The Orphan Factory by James and Lance Morcan

Description from Goodreads:

"An epic, atmospheric story that begins with twenty three genetically superior orphans being groomed to become elite spies in Chicago's Pedemont Orphanage and concludes with a political assassination deep in the Amazon jungle.

The Orphan Factory, a coming-of-age spy thriller novel, is book two in The Orphan Trilogy and a prequel to The Ninth Orphan. Go on another frenetic journey with the ninth-born orphan as he busts out of the clandestine orphanage he knew as home and goes on the run across America.

In the late 1970's, in Chicago, Illinois, the secretive Omega Agency initiates the Pedemont Project - a radical experiment utilizing genetic engineering technologies - to create twenty three orphan babies with the plan to turn them into the world's most effective assassins.

One of the prodigies will rebel: meet Number Nine, an orphan with a mind of his own.

In 1998, when Nine reaches adulthood and graduates with honors from the Pedemont Orphanage, he is already an adept of the deadly espionage arts. Ordered by his Omega masters to assassinate a survivor of the Jonestown tragedy in Guyana's Amazon rainforest, Nine is forced to draw upon all of his advanced training just to stay alive."

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This is the second book in the trilogy, the second that has had me thoroughly engrossed and entertained and the second that I have been fortunate to have been sent to me by the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I won’t go into the ins and outs of the story as it is covered in the description but what I will say is that, like The Ninth Orphan, it is excellent. The plot is well thought out, well paced, exciting and thrilling as well as being different to anything else I have read before. I really enjoyed getting to know more about the beginnings of “Nine” and his fellow orphans - the authors provided small glimpses in the first book but this one put the flesh on the bones.

The characters are believable and interesting, some more likeable than others, but overall well developed from start to finish.

I would most definitely recommend this to lovers of espionage, conspiracy theorists or just people who enjoy a flippin’ good read and I look forward to reading the third in the series.

Zombies from the Deep by Nick Grey

Description from Goodreads:

"Debut author Nick Grey blends the zombie humor of Shaun of the Dead with the satiric irreverence of Fight Club in his tantalizing and terrifying tale, ZOMBIES FROM THE DEEP.

They packed for the beach…

Mike and Sara Jones never missed their annual beach getaway. Every year, they looked forward to driving down to the Gulf and enjoying the white sandy beaches with those amazing sunsets. This year was no different than the rest. Swimsuits, check. Sunblock, check. Then, the zombies came.

They came from the ocean.

Out of the depths of the ocean, the walking dead arrived. There was blood in the water, but this ain’t no shark attack. When zombies paint the beach red, Mike and Sara’s annual getaway is interrupted. They panic. What would you do?

Survive at any cost.

Covered in blood and short on temper, Mike suggests they cut their vacation short. Sara’s not entirely sure Mike knows what he’s doing. But does anyone? Like most couples in a stressful situation, Mike and Sara soon resort to petty bickering.

Will they crack?

As if on cue, Jim and Theresa Banyon appear. They are smart, charismatic, and best of all rich. It’s easy to follow their lead. But Mike and Sara soon find that following Jim and Teresa risks their safety, their marriage, and even their sanity.

Readers be warned: Zombies From The Deep is a sexually explicit and graphically violent pulp fiction novel detailing the end of the world and survival during a zombie apocalypse."

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Where do I start with this book?

To be honest, I nearly didn’t make it to the end. It started off quite well but then quickly descended into something ridiculous which had me laughing at its absurdity - the nymphomaniac? Don’t even go there!! However, I have been “told off” for reviewing a book I have not finished before so I persevered. I must admit to heaving a sigh of relief when I had finished and thought it was a pile of rubbish and I was going to write a review straight away but I didn’t have time, so have left it a couple of days and I am glad I did because I have had time to digest and reflect on what I have read and have changed my mind.

I think this is a cleverly written book which appears one thing at the start but becomes something completely different by the end and all the bits that seemed preposterous suddenly made sense. I can’t say too much as I don’t want to give the game away but I will say that this book is not as it seems so I advise anyone who reads it to keep going to the end and then let it sink in for a while.

Thank you to the publisher, Hocus Pocus Publishing Inc and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.