Review: Teacher by James Eric Riley

 

Genre: Humor/Memoir

Description:

“These students aren’t just bad, they’re dangerous. And then there’s the principal.

For Los Angeles teacher Eric Riley, summers off, holidays, and health benefits are all that matters. Why else get into teaching in your forties? With a wife and two young daughters, and a mountain of debt after suffering a broken leg, teaching represents a steady paycheck and time off he’s never experienced.

Riley survives his rookie year as a teacher, only to be assigned a class with a special designation: Emotionally Disturbed. He starts the new position, after taking a mandatory training session on the latest approved methods of physical restraint – the delicate name for self-defense when dealing with violent students.

One day, a student attacks Riley – and Riley puts him down hard on the floor. The school principal orders Riley to be placed on administrative leave. During a series of preliminary hearings regarding his status, he realizes that the official version of the incident is changing. When his union and legal representatives appear to be incompetent, he secretly contacts staff members at his school. They break into an administrator’s office and uncover statements and records regarding his suspension that implicate the principal, the district, and even the teachers’ union.

From classic teaching moments to administrator run-ins to a district boardroom showdown, one teacher finds out what he’s good at.”

Author:

“James Eric Riley grew up near the rust belt town of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. He attended Eastern Kentucky University and graduated with a degree in Theater Arts. After years of summer stock and regional theater, he and his wife moved to Southern California where they discovered snow skiing and - for Riley - speed skating. But after breaking a leg in a short track competition, teaching suddenly seemed like a better idea. As a high-school teacher, he finally put his theater background to use teaching public speaking and writing and directing a one-act version of Macbeth performed by students and faculty. Now retired, he and his wife Jeneva live in Independence, Kentucky.”

Appraisal:

As I read this I struggled with just how true it was. The author was a teacher. The book is described in the materials I received with the copy I reviewed as a novel with humor or dark humor as the genre. That’s seems a clear indication of it being fiction. But then just before the book’s prologue starts I see the page with these words
******
This is a memoir. Everything you are about to read is true.

Names have been changed to protect the guilty and to ensure the anonymity of the innocent.
******
Hmm. Then I look more closely at the cover and realize that on the school building pictured, just to the left of the door, it says “A Memoir.” So maybe it is true, but all the ”characters” are made anonymous. I guess I can’t say what the answer is for sure.

What I can say for sure is that while there were times that I was stretching my ability to suspend disbelief, I mostly managed to do so. It was an adventure to read and certainly helped me appreciate teachers even more than I already did. How things were going to turn out for Eric, the protagonist of the … whatever it is … was constantly up in the air and kept me engaged and eager to find out how the story ended. Certainly a good, engaging read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reviewer copy so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Review: Gone Catfishing by JR Hopkins

 

Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help

Description:

Have you ever been sent a message on any dating or social media site by someone wanting you to be friends with him or her? Someone who pretended to be romantically interested in you but used a fake profile, and not who you thought they were, to lure you in and then it turned into a scam...usually for money. If you have, then you've been 'Catfished'. The was written to let people know of the different ways these scammers try to get money out of you.

Author:

Born in Durant, Oklahoma, JR Hopkins describes herself as a “displaced Okie with a bit of Choctaw blood.” A bit of a nomad her place of residence has bounced around a bit, with stints in states as varied as Hawaii, Alaska, Florida, and Connecticut as well as internationally, living for a time in Iceland. She currently lives in Idaho and is the author of several books that range from romance, to memoir, and even one that while primarily a cookbook has a little memoir thrown in as well. That’s a mashup you don’t see very often.

Appraisal:

Maybe it is because I don’t patronize websites or use apps like Tinder that are specifically aimed at helping to hook two willing people up, but I’ve been lucky enough not to have become a target of one of these catfishing schemes. It seems as though women being targeted by men happens more frequently and targeting people on social media sites that I do frequent isn’t as common, although it does happen. Reading this to familiarize myself with examples of these schemes will hopefully prepare me in case I ever do become a target or if it happens to friends or family, it might help me recognize what is happening.

Odds are none of the above will happen to me. That’s good. I’d rather not need the knowledge I gained from reading this book. Despite being true and my assumption that everything would work out in the end I still found it entertaining, with some of the qualities of a thriller or mystery, as I wondered what the catfishers were going to do next and hoped the author was going to see and deal appropriately with all the potential repercussions. So, it was a fun and engaging read as well as educational.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on an advance reviewer copy so I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words

Reprise Review: Dream Walk by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Mystery/Supernatural/Ghosts

Description:

“Private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are usually called to clear haunted locations of their lingering ghosts using Sam’s unusual talent for communicating with the dead. This time, however, the dead — Sam’s former brother-in-law — comes to him… in a dream. Now Sam and Lacey head to Las Vegas to figure out how to find the body and uncover a murder plot before the murderers bury them forever.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. She lives in a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier. She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”

Learn more about Ms. Bowersock on her website or follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Sam Firecloud, Navajo medium, is up against something a little different than he has experienced before. His dreams are being visited by someone he knew several years ago, and he is having trouble communicating with the spirit. When he calls Lacey, a PI and occasional partner, to get her advice on his dilemma, they both decide they need to check things out around his last known address in Las Vegas, Nevada. After Lacey finds a couple of reputable contacts in Homicide and Vice departments at the Vegas police department, Lacey and Sam head out of L.A. with few facts and no leads to follow.

Dream Walk has a bit of everything that makes this series so great. These include an excellent mystery, Sam using his empathic abilities to connect with the victim, the adventure of trying to locate a dead body in the desert around Las Vegas, as well as the sexual tension between Lacey and Sam exacerbated by outside parties. The secondary characters are well developed and realistic. This story also is the most dangerous Lacey and Sam have ever been involved with. They both learn, the hard way, that drug lords are not to be trifled with. But to prove a crime has even been committed at all, they need the dead body.

I found Dream Walk a tension filled, emotionally charged mystery as Sam and Lacey scour the dangerous side of Vegas. While also being confronted with their relationship as partners in business and the growing sexual tension between them. Decisions need to be made. Is Sam, with his introvert personality, going to step up to the plate? How will Sam’s kids react if he decides to have a personal relationship with Lacey? Find out now in Dream Walk.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Dream Walk is the fourth book in A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery series. Each of these mysteries could be read as a standalone if you choose. However, I am enjoying the relationship developing between Lacey and Sam and recommend reading from the beginning to get the full benefit of their storyline.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on a beta, pre-release version. I am unable to judge the final version in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Review: On Wahoo Reef by Tim W. Jackson

 

Genre: Suspense

Description:

“Wally Breight’s a miserable-in-his-job P.R. executive who dreams of escaping to happily-ever-after in the Caribbean. When he stumbles across a run-down scuba diving operation for sale on Blacktip Island, he snaps it up and settles into paradise. But paradise has other ideas. His dive boat’s a lemon. His business partner proves the age of piracy isn’t dead. Scuba guests are scarce. And a free-spirited dive mistress might party him into an early grave. If Wally can’t get a handle on paradise, pronto, he’ll be leaving Blacktip Island faster than a coconut in a hurricane.”

Author:

A former photojournalist, Tim W. Jackson now splits his time between captaining a boat, teaching people how to scuba dive, and writing. (Yes, he appears to have some similarities to the protagonist of this book.) He’s written several books and short stories, many of them based on the tropical (and I’m guessing fictional) Blacktip Island. This is the latest of those.

Appraisal:

I’ve read a couple of Tim Jackson’s books set on Blacktip Island and, if there is any kind of pattern, it is that while those involved are living or at least visiting what many would consider a paradise, things don’t always go smoothly in paradise. That’s the case for our protagonist, Wally, who thinks he’s lucked into a great situation that until now was more like one of his wildest dreams. Then things turn out a bit different than he pictured them. And of course, just when it looks like he’s getting things back on track, something else will shake things up. You’ll have to read the book to see how it all turns out for Wally, but he’ll keep you on your toes, trying (and failing) to anticipate where things are going the entire way.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Soft as Water by B. Robert Conklin

 

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Description:

“Following a life-shattering accident, conscience-stricken Will Archer seeks refuge in a small Ohio River town, where he plans to live out his life as a virtual hermit. But a chance encounter with Essence Warner, orphaned daughter of a jazz saxophonist and an aristocratic socialite, entangles him in a quest to discover the truth behind the cold case of her parents’ mysterious deaths.

As Will deciphers clues, he becomes romantically entwined with Essence, forming a relationship that draws him into a sordid underbelly of small-town existence that threatens his own life. At the same time, he uncovers a dark secret that could set Essence free from her own path of self-destruction—or does she have a plan of her own?

Soft as Water is a novel about bridges—between strangers across a river—and the dangers of mutual attraction when worlds divided by race, wealth, and culture collide. In the end, though, the novel offers a glimmer of hopefulness that survivors of trauma—physical, emotional, and sexual—can transcend their circumstances and find redemption through connection.”

Author:

The author describes himself as thus:

“I live in Columbus, Ohio, where I navigate the unpredictable moments of family life with my spouse, three kids, four cats, and a ferret. I enjoy nature walks, reading everything from Pop-Tart labels to Proust, and cartooning. I’m also an avid coffee drinker but try to limit myself to five cups a day. My debut novel, An End to Etcetera, placed as a finalist in the suspense category of the 17th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards.”

Appraisal:

This is a unique story with elements that you don’t see very often.. That starts with a protagonist that while one of the good guys, is far from perfect with lots of skeletons in his closet that impact the story in many ways. Then you’ve got multiple people with some strange histories who are challenging to figure out in many ways, from whether they’re good people, what they’re doing and why, and how all of that is going to impact others. Then throw in a few strange things (what appeared to be a ghost or other supernatural element at play a few times and some pet tigers for a couple examples) and you’ve got a story that is not likely to be like one you’ve read before. At least it was stretching my normal reading material. In spite of this, I didn’t find myself unable to suspend disbelief and go along with what was happening. A very entertaining read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of relatively mild adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: The Retirement Planning Roadmap by Sweet Home Publishing

 

Genre: Non-Fiction/Self Help

Description:

“Discover the secret to enjoying your golden years free of fears and worries – retire with confidence in just 7 steps!

After years – or even decades – of relentlessly working, you’re almost ready to trade in your work chair for a beach chair.

You imagine yourself trotting along a picturesque town with your friends… instead of running around the office.

Right now, it's really tempting to think about retirement as a never-ending holiday, where you’re finally allowed to rest and relax without having to deal with deadlines, a full email inbox, or stressful colleagues.

But here’s a reality check: If you took a look at your bank account right now, would you have enough to have that dreamy permanent vacation… or maybe a bad dream?

The truth is, nearly half of adults approaching retirement age may not be financially prepared to retire, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The good news is, you don’t have to be one of them. Whether you're just beginning to plan for retirement or are closer to embarking on this new chapter of your life, you can act now to turn your retirement dreams into a reality.”

Author:

No information provided

Appraisal:

I’ll start this out with the statement that I wish I’d read this book many years ago. Given my current age and likely retirement age, I should have gotten this information from somewhere a long time ago. (From this book would have been perfect, except it didn’t exist until more recently.) That said, there is a ton of information here that is and will continue to be valuable to me. The subjects covered in this book include the obvious, specifically the financial issues surrounding retirement, but also some of the other less obvious issues, what I’ll describe as the mental roadblocks and mental adjustments you’ll need to prepare for and work through. Some, I’d thought of, but this has got me thinking of others. I suspect many who, like me, are close to retirement, could benefit from reading this too. The downside is that you’re liable to stress out if you realize you aren’t as prepared in some ways as you thought you were, but better to adjust plans now if needed.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words

Review: Dave's New World by Luke Richards

 Genre: Dystopian/Satire

Description:

“DV-8 lives in a dystopian, totalitarian, Orwellian nightmare...and he loves it!

After all, when every single aspect of your life is dictated, it takes a lot of the pressure off you.

He never has to worry about making plans for the weekend as he’s not allowed to do anything; he never has to worry about making small talk with strangers since any topics outside of party business are outlawed and he never has to worry about meeting someone as he already has a partner assigned to him. He’s living the dream.

So, when the revolution comes and DV-8 is granted his freedom (and a new name), he finds he has absolutely no idea what to do with it. Eventually he does what we all do when we are scared and clings on to his safe, familiar ways for dear life. While the majority are out enjoying their new found freedom, DV finds himself ostracised for living by the same rules that used to promise him safety, security and a sense of purpose. When DV discovers there are others like him who are not quite ready to give up the old ways, they team up and hatch a plan to put things ‘right’.

A twist on a traditional Orwellian tale that will make you say, ‘Bring Back Big Brother'.”

Author:

Luke Richards describes himself as being a guinea pig enthusiast, author, and comedian (in that order). Dave’s New World is his first book.

Appraisal:

A dystopian novel that is also satire or comedic is a twist I’ve never seen before and I loved it. Seeing things from the protagonist’s point of view was different. You might think the protagonist is named Dave, but don’t be fooled. People who aren’t with the program start to call him that, but his real name is DV-8. Everyone has a serial number assigned that is made up of a couple digits or letters, a dash and one or two additional digits or letters. (Yeah, If I had done the math to figure things out I’d realize that there couldn’t possibly be enough combinations for the number of people in the country he lives in, but I didn’t feel like doing math.) The overall story is engaging as we try to figure out whether DV-8 is going to see the light or not. But there are also a bunch of comedic things buried in there for people familiar with popular literature and popular music. For example, I kept expecting to run into a person called MC-5 in reference to the 60s rock band from Detroit. That didn’t happen, but we did see other bands show up, UB-40 for example, along with other musical and cultural references used in a humorous way. How it all shakes out and what DV-8 or Dave think of it, I’ll leave you to find out when you give this book a read, but if you’re into the dystopian genre and comedic or satirical stories as much as I am, you’re going to love this book.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

The author is from the UK and uses UK spelling conventions.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words