Review: Lula Mae by Charlene Raddon

 

Genre: Historical/Romance

Description:

“Lula May Rivers' mission to reach Cheyenne, Wyoming, and rescue her niece is derailed when she's left penniless after a brutal robbery. Desperate and determined, she disguises herself as a young boy named Lou and sneaks into the baggage car of a train bound for Cheyenne.

Fate takes a dramatic turn when U.S. Marshal Gannon Calloway discovers Lou. Anticipating another robbery, he offers her refuge aboard the train. Impressed by Lou's skill with a whip, Gannon enlists her help, unaware that she harbors dangerous secrets of her own. Their journey takes a perilous twist as a killer, whom Gannon once put behind bars, escapes and is on a relentless path to Cheyenne seeking vengeance against a female witness.

As tensions escalate, Gannon faces a stunning revelation: Lou is not a boy but a captivating woman, and the witness the convict seeks to eliminate is none other than her. Forced to work together, they must race against time to catch the vengeful convict. Along the way, an unexpected romance blossoms, revealing that sometimes, the heart has plans of its own.”

Author:

Charlene Raddon knew she wanted to be an author since elementary school and has a long career writing books with her first novel being published in 1990 with numerous others being published since.

Appraisal:

Wow. I’ve got to confess that while I’ve read quite a few books in the romance genre in my day and a least a few historical westerns, even some that combine both like this one, neither fits my preferred genres. Yet I’ve also come to realize that stretching my wings and reading books outside of my normal genres is a good idea so I gave this one a try. I’m glad I did. It took me to a different time and on a grand adventure with a couple of characters (take that any way you want and it will fit) with Lula Mae and Gannon. An extremely fun read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Reprise Review: The Redemption of Michael Hollister by Shawn Inmon

 

Genre: Time Travel

Description:

“All Michael Hollister wanted was death.

What he got, was time travel.

Convicted of murder, and with nothing left to live for, Michael commits suicide in his jail cell in 1977, then opens his eyes in 1966, in his eight-year-old body, all memories of his previous life intact.

His first thoughts are of the dark intentions of his father. When the man who raised him once again tries to do the unthinkable, Michael has a chance to right his childhood's greatest wrong. But, can he do that without becoming a killer all over again?”

Author:

“Have you ever noticed how almost every author on Amazon is both a ‘bestselling’ and ‘award winning’ author? Well, so is Shawn Inmon. He once dominated the Lithuanian Clog Dancing Romance category for two heady days back in 2013. He also was named third runner up in Mrs. Marsh's third grade spelling bee in 1968. Somewhere, he still has the certificate to prove it. Although he has never matched either of these two career highlights, he keeps plugging away.

Shawn hails from Mossyrock, Washington--the setting for his first two books, Feels Like the First Time, and Both Sides Now.

He is a full-time author who lives in picturesque Seaview, Washington on the Pacific Ocean.”??

Appraisal:

This book is being billed as the second in the “Middle Falls Time Travel series.” The first, The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver, had as its protagonist a character who died and found himself in a new life, kind of. He’d wake up as the same person, taken back in time to when he was a kid, but with all the knowledge of what he’d done in his past life or lives. Maybe a better term would be a “do over.” In that book Thomas had a classmate, Michael Hollister. If you’ve read the book you’ll know Michael wasn’t a very nice person. In fact, he was Oregon’s most prolific serial killer.

With that introduction to Michael you might wonder how he could possibly redeem himself. But when Michael finds a way to “end it all” while in prison, then wakes up in his boyhood bed in his boyhood home he’s smart enough to recognize the chance he’s been given. That’s the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what to do differently this time around.

The author does a masterful job of taking a character that was irredeemable to those who read the prior book and somehow redeeming him. Not excusing him for the crimes he committed in his past life, but helping us to understand how he got to that point and drawing us into the story so that we were pulling for Michael to find a different path for his life the next time around. The premise of the books in this series of being given another chance is an interesting mind exercise that makes for entertaining books. Well done, Mr. Inmon.

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: Bite Sized Fiction by Robbie Sheerin

 

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“This collection features five sci-fi stories, from cops hunting humanoid robots in Blade Runners 2039, to the shocking truth behind the Titanic in Ships Colliding in the Night. In Defrosting H.G. Wells, the legendary author is thrust 200 years into the future, awakening on a human-colonized planet—and questioning what became of Earth and its inhabitants.

The other five tales explore the intricacies of the human mind and heart: aging parents, childhood trauma, and mental health. A daughter is haunted by her controlling mother in Just Ignore Me. In The Incredible Broken Mind, a retired naval officer recalls the Black Plague with incredible detail, but not everything is what it appears. Concerns and Sandcastles captures a child's quiet worry about his parents’ love, while What Dangers Lay Beyond That Barrier of Mahogany Wood delves into the isolated world of a man battling agoraphobia. Award-winning writer Robbie Sheerin weaves humor, pathos, and surprise into every story—each one a twist-filled journey through imagination and emotion.”

Author:

“Robbie Sheerin is an award-winning Scottish author who lives in the USA. He has been published in various journals and online platforms. He is a quality manager and lives with his wife and crazy dog in the Boston area. He has one daughter. He can be found on his website Robbiesheerinwriter.”

Appraisal:

This small collection of short stories was a fun read. The mix of sci-fi and more general fiction was a nice mix. But what really stood out for me was how the author found a way to end many of the stories in a way that surprised me, yet felt like the correct ending, even if I didn’t see it coming. The “bite sized” stories are a nice change of pace to read in between a couple long novels that are my normal reading diet.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

A few more proofing misses than I’d like to see in a book this size, but not quite enough to impact my overall rating.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 14-15,000 words