Book Review: So, Stranger

 

So, Stranger

by Topaz Winters

Pub Date 17 May 2022 

 Button Poetry,  Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Multicultural Interest  |  Poetry 

I am reviewing a copy of So, Stranger through Button Publishers, Independent Book Publishers Association and Netgalley:

So, Stranger is Topaz Winters third collection of poetry, it spans three countries and three generations.  It is a far-reaching & deftly-woven series of ars poeticas, Winters questions the boundary between the things we inherit & those we owe, stands at the grave of the American dream, & unspools the enormous grace & guilt of being loved.

Topaz Winters So, Stranger stands a mark between the shifting histories & futures of being a daughter, being an artist, & being an immigrant.  The reader begins as a stranger but by the end of the book, feels like a friend.  

I give So, Stranger five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Listening Well

 

Listening Well

Bringing Stories of Hope to Life

by Heather Morris

Pub Date 02 Aug 2022

 St. Martin's Press 

 Biographies & Memoirs 

I am reviewing a copy of Listening Well through St Martin’s Press and Netgalley:

Listening Well explores Heather Morris’s extraordinary talents as a listener.   A skill she used when she first met Lale Sokolov, the tattooist at Auschwitz-Birkenau and the inspiration for her bestselling novel..  Heathers ability as a listener led Lale to entrust Heather with his story, which she told in her novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz and the bestselling follow up, Cilka's Journey.

In Listening Well Heather tells the story behind her inspirational writing journey and the defining experiences of her life, including her profound friendship with Lale, and explores how she learned to really listen to the stories people told her.  A skill she believes we can all learn.

I give Listening Well five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Breakdown

 

The Breakdown

by Arianne Richmonde

Pub Date 11 Apr 2022

 Bookouture 

 General Fiction (Adult)  |  Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of The Breakdown through Bookoture and Netgalley:

One day her life was perfect, the next day I that perfect life was gone.

She stood at the edge of the cliff face, looking at the roaring ocean below her feet.  She feels no danger because her husband and his sister talk just feet away, watching her every move.

Behind her husband and his sister sits the place they refer to as the Summer house.  They say it’s her favorite place in the word,unfortunately she can’t remember.  Since the car accident she’s struggled with her memory, even struggling to remember the birth of her daughter, Violet, just days after the crash, nor can she remember how perfect her marriage is?  (Or is it?)

As she stares at the huge expanse of blue before her, a flashback of the crash comes to her, a detail so small it might seem insignificant to some, but to her it’s everything.   Why is the memory so different than what everyone is telling her?  She can feel the beads of sweat forming on her neck, if this memory is true, her life as well as the lives of her children may be in danger.  What really happened the day of the accident?  Is there anyone left she can trust…

This would be the perfect reads for fans of Gone Girl, The Wife Between Us and Here to Stay.

I give The Breakdown five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Ask for Andrea

 

Ask for Andrea

by Noelle W. Ihli

Pub Date 15 Apr 2022 

 Dynamite Books 

 General Fiction (Adult)  |  Horror  |  Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of Ask for Andrea through Dynamite Books and Netgalley:

James Carson got away with murder three times…

The only thing that may stop him from murdering again is the three women he has killed.

He had hunted them online, acting as if he was a bachelor.  He would play the perfect gentleman using a thick layer of charm, and a thousand watt smile, hiding a harsh reality, his first dates end up in shallow graves.

But James doesn’t know his three victims have found each other. And that they're coming for him.

I give Ask for Andrea four out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Brecia, Meghan, and Skye might be dead, but they’re not gone. And they won’t rest until they find a way to keep him from killing again.

The haunt is on.

Book Review: Be a Bridge

 

Be a Bridge

by Irene Latham; Charles Waters

Pub Date 02 Aug 2022 | Archive Date 31 Jul 2022

 Lerner Publishing Group,  Carolrhoda Books ®

 Children's Fiction  |  Multicultural Interest  |  Poetry 

I am reviewing a copy of Be a Bridge through Lerner Publishing Group, Carolrhoda Books and Netgalley:

Be A Bridge is an upbeat picture book by acclaimed authors Irene Latham and Charles Waters.  Be a Bridge brings the themes from their earlier collaborations (Can I Touch Your Hair? and Dictionary for a Better World) to a young audience. Rhyming verse describes different ways in which readers can "be a bridge," from welcoming a new student and listening respectfully when someone else is talking to standing up to a bully and comforting a classmate who is upset.

Nabila Adani' uses cheerful illustrations to depict a diverse group of students, including young versions of Charles and Irene. 

I give  Be a Bridge five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Something Beautiful Happened

 

Something Beautiful Happened

A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil

by Yvette Manessis Corporon

Pub Date 12 Sep 2017 

 Howard Books 

 Biographies & Memoirs 

I am reviewing a copy of Something Beautiful Happened through Howard Books:

Yvette Manessis Corporon grew up listening to her grandmother tell stories of how the people the small Greek island Erikousa hid a Jewish family—a tailor named Savvas and his daughters—from the Nazis during World War II.   Close to 2000 Jews in the area died in concentration camps.

Yvette wasn’t able to get the story of the Jewish tailor out of her head. She decided to track down the man’s descendants—and eventually found them in Israel.   Their tearful reunion was proof to her that evil doesn’t always win. But just days after she made the connection, her cousin’s child was gunned down in a parking lot in Kansas, a victim of a Neo-Nazi out to inflict as much harm as he could.   Despite having the best of hopes she was forced to confront the fact that seventy years after the Nazis were defeated, remainders of their hateful legacy still linger today.

As Yvette and her family with the tragedy in their own lives, the lessons she learned from the survivors of the Holocaust helped her confront and make sense of the present. 

I give Something Beautiful Happened five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

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Book Review: Burial Grounds

 

BURIAL GROUNDS

by Bill Kitson

Pub Date 14 Apr 2022 

 Joffe Books 

 Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of Burial Grounds through Joffre Books and Netgalley:

Detective Mike Nash thought that moving back to Yorkshire from London would give him a quieter life.  Little did he know how wrong he was.

A young woman killed in a hit and run.  There’s a naked body in the cemetery and a local woman reported missing.

While a young Mother to be is out on an evening jog she’s callously struck down in a hit-and-run.

 

Detective Mike Nash is called out to the the local cemetery. A naked body has been found three weeks later.   a body which definitely shouldn’t be there placed face down on a grave.

The post-mortem reveals that the victim was restrained with manacles, and then drowned, his body kept upside-down in water for several days after death.

It is soon learned that the dead man was Andrew Derrick, who worked for a local IT company. Quiet, well-mannered, he kept himself to himself. The motive for his murder is a mystery.

A second body turns up in the cemetery killed in the same macabre way. And another employee from the company is reported missing.

What connects them? DI Nash pieces the clues together .  He finds himself on the trail of a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to ensure the truth remains hidden.

I give Burial Grounds five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Listen Mama

 

Listen Mama

by M.S.P. Williams

Pub Date 01 Jan 2021 

 Souls Take Flight,  Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  New Adult  |  Teens & YA 

I am reviewing a copy of Listen Mama through Souls Take Flight, Independent Book Publishers Association and Netgalley:

Told through a series of heart-breaking and poignant letters, come explore the 20-year journey of a child longing for the love of his mentally ill mother while facing seemingly insurmountable odds.

In Listen Mama we witness Manny's transformation in this coming of age story of a forgotten and disfigured child, born into spirit-crushing poverty in Houston, Texas, and thrust into adulthood all too soon.   Crying out to the world for understanding and forgiveness, Manny battles the silent and treacherous enemy of mental illness in his mother's often erratic and sometimes terrifying behavior as he ultimately becomes her caretaker and guardian while also parenting his four younger siblings. 

If you’re looking for a story of loss, faith, love, and redemption that is guaranteed to bring forth both tears and laughter, heartache and happiness, as it captures your imagination, ignites your soul, and soon has you resisting to pause, breathlessly waiting to discover what happens next, then I highly recommend Listen Mama.

I give Listen Mama five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Trusting God in All the Things

 

Trusting God in All the Things

90 Devotions for Finding Peace in Your Every Day

by Karen Ehman; Ruth Schwenk

Pub Date 05 Apr 2022 

 Bethany House,  Bethany House Publishers

I am reviewing a copy of Trusting God in All the Things through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

Life can be a lot.  Relationships are often hard, we have responsibilities piled on us.  And it seems like all the things are distracting you from the very best things of all. There's little time left for yourself--or for connecting with Jesus. 

It’s no wonder we are often left feeling anxious in our minds as well as hurried in our hearts.  We desperately long for a calm amidst our clamoring duties, stacked schedule, and life's unexpected circumstances. But where do you begin? 

More than anything else our hearts need a refreshing encounter with God everyday.  Trusting God in All the Things offers women like you a way forward so you can experience the confident calm you crave.

These 90 encouraging devotions will help you face life with God's peace and renewed strength.

I give Trusting God  in All the Things five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: How We Ricochet

 

How We Ricochet

by Faith Gardner

Pub Date 24 May 2022 

 HarperCollins Children's Books,  HarperTeen

 Children's Fiction  |  Teens & YA

I am reviewing a copy of How We Ricochet through HarperCollins Children’s Book and Netgalley:

Sometimes it seems that there is a charade we continue to celebrate even in the face of tragedy.  But how dare we do that?  And what else are we supposed to be do?

Betty’s mom needed new pants for her job.

That was why Betty was at the mall with her mom and sister when the shooting started.

Afterward, nothing is the same.

But there are no easy answers to be found, and Betty’s search for them leads her to Michael, the brother of the shooter. But this path only shows Betty one thing: that everything she thought she knew about herself, about the world around her can change in a heartbeat.

I give How We Ricochet five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Secret of Heaven

 

The Secret of Heaven

An explosive mystery regarding the divinity of Christ vs the humanity of Jesus. (Aiden Leonardo Book 1)

Pub Date 02 Apr 2016 

 BooksGoSocial 

 Historical Fiction  |  Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of The Secret if Heaven through BooksGoSocial and Netgalley:

After investment banker Lazzaro de Medici is found dead, Professor of Biblical Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago Aiden Leonardo is the prime suspect. In possession of an encrypted letter given to him by Lazzaro, Aiden utilizes his extensive knowledge of Scripture to piece together clues that lead to a Lost Bible dating back to the time of Christ.

Hidden in the text an ancient truth about the most controversial message Jesus left to His disciples. But as Aiden embarks on his quest to unravel the mystery of redemption and faith, a secret organization known only as The Group is out to hunt him down to destroy the Lost Bible and tie up loose ends.

Aiden gets the help of his fiancé Dr. Miriam Levin—a cultural anthropologist and a professor of historical archaeology in her own right, their friend Nagi, a philologist, religious historian and an eccentric cryptographer, Aiden soon realizes the Lost Bible was written by a disciple who walked with Jesus and had his gospel omitted from Scripture.

Things only become further complicated after a mysterious stranger warns Aiden that possessing the secret of heaven could cost him his life. Pursued by the F.B.I. for the ancient Black market relic and the Chicago PD in connection to the murder of Lazzaro de Medici, Aiden races against the clock to prove his innocence and fulfill his mentor’s dying wish.

I give The Secret of Heaven five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!