My Book Review of Counterpunch (Zero-Point Awakening Book 5) By ZZ Adams

Description: 

The alien invasion is just beginning.

The stakes are higher, the enemies deadlier as the alien invasion continues and the team must navigate dangerous missions and uncover the truth behind the Coldhorn Initiative.

Scattered across the globe, Arthur, Elliot, Millicent and Stanley must find their way home and stop the evil plans of Hellinix, the Blood of Breogan and the Children of Gaia.

From a remote archaeological dig in the Sahara to a resort paradise in the Bahamas and a tropical rainforest in Papua New Guinea, they’ll have to rely on each other to survive and uncover the truth.

As they race against time to stop the alien armada and unravel the mysteries of the Coldhorn Initiative, they’ll be forced to confront personal demons and question their own alliances.

Join the thrilling and action-packed adventure as the team fights to save humanity and uncover the truth. Buy now and become a part of the team that will save the planet.

My Review:

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book as our would-be hero’s are separated and flung around the world.  Thankfully, Arthur and Eliot ended up together in the desert.  At one point, I was confused whether they were in the present or had done some type of time travel.  As crazy as this series has gotten, it would’ve worked. 

Then there was Kat and Millicent.  This is where my love for this series evaporated.  Poof.  I’ll get into that later. 

My two favorite characters are still Arthur and Stanley. I do want to know what’s inside that Pandora’s box that Stanley activated. Hmmm. 

I think some events that happened really don’t make any sense and just kinda flimflammed together.  Like when Eliot finally faced his family.  The confrontation seemed forced and with no emotion.  Just a small amount of fighting and then, ta-da, you’re the winner.  Em, nope.

I feel like the writing has gotten looser as the series has progressed and everyone talks and acts the same.  But my biggest reason to hate on this series is the agenda the authors are pushing.  Out of the 5 main characters, I can’t count Stanly since he’s an orangutan. 4 of them are either, bi, lesbian, or gay.  That only leaves Arthur as a straight guy and he’s not every really human anymore.  So, these numbers don’t add up.  Out of the USA population, only 3% of people are LGBTQ.  Which means only one person out of the five would be gay.  Nope, that’s an agenda I don’t believe in and won’t support. 

If you’re not offended by over diversification being pushed at you, and you enjoy crazy, zany plots, you might enjoy the rest of the series.  For me, I’m calling it quits, even though I do want to know more.  I give this one 3 stars. 

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Collections, Anthologies, and Boxed Sets

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#Crystals101 – Moss Agate and Plants

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After I started my crystal journey, I spent a lot of time on Tok-tok, which also feed my obsession for those beautiful stones.  😂🤣   I remember coming across a video where a man in someplace like Cambodia or Vietnam, was harvesting his garden.  He was digging up one of his plants to gather what was under it.  I assumed it was some type of root or tuber vegetable.  After he was done picking the area clean, he reached into the hole and picked up a huge crystal sphere.  I was like, What?  Did he plant that along with his seedling?

Then one day, I was watching a livestream of HM_Aurora_cryatal and Anna, the host, was talking about Moss Agates.  She’s very knowledgeable about crystals and loves sharing with the group.  I mentioned in the chat that I’d seen a video of a man taking a crystal out of a hole after harvesting his garden.  She said that Moss Agate was great for helping plants.  Really?  Intriguing.  

Anyone who follows my blog knows I love growing flowers every year.  This conversation happened during the winter, so I started sorting through my collection of Moss Agate carvings and saved a bunch to put in my planters in the spring.  I wish I’d thought it out a bit better for an A /B testing, but I was so anxious to get my flowers in.  

I had 12 white planters I’d bought the year before, but 6 were different in design from the other 6, so I figured I’d use 6 of the same type WITH the Moss Agate and 6 without.  At least I thought that far ahead.  LOL. I also had some bigger planters that I used and put a Moss Agate in one and not the other.  These I used for my Zinnias, so now I had a true A / B test going.  Yay.  

After a few weeks, this is what I saw.  We’re looking at the square and round planters on each end.  Can you tell which has a Mass Agate buried in it?

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Also, the square planter had 4 plants while the round planter only had 2.  However, the square one has more potting soil as it’s bigger.  So I figured they weren’t quite the same but pretty dare near close.   Here they are side-by-side.

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Do you see the difference?  The left one has more blooming flowers and appears to be fuller, while the one on the right is taller.  

But I also tried to do this experiment with some marigolds and petunias. 

Look at the difference between the orange/gold marigolds on the left compared to the ones on the right.  Sadly, the one on the right, most of them already died.  I’m not sure why.  But the one on the left is thriving.  

As for the petunias, look at the planters with the purple ones.  There is a slight difference.  The one on the left isn’t as full grown as the one on the right. 

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I also put Moss Agates in my large snap dragons and my pansy’s.  Look at this. 

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I don’t remember my pansy’s ever looking this lush and so vibrant.  As for the snap dragons, I’ve grown them before, but it’s been awhile.  Still, look at all the new shoots coming out. 

Here is how they looked this morning.  The above pictures are a few weeks old, so I took new ones to compare them. 

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You can obviously see the difference between the two pots of zinnias.  The round planter is so much taller and has tons of new growth.  The snap dragons are going to town.  Wow!  As for the pansy’s, the heat is starting to get to them.  Sadly, they don’t do well during the summer and I end up losing them.  Hopefully, those Moss Agate pieces will keep them going longer. 

So my conclusion is, that Moss Agate helps the plants establish a better root system so they can grow taller and send out more shoots.  And the great thing about crystals is, you don’t need to bury them.  You can just place them around your garden to see the same effect. After all, you wouldn’t want to bury this beauty in the ground.  But you could, and it will be just fine.  

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As I was doing research for this post, I ran across websites that also confirmed what I found and that you can use other crystals to help your garden grow.  Who knew?

Gardening With Crystals – How To Use Precious Stones In Gardens

So, if you’re thinking about trying out crystals in your garden next year, check out my Etsy shop.  Maybe you’ll find something you can use. 😁

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Featured Book: The Wolf Rider (The Chronicles of Dalantia Book 1) by Merick N. H. Ulrik

Aylene was taken from her own and thrown into a world with the Ulverstete. The giant wolf-creatures known as the Ulverstete serve the elves but little do they know they face a terrifying evil that seeks their destruction.

Aylene and her Ulverstete brother Hatalmas must fight against the forces of the Blood Queen and gain the aid of mythical weapons and magical powers to survive.

This is Epic, Dark Fantasy, with Mythical Creatures and Sword and Sorcery with explicit Adult situations that do not fade to grey. This story will further develop the world of Dalantia ruled by the Blood Queen, in her rule of terror! This takes place forty years before “Brothers of Chaos”

Other Books n Series:

Three Dwarven Maidens and One Drunken Swordsman: A Dark Fantasy -Stand Alone Tale- Men's Adventure - (The Chronicles of Dalantia Book 2) by [Merick N. H. Ulrik]

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Featured Book: Empyrean by Christopher Valkenburg

Some people deserve to die. Marci Kovács chooses who.

Budapest, AD2132. In a city this big, opportunities for promotion are rare unless you’re willing to do anything, and Kovács is. As an Adjudicant, he oversees state computer MARTHA’s Employee liquidation program. The winners get a shot at eternal life. The rest end up as statistics.

MARTHA is infallible—so Marci believes. That’s until colleague Alex discovers eighty-three murders concealed in her archives. The link? All had friends or relatives who vanished overnight. No mean feat in a sealed city.

But Alex and Marci aren’t the only ones intent on learning the truth. And the deeper they delve, the closer they come to unravelling a conspiracy that threatens the lives of millions—starting with their own.

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Featured Free eBook: Visitor: an Alien Romance Space Opera Adventure by Wayne Meyers

The fate of the Earth rests with an alien telepath and the human who loves her, but is love enough to save the galaxy?

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In a nightmarish turn for the worst, Doug, Aldrea, and the FBI agents find themselves very far from Earth in the middle of a violent galactic coup engineered by the ruthless Radical leader, Veera, who aspires to dominate the galaxy. They must find a way to defeat Veera before Earth is enslaved—or destroyed. Out of their league and out of time, only the bond between Doug and Aldrea might prevent disaster, if they can figure out how to use it to defeat Veera before it’s too late.

Visitor is an exciting alien romance space opera adventure!

Other Books by Author:

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Featured Book: Silver Savage: Warriors of Valose Saga 1 by  Iona Strom

Jakkar
After losing all our females, I didn’t think life could get any worse until I was stripped of my crown and exiled by my twin brother. With my world in turmoil, my spirit mate crashed into my life when I needed her the most. She was not of Valose but a stranger from another world.
Newly awakened, my ancillary heart beats for one reason only—to keep her safe. Now I must protect her from old enemies as well as new yet what came with her posed a unique danger that can’t be fought with swords. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Unfortunately, what she wanted the most would tear apart my very soul.
Lily
I thought the abduction had been bad enough, but the crash-landing nearly killed me. Stranded on an alien world, all I wanted was to find a way to get myself and the other girls home. When the solution presented itself in the form of a kilt-wearing, hopeless romantic with serious muscles, sexy elf ears, and the belief that soul mates truly existed… Well, I was no longer in a huge rush to leave.

Other Books in Series:

Silver Seducer: A SciFi Alien Romance : Warriors of Valose Saga 2 by [Iona  Strom]    Silver Savior: A SciFi Alien Romance : Warriors of Valose Saga 3 by [Iona  Strom]    Silver Solace: A SciFi Alien Romance : Warriors of Valose Saga 4 by [Iona  Strom]

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June 2023 Free eBooks – 1st to 15th

Baby Robin Eats A GIANT Blueberry! GIF | Gfycat

I have a bunch of robins this year, which probably means I’ll have even more next year. 😄  Unfortunately, I seem to have attracted a lot of grackles, too.  They are noisy and very bossy.  So between the robins and grackles, they seem to have chased away most of my songbirds.  I don’t have nearly as many turtle doves as I used to see, and my sparrows are almost a no-show.  I always thought the Bluejays were the bossy ones, but guess I was wrong. 

Still, grackles are fun to watch.  They travel in family groups, since no other birds like them.  Imagine that.  I’ll watch full grown birds chase around a female screaming at her to feed them.  Talk about basement dwellers.   🤣😂

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#SaharasMusings – New Age / Woo-Woo Land

Art Bell GIF - Art Bell Tin - Discover & Share GIFs

I recently had a newsletter subscriber email me that he finally couldn’t take it and he had to unsub.  He said I’d been getting stranger and stranger, but when I went with crystals, that was the straw that broke the camels back.  You know, that New Age shit.  

Say what?!

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So I immediately responded back and told him I haven’t gotten stranger, I’ve ALWAYS been this way.  And it’s true. 

I was a very shy and introverted child.  I had a hard time even socializing with other children.  I used to sit with the grown-ups instead of playing.  I was also born with congenital toxoplasmosis which guaranteed I would never have a ‘normal” life as I would never be able to drive due to nerve damage in my eyes. 

Instead, I read.  I was very fortunate to grow up in a family that loved reading.  About every other Saturday, off to the public library we went to hunt down new treasures to absorb.  I’m not sure how old I was when my interest  in subject matter turned to the ‘strange.’  I know I collected a lot of books by J. Allen Hyneck.  He’s the guy who was hired by the government to debunk UFO’s.  He didn’t believe in them himself, until he started to collect the indisputable evidence that, yeah, they exist. 

So, I had lots of books about UFO’s and alien abductions.  You know?  Betty and Barney Hill . And you can’t read about UFO’s without getting into the Bermuda Triangle and other areas in the world where people have just disappeared.  In fact, We Journey No More , is kinda based on a hot-spot like that. 

Ghosts GIFs on GIPHY - Be Animated

I should also mention that the house we grew up in was haunted.  Though I’m the only one in the family who every talked about it.  And, yeah, I got those ‘looks.’  To this day, my siblings think I’m a bit odd.  Still, my ghostly adventures led me to also expand my reading to books about the paranormal.  I even read Phone Calls From The Dead.  A very interesting book with some eerie encounters.  Myself, I’ve heard my name yelled at me when there was no one around.  Strange, indeed. 

So, to say I lived outside the mainstream of life is putting it mildly.  I used to talk about my beliefs all the time.  Until one day I understood ‘normal’ people didn’t want to hear it. 

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It happened at work.  I was in my early 20’s, and sitting in a bathroom stall, when two of my co-workers came in and stared talking about ME.  How strange I was, yada, yada, yada.  I thought they were my friends and it broke my heart.  But, I learned from that day I  had to hide my candle.  It was hard, but I did.  Which made my relationship with my late husband so special because we believed the same shit.  Though, I think at times he rolled his eyes at me, too.  🤣😂 

(In case you didn’t know, that GIF at the top with the dude with the foil cap is Art Bell.  We used to listen to him and I loved his shows.  Though, he ended up being a flake as he lied to his fan base.)

Then Bob and I got into herbs.  Again, more eye rolls from everyone we knew.  Suddenly, herbology and homeopathy became Alternative Medicine.  You know who gave herbal medicine that name?  The pharmaceutical companies.  They had to debunk herbs as natural grown plants couldn’t be patented.  So, they extracted the ingredients they needed for their man-made pills and charged an arm and leg for them.  And it’s still going on today.  They are horrible and truly evil.  

Then, within the past several months, I got hooked on crystals.  And now I’m told I’ve gone New Age.  Whoa.  Back up a step, shall we. 

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“New Age: a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture, with an interest in spirituality, mysticism, holism, and environmentalism.”

The concept of Western Culture started with the Greeks and Romans but Modern Western Culture started in the 1500’s.  In my opinion, Western Culture is what’s killing our world.  But let’s put that aside.  

Herbs and crystals were used by ancient civilizations, including shamans, Native American tribes, Kings and Queens of old, Asian cultures, and even Cleopatra used crystals for her make-up.  There were many crystals that were sought after by royalty, and I’m not just talking diamonds or gold.  They all knew there was something special about these amazing stones they either mined or found as the earth pushed them to the surface.  

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So, you think I’ve too strange?  Too bad.  I’m old and I don’t care if you get triggered.  No more hiding my candle under a bush.  🤣😂❤️❤️

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