Reprise Review: I Came to Find a Girl by Jaq Hazell

 

Genre: Psychological thriller

Description:

“A complex game of cat and mouse in the seedy streets of Nottingham ends in death. Young artist Mia Jackson is compelled to watch the posthumous video diaries of Jack Flood – controversial bad boy of the London art world and convicted serial killer. Can Mia allow Drake Gallery to show Aftermath in their retrospective of his work? Muse or victim, why was she allowed to survive?”

Author:

Shortlisted for the Jane Austen Short Story Award and The Virginia Prize for Fiction, British author Jaq Hazell writes crime fiction and contemporary short stories for adults, as well as children's fiction and YA. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. Born near Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, her first full-time job was at Buckingham Palace. She has also worked as a humorous greetings cards designer and a journalist. She lives in London.

For more information please visit her website.

Appraisal:

I Came To Find A Girl is one of the best stories I’ve read for Books & Pals, and when you consider I’ve reviewed 100+ and sampled at least six times that many titles, you’ll understand that is a substantial compliment to the author. Finding unique stories like this is what keeps me reading indie works.

The writing was light and crisp with terrific imagery. How’s this for a keen observation in a night club full of “beautiful people?”--“Boys with shaved heads and sharp suits stood in a Reservoir Dogs group while a Jesus lookalike in an artfully torn T-shirt popped something in his mouth.” The prose flowed. The dialogue was clipped and realistic. And the pages kept turning. The author owes me some sleep.

Large portions of the story were shown through the lens of a camera being used to record a documentary film. This unusual technique took a little getting used to, but it proved an effective and efficient way to cover a lot of ground, both physically (because the film was shot in short segments at different locations) and also emotionally, as the person holding the camera, Jack Flood, was a main character, and the movie he was making became a key part of the plot.

The main character, Mia, was a struggling art student heading into her final year and working as a waitress to cover her expenses. She and her friends were so real to me they jumped off the page.

There was an underlying mystery threaded through the book, but it never dominated the plot. Sure, I wanted to know “who done it?” but the journey was satisfying enough that it didn’t need a big reveal. I was disappointed when I turned the last page. Not because the story didn’t feel complete—it did--I just didn’t want it to end.

Highly recommended!

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

English spelling. English settings. Mostly these will be no problem for an American reader with the exception of a small piece of rhyming slang which made me smile. When someone is “Hank Marvin” it means they are “Starving” (hungry).

Original review ran January 21, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Review: Can You Do What A Cat Can Do? By Jill Wright

 

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Description:

“Can your child do what a cat can do? Read this fun and engaging rhyming book together with your child and watch them read/listen, think, ask, then get up and move around so they can try all the different things a cat can do. It's simple! It's fun!

What's inside? An easy to read description of what a cat does every day is followed by a question you can ask your child about each activity. Each text page is accompanied by a corresponding full color image.

Aimed at having your young child (among other things):

Listen and engage

Think and respond

Act and speak

Learn and reason”

Author:

“Jill Wright is the mother of 3 boys. She has been an avid crafter all her life, having learned to knit and crochet at a very early age.

Jill is a published knit and crochet designer and has written 2 crafting books: Take The Fear Out Of Cables (knit), and Victoriana (crochet shawls). More recently she discovered she had a yearning to write books for children.

Jill also builds websites, knits, crochets, and sews recycled items for sale, and probably won't ever stop being a Jazzercise Instructor!”

Appraisal:

Can You Do What A Cat Can Do?, is an engaging and interactive story where your child can show off some skills or shake their head ‘no’ to proclaim they would NEVER do THAT! The pictures are adorable enough to draw any child into the book. There is really no story, only situations, actions, and questions.

The only problem I have with this book are proofing misses. The first page introduction has a wrongly spelled two letter word. Check the ‘Look Inside’ feature on the Amazon product page. That is a really bad start, especially for a print version of the book. Kindle files can be corrected easily enough.

I tried to read this book on my Kindle Paperwhite first. Trust me when I say that is not the way to go. It can be done, but the gray tones don’t do the book justice. I ended up using the Kindle app on my computer.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

I recommend using a full color screen for you and your child’s reading pleasure. There is also a Spanish version.

Format/Typo Issues:

As I mentioned in my review there are a few proofing misses.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 27 pages

The Love I Leave Behind by J.R. Wheeless

 

Genre: Short Story

Description:

“What goes through the mind of a man lingering on Death Row when he falls in love with a country western singer-songwriter he has never met?

A guitar picker is convicted of a crime he cannot remember committing. He is sentenced to die by lethal injection for a murder he may not have committed. While being booked into jail he is introduced to the music of Kayla Ray. Her down to earth style and southern twang captivates him. The words of her songs move him.

As the condemned man is waiting for his appeal to make its way through the court system Kayla’s music fills him with melancholy and yearning he had not experienced in years. He falls in love with her voice and the lyrics of her songs. His love for the woman he’s never met sustains him though the lonely days and the even lonelier nights in prison. As his date with death approaches, the convicted killer tells his life story to a reporter. The young writer promises to share the tale with the world.

Learn how an unrequited love can alter a doomed man’s outlook. How does his love for a woman he will never meet affect his thinking? Will it help him remember the details of the crime for which he’s been sentenced to die? Does he ask forgiveness from a god he has never had any use for? And, how does the reporter deal with the information that has been shared?”

Author:

A review of J.R. Wheeless’ available biographical information leaves me better than clueless, but barely. It appears that he’s currently living a nomadic lifestyle, mainly bouncing around the southwest US in an RV. He has several books available that range from short stories to short story collections, to collections of random thoughts, with a novel or two thrown in. For more, visit his blog or page on Facebook.

Appraisal:

It feels like I should lead off with a disclaimer. Whether a story appeals to a specific reader or reviewer has a couple big factors. The first is the obvious, how skillful the author was in weaving an entertaining story that would appeal to many, if not most people. We differ enough that even this isn’t always straightforward. This story got me in that way. The second is the unpredictable factor, what is there in the story that resonates with the specific reader that might not be nearly as meaningful to a random potential reader. This story got me in that second way as well.

As mentioned, this story has both aspects for me. I found the story compelling. The protagonist, Lyle, had stumbled through life, sometimes struggling and other times seeming to be on top of the world. Music is one aspect of life that is important to him, not only as a listener, but as a sometimes performer. Then something happens and he finds himself arrested and waiting for the end on death row. How the story evolves and works out kept me involved. I liked Lyle, as I think most readers will. Whether or not he is guilty is up in the air. A reporter, who makes a brief appearance at the beginning and end isn’t sure either. Reading this may get you pondering the death penalty, whatever your thoughts on it.

To most of you, Kayla Ray, the singer Lyle has fallen for from afar is probably not one you’ve heard of. This is where I find myself in a different place than the average reader. Music obviously plays a big part in this story and I find Lyle explaining his musical likes and the names he drops falling right in line with the music I gravitate to. Even Lyle’s obsession, Kayla Ray, is someone I’ve heard a few times performing online on a Facebook page called Sequestered Songwriters. Had someone set out to pull me in and to feel a kind of kinship with the story’s main characters they couldn’t have done better.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 10-11,000 words

Review: Among the Ruins by Dominic Peloso

 

Genre: Dystopian/Psychological Thriller

Description:

“An aspiring actress finds herself the only person still alive after a plague has devastated the world. With no purpose left, she finds herself almost unable to go on; until she meets literally the last man on earth.

Together the pair find a reason to live within each other, and work to build a life on a beautiful, quiet Earth they have all to themselves.

But when a message from someone long thought dead warns that all is not as it appears, paranoia sets in. Is the last man on earth her charming savior or a creepy captor?

Gripping, packed with twists and turns from the first page to the very last, this stunning psychological thriller is a rollercoaster of a read that explores gaslighting, Stockholm Syndrome, disassociation, mental illness, existentialism, and the search for purpose in an absurd universe.”

Author:

A former policy analyst for the US government with a focus on bioterrorism, Dominic Peloso now lives in what he calls the “rainy part” of Alaska. He’s written multiple books that tend toward the dystopian.

Appraisal:

This was definitely a different kind of read. The premise that Elyse, the protagonist, was the last person on Earth, at least as far as should could tell until she ran into the last man on Earth, was one that hit close to home. A virus that kills off essentially everyone might even be a good reminder that our current virus issues could be a lot worse. The last part of the book’s blurb describing it as “a rollercoaster of a read that explores gaslighting, Stockholm Syndrome, disassociation, mental illness, existentialism, and the search for purpose in an absurd universe” is a description that couldn’t be much more accurate. Some of those issues are possibilities in what happens in the story and some are absolutely true. Which fall into which category, you’ll have to decide on your own. I’m still not sure. Stories that put me, as the reader, in a position I’ll probably (and hopefully) never come close to experiencing and encourages me to grapple with the hard questions that characters in the story have to deal with are among my favorites. This tale certainly had me wondering whether or not I’d take the same path that Elyse did.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 40,45,000 words

Reprise Review: Suddenly Spellbound by Erica Lucke Dean

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Humor

Description:

“Kindergarten-teacher-slash-sorceress Ivie McKie has officially sworn off magic. With her father back from the dead—just in time for her upcoming wedding to sexy former magician Jackson Blake—Ivie has plotted a course straight to happily-ever-after-ville. And she won’t let anything get in her way this time.

But Daddy Dearest has something sneaky up his sleeve. When “just one more spell” goes horribly wrong and detours her into the path of her father’s dangerously hot new apprentice, Ivie has to scramble to get the magic… and her love life… back on track.

Along the way, she encounters a promise made before she was born, a clan of Scottish sorcerers in kilts, and yet another goat.”

Author:

“After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains where she lives in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180lb lap dog, and at least one ghost.

When she's not busy writing or tending to her collection of crazy chickens, diabolical ducks, and a quintet of piglets hell bent on having her for dinner, she's either reading bad fan fiction or singing karaoke in the local pub. Much like the main character in her first book, To Katie With Love, Erica is a magnet for disaster, and has been known to trip on air while walking across flat surfaces.”

How she's managed to survive this long is one of life's great mysteries. Check out her other books on her website and stalk her on Facebook for fun.

Appraisal:

“Something witchy this way comes.”

Erica Lucke Dean’s words always cast a spell on me. Her prose is easy to read and draws the reader in with believable dialogue and well set scenes. There are many twists in this story that have Ivie grasping for her sanity. The story is told through her eyes so we only know as much as she does. Her father, Angus, has secrets he has not shared with anyone. These secrets are now back to haunt not only him, but they also affect Ivie’s future and she sees no way out.

Angus has more than one secret and keeps digging his hole deeper as time passes. Suddenly, he has a new apprentice. A handsome Scottish man named Liam McDougall, who just happens to be Ivie’s age. He also seems to know more magic than Angus. The worst part is the barely controllable sexual pull Ivie feels when Liam is near. Daddy has done some dickering around and drawn Ivie into a few spells, which she had sworn off, and her hair is bright red. Jack is understandably jealous, especially when Liam shows up at every turn of events that are plaguing Ivie.

It’s a fun romp until the whole McDougall clan shows up, including Liam’s mother. It seems she and Angus knew each other as children. The IRS and the FBI both have questions for Ivie’s mother and father concerning Angus’s life insurance policy that was collected after his supposed death. There is trouble brewing all around and you must read this to see how it all turns out. There is a surprising twist at the end that leaves a few things unresolved…

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Suddenly Spellbound is book 2 in The Ivie McKie Chronicles. While it could be read as a standalone, I don’t understand why you would want to. 

Original review posted February 28, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: The Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen by Ray Smith

 

Genre: Romance/Literary Fiction/Civil Rights Movement/Self-Actuating

Description:

“‘You’ve seen the woman in the photo. The woman screaming . . .’

So begins the story of Molly Valle, who at forty-eight thinks she knows all that life has to offer a single, middle-aged woman—namely, men’s dismissal and disrespect. But when handsome activist John Pressman arrives in her Mississippi hometown, he challenges her self-doubt along with nearly everything else in her world. Soon, Molly discovers a strength and beauty she never knew she had—and a love so powerful, it can overcome the most tragic of consequences.

The Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen is a love story, an adventure novel, and a self-realization journey. It reignites the truth that many women—and men—have unconsciously extinguished: you are special and worthy of love, and it’s never too late to make your dreams come true.”

Author:

“Ray Smith lives in Los Angeles and is working on another book.”

The Magnolia That Blooms Unseen looks like Mr. Smith’s debut novel. However, you may be able to learn more on his website or his Facebook page.

Appraisal:

The Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen, is a captivating story of romance, self-discovery, and strength of character.

The prologue is RC recalling how he first met Molly Valle, an activist for the Civil Rights Movement. He was a high school student who interviewed her for a class report, for which she gave him a Cliff Notes version and he received an A. Thirty years pass and out of the blue RC gets a phone call from Molly. She’s 103 years-old and is ready to tell her and John’s story in more depth,  She asks if RC would be interested in writing her story down. She had always had the faith in RC to become a novelist. At forty-four years old all he had written were short stories for literary magazines. He jumps at the chance and so the novel begins in earnest.

In 1961 Molly is a forty-eight-year-old high school English teacher who cares for and tutors her students in a small town in Mississippi. She’s divorced and lives a solitary life until she unwittingly ends up in the middle of a peaceful sit-in protest at a local diner. A young black couple enters and sit at the counter asking for a cup of coffee. Trouble ensues when John intervenes stopping a town bully from throwing a punch at Molly for standing up for the young black couple. The police arrive, arrests are made, and the incident causes Molly to lose her job.

John Pressman, at fifty years-old, was immediately attracted to Molly. His world shifted. He’d left his New York City job to join the Civil Rights Movement to make the world a better place. He’s a deep thinker and a charismatic speaker. Molly is mesmerized by him. Their journey is a romantic one on many levels. Mr. Smith is a wizard at painting the picture of an ugly time in US history against the beautiful backdrop of Mississippi. Molly and John’s story is fascinating, complex, and heart wrenching. The secondary characters are as fully-rounded and diverse as the main characters. At the end RC is left testing the boundary between what’s real, what’s imagined, and how to end his book.

I highly recommend The Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen if you enjoy human stories crafted with beautifully written prose and humility.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Race related violence, nothing overly graphic. 

Format/Typo Issues:

Nothing worth noting.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review for Mountains of Mischief by Gordon A. Long

 

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Alternative History

Description:

“Nobody messes with a Dalmyn wagon train. That is the credo of Dalmyn Cartage, and their drivers and guards are up to the task of keeping it that way.

Until Aleria anDalmyn goes out on her first assignment as wagonmaster and runs into a simmering quarrel involving an ancient boundary dispute and forbidden Mechanical weapons. And a Ghost Beast from an ancient tale, which Aleria would prefer not to believe in until the mutilated bodies persuade her otherwise.

Trapped in the suffocating depths of a crumbling mountain fortress by an ambitious and relentless foe, Aleria struggles to survive as her small party gets whittled down and her confidence in her ability to do her duty fades.

Even the sturdy presence of her guard Captain, Erlon, with his hand-and-a-half sword, and the handsome but diffident Kolwyn anLlannon, inheritor of the lore of the Old Ones, can protect her party if she makes the wrong move.”

Author:

“Brought up in a logging camp with no electricity, Gordon Long learned his storytelling in the traditional way: at his father’s knee. He now spends his time editing, publishing, travelling, blogging and writing fantasy and social commentary, although sometimes the boundaries blur.

Gordon lives in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, with his wife, Linda, and their Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Josh.”

Please check out Mr. Long’s other books on his website. He is also a contributing author for Indies Unlimited.

Appraisal:

Aleria anDalmyn is coming into her own in Mountains of Mischief. New characters are introduced that I believe are going to be around for a while. The plot is compelling and dangerous at times. Aleria is promoted to Wagonmaster and is unknowingly carting illegal contraband on this first outing. As a result, loading the wagons has to change at Dalmyn Cartage and no last minute cargo will be accepted. When the King hears a report of the situation Dalmyn Cartage had to deal with he becomes alarmed at the unrest that is happening between some of his domains. Some of the warring is caused by undefined borders, some are caused by the grand designs from an overzealous Lord.

When Lord Raif gets orders from the King to ask Aleria if she would be willing to go do some reconnaissance and emissary work for the throne the next time she leads a Dalmyn wagon train out to make deliveries? Lord anDalmyn sees a business opportunity to expand their services to domains in outlying areas up into the mountains and down into an area called the Trench. This route would make a huge circle coming back into Kingsport on the far side. Aleria agrees as long she gets to pick her own crew, add an outrider, and extra guards on this mission.

Gordon A. Long does an excellent job rounding out his secondary characters, and painting the pictures of the landscapes as they change dramatically. I love the way he uses dialogue and emotions with all his characters, the reader can really get a good feel of who they are through their speech. The story is mainly told through Aleria’s eyes and occasionally we are given insights into her thoughts. She is insecure about her abilities at times but is able to confront her fears while showing her crew a stoic face. I have learned to love her as she matures into her own, she is smart, determined and spunky. She is good at taking charge and clever enough to turn events to her own advantage.

When the wagons get to Tyn Terfyn, Aleria and Erlon are treated to legends of the Old Ones, Tyn Dyfnant, and the Ghost Beast higher in the mountains. The well-developed plot takes off with several twists and unexpected events as Aleria and Erlon gather a small crew to accompany Kolwyn, the Lord’s son, up into uncharted territory. Kolwyn and a couple of shepherds serve as guides to explore the abandoned and crumbling Tyn Dyfnant for the existence of old maps. Knowing full well they are entering the sanctum of the Ghost Beast.

Buy now from:      Amazon US      Amazon UK

FYI:

Mountains of Mischief is Book 3 in the World of Change series. Could possibly be read as a standalone but I would suggest reading Out of Mischief and Into Trouble first for a fuller understanding of Aleria, Kensel (her father), Maddoes, and Lord Raif. Original review ran January 19, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 105-110,000 words

Review: Beverly Hills Postmate by Charles St Anthony

 

Genre: Memoir/Humor

Description:

“After purchasing a new electric car to avoid catching the coronavirus on mass transit, Charles St. Anthony needed to come up with some money fast. Hoping to rake in some big tips, Charles decided to do Postmates in the areas the rich and famous play.

In this humorous short read, Charles explores Beverly Hills and the neighboring areas of Los Angeles using food delivery apps. He takes you down the rabbit hole of Beverly History, and introduces affordable things to eat in America's most glamorous zip code: 90210! Charles serves up "Beverly Hills on a Budget" by introducing economical (but delicious) food he discovered in Beverly Hills—foods that taste expensive but come at prices everyone can enjoy.

After completing more than 500 deliveries via Postmates, DoorDash, and Uber Eats you'll learn what people in LA—a city known for health and fitness—truly eat. The answer might be greasier than you're expecting! Also, Charles answers pressing questions such as what was the most popular type of Taco Bell sauce packet, what food truck has the most devoted fan base, and what was the total number of French fries ordered in his 500+ deliveries. It's a feel-good, laugh out loud short read that shows how food delivery apps offered a path to dignity to people who needed to eat and people who struggled to make money in the pandemic era.”

Author:

Charles St. Anthony is the author of several short humorous reads. He also has a humorous podcast called “T with Charles.”

Appraisal:

I’d enjoyed reading Uber Diva, Charles St. Anthony’s humorous memoir about his time as a driver for Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare programs in San Francisco, so giving this new humorous memoir a try was an easy decision. The two books have some obvious similarities and a few differences. The author is operating a bit farther south in California this time with his focus being on Beverly Hills in the customers he was aiming to serve and the restaurants he aimed to do deliveries for although the area he worked sometimes slid into nearby areas of the Los Angeles metro. In this book he’s still driving all around based on what a customer has requested via an app (actually multiple apps), but the humor in the story doesn’t come from his passengers, at least not directly (those Big Macs, cupcakes, “famous garlic noodles”, and the lemon chicken plate from California Pita don’t even talk), but St. Anthony still finds lots of humor. The reader also learns some interesting history of Beverly Hills, including the answer to the obvious question, “who the heck is Beverly?” I suspect many of us have used Uber Eats and apps like it much more in the recent past. Here’s you chance to see what the person leaving the food on your doorstep thinks. Be sure to tip them well.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and subjects.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 8-9,000 words

Review: Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths by Steven Shwartz

 

Genre: Non-Fiction

Description:

“Longtime artificial intelligence (AI) researcher and investor Steve Shwartz has grown frustrated with the fear-inducing hype around AI in popular culture and media. Yes, today’s AI systems are miracles of modern engineering, but no, humans do not have to fear robots seizing control or taking over all our jobs.

In this exploration of the fascinating and ever-changing landscape of artificial intelligence, Dr. Shwartz explains how AI works in simple terms. After reading this captivating book, you will understand

• the inner workings of today’s amazing AI technologies, including facial recognition, self-driving cars, machine translation, chatbots, deepfakes, and many others;

• why today’s artificial intelligence technology cannot evolve into the AI of science fiction lore;

• the crucial areas where we will need to adopt new laws and policies in order to counter threats to our safety and personal freedoms resulting from the use of AI.

So although we don’t have to worry about evil robots rising to power and turning us into pets—and we probably never will—artificial intelligence is here to stay, and we must learn to separate fact from fiction and embrace how this amazing technology enhances our world.”

Author:

“Steve Shwartz began his AI career working with Roger Schank as a postdoctoral researcher in the Yale University Artificial Intelligence Lab. Starting in the 1980s, Steve was a founder or cofounder of several AI companies, one of which created the award-winning Esperant business intelligence product. As the AI Winter of the 1990s set in, Steve transitioned into a career as a successful serial software entrepreneur and investor and created several companies that were either acquired or had public offerings.”

Appraisal:

Although it isn’t my typical genre, one of the books I read recently was science fiction that took place on a planet far from Earth that is run by robots. The humans on the planet were essentially a step up from slaves. I wasn’t too concerned that we were on the verge of this being a real possibility, but there are definitely things I see all the time that make me wonder what is going on. (Those advertisements that pop up on Facebook for the product you just checked out on another site are just one obvious example.) This book is excellent in that it discusses the different ways that artificial intelligence is currently being used, what is potentially on the horizon, and what is unlikely to happen anytime in the foreseeable future.

While we might not have to worry about robot overlords taking over anytime soon (our grandkids are probably even safe from them) we do have plenty to be aware of and, in some instances, even concerned. Understanding how we and our fellow Earthlings might be misled and manipulated is good knowledge to have. Knowing what to expect, if anything, from a self-driving car in the near future is also extensively covered. The author also points out areas where new laws might be called for to avoid misuse or abusive practices using some of the artificial intelligence capabilities that already exist or are likely to be developed in the near future. In spite of some of the potential downsides from artificial intelligence that we need to guard against, I finished this excited to see what the future will bring. Just like past disruptive technologies such as the automobile and computer, especially the personal computer, artificial intelligence promises to do much to change our lives for the better. We just need to have a good handle on what is and isn’t possible and put protections in place to limit the potential negatives.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Review: No Way Back Today by Eric Shoars

 

Genre: Humorous Fiction

Description:

“Midlife demands some reckoning and Eric realizes he can wait no longer. As Eric hurtles headlong toward the big 5-0, he realizes there is unfinished business and is determined to find his childhood friends, convince them to form their own rock and roll band, and to go on tour! He searches out Todd, Laurel, and Lorelei so he can fulfill that dream. The story of four Midwestern grown-ups and their childhood desires to create No Way Back Today in the face of improbable odds and middle age will have you both laughing and cheering as you recognize your own unfulfilled dreams. No Way Back Today is an epic, '80s-fueled rock-and-roll escapade for a band that never was!”

Author:

“Eric Shoars is a serial storyteller who considers the English language his playground and who never met a pun he didn’t like. Eric is a modern day Walter Mitty with a serious twist. His writing style is best described as ‘fly on the wall’ putting the reader in the shoes of the lead character experiencing what he does as he does. Getting in a person's head and finding out what drives them, what makes them do what they do is tremendously fascinating. The drama we find in art often pales to the drama of real life.

Shoars' fiction works include No Way Back Today and The Sunshine Affair series.

Shoars' non-fiction works include Women Under Glass: The Secret Nature of Glass Ceilings and The Steps to Overcome Them and Evil Does Not Have The Last Word.”

Appraisal:

Although Eric (the protagonist of this book, not to be confused with Eric the author) is a member of Gen X (the generation between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials) and I think he would say this book is especially aimed at that generation. I agree, it would resonate the most with that generation, but depending on whose definition of the specific birth years that fit in each generation some (possibly a significant number) of the Baby Boomers are going to find this book resonates with them. At least I did. Odds are if you were born in most of the ‘50s, at any point in the ‘60s or ‘70s, and even a bit into the ‘80s (the end of Gen X) this story is likely to strike a chord. Some of you kids in the Millennial generation might learn something and be amused by the old fogies and the lessons they learned in this story as well.

In spite of being fiction, No Way Back Today feels like a memoir in many ways. The inclusion of real people (Joan Jett and Ellen DeGeneres for two examples) into the story in realistic ways (at least as realistic as the rest of the story) adds to that feeling. Real places (for example the venues like the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa and First Avenue, the real club in Minneapolis) adds to the real feel, at least for those familiar with these places. Even though the story is fiction and humorous, the more serious lessons someone might take away from it if it were a memoir still stand. Among those lessons are that it doesn’t have to be too late to make your dreams come true and that the time to do that is probably right now.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: Wheels: What is a Virus by Melannie Baum

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Description:

“Book 1 of the Tractor Adventure Series:

Wheels is a young, curious tractor, and Wheels has a lot of questions.

One question he is curious about is, ‘Can I get a virus?’

Farmer Tom, his owner, tries to answer all his questions the best he can.”

Author:

A native of Ohio, Melannie Baum grew up on a farm and still lives in rural Ohio with her two sons and her husband. For more, visit her website.

Appraisal:

A fun read for new readers or for reading to those not quite up to reading it themselves. Obviously inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic, this does a good job of explaining the basics of how a virus spreads, at least this virus, and the proper steps to limit your risk of catching it. These are all the things we’ve been hearing constantly for the last year: social distancing, mask wearing, and frequent hand washing. Hopefully your young reader has already learned these things and been practicing them for a long time. I’m hopeful that vaccines and other factors mean we’re on the downhill side of this pandemic. But as a fun way to emphasize that we aren’t there yet, occasionally reading this book to your youngster for his or her nightly bedtime story as a reminder seems like a reasonable idea.

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Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 34 pages

Reprise Review: Sarabande by Malcolm R. Campbell

 

Genre: Magical Realism/Adventure/Literary/Fantasy

Description:

“When Sarabande’s sister Dryad haunts her for three years beyond the grave, Sarabande begins a dangerous journey into the past to either raise her cruel sister from the dead, ending the torment, or to take her place in the safe darkness of the earth. In spite of unsettling predictions about her trip, Sarabande leaves the mountains of Pyrrha and Montana on a black horse named Sikimí and heads for the cornfields of Illinois in search of Robert Adams, the once powerful Sun Singer, hoping he can help with her quest.”

Author:

“Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of satire and magical realism: Conjure Woman's Cat (2015), The Sun Singer (2004, 2010, 2015), Sarabande (2011 and 2015), Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire (2009). His Jock Talks...Politics collection of satire is a Pushcart Prize 2013 nominee. Jock Stewart Strikes Back is a collection of humorous stores that was released in 2014. An excerpt from Conjure Woman's Cat was nominated in 2015 for a Pushcart Prize.”

For more information about Mr. Campbell check out his blog or followhim on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Sarabande is an amazingly well told tale of redemption that starts off with Sarabande seeking Robert Adams help to settle Dryad’s haunting torment. Her quest starts off well through the dimensional divide and Mr. Campbell’s poetic prose is spellbinding as he paints a picture of Sarabande riding Sikimi through the night sky. Things then go terribly awry in a horrific set of events. Sarabande must draw on all of her inner strength to survive.

Sarabande finds an ally in Billy Looks Far, who is able to help her on many levels to put her back on the path to fulfill her quest. However, she must find her own way to recover from the emotional turmoil and to find her way back to her own power. The plot is full of twists that caught me off guard at times. She does find Robert who is fully Robert Adams, not the Osprey she was actually seeking. He has turned his back on being the Sun Singer to appease his parents. Finding no help from Osprey, Sarabande plans to head back home without help. The trickster coyote delays her trip which gives Robert time to change his mind about going back with her.

But hold on, the twists in the plot are ongoing and Sarabande teaches Robert about trusting your guide instead of your own logic. Magic and logic don’t often travel hand in hand. The plights they encounter are surprising on both sides of the dimensional divide. Events are disastrous and surprising once again. Mr. Campbell may have as well have torn my insides out with the way this story ended. However, it seems as though Sarabande is well on her way to healing her psyche. Which left me feeling good, however, the why and how of it still has me debating. I have to learn how to trust the author, right?

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FYI:

Sarabande is book 2 in the Mountain Journeys series. I should include this book contains a rape scene and other scenes with graphic violence. So if you are sensitive about those subjects, BEWARE!

Original review posted January 5, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 75,000-80,000 words

Review: The Ferret by Tom Minder

 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“As an LDS elder, Louie Kimble, is assigned as construction foreman in Testimony Acres, a high-end real estate development, fifty miles north of Las Vegas. He discovers it’s a money laundering scheme put together by his religious superiors. Confronted by the FBI, he agrees to provide evidence and testify in exchange for his freedom.

After surgery to fix an unfortunate resemblance to a domesticated animal, he is given a new name and history and relocated to South Jersey. He rebuilds his life, with a girlfriend, a great job, and season tickets to the local pro football team.

Then one bright Saturday morning, there is a knock on his front door. His visitor will bring back his past, and change his life forever.”

Author:

“Tom Minder lives in southern New Jersey, with his wife Paula, and writes novels and short fiction.”

For more, check out his blog and like his Facebook page.

Appraisal:

The overall plot of this book is one with plenty of appeal to a thriller reader. Young adult man gets himself sucked into a questionable, illegal situation. (That he got into this situation due to trusting his church leaders only makes his situation more sympathetic.) This bad situation culminates in our protagonist helping the FBI convict the culprits and he goes into the witness protection program, relocates, and gets his life on the right track. At least it is going great until something unexpected shakes things up. What that is and how it all works out is, of course, the last two thirds of the book and saying much more would be a spoiler, so I won’t. I’ll just say that for some (even many) people who think this sounds appealing, odds are good you’ll enjoy this book.

My personal experience was different and I suspect anyone who has had any significant exposure to Mormons (or as they now prefer to be called, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) are going to notice things that sound wrong. For example, Louie Kimble’s situation going in is not clear. It seems to be implied that he is on some official assignment from the church, possibly a mission, when he begins working at the real estate development near Las Vegas, for example. Various terms are used that seem to imply that, but they don’t. For example, multiple times the term “Leader” is used, which is meaningless in the context it is used. Sometimes the title bishop is used or misused, seeming to be trying to imply some authority. A bishop is the leader of a specific congregation and would have no authority outside of that small circle. (One of the few, maybe only times, that the title bishop would have been the correct one, the character uses the term “Ward Leader” instead.) All of this makes those characters who are supposedly Mormon seem fake and blew my ability to suspend disbelief. Had the author made up his own religion and fake terms, I’d have bought into this. Had he gotten someone with an understanding of the Mormon culture and terminology to get things right, it would have been great. But as it stands anyone with any significant exposure to the Mormon religion or its culture including the vast majority of residents of the Mountain States in the US will find themselves cringing and mentally stumbling as they read this.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an Advanced Readers Copy and thus I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words