your coffee cup, then get back to it. Authors call them writing sprints, but it’s the same concept. Put down your phone and block all outside distractions and concentrate on your work for a set time. I scoffed at the idea at first, thinking I’d lose my train of thought when the timer goes off, but I’m amazed how much I can accomplish. Nerds like me thrive on challenging themselves. Here’s the key to success: stay off social media between sprints/work sessions.

7.     Be kind to yourself. Self-care is more critical now more than ever. Know when to push yourself and know when to back off. Life is about balance, and only you can know what you’re capable of doing at any given moment. When I mentor writers, I tell them to just try. Set a small goal and attempt to achieve it, then reassess. Self-care is different for everybody but is ultimately what brings you peace and makes you happy. Sometimes that is as simple as a nap or a bubble bath. Oh, a bubble bath followed by a nap. Please don’t nap while taking a bath.

To spread a little joy, I am going to gift the complete set of eBooks for my best-selling romantic suspense series, Zero Hour, to one lucky winner. There is just one stipulation. International readers will receive their eBooks direct-to-kindle since Amazon won’t allow you to accept gifted books from the US site.

Virtual hugs and much love to all who need it.

xoxo

Aimee 

About Aimee Nicole Walker

Ever since she was a little girl, Aimee Nicole Walker entertained herself with stories that popped into her head. Now she gets paid to tell those stories to other people. She wears many titles—wife, mom, and animal lover are just a few of them. Her absolute favorite title is champion of the happily ever after. Love inspires everything she does, music keeps her sane, and coffee is the magic elixir that fuels her day. 

Linktree: 

@AimeeNicoleWalker | Linktree

 Giveaway

Enter Aimee's Giveaway :

complete set of eBooks for my best-selling romantic suspense series, Zero Hour, to one lucky winner. There is just one stipulation. International readers will receive their eBooks direct-to-kindle since Amazon won’t allow you to accept gifted books from the US site.  

Contest ends March 31st

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