Bonnie R. Paulson

This wickedly delicious cover for Dictating Death by Bonnie R Paulson makes me think I will be going over the falls and into deep water. And I go willingly.

Maria hated waiting for the death part. The fun was in the lead-in to the the final act – the revenge.

The creepiness of the cover drew me in and after reading the blurb, I was hooked. Knowing what’s inside only whet my appetite for blood. And I got it. Right from the getgo. From the opening pages the knife was cutting, the blood show more flowing, the torture beyond belief. It wasn’t enough to kill. It must be a long, drawn out, painful and excruciating death. And Maria reveled in it.

Is Samantha good? Is Maria bad? Who is the responsible party? Many times they are at cross purposes, both struggling for control. Sam is a slob, a pussy. Maria is the doer, she wants to look hot and pretty, she is the angel of vengeance.

As the book opens, Maria thinks, this is not my first kill and I sure don’t want it to be the last. She knew she would get caught…just not yet. She must have her

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Everything before hand is just icing on the cake.

She is 300 pounds of woman. Sam did it to slow them down, forgetting, or never really believing she may meet Mr Right.

Rebecca – where did she come from? I think I will leave it to you to learn about Rebecca.

When Sam met Luke, she felt he was different.

Dr Luke Lawson. Imagine coming home to your messy house, only to find it sparkling clean. What would you do? What did he do?

He left his door open, hoping someone would come in and erase all evidence of his ex. DONE. But, you better be careful what you wish for. Poor Luke. Even when something good enters his life, it turns to shit. He can’t get a break.

I was into this book from the beginning and it gripped me until the end. Like the synopsis says, this is not for the faint of heart. The torture, blood and gore keeps on giving. I knew her ending, but the way it happened was wrapped up in a neat package that had me saying, “Well, that’s that.” I am satisfied.

I received an ARC for an honest review. show less

Unbridled Trails by Bonnie R Paulson, is not the first story I have read by this author. I have read her Psycho Collection and loved it, so I thought…with writing like that…I would give one of her western romances a try. Also my name happens to be Sherry.

Sherry is a bug girl, an entomologist, and she does prefer her bugs to people. She has a pet tarantula and I had a chuckle when Kyle and Tommy (the tarantula) met.

Sherry first met Kyle when Guy, a bully predator of the lowest order, show more tries to drug Sherry at the bar. Kyle swoops in and saves the day. That is when the troubles start for both of them. They are attracted and try to deny it. Their communication skills are a bit lacking but they slowly come around. I loved when Kyle cooked her Rocky Mountain Oysters. LOL How could he be a hero and be so naive and gullible at the same time?

If you have to choose between a big weevil and a small weevel, then choose the lesser of two weevils.

Humor was sprinkled throughout Unbridled Trails, yet a danger lurked in the background, nagging at me, never letting me forget that Guy was still out there…somewhere and wanted a piece of her.

I was surprised at the ending and that is always a good thing for me.

Unbridled Trails is a fast paced, quick and easy read of love, survival, family and romance. Perfect for the summer season while you are lazing around the pool or on the beach.

I received a copy of Unbridled Trails by Bonnie R Paulson in return for an honest review. show less

This was a bit difficult for me. Being a survivor, it did bring back memories I would rather not think about. Realistically, I think about them anyway. To say I liked the book makes me wonder what kind of person I am. I mean she is 13-17 taking the lives of people, sometimes setting them up. But then I think about the people. They were rapists and pedophiles. Suddenly, I’m good with it.
I read these kinds of books because I like examining the minds of the victim and the perpetrator. Cassie show more is both. I understand the first kill. I couldn’t do it, (I can honestly say that with confidence). But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand it. Nor does it mean I am upset about it. A part of me wishes I could have been Cassie. Part of me is happy I’m not. Part me wonders what is wrong with me that I couldn’t defend myself. Part of me wonders how I would have turned out if I did defend myself. What parts of me would I have lost? Realistically, I was much younger than Cassie. I wouldn’t have survived if I could have managed to fight back. It doesn’t stop me from feeling like a failure for not fighting.
Is the book realistic? Yes. No. The abuse happens. The author got that right. Disturbingly so. Cassie and Deegan getting away with so many murders? No. It wouldn’t have happened. There are a number of things wrong with that. Does it bother me? Nope. I am fine with fantasy revenge. I have done it a lot. Not going to lie. I was doing that while listening to this.
Cassie and Deegan have a strange relationship. Is it love? I’m no expert on that. Is it love for killing? Again no expert here. Is it a love for saving someone else from being harmed? Could be. Again no expert here but I do tend to rescue others. It has been years that I kept everything locked up. Then I discovered that others took courage from things I experienced. They took hope. They gave sympathy. They felt free to talk about things. I started talking more about things. It is still mainly when necessary though a few times I was just sharing. So I’m not the one to really determine what kind of relationship Cassie and Deegan have. I just understand Cassie feels they need each other and Deegan seems to believe it too.
This book brings up the old question are psychopaths born that way or made. I mean Cassie wasn’t murdering anything before the assault on her. So it would seem as though that act made her. Except that you have many survivors who never kill anyone. So was she born that way? What about Deegan. Why did he become Cassie’s partner? Was it hearing about the cases as a child? Hearing his father speaking of how the perpetrators aren’t punished enough? Was it seeing what happened to Cassie and his role in it? I don’t have the answers. I’ll be thinking about it though.
Is this book for everyone? Absolutely not. Please be aware of what you are thinking of reading or listening to. This is a book that deals with sexual abuse of a minor. That alone makes it not a book for everyone. It is also a book that deals with some messy murders. Think about that before you decide to get this book. If you can handle that, the book gave me a lot to think about. It may do that for you. If you are looking for realistic punishments are neatly done, dark punishments this might not satisfy you. It is firmly set in fantasy.
I listened to this on Audible. I was given a copy for review consideration. I voluntarily reviewed this selection. All opinions are my thoughts while listening to this book and my thoughts afterward.
The narrator on the Audible version is Jenifer Krist. I liked her narration. I think she did well as a grown Cassie telling the story of her youth. Good pick in my opinion. show less

Barely Alive was not at all what I expected it to be. Based on the blurb, I anticipated a somewhat run-of-the-mill zombie tale with a splash of romance. What I didn't see coming was the humor in which it would be told. Paulson masterfully spins this web with voice of a teenage boy who can't decide what he wants more, food or sex. You so easily fall into his head and thought process. Or, lack there of, as the case so often is with Paul.

Paul was having a rough time of life and during a show more downturn he fell into the glamorous cult life created by a man name Dominic. Glamorous in the way of being injected with a virus that will kill you in twelve weeks and while you wait for your inevitable end you will be ordered around and tortured in numerous ways. Your body begins to die but your brain and strength get a strong boost right after injection and with every time you eat fresh flesh. Paul is fighting through it when he is ordered to take a group of other infected out to kidnap girls for Dominic's needs.

One of the girls they pick up is Heather and Paul just can't resist taking a little nibble. Finding her immune to the virus that was now beginning to take over Las Vegas, Dominic finds he needs Heather more than he needs Paul and he's willing to go to all lengths to get her. Including grabbing Paul's younger brother James as hostage.

Paul is a smart guy but so easily looses track of his thoughts. His inner monologues were hilarious. He easily jumps between finding a cure for the virus, to lusting over Heather, to fresh meat (preferably cow), back to the virus then right back to meat, meat, meat. He struggles with that, doesn't want to be one of the mindless killing fiends but needs meat to keep his body from quick degeneration. I am a huge fan of Paul.

Heather is a somewhat reserved girl but when she get riled up she's quite spunky. I think as she develops more in the series, I'm really going to enjoy her. The other sideline characters promise to be great, as well. They too are smart and funny and take the responsibility of, well basically saving the world, with a mix of calm collection and murderous importance.

Really my only qualm with Barely Alive was the end. As in, there really wasn't one. It's very abrupt. I see where it's headed and understand that it's a series and you have to end it somewhere. I just wish there had been either a little closure and a cliff hanger.

Regardless, I will be diving right into Falling Apart (book #2) and right back into the mind of a very funny seventeen year old sex addled, meat craving boy. Happily. show less