Book Reviews – Lit World Interviews

The Vale by Abigail Hing Wen a Book Review

SYNOPSIS:

“Ambitious . . . themes of family, friendship, and personal integrity shine.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A highly engaging journey of connection and transformation and an innovative read for this present age.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor author of One Crazy Summer

Welcome to The Vale, a world that grows by the power of imagination

A magical new phenomenon from the New York Times bestselling author and executive producer of the Loveboat, Taipei series (adapted to the Netflix film Love in Taipei).

Thirteen-year-old Bran Joseph Lee has spent half his life building the Vale, an immersive, AI-generated, virtual-reality environment using technology created by his inventor parents. It’s a lush fantasy world complete with a Blue Forest, a Castle, and adventures with his mushroom-obsessed Elf named Gnomly—a much better place to spend his days compared to his real life, where his parents have suffered through the failed launches of one invention after another.

Bran wants nothing more than to see his Elves come fully to life, a hope that seems on the brink of reality when he enters the Vale in a multi-million-dollar competition to fund its further development. But instead, things in the Vale begin to go wrong: The sunlight is fading. A beautiful girl appears from nowhere. A wizard is stealing from the Vale’s inhabitants. And the strangest part of all is that none of this is the young inventor’s doing.

Can Bran and Gnomly uncover the truth of what is happening before both their worlds are destroyed?

Look out for The Vale—Origins, the short film prequel to The Vale starring three-time Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, coming to film festivals and screenings near you!

“Exposes both the wonder of AI and its pitfalls, and the elastic boundary between. Storytelling at its best!”
—Kathi Appelt, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor author of The Underneath

THE REVIEW

At 13, Bran Joseph Lee is a computer coding whiz kid inventor of the AI generated game, The Vale, a game world of fantasy with castles and, of course as every 13 year old gamer needs, a mushroom loving elf named Gnomly.

Sounds good so far. It’s the good part of Bran’s life as the real world is much different. He and his family find themselves living in dire straits with little to eat and Bran, with The Vale, is their last hope as he enters the came into a competition.

Bran begins to notice The Vale is changing, and not by his design and he must find out why and save The Vale before it’s too late.

In addition to Gnomly, Bran comes across an evil wizard and a mysterious girl. You can imagine what happens to a boy who spends all of his time programming comes face to face with a girl in his virtual world. No, not that. But he does experience emotions and feelings in The Vale.

The book is not all about the game, it’s also about the real world of Bran. How the real life situations he’s in are handled, along with his time in the game as a back and forth kind of thing, but it’s well done and more connected than you might think, but then shouldn’t it be connected?

As I find with many books that need to establish a world, The Vale starts out a little slow, but then you find you’re moving along faster than you think.

I would let a middle school student and up read the book.

Find The Vale at Amazon.

Abigail Hing Wen is a tech leader, filmmaker and the New York Times best selling author of Loveboat, Taipei and companion novels Loveboat Reunion and Loveboat Forever. She executive produced the Paramount+ book-to-film adaptation LOVE IN TAIPEI, a romantic comedy starring Ashley Liao and Ross Butler now out on Netflix August 9, 2024.

Her debut middle grade novel, The Vale, launches September 16. It’s short film prequel, The Vale — Origins, stars 3x Tony Award winner Lea Salonga and is Abigail’s directorial debut.

Her fourth young adult novel, Kisses, Codes and Conspiracies is an Amazon Editor’s Pick and Amazon Best Book of the Month.

Abigail holds a BA from Harvard, where she took coursework in film, ethnic studies and government. She also holds a JD from Columbia and MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In her career in tech, she has negotiated multibillion dollar deals on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, worked in venture capital and hosted Intel’s Artificial Intelligence podcast. She and her work have been profiled in Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan, Bloomberg, Google Talk, People en Espanol and the World Journal, among others.

Abigail lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area. She enjoys long walks, and hanging out with friends and family. She loves music and dances to it when no one is watching.

Website – https://www.abigailhingwen.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/abigailhingwen/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@abigailhingwen
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/abigail.hing.wen/
Threads – https://www.threads.com/@abigailhingwen
X/Twitter – https://x.com/abigailhingwen
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/224689708-the-vale
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Vale-Abigail-Hing-Wen/dp/B0DVPLS1HD
Bookshop – https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-vale/ffc1ef43f10060e7?ean=9798890130310

Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal by Samuel Marquis, a Review.

You can get Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal at Amazon.

Review:

One word I use a great deal when reviewing Samuel Marquis’ historical offerings is ‘detail’. I’ll use it even more this time. Why? Because I love detail when it comes to history, even historical fiction, as long as it works with what’s being written. Even though I love history, I did get my degree in History Education. If it’s all just facts, I get bored and drift away, unless I’m doing the research. Text with history needs to also tell the story to help the reader be engaged and retain what they are reading. Marquis always makes it work. An example is his WWII trilogy, filled with detail that brings reality to the fiction he incorporates to make it all come together. I highly recommend the trilogy to anyone who is a history fan. And unless you’re a complete WWII history nerd, a term I use with admiration and affection, you will learn things you didn’t know before, something I always find a plus in any book I read, no matter the genre.

Before Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal Sam wrote the non-fiction Blackbeard: The Birth of America, giving him a good familiarity of writing about a similar setting.

Sam brings that same attention to detail, even more so, in Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal, the story of his ninth-great-grandfather. And who better to tell the story than Sam?

Unlike many who have taken on the story of Captain Kidd, Sam does not treat him as either fully a martyr or hero. No captain during the Golden Age of Piracy was fully one or the other. Those treated as one or the other either escaped scrutiny for their questionable acts, or were thrown to the wolves in spite of their more noble actions.

As you read Sam’s book, you’ll discover that Captain Kidd had his shades of gray, but what I enjoy is how Sam gives the information you need to develop a more complete picture or opinion of the man and how he might have come to make the decisions he did, and if the things he was accused of matches the man. We also get to see what historians discover but rarely gets disseminated to the masses, either in textbooks, or in any other mass media form, including film.

Sam shows us how Kidd ended up involved in the fateful adventure on the opposite side of the world from his beloved wife Sarah and children. An adventure that ends years later in his trial and execution in London.

I found it enjoyable to learn about Kidd’s time in New York and the important parts he played during his time there. It was during this time, I believe, Kidd made a bad decision that led to the disaster of the rest of his life. A decision that left his wife Sarah a widow with two children, and all ostracized by New York society that once held the Kidd family in high regard.

It is not often we learn about the details of Kidd’s journey through his beloved Sarah’s first two marriages, to their final union and onward to the fallout on Kidd’s family from his conviction as a pirate.

Sam goes into more detail than you normally find about Kidd’s piracy trial and how he really never stood a chance of having his innocence believed. There were powers at play that wanted and needed Captain Kidd to be found guilty. That part of the story, the part behind what I will call the railroading of a sea captain, is interesting in that it has nothing to do with Kidd at all.

Who would like this book?

Anyone interested in the true story of the more mythical Captain Kidd. Those who enjoy the history of the Golden Age of Piracy and finding out more of the behind the scenes action that dictated various actions of others outside of Captain Kidd.

You can get Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal at Amazon.

About Sam:

The ninth-great-grandson of legendary privateer Captain William Kidd, Samuel Marquis, M.S., P.G., is a professional hydrogeologist, expert witness, and bestselling, award-winning author of twelve American non-fiction-history, historical-fiction, and suspense books, covering primarily the period from colonial America through WWII. His American history and historical fiction books have been #1 Denver Post bestsellers and received multiple national book awards in both fiction and non-fiction categories (Kirkus Reviews and Foreword Reviews Book of the Year, American Book Fest and USA Best Book, Readers’ Favorite, Beverly Hills, Independent Publisher, Colorado Book Awards, and others). His historical titles have garnered glowing reviews from bestselling authors, colonial American history and maritime historians, U.S. military veterans, Kirkus Reviews, and Foreword Reviews (5 Stars).

Website: SamuelMarquisBooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuelmarquisbooks?fref=nf

X: https://x.com/Sammarquisbooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14171086.Samuel_Marquis

Gitel’s Freedom by Iris Mitlin Lav a Book Review

Skip to Review

SYNOPSIS:

For fans of Georgia Hunter’s We Were the Lucky Ones and Anita Abriel’s The Light After the War comes a historical narrative about the lives of Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century and one woman’s journey through adversity toward personal freedom.

At an early age, Gitel questions the expected roles of women in society and in Judaism. Born in Belorussia and brought to the US in 1911 as a child, she leads a life constrained by her religious Jewish parents. Forbidden from going to college and pushed into finding a husband, she marries Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist whose left-wing politics she admires. They plan to work together in a neighborhood pharmacy in Chicago—but when the Great Depression hits and their bank closes, their hopes are shattered.

In the years that follow, Shmuel’s questionable decisions, his poor health, and his bad luck plague their marriage and leave them constantly in financial distress. Gitel dreams of going back to school to become a teacher once their one daughter reaches high school, but an unexpected pregnancy quashes that aspiration as well. And when, later, a massive stroke leaves Shmuel disabled, Gitel is challenged to combine caring for him, being the breadwinner at a time when women face salary discrimination, and being present for their second daughter.

Offering an illuminating look at Jewish immigrant life in early-1900s America, Gitel’s Freedom is a compelling tale of women’s resourcefulness and resilience in the face of limiting and often oppressive expectations.

THE REVIEW

The change in Rayzel’s life from the moment she leaves Berisov, Belarus to South Bend, Indiana has more of an impact than Rayzel or anyone probably realizes. Not just in her life but also in that of her daughter and granddaughters to come.

What does a mother who doesn’t speak English, and basically refuses to learn to do so, which isolates her from the community around her, do in raising her daughter in a strange land? She keeps Gitel on a short leash, although that, to some extent, seems to be the implied way for observant Jews of the time. The sons have way more freedom than Gitel ever has.

I’ve read some reviews of Gitel’s Freedom that miss many of the book’s points and even misinterpret the meaning of others. This is an unfair treatment of the author and her creation. Believe me, if I didn’t like the book or didn’t believe what I’m saying, I wouldn’t mention it.

Themes throughout the book are shared by Gitel and her daughters in some form: fighting for their educational freedoms, and fighting for their social freedoms. The differences come from their situations and the decades they occur in. They all have obstacles but all know if you want something, you have to figure out how to reach the goal. You keep going. Faye and Ilana, Gitel’s daughters, learn that from their mother, even if they don’t immediately realize it at the time. They all face similar problems but due to their situations growing up, and situations in the moment of the problems, they all deal with them differently.

Gitel and Faye internalize their emotional responses, while Ilana, who was born much later and was partly raised by her sister Faye who was an American girl by this time, tends to express or at least show her displeasure more openly.

You can see the change from how Rayzel was upon arrival in South Bend in 1911 to how Ilana ends up being in Chicago in the 1960s, through the four women of the story.

Ilana ends up becoming that girl of freedom that Gitel wanted to be when she was young, but only through Gitel’s trials and with the aid of Gitel’s first-born American girl, Faye. Faye the Bridge, I’ll call her.

The story is honest in showing that not everyone is perfect, that no one is. Even if raised to accept and be one way, you aren’t always like that inside, even if portraying acceptance on the outside. It shows the realistic impact strife can take on even the most optimistic person. How even Gitel can allow her husband’s thoughts of their situation to seep in, even if it’s only a momentary thought. How strife can change someone, unexpectedly, for the good.

We get to see the honesty of the women’s feelings about their situations. The frustrations are mostly kept internal. But children will be children, and teen girls will be teen girls. And we get to see how each of the generations thinks from their points of view.

I can relate to Gitel in that I’m now my mother’s caregiver. It’s not something I ever expected to be. We aren’t that close but I’m the only child and it’s my responsibility to take care of her, even if that means I’m now an hour away from my own family, who I maybe get to see once a month for about four years now. I get her frustrations, her disappointments, and her wanting freedoms, and a break from the weight of it all. And I can understand her eventual feelings at the end. It’s not awful, as some believe it to be. It’s something that she has slowly seen coming for years, and been dealing with for all of that time.

Other things I really enjoyed about the book are the historical aspects. Very accurate ones. As many of you may know, I have my degree in History Education and have continued researching and reading history over the course of 30+ years. I’ve been doing ancestry research for a few years now. Yankel’s coming to America and the four years it takes to establish a living and earn enough to pay for passage for seven family members is exactly right. You can look at the family stories and the passenger lists of arrivals. My own family arrived in the 1600s and 1700s to America and much the same thing happened. The men came. Established a life. Then sent for the rest of the family.

I enjoyed the history of the lead-up to the first election of FDR, the optimism, the aftermath, the good, and the letdowns. The social justice aspects of the stories of Gitel and her children were a nice addition. Showing the organizations and how they worked in a relatable story form helped easily put them into perspective and into action. The slow progress of race relations leading to integration.

Reading some reviews for the book, I’ve noticed reactions to Gitel and her friend Sophie’s closeness and Gitel’s reactions to the comfort she feels from Sophie. To me, it seems appropriate for the story and puts some aspects of the story in better perspective. It actually, for me, might explain a lot if I want to interpret it one way over another.

The writing style of Gitel’s Freedom is easy to read and isn’t trying to be more than it needs to be. In fact, I think the language and structure starts off simpler and slowly advances along with the family’s time in America and their assimilation and actually being Americans. There is somewhat of an urgency or franticness, I think, to the way Frayzel thinks, less so with Gitel, although even though she doesn’t realize it there is still her mother’s influence on some of her thinking and reactions, and by the time of Faye and Ilana, they’re American girls… for good or bad. It all makes sense.

In all, I think this book is a good read to observe the way the members of a family progress through time from one generation’s place in time and views, to another’s.

Book Release Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Find Gitel’s Freedom at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes&Noble, and Bookshop.org.

IRIS MITLIN LAV grew up in the liberal Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She went on to earn an MBA from George Washington University and an AB from the University of Chicago, and to enjoy a long career of public policy analysis and management, with an emphasis on improving policies for low- and moderate-income families. She also taught public finance at Johns Hopkins University and George Mason University, and in 1999 received the Steven D. Gold award for contributions to state and local fiscal policy, an award jointly given by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Tax Association. Her first novel, “A Wife in Bangkok,” was published in 2020 by She Writes Press. “Gitel’s Freedom” is her second novel. Lav and her husband now live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with Mango, their goldendoodle, and grandchildren nearby. Learn more about her life and work at: www.irismitlinlav.com

Entitled by Leonard H. Orr, a Review.

Amazon Synopsis:
To protect their lavish allowances, four charismatic sisters in their thirties try to seduce, cajole, and mislead their less well-off neighbor Benjamin, who their father has hired to investigate an attempt to smother him while he was in the hospital recovering from a car crash. Their feckless brother responds by threatening Benjamin with a shotgun, while their socialite mother falsely confesses to the crime. Trying to dominate everyone is their father, a wheeling, dealing, helicopter-flying entrepreneur who is afraid he might have hallucinated the smothering, even more afraid that it might have been real, and terrified that he might be losing control of his family and fortune. Desperate, he implements a devious and dastardly scheme . . .

Played out on the fashionable Connecticut shore and Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the shenanigans of the entitled rich don’t prevent Benjamin from finding the truth, and maybe even love.

Benjamin Gould is not anyone’s idea of a private investigator, nor is he one. Then why does his wealthy, and somewhat obnoxious neighbor force him into such a role without a way out? Benjamin grew up next door to the Cantling family. Yes, an entitled family. The obnoxious neighbor Charlie Cantling’s family of a wife, four daughters and a son to be exact. And entitled fits their behaviors with perhaps the exception of Ann, the middle of the pack, and the girl Benjamin’s been in love with for forever.

Many questions come to mind while reading Entitled, the literary debut of author Leonard H. Orr. is it a mystery? A suspense? A headache for Charlie of… entitled… wealthy brats? Or is it just one big confusion-fest for our man Benjamin Gould, who works for a cyber security company, in the office, and likes it that way?

The answer, as you will likely have determined, simply by my asking the questions, is yes. To which of the above? Just, yes.

As you read the first pages of chapter one of Entitled, the actual first question that comes to mind is… Is Charlie Cantling crazy? The second questions is… is Jody Gould crazy? The first encounter we see is between Charlie and the Gould brothers, Benjamin and Jody. A helicopter versus flare gun face-off in a backyard. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

Some of what shaped my opinion about Entitled:

The following comes back to those beginning questions.

Mystery- Who tried to murder Charlie Cantling, the patriarch of a wealthy family? Was it out of malice or mercy? Did it happen at all?

Headache- What will Benjamin find out when he begins asking questions of the Cantling family and which one will make the sacrifice to sleep with him to get the real reason he’s asking those questions? Will one of them try to murder him before he finds out too much?

Suspense- And what happens at the end? Who gets the gold mine and who gets the shaft? Which does our man Benjamin get? After all, he’s promised a nice paycheck for his services that will save him from selling his family home.

For me, with Entitled, it’s basically about the questions and wanting the answers.

The Book Format:

We see the story through the first person view point. Mainly through Benjamin Gould but also on occasion through Ann and her sister Melanie and even their mother Tessa. This format doesn’t really take away from the mystery aspect of the story.

What do I like about Entitled?

It’s different. The plot twist is definitely new. Did I see it coming? That ending? Yeah, no I didn’t see that coming. But should I have? You know, in a way, yes, I should have. At least part of it. I told you… headaches for Benjamin.

And I really wanted to see what happened to Benjamin. A good guy who deserves a break, something good to happen to him. And that is a sign of good writing. If you care about a character, then the writer succeeded.

What could have been better… for me?

You quickly come to know who Benjamin is as a person. Based on that impression,I felt some of his responses/reactions were out of character. Do what I personally see as odd responses impact the book and the plot? No. Not really. There are a couple that you just let go and move on. But maybe I have a problem because I really like Benjamin and that says a lot.

One other thing I thought could have been a little better was character development or maybe some added layers. Benjamin has some. But the others? I can see them wanting to come out but some just don’t make it or what does make it kind of misses for me. An example would be the only Cantling son, Theo. His layers are like a thick two layer cake, but with nothing between the layers to make it appetizing.

Ann’s character and her depth seems to come out, and comes close, but could be more. Of the Cantling sisters, Ann’s the one I would like to see more of, and maybe learn more about. It would’ve been interesting to know about Nicole, the eldest who lives in Santa Fe. Perhaps another book? Each character fulfills their role in the story so perhaps my looking for more depth in the characters is just me. But with the added development mentioned, I believe the story would have been even stronger.

Why would I recommend this book?

It’s a quick and easy read with some twists that will have you thinking of whodunit or what’s going to happen next. Even when Benjamin’s assignment is over, you still have a question. Do you get the answer? Does good triumph over evil/ego? Does it triumph completely?

Did I solve the initial mystery before the end?

Yes. The clues are right there. It was the only answer that made sense. But it might take a while to be certain.

Would I read this book a second time?

No. I don’t need to. But, I wouldn’t mind seeing Benjamin Gould take on another case. I would read that.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NxnESy

Author bio:

Leonard H. Orr has written for The Village Voice, The New York Times, and other publications. A graduate of Swarthmore College, he has also been an editor and investment manager, where he’s been a witness to the ambition and entitlement and sorrow his novel portrays.

Website: https://www.leonard-orr.com/

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NxnESy

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218456153-entitled

The Cheesemaker’s Daughter by Kristin Vukovic, a Book Review.

A Review of…

The Cheesemaker’s Daughter by Kristin Vukovic

2:19 Reading Time

Blurb:

How do you begin again when the past threatens to drown you?

In the throes of an unraveling marriage, New Yorker Marina Maržić returns to her native Croatian island where she helps her father with his struggling cheese factory, Sirana. Forced to confront her divided Croatian-American identity and her past as a refugee from the former Yugoslavia, Marina moves in with her parents on Pag and starts a new life working at Sirana. As she gradually settles back into a place that was once home, her life becomes inextricably intertwined with their island’s cheese. When her past with the son of a rival cheesemaker stokes further unrest on their divided island, she must find a way to save Sirana—and in the process, learn to belong on her own terms.

Exploring underlying cultural and ethnic tensions in a complex region mired in centuries of war and turmoil, The Cheesemaker’s Daughter takes us through the year before Croatia joins the European Union. On the dramatic moonscape island of Pag, we are transported to strikingly barren vistas, medieval towns, and the mesmerizing Adriatic Sea, providing a rare window into a tight-knit community with strong family ties in a corner of the world where divisions are both real and imagined. Asking questions central to identity and the meaning of home, this richly drawn story reckons with how we survive inherited and personal traumas, and what it means to heal and reinvent oneself in the face of life’s challenges.

ASIN : B0D68W1D4P
Publisher ‏ : ‎ ‎ Regalo Press (August 6, 2024)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Enabled
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 291 pages/304 print
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.25 inches
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Mt1oJ4

Now for the Review!

What first interested me in reviewing The Cheesemaker’s Daughter, Kristin Vukovic’s debut novel, is the Serbian and Croatian history course I took at University back in the early 90s. Of course, I also like cheese.

What did I like?

I enjoyed exploring history from the very start as Marina drove onto the island of Pag and the Fortica fortress. She describes not only sites and structures but how the islands’ features dictated divides in the people. I especially liked how Vukovic explains things like how the structure of Sarina, the family cheese making factory, helped save the family during a time of war.

Vukovic’s visual descriptions of the island of Pag, and from the beginning, Fortica, the small fortress seen from the Pag Bridge, and other locations had me doing a search to enhance the experience further. Using Google Maps, as I crossed Pag Bridge and spotted Fortica. With technology, you at least can see the world if you can’t travel. As a historian and old building enthusiast, I couldn’t resist searching. Sensory experiences spark Marina’s memories, such as the sounds of the creaking door of Sarina and the smell of the cheese factory.

Marina’s struggles may seem an odd thing to note as a ‘like’, but I can connect with some aspects. Dealing with others’ expectations and being apart from your upbringing and culture can be tough. Vukovic understands the importance of both failures and successes in adulthood. And I believe that helps the connection to the story as well.

A book benefits from a female protagonist, particularly when she is the sought-after help, like Marina here. The help needed? Marina’s father must go through the drudgery of paperwork before Croatia enters the EU and compete with another local cheesemaker on the island. Who else to call on but his marketing daughter?

The story is not always happy, just so you are aware. You may not like every moment. But you will like the book. And it’s likely you’ll have learned something about yourself or even someone close to you and what they deal with. Sometimes you just don’t get it until someone else tells you like it is.

Goodreads Giveaway (Ends 9/14) https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/396575-the-cheesemaker-s-daughter

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Mt1oJ4

Author Bio:

Kristin Vuković has written for the New York Times, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, Coastal Living, Virtuoso, The Magazine, Hemispheres, the Daily Beast, AFAR, Connecticut Review, and Public Books, among others. An early excerpt of her novel was longlisted for the Cosmonauts Avenue Inaugural Fiction Prize. She was named a “40 Under 40” honoree by the National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation, and received a Zlatna Penkala (Golden Pen) award for her writing about Croatia. Kristin holds a BA in literature and writing and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and was Editor-in-Chief of Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art. She grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and currently resides in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Website: http://kristinvukovic.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vukovic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinvukovic

Taken by His Sword by Florence A. Bliss, a Book Review.

A Review of…

Taken by His Sword by Florence A. Bliss

It’s 1654 in Provence, France and Philippe du Chevalerie, youngest son of Guillaume and Laure, the Duke and Duchess of Chevalerie is knocked off his feet when a beauty from his past once again enters his life, just as he is about to go on a mission for his father.

Alexandra De Voix fled years ago from humiliation at the hands of a young Philippe to become the famous Lady Guide of France. Only her loyalty to her mother’s best friend, Laure, could ever bring her back into his presence.

Now the two must put their past behind them and work together to save the kingdom, but can they stay focused on their mission without someone getting hurt?

Will the Duke need to send in his heir Michel or call in from the see his middle son Serge to help?

My blurb for Taken by His Sword by Florence A. Bliss, a historical romance set in mid 17th Century France.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ City Owl Press (June 11, 2024)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1648984606
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1648984600
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.66 x 9 inches
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aoWc2l

Click to read 8 Questions with Florence A. Bliss.

I must admit that I enjoy a good historical romance. I’ve read more than a hundred. Okay, I’ve read that many of the genre, but not all were ‘good’, but as long as I was entertained then they were not a waste of time.

Why I like Taken by His Sword:

I have to say that in a lot of historical romances I get frustrated by some of the cat and mouse games and the this-person-misunderstands-that-person type of thing, almost like a formulaic Hallmark Movie (yes, I even watch those). Very overplayed plot devices, but then I suppose if you read a lot, you see it a lot. Author Florence A. Bliss avoids that, although there is just enough to not let it be an easy go for Philippe, a young man people see as a typical wealthy, handsome, self-entitled, and egotistical son of a Duke. And not so easy for Alex who is an inexperienced woman of the world. Yeah, I know, ‘inexperienced’ and ‘woman of the world’ don’t seem to go together.

Philippe doesn’t come across that way during the story as it is told from his point of view as well as Alex’s. I’m not always a fan of the dual points of view from one chapter to the next, but this time it makes sense to do so.

The romance/relationship between the two protagonists is only one part of the story. The two must work together to discover who has been burning farms around Provence before it escalates and peace is lost. Philippe leads his men to join with Etienne, the Marquis du Ponce, to capture and bring the guilty to justice. The guilty that might be more powerful than Philippe thought.

Alex proves more valuable than some thought she would be. And eventually comes face to face with her most hated enemy.

Philippe proves he’s more than a pretty face who is a skilled swordsman.

What I may not have liked as much:

There is one point in the story where I think the reader is supposed to know more than they have been told. It pulled me out of the story for a moment because I had to think, “Did I miss something?” But I don’t think it takes away from the story itself.

I want to say up front the book is not laced with profanity like some can be. It’s not a bodice ripper, at least I don’t think Alex’s bodice gets ripped. If you are someone who just likes your read as if you were sitting in a pew at church, then the words you might not like appear less than 20 times in the 264 pages. If the F word is all you would count as profanity, it’s only used 3 times.

For word usage and profanity, although I don’t like using it in my own writing, there are environments, situations, and people that words are used for and by that are just real. And if you go too far the other way, then it’s fake. You can get around it, but for the F word here, it is used as an exclamation once, and it makes you blink. You’re like, “Well that got my attention. That definitely told me what that person thought at that moment.”

The other two times the F word is used, I have to say, made a point. I think the message intended by the character might only be delivered with this word.

Using words and phrases so little gives them impact when they are used. The author did this well.

What would I have wanted more or less of:

I can’t really think of anything I would want more of in this story, it was pretty complete.

You may have noticed Philippe has two older brothers, Michel and Serge. The series is called Swords of Chevalerie. Yes, ladies, the Duke and Duchess have two more sons who are single and ready to… get married?

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aoWc2l

Flat Water by Jeremy Broyles… A Review.

Flat Water is the story of a man who has run about as far away as possible from what he fears the most, home. When Monty Marinnis was a teen, he lost the hero of his world, his big brother Max to a shark attack while the two were surfing. Now, as an adult and married, he must find the determination to return to his family and hometown to face that loss head-on, or else never grow up in the most important ways.

In Flat Water, author Jeremy Broyles first takes the reader on a ride from Nebraska, to the Pacific Ocean, about as far away from an ocean as you can get and still be in the United States. Along the way, as Broyles takes you closer to Monty Marinnis’ hometown on the California coast, he also brings you closer, not just in the distance but in memory, to the true reason Monty left in the first place.

Once back with his mother and sister, he discovers he’s not the only one who lost his brother that day. Max touched the lives of many people. But is Monty open enough to be sympathetic or does he decide it’s all about him?

Monty has kept the truth bottled up for years, even from his wife, Charlotte. She knows the basics but not the whole story. No one does. Not his mother. Not his little sister, Maggie. Maybe even he doesn’t know.

As the story progresses Monty recalls moments with his brother. We get to see Max through a little brother’s eyes while at the same time we as the reader can interpret those same moments from our perspective, be it our own life experiences that could be similar, or simply the view of an older age.

We get to meet other people who experienced the loss of Max Marinnis in different ways than as a little brother. We see how they responded and what they did with their lives. Did they run? Did they move on? Did they merely survive?

One thing about the story is it doesn’t always head where you think it will or even where you think it should, at least not according to what we’ve come to expect from a book or movie. But life does what life does and, if we’re lucky, we end up where we need to be to solve the problems we’ve refused to face. For some, like Monty, it’s a painful place, in more ways than one. But maybe that pain will be what helps him or could be what makes it worse.

Readers will end up with many opinions of what happens by the end of the book but it’s always good to take a step back and look at it not just through our own eyes and thoughts about what happens, but through the eyes of the characters, which is how a story is told in the first place. We need to get out of our way to see how another person copes with a situation. We’re all different and some cope in great ways, some cope by screwing up, and some cope just by living. And this book is about that, coping and facing reality. And perhaps some recovering as well. At least all of that is my interpretation.

You can find Flat Water at Amazon by clicking here.

Jeremy Broyles Author Photo — Jeremy BroylesAbout the author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeremy Broyles is an Arizona native, originally from the Cottonwood-Jerome-Sedona high desert. He earned his B.A. from Doane College, now University, his M.A. from Northern Arizona University, and his MFA in fiction from Wichita State University. He is a professor with nearly twenty years of experience teaching in higher education, and he currently serves as the creative writing program director at Mesa Community College where he has taught since 2017. His stories have appeared in The MacGuffin, Santa Clara Review, Rock and a Hard Place Magazine, Pigeon Review, Pembroke Magazine, Red Rock Review, BULL, Suburbia Journal, and Reckon Review amongst many others. His novella, What Becomes of Ours, was published in 2014 by ELJ Publications. His novel Flat Water–the story of siblings, surfing, and sharks and what happens when those things come together both in and out of the water–was released by Mint Hill Books, an imprint of Main Street Rag Press, in 2023. He is an aging rider of bicycles, a talentless surfer of waves, and a happily mediocre player of guitars.

Follow Jeremy by visiting:

https://www.jeremybroylesauthor.com/

https://x.com/_jeremybroyles

https://www.instagram.com/_jeremybroyles/

The Search by Dewayne Rahe.

In rural Iowa, 1910, Fred Schmidt faces life’s pivotal question: How should he live his life? This compelling historical fiction transports readers into a world bursting with real and mystical characters. Teamed up with Artie Holberg, the ambitious son of a renowned horse trader, Fred embarks on an enthralling adventure-from a daring scheme in Minnesota to a treacherous escapade in pre-World War I Europe. Encounters with enigmatic figures like Count Von Drathen and the beautifully captivating Baroness Van Essen weave a tapestry of suspense, mystery, and revelation.

Journey with Fred as he navigates the intricate map of destiny, love, and intrigue. Will the mystical voice guiding him reveal the truth he seeks? Dive in to uncover the thrilling conclusion.

Dewayne Rahe brings the next generation of the family from The Last Wild to life as Fred Schimidt becomes his own man in a changing world.

Armed with a knowledge of horses and a spattering grasp of German, Fred heads for Europe to find good breeding stock for his business in America. Along the way his adventures take him in directions he wasn’t expecting and leads to meeting characters not to be believed.

What type of man does this time in Europe and America make? It’s only a few years before WWI, what is Mid American young man, here and over there?

Fred might be searching for horses, but what does he really end up discovering?

Knowledgeable and entertaining, you’ll want to check this one out as a good summer read.

“Rahe is a great storyteller. In the book, The Search, he intertwines the role of an individual’s fate with the challenges of their time.” – James Epstien

“Rahe is a great storyteller. In the book, The Search, he intertwines the role of an individual’s fate with the challenges of their time.” – Doris Brown

I am a retired large animal veterinarian having graduated from Iowa State University in May of 1970. My wife Krystal and I were married on June 18, 1970 and presently live on our farm near Dyersville, Iowa not far from the famous “Field of Dreams” movie site. Our four children and their families have followed their careers to various parts of the United States, so much of our time is spent traveling to visit them, their spouses and our ten wonderful grandchildren. Krystal and I decided to use our time during the Covid pandemic to pursue our creative interests; incorporating her art and my writing to tell the untold story of the pioneers that settled northeast Iowa. The result was our first book, “Last of the Wild”, the response to which surprised and overwhelmed us. We have just published the second in the series,”The Search”. This narrative extends the families’ story to the next generation and details their struggles as they try to establish their place in the new land. We felt it was important to tell this story and hope our readers continue to enjoy it.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Search-Dewayne-Rahe-ebook/dp/B0CV84MJN4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

19: The Musical audiobook. A REVOLUTIONARY experience in entertainment!

A REVOLUTIONARY experience in entertainment!

19 The Musical Audiobook Cover. — 19: The Musical

“The idea for “19” was inspired by a line in Hamilton: “When I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’ma compel him to include women in the sequel.” That line struck me because I thought, “Where’s the sequel? We’re still waiting to be heard — and I’m going to do something about that right now.”- Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw

As many of you who follow this site know, I’m a historian, by degree and desire. I remember the Suffragist Era being on one of my history finals at the University of Georgia. A long essay and I still couldn’t get it all in, but I hit the points I could and that’s the problem with history today and what we know. We only get the high points and most of those points are by men in power positions, with the biggest bank rolls and biggest voices. – Ronovan (And I got an A on that final.)

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19: The Musical is the dynamic and little-known story of Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Inez Milholland and the other suffragists who fought to get women the right to vote – The 19th Amendment. The inspirational story of these fearless women is brought to life through jazz, traditional musical standards style, spoken word, and hints of gospel. Alice Paul and the suffragist’s fight for equality have been re-imagined for a new generation with a poignant and uplifting message that will resonate for years to come.

Originally created and performed on stage, 19: The Musical has been adapted for a new medium to reach a broader audience through audiobooks.

19: The Musical Book & Lyrics by Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw, Music Composed & Arranged by Charlie Barnett

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Questions with Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw.

Why choose to turn the stage production into an audiobook?

In 2020, we were prepared to take “19” to New York for an investor reading so we could move the show to bigger venues. However, COVID-19 undercut our theatrical dreams for the show. We continued to work on the production; we had Zoom readings and did some online appearances over the past several years. Eventually, it occurred to us that “19” is a history that has been overlooked, yet, as evidenced by our live audiences pre-COVID, there’s a great hunger to know more about these women and their fight for suffrage. We thought that an audiobook format would allow us to reach a new and much broader audience — an audience that would appreciate both the story and the music.

Can you explain a bit how the themes “19” touches on are still relevant for today’s audience?

“19” has never stopped being relevant. Women’s rights are still being dismantled today. Voting and voting rights are being gutted. Protests and activism still remain a staple of how we move forward politically in this country. Did you know the Women’s March of 1913 was the blueprint for peaceful protest marches in this country? “19” is motivational, educational and inspirational. It offers insights on how we, as a people, can use use tactics like nonviolent protest to dissent when the government has taken a position that is fundamentally against our personhood. “19” tells the true story of how against all odds, those without power can battle a system built upon their oppression, but through brilliant strategic decisions, bold tactical choices and pure grit, they can eventually achieve victory and gain equality.

Visit https://www.19themusical.com/ for more information.

You can find the audiobook on Barnes & Noble, Audiobooks.com, Chirpbooks.com, Kobo and Google Play.

Follow 19: The Musical on https://www.facebook.com/19TheMusical/ and https://www.instagram.com/19_themusical/.

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Book Review of The Witch of Tophet County by author J. H. Schiller.

The last witch on Earth takes on interdimensional invaders, tentacled overlords, and local politics in this fun, funny, and fast-paced urban fantasy series.

The witch of Tophet County has three primary preoccupations: Kentucky bourbon, Amish romance novels . . . and protecting her true identity from the chthonic monsters who rule humanity with an iron tentacle.

Despite her best efforts to get fired, the witch is trapped in a draconian, century-long contract that condemns her to work for the Archons of the Nether Realms in the banal misery of county government. But when she accidentally pleases her many-armed overlords, the Dread Lord of Human Resources curses her with an unwanted promotion. And it involves meetings.

As she enters a new bureaucratic hellscape, the witch is assigned to lead a task force investigating recent attacks on senior Archons. Fortunately, her boss has offered her a deal: if she solves the case, they’ll knock fifteen years off her sentence. And if that doesn’t work out, well, she just might have to find a way to help take down the tentaclarchy—or else be doomed to permanent civil servitude . . .

The Witch of Tophet County Cover — The Witch of Tophet County

The Witch of Tophet County was offered to me for an honest review. I like stories with magic. Check. Sarcasm. Check. Female leads. Check. (I do like stories with male leads as well.) And take-no-guff from anyone. Check. So I had to check this book out. See what I did there? And I didn’t even plan it. I’m just that cheesy. (Yes, Witch has taken me over and is writing this review.)

For fans of Jim Butcher when you hear about a witch who happens to do some detective type work and the like in an urban setting one might think of Butcher’s Harry Dresden, I think the sarcasm would be kind of comfortable, but the story is unique to J. H. Schiller. I think you will want to give it a read.

What I like about the story in The Witch of Tophet County is it’s about relationships. A lot of writers have a great idea for an adventure but they fail because they forget about the people in the story. WITCH, and yes, Witch is her name, has a difficult time with having relationships and friends. It’s a bit obvious right from the beginning. This book is the first in a new series and I think it does a great job of not only entertaining the reader but setting up Witch’s story and personality and those of her supporting cast. Some of her supporting cast are CHAD, her nerdy IT friendly torture victim, MAGNOLIA, the Archon but human loving assistant, and well her boss, the Archon Dread Lord of Human Resources. Could there be a better name for an HR head?

J. H. Schiller does a good job of getting the reader to visualize there being different types of beings in a scene. By ‘beings’ I mean humans, WITCH, and Archons. Archons are the ones who subjugated the humans years before the book’s story happens, and run the whole show now. The characters have normal conversations, mostly, but Schiller has somehow written the story in such a way you know if an Archon is speaking or a human is speaking. When WITCH is speaking… let’s just say there is no doubt. I’m a big fan of giving each character their own voice and Schiller does this so well.

One thing that might throw some readers is some of the language/wording used. Witch tends to use profanity. She was not raised by other witches or even a human family. So, I’m sure when she was first let out into the world as an adult she adapted as quickly as she was and with her personality, abrasive was her go to identity. The language fits her.

As every adventure and book about magic does, WITCH has a big choice to make. You think you know what’s going to happen, then what is happening. But when the one who WITCH prays to, or whatever, is named DISCORDIA, yes, as in chaos, never think you know what you know. And even when you finally do, you don’t.

If you thought that was confusing, try writing it and making sure it actually does make sense. CHAOS I TELL YOU! Oh, and then there’s the baby. I know. Now that’s madness that becomes chaos. (My chaos is 19 and in college and thinks he knows everything.)

If you want a fun read with more heart than a witch knew she had, character development and a story that does a great job of surprising you with details you forgot about, this is the one for you.

Now get your digits working and click Amazon below to get the book or the Dread Lord of IT will find you. Read it. Love it. Amazon.

Playing with fire cover. — Playing with Fire

THEN pre-order book 2 Playing with Fire: A Comedy of Horrors.

Bio:

J. H. Schiller writes speculative fiction with a flair for the weird and a healthy dose of the absurd. In an earlier incarnation, she earned a graduate degree in international affairs and worked for the federal government in Washington, DC. She has since escaped to Ohio, where she writes full-time. Her short fiction has been featured in several anthologies and published by The Arcanist and Flame Tree Press. Her debut novel, The Witch of Tophet County, was published in January 2024 (Podium). She is a member of the SFWA. Check out her latest news at J.H. Schiller (jhschiller.com).

GoodReads.com

Tree of Lives by Elizabeth Garden. My Thoughts and Reviews.

I’ll start by saying, this is a book that may take you a few chapters to get into to. I’ve said that about a lot of books but it’s just how some need to be to get a reader to understand what’s to come later. That being said, once you get to the guts, you get going.

I was asked if I’d do a review of Tree of Lives by Elizabeth Garden without the person doing the requesting knowing how appropriate it would be. No, it wasn’t Elizabeth that asked. It’s a bit of a difficult book for me to put into words for a review, but I’ll do what I can and share other views. I really connected with the book. For some good and not so good reason.

Tree of Lives Front Cover — Tree of Lives by Elizabeth Garden

Here’s the Amazon Blurb:

Ruth will not be silenced. She will not be robbed of her strength. Tree of Lives is her epic story about the power of words and actions, and the legacy of violence and abuse passed down through generations — and the redeeming strength of Ruth, a singular woman who overcomes the effects of a horrific secret. A clear-eyed young artist with a promising future, Ruth is stymied at every turn by men who seek to maintain power over her. Gripping and inspiring, Tree of Lives spans the 20th century, and in following Ruth’s development, demonstrates how feisty and independent women paved the way in the fight for social equality as the decades unraveled. Ambitious and tender, at the heart of this novel is the story of one woman who made her own way with wit, grit, luck and a wide open heart.

This book is a poignant reminder of the importance of self-empowerment and the courage needed to break free from the shackles of the past. Within each of us, there is a hidden well from which we can draw our power, whether it is filled with art or any other channel of love. Overall, this is a tale that is often painful but equally inspiring. Readers with an interest in complex soul-searching into family secrets and the dynamics they forge will feel the same way.

~~~

I’ll tell you how this connected with me. For one, I am also a survivor of childhood trauma, both mental and physical. This imprints on you and carry over into how you live your life. The choices you make. Oddly some for the good but many are more damaging than you’ll ever know unless you work at it rediscovery. Much like the main character in Tree of Lives, Ruth, art has been my outlet. Creativity.

“Luckily, art can serve as an escape hatch and a pathway to document the rawness of that tightly packed energy which seeks release. I believe that when suffering is put into words or form, the sharing of it dilutes the pain as others harmonize in that same key, and real healing can begin. Indeed, I am very gratified that Tree of Lives is used by therapists for adult patients of childhood abuse.” Elizabeth Garden

Garden uses a fictional characters to show the twist and turns of a woman’s life from the traumas to the constant work of healing.

A Therapist’s Perspective
by C. V. — Therapist, Adult Healing Center / Montpelier, France

Elizabeth Garden’s cathartic codex: “Tree of Lives” can open difficult wounds, but this book will also cleanse them; and help bring a troubled reader to the path of healing. (See the rest of the perspective at Amazon.

Reviews

"Despite having an unusual life, a fascinating ancestry and a lot of abuse, it is not easy to write it all down and make it as fascinating to others as it is to you. Kudos to Elizabeth Garden for her well designed structure, beautifully written scenes and to Barbara Bose for her lovely art. It goes beyond the traditional haunting 'ghost story' as her ancestor seeks redemption and relief and she comes to forgive her parents and move beyond a twisted script." Amazon Review

"This is a disturbing story of a deeply troubled family with horrific secrets. It’s also a story of survival and triumph. Somehow Ruth, the plucky and talented protagonist, overcomes numerous challenges, learning more about herself as she unearths her family’s history. This is a testament to endurance, hope, and success. The haunting illustrations add to the story. I googled one of the "secrets" and discovered that it's absolutely true. WOW! One wonders – is this autobiographical? True or not, this is an uplifting tale of the character’s indomitable spirit." Amazon Review

" I enjoyed being jolted across dreamscapes, former lives, and present actions as the story's core mystery unspools with suspense reminiscent of Hanya Yanagihara's "A Little Life"." Amazon Review David Cohen

Get Tree of Lives at Amazon.

Elizabeth Garden author of Tree of Lives — Elizabeth Garden

About the Author

I think many folks, especially artists like me, suffer from the fallout from the undiagnosed mental illness of others. For example, when I found out there was a mass murderer in my family, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Luckily for me, my artwork served as an escape hatch and a pathway to document the rawness of that tightly packed energy which sought release.

I believe that when suffering is put into words or form, the sharing of it dilutes the pain as others harmonize in that same key, and real healing can began. Indeed, my novel Tree of Lives is used by therapists for adult patients of childhood abuse.

Bigotry and its evil twin, white male domination, are woven into the fabric of the typical 20th Century American ethos on full display in my life as it is in the household of my protagonist, Ruth Thompson. Ruth’s rocky path out of the “Wildwoods” can be seen as a heroine’s journey through the invisible gauntlet of unaddressed childhood trauma.

I like to play golf. But sometimes my ball goes way off into another fairway and the rest of the journey to the cup is the arduous correction to make it to the place where I once belonged. Ruth’s life (and mine) in Tree of Lives takes a very similar tack – the journey to the happy place I had in mind, but in a parallel universe compared to everyone I know.

I am not a writer who likes to do art. Rather, I am an artist who wrote a book. I started out my career as an illustrator but learned layout and art direction in order to get a better salary — albeit always less of a salary because I was a woman and even more less because I lacked a college degree. With two babies to raise (three, counting perpetually un- or underemployed mates), I took what I could get and tried as hard as I could. As for the rest of my bio, read Tree of Lives. It’s all there.

Elizabeth Garden

Visit Elizabeth on her website: treeoflives.net

Book Review of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez.

Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez cover.A

A children’s book with a message for all ages.

Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez gives a lost little girl an adventure with a message. As Esperanza must continue through the forest she’s become lost in she meets 12 fairies who teach her lessons each of us could take to heart fora better us and a better world.

First, the art in the book is beautiful. Not in an overly artistic manner but one that should appeal to a younger reader but also give a bit of nostalgia to an adult that might be reading the story to a child. I got the feel of watching certain shows with my own son, when he was little. (Not so little any longer.)

The chosen fairies, each with a certain quality for a better person are appropriate and the fairies are inclusive of all types and parts of society we don’t normally see in the vast majority of children’s books.

The rhyming scheme of the text is fun but also educational. Larger words are used at times but once one gets the first word, then they can easily figure out the second rhyme.

I give Hope and Fortune a 4 out of 5 stars.

You may find Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez at just about every online outlet including:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Fortune-Marissa-Ba%C3%B1ez/dp/1685131174/?tag=wowwomenonwri-20

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-and-fortune-marissa-ba-ez/1142263733

Marissa Bañez author of Hope and Fortune — Marissa Bañez

About the Author

A first-generation immigrant to the U.S. from the Philippines, Marissa Bañez is a graduate of Princeton University and a lawyer licensed to practice in New York, California and New Jersey. She has published legal articles for the prestigious New York Law Journal and the American Bar Association, but her true passion for writing lies in her children’s stories. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and daughter. Her childhood was filled with many original stories and puppet shows made up entirely by her mom. In her free time, Marissa likes to travel, design and make clothes, cook, binge-watch Star Trek shows and Korean dramas, and occasionally strum a guitar.

She is currently working on her second book, Hues and Harmony (How the Singing Rainbow Butterfly Got Her
Colors), a story about mixed or multiracial children, self-discovery, and respect for others as told through the
life and adventures of a caterpillar. It is scheduled for publication on July 20, 2023.

Visit Marissa’s webpage: https://www.marissabanez.com/

You can find her online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marissa.banez.7/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-banez/

Spotlight The Lord’s Tusks by Jeff Ulin.

THE LORD’S TUSKS

by Jeff Ulin

Big game hunter Richard Keeton unexpectedly finds himself in line to inherit a British Lordship, but with the family’s wealth in tatters Richard cannot afford the lifestyle commensurate with his pending title. Hell-bent on restoring riches, Richard realizes he can make a fortune poaching animals. With the help of Alijah, a tribesman, he’s soon secretly slaughtering animals and taking kickbacks to build a network smuggling rhino horns and elephant tusks. Richard’s poaching ring comes under threat when Michael Sandburg, an American researcher, starts dating his stepdaughter and becomes suspicious.

What will Michael do if he discovers the truth and has to choose between his future family and a newfound mission to protect endangered animals at all costs?

Jeffrey Ulin’s thrilling adventure weaves romance and intrigue against the tragedy of driving species toward extinction.

“An absorbing and highly enjoyable work. Don’t begin to read this book if you are pushed for time, as you’ll find it hard to put down once you start.” –David Philips, author of The Judas Conspiracy.

The Lord's Tusks by Jeff Ulin full cover — The Lord’s Tusks by Jeff Ulin

“Full disclosure, I am in love with Africa, her endless vistas, her majestic wildlife, broad savannahs and her people. The Lord’s Tusks transported me back to all of it. Jeff Ulin’s description of an elephant’s eye is more than worth the price on the stunning cover.” Bill Schweitzer, author of Doves in a Tempest

About Jeff Ulin

After majoring in anthropology at Harvard, Jeff Ulin traveled to Africa volunteering with a unit capturing endangered rhinos and moving them to sanctuary areas. He jokes that stint prepared him for working on Indiana Jones, but it was his training in entertainment law that landed him on Skywalker Ranch working for George Lucas. After managing global sales/distribution for Star Wars, Jeff co-founded and ran animation studio Wild Brain where he created Disney’s hit Higglytown Heroes. Raised in Kansas City and Boston, Jeff spent many years working in California and has also lived as an expat in London, The Hague, and Mallorca. In addition to writing fiction, Jeff is the author of The Business of Media Distribution.

https://www.jeffulin.com/

Book Review of Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis.

Where to begin? Dead in the Water is a story of 1942 WW2. London with ramifications beyond. London has been bombed to a shell of itself with Anglo-Spanish DCI Frank Merlin continuing to his mission to protect the city from not only the criminal element within but any such characters that wander in from outside the nations borders.

A body found floating in the Thames. Missing art. Stolen or otherwise. Who’s to know? That’s Merlin’s job.

There are many layers to what Ellis has done here. You have the married couple of Frank Merlin and his wife with their young son. You have families that have sought refuge in London from Poland and Germany.

There are deserters from armies, gangsters willing to take advantage of any situation.

And all of that’s just the obvious on the surface elements.

Of course you then have the spies. Who all do they work for? Where do they come from?

You read reviews about how a writer weaves the different stories in a book into one overall story. That’s not one of my favorite ways of describing a book but in this case… unless I use a thesaurus, weaving is what Ellis has done.

The seemingly separate story lines, some are separate, obviously, but many will at some point link together as you might expect in a mystery like this. If not, then all those sub plots would be useless. But here, pay attention and you start to piece things together.

There are surprises to be experienced, not just by the reader but by the characters as well. A bit of Agatha Christie if you will.

As for the setting for the book. WW2 history is my specialty. It’s what I primarily studied and taught. There is a lot to learn from what Ellis gives us in Dead in the Water that you won’t necessarily learn in a classroom. You don’t get what life was like on a daily basis in London during this time. You don’t consider that life goes on, crimes happen, police have a job to do. Love happens, betrayal, affairs. Anything and everything. And you don’t consider that during wartime on an island nation like Britain that some would take advantage of their fellow suffering citizens.

Dead in the Water is not only entertaining and good paced read, it’s also a learning experience.

I give it a 4 out of 5.

About the Author:

Mark Ellis is a thriller writer from Swansea and a former barrister and entrepreneur.

He is the creator of DCI Frank Merlin, an Anglo-Spanish police detective operating in World War 2 London. His books treat the reader to a vivid portrait of London during the war skilfully blended with gripping plots, political intrigue and a charismatic protagonist.

Mark grew up under the shadow of his parents’ experience of the Second World War. His father served in the wartime navy and died a young man. His mother told him stories of watching the heavy bombardment of Swansea from the safe vantage point of a hill in Llanelli, and of attending tea dances in wartime London under the bombs and doodlebugs.

In consequence Mark has always been fascinated by WW2 and in particular the Home Front and the fact that while the nation was engaged in a heroic endeavour, crime flourished. Murder, robbery, theft and rape were rife and the Blitz provided scope for widespread looting.

This was an intriguing, harsh and cruel world. This is the world of DCI Frank Merlin.

Mark Ellis’ books regularly appear in the Kindle bestseller charts.

He is published by Headline Accent, an imprint of Headline.

He is a member of Crime Cymru, the Welsh crime writing collective, and of the Crime Writers Association (CWA).

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markell1/

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkEllisAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkEllis15

Book Review of Dead Heat to Destiny by J. B. Rivard.

Destined for success in the booming world of high fashion, young Adrienne Boch deflects the romantic pursuit of Will Marra, an American student in Paris. Her cousin, Gregor Steiner, completes his training as an officer in the Imperial German Navy. They, like the entire world, are unprepared when World War I begins. As the invading German army threatens Paris, Gregor advances to captain a U-boat, Will becomes a pilot in the U.S. Army, and Adrienne’s family flees an overrun Belgium. In Central America, a spy is recruited to defeat the United States. At the climax—during which love hangs in the balance—they meet in a thrilling and emotionally riveting clash.

Spanning 1903-1917, this cinematic novel transports the reader to a variety of stunning locales. With his dedication to historical accuracy and his immersive writing style, Rivard offers readers a front row seat to the early twentieth century’s most compelling events.

A story of possibilities that spans the course of time just a few years prior to the beginning of WWI to the United States declaring war on Germany.

The detail given to each characters environment in regards not only to the physical but also professional and family ties made for an engaging and investing story.

Being a history person myself, by university degree and by writing career, I found the research put in to give the detail needed to provide an immersive read refreshing and most enjoyable.

We travel from Brussels to France and on to the United States, Mexico, and Panama. The main characters of the story are Will Mara, a young man who becomes fascinated with flight, Adrienne Boch, a woman from Brussels who travels to Paris to design haute conture, and her cousin Gregor Steiner, an officer in a German Empire’s U-boat.

The three stories along with the sub-stories head to the inevitable as Germany pushes further to gain control of the Atlantic waters and limit the US semi-secret assistance to Britain.

Something to look for is how the life and opinions of each takes a turn with a moment, be it one of reality or one of misunderstanding, but regardless fueled by environment and personal experience.

I greatly enjoyed the growth of Will Mara from a 13 year old boy who was in love with fast cars and the new world of flight into a young man who falls in love with a beautiful young dress designer and onward into an intelligent and heroic aviator. Through him we see pieces of US history both leading to the US entering WWI but also incursions into Mexico to chase Pancho Villa.

Adrienne grows as well in confidence and as a woman who knows her mind and will get what she wants, although what she wants could possibly change?

And then Gregor. His growth into a U-boat captain is perhaps the most intriguing. From the young man we first meet through the letters shared with his cousin Adrienne to the officer who is dedicated to the German Empire’s cause, the change is shown not to be as easy as one might think.

No one character has a direct path to where they end up. I’ve reviewed another of Rivard’s books and it was excellent but I enjoyed this one even more. It is right in my wheelhouse.

There was only one thing that was a bit difficult to get accustomed to. That is how each character, up to perhaps five, would have their own chapter and view point. But, not always. At first this made me take a bit of time getting into the book. But that happens sometimes with me. Any author needs to lay a little background, and after a few chapters the story really picks up. It’s been called a page-turner and I agree. Once past those first few chapters you are wanting to know who does what, where and why.

If you’ve read my reviews here before you know I enjoy historical novels by Samuel Marquis. He’s one of my favorites. J. B. Rivard is right up there. He has the detail, the pace, and characters worth investing in. You hope some do one thing and not the other. You hope they change their minds. And mind changing might just happen. I’m not going to say too much.

I recommend the story to history buffs, those who enjoy period pieces, and anyone who simply enjoys touch choices made, maybe even young love in a time appropriate manner.

I’ll give it 5 stars out of 5.

Get the book at Amazon 2/7/23. Also check your favorite online service to see if it’s there.

J.B. RIVARD believes words can create pictures. His readers agree; one said, “I was right in the biplane cockpit with Nick,” referring to pilot Nick Mamer, the 1929 record-setting aviator in Rivard’s nonfiction book “Low on Gas – High on Sky.” A writer of historically accurate fiction and nonfiction, J.B. knows readers want the past to blaze up and enthrall them. His commitment to compelling and convincing writing derives from four years in the military as well as his technical career on the staff of a U.S. National Laboratory. A graduate of the University of Florida, he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, and is an award-winning artist and author. His latest novel is “Dead Heat to Destiny,” in which the lives and loves of three people are imperiled during the cataclysm of World War One. To learn more about J.B.’s life and work, visit www.illusionsofmagic.com

Book Review of The Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story by J. Lawrence Matthews.

Review of The Case of the Disappearing Beaune. J. Lawrence Matthews Sherlock Holmes — Book cover of The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story by J. Lawrence Matthews.

Sherlock Holmes faces one of the most urgent and puzzling cases of his career. A Christmas gift for his old friend Dr. Watson has been tampered with and replaced with something most unusual. All under the sleeping nose of the great detective himself.

Is there a new Master of the Criminal Underworld in charge of London? Why the warning? And who is the warning about?

The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story by J. Lawrence Matthews captures the essence of the classic detective with language and writing harking back to the old master himself, Conan Doyle. But the writing is still his own. This is a Matthews story and the descriptive style easily draws the reader into the age and world being created.

Matthews puts his knowledge of Holmes and history to good use. This is not his first adventure with the world’s greatest detective. There is a good amount of detail given to the streets of London, allowing the reader to ride along with the investigative duo of Holmes and Watson as they race to save… well to save. Much loved characters from years gone by appear throughout the story.

The pace of the story matches the length. Clues pile up in quick measure with Sherlock grasping them seemingly out of thin air, but all leading to one conclusion.

The mystery itself is one that will shock the reader. The ending, something one would never expect of the great bee fanatic, Holmes.

This is a great short story for any age of reader. An excellent gift for the holidays.

Try to solve the mystery before Holmes does.

5 out of 5 Stars

(A rarity from me.)

Book Review of The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story. Author photo of J. Lawrence Matthews. — J. Lawrence Matthews. Author of The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story.

J. Lawrence Matthews has contributed fiction to the New York Times and NPR’s All Things Considered, and, as Jeff Matthews, is the author of three non-fiction books about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. One Must Tell the Bees: Abraham Lincoln and the Final Education of Sherlock Holmes is his first novel, the result of twin passions for the original Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and American history as told on the battlefields of the Civil War. Matthews is now researching the sequel, which follows Sherlock Holmes a bit further afield—to Florence, Mecca and Tibet.

https://www.jlawrencematthews.com/

Review of Joan He’s STRIKE THE ZITHER.

Title: Strike the Zither (Kingdom of Three, 1)
Author: Joan He
Print Length: 368
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: October 25, 2022
Language: English
Formats: eBook and Hardcover and Audible
Genres: Fantasy, Teen and Young Adult
Purchase links below. Audible also available

For signed copies visit Joan He’s site for outlets HERE.

A dazzling new fantasy from New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, Strike the Zither is a powerful, inventive, and sweeping fantasy that reimagines the Chinese classic tale of the Three Kingdoms.

The year is 414 of the Xin Dynasty, and chaos abounds. A puppet empress is on the throne. The realm has fractured into three factions and three warlordesses hoping to claim the continent for themselves.

But Zephyr knows it’s no contest.

Orphaned at a young age, Zephyr took control of her fate by becoming the best strategist of the land and serving under Xin Ren, a warlordess whose loyalty to the empress is double-edged―while Ren’s honor draws Zephyr to her cause, it also jeopardizes their survival in a war where one must betray or be betrayed. When Zephyr is forced to infiltrate an enemy camp to keep Ren’s followers from being slaughtered, she encounters the enigmatic Crow, an opposing strategist who is finally her match. But there are more enemies than one―and not all of them are human.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book for an honest review.

First I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if I don’t describe that fact justly in the following.

It was difficult to write a review without spoilers but I did my best. (I really wanted to reveal things because I enjoyed it a lot.)

The book is a a blend of historical, fantasy, sword and sorcery. Although mostly written with young adults as characters, and perhaps as the general target audience, I enjoyed it and didn’t need to put ages to them.

I’m going to geek about history for a moment but don’t necessarily look at this as strictly a historical fiction book, or even fantasy book.

I am a big history person. I studied history in college. Became a history teacher, and even wrote a historical fiction novel. So when I had the opportunity to review author JOAN HE’s latest work, STRIKE THE ZITHER, I jumped at it. And I am not disappointed. Combining historical elements with fantasy, the story moves quickly and I didn’t want to put it down. In fact, I stopped watching Netflix and read the book through the night until I finished. And did I have some surprises to experience.

Now the review.

CHARACTER

The reader will find unique characters and voices. Although some serve similar purposes, as they must in a story like this, they do have their own personalities that make them stand apart from the rest of the cast.

One thing to keep in mind is this re-imagining of the Three Kingdoms is a matriarchal society. Those in power are women and normally their primary advisors and supporters are the same.

The main character of the book is an 18 year old woman called ZEPHYR. a highly intelligent strategist whose only purpose in life is to keep XIN REN alive and bring her success. No matter what she must do to achieve this goal. She’s small and weak of body and does not take action as a warrior and this is seen as more of a hindrance than an asset by many of those serving Xin Ren. But they all secretly realize that without her brain, they would be dead before the time this story even begins.

Zephyr is often at odds with Xin Ren’s SWORNSISTERS CLOUD and LOTUS. Two fierce warriors. More mature in mind is the GENERAL TOURMALINE who does give Zephyr her support and acknowledgement of the young strategist’s skill.

Not everyone is a friend or supporter of Xin Ren.

PRIME MINISTRESS MIASMA considers Xin Ren a rival since the two are closest to the EMPRESS XIN BAO. Mirasma wishes to do away with her rival. There is a young governor of the Southlands and Xin Ren’s uncle who is governor of the Westlands.

Finally there is CROW, a strategist for Miasma that causes many problems for Zephyr’s strategies and plans for Xin Ren and the future of the Empire.

There are some surprising characters that hit our protagonist hard emotionally but there are also some who are simply surprising in their determination and focus on a goal.

WORLD-BUILDING

JOEN HE’s world gives a nice look at what conflicts within China’s history might look like and the intricacies of how people work together within a group although they don’t agree with each other, except for their loyalty to their leader.

The reader will enjoy the structure the country is given with their own distinct geographical characteristics that give the various people their personalities.

The matriarchal system isn’t all that noticeable to this reader. Yes, it’s there and at first I did see it, but after a few pages, it was simply part of the story and didn’t make a difference in my thinking.

The fantasy aspect of the story is hinted at for a while, but when it seriously shows up it hits you in the face… for a moment. It’s well done, and a good surprise. It explains a lot of things. Then I quickly fell back into the story.

There is one part of the fantasy part that is kind of odd but I think it is more because it’s more how a Chinese myth would go as opposed to the more mundane western ideas.

THEMES

Good v Evil or it could be the perception of the reader as to what is good for the Empire being done in a harsh/evil way. Or is this version of good really good at all.

Redemption: Zephyr’s journey is an obvious one as the book goes along, but there are others we see as well.

Courage and Perseverance: This is evident not only with warriors but with weaker ones standing up and taking chances for their leaders.

Revenge: A theme that runs through any story of war and discord but is used as an excuse by some but as truth by others.

DISLIKES

I can’t say there is anything I didn’t like about the book. And that’s rare. Maybe the only thing might be that book two isn’t here yet?

LIKES

The main characters are excellent and realistic for the time and the story.

Using an ancient setting is more difficult than people might think when reimagining history while including fantasy. Joan: He does it well.

I enjoyed the surprise aspects of the story that added complexity. Complexity can slow a book’s story but in this case I didn’t want to put it down until I finished.

CONCLUSION

Strike the Zither is a must read for fans of HISTORICAL FICTION and who are okay with a little FANTASY. I say little fantasy because I don’t see it as too overt. You’ll need to read it for that to make sense. There is ACTION and BATTLES. SUBTERFUGE. SURPRISE ROMANCE angles. The ending sets up for the next book. And done just right to make it easy to wait for the next book but still wanting you to wish it were here already. I would make sure you follow Joan He to see when the next one comes out… as a reminder.

RATING SYSTEM

3=Good and meets what I hope a book should be. A success.

4=Better than expected, didn’t put it down, enjoyable. Would easily recommend to others. THIS IS A GREAT RATING FROM ME.

5=Knocks me out. Would read it over and over again. RARE FROM ME.

A 4.1 STARS out of 5 based on…

Realistic Characters/Character Development based on genre: 4

World Building: 4

Believability based on genre and intent: 4

Flow/Readability/Clarity: 4

Overall Enjoyment: 4.5

About the author

Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favorite form of expression. She studied Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes in Chicago. She is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Descendant of the Crane, and Strike the Zither, the first book in the Kingdom of Three duology.

Review of Blue Flame: Book Two of the Daemon Collecting Series by Alison Levy.

Title: Blue Flame: Book Two of the Daemon Collecting Series
Author: Alison Levy
Print Length: 415
Publisher: SparkPress
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Language: English
Formats: eBook and Paperback (At various outlets including Amazon and B&N.)
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Purchase links below. Audible also available

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book for an honest review.

Author Alison Levy creates a universe/world called Nota, that is parallel to our own in which everything here exists there but with a twist of Fantasy and Science Fiction being a reality. It is a bit more layered than that with other dimensions playing havoc with Nota. One very young character tries to protect his mother from an enemy only he can see. Another tries to reclaim his life, while another character desires to learn about a culture from another dimension. All this occurs while trying to solve Daemon glitches that threaten the Nota universe/dimension.

CHARACTER
The main characters are varied and unique to each other. No two share the same role or personality, which carries over into their speech. I like this trait in writing characters because the reader can tell who is speaking or thinking at times without being given the individual’s name. Particular favorites for some will likely be the ARCANAN (another dimension but human) Daemon Collector RACHEL WILDER, pronounced RAH-kel. Rachel is blunt with her words and doesn’t fully get newly realized gatekeeper NOTAN (Think our Earth, but a bit different.) LEDA MORELY’s fascination with Arcanan culture. Leda works in a museum and has language skills. Rachel is teaching Leda how to be a gatekeeper, who is responsible for notifying Arcana if a deadly defective CHAOS DAEMON breaches the gate from his prison dimension. Other favorites would be BACH, a seer of sorts who can see the future of people around him as long as he is not too entangled with them. Bach is trying to put his life back together after a rough time and begins taking care of a dog, which is almost like therapy for him. NAJI is a young boy trying to protect his mother from a DJINN that only he can see. Then there is AZRAQ, a Djinn who was enslaved thousands of years ago.

WORLD-BUILDING
ALISON LEVY has created a world with many layers to explore and of which I look forward to learning more. At one point in the story, Rachel Wilde attempts to explain the reality of how the various dimensions work and the number there are. Very well done. As for the Nota dimension, you get good sensory descriptions, at times, and good emotional responses. There are supporting characters that contribute to expanding the world and explain why some of the main characters are the way they are.

THEMES
Good v Evil
Redemption
Courage and Perseverance
Revenge
Worldview Sharing – The comparison of dimensional cultures and the inclusion of cultures and religions we know into the explanation of how certain characters and elements came to be in the story are well done. The sharing of the differences in what is important in the Arcanan dimension compared to the Notan makes for quite an insightful and thought-provoking read but all in a Fantasy and a vague Science Fiction way.

DISLIKES
I think there could’ve been more physical descriptions of some of the main characters early in the story, although in a way without those descriptions, the reader can put in place what they see and later on in the story might be surprised, or not, to the reality.
The Djinni gave quick chapters dedicated to their thoughts but at first, you don’t know which is which or even that there are two different characters… at least I didn’t pick on it early. The left side is one and the right side is another. Once knowing this, it is easier to make sense of it. The creation of small pocket dimensions, such as the one where Rachel’s temporary home while a Daemon Collector is in, could be explained better.

LIKES
The main characters are excellent, likeable, and relatable. Some of the supporting characters are good, but of course you aren’t supposed to like them all.
The overall concept of the story and world are well done.
The weaving of our worldviews, beliefs, and cultures into the story as a way for Notan’s to comprehend and cope with what’s happening to them was a good idea.

CONCLUSION
Blue Flame is a good read that makes me want to read the first book and look forward to what happens in the next . It has more going on than you realize, with those goings-on being connected in ways you don’t see coming. You become invested in the futures of the characters.

RATING SYSTEM
3=Good and meets what I hope a book should be. A success.
4=Better than expected, didn’t put it down, enjoyable. Would easily recommend to others. THIS IS A GREAT RATING FROM ME.
5=Knocks me out. Would read it over and over again. RARE FROM ME.

A 3.8 of 5 STAR RATING based on…
Realistic Characters/Character Development based on genre: 4
World Building: 3.5
Believability based on genre and intent: 4
Flow/Readability/Clarity: 3.5
Overall Enjoyment: 4

About the author

Alison Levy lives in Greensboro, North Carolina with her husband, son, and a variety of pets. When she is not writing or doing mom things, she crochets, gardens, walks her collies, and works on home improvement projects.

Her books feature female characters who are strong but flawed, making them more relatable. They stay rooted in everyday life while world-building in their fictional cultures. Intolerance of differences has become widespread in recent years. Gatekeeper encourages readers to look beyond what they consider normal and see through foreign eyes, a message that I hope will appeal to many in today’s climate.

BookReview of “Columbus and Caonabó: 1493-1498 Retold” by Andrew Rowen.

DESCRIPTION of Columbus and Caonabó: 1493-1498 Retold by Andrew Rowen.

“Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold” dramatizes Columbus’s invasion of Española and the bitter resistance mounted by its Taíno peoples during the period and aftermath of Columbus’s second voyage. Based closely on primary sources, the story is told from both Taíno and European perspectives, including through the eyes of Caonabó—the conflict’s principal Taíno chieftain and leader—and Columbus.”

When you read a Historical Fiction novel you have a certain thought in mind of what to expect. Andrew Rowen gives you more than that, much more. The press release discusses the research he’s done through the years but many do the same. But I haven’t run across anyone who puts the detail of the people into their work as much as Rowen has. Given as much life to a people we know so little about but by the end know so much and gain a fuller picture of a part of the American foundational background. I’ve taken U.S., European, and Latin American studies at the University level and not been given any of the detail given here, nor even heard of the vast majority of the people given in this work.

Being a history person I of course loved the specifics pertaining to the events of the past but even more I enjoyed Rowen’s interpretation of the people involved, especially the Taíno peoples. Also the conflict between the crew of Columbus left behind and moving forward. There was no simple black and white, right and wrong to the story. I suppose overall you would say there is one, but as far as the actions of both peoples the ideas made a lot more sense than what we learn in school.

Rowen shows the use of the Europeans and Taíno forming alliances whether they be real or merely for appearances, the use of Christianity as a subjugation strategy as well as a tool by the Taíno. The Taíno religion is also a major issue in the progress of negotiations and relations. (I don’t want to say too much here.) The actions of Columbus are laid bare, warts and all. Even coming to be questioned by Isabella and Ferdinand. The presence of Spanish settlers in the islands is devastating in more ways than the disease we’ve so often read about.

Ultimately you feel what is happening as it happens. The anguish of the Taíno peoples, the settlers, and even the soldiers who didn’t sign up for what happens. This along with 42 historic and newly drawn maps and illustrations bring life to a part of history glossed over by the victors.

I’m not an anti-Columbus or anti-Western Exploration person. I like history. I am a historian. I want as many of the facts as possible. Unfortunately those who are the victors tend to suppress the ugly parts they played to achieve their victory. “Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold” provides more facts while being entertaining at the same time.

The author includes an interesting final chapter titled Agonies and Fates. We learn about just what the title says, Agonies and Fates. Plus many definitions are given for the Taíno language.

RATING

A solid 4 out of 5 Stars. A 4 because of all the great information and the life given to the historical figures. Also a 4 and not a 5 because it is a bit of a heavy read. This is not a read in one or two sittings. You will likely want to do so but take your time so you can absorb everything you’re being given.

I rate using:

Realistic Characters/Character Development based on genre,
World Building
Editing
Believability based on genre
Overall Enjoyment
Readability/Clarity
Flow

RECOMMEND?

I would read the previous book, Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 Retold, of which this book is the sequel.

504 pages with the reading portion ending with Agonies and Fates on page 417. The remaining pages are filled with great information for further understanding, including a Glossary.

Available 11/09/2021

$11.49 for Kindle.

$33.95 Hardcover at Amazon

About the author

Andrew Rowen has devoted 10 years to researching the history leading to the first encounters between Europeans and the Caribbean’s Taíno peoples, including visiting sites where Columbus and Taíno chieftains lived, met, and fought. His first novel, “Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 Retold” (released 2017), portrays the life stories of the chieftains and Columbus from youth through their encounters in 1492. Its sequel, “Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold” (to be released November 9, 2021), depicts the same protagonists’ bitter conflict during the period of Columbus’s second voyage. Andrew is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and Harvard Law School and has long been interested in the roots of religious intolerance.

https://www.amdrewrowen.com/
Facebook @andrewsrowen

#bookreview “Can You See My Scars” by Samuel Moore-Sobel

First, a sincere apology to Samuel for the delay in posting this review. But I got here 🙂

I applaud Samuel’s courage I revisiting this traumatic event and writing his story.

I was expecting “life lessons” neatly packaged from this writing, but it is not to be so. The true lesson, if there is to be one, is gleaned from how Samuel has steadfastly moved on in life bearing the scars, in a society which recoiled from his physical scars. And these scars also ran deep, and we see a man acknowledging the fears and pain he carried, and embodying gratitude.

Samuel’s inspirational story is a simple narrative of a life impacted by events beyond his control. I hesitate to say more of the event in question, other than it being a cautionary tale. This focal point of this story serves to remind the reader that the human spirit can surmount if the will is strong.

A story of trauma, healing and growth worth reading.

My rating: 3.5/5.

~ FlorenceT

@FTThum
MeaningsAndMusings

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A REVOLUTIONARY experience in entertainment!

Questions with Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw.

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About Jeff Ulin

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I give it a 4 out of 5.

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I’ll give it 5 stars out of 5.

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First I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if I don’t describe that fact justly in the following.

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DESCRIPTION of Columbus and Caonabó: 1493-1498 Retold by Andrew Rowen.

RATING

RECOMMEND?

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