Review for Docket No. 76 by Arita M. L. Bohannan

Docket No. 76 is a legal thriller that is surprisingly packed with vivid details, suspense, action and drama, all in a package of less than 200 pages.  Most stories don't reach this level of completeness even after twice and sometimes three times as many pages.

Little Dori has been brutally attacked in the home of her godfather, a well to do architect in New Orleans.  He is quickly cleared as a suspect and the hunt goes on for the attacker.  Once found, it's the job of ADA Sandy Morgan to bring him to justice.

Docket No. 76 is this case.  It's just a number, just one file in the many that come across her desk every day.  It's supposed to be an open and shut case.  They have fingerprints, DNA and the eyewitness testimony of little 5 year old Dori.  Little does Sandy know that her worst nightmare is going to walk into that courtroom.  One way or another, she has vowed to get justice for Dori.  But will it be justice or vengeance?

The details are striking and vivid, you get a clear picture of every character and the setting.  The action is fast paced and while you already know who did it, it's the how will he be brought to justice that has you racing through the pages.  The courtroom scenes are gut-wrenching and nearly brought tears to my eyes.

There were a few loose ends that never got tied up, but even that really didn't detract from the story.  An engaging story and one that I'm definitely glad that I picked up.  I typically don't go for shorter books, but in this case, I'm very happy that I did.

Review for 50 Halfs from First to Last by Brian Baleno

50 Halfs from First to Last follows the author through his first half marathon and his decision to run one race in each of the 50 states.  He had a little tale or story for many of the races. 

I wish he would have included a story for each of the 50 states, there were many gaps between the races.  I also wish they could have been a little longer and went into more detail about the races, how he chose them, the terrain, the race itself, the participants and the points of interest along the route.  Many of the stories were little more than when he arrived, what his timing was and a very little detail about where he was.  Each one left me wanting just a little more.

Many of the pictures were beautiful, but had little to no contextual clues along with them.

There were several pictures that seemed to have been cropped or attacked with the eraser function in MS Paint which led to the pictures being more of a distraction than a compliment to the story.  I'm sure this was done either due to copyright issues or because they did not have permission to publish the likeness of someone else who happened to be in the picture.

I don't want to take anything away from this amazing accomplishment, because it is absolutely amazing.  He had an opportunity that very few people will ever have in their lifetime and he also recognized that he may never again have the opportunity to see most of those states in his lifetime.  With that in mind, I guess I wished for a more vivid picture of what he went through during that two and a half year journey.

50 Halfs from First to Last on Amazon

Review for Every Town Needs a Russian Tea Room by Anne Steinberg

Every Town Needs a Russian Tea Room by Anne Steinberg is an emotional tale of two very different people who come together against all odds to find love and happiness in a world that doesn't believe they can have that love and happiness.  It's not your typical romance novel and doesn't have the typical romance novel ending and I think that's what made this book so enjoyable for me.  It was very real.  The emotions were raw and most of the circumstances were very believable.

Hallie Remington was a wife and mother.  After the recent loss of her son, she retreats from her loveless marriage and lives the life of a hermit in an apartment in New York City.  She's our poor little rich girl.  She comes from money but is the very picture of the adage that money doesn't buy happiness.  She is withdrawn, depressed and very close to losing her mind until the day she lets someone in.  That someone happens to be Nicholas, the houseboy that came with the apartment.

Nicholas is a Russian immigrant who has come to America to become a Master Chef and realize his dream of opening a Russian Tea Room, he believes every town needs one and is willing to travel the blue highways to find the perfect spot for his dream.  Slowly a friendship forms between Hallie and Nicholas, they both fill a spot in each other's heart and slowly that friendship develops into something more.  This isn't just a torrid affair.  They have seemed to find something that seems to be elusive for many people...true love.

Can love overcome the vast differences between Hallie's and Nicholas' worlds?  Can they truly find happiness together in a world that is so concerned with money and superficial standards?  Take the journey with Hallie and Nicholas and find out if they do find that happiness.  The characters are vivid and complete.  You find yourself going through a whole range of emotions toward them as the book goes on.  You want to yell at them, comfort them and encourage them and most of all, you really want them to succeed.

Every Town Needs a Russian Tea Room on Amazon

Review for Buried Threads by Kaylin McFarren

Buried Threads picks up pretty much where Severed Threads left off.  Rachel Lyons and Chase Cohen are treasure hunting partners and lovers.  They are offered a job finding buried treasure in Japan.  The Heart of Darkness, a katana with a very large emerald embedded in the scabbard.  There is a curse that goes along with the katana and will drag Rachel and Chase into a world of mobsters, intrigue, human trafficking and a touch of the supernatural.

I enjoyed the book, though not nearly as much as I did the first novel.  The characters were well drawn but I think this time there were just too many characters to try and keep straight.  It seems that the author really wanted to keep you in suspense as to who can be trusted, who is on the side of good and who is on the side of evil.  It was far to easy to get lost in the web that was being cast that unfortunately, it was hard to keep the thread of the story straight.  Instead of adding to the suspense and intrigue, it tended to take away from it.

The addition of Japanese words and phrases would have been easier for many to read if there was actually a reference to what the terms meant.  Sometimes it was made clear and sometimes there were just phrases put in with no reference whatsoever as to what they meant.

Ghosts, spirits, souls, reincarnation and the afterlife are represented here and for the most part it's done really well.  A light touch was used through most of the scenes where the supernatural was present and it seemed to flow with the story.  But there were a few times where it just seemed to be thrown in for the sake of being able to explain something away.

All in all, it was still a good read and went by fairly quickly.  There were a few sluggish areas and there were simply too many twists and turns involved that the main story seemed to get lost sometimes in the web of intrigue.  But all that aside, I'm interested in seeing what happens to Rachel and Chase next.  I hope that the author isn't quite done with them yet.  A note of warning, this book really isn't a stand alone novel, to understand some of the context, you should read Severed Threads first.

Buried Threads on Amazon

Review for Severed Threads by Kaylin McFarren

Who doesn't like a good mystery with a little sexual tension thrown in?  That's why I picked up this book and I wasn't disappointed at all.  This was a well written story of who done it and the main protagonists are a couple with a past who are thrown together out of necessity and in the process of solving the mystery they are drawn together once again.

Rachel Lyons is the daughter of a treasure hunter.  Her father died doing what he loved most, searching for the ever elusive Heart of the Dragon.  She blames herself for his death because of the harsh words they had before he left for his final dive.  Shes plagued by nightmares and the ever destructive what if?  She runs from her grief and hides away in the safe world of a museum foundation.

Chase Cohen is the owner of Trident Ventures, the company that has asked the foundation for funding to explore and bring up a Chinese merchant ship.  Chase was Sams dive partner and Rachel's lover.  He blames himself for Sams death and turns his back on Rachel and her family just when they need him most.  She believes him to be a coward and a jerk, just like her brother warned.

Chase wants her to fund his search for the Wanli II, a Chinese ship that went down with a fortune in gold and the Heart of the Dragon, the wedding gift from a concubine of the emperor for the Spanish captain she loves.  400 years later Chase believes hes found the lost ship, the one that Sam died trying to find, the ship that's been part of Rachel's nightmares  for years.

But they're not the only ones looking for the sunken treasure.  Some very unsavory characters come into play and do everything they can to make sure that Chase and Rachel not only never find what they are seeking but that they don't live to tell the tale.  Mob bosses, crooked cops, pirates and a creepy stalker come into play.  Rachel has no intention of helping Chase in any way until her brother is kidnapped and the ransom is two million dollars.  She becomes a reluctant partner in the search for the Wanli II.

The story is full of twists, turns, plot twists and surprises at every turn.  You don't know who to trust and it takes you to the very end before you get your big Ah ha! moment.  Its not perfect and there are a few places that leave you scratching your head and going what? but for the most part, this is a very well written story that keeps you guessing until the end.

Severed Threads on Amazon

Review for Elias's Fence by Anne Steinberg and Nicholas Tolkien

This is my review for Elias's Fence and the opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone or anything.

I was interested in this story because of the premise of an inanimate object being infused with evil and then spreading that evil outward.  It started out promising enough.  Elias is a blacksmith who is asked by the local convent to create a fence.  One of the nuns has been asked to be the model for the angels that will adorn the top of the fence.  But once the casting is done, the blacksmith decides that he wants more than just an image of the young nun.  He takes her in the most evil way possible and ends up killing her next to the fence that he'd just completed and stacked up.

The fence is erected and evil seems to breed and flourish within its confines.  Its then forgotten for about 100 years before being purchased by Christine Thorpe for her home.  The world of 2032 has become a scary place and shes wanting to keep the terror out and keep her family safe never known that shes actually keeping the danger inside.

The America of 2032 has been shaped by a man with a golden tongue and people have come to the conclusion that God is dead and have outlawed religion along with nearly everything else that hasnt been approved by Anderson Thorpe, a man who even has the ear of the President.  Drugs, chemicals, murder and mayhem are all present.

The story jumped around a lot and became hard to follow at times.  The characters were very one dimensional and it was impossible to really get to know any of them in any real sense.  It was almost like reading a graphic novel without the graphics.  You can picture the landscape and the action pretty handily, but you cant really get a handle on the characters and who they really are.

This book will probably appeal to a wider audience, especially those who are interested in dystopian fiction and the incarnation of evil.  Unfortunately this one wasn't for me, but I cant really say that the book was bad, more of a matter of taste.

Elias's Fence on Amazon

Review for The Winter Calf by Michael S. Nuckols

This is my review for The Winter Calf.  The opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone or anything.

Iris Littleton is known as the mountain witch.  In the small town of Maple Gap she has a reputation of being a witch and a hermit.  Shes lived in the mountains for more than 30 years and people say that the Bubbling Brook not only took the life of her young son, but is named after the bubbles when he breathed his last.

Henry Mayfield is a young boy who wants to grow up to be just like his father.  Their milk cow just had a calf and hes going to raise it and help it grow strong.  He wants to enter it into the county fair and impress his family and schoolmates.

Jerome Bigman is the school bully and generally known as a bad seed.  Hes trying to escape a violently abusive father and end his pain.  He runs away and begins a chain of events that bring him, Iris and Henry together in ways none of them could imagine.

The story was a very good one.  The characters were all vivid and very well fleshed out.  You could sympathize with Iris and her loneliness, Henry and Jerome and their trying to come to grips with different childhood tragedies.  There are flashbacks that can get a little confusing at times, I had to go back and read a few portions again just to make sure I read it correctly.  But they didn't really detract from the story and gave you more information on the characters possible motivations.

The story started slowly with a lot of build up.  I was not disappointed in the climax.  It was actually quite shocking because there was a bit of a lull where you're fooled into thinking everything might be okay after all and then the unthinkable happens.  It was impressive and surprising and after the initial shock, it made sense and was a fitting end to that part of the narrative.

I was, however, a bit disappointed by the very end of the book.  The story had come full circle and there was room for hope, but it was almost like the author simply ran out of things to say and just had to find a way to say the end.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.  It was a very touching story.  Vivid characters and engaging story line.  Take a chance on The Winter Calf.

The Winter Calf on Amazon

Review for Worlds of Obsession by Kella McKinnon

This is my review for Worlds of Obsession.  All opinions expressed are my own and in no way influenced by anyone.

Though I'm sure most people will realize from the moment that they see the cover of this book, I feel like I need to reiterate one fact: this book is NOT for young audiences.  This book would most definitely have at least an NC-17 rating and there would be many who would easily give this a XXX rating!  Buyer beware, if you are offended by foul language and strong sexual content, steer clear of this book.  But if you want to lose yourself for a few hours in the world of the Sidhe with an amazingly beautiful and virile Demon.

Bastien is a member of the Fomorian race, one of the protectors of the human race.  He and his kind protect us from the things that go bump in the night.  For the last 200 years hes been living in a world of anger and rage after he lost his mate.  He should have died with her, that's how its supposed to work.  His race mates for life, once they find the one their life force is entwined with theirs and if their mate dies, they follow quickly after.  But not Bastien, he lives and every day is a torment.  Until he meets Liv.

Liv receives a strange package on her 26th birthday.  A mysterious letter urges her to travel to Glasgow and included is a book of Celtic myths and legends.  She finds herself reading about things she never knew existed and doesn't really believe...until she has a run-in with an evil  Vampire in a back alley.

Bastien comes to her rescue and when he finds that he cant wipe her memory of the ordeal, were launched into a whirlwind of intrigue and sexual tension when Bastien realizes that there's some sort of very strong connection between himself and the woman he has saved.  Has he been given a second chance?  Who is this female who has him going crazy?

I found myself enjoying the book in spite of myself.  For the most part the characters were fun and even though you wished that the build up didn't take so long, the results were satisfying.  There were times that I really didn't like Bastien and I found myself telling Liv to run away or just smack him upside the head for being a sexist jerk.

You need to come into this book not looking for something deep and meaningful.  If you can suspend belief and take the book for what it is...book porn...you'll find yourself on a raunchy but enjoyable ride through the Otherworlds with a gorgeous Demon, his insatiable Vampire friend, a rather mean Demi-God and a whole host of supernatural beings.  If you're looking for some graphic and steamy sex scenes with a bit of action and adventure in between, take a chance and have fun with Worlds of Obsession.

Review for American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I think I've been living under a rock or just talking to the wrong people, because I'd never heard of American Gods until the day it popped up on my Kindle Daily Deal page.  I read the sample and figured, what the heck, even if I hate it I'll still only be out a couple bucks.  So I bought it and it sat on my Kindle for weeks until I finally found the time to sit and read.  And I'm glad I did.  I really did enjoy the book...even if it did ramble a bit and descended into madness a time or three.  I'm still not sure if it added to the story or detracted.

Shadow is our guide through a tricky landscape of the Gods, old and new, in America.  Shadow meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday after being let out of prison after a nearly three year stint for beating the snot out of a few people who wronged him.  He was looking forward to going back home to his wife only to be told that she was killed, along with his best friend, in a horrible car accident.  He meets Wednesday on the plane home where he is offered a job as his errand boy.  Shadow hesitantly accepts and is thrown into a world that challenges your beliefs.

Minor spoiler here...Wednesday is actually Odin, the Allfather.  Big, bad ruler of Asgard.  He's now shuffling around 20th century America and has all but lost his bad-assness.  The premise is that the Gods gain their power from belief.  The more people believe in them, the stronger that they become.  But when people stop believing, they become weak and vulnerable and many of them simply cease to be.  There are new Gods taking over.  Media, Internet, Electricity, Money, Television, etc.  The old Gods are dying out.  No one worships Ra, Bast, Odin, Thor, Loki, Gaia, Coyote, Papa Legba, etc anymore.

There will be a battle, a war, between the old and the new for their survival and their hand hold in America.

There are a lot of characters to try and keep straight and at times it's easy to lose track of who is who and where you are either in reality or somewhere in between.  I think the only real problem with the entire book was the fact that there were so many characters that some of them really fell between the cracks.  And I was a little disappointed by the ending.  With all the build up that went on throughout the book it left me wanting more.  There were still some twists and some surprises that left me smiling or shaking my head.

All in all, this was a great book.  I can definitely see myself going back and reading it again.  But then I'm kind of a junkie when it comes to the old gods.  I was definitely born several centuries too late!

Review for The Seventh Sons of Sycamore by Domino Finn

This is my review for the Seventh Sons of Sycamore.  All opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

I haven't read a supernatural book for awhile, so I decided to pick up this book purely because it involved werewolves.  It seems everyone has been writing about vampires lately, so it was kind of nice to see the werewolves getting some ink!

The story is set in the small town of Sanctuary, Arizona.  The local police station is also the medical clinic and most of the municipal building as well.  Maxim Dwyer is a detective in a surprisingly large police force for such a small town.  The local motorcycle club, The Seventh Sons, has been on his radar for a long time and even rumors that the club is a haven for werewolves doesn't stop him from trying to mete out justice where he believes that it needs it.

Maxim is dealing with the disappearance of his wife two years previous when a stranger walks into his town and becomes embroiled in a murder at the local bar that just happens to be frequented by the Seventh Sons.  Suddenly Maxim has the chance to circumvent the protection that city officials have been giving the motorcycle club to investigate the murder and along the way he begins to see just how deep the secrets surrounding the club and his city go.

The story is a decent one, but it was a bit difficult to follow at times.  The mystery and thrill becomes less about the motorcycle club and the werewolves themselves and becomes more about the actions of a lone wolf from the CDC and rabies.  I was very interested in this part of the book and to have an almost logical explanation of where werewolves come from.

Unfortunately the characters don't hold up quite as well.  They're shallow and one dimensional.  It was hard to have any sympathy for any of the protagonists or to even get a very clear picture of who they are.  They are their motivations.  I was a little sad to see so little of the werewolves themselves.  A lot of time was spent talking about them and building up to a boiling point where they would show their fur, but it was a very long time coming and for me, the action simply didn't live up to the build up.

It was still a good story and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a different perspective on werewolves or those who are interested in a pretty decent crime thriller.  All in all, I think I would give this book three stars.  It was pretty middle of the road for me.

Review for Daisy Chain by Nancy Morgan

This is my unbiased review for Daisy Chain by Nancy Morgan.  The opinions expressed are entirely my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

I don't normally go for short stories, I've always been more of a novel gal.  I picked up this book purely based on the premise.  It's something that most of us have either done as kids or as a party game.  Taking the ending line of the story before to start the next story.  You have to build the story around just a few words.  And the collection of stories truly comes full circle because the beginning of the first story is also the ending of the last story.  I really enjoyed this collection.

I really enjoyed most of the stories.  There were a couple that didn't really appeal to me as a person, but I think it's more because of my taste than the writing or the story itself.  Each story was filled with good characters and a good plot.  Even in the limited space of the short story, the author was able to quickly draw me into each story and I was left satisfied each time and looking forward to the next story when I saw that last line.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes short stories but also to anyone wanting to experience something a little different from the everyday novel.

Review for The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd

The Heiress of Winterwood wasn't a terrible book, I did enjoy many parts of it, but there was so much missing and so much left unsaid, that it felt like an unfinished novel. I enjoyed the setting, I am a big fan of historical fiction.  The characters weren't bad, some of them were unfortunately very one dimensional but it was easy to be sympathetic with Amelia, Lucy and Graham Sterling.  It was an easy, if predictable, plot to follow and there was the implied happily ever after ending that many fans of romantic suspense are expecting.

Amelia Barrett is the heiress of a large estate called Winterwood.  There's one caveat to her inheritance.  She must marry before her 24th birthday or the estate will pass to some distant cousins and she will be cut out entirely.  To add to this burden, she's made a promise to a dying friend to care for her daughter.  Amelia hatches a plan that involves proposing to the child's father, Captain Graham Sterling.  He was married to Lucy's mother but due to his duties at sea, has never actually met his now 9 month old daughter.

Little Lucy is kidnapped and a chilling ransom note is delivered.  There is the mystery of who has taken her and the suspense of trying to get her back.  Who has taken her and why?  Will they be able to get her back?

The heavy-handed way that religion was used in the book was what kept me from rating it higher.  I have nothing wrong with religion in books.  I've read my share of religious fiction and have enjoyed many of them.  But it was done with a very heavy hand in this case, it didn't really belong.  Both Graham Sterling and Amelia Barrett seemed to be having a crisis of faith, but why?  What was accomplished by spouting random Bible verses?  A little back-story would have gone a long way in this case.  Not only with the religion aspect, but also with many of the characters who were introduced.  They were merely window dressing with the barest of connections to the main characters.  And even the main characters needed more dimension to them, more depth.

A good beach or airplane read.  Something that you don't have to put a lot of thought or effort into.  An enjoyable but predictable tale of love and loss with a little suspense thrown in.  I bought this book on sale, otherwise I think I would have given it a pass.  3 star rating.

The Heiress of Winterwood on Amazon

Review for The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

I'm not sure why I never got around to reading this book.  Like many people, I think I've seen the movie about 100 times since it was released.  For a long time, I think I just conveniently forgot that it was based on a book.  I think I was also afraid to read it because if you've ever seen a movie and then gone and read the book, either you're horribly disappointed or your reading is somewhat dulled by having someone else's idea of what the characters look/sound like.

I will admit that I really couldn't picture Dr. Lecter as anyone else other than Sir Anthony Hopkins, but I don't think that's a bad thing!  I was able to put aside the visuals that were in the movie version and immerse myself into the story.  The Silence of the Lambs is the second in the Hannibal Lecter books, but you don't have to read Red Dragon first, both books really do stand on their own.  Sure, there are a few references to Red Dragon, but not so many that you feel like you're lost or that you've missed half the story.  I like that.  Sometimes it's nearly impossible to come into a series without first reading everything else first.

The characters are well drawn and you can relate to many of them on at least some level.  There are some cheesy moments where you wonder why it was thrown in or what it was considered important enough to be part of the story line, but for the most part, it works.  I always think it's fun when a person who is supposed to be on the "good" side turns out to be an incompetent creep.  It's so easy to like Dr. Lecter and to absolutely hate Dr. Chilton,

The suspense doesn't come across quite as well in the book, but I think that might be more because I'd seen the movie version first.  I think someone reading the book without seeing the movie first will find the suspense to be very well done.  The build up is done very well, it's not campy and you have moments of real fright that just grab you by the throat and shake.

The ending seemed a little rushed, but it was also that way in the movie too.  Maybe it was just because I wanted more Dr. Lecter?  I think I'll have to go pick up the rest of the Hannibal Lecter books just to satiate that "need more Lecter" feeling.

Even if you've seen the movie, go read the book.  Yes, it's that good.

The Silence of the Lambs on Amazon

Review for Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte by Susan C. Miller

This is my review for Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte by Susan C. Miller,  The opinions expressed are my own and are in no way influenced by anyone.

This book has a bit of everything.  Family drama, drugs, murder, mystery and romance.  Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte takes place mostly in a small town in Louisiana where superstitions run high and outsiders aren't exactly made to feel welcome.  The central characters are Detective Remy Steinberg and his ex-wife, Gabby Hough.  Their 17 year old daughter, Adrienne, is missing.  She's been missing for 30 hours at when Gabby makes a frantic call to Remy, who is working as a police detective in Houston.  From there we are off to the races.  The story picks up speed and never really slows down until the great, albeit somewhat formulaic, conclusion.

Remy and Gabby married very young and though divorced, it's easy to tell that they never stopped loving each other and that the reasons for their separation really had nothing to do with love and more to do with their own youth and insecurities.  Thrown together again by the disappearance of their daughter, sparks naturally ignite, and you have the romance portion.  It's not overdone at all, it doesn't feel faked or forced and really does add to the story.  Between the romance there is a very real tension between them as they battle to keep their wits about them while they frantically search for their daughter.

The small town sheriff doesn't seem to think that she's missing at all so he's not inclined to send out his men on a wild goose chase.  They have better things to do, like play video poker.  There is a bit of hilarity at the expense of the stereotypical small town police office that take care of a one stoplight town.  You almost feel sorry for them, but you're smiling as Remy and Gabby put one over on them again and again in the course of their own investigation.

There is a dark Voodoo priest who seems to be the leader of some pretty shady activity.  People seem to fear him and hate him but are all drawn in by his powers of persuasion.  There is a bit of mysticism thrown in, so you do have to have an open mind to the possibility of the supernatural.  Again, it's not overdone and it is believable to a degree.  Personally, I liked the addition of a little something extra, something totally unexplainable, to the story.  If it were set anywhere other than Louisiana, it probably wouldn't have worked, but it definitely did here.

I enjoyed the characters, particularly Remy and Gabby.  You easily found yourself rooting for them separately and also together.  You wanted everything to work out for them.  I wish there had been a little more time spent on the darker side of things, a better explanation of how some of the less nice elements actually tied into the story.  Some of them were a little flimsy, they had a place, but they weren't fleshed out quite as much as I would have personally liked.  They still added to the story but even without them, especially the illegal drug activity, the story would have still been a good one.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good mystery with a little romance and a little paranormal activity thrown in.  This is actually part of a series by this author, I was unaware of this until after I read the book and now I find myself wanting to go back and read more!!

Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte on Amazon

Review for The Electric Affinities by Wade Stevenson

This is my review for The Electric Affinities.  All opinions included are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

This book is a beautifully written book and flows a bit like a stream of consciousness book as opposed to one that follows more rigid plot structure.  I can't really say whether it's good or bad, because it's really not either.  I think it's more that it's simply not my cup of tea and not really the type of book I enjoy.  I think I'm more of a conventional girl who likes her books to have a real beginning, middle and end with a plot that makes sense to me.

The story follows a group of seemingly unrelated people who seem to have nothing in common other than Ben, who is the unconventional patriarch of the group.  They have gathered at his home in Sag Harbor to party the away the summer of 1969.  Ben is an affluent architect who has adopted this group of young people as his surrogate family, replacing the one he no longer has.  He lives vicariously through their youth.  Andre, the violent tempered and troubled filmmaker and his girlfriend Maya.  Louise the wallflower who is Maya's friend and surrogate mother.  Ben, the idealistic and disillusioned Vietnam vet and his girlfriend Carolina, a free-spirit, summer of love hippie.

 

You follow them as they go through months of discovering themselves and rediscovering themselves.  There is the obligatory "free love" that ends up turning into a rather tragic love triangle within a triangle.  The resolution of this tangled web is unfortunately unsatisfying and rather conventional.  Sex and drugs are ever present as is the discussion of the meaning of life, why are we here, how can I change, how can I be more free?  Each person seems to be on their own journey to figure out who they are and what they want to be.

 

This is a rather difficult book to follow because it doesn't really flow the same as most other books.  I don't think it's a necessarily bad thing, but it does make it a bit more of a difficult book to get into for some people.  It took me much longer than usual to get through the book and I think I'll have to go back and read it again in the future just to make sure I "get" it.

 

If you want a book filled with beautiful prose, descriptive language, interesting people and a time warp back to 1969, this would definitely be the book for you.

The Electric Affinities on Amazon

Review for If I Were King by Randa Handler

This is my review for If I Were King and the opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

I don't normally read or review children's books, but this one caught my eye.  I liked the artwork and the fact that there was an elephant included in the story might have been a bit of an influence.  When you have a 3 year old who loves all things elephants, you're always on the lookout for books that have elephants too!

The story was a good one, though a little bit above my 3 year old's head.  She definitely didn't understand the moral of the story, but she loved the pictures.  The story flows, so it is one that you can read to a toddler or young child and they are able to stay interested, especially if you take the time to stop and explain what's going on.  The lesson is also a good one.  Finding who you are, becoming comfortable in your own skin, listening to the little voice inside you.  Things that sometimes we grown-ups forget or take for granted.

Cute pictures, good story and good lesson.  What happens when a Zebra and a Lion change places?  Take a chance and read it for yourself and share it with a young person in your life.

If I Were King on Amazon

Review for Crystal Ships by Richard Sharp

This is my review for Crystal Ships by Richard Sharp.  The opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone.

The story follows a group of friends through two decades of their life set in the late 1950's and ending up at the end of the 1970's.  It follows their lives as they grow, learn, live and survive one of the more turbulent times in our recent history.  The cast is as different as can be and weave their way together the years, sometimes together, sometimes separate.  Paired or alone, they're still experiencing things together.

The story begins by introducing us to Shane, Connor and Gil.  They are living in Boston and attending college just as John F. Kennedy is about to come into office.  Gil is the privileged scholar who chases women, writes poetry and never seems to want to grow up.  His roommate is Connor, the younger brother of Shane.  They are both from the Boston working class.  We are then introduced to two college roommates and best friends, Lucy and Camille.  They are Italian-American women, one Catholic and the other Jewish, attending Douglass college together.  Lucy is the rebel, going against her father at every turn, shying away from her religious upbringing.  She wants to become a dancer and is dragging Camille along for the ride.  Thrown into the mix is Lucy's older and extremely conservative and protective brother, Ira.  Who coincidentally dated Camille prior to her and Lucy becoming best friends.  Awkward?  Maybe, but in this case, it definitely works and he finds ways to realistically weave it in and out of the story later on.

These five are the main characters and the story really revolves around them and later their partners and wives, who also become almost main characters themselves.  Ava, who marries Ira and Balinda, who Shane meets while working in South Africa.  Their stories weave together to tell the greater narrative of the 60's and 70's.  This book could have easily turned into a saga spanning over 1000 pages and I still would have been interested.  I wanted more.  More of their lives, loves, experiences.  I wish he could have made the book longer so we could spend more time with each of them!

I will admit that the first part of the book is a bit slow, but I think that's more because you're being introduced to a lot of people and given a lot of background information about them and their lives.  It's a lot to digest and you do have to take it a bit slow so that you can absorb everything because trust me, everything comes back later!

The book really does have everything.  You get to experience the culture of the 60's and 70's through every form of media.  You have music, books, poetry, television, movies and the news.  And it's all very well researched with a bibliography at the end, which was very impressive!  You also find yourself immersed in the many problems of the times.  There were the assassinations that effectively ended the feeling of security that many Americans had at the time.  The civil war both here at home and also in South Africa where apartheid was alive and well.  The biggest elephant in the room during those decades was definitely the Vietnam war and it does take a very prominent role in the story.  You're not treated to gory battles but you are allowed a peek into what the world was like for a very small portion of the military stationed in Vietnam and what they went through.

You have people MIA in Vietnam, a murder mystery in California, a crazy stalker and a bunch of people who even after 20 years are still trying to figure it all out.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a glimpse at what life was like for young men and women during the turbulent 60's and 70's in America.

Crystal Ships on Amazon

Review for Allegiant by Veronica Roth

One Choice will Define you.

Allegiant picks up pretty much where Insurgent left off.  The world has changed after the revelations of Edith Prior's video.  The factions are now gone, Evelyn is now in charge and everyone has to answer for what they did during the uprising.  Back are all the familiar characters and it really does begin well enough.  But unfortunately it very quickly falls apart.  There are so many plot holes, inconsistencies and WTF moments in this book, it was almost painful to read.  I had to force myself to continue reading even though many times I wanted to slam the book closed in disgust.  At one point it nearly went out the window into the snow below.  Only the fact that it was a library book kept me from wreaking utter destruction on the book.

MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WANT THIS BOOK SPOILED FOR YOU.  

DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!!!

I will start by saying I am not the target audience for this book and that may have colored my viewpoints a bit.  I know that the series is aimed at a younger audience, I know that the vast majority of the characters are teenagers and very young adults.  But that doesn't mean that a wider audience can't enjoy a good story.  And that's what happened when I first read Divergent.  I picked it up and had it finished in a day.  I sacrificed sleep for the book and I only do that when it's something REALLY good.  I like my sleep.  So when a book can keep me up in the wee hours of the morning, the author is definitely onto something.  It was similar with Insurgent.  I didn't enjoy it quite as much, but it was still good enough to keep me up well past my bed-time reading about Tris, Four and the world around them.  So I was incredibly excited when Allegiant was released.  I'm cheap, so I was on the VERY LONG waiting list at my local library.  Sadly, it wasn't worth the wait.

The story was told in dual viewpoints from the point of view of Tris and Four (Tobias).  The biggest complaint I have about this style is the fact that after awhile, you simply could not tell them apart.  I had to go back several times to the beginning of the chapter just to make sure who was talking.  They turned into the same insecure, whining, indecisive person.  That was my first real WTF moment.  How do you take two incredibly strong characters and dull them to the point where you can't tell them apart?

The factions are deemed illegal now that Evelyn is in charge.  Everyone is now factionless and everyone gets to learn new jobs.  Ok.  That's going to work, right?  No.  Not only do you have to be factionless, if you're not following her rules, you're going to get your ass kicked by her new police force.  So don't walk down the street decked out in nothing but Erudite blue or you're going to be pulled aside and asked questions and then probably get your face bashed in until some one comes to your rescue and gives you a black hoodie so that you blend in.  So of course this leads to another uprising, this time by the Allegiant.  They want to return to the factions.  They want to go back to the way things were before, except without all the hunting and killing of the Divergent.

For some reason, that plot goes NOWHERE.  Right after you find out about the Allegiant and what they want to do she switches to something completely different.  Tobias breaks Caleb out of jail where he's been waiting execution.  They meet up with Tris and a few others and have decided to go outside the fence.  They race toward the fence, get shot at, someone dies, but they make it to the other side.  Where they are introduced to the Bureau and taken in as almost honored guests.

You quickly learn that the city Tris hails from is an experiment in genetics.  Generations ago the government decided that in order to build a more perfect society, they would take away all the genes that caused bad things like selfishness, laziness, stupidity, brutality, etc.  Of course this experiment in genetics goes horribly wrong and leads to a war where those who are considered genetically pure are pitted against those who were genetically damaged...you know, the ones that the government screwed up to try and make Utopia.  After the war, instead of trying to use the same genetic engineering to reverse what they screwed up, they decide to put the Genetically Damaged people into closed cities and slowly introduce Genetically Pure individuals into the mix to eventually weed out the bad genes and then after about half a dozen generations or so, the offspring would be Genetically Pure!

So now you have the Genetically Damaged versus the Genetically Pure.  So now Tris and Tobias find themselves involved in the conflict between those in the Bureau that think the experiments that went on in their city are wrong and that there is nothing wrong with any of them regardless of their genes and the people who are in charge and believe that only the Genetically Pure should be allowed to be in charge.  Sound familiar?

Suddenly you're back in the conflict between Evelyn and the Allegiant.  They're going to end up going to war and it threatens to destroy the experiment that the Bureau worked so hard to keep together.  So now the Bureau wants to use the Abnegation memory serum to wipe everyone's memory so that they will stop fighting each other.  But Tris doesn't think that's right and thinks that they should use the serum to wipe the memories of the Bureau so that the damaged and the pure can live in peace and build a brave new world.  Of course there is the obligatory wondering if it's morally right to do so.

People die.  Tobias goes to the city to use the memory serum on one of his screwed up parents but suddenly has a change of heart and tells his mother (Evelyn) that if she can give up the fight, he'll come back home and be her son again.  And after abandoning him and nearly killing everyone he loves and turning into a tyrant, she suddenly has a change of heart and wants to become the World's Best Mom.  So they have a peace treaty with the Allegiant.  Yay.

Meanwhile, back at the Bureau, Caleb is going to go in and atone for being a selfish prick by breaking in and stealing the memory serum so that it can be used against the leaders of the Bureau.  Everyone who matters has already been inoculated against it.  You figure that Caleb is finally going to do something right for a change...but no.  Tris steps in and takes her brother's place and sacrifices herself for the greater good.  That's right, Veronica Roth KILLS THE MAIN CHARACTER!!!  WTF?!  It made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.  None.  Zero.  Zip.  We already knew Tris was willing to lay down her life for the greater good.  Hello!?!  Why would you have to sacrifice Tris to prove this?  What did it prove?  I mean seriously, the book didn't suddenly get better because you decided to kill off the main character.  It got WORSE.

It was already agonizing to watch Tobias go from an incredibly strong character into a self loathing, self doubting, fearful little brat.  Now we have to watch him agonizingly go through grief over Tris' death?  Yes, this was the point that the book nearly took a flying leap off the balcony.

I really wish I had read the spoilers and just stayed away from Allegiant.  I'm so disappointed in how the series ended that it nearly spoiled the good books for me.  Sigh.  I hate it when that happens.  I think next time I'll just read the spoilers.

Review for Small Spiders by J.T. Conroe

This is my review for Small Spiders.  The opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Small Spiders is a book based on events that really happened and I'm always intrigued by fiction based, however loosely, on fact or actual events.  So that's what initially attracted me to this book.  The novel is set mostly in the early 1970's during the Nixon administration and follows several characters through the years to the Watergate scandal.  One of the main themes is the premise that the CIA created and implemented a program called MK Ultra where they used mind control and hypnosis to create the perfect assassin.  A program that will give any conspiracy theorist ammunition to say this type of program was behind assassins like Lee Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley Jr.  Could it be possible?  Maybe.  Definitely gives you some food for thought.

While the characters were well drawn and the plot was an interesting one, it was a somewhat difficult to follow because of the constantly shifting viewpoints.  It was told in third person, but almost every chapter was following someone different.  Everyone's path eventually crossed and they were all tied together in the end, it was still rather hard to follow at times.  There were a few flashbacks and things introduced that never went anywhere.  The introduction of Ted Kaczynski was one that just didn't work for me.  I think it it had been fleshed out more, it would have made more sense in the story, it was more of an afterthought or something to better try to explain MK Ultra and some of the other rather scary programs run by the US Government during the post WWII era.

The story itself is one that's pretty scary for anyone who has or had blind confidence in the US Government.  It's not hard to see why there was so much distrust and dislike of the Nixon administration.  Some of what they got away with was pretty frightening and who could ever say what else they did?  So much information was destroyed, burned and shredded that I don't think anyone will ever know the truth behind not only MK Ultra but behind Watergate.  Using hypnosis to create the perfect assassin to get rid of your enemies?  How far would they have gone?  Who else was on their list?  Pretty frightening stuff.

I did enjoy the story but wished that it flowed together a bit better.  There were also some pretty glaring grammatical errors and some timeline inconsistencies.  At one point Artie was not feeling well due to something he eat earlier in the day but a few pages later he was suddenly starving, having realized he hadn't eaten anything all day.  While they didn't really detract from the story all that much, they were still a bit of an annoyance.  I would still recommend this to anyone who wants to delve a bit more into the conspiracy theories of the late 60's and 70's.  The story does start a bit slow and there are times where it is hard to follow, but all in all a good effort.

Small Spiders on Amazon

Review for Fathers House by C. Edward Baldwin

This is my review for Fathers House; the opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

Fathers House is a mystery/suspense novel that takes place in Duraleigh, North Carolina.  The government officials are busy proclaiming that there is no gang violence and their streets are clean while all along getting kick-backs from a large crime syndicate called Fathers Disciples.  No one knows who they are and no one is really sure where they came from.  Signs seem to point to Fathers House, a home for wayward boys, run by “Uncle” Mayo Fathers.  Is this pillar of the community really a front for a massive criminal empire?  Who can you trust when everyone seems to be on the take?

Ben Lovison is an assistant in the District Attorney’s office who is given a case to prosecute that involved a savage beating death of a boy who lives at Fathers House by another of his peers, one who also lives at Fathers House.  Ben has a history with Fathers House; he is one of their success stories.  After the brutal murder of his mother, he is taken in by Uncle Mayo and he not only survives, he thrives.  He graduates high school, college and law school.  What should be a simple open and closed case becomes anything but.  With twists and turns along the way, Ben slowly comes to realize that there is something dark lurking in Fathers House and through the streets of Duraleigh.

 The story builds very slowly and for readers who don’t have the patience to let the story build, they will probably become disinterested after a few chapters. There are a lot of characters and it’s very hard to keep them all straight, some of them are unfortunately very interchangeable and that really ends up taking away from what really is a very well written story.  The plot is strong, and the twists are unexpected for the most part.  But the characters tend to get in the way.  I think if the cast was pared down a bit and more was done to identify and flesh out some of the more important characters it would have worked much better.

 Once you make it past the first few chapters, the story really begins to move quickly through the twists and turns and the author does finally connect all the dots together to make a more coherent picture.  I’m not sure if this was the intention of the author to have so many threads dangling out in the wind and then have them all tied together by the climax, but that’s definitely how it seemed to me.  It was really rough at first to try and keep all the threads straight and try to remember who was who and what side were they really on, but in the end I think it all worked out.  Satisfying climax though it was rather fast, a blink and you miss it type.

 Fathers House has a solid plot with some really solid characters, both good and evil.  Too many characters did detract a bit for me and some of them really didn’t lend much to the story itself other than to connect a dot later on.  But that’s just one person’s opinion.  This is an independently published novel if I remember correctly and while it might turn a lot of people off if it doesn't come from a big name publishing company, this novel was very well edited, very few errors and the formatting was better than I've seen in many, many independently published books.  Even the cover was interesting!  If you like crime stories, mysteries or suspense, give Fathers House a try.

Fathers House on Amazon

Review for The Jewel Box by C. Michelle McCarty

This is my review for The Jewel Box by C. Michelle McCarty.  The opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

This book surprised me.  I'm normally not one for what could be described as "Chick Lit" but the description of this book had me interested.  The description promised a cast of characters that wind their way through the life of a small-town girl who takes on big-city life.  It promised a gorgeous transsexual, groping cop, ditzy quasi-stalking neighbor and a Mr. Higgins like adviser who is trying to help her in everything from learning the ropes to romantic advice to parenting advice.  The story takes you through over 30 years of Jill a.k.a. Cherie's life.

The book begins in 2003 with Cherie sitting in her antique shop waiting on a special delivery.  When the delivery arrives it launches a flashback that takes up nearly the entire book, taking you back to the beginning of Jill's small-town life.  She grows up with an outspoken father, whom she takes after and her religious and prim mother who she can never seem to connect with.  In her hurry to get away from her small town life, she marries young and has a daughter, Nikki.  Her taste in men isn't exactly stellar and the marriage ends and she quickly needs to make a life for herself and her daughter.  After connecting with her friend Kat and at her urging and the urging of her current disastrous boyfriend, she goes to The Jewel Box and ends up with a job as a waitress at a less than proper establishment.  But here is where she meets Beau, the owner of The Jewel Box.  Beau becomes her adviser and teaches her about life, love and everything in between.  Jill becomes Cherie, out of necessity to keep her other life secret and separate from her family who she just doesn't think would understand.
 
The story really revolves around Cherie and Gabriel, who she meets while working at The Jewel Box.  They are very obviously two people who are destined to be together and share a friendship and a love that many of us wish we could have.  This isn't a fairy tale love, but one that's surprisingly real, raw and for the most part believable.  Life throws everything possible at the couple and it seems that fate wants to keep them apart.  Gabe's mother is particularly vicious and made me want to come through the book and throttle her.  You may find yourself wanting to slap both Gabe and Cherie for being utterly stubborn and stupid when it comes to love, communication and just generally being rational human beings, but if you stick it out the story really is an engaging and human one.

The cast of characters are varied and vivid.  You meet her Delilah, her neighbor, and are at once repulsed but still find yourself laughing at how you almost wish you had someone as brash and vocal as her around.  She was a fun secondary character and one that added some much needed laughter to the story.  Nikki is Cherie's daughter and you get to watch her grow from a toddler into an amazing young woman and she's the type of daughter that I think many of us would love to have.  Gloria is Gabe's mother and trust me when I say she's a character you just love to hate.  Evil mother-in-law indeed!  Beau the spiritual adviser who stays with her throughout her life through thick and thin.  So many characters come in and out of the story but they all feel real and all lend something to the story regardless of how long they stick around.  Some you wish would stay longer and some you can't wait till they get shown the door.

The setting was great.  You get to travel from the 60's all the way to 2000's and share in all the music, pop culture, politics and everything else in-between along the way.  As the story unfolds through the decades, you are treated to a very vivid look at some of the most important events in our immediate past. 

A solid 4 stars for The Jewel Box.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a decent romance book with just the right touches of sadness, melancholy and totally incredulous moments.  It wasn't overdone, overblown or over sexed.  It was just right.

The Jewel Box on Amazon

Review for God on Trial by Sabri Bebawi

God on Trial is a very riveting story of a man and his descent into mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, and his decision to bring a lawsuit against God for crimes against humanity.  The main character is a man of deteriorating health, both mental and physical, in his late 50's.  He is nameless but not faceless.  He has a very generic description that makes it easy for you to imagine him as a friend, relative or coworker.  You can both sympathize and empathize with him.  He is married to a woman he adores and has stayed by his side through all of his illnesses and takes care of him.  She holds him through his seizures and does everything she can to make him comfortable and show that he's loved and cared for.  He in return cares very deeply for her and is evident throughout the story.

His life was not a pleasant one, especially in the beginning.  He begins to blame God for much of his suffering and the suffering of mankind.  He doesn't just limit his anger at one incarnation of God, but at the image of a vengeful and violent God.  He begins to put together a brief that will bring God to trial in abesntia.  He pulls out biblical verses that seem to support his claim that God has committed horrendous crimes against humanity and needs to be held accountable for those crimes.  As he gathers the evidence he needs, his mind deteriorates.  His life and health begin to fall apart.  But even while you can tell that he is in the depths of a hallucination or in the grips of his schizophrenia, he is not ranting like a "typical" madman.  His arguments are lucid and will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned the image of a vengeful God.

The story is disturbing, throught-provoking, intelligent, compassionate, frightening and throughly enjoyable.  The cover and the title intrigued me and I was hooked through the entire story.  I was left with many questions and the story can definitely lead for some intersting discussions.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned God and human suffering.  The author really leaves it up to the reader to make their own decision.  While sympathetic toward the main character, the author doesn't claim that he is right or wrong...just that he has a valid argument.  Then it's up to us to decide.

God on Trial on Amazon.com

Review for Taking Flight by Stephen Tritto

I received this book free in return for an honest review.  The opinions included are my own and were no way influenced by receiving the book as a gift.

Taking Flight tells the story of Anthony Bartolo and his unexpected journey.  A member of his group of friends has died while in another country and Anthony volunteers to travel to El Salvador and bring back the remains of his friend.  He tells himself and his disapproving wife that he's only doing it because it's the right thing to do and since he has the time, why not?  So begins his journey to not only find and return his friend, but to all find himself.

In the beginning, Anthony is not a likable person.  You find yourself wondering how someone could be so selfish and self-absorbed.  His wife, Bernadette, isn't much better.  They're both whiny and more interested in material things than in true human interaction.  They host a party but are so worried about what their friends will think that they can't even enjoy the time spent together!  He is a very me, me, me centered person in the beginning with a huge chip on his shoulder.  He's abrasive and rude.  Very much an anti-hero during the beginning stages of the story.

During the journey to El Salvador, Anthony meets Mr. Hernandez who is hired as his bodyguard and his escort through the country.  They couldn't be more different but they develop a quick camaraderie that develops into a deeper friendship.  They will forever be linked and I don't think Anthony will ever forget Mr. Hernandez as long as he lives.  He quickly gains the trust of Mr. Hernandez and is invited into the home of one of his friends where he meets Jorge and Consuelo and their children, who live in the village where his friend died.  His mission goes from one of recovery to one of discovery.  He learns of a secret that his friend had been keeping and one that would change not only his life, but the lives of those back home in America.  He has to deal with corrupt officials and bureaucratic red tape that lengthen his trip and cause strain on his already strained marriage.

Anthony begins the story as a self-absorbed hot shot in the tech field who is overly concerned with material things, money and what else he can do to impress his friends...who really aren't his friends but his wife's friends.  He's shallow and full of himself.  During the course of the book he loses the chip on his shoulder and really starts to look at the world around him.  He watches people who are not rich in the conventional sense, they don't own a lot of stuff, but are incredibly rich in what really counts.  They are rich in life.  They take hold of life with both hands and live every day to the fullest, never knowing if they will see the next sunrise.

This was a truly enjoyable read, once you get past the beginning.  It was a little tedious to start.  I didn't enjoy most of the American characters.  There was no real interaction between them and it was nearly impossible to see why they were even friends.  It was almost as though he wanted to portray the American characters as bad as he possibly could.  Many of them have almost no redeeming qualities.  There were a few characters that seemed to have no place in the story and I'm still not sure why they were included, especially Anthony's ex.  I honestly don't know what she added to the story other than to further make Anthony look like a total jerk.

If you can make it past the tedious beginning, you will be rewarded.  It's worth it.

I was somewhat dissatisfied with the ending, but I think it's more because it felt rushed than with the way that it ended.  The ending truly does work but I think it was just too rushed.   There really weren't any questions left unanswered, but there was just a sense of unfinished business.  You watch Anthony blossom from a heartless jerk into an incredibly empathetic person.  Someone you want to get to know even better.

I will give Taking Flight 4 stars.  It starts slowly but is worth the wait.  It's a well written story with believable characters and engaging dialogue.  The Kindle edition I received was well edited and formatted better than most books I've read lately.  You're left still wanting more and I don't think that's a bad thing.  There are no fairy tale endings here and for that, I was definitely appreciative!   A good read that I would definitely recommend.

Taking Flight on Amazon.com

Review for Call Sign, White Lily by MG Crisci

I'm a lover of history and I've always been especially drawn to World War II history.  As an American, my knowledge of Russian WWII history is limited to what I've read in history books and other memoirs and biographies of the war.  I didn't know that there was a regiment of women pilots who broke through the barriers and gave women a chance to be equal to men in the fight for their homeland, their families and their way of life.  I picked up this book to see who this White Lily was.  I was pleasantly surprised by the narrative.

Lilia Litvyak was born to Vladimir and Anna, a couple who had started out as peasant farmers who dreamed of a better life.  Through their hard work and dedication to their country, they were able to give Lilia a comfortable life.  She was stubborn and head-strong from a young age.  She loved the wildflowers her mother would place by her bed every night and they would continue to be a prominent factor in her life until the end.  She was athletic, intelligent and beautiful.  Whenever anyone underestimated her, she would not only prove them wrong, she would do it in spectacular fashion.

She was bitten by the flying bug very early in her life and she made it her dream to become a pilot.  She wanted to be a fighter pilot and then later, she wanted to be the pilot of an aircraft that would bring people across Russia in peace, for pleasure.  She was definitely ahead of her time!  She had the respect of her parents if not their outright approval and she began working for the local aerodrome when she was just 14 years old.  She worked her way from doing clerical work to then doing the dirtiest work of all, cleaning out the oil pits.  She earned the respect of the owners and was soon trained to be a pilot.  She was so good at what she did that she was then asked to train other young men to fly.

This was good enough for awhile, but she soon wanted more.  She wanted to be in the air fighting for her Motherland.  Stalin finally gave grudging permission for a women air corps and Lilia was one of the first pilots.  She quickly rose in the ranks and proved herself both inside and outside of combat.  Eventually she was sent to the front to fight with the best Russian pilots.  She quickly earned the respect of her superiors and to the men of her unit.  She shattered the glass ceiling.  The accomplishments that Lilia had in her young life rival those of many people 4 times her age.  It's easy to see why she not only earned the respect and admiration of an entire Russian nation, but also the ire of the Nazi regime.  They were repeatedly humiliated by a waif of a girl!!

This was a very well written and engaging book.  The characters were very well written and it was easy to become immersed in Lilia's life.  You laughed with her and cried with and for her.  The book goes through her life from her very humble beginnings and travels through her trials, tragedies and her valor and heroics.  I completely enjoyed reading this book and it opened a whole new aspect of WWII history for me.  I look forward to learning more about Lilia and the women of the Russian military and their contributions to save their Motherland.  What a wonderful story about how a woman can still be a woman even when she's gunning down Nazis!  I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in history, especially those who want to learn more about what roles women played. 

I give this book 4 very enthusiastic stars.  The only reason the book didn't receive 5 stars was because of the way the book was formatted.  It's something I'm seeing more and more with e-books.  Instead of having normal paragraphs with indentations, they're formatted with the space or double space between the paragraphs.  Yes, the whole book looks like my review!  It doesn't really detract from the story at all, just more of a personal preference to see e-books follow their print book cousins.  I was a little disappointed in the cover for this book as well.  With so many beautiful and amazing pictures and drawings of Lilia, they instead have chosen to put a young woman with long, blonde hair on the cover.  In doing some searching, it looks like other editions actually have a drawing of Lilia on the cover.  I would have much preferred to see that cover instead of the one that it has now.  Again, a personal preference.   I would still recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, WWII and especially those who are wanting to see the war effort and the work and efforts that women put forth.

Call Sign, White Lily on Amazon

Review for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I will admit, I was worried about this book.  I'd read a lot of very unflattering reviews over the months since I purchased it.  I think that's why it took me more than a year before I actually decided to sit down and read it.  I began the book not expecting much and I will admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the story that unfolded.  It was better than many typical novels advertised as both YA and for a wider adult audience.  I think that many adults would be very satisfied with the series that Ransom Riggs has started.  I'm looking forward to future outings with Miss Peregrine and her Peculiar Children.

We are introduced to Jacob Portman.  The story is told in a first person point of view in Jacob's voice.  As a young child, he forms a very special bond with his grandfather.  He wants to be an explorer and adventurer just like him.  He relishes in the tales that his grandfather spins for him, complete with pictures of levitating girls, invisible boys and other oddities.  All too soon he begins to grow up and starts listening to the logic of his father who insists that his grandfather is just spinning imaginative, but impossible stories just to keep Jacob entertained.  Jacob comes to see the pictures and fantastical tales in a new light.  The tales become impossible fantasies and the photographs are now seen as fake.

Jacob is now 16 and reeling from the sudden death of his grandfather.  He receives a letter that sets the fantastic events in motion.  He travels to the remote Welsh island where his grandfather lived when he was a child to escape the monsters.  His father travels with him so that he can observe the birds and with the blessing of Jacob's psychiatrist, he lets him explore and try to find the answers that he needs to put his mind at peace.  Jacob finds the home where his grandfather lived with all of those peculiar children.  Children who should be dead and gone according to the island residents, but are there!  And they are alive and well!  The story takes on a more fantastical turn that I had expected but this wasn't unwelcome at all.  The descriptions and the story are so well done that you can set aside your notions of what's possible and make yourself believe that this can happen.

The photographs used within the novel are incredible.  There have been many reviewers that have stated that the pictures seem to serve no purpose and that they don't correspond to what's being described in the book.  I have to strongly disagree with this statement.  I thought the pictures did a great job of giving a visual to the events in the story.  They put a real face to the characters in the story.  It makes you wonder if Ransom Riggs came upon some of these pictures and decided to tell their story.   My only complaint about the pictures and other visual items in the book would be that they are rather difficult for Kindle (and possibly other e-book) users.  There is a workaround, but not everyone would be willing or able to do it.  If I didn't think the detail was good enough on my Kindle, I opened my Kindle App for PC and I could then see everything.

For me, this was a very well written novel.  The characters were engaging, very well fleshed out and left you wanting to get to know them even better.  There was a supernatural aspect to the book that wasn't overdone or overblown, it was made believable and above all, interesting.  The pace was good, there were very few places that I would say that the story lagged or slowed down.  The level of detail was impressive without going on and on and on about little things that didn't matter.  The mysteries are well explained and the suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end.

The ending was very well done.  It left room for a sequel without feeling unfinished.  Sure, there's a bit of a cliffhanger, but it's not one of those soap-opera cliffhangers where you're more angry than excited for the next step.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to escape into another time and place for at least a little while.  Put aside your conceptions of what is real and what is possible and just enjoy the ride.  Due to some violence and some mature language and imagery, I would not recommend this to readers under the age of 13-14...just my personal impression.

Solid 4 stars

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children on Amazon.com 

Review of Devil's Lair by David Wisehart

Devil's Lair follows a quartet through Hell to find and retrieve the Holy Grail to bring the world back from the brink of destruction.  They are an unlikely group.  Marco da Roma, the last of the Knights Templar, but has no recollection of who he is.  William of Ockham, an English friar who has been defrocked.  Giovanni Boccaccio, a poet and an expert on Dante.  And finally Nadja, an epileptic with the gift of prophesy.  It is her dreams that have led this group on their quest to find the Grail and save mankind.  Each of them will need to face and conquer their own demons to push back the coming Apocalypse.

The depth to which the author goes to describe the characters is impressive.  Since they are so integral to the plot, he has spent time fleshing each of them out.  Giving them a story and giving the reader insight to understand who they are and what motivates them on this impossible quest.  The added bonus of descending through Dante's Hell made it that much more enjoyable.  While it is based loosely on Dante's vision, it gives readers who aren't quite as ambitious as Giovanni a chance to learn more about what Dante saw in his vision of Hell.

The level of detail as you follow the group on their journey was breathtaking.  It was very easy to immerse myself in the time and place.  You could feel the despair as they moved from place to place and watched as pestilence and plague destroyed everything in its wake.  As they entered the Sybil's cave and began their descent, you had a real sense of foreboding and from the minute they entered the cave until the very end, I couldn't put it down.  Hell is a very scary and very tempting place.  Who wouldn't want to go and talk to Plato, Icarus, Orpheus, Morgan Le Fay and Mordred?  The people they meet and the trials they go through during their descent was quite a thrill ride.

From beginning to end it was an enjoyable story.  Full of colorful and familiar characters.  Many of them were very real historical figures that many readers may already be familiar with.  The story, while fantastical, is made very believable.  It's easy to empathize and even sympathize with many of the characters introduced throughout the tale. 

My only gripe is due to the lack of Latin translation.  Unfortunately many readers have never studied Latin and may find the presence of many long and unexplained phrases through the book a bit daunting.  There were also many archaic words used and I did find myself stopping from time to time to look them up.  Some weren't even in my Kindle's dictionary, I had to use other sources.  But the biggest distraction came from the lack of Latin translation.  If there had been footnotes or a glossary that explained the passages, I could have given this book 5 stars.

Devil's Lair on Amazon.com

Review for Not Forgotten by Donna Zadunajsky

This is a review for Not Forgotten by Donna Zadunajsky.  I received a free copy of this book to review.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were in no way influenced by receiving this book free.

Not Forgotten starts out with Deanna Iris moving back to her childhood home (she literally bought the house she grew up in) with her teenage son.  Her sister lives nearby and on her first night in the new house she gets a call from Officer Bates who informs her that there was a terrible accident involving her sister and son, they are both critically injured but alive.  From the moment she meets their doctor, Dr. Sheldon, she knows that there is something familiar about her.  Could she be the daughter she believed she lost 26 years ago?  Before she can even begin to question what she's feeling, one of her few friends from her hometown is found murdered and she's told to go back where she belongs before she ends up dead like her friend.  Should she keep digging and find out if her gut is right, that she has found her long lost daughter?  Or should some secrets just stay buried?

From a plot standpoint, the book wasn't all that bad.  The premise was solid.  A young teenager gives birth to a daughter and after holding her for just a little while is told that the child has died.  Jump ahead 26 years and the mother comes face to face with a woman who could very well be the child she was told had died.  How would you react?  What would you do?  What are these secrets that someone is trying so hard to keep buried?  What lengths will they go to keep Deanna from finding out the truth about her past?  The added element of mystery and danger can make for a decent thrill ride.

Unfortunately, Not Forgotten doesn't live up to it's promise.  The characters are very poorly drawn, very one-dimensional and you never really get to know any of them.  There are no in depth descriptions of anyone.  You don't really get an idea of what anyone looks like other than a few vague references to dark or blond hair.  There is a start to a back story for each of the characters, but then nothing.  I think more time could have been spent in building up the characters and giving them a real history, making them into people you can identify with.  Make the reader feel empathy and sympathy for them.  Help us want to cheer them on and want them to succeed.  Make us hate the villain and want very bad things to happen to him.

Much of the book takes place in and around the hospital.  The shocking lack of preparation and even basic medical knowledge was very off-putting.  Two characters are horribly injured during a car accident and almost all you hear from everyone is that there is no more swelling, they will wake up soon.  Very little explanation goes into what has happened to these two people and the types of tests and treatments that are being done to save their lives.  There is also a moment where a character is injured and spends at least 2 days in recovery after having been brought back by EMT's shocking their heart.  But amazingly after only a couple days treatment, this person has no IV's, no monitors of any kind attached to them and are able to somehow sneak out of the hospital for an extended period of time and no one notices?

Officer Bates is another example of poor preparation.  He is a member of the police force, yet he seems to have very little knowledge of basic police procedure?  There are times where you almost imagine yourself in some kind of small, one stoplight town that has one bumbling, but adorable, police officer on duty for the occasional shoplifter or unruly kid.  He's goofy and creepy at the same time.  I honestly didn't know what purpose he served until very late in the book and by then it was just a let down.

The dialog was stilted and moments that should have been serious or meaningful were ruined by a character making a statement that had absolutely no place in the situation that was at hand.  There were a few very good moments between the characters, especially Deanna and Brice.  Sadly those moments were few and far between.

I think this book had the potential to be very good.  It needed to be longer to give the reader a chance to really get to know the characters, who they were, where they came from and what was motivating them.  Unfortunately the book was far too short to give them a chance.  Everything had a very rushed feel and I think if the pace was dialed down a bit, it would have been a more enjoyable read.  The climax was not a satisfying one and I think it could have actually been great.  There was a bit of surprise there when you finally learned the truth, but it got a bit weird and creepy instead of scary.  And like many thrillers/mysteries, everything was tied in a neat little bow by the end and everyone lived happily ever after...but even that was rushed and unsatisfying.

I would give Not Forgotten two stars.  It was kind of meh.

Not Forgotten on Amazon
Not Forgotten on Barnes and Noble