Mike Wells (1)

There is no way I would pass on Baby Talk by Mike Wells, just by looking at the cover. It made me think of Rosemary’s Baby, and, as I got to reading, it made me think of The Omen. Baby Talk is Book I of a trilogy and a quick read. Mike Wells managed to pack a lot into Baby Talk. Suitably creepy and I felt bad for Neal Becker. Even though it is not such an original story, I still enjoyed (?) my time with the characters and want to see where Mike Wells takes the story.

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Well...I liked it and I did not like it.
First off at a mere 90ish pages I would not call it a novel.
It also ends very abruptly with a link to purchase book 2 which seems more likely that it is the second half of what should have been the rest of this book.

Annie and Neal "had to" get married. Actually when Annie got pregnant Neal would have rather she had an abortion. He never wanted "Baby Natasha" and is not all that fond of being a husband either at only 21 years old.

Neal works a show more minimum wage job and resents that he had to leave school to support a baby he never wanted.
I read a lot of horror and I never really expect it to make sense so I have no problem at all with this story line of a 5 month old baby being out to kill. What did bother me was a couple of things that the author seemed to presume, such as one character mentioning that a 5 month old baby can't even sit up yet. Sure they may topple over but babies can indeed sit up usually any time between 4-7 months. While it may be unusual for a 5 month old to want to kill anyone I don't see why the author would find it unusual for a 5 month old to sit up. He also seems to presume that breast size has anything to do with milk production. Hence Annie's thoughts that she needed to supplement with formula because of not having large breasts. Most of all what really grated on my nerves was that a character (Annie) who is so paranoid of crib death and who is always reading books on baby care would ever in a million years leave her baby in a car alone in a parking lot. No I take that back, what bothered me the most was Annie's baby talk. It made me want to throat punch her.

Other than that, it was not a bad story. I mean who doesn't love a good evil baby story? But somehow even though this is currently free at amazon I feel cheated, because I thought this was a complete "novel" and not just half. show less

Review originally posted onPretty in Fiction.

Title: Wild Child
Author: Mike Wells
Rating: 3.4 stars

This eBook is FREE! Get your copy here.

Wild Child is a fast paced novella by author Mike Wells. Honestly I found this book to be a great, rough read with lots of potential, which is why I give it 3.4/5-stars.

The story is about Kyle Dunlap (Jr.) and his best friend, Briana Fox, who, while swimming in the lake in their town, meets with a horrible accident. Gravely injured, Briana manages to show more fight her way to a mysterious spring hidden deep under the lake that washes away all her wounds and leaves her in a euphoric high—but the cure is far from permanent.

In an attempt by Kyle to determine why the spring had this effect, a pair of government agents learns of this strange water, and now will stop at nothing to have it in their grasps. Kyle must choose: tell the agents what they want to know, and possibly lose his best friend forever, or protect the secret of the spring.


Overall I thought the plot was well developed and moved along smoothly. There were a few small things here or there that, to me, felt out of place, or just did not compute. For instance, I could be wrong, but I did not know that Jeeps could jump over short walls when in four-wheel drive.

My main criticisms, however, lie with character development and dialogue. Not the leads, they were great.

Kyle is a strong character and a loyal friend (perhaps to a fault). He stands up for Briana throughout the book, even if he doesn't agree with her. You can tell he genuinely cares for her, and wants to be sure of her safety.

Briana, on the other hand, is reckless, stubborn, and holds Kyle in the palm of her hands.

The issues I have are more with the secondary characters. Particularly the dynamic duo of governmental authority known only as Brains and Brawn.

Strong primary characters are good to have, and the author did an excellent job there, but a main character needs a good, strong supporting cast. And I did not feel like the author delivered on these two.

From their first appearance where they refused to say anything about themselves other than that they "represented the United States government" (when asked if they worked for a particular branch, their response? "That is none of your concern." Hmmm...fishy. I wonder if the author even knows?) and that they wanted to know the source of the water, to their two-dimensional good-cop/bad-cop routine, I was left feeling that interactions and dialogue exchanged with these two characters felt stiff and, at times, forced.

I did, however, like that this book was full of action; the story was original, and just flowed—you had to know what would happen next. And that ending? Wow. I can't say I was as surprised by it as some, but I can see how they would be. Kyle must make an impossible choice, and I think that was the perfect ending for this book.

If you don't mind your stories a little rough around the edges, I recommend giving this one a chance. It's a fast read, and you won't regret it! show less

An exciting, fast paced thriller that I was unable to put down!

Synopsis:

Elaine and her father live in a run down area of Pittsburgh. Despite not having a lot of money Elaine’s father does everything he can in order to send his daughter to a private school, and ensure she receives the best possible education. After spending two thousand dollars on modelling training from the Rising Star Agency, Elaine realises she has been the victim of a scam, threatening the sleazy owners of the company, show more they return her money. Feeling elated at having obtained the money she returns home and gives the money to her father. Days later the police arrest Elaine’s father for possession of counterfeit money. This ultimately rockets Elaine on to a career path to the secret service’s counterfeit money division, in order to obtain justice for her innocent father, but making it in the secret service is tough, and how does she know who she can trust?

Review:

Wow what a cliffhanger! This book is a wild ride, and you’ll be hooked from the first few pages. I sat down to read a few chapters before bed and before I knew it I was burning the midnight oil and the book was finished. It’s very fast paced and leaves you with such a shock ending, you’ll be desperate to buy books two and three.

Elaine is a great character, she’s likeable she works hard and she is portrayed in a very realistic manner. I often think when you read thriller novels with secret service or FBI agencies they come off a bit over the top with James Bond car scenes and explosions. Lust does not follow that pattern, it’s exciting and fun but it doesn’t feel ridiculous, it’s extremely believable and Wells writes in a very detailed manner – I know very little about counterfeit money but everything seemed very well researched and informative – without being overly technical or dull.

It’s a great little mystery that will keep you guessing, and I have seen many people compare this to the work of Sidney Sheldon. It holds all the key ingredients for a wonderful story, a great heroine, a touch of romance, a splash of mystery and all the interesting little tidbits in between. Lust is currently free via Amazon as well as the author’s website, so if you’re interested head over to Mike Wells’s Blog for more info, I promise you won’t be disappointed! show less