#IntAuthorsDay is coming! Review: Defined by Others & a #giveaway. Hosted by @b00kr3vi3ws.

The idea behind International Authors Day began with book blogger Debdatta. Last year she realized that there was no day set aside to praise all the authors (traditional or self-published) who have provided us with years of entertainment. Debdatta has declared July 18^th as International Authors Day and for that, we all love her. From July 14^th thru July 18^th book bloggers and authors will be sharing posts about their favorite books and or authors- oh and there will be lots of giveaways! Check out mine at the end of this post. Be sure to check back with this hop on July 18^th – International Authors Day, see if you’ve won a prize.

Today I’ll be mentioning a few authors I enjoy and then I will feature the author of a wonderful book I’ve just reviewed.

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design, graphics, and technical editing. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and co-host of the A-Z Challenge. His awarding winning Cassa Series is now an affordable boxed set and his Dragon of the Stars continues to increase in popularity. What are the Kargrandes?

Stacey Rourke is the awarding author of the Gryphon Series and The Legends Saga, for which I had the pleasure of revealing the latest cover for here. She writes with a quick wit and isn’t afraid to go beyond the norm. My review for book 1 in The Legends Saga, Crane, coming soon.

Ian Mathie is an awarding winning memoirist with a life story worth writing about. He has an incredible outlook on life and is definitely an author worth getting to know. He’s also written some fiction. I’ve just finished Chinese Take-Out and will post my review soon.

And last, but definitely not least, is M.C.V. Egan.  This author writes in genres that I’m just not all that interested in, at least that’s what I thought. She changed all that with her Historical-Metaphysical novel The Bridge of Deaths. She’s at it again with her latest release, a Contemporary (Women’s Fiction), entitled Defined by Others. See my review below.

 Defined by Others (Defining Ways Series Book 1) by M.C.V. Egan

I give this book a 5

This author has a way of intriguing me that always manages to entice me into reading outside my preferred genres.

Defined by Others, on the surface, is the tale of a mid-life crisis gone terribly wrong, but it’s actually much more than that. It tells the bounce back journey of Anne, a woman who likes to define moments in a single word, only now she’s a little speechless and unknowingly open to pursue other actions. She is after all trying to bounce back from learning that her husband is leaving her for a man, her father has just been hospitalized, and an old frenemy has just died- but not without leaving Anne a parting gift.

‘Manipulation’ is the single word that would define this book. It’s very dark, but glossed over with pretty wealthy people and little white lies, that turn black in the blink of an eye. That’s how the end comes at you. You see it coming the whole time, but when the “stuff” hits the fan, it catches you off guard- even with the metaphysical aspects in the story.

People often complain about the dangers of social media much in the same as they do the use of firearms. I’m not going argue either case here, but as many would agree, it’s not the “weapon” it’s the user. Anne and her friend Connie take their old frenemy’s gift and turn Facebook into a weapon of mass emotional destruction. When they say misery loves company, they must be thinking of Anne and Connie- but is Anne really looking to destroy lives or is she simply hurting, lost, and confused?

I didn’t fall in love with any of these characters, but I did become enthralled in this story. The whole time I read it, I kept thinking, “There are crazy people out in the world just like this, for real. I’m so glad I don’t have this kind of drama in my life.” This book made me appreciate the small number of close friends I have and made me appreciate how wonderful my husband and family really are. One word to define my feeling for this book would be ‘grateful’, plus is was quite entertaining.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes to read Women’s Fiction or Contemporary fiction with a hard edge. This is purely an adult read, though it does not contain erotic material. It deals with mature concepts that young children will not understand and that hopefully teenagers aren’t currently dealing with (but consider the times we live in).

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

And then there’s me, Toi Thomas. I write to entertain and read to be entertained. I’m very proud of my Eternal Curse Series, and am currently working on a contemporary romance, It’s Like the Full Moon, which I plan to release in late 2015 or early 2016. If you want to know more about me and my writing, just take a look around this site…And now for the giveaway.

Please visit the button below to hop around and celebrate with all those participating.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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