Liberty Frye and the Witches of Hessen/J.L. McCreedy

Reviewed by: Michael Thal

Genre: Fantasy/Middle Grade

Approximate word count:60-65,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

A daughter of missionaries, J.L. McCreedy grew up in Southeast Asia. In college she studied English and earned a law degree. Today she freelances as a writer and consultant for charitable causes. She is currently working on her next Liberty Frye adventure.

Description:

Liberty Frye, a middle school student’s world is turned upside down when a stranger named Iorgu enters her small Mississippi village requesting directions to the most unvisited house in town—the Frye home. He has come all the way from Germany with a manila envelope for Libby’s mom. It’s also the day Libby meets Ginny, a sad chubby girl destined to become her best friend. The message in the envelope precipitates an unexpected trip to Mrs. Frye’s native Germany, meeting grandparents Libby didn’t know were alive, and discovering a family heritage of witches.

Appraisal:

In a playful writing style kids enjoy, J.L. McCreedy brings us Liberty Frye and the Witches of Hessen. The entertaining cast of characters include the Snookles, Ginny’s foster parents, Uncle Frank, an eccentric inventor living in a dilapidated home in the woods, and Libby’s mom and dad, who keep dark secrets as they hide away in Baluhla, Mississippi. When the setting moves to Germany the characters become even more bizarre. Take Iorgu, the messenger, who has the perfect job for a man who can transform himself into a crow. Though Libby’s grandmother comes across a bit weird, she seems normal next to Sabine, the ugliest woman Libby had ever met. However, her frightful exterior is nothing compared to the beautiful Zelna, an evil witch whose plans, if come to fruition, could destroy Libby forever.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** 4 stars

Epic Fantasy 0.9b / Will Weisser

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Science Fiction/ Fantasy

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: NO

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Author:

“Born into a literary family (both of his parents are authors and college professors), Will Weisser grew up surrounded by books and reading. In his youth, he was by turns a skate punk on the streets of Manhattan and a computer hacker with a talent for getting caught. Eventually, he managed to turn his knack for technology into a career in programming.”

“In addition to writing…, Will Weisser also holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and currently teaches mixed martial arts in Haddonfield, New Jersey, while living with his wife and children in nearby Cherry Hill.”

To learn more about Will Weisser check out his website.

Description:

“The Decay is coming, and Ian, a fifteen-year-old from the Northwestern Forests of the Region, must flee his home village or be melted into noxious brown goo. With the help of an eccentric mage and an annoyingly cheerful orphan, he escapes to the Capital, fending off quadrupedal orcs, superintelligent vultures, and some of the Region’s less desirable human residents. But when he encounters a mysterious stranger who reveals that the Region may not be what it appears, he must decide whether to stay faithful to his friends, or abandon them and seek the truth.”

Appraisal:

This is a unique genre bending novella that is truly entertaining. The author writes in an easy going style that quickly draws you into his fantasy world and its characters. A good deal of the story is told through Ian’s eyes; he is a somewhat typical teenager that feels like a misfit and he is struggling to find his place in the world. All he is really sure about is that he is not going to let a group of elders decide for him.

When the Decay encroaches on their small village Pip and Ian hightail it out into the wilderness as fast as they can. Pip is an entertaining distraction to the devastation of the Decay; he is eternally optimistic and provides a balance to Ian’s dour attitude and feeling of doom.  Luckily they meet up with the local eccentric old mage, Giesling, who convinces them they all need to head towards the Capital to deliver the warning of the spreading Decay. The next traveler to join their band is a disgraced and expelled Squire named Simon who slowly reveals stories about the Region that our travelers have a hard time believing. Simon provides an interesting twist to the plot that takes this story into the sci-fi realm.

Essentially this is a coming of age story as Ian and Pip become seekers of truth as they try to survive this adventure wroth with danger, battles, deception and magic beyond their wildest dreams. I can see this turning into an awesome series.

FYI:

This book contains adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

I came across a couple of missing or extra words but no other significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars

Life After Dane / Edward Lorn

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Horror

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

A nominee in the inaugural Books and Pals Readers’ Choice awards, this is horror author Edward Lorn’s fifth novel.

For more, visit Edward's blog.

Description:

After serial killer Dane Peters, The Rest Stop Killer, is executed, his mother is haunted by … something. Could it be the ghost of Dane? As Dane’s mother, Ella, tries to find a way to “lay her son’s troubled soul to rest,” she also has to come to terms with what she did to contribute to his demise.

Appraisal:

Of Edward Lorn’s previous novels I’ve read, two were much more to my taste than the third. When I pondered the reason, I realized that while Lorn describes himself as a horror author, there was much more going on in my two favorites. One was a mystery with horrific elements, the other, while primarily horror, had a strong coming-of-age theme as well. I guess this means that horror is okay with me, as long as it doesn’t feel like horror purely for shock value.

I can’t think of a fitting label to attach to Life After Dane other than horror, yet for me, like those other books that had something more going on, this story has a subtext that justifies the horror. I think it is a sense of karmic justice being served, at least it felt that way to me. Your thoughts might be different. And deciding how you feel about that will go far afield as you consider issues as far ranging as parental responsibility, victimization, and your definition of justice.

Another thing that stood out for me was the obviously conscious effort to keep the language acceptable to all except the most sensitive. The worst word I saw was damn. How Lorn did this while remaining true to the story with characters who would make a sailor blush, was an interesting touch. It wouldn’t work everywhere, but it did in this book.

And the ending. Oh, my. Didn’t see that coming.

FYI:

The strongest language I saw used was the word damn. The author skirted around stronger language, implying, but not actually using it.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy.

Rating: ***** Five stars

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Deathtrap / Dana Marton

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Romance / Thriller

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

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Author:

Dana Marton wrote four books over thirteen years before being published. Her novels have been translated into seven languages and available in eleven countries.

To learn more about the author you can visit her website.

Description:

Sophie Curtis is recovering from a heart transplant. Strange events keep happening to her. As a result police chief Ethan Bing comes into her world. He’s emotionally damaged after his wife was murdered two years ago. The case remains unsolved.

Another murder occurs, with some similarities to the death of Bing’s wife. As Ethan starts to investigate he finds himself getting closer to Sophie.

Appraisal:

I have to admit, I made an error when choosing this book to review. I thought I was picking up a thriller novel, however very quickly I thought, ‘This is a romance first and foremost, it just happens to be wrapped around a crime.’ So, I’m not really the ideal target audience for this story.

That being said I wasn’t particularly convinced by the crime / thriller element. It felt like a convenient wagon to hitch the romance onto. The opening pages, where Bing investigates the first murder, felt somewhat contrived and forced. The criminal elements and even the solving of the crime itself were at times too convenient.

Twice friends of Ethan are introduced via a phone call. Both are incredibly unrealistic – one was tortured for three days by a serial killer and then buried alive (he survived). The other was a guy who’d hooked up with a woman in an FBI witness protection programme that went wrong. They simply pop up for a few paragraphs, then are gone. Perhaps they’re characters from past or future books, but it wasn’t clear and it jarred.

The flow of the book was intermittent stages of developing romance between Ethan and Sophie (which I got fed up on, but again, I’m not the right target audience) and then another step forward in the investigation and so on. It’s a very gentle story for one that includes murder and adultery. Sophie several times says ‘Dang darn it’ when something goes wrong. Very polite. By the way, this is an observation, not a criticism.

So, not my type of book but I didn’t think it was particularly well put together. But I’m sure there will be many people that will find it very enjoyable, so what do I know?

FYI:

Nothing.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: *** Three Stars

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Jazz / Cristian Mihai

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

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Author:

“Cristian Mihai (born 25 December 1990) grew up in Constanta, Romania. And he’s still growing up, or at least trying to. Sometimes he writes. Sometimes he gets lucky and writes something good. He can’t, however, draw a straight line. No matter how much he tries. Not even with a ruler. And, please, don’t ever ask him to sing.”

Description:

Chris Sommers falls hopelessly in love with his cousin’s live-in girlfriend, Amber. The story follows Chris as he tries to fulfill his desire for her.

Appraisal:

Chris, a blocked writer, practically moves into his cousin’s New York apartment, desperately snatching glimpses of his would-be muse, Amber. When his cousin discovers Amber has been sleeping with a painter whom he befriended, a scene erupts, and Amber subsequently runs away to Paris.

Chris travels to Paris and is crushed to find Amber living with the saxophonist from his father’s New York restaurant.

Beyond her beauty, Amber is shallow and careless of others feelings, causing pain and hardship through her actions. The writer does a fine job of maintaining the counterpoint of Chris’s myopic and naive view of her.

The author was clearly influenced by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Chris’s infatuation with Amber is all consuming. The scenes in Paris depict a bohemian group of friends orienting around a jazz cafe. The Gatsby is referenced a few times in the course of the story.

The writing is immersive, with fresh metaphors and well-defined, tactile scenes. Occasionally, my impatience got the better of me as I wanted more to happen, faster—but that isn’t the nature of the piece.

Like Jay Gatsby, Chris’s infatuation is an overriding constant. Amber’s character is revealed through her actions and their effects on others, but we never get to really know her, or her motivations.

A subplot is mentioned in passing: The painter was connected with a powerful New York money man, who swears a vendetta against Chris’s family and eventually forces Chris’s father’s restaurant into bankruptcy. Although this pointed up another cost of associating with Amber, it seemed something of an undeveloped afterthought.

Unlike Gatsby, there is no climactic scene. This ending was more reminiscent of a Sopranos fade to black.

I enjoyed this fast read but wouldn’t have complained if there had been more depth layered on the characters and some conflict within the plot.

Format/Typo Issues:

Too few to mention.

Rating: **** Four stars

Broken Wings / Henning Brazer

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Crime Thriller/ Detective/ Serial

Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: NO

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Author:

Henning Brazer is the author of Bloodhound (Dixie Bannerman Series) and the children’s book Darrel and the Moon Balloon. He is also the illustrator and writer of digital comic books like Brave New World and Macabre Squad. Check out his website for these interesting nuggets. 

Description:

Broken Wings is the sequel to the thriller Bloodhound, featuring Dixie Bannerman, a detective with a super sense of smell. In this book he attempts  solving the murder of his friend Gus Bridle.

Appraisal:

I picked this novelette to review because I read Bloodhound back in February of 2011 and I enjoyed the quirky character of Dixie Bannerman. He was original, intriguing, and a likable guy. However, so many monstrously terrible things have happened to the people around him, who he cared for, that he has turned cynical, hateful and arrogant. I can not fault him for being cynical, but I was left without the likable guy I knew before.

New villains are introduced in this addition to the Dixie Bannerman Series, although The Beast is still out there watching and waiting for his perfect time to strike again. While Dixie is investigating a new pair of serial killers that are terrorizing London, Tracy Ray, an investigative reporter, is on her own mission to track down The Beast. The villains were all fully developed with their own apathetic goals. Both storylines move at a nice pace with a few interesting plot twists that will allow the story to continue.

I think this could be a promising series for those who enjoy thriller detective stories. I also think it deserves another round of editing to polish up some simple editing errors.

FYI:

This book contains adult language, graphic images, and situations that may be offensive to some.

Although Mr. Brazer begins with a “What’s Happened Before” and a “Who’s Who” I believe it is best to start with Bloodhound to get a better feel for the characters as the series builds upon itself. This book contains British spelling and a couple of acronyms I had to look up.

Format/Typo Issues:

There are a small number of editing errors ranging from wrong words caused by extra, missing, or jumbled letters (her/here, no/not, and Mary/Myra), wrong verb tenses, or strangely worded sentences that may be British-isms. 

Rating: *** Three stars

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The Classic Rockers Reunion with Death / RJ McDonnell

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Mystery

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

The son of a police detective, RJ McDonnell grew up watching TV detective shows with his father, who critiqued the stories for believability. (This is something McDonnell has in common with Jason Duffy, the protagonist of his mystery series.) A working musician during his college years, McDonnell has since worked as a professional writer, including as a columnist for two San Diego publications and a comedy skit writer for a local TV show.

For more, visit the author’s website.

Description:

“Private investigator Jason Duffy travels from San Diego to Scranton, PA in January after his uncle’s best friend is murdered. He learns that they were members of a rock band that nearly made it to the national scene in the early 1970s, and were about to play a hometown reunion concert when their rhythm guitarist was executed.

Drawing on his past as a club musician, Jason fills in for the victim, enabling the show to go on. But he quickly finds himself targeted by the killer as he tries to discover who is willing to commit murder to stop the concert, and why.”

Appraisal:

The fourth installment of McDonnell’s The Rock & Roll Mystery Series finds rocker-turned-PI Jason Duffy looking into a murder at the behest of his uncle on the other side of the country from home. As in the previous book I read in this series, the story is a murder-mystery set within the world of rock music. As with any good mystery, not everyone is how they first appear, which keeps the reader guessing as to who’s hiding what along with the obvious question of who done it.

One aspect of this story that complicates matters for Jason and adds a strong secondary storyline is the matter of the strained relationship between Jason’s ex-cop Dad and his brother (Jason’s Uncle). How his Dad reacts to Jason helping out his Uncle and how that evolves as the story progresses not only adds to the story, but complicates the case for Jason.

FYI:

Limited adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four stars