International Review of Books 2019 by BooksGoSocial

International Review of books magazine Executive Editor - Laurence O’Bryan Editor-in-Chief - Tanja Slijepčević Reviews Editor - Kathy Denver Graphic Designer - Mirna Gilman Ranogajec

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Editor’s letter You are very welcome to our International Review of Books magazine! Well, welcome to 2019! Here at The International Review of Books, we have been making a few changes to the way we review your books. Gone are the three, four, and five-star ratings. In their place, we have a simpler way of rating your book. We now offer a gold, silver, or bronze seal to show visually what the reviewer thought of your work. The layout is also different. We now have the following sections: • • •

A general summary for context Concise review General thoughts on the novel

As well as the above we have a section for the reader to use that allows them to offer a supportive critique. This part allows for the mention of format issues or spelling issues etc. This part of the review process is not published and shared only with the author. We hope these changes better reflect the hard work you have put into your beloved work. We also hope that they help potential readers decide on your work over others when they read the detailed yet spoiler-free review. Here is to a productive 2019! Kathy Denver Reviews Editor

An unusual but enjoyable book focusing on two primary characters; a young man living in the Philippines and his uncle back in Chicago. The book is listed in the erotica genre but I found the sex scenes quite tame. Almost as though everything is implied, rather than overtly described. The flow of the book is fine, though I did find it tended to jump to flashbacks mid-chapter, which is a little off-putting. Otherwise, a decent read.

This is an amazing story of boyhood innocence lost in the process of coming of age. The story chronicles the rather mundane life of a boy named Patrick Meecham, growing up in New Hampshire, as he navigates the treacherous waters preceding manhood.

Schumacher’s God’s Hammer is the story of Hakon Haraldsson, a boy, who matures to become the ﬁrst Christian Viking king. Sent as a gift of trust to be raised in the court of the English king Athelstan, Hakon adopts the ways of the English including the religion. Later after the death of his father, he returns to his homeland with the help of those who which to overthrow his brother Eric Bloodaxe. Hakon must again free himself as a pawn in other’s plans and create his destiny.

With an intriguing premise and promising story-line, the delivery of Attribution fell ﬂat. Scenes and chapters were uncharacteristically short and frequently ﬂipped between characters and situations, both past and present, which led to more questions than answers. Character development remained elusive throughout the story, despite information being presented to the reader, and many of the characters’ motivations were confusing or complicated to ascertain.

She does not know what he wants from her, but she does not feel up to the task. There are others that are better suited to that. After the massacre at Sandy Creek, her tribe is moved, and their fate begins to change again. She is pulled in two different directions. She wants to be free, and she wants to do the best she can for her people. When another massacre occurs, she is left without her father and mother – and her brother, now part of the Dog Soldiers, could lose his life at any time. Clinton is looking for adventure. After the Civil War ended, he decided to go back into the Army to ﬁnd himself and regain his purpose. After heading back out west, he meets Morning Dove and is completely taken with her.

Concise Review

He ﬁnds himself wanting to protect her, and at the same time, falling in love with her. But to do so would go against everything, including his commission in the Cavalry. He must decide if he is going to follow his heart or his career. Interesting book! An interesting adventure that spans the plains of the American West.

The world of the Cheyenne is changing. Morning Dove, the adopted daughter of Chief Black Kettle, is learning more of the White Man’s world. Speaking their language is important to her father, so she is doing her best. As the Spirit of an old Medicine Man begins to contact her, she becomes frightened.

their way to freedom in 1600â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Caribbean. It is a non-traditional romance novel, with political intrigue and pirate battles to round out the action. The political scheming is intricate, but not over-whelming. There are a small number of players in the political arena, and their motives are explained well. The pirate ship battles are vividly described, with enough details about the vessels that even someone who knows nothing about ships (me!) can follow them. It was well-balanced between romance, politics, ďŹ ghting and character building. By the end of the books, I felt I knew the characters well, and I cared about what happened to them. There were several characters that I especially was interested in, and I was saddened by some of their actions. I was amused that the birds were characters of their own, and seemed to have motivations as well. The story felt historically true to me, with nothing jarring that took me out of the time and place it is set in. It did make me wonder, however, how people actually lived in that time, and how they were able to deal with the issues that were a part of life back then.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? We should have buccaneers over all the time, Tanama thought.

In all, it was an extremely good series, and I will be looking for more books by these authors. I really enjoyed reading this book. No Quarter: Dominium The Complete Series was a very good pirate romance novel. This edition combines the six volumes it was originally released as to a single novel. It follows a small group of pirates (and their birds), strumpets and escaped slaves as they try to make

Summary Plowed Over by Ellen Ann Callahan is a Mystery Novel about Lucy Prestipino a.k.a. Happy Holiday, a woman under the Witness Security Protection Program who stumbled upon a dead man’s body while in her new job plowing snow. She knew she needed to keep a low proﬁle, but she couldn’t help but investigate the death of Bernie Singleton, the man she found frozen in the snow. Jimmy Bittinger, her State Trooper friend, warned her against it. But to keep her mind off her former life, Lucy continued to pursue her investigation. What happens next would determine not only the resolution to Bernie’s death but also to Lucy’s life that has been put on hold since the day she took on the name of Happy Holiday.

Concise Review

Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

Plowed Over by Ellen Ann Callahan is a masterfully written mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end! Its power is in its simplicity. Once you start reading, you’re immediately gripped with the protagonist, Lucy Prestipino a.k.a Happy Holiday. Lucy’s character was well ﬂeshed out, believable but really likable. She had a rather shady past, but she didn’t walk around with a chip on her shoulder. She was instead kind, helpful and willing to go the extra mile for others because she knew how hard life could really be. There were times when she showed how she missed her old life and her old

“This is the most important thing. Don’t forget who you are, Lucy Prestipino. The only thing that’s changed is the superficial stuff. Your name, your looks, your occupation. None of that matters. Don’t let Lucy disappear. Promise me.”

self, but even in those moments, she did what she thought was practical for the moment instead of wallowing in the past. The other characters were also well developed. There’s Jimmy, a Trooper who obviously had feelings for Lucy. There was also Romero, Lucy’s ex-boyfriend who was involved in a gang that resulted in Lucy’s need to enter WITSEC (Witness Security Protection Program.) Even the supporting characters like Deputy Peter Etcher, Lucy’s WITSEC handler, and Christine White, her new-found friend were very authentic you can easily imagine them as people you’ve met or really known. The book’s steady pacing helped me to appreciate every moment of the story. I was not hurried nor dragged. I had the time I needed to process every bit of clue with Lucy. I thought this provided a realistic and natural ﬂow to the development of the investigation as well as the slow-burn kind of romance woven within the novel. Further, the ﬁrst-person point of view made things even more intimate. There’s nothing like being able to know what Lucy herself was thinking and feeling at the moment.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? To save his sister, it fell to him to murder Kaell.

Moreover, the descriptions of the scenes were brilliant. Callahan did her research well even in the technical aspects of the story such as the task of plowing snow. There was also the light touch of humor, the ﬂawless development of the plot as well as a satisfying end that would make any reader deﬁnitely want to read more books from the same author.

Summary Kaell, the 19th Bladesman, is trained to ﬁght for his god and to stop a terrible prophecy from overturning the whole world. If he dies, then evil is unleashed. His teacher and father ﬁgure, Vraymorg, knows this prophecy in full and wrestles with his own secrets as he tries to keep Kaell alive. 11

Concise Review The 19th Bladesman by S. J. Hartland is a sweeping fantasy epic, with lots of complicated characters and a massive world. Fans of character chapters (such as those found in Game of Thrones) will really enjoy the different viewpoints throughout the book. I felt the characters grew and changed as the novel progressed, and often wanted to get back to a speciﬁc character to carry on with what was going on with them. The world building is expansive and very well crafted, I really felt the main focus was delivering complex and layered characters that are multifaceted and faced with challenging situations that make them evolve as people. Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

There a lot of themes on honor and duty - and how that can get in the way of love, and sometimes even doing the right thing. I particularly liked Vraymorg being torn between his love for Kaell who is practically his son, his duty as Lord of the land and his King, and also his knowledge of the prophecy that will bring a lot of pain to the world, and especially Kaell.

You don’t mess with Texas, son, not even in Tuscany.

Something I found particularly exciting was the ‘monsters’ of the book, the ghouls. The author has taken common fantasy tropes of vampires and twisted them into a new viewpoint - the ghouls are abhorrent, yet follow a lot of common vampiric traits. It’s exciting to see a different interpretation within the fantasy genre.

Cotto manages to capture Italian country life and regional themes in wine rich Italy. If the reader doesn’t care for Jacoby, there is more than enough food imagery throughout the book to keep the reader hungry. It would be an understatement to say food plays a predominant role in the book. Other themes enter the text that are surprisingly unexpected.

Summary A multilevel novel about Jacoby Pines finding his way in a new setting. Friction with his fiancee leads him to discover new friends in a foreign land. Bill is a homosexual from Texas who ironically befriends Jacoby who incidentally was fired for a “homophobic” insult about his boss. Helen is from Melbourne and an interesting character in herself.

Scenes like the Florence underground lead to some surprising descriptions and people that do not usually make it into the travel guides. Fetes, sports, and tradition round out the reader’s tour of Florence. Cucina Tipica translates to traditional cuisine, and although food and culture play a role in the story, there is enough of the uncommon fare to separate this novel from others set in Italy.

There is also a nice comparison from big-city Boston to the Italian countryside and the search for a piece of the past. Tradition, food, and the highest respect for the butcher all ﬁnd a way into the novel.

Concise Review Cucina Tipica: An Italian Adventure, by Andrew Cotto, is the story of Boston area Jacoby Pines and his journey of self-discovery. The former rocker turned PR man finds himself out of a job and shunned by the industry. His fiancee Claire, a freelance food and travel writer, decides to take him on a year-long trip to Italy where she will be working. Although meant to be a time for Jacoby to recover, the stay turns out to be a source of fiction for the couple. Their time apart leaves Jacoby to investigate an old photo that he brought with him, hoping to discover something of his past. Through the course of the book, he meets Bill, from East Texas who has been living illegally and Helen from Melbourne who is both a bit refined and a little wild.

Concise Review Detective Rafferty and Sgt. Llewellyn have been handed a murder case that seems entirely airtight, complete with enough evidence for a conviction. While Rafferty is convinced of the guilt of Professor Anthony Babbington, Llewellyn has his doubts. When Mr. Hunter-York is murdered, only one person, Professor Babbington, has the motive to want him dead, and all evidence points in his direction. But as Rafferty and Llewellyn begin asking questions, they ﬁnd that no one really cared for the professor, and they are more than willing to share just about anything to make sure that he is convicted for the murder. As forthcoming as the staff at the college has been, there are still secrets lurking behind their information. The professor stubbornly maintains his innocence, declaring that someone has framed him for murder. While his colleagues have not hidden their contempt for Babbington, could it be enough to drive someone to murder and then try to frame the professor?

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? But thank the Lord, it didn’t utter a word, so maybe his conscience had a conscience, too. Maybe.

Llewellyn has more doubts than his superior, but there is no proof, nothing that points to the innocence of the professor until they begin looking deeper into the knife attacks happening near campus. As they begin tracking the professor’s movements, and the string of illegitimate children he had, the case begins to take a different turn. The young Sebastian Carlton, one of the illegitimate children of the professor, is full of anger, after the drunken confession about his paternity by his mother. As the pair dig deeper into his background, and the particulars of the case, it seems that Sebastian had just as much motive as anyone to want to get the professor out of the way.

Summary A professor stands accused of murder, and the case seems airtight. However, ﬁrst appearances can be deceiving, and there might be more to this mystery then ﬁrst meets the eye.

ence life without the restrictions of race and to view the world in a different way. The book is written as a reﬂection of his life and learnings as well as his emotional growth.

Concise Review The story of an Indian boy growing up in Apartheid South Africa shines the light on the atrocities and sadness faced in his small life. Himmet Dajee lovingly writes about the best and worst times of his life. He unpacks the experiences of his life from the viewpoint of a child at ﬁrst and then allows the story to morph and take on the anger that he as a young man felt. The writing is cleverly done as he allows the reader to glimpse inside his world. Slowly he displays, for all to see, his growth as an esteemed cardiac surgeon, of which he is immensely proud, as well as his emotional struggles and growth through difﬁcult times throughout his life.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? I’ve always lived my life with purpose, relentlessly moving forward, never looking back.

Himmet’s connection to family is evident as he shares the heartbreak of losing his mother at such a young age and later leaving his father’s care to move in with his brother, of whom he accredits many of his success. Later, when that brother is killed in the ever-worsening climate of Apartheid, his anger at his former homeland comes out in his writing, effectively as well as eloquently. As Himmet continues to lay out his life for us to experience, or more importantly, for his children as he states at the end of the book, we watch how age and sickness affect his view of family and the changes in his homeland. Finally making peace and recognizing the vast interconnection and effect they have had on him.

Summary A Boy Named Courage is an autobiography of an Indian boy growing up in Apartheid South Africa in the late ﬁfties. Subsequently, he graduated from college, UCT, and pursued a medical degree outside his homeland. Leaving his homeland allowed him to experi-

Summary

General thoughts on the Novel

A young and ambitious West Texas woman breaks with traditional roles and attends art school in Philadelphia just before the turn of the twentieth century. She experiences liberation and restrictions as she develops into a woman who intends to stand out rather than standing behind traditional roles.

This novel showed a very different view from the Apartheid we have seen in the past. It shows it not from the Africanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective, but from another marginalized group. It was well written with just enough feeling of despair, perseverance, and hope.

Concise Review A Different Kind of Fire, by Suanne Schafer, is the story of Ruby Schmidt a young woman in West Texas near the turn of the twentieth century. I found this book in the Historical Fiction category and being a resident of Texas I thought I would give it a try. However, even before getting to the story I saw that the author is a member of the San Antonio Romance Authors and The Romance Writers of America. The Romance market is vast; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just that I am not part of it. Happily, as it turns out, this is not a romance novel.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? It seems I can be an artist or a wife, but not both.

Shortly into the book, I found the lead character, Ruby Schmidt, very likable. The strict West Texas environment, both social and religious, would be a tough place for a young female artist to get much notice and if she did, she would be reined in. Ruby develops into a strong lead female character who bends instead of breaking and uses her smarts to convince her parents to let her go to art school in Philidelphia.

What follows is a series of challenges to the character. Life in the big city is fast and attractive for an eligible young woman. Relationships develop unexpectedly. She left her presumed husband-to-be in Texas and finds an exciting world where reproductive health leaves many options open. There is also the challenge between family and developing a career. Furthermore, establishing a career as a woman in a man’s world is no easy task. What I found most interesting in the novel is its relation to early twentieth-century British Literature. There was the division between city and country, although not as drastic as West Texas and Philidelphia. The early feminist writers included many of the same themes concerning the woman’s place and status to including voting and property rights (Vita Sackville-West lost Knole because of her sex). Relationships in British fiction are represented in books such as The Well of Loneliness. Careers for creative women appear in Virginia Woolf ’s, A Room of Her Own and admittedly require some money (Ruby uses her grandmother’s legacy). Not that the British women were unique in there struggle. Schafer demonstrates the same message in an American setting using historical events, legislation, and figures of the time. A well-written and thought out novel about America’s lesser-known feminist beginnings.

General thoughts on the Novel I was really surprised by the novel. The expected “romance” genre was not present, and my appreciation for British modernists is mirrored in an American setting to even include the Taos retreat at the end of the book.

all that suggests, and it informs her every subsequent step. But loss is not her only legacy, as Faith walks alongside her through the most terrible of tragedies — even through those times when she loses her sense of Heaven’s beneﬁcence.

Concise She is the daughter of a widowed vicar in a small village in England during WWII. The ﬁrst part of the gripping narrative reveals the losses and horrors of war; the second part underscores the sufferings she encounters after she moves to Mombasa, Kenya. This compelling novel is based on a true life story. During WWII Grace falls in love then loses all she cherishes. As her faith is challenged she plunges into the Dark Night of the Soul, that nothingness where God’s absence sears the soul.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

As the world repairs from the war, Grace also undergoes a brittle healing, vowing never to pray again. But she receives a chance to move to Kenya and does so to escape all she has lost, with the hope that she might build a new life with purpose there. In Mombasa, Grace discovers that as she faces tragedy head on and opens her heart again to life, restored faith brings hope, love, and healing once more.

But if someone has lost their faith, can’t we help them find it?

Summary

Grace in Mombasa is a story about a woman whom God will not let go. Tracy Traynor’s writing is exquisite, her character development sure, her narratives cinematic, her denouement redemptive.

GRACE IN MOMBASA by Tracy Traynor is a sort of pilgrim’s progress for the 20th century, with a young woman, Grace Clifton, as the Christian Everywoman. She is a motherless child, with

However, someone wants her to stop looking - and this person seems to know a lot about her biological family. As she uncovers the sad and horriﬁc events of the past layer by layer, texted daily threats become more vicious, and it’s clear that Taryn and her newly found family are not safe. She enlisted the services of Bryce Elliott, a private Investigator, because she thought it would make her search quicker. She didn’t think she might need protection. (And maybe Bryce isn’t as cold and rigid as he appears once she gets to know him better - after all, the whole town seems to want to play matchmaker…) As the past is revealed, Taryn realizes her roots are far from perfect, and that that is okay, it is just how families are. There is a quotation the author used, and this sums up what I think we all feel. It is attributed to Taryn’s biological mother, “God doesn’t give us what we can’t handle, God helps us handle what we are given.”

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? God helps us handle what we are given...

This is an easy and informative read, and I found myself totally immersed in the novel although I’m more of a thriller fan. I especially appreciate the research the author did on the Amish community. Quite often while I was reading about Taryn’s family, I thought how the so-called “Plain” people could teach the rest of us a thing or two about life.

A touching story about a young woman, Taryn Clark, desperately looking for her roots and ﬁnding them in a very odd but beautiful place.

On the whole, I was impressed with the clean read, and would deﬁnitely read books by Becki Willis again.

Summary Suzanne Moss, who owns her own company; has to work through a situation that has come up where she gets targeted in the black market circuit. At the same time, she has to sort out a personal situation at home that involves her husband, Leonard.

Concise Review This book revolves around Suzanne Moss; her partner Brad Stanton, and her husband, Leonard – these are the main viewpoints that the story encompasses. Suzanne has to work through betrayal both on a personal level and on a business level. Along the way, she discovers of her own failings. This novel made for easy and pleasant reading; with quite a bit focused on Suzanne’s work life. One thing I really liked was Suzanne’s support system; from work as well as in her personal life. Outside of the friends who supported her through everything, there wasn’t a huge amount said about the rest of her personal life, other than what was going on with her husband – Leonard; who could be quite a dodgy character at times. Her business partner, Brad, ended up being one of those slightly mysterious characters.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? For all of her expertise in computers, handwriting her appointments was one way she slowed down her fast-paced life. Everything seemed to be needed as soon as possible. ASAP was her life.

The two focal points in this book for me were when Suzanne had to sort out the black market situation with her company, and then deal with her personal life and the problems with her marriage. Both of these aspects were interesting in their own way; though the black market situation was resolved quicker than I thought it was going to be. I’d also expected that the

problem with her husband was going to be resolved quite a bit slower than it actually was. By the end of this book, Suzanne has slowed the pace of her life down a little bit, as well as making time for herself. For those who enjoy contemporaries with light suspense, try picking this book up.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? Scarlett snorted, crumbs flying. “If he’d given you something you wouldn’t have come sulking in here with Apology Donuts.” She threw a legal pad at Wolfe next, the front page covered in her curvy handwriting. “While you were out canoodling with our criminal informant, I got us another case.”

Summary

Thoughts

Army Ranger turned P.I. (Private Investigator), Jim Wolfe, is dealing with a lot of things in this book. Between his PTSD, his missing person case and then the rise of gruesome murders happening around him he has a maddening storm of blood, lies, and deceit to wade through.

This book ticks many boxes, and I liked the hint of LGBT rather than a full on in your face many others do. This felt like a normal and not forced to ﬁt a narrative or agenda. This novel sits comfortably on the crime/mystery/thriller shelf and the quote, ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave…’ is very ﬁtting for the characters in this book.

Concise

There is a lot going on in this novel, and be warned, the beginning sets the tone and mood of the rest of the book. Opening with a detailed and gory scene of mutilation, we follow the ex-Army Ranger as he attempts to keep all things sane. Hired by a famous musician, Jim and his colleague, Scarlett Vaughn, attempt to track down his missing daughter.

There were one or two questions left unanswered but maybe that just means we will be seeing another installment of this great novel. I would recommend this read to lovers of the following genres: Crime, Thrillers, Mystery.

While working the case things take a steep turn and suddenly the bloody body count around the P.I. begins to pile up. All with some sort of link or tie to the M.C. (Main Character) himself.

Through the story we are introduced to quite a few characters, some with larger roles to play than others but all connected in some misshapen and deranged way. This is a story of crime, passion, gangs and corruption, all the great things that make an excellently delicious novel. Both characters and plot are well developed and complement each other.

The one thing I would say is that there are so many threads tangled in this story that at times it felt a little confusing and I had to go back and re-read a page or two to grasp what was happening and to keep on track with the storyline. There were one or two questions left unanswered but maybe that just means we will be seeing another installment of this great novel. I would recommend this read to lovers of the following genres: Crime, Thrillers, Mystery.

The book The Plainview Lottery by Markas Dvaras is an interesting read. I found this book very reminiscent of a young adult novel I read many years ago called The Wish Giver by Bill Britain. In both stories, the authors are trying to teach the reader a lesson on human behavior. Each time the easiest route turns out to be the one of most peril. The book starts off with the introduction of mysterious strangers to a nearly perfect town. The strangers introduce a new concept, the lottery. The lottery slowly wheedles its way into everyone’s lives and brings the town to its knees creating litter, layoffs, and laziness. The town never discovers the origin of the strangers or how they were able to do what they did in the time period given. As predicted with any lottery, no one wins the enormous pile of gold and overnight the men and gold disappear.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? He once confided in me that he would prefer to die standing up.” The reason for this, he was told, was “So the world would know that I managed to stay busy on my last day... or that I died trying.” In the end, Percy Miller got his wish.

The town slowly returns to normal with a greater appreciation of what they had. The connections between the last two chapters or short stories mostly point out and reinforce those lessons that were learned and that the reader may have missed. I did ﬁnd that Dvaras’ overuse of the verb ‘was’ weakened his prose just a bit. This story took a hard look at society as a whole and how “we are the generation that would rather just sit there.”

of her life, experiencing joy and hope. Except now a malicious, evil man with a heart full of greed and vengeance has decided to crush her happiness - using a cursed sword, he sends her beloved Luke to another dimension with no hope of getting back alive. An adventurous tale of love and hate set in an enchanting world full of magic.

Concise Review Nina was never lucky with men, and Luke was never one to be called a ladies’ man. He had denied his feelings in front of his close friend for far too long, but not anymore. Finally, after confessing all, they decide to take the leap and get into a relationship. Life feels like a fairytale. But their happiness is short-lived, as an enemy of Nina’s uses a cursed sword for vengeance, sending Luke to be tortured in another dimension, and even Nina’s extraordinary psychic abilities have trouble reaching out to her beloved.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

General thoughts on the Novel This was a dark and vengeful story with lots of pain and emotional distress that is balanced with the light romance, love, and care. Dark Karma is the third book in the series, and it is strongly advised to read the ﬁrst two books to avoid any confusion from lack of details from previous installments. This story has a very interesting premise which would deﬁnitely appeal to any fantasy fan – dark magic, cursed objects, a wide variety of psychic abilities, even time traveling and alternate dimensions.

Summary Being the extraordinary one among ordinary humans is never easy. For Nina Perotti, it is a well know fact, thanks to her strong psychic abilities. Now it seems she is settling down, ﬁnally ﬁnding the love

Immortality is also a topic touched on in the story, although marginally. Yet it creates a fantastic environment for a story of love and hate to be perfectly set into. This book emanates emotion, and it poured from the pages. On the ﬂip side, malice and greed found the antagonist carry out evil actions, thus creating the suspense and momentum pushing the plot forward and pushing the characters to their limits and testing their endurance in impossible situations. Will their love survive the separation? Can they ﬁnd a way back to each other? Both the main characters emanate strong will and deep feelings for each other, which makes the reader believe any obstacle can be overcome. Nina is smart, caring, and desperate, a dangerous combination making her a formidable foe. Luke is an effective and disciplined man, rough on the surface, but with a big heart and strong protective instincts. With a blessed interference from Nina’s past, their natural gravitation to each other may be their only hope for a happily ever after.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? “I do believe that mental illness exists and I have met people who have accepted and who believe that they indeed have a mental illness. I respect their choices to be medicated and I have heard their story. I have not written this book to force others to stop their medications or to ridicule others for their choices. I wrote this book as an account of the horrific things done to me.”

Paula Ann Stewart takes readers on a personal journey in Popping Pills: How I Said No to Abuse and Lost. She has a way of writing allowing the reader to feel her frustration as well as her dedication to presenting her message. She writes directly to the reader in a wonderfully conversational tone. It is helpful how she expresses her journey. She explains she understands mental illness does exist and she respects the choices people make when taking medication for this. Yet, this book is her story and “the horriﬁc things” that happen to her. Stewart writes how she was forced to take drugs she felt she didn’t need to help her cope throughout her life. She felt ignored and dismissed by many medical professionals as well as psychiatrists while being forced what she described as “mind-altering medication”. She wanted to make her own choice and not use pharmaceuticals but use healthy alternatives. She took steps to take her life and body back.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? “I had been spared. I had been granted another chance. I was in so much pain and agony, but I knew that I had been spared, and I was consumed with gratitude.”

She uses different ways to get her message across to the reader including details in diary or journal entries as well as special poems. Stewart relays her experience in a way that helps others too. Reading this book is not only beneﬁcial to help those going through the same thing she went through. This is a book for family and friends to help them better understand how those they love who are dealing with the same situation. It is a book for those in the workforce that might encounter or work with individuals enduring these feelings as well. She describes her feelings and gives details of how she worked to get control of her life. Everything she writes is simply done to help others. So many can beneﬁt from her words.

This well written book was an incredibly honest account of a young girl’s deprived upbringing involving emotional neglect by her mother and physical abuse from a young age at the hand of her mother’s boyfriend, and how she found solace in drugs. T.M explores how being abused as a tod-

dler led to her becoming extremely sexually curious with other children in her early years. The book explores the psychological impact of the abuse in a firsthand account which is insightful, especially as it is from her point of view and not clouded with professional jargon. The writing is very to the point and informative. As a reader, I did not find myself judging the drug abuse as the writing was so good at immersing me into the author’s early life and helping me to understand the reasoning behind her choices. As a character in her book, I always felt on the author’s side. She generally tried to do the right thing, is a fellow animal lover, and even when she was stealing fuel to buy drugs, I still felt so sympathetic towards her. I felt instantly engaged with the book, which is unusual for me, and I think this is because it went straight into the narration rather than have too much fluff. Although I have said that the writing is matter of fact, at no point could it be perceived as blasé. Looking back at the accounts told within the book I am in awe of this woman. She has been through so many horrific situations that few of us can comprehend, fallen into a pit of addiction, and yet she has come out of the other side and managed to write this book. She is an amazing woman and I wish her every success. She certainly deserves it with this memoir. In a way, I didn’t think I was going to like this book but I instantly did. It has opened my eyes up to a whole new world and I feel thoroughly given any reader an insight into the life of a drug addict. It teaches you not to judge so instantly, and to put yourself into someone else’s shoes. I would definitely recommend.

experience what they have and by a series of questions brings their world into yours. For example, how would you respond to being abandoned, found by a king’s daughter and raised as royalty or what if you were eaten by a big ﬁsh only to be spit out on the beach, how would you feel? Would you be calm standing before hungry lions with no fear? Would you stand up for what you believed in even if you knew, if you did, you would be thrown in a furnace to be burned alive? How would you feel and what would you do in those circumstances? Return to Me; God’s Heart Cry turns to our beginning and our reconciliation. It takes us back to the very beginning where it all started. It shows us how sin entered the world and puts you in the garden for you to be the judge of the events. After you live the events, you see how God provided the reconciliation necessary by sending His own Son. Jesus, God’s Son, lived a perfect life, died on a cross to bear the penalty for our sin, who rose from the dead on the third day and who is now seated at the right hand of the Father. It is through Him and only Him, we have reconciliation with God.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? Do we do the right thing, even if it does not benefit us?

Return to Me; God’s Heart Cry then turns inward to look at our restoration by examining our outer restoration or the physical things in our life like our house, clothes, time and our money. What does your house look like? Are there any

Book Description Return to Me; God’s Heart Cry starts by introducing the prophets, their life, experiences and their messages. It is written in an interactive style that through your imagine allows you to

idols in your house? Are you modestly dressed? What are you doing with your time and your money? Are these things pleasing to our heavenly Father?

This book lets you explore areas of thought that you may have further than the question of creation vs evolution.

Review

I really liked the acronym on the last page which explains the book’s title.

Return to me is a powerful journey through the Christian Bible to reconnect with God. To feel that sense of belonging, understanding, connection, and sense of community.

This was a great book that can be read often and in conjunction with the bible.

With the distractions of today’s world, not everyone is receiving spiritual nourishment and even those that declare they are Christians do not have a relationship with God or are not putting him ﬁrst.

This book also allows non-believers to really get a feel of the religious matter for Christianity, it can also be used to compare religions or seek evidence for speciﬁc arguments.

This book journeys through the biggest teaching points of the Bible from prophets that delivered God’s message and that in which produced the Bible towards those that delivered the message after witnessing Jesus ﬁrst hand.

The best thing is that this book isn’t a sermon nor is it telling you what to believe - it is challenging you to dig deeper, to ask the hard questions and to ﬁnd your own identity amongst the content.

I love that each of the prophets or disciples is broken down in its own section with scripture noted so you can, therefore, review the content yourself. With this set up any age can read this book and ﬁnd understanding.

Give it a read and continue to read it over again. For me, it helped me to not feel so lost amongst the Bible.

This book helps to reach out to those that are looking for a relationship with God, need to strengthen what they already have or need someone of a higher power in their life but had no idea where to begin.

Summary This is the story of Dutch journalist Willem Oltmans’ extensive ten-year investigation of the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, his alleged killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, and ensuing friendship with a close friend of Oswald, George de Mohrenschildt.

Concise Review It was at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport where Dutch journalist, Willem Oltmans, began his real journey. During a chance encounter with Marguerite Oswald, mother of Lee Harvey Oswald, purported killer of then-President John F. Kennedy, she insisted on her son’s innocence. During subsequent conversations with her, he was so compelled by her story that he decided to delve deeper into an investigation of his own. Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

During his ten-year investigation, he encountered an infamous clairvoyant, Gerard Croiset, who was instrumental in solving many murder cases. A clear vision he had that Oswald did not act alone in the Kennedy assassination, lead Oltmans on a quest to ﬁnd and interview George de Mohrenschildt, a close friend of Oswald’s and suspected co-conspirator in the assassination. Finally able

“In my testimony before the Warren Commission in Washington, I asked Chief Justice Warren why wasn’t there a recording of my son’s interrogation on that Friday and Saturday, being that he was accused of such a horrible crime?”

to connect with and interview de Mohrenschildt, he uncovers his intriguing and mysterious history of spying, worldwide oil dealings, and other unsavory afﬁliations. As the story progresses, Oltmans befriends de Mohrenschildt and discovers the connection between Oswald and his close friend arouses suspicions about his new found friend. This riveting story takes the reader on a wild roller coaster ride along with Oltmans as he tries to reveal the truth about the assassination to the American public through the media. Discredited by both American and Dutch government ofﬁcials, he is disillusioned, yet displays admirable perseverance in his efforts to uncover the truth. Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

In attempting to unveil the conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination, the story does manage to shed some light on events leading up to the bleakest of all days in American history. This book is a highly recommended and thought-provoking read for all who want to gain more insight into the workings of their government and government ofﬁcials.

There must be a better way to survive.

Summary

This book provides well written and well researched new insights into a very controversial subject matter. It is difﬁcult to determine which is more captivating, the author’s storytelling skills or the ac-

This is the story of the ﬁrst ever organized religious (spiritual) movement. A step by step account of how, why, when and who made people believe and how it helped both preachers and believers. 31

But he wanted to eat. And he wanted respect. It is understandable. Moreover, Og wanted status and something to pass on to his children and grandchildren.

It is 65,000 BC, and Neanderthals believe in spirit gods. Og is an ancient, exceptionally intelligent Neanderthal. As he sits in his cave sheltered from the vicious storm that rages outside, he knows there must be a better way to survive. Now all he has to do is convince his tribal troupe that he has the answers to their fears and apprehensions.

A very noble idea, don’t you think? So, Og comes up with a very elaborate plan of naming spirits, praying to spirits, making sacriﬁces and so on. Og survived many storms, hunts, winds, changes of season. He is older than any in his tribe. He knows what comes after the storm… So, he makes it all up. And his plan is so elaborate and complex, it works. Og’s project grows and expands as the respect of his tribe grows, as Og’s family grows.

After he convinces Chief Olo that he can appease the spirit gods and end the storm by performing a ritual he learned from his father, Og puts on a colorful show with rattles, bones, and face paint. When the storm subsides and it becomes evident that Og displays some power over the elements, he begins to receive respect from most tribal members—except the insecure chief, who is threatened by him. But when Og saves the chief ’s life, he makes way for Og to become the tribe’s ﬁrst fully anointed priest and create a legend whose idea of persuasive idolization will spread throughout the old and new world and carry on into the future.

Jaime Reyes does a great job with creating a setting and environment for the story. The story is as simple as it is powerful. Laziness does move progress. Reyes’ Og is very believable. His motifs are reasonable and understandable. Og’s actions are interesting if somewhat naïve for the modern eyes. In the Beginning is a very good short read for anyone who wants to order their thoughts and reasoning about how did organize religion come about. And it just might have been as simple as Og or someone like him not wanting to get up in the morning.

Concise Review ‘There must be a better way to survive’. This quote could be taken as the slogan for the whole story of Og – the ﬁrst ever preacher in human history. He was getting on in his years. He survived a lot, saw a lot. He simply did not want to get up in the morning and go on hunts.

I would think, In The Beginning, is a good read for younger generations who only begin to ask questions and doubt everything around them. A very good short read to order one’s ideas and thoughts on the origins of religion. 32

the story without difficulty. In this installment, the main character, Echo, must set aside his plans to rescue a sexy lady from the evil Captain LeMerde, but he must put those plans on hold when the Black Tarantula captures Echo’s friend, Captain Adams. After careful planning, Echo and his crew infiltrate and convince the pirates they’ve got a terrible plague, and the only way to stop it is with this ‘special medicine’. While the pirates are busy tending to their ‘ailments’, Echo saves Captain Adams and pilfers chests full of phony coins, and some fancy jewels. Using the counterfeit coins, Echo quite cleverly exposes Captain LeMerde, and the town is quick to see him hanged. But he manages to flee the noose, he kidnaps Powder Monkey and inflicts pain on him, surely meant for Echo, and runs from the Island with Aimee.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? “As he was slowly carried away by the waters, he shrieked and wailed as hungry sharks tore him to pieces.”

Now on a frantic chase to ﬁnd Aimee, Echo is forced to use his wit, and resourceful craftiness to escape jail, seek vengeance on the evil LeMerde and rescue Rue from the notorious, Black Tarantula.

Summary

Concise Review

Demon Pirate is the third installment of the Bilge Rat Pirate Adventure books. While I did not read the ﬁrst two novels in this series, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on any major plot points, and could follow

A true pirate adventure. From highseas, out of the box thinking and a swashbuckling tale, Demon Pirate, book three in the Bilge Rat Adven-

ture series is laugh out loud funny, and quite the adventure indeed.

General thoughts on the Novel Demon Pirate is like nothing I have read before, which works, but at the same time doesn’t. Written without dialogue, or substantial setting, the entire novel is narrative and all telling. Without being able to feel the action through showing, and without having the opportunity to engage in emotion, the monologue style of the novel often dragged and I found myself skimming, but at the same time, I was eager to see where the hilarious Echo took us next. The humor from the mind of the main character kept me engaged for the most part but still left me hoping for more. I wanted to feel the intensity, smell the water, touch the sand with my toes.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? “Listen, you two.” Beneath Jezekiah’s fingers, Kip’s shoulders tightened. “Mote may be a natural, but that don’t make her a joy toy. That child is not on the make. Not for nobody.”

It is difficult to fully immerse yourself in a book written entirely in narrative. However, I enjoyed the tale, as told to me by, William Echo Eden. The character himself is quite witty, and I laughed aloud in quite a few places. Most of the time, a story written in complete narrative will fall flat, but there was something about Kevin Smith’s clever sentence style that kept me reading. Worth the read if you’re looking for something a little bit different and outside of the norm. Will likely take a gander at the first book in the series at some point this year just to see how the author set the reader up for this interesting style.

Summary After reaching out into the stars, man still considers Earth to be home. Jezekiah Van Buren, the heir to the title of ‘Ruler of Earth,’ has a plan to rid himself of the burden

and pressure of it and allow him to live out the rest of his life in peace and normality. However, to achieve this ideal, he has to put into place a plan that will rid him and others of this burden, a plan that will bring the humans and the Lupans together in peace.

The narrative, action, and dialog was well balanced and allowed for the steady paced well-crafted story. All this added together allowed me, as the reader, to feel fully immersed in the story.

Concise Review

Every other science ﬁction novel I have read has been set either out in deep space or on some lonely godforsaken planet in some remote corner of some distant universe that no one has heard of. It was refreshing to see an author bring that sort of adventure, danger, exoticness and futuristic reality to our own world and sew it so neatly together.

General thoughts

Home World, by Bonnie Milani, is a masterfully told tale. It is the story of a man predestined to rule and his ﬁght to break free from a future he has no say in. As the novel begins we meet Jezekiah, his character comes across as selﬁsh, conniving and manipulative, but as the story moved on that image faded and in its place was a man who simply wanted to live his life how he wanted, with whom he wanted, and without the burden of ruling.

I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to lovers of science ﬁction and those who want to step away from reality into a sometimes frightening and dangerous world of the future.

The main characters in this book were well developed, each with their little quirks that allowed the reader to connect with them, both the good and the bad. The author had crafted such intricate and personable characters that it was hard not to feel some sort of connection to them, or to relate to them in some way. Descriptions of the environment and locations were beautifully descriptive, allowing the reader to paint the scenes in their mind’s eye, places that even in the future were little islands of paradise and that even in their beauty, they could be deadly.

Concise Review It starts with nobody believing Alice and her fanciful stories about Wonderland and the White Rabbit. Even worse, the doctor her parents take her to, concludes that Alice is mad and needs to be put in an asylum where she can receive proper treatment to cure her.

Meanwhile in Wonderland ‘The Queen of Hearts has gone mad. Stark raving mad.’ So Ralph, the White Rabbit, comes to see Alice, pleading for her to return to Wonderland with him, saying ‘If you don’t come back, then we’re all doomed. The Queen will murder us all.’ This doesn’t convince Alice to return, as she’s hoping that her parents will soon take her back home so she can be with her family again and see her sister getting married.

General Summary for Context Ever Alice by H. J. Ramsay throws us right back to Wonderland with appearances from many characters already familiar to us from Lewis Carroll’s work.

As Alice realizes that the ﬁnal treatment the doctors are planning for her is something that will perhaps change her forever and not for the better, Ralph comes to her rescue, and they escape dropping through the rabbit hole straight to Wonderland. That’s when we meet the members of Aboveground Organization who are plotting to save Wonderland from the Queen and are hoping to put Alice right in the middle of it all. When Alice is not sure that she can help them with that, she talks to

Ralph about her home, saying that’s where she’s supposed to be, to which Ralph replies with ‘You’re supposed to be wherever you belong.’ Alice then realizes she may have to choose between her home and Wonderland. As subsequent events unfold, the pace of the story grows evermore, pulling you along in its whirlwind. I found parts of this book to be grim, delving into the painful ways mental illnesses were regarded and dealt with not that long ago. On the lighter side of it however was the wit and nutty humor of the Wonderland characters, which created a brilliant balance to the overall story.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

It’s deﬁnitely worth it to join Alice on her journey through Wonderland once again.

“You may have won the battle, but we have better intel, and it’s too late to change the outcome of the war.”

Summary The stakes are high, and Alex Porter must stop a mysterious group of domestic terrorists before more people get killed. His own life depends on it when he ﬁnds himself caught in the deadly cross-hairs.

Concise Review Deliberate Deception, the second installment in the Alex Porter Trilogy, has it all: Guns for hire, rafﬂe-fraud, shoot-outs, a whole bunch of adrenaline, and even a little romance. And, while it is a sequel, this fast paced, action packed novel grabs you by the hair and takes you up and down right along with the characters without leaving you feeling like you missed anything. The author does a great job of playing “catch-up” without leaving the reader feel as though they’ve been info-dumped. Deliberate Deception could easily be read as a stand-alone if you haven’t already read book one of the trilogy. Alex, the main character, is well thought out and believable. While sometimes his dialogue came across as cheesy or forced, it wasn’t too distracting to the story. Except for the “romantic dialogue” which did have me rolling my eyes in a few places. The narrative voice is clean, making the story easy to read and follow. Excellent word choices and visual pros made for an amazing read like I was really there in the midst of the action.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book? It could be a matter of life and death.

Summary

Deliberate Deception did have some slower areas that tended to drag on, but it was a nice break from the rapid page turning. After all the adrenaline pumping, and heart-pounding sequences, it was nice to catch my breath, but in some places, it was almost too much time away from the main plot sequence, which was distracting an otherwise excellent story.

A deadly virus, religious fanaticism, espionage, and heart-wrenching romance between two people from totally different worlds. All set up in realistic scenery, so much so it can give the reader the chills.

range of emotions. The political aspects are very realistic, also these days, relatable to the international political scene in both obvious and much more subtle ways. Difﬁculties and crises storming throughout the world currently can be found reﬂected in this book and it forces the reader to stop and think about these events even if they are not personally affected.

When the police can ﬁnd no proof that Matt Errington’s missing girlfriend, Kate, even exists, he follows a fragile clue across the ocean to Great Britain to ﬁnd her. A near fatal accident erases his memory and he wakes in a Welsh hospital only to be accused of being part of a heinous terrorist plot to commit mass murder. He faces torture or worse as Interpol demands he confess his involvement and help them stop the attack.

An even bigger driver than the turbulent plot full of espionage and lab research is the relationship between Kate and Matt. Duty and responsibility often stand in the way of love fulﬁllment, and what ﬁrst looked like a heavenly romance and dream come true turns into a horrible trauma. Insanity blends with reality, the guilt of the past pulling strings in the present to undermine the fragile state of a once brilliant mind and a heart full of love.

With no knowledge of who he is or why he is there, Matt struggles to defend himself from the charges. But, more worrisome are the nightmares that make him fear he really is the monster they paint him to be. Only a strange old Welsh woman, who helps Matt recover in an eerie seaside cottage, knows the truth, and can help Matt take a huge leap of faith to save him from the madness.

Concise Review

Elements of the paranormal gave this book a certain spark, maybe not appreciated by all readers but welcome in my case. What threw me were the sudden shifts in storytelling. Even though the whole story was told from a third person POV but several times the point of view suddenly changed and I needed to stop, return to the previous paragraph, then re-read to grasp the change. This disrupted the otherwise very ﬂuent ﬂow.

Matt is a brilliant scientist working tirelessly on a dangerous project, which ends up in wrong hands and is now posing a mortal threat to the world. Unaware of the turmoil caused by his research, he pursues his own ghost across half of the world, only ending up with memory loss and injury, no closer to his original goal than months before. A suspenseful mystery thriller with lots of action balanced with a wide

how difﬁcult it was to have a loved one go to war, never knowing if they will return. The book is inspired by actual letters written to the author’s mother from her loved one, who was ﬁghting in the war.

Concise Review This novel gives the readers an opportunity to see how life was for some of the soldiers fighting in World War 2, particularly the divers. Some of these smaller groups of fighters might not always get the credit they are due since their missions often are top secret. But the author also let us have a taste of how it was to be in a relationship during wartime; the agonizing wait, the firm will to be faithful, and the everlasting hope of seeing your loved one again.

Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

We follow the story from mainly the perspectives of the two lovers; Charlie and Mattie.

“Did ya think I’d leave my sweetheart behind?”

Charlie grows up under poor conditions and decides to try his luck elsewhere. His friend Roxy ends up tagging along and though they later part ways she always seems to show up when you least expect it. Charlie decides to join the war and becomes one of the best divers they have. He and his team survive Pearl Harbor and set course towards New Zealand after. Here he meets Mattie.

Summary We follow the life of Charlie, a poor American boy, and Mattie, a privileged girl from New Zealand. Joining the Marine, and the Rigel crew, in WW2 becomes the salvation for Charlie, and while ﬁghting the Japanese, he meets Mattie. They fall in love, and we get to see

Mattie comes from a privileged family but has had her share of struggles in life even so. She moves to Auckland to become a hairdresser. One day she randomly meets Charlie, and it is love at first sight. However, circumstances don’t allow them to stay together for long; Charlie must leave to fight the Japanese. They exchange letters for years, never giving up, always hoping to be reunited. Sadly, I didn’t manage to connect as well to the characters as I had hoped. Despite us getting to know them while young and following them growing up, I still am left with a superficial impression of them, Mattie especially. Why this is, I cannot say. The level of detail when describing war-related scenes is incredible! The training of the divers, ships in the military fleet, and all the fighting: the reader will have no problem visioning what the author describes. On the other hand, this much detail might be over the top for readers who aren’t too interested in the war itself. The novel contains suspense, humor, tragedy, hope, and love. In my opinion, the author has managed to portray the whole scale of emotions involved in a relationship during wartime brilliantly.