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Saturday, June 23, 2012

New on Audio ~ Bookended by Beauty Queens


New Book Bookended by Beauty Queens

Exciting news you heard here first.  This book now available as an audio book.


Title: Bookended by Beauty Queens
Author: Victoria Marshal
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Angie Palmer likes her life just the way it is–private. She has no desire to entangle herself in complex friendships, and her relationship with her two beauty queen sisters is safely distant.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always go as planned.

When disaster strikes her Grandmother, Angie takes her into her home. A life with Grandma comes a world full of changes, and new friends, including Val, a drag queen with hopes of being the next US-Gay Beauty Pageant winner. Angie is determined to keep Val at a distance. Val has an instinct for knowing what is in Angie heart.

Just as Angie gets comfortable with Grandma living with her, a budding friendship with Val, and a new romantic interest, everything takes an unexpected turn.

Val becomes the victim of a violent crime and ends up in a coma. Angie begins a struggle against Val’s family who wants to remove their son from life support.

Suddenly her private life becomes very public, and her world becomes a media circus. Angie is caught in a clash between religious beliefs and gay rights.

Through many twists and turns, Angie discovers a new appreciation for family, friends, and love.

In the end, Angie learns that a life filled with people to care about is never too crowded.

Book Excerpt:
Angie Palmer likes her life just the way it is–private. She has no desire to entangle herself in complex friendships, and her relationship with her two beauty queen sisters is safely distant.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always go as planned.

When disaster strikes her Grandmother, Angie takes her into her home. A life with Grandma comes a world full of changes, and new friends, including Val, a drag queen with hopes of being the next US-Gay Beauty Pageant winner. Angie is determined to keep Val at a distance. Val has an instinct for knowing what is in Angie heart.

Just as Angie gets comfortable with Grandma living with her, a budding friendship with Val, and a new romantic interest, everything takes an unexpected turn.

Val becomes the victim of a violent crime and ends up in a coma. Angie begins a struggle against Val’s family who wants to remove their son from life support.

Suddenly her private life becomes very public, and her world becomes a media circus. Angie is caught in a clash between religious beliefs and gay rights.

Through many twists and turns, Angie discovers a new appreciation for family, friends, and love.

In the end, Angie learns that a life filled with people to care about is never too crowded.

Author Bio
Victoria Marshal lives and writers in Northern Minnesota where she lives with her husband and her children. Bookended By Beauty Queens if her first book. You can find her on her website: http://victoriamarshal.com


Important Links
Author Website: http://victoriamarshal.com

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Kindle giveaway and Tempest, the Samsara Chronicles, book 5, review






Book Review of TEMPEST The Samsara Chronicles Book 5
Sponsored by Pump Up Your Book

Join Gabriella Bradley and Diana Kemp as they tour the blogosphere June 1 – August 31 2012 with their The Samsara Chronicles series! Diana and Gabriella have agreed to give away not only a Kindle Fire but also a $50 Gift Certificate (payable by Paypal) to the person who comments the most on their 3 month blog tour. If there is a tie, the winner will be chosen through Random.org.

 
Product Details
File Size: 151 KB
Print Length: 76 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: eXtasy Books (May 25, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B0086FQPNW
PRICE: 2.99
GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Futuristic, Romance
SERIES: The Samsara Chronicles Book 5

Purchase at Amazon:

Narrowly escaping danger during their quest to acquire the talismans and suspected of multiple murders, Aislinn and Dylan endure harsh winter conditions to evade the military and corrupt human minions seeking to stop them from the opening of the portal.

Author Information:
About Diana Kemp

Toronto native Diana Kemp is a multiple award-winning screenwriter and author with one hundred and thirty film festivals and screenwriting competition awards/placings to her credit. She is the co-writer of an NRL (Naval Research Lab) documentary (http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/videos/nrl-extended-video) produced by David Bellino of Second Wind Films.

Graduating with honors from Cal State Long Beach, she began a writing career at the age of seven that culminated in a diversely prolific collection of science fiction, horror and fantasy short stories, numerous short and feature screenplays and three science fiction novels, two of which include The Samsara Chronicles co authored with Gabriella Bradley.

In addition to serving as Executive Producer and Producer on a variety of projects with Michael Gianfriddo, her credits include Blink Black Ops (http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt2083939/) and her 3-D science fiction show, Trapezoid, (http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt2160425/), which is in pre-production.

Diana founded Shadowland Productions and Edge Media with producing partner Michael Gianfriddo and holds positions as CEO and Chairman in addition to serving as an executive for Dominant Entertainment. She oversees all development, production and management for each company.

She is represented by industry veteran Sherry Robb of the Robb Entertainment Group.

About Gabriella Bradley

Gabriella Bradley lives amidst rugged mountains. She more than often has a grizzly in her backyard searching for food. Other critters that visit on a regular basis are cougars, coyotes, squirrels, raccoons.

She has been a writer all of her life, though only ventured into erotic works in 2003. The Samsara Chronicles was born through psychic channeling. Many of the scenes in these books were inspired by David—possibly a writer during his life, a guide from beyond that visited Gabby. During the course of his visits, he told her to involve Diana.

Gabby’s hobbies include hiking, gardening, swimming, sewing, embroidery. Favorite movies are old timers like Gone with the Wind, Spartacus etc. Favorite music is Abba. Besides all that, she owns and directs a busy company and its staff.


Join the Rest of the Tour.  See list below for all upcoming reviews:

Friday, June 22
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Tempest)
Monday, June 25
Book Review at Book Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Itineras)
Tuesday, June 26
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Tempest)
Thursday, June 28
Book Review at Bunny’s Reviews (Covenant)
Monday, July 2
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Maelstrom)
Tuesday, July 3
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Itineras)
Thursday, July 5
Book Review & Giveaway at Book Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Tempest)
Friday, July 6
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Exodus)
Monday, July 9
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Maestrom)
Tuesday, July 10
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Tempest)
Wednesday, July 11
Book Review & Giveaway at Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Maestrom)
Thursday, July 12
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Exodus)
Friday, July 13
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Nirvana)
Monday, July 16
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Maestrom)
Wednesday, July 18
Book Review & Giveaway at Book Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Exodus)
Thursday, July 19
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Nirvana)
Friday, July 20
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Netherworld)
Monday, July 23
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Exodus)
Tuesday, July 24
Book Review & Giveaway at Book Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Nivana)
Wednesday, July 25
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Netherworld)
Thursday, July 26
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Nirvana)
Friday, July 27
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Bloodline)
Monday, August 6
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Entity)
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Entity)
Tuesday, August 7
Book Review & Giveaway at Reader Girls (EOS)
Wednesday, August 8
Book Review & Giveaway at Reader Girls (Nadir)
Thursday, August 9
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Netherworld)
Monday, August 13
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Kindred)
Tuesday, August 14
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Bloodline)
Wednesday, August 15
Book Review & Giveaway at Book Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Entity)
Thursday, August 16
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Kindred)
Friday, August 17
Book Review &  Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Entity)
Monday, August 20
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More Books (Nexus)
Tuesday, August 21
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Kindred)
Wednesday, August 22
Book Review & Giveaway at Book Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Kindred)
Thursday, August 23
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Nexus)
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Road to Here (Equilibrium)
Friday, August 24
Book Review & Giveaway at The Paperback Pursuer (EOS)
Monday, August 27
Book Review & Giveaway at Books Books and More  Books (Equilibrium)
Tuesday, August 28
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Nexus)
Wednesday, August 29
Book Spotlight & Giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews (Equilibrium)
Thursday, August 30
Book Review & Giveaway at Book Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf (Equilibrium)
Friday, August 31
Book Review & Giveaway at Bunny’s Reviews (Equilibrium)

Book Excerpt:

“I agree we can’t afford to lose any more men but it’s too late to do anything about it now,” Garring said. “We’ve lost two good cops. Tomorrow we’ll probably lose more. Anger won’t help matters.” He retrieved a manila file precariously perched on his in-tray. “I’ve read your report. It seems unlikely that Young could have killed these officers alone. He must have had an accomplice. I also feel that the report is somewhat exaggerated in respect to the carnage described. What’s wrong with you? This sounds like nonsense from some B-rated science fiction film.”

Patterson’s dark eyes flashed indignantly. “With all due respect, Captain, if you read the reports that came in from Vancouver, you’ll find a similar scenario.”

Garring sighed and glanced at the stack of reports littering his desk. His head ached from the low intensity lighting and the stale air. Not even the background bustle of the station was a comfort to him anymore. “Do you have any idea how many reports I receive each day, Patterson? I barely have time to sift through the most urgent, let alone the lower priority.”

“I would hardly call the murder of two cops low priority!” Patterson cried. He reached for a battered manila folder lying on top of the stack and leafed through a sheaf of papers. He pulled one sheet out and handed it to Garring. “Read this, sir.”

The Captain squinted at the paper then reached for his glasses and read more intently. He shook his head as he scanned the text. “What the hell is this bullshit? More slasher stuff. What are we dealing with here? Some kind of demonic cult? You know Young quite well. Do you honestly think he had anything to do with all this? For God’s sake! He’s one of our best men! You think he’s suddenly turned into some kind of monster?”

Book Review:

            Tempest is the 5th of 14 parts of a story broken down into 14 books.  In this story Aislinn and Dylan are on the run.  They continue to be pursued by people with green aura’s who mean them harm.  They regularly run into people who give them gifts, sometime worth a lot of money, which these people insist they have passed down through their family specifically to give to them or more specifically to Aislinn.

            Each installment in the story gets more intense and intriguing.  Aislinn develops powers which save them, but also terrify her.  The more they learn the more questions they and we have.  I literally sit on the edge of my seat waiting to see what will happen next.  I actually found myself clenching my teeth today because I was so worried.  (yes I tend to get a little involved in my story character’s lives, but still clenching my teeth..!?.)

            This is a definitely must read story series.  The adventure, romance, suspense, fantasy, humor, creep factor, and good writing make this the perfect summer, or any time, read.

            I give part 5 of the Samsara Chronicles 4 out of 5 clouds.  Please leave me comments or questions you have about this review, this series, or what you think will happen next.  Thanks!

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.


Blood and Whiskey review


Book Review of Blood and Whiskey

Book Synopsis:

In Blood and Whiskey, the second book in The Cowboy and Vampire Thriller Series, Tucker, Lizzie and the rest of the gang are back with a vengeance. Lizzie is pregnant, with a growing, unquenchable thirst for human blood and trouble on the horizon. The most powerful vampires from the ruling clans are headed to LonePine to test her new powers. If they find her lacking, Lizzie, her growing baby, and all of LonePine will be destroyed — not that it would take very long.
It’s certainly an inconvenient time for Tucker to take a road trip, but sometimes friendship trumps common sense. With a duffle bag of improvised weapons, he sets out for Portland with Lenny to find the kidnapped girl. They end up in remote Plush, Oregon, where — smack dab in the middle of the sagebrush desert — they uncover a human blood farm run by a fearsome cowboy enemy resurrected from the Old West. His name is Henry Plummer and his sights are set on Lizzie.
As the truth about what they have uncovered dawns on Tucker and Lenny, they rush back to LonePine. The Vampire Illuminati have already arrived, including Rurik, a handsome Russian vampire angling to take Tucker’s place next to Lizzie.
How far will Lizzie and Tucker go to protect their unlikely love?
Blood and Whiskey is a story of love, loyalty and loss in the modern American West. With meditations on the nature of good and evil, a new cosmology for vampires — including a meta-consciousness where vampire minds reside between deaths — and a cast of gritty, quirky, realistic western characters, Blood and Whiskey tangles the vampire and cowboy myths into a groundbreaking new “modern gothic western” genre. 

About the authors
Stuff Clark likes: sagebrush, the American West, clouds, whiskey and graphic novels. Stuff he hates: running quarterbacks, drivers who don’t use turn signals and the sound of flip-flops.   


Stuff Kathleen likes: Russian literature, anarchy, martinis, lava and the ocean. Stuff she hates: intermissions, Halloween corn mazes and high-speed vehicular sandwiches. And the Muppets. 




Learn more and stay in touch:




Book Review:
Every time I say I will not read another vampire story a book like this comes along.  Funny, charming, quirky, and unique.  This book is what this genre is supposed to look like.  The writing is clean, fast paced, and fresh.

I definitely give this book 4 out of 5 clouds.


This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

Released today Blood Jewel

 Book Review of Blood Jewel

Blood Jewel 
by Georgia Cates

With the mystery of Chansey Leclaire and Curry Brennan’s connection solved, they are free to explore their newfound love for one another. Or so they thought...

When Marsala uses a witch and black magic to discover Curry’s whereabouts, he and Chansey are left with no choice. The newly engaged couple is forced to relocate away from their families at the new compound in Savannah, which causes some major changes in the plans for their upcoming wedding.

Relocating to Savannah might have saved Curry and Chansey from being discovered by Marsala, but it doesn’t stop her attempts to reach Curry or her efforts to harm Chansey through the use of black magic. As Marsala closes in, Curry faces the decision he never wanted to make. Will he keep Chansey human or condemn her to eternity as the thing he hates most? 

As Curry waits for his hand to be forced, a newly turned vampire arrives at the Savannah compound in need of help. Not only is she a fledgeling in transition, she brings reports of escaping from a vampire cult still in possession of her sister, a human. Any attempt to save the captive human from a cult of vampires puts everyone in jeopardy. Can they risk entering a large cult to save one human being? And is so, how could they possibly do it successfully?

Love will grow. New mysteries will arise. A battle will ensue. A Blood Jewel will be found.

Blood Jewel Excerpt-
I waited until she was asleep to leave her side, slipping away as quietly as a thief in the night. My family was no longer gathered in the dining room and I walked outside to find Gia and Lairah in the pool taking a late night swim.
“Tell me you didn’t leave your bride in the bed alone,” Gia huffed.
“She’s not my bride. She’s my fiancé and I need your help with something big. Tomorrow is Chansey’s birthday and I need some ideas. I want to take her into the city and do something special, but I have no idea what.”
“Well, you made the right decision by coming to us instead of that buffoon you call your best friend. Really? What is his deal?” Lairah said.
“I think he’s jealous,” Gia answered. “And yes, Solomon...I know you can hear me inside the house.”
“Take it easy, girls,” I urged.
“Alright, we’ll forget the buffoon and get back to the task at hand. You’ve already given her the most precious piece of jewelry she’ll ever wear. Any type of bling-bling you come up with will only pale in comparison, so you shot yourself in the foot when it comes to jewelry,” Lairah told me.
“She loves your art, so paint her something. You can have it ready by tomorrow because you’re so awesome,” Gia suggested.
I blew that one, too. “That’s not going to work. I did a soft pastel of her on the day I met her, so anything I did would pale in comparison to that. Now, I’ve shot myself in the foot when it comes to art.”
Solomon walked out of the house and added, “Nice going, one trick pony.”
“In my own defense, she was never suppose to see it. It was supposed to be for my own private collection.”
Sol jumped into the pool with the girls and then came up. He ran his hands back over his slick dark hair. “I’m not jealous. If anyone is jealous it’s the two of you with your crazy ideas and dreams of romance that’s never going to happen for you. Both of you are living vicariously through this poor human girl and she’s probably scared to death to tell either of you ‘no.’Shame on both of you.”
“You’ve become such an ass since Curry found Chansey. There’s no way you’re not jealous. I just haven’t figured out if it’s because Chansey is taking Curry away from you or because you want an Agápe too,” Gia accused, then bumped fists with Lairah.
A smug look crossed Sol’s face. “Well, this ass has a perfect idea for Chansey’s birthday, so do you want to know what it is or not?”
I threw my hands up. “Hey, I didn’t accuse you of anything. You’ve always been an ass in my book and that hasn’t changed since Chansey came along,” I joked.
He nodded in recognition and said, “You damn skippy.”
I was anxious to hear his suggestion. “So, what’s your idea, Skippy?”
“If I’m right, Chansey is so going to dig this and you’ll score some major fiancé/husband/Agápe points with her. Do you remember when you went back to Pascagoula about twelve years ago and went by your house?”
I was puzzled by where this was going. “Yeah , I remember.”
“If I recall correctly, you had just become very interested in photography and you took a lot of pictures of the house. You made me look through like five thousand pictures I cared nothing about, but I remember the owners were in some of them and they were having a birthday party for a kid out in the yard. Is it possible for that to have been Chansey and her family? If it was her, then you saw her for the first time when she was a kid and you captured it on film.
He was right. I went crazy taking pictures that day and used every roll of film I had with me. “You are absolutely brilliant, Sol. Girls, you can’t call him a buffoon anymore.”
Gia splashed water at Sol and said, “You don’t know if that was Chansey and her family, so we reserve the right to call him a buffoon until we have proof otherwise.”
Sol dunked Gia and when she came up, he said, “You are both going to eat your words on this one, girls. There’s no doubt in my mind that those negatives are full of Chansey Leclaire and her family because he was like a madman with all of the pictures he took of that girl and her family. At the time, I wondered if he was some kind of weird vampire pedophile, but it all makes sense now. It didn’t matter that she was a child. Even then, he was drawn to her because she was his Agápe.”
“I think you’re right and what makes this even more awesome is that Chansey told me today that she has no pictures of her family together because she lost all of them in Hurricane Katrina.” I started walking toward the house. “I’ve got to find those negatives before Chansey wakes up. Thank you, Sol. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m pretty awesome,” he boasted.
I went to my old darkroom where I kept my negatives filed away and began my search. Ugh! I should have filed these by date or something because I had years and years of negatives to search through. My heart pounded as I searched and I prayed Sol was right. Please let it be Chansey and her family.
After twenty minutes of searching, I found the negatives from that day. I held them up to the light and saw the outline of a family but even my vampire vision couldn’t make out if it was Chansey and her family or not.
I stopped using film when digital photography became popular, so it had been years since I printed photographs from negatives, but I didn’t need any of those supplies because I could scan the negative and upload it to my computer. Got to love technology.
I silently went to my bedroom and moved all of my necessary equipment to another bedroom so I wouldn’t wake Chansey and ruin the surprise. I scanned the negatives and waited to see the images on my computer screen. And there she was...a young Chansey with her family. I was ecstatic because I was going to be able to give her the one thing no one else could...an intact photograph of her family together.
I printed the best one on canvas and chose a few others for an album before I went back out to the pool to tell the others my good news.
I held up one of the photos and said, “Well, ladies, here’s the proof. I’m afraid you better come up with another name for Sol besides buffoon because he was right. It was Chansey and her family.”
“Dammit!” Gia swore as she slapped the water. “I’m sorry, Curry. I didn’t mean that. I’m happy for you.”
Sol got out of the pool and reached for one of the two towels on the table. “I think Mr. Fabulous has a nice ring to it.”
Lairah was fuming. “Well, I think jerk off sounds more like it. You didn’t bring a towel with you, so that means you just stole one of ours.”
“Sorry ladies, it’s one of the perks of being Mr. Fabulous,” he said as he used one of their towels to dry off.
“You make me want to throw up,” Gia gritted through her teeth.
Sol enjoyed the aggravation he was causing and said, “Darling, you haven’t thrown up since you were human.”
“Whatever, jerk off.”
Lairah attempted to cool Gia saying, “Calm down, girl. You’re giving him way too much satisfaction by getting all riled up.” She turned to me and continued, “I was thinking while you were inside. I know of a cool band playing tomorrow night at a club on Bourbon. My friend, Jett, plays bass. Chansey is musically inclined, so I know she will love to hear them. Why don’t we all meet at the club after you take her to dinner and we’ll celebrate her birthday together with a night out on the town? We’ll show her how to party vampire style.”
“I think she would love that and your suggestion gave me an idea. Do you think I could get your cool band to do a special song request?”
“Jett will do anything for me,” Lairah promised.
“And is your friend, Jett, a human or a vampire?” I questioned.
“He’s human, but he’s so cool. I wish he was vampire because I could so dig him if he was. What do I need to tell him to play?”
“Van Morrison’s ‘Steal My Heart Away.’It was playing during our first dance.”
“Nice one,” Lairah complimented.
“It was such a bittersweet first dance because I thought it was our first and last. I loved her so much and I thought I was about to leave her forever.”
“It was your choice to leave, you ignoramus. Nobody forced you. Maybe you’re the buffoon instead of Solomon,” Lairah laughed.
“That’s what I’m talking about...someone else being the buffoon,” Solomon interjected.
“I realized my mistake and it won’t happen again. That I can promise you.”

About the Author:

I reside in rural Mississippi with my wonderful husband, Jeff, and our two beautiful daughters.

I spent thirteen years as a labor and delivery nurse before I decided to pursue my dream of becoming an author.

Blood of Anteros, Book One in The Vampire Agápe Series, was my first novel and it was released in September 2011.

I decided to step away from the paranormal genre to try my hand at a young adult romance and I loved it. It was so much fun, I plan to do it again in the near future.  

Author Georgia Cates gives us this little tidbit:

Top 6 Words to describe Blood Jewel and why:


Unique-
Blood Jewel is about the love affair between a vampire and his destined mate, Chansey, which is mostly human. The story is Curry’s, so it is written from a male vampire’s POV. In your tradition vampire/human romance, you read the story from the female character’s POV and the reader completely misses the emotions felt by the male vampire. Blood of Anteros and Blood Jewel both take the reader into the mind of the lead male’s vampire character.


Romantic-
Back to the male POV...my gosh, who wouldn’t want to hear the romantic thoughts of the man in your life? Curry’s love for Chansey is so sweet and tender, but that in no way makes him a sap. He is an alpha male so we see his possessive, protective side as well. (Sigh)

Sexy-
What can I say? This couple is hot and their chemistry is on FIRE! Someone get an extinguisher. In Blood of Anteros, we saw Chansey pushing Curry for an intimate relationship and he shows a lot of restraint, but his desire for Chansey becomes uninhibited in Blood Jewel. No more holding back. That’s all I’m saying about that. (Fanning myself)

Fulfilling-
The details and outcome of Curry and Chansey’s romantic adventure and love affair is fulfilling for the reader, while leaving room for potential future drama. In other words, you will get that ending we all know you want for them.

Insightful-
Blood Jewel is a fresh twist on the vampire world. Let’s face it...vampires have been done well and not so well, but I approached Blood Jewel with emphasis on the Agápe. To me, it is more about the Agape than it is about vampires.

Exciting-
Love never comes easy for a vampire and his Agápe and it never will. Their relationship will always include danger and struggle, although they were chosen for one another by the god, Anteros. What kind of story would we have it Love ever came easily?

 Links





This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.