Book Review: Crossing the Farak River

Crossing the Farak River

by Michelle Aung Thin

Annick Press Ltd.

Annick Press

Children's Fiction

Pub Date 07 Apr 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Crossing the Farak River through Annick Press and Netgalley:



For Hasina and her little brother Araf, the constant threat of the Sit Tat, the Myanmar Army, it had in fact become a way of life in the Rakhine province.  Just the mention of the Sit Tat sends chills down their spines.  They know that the only thing to do when the sound of the helicopters, they run and not stop.  When soldiers invade their village one night, and Hasina awakes to her aunt's fearful voice, followed by smoke, and then a scream, they do as they always do and run.

Hasina races deep into the Rakhine to hide with her cousin and Araf, when they emerge days later it is to a smoldering village, their house is still standing but their family is gone.  Where could they be, have the soldiers taken them?

I found Crossing the Farak River five out of five stars, this would be a good teaching tool for middle grade to junior high school students, teaching of culture, and the effects of war!  

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Cold But Not Forgotten

Cold But Not Forgotten

by RJ Waters

The Wild Rose Press, Inc

Humor , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 15 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Cold But Not Forgotten through The Wild Rose Press, Inc and Netgalley:

Lieutenant Carson is a detective in rural Nevada. He finds a woman’s lifeless body while at the shooting range with his team. The woman is covered in blood despite no evidence of gun shot wounds.

As Carson digs into the case, he encounters a web of suspects. The woman’s husband a dentist is having an affair with his office manager, who has been embezzling from him. She has a Marathon partner who is jealous of her trophies and a doctor who has been prescribing her arsenic to scare her into eating better. Kindly Mrs. Howell, a widowed neighbor of the victim's, had access to her computer and detested the husband.

Everyone said she was the nicest lady in town, so who wanted her dead? 

I give Cold But Not Forgotten Five out of five stars!  

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Secret Sister

The Secret Sister

by K A Clarke; A J Brittany

HQ Digital

General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 10 Jan 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Secret Sister through HQ Digital and Netgalley:

Ella Matthews seemingly has everything. She has a loving husband, a beautiful house, a daughter she adores.  Her life has turned out just as she planned, or has it?

After her Mother unexpectedly dies, Ellen’s perfect life starts to crack.  She learns she had an older sister, named Colleen.

Ellen is excited about the prospect of no longer being an only child and starts out to search for Colleen.

But Colleen has a whirlwind past of her own.  She is so desperate to escape her past she will go to any length to do so.  

Just as their paths start to collide it is realized someone is keeping secrets...After Colleen disappears without notice Ellen cannot hell but wonder if she should have started looking for Colleen.

I give The Secret Sister five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: And There Was Light

And There Was Light

The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II

by Jacques Lusseyran

New World Library

Biographies & Memoirs

Pub Date 18 Mar 2014

I am reviewing a copy of And There Was Light through New World Library and Netgalley:

Jacques Lusseyran was an unlikely hero of the the French Resistance during World War 2.  Blinded at the age of eight by a freak accident.  After completing his schooling he was determined to take part in the world around him.  When he was seventeen in 1941 that world was Nazi occupied France.

Lusseyran managed to form a resistance group of fifty two boys. He used his heightened senses to recruit the best.  He would later be sent to Buchenwald Concentration camp in a transport of over 2000 Resistance fighters he was one of only thirty to survive that transport.

This gripping story is one of the most gripping stories of how one man can truly make a difference, a man who just happened to be blind.

I give And There Was Light five out of five stars!

 Happy Reading!

Book Review: In the Shadow of Vesuvius

In the Shadow of Vesuvius

A Lady Emily Mystery

by Tasha Alexander

 St. Martin's Press 

Minotaur Books

 Historical Fiction  ,  Mystery & Thrillers 

Pub Date 07 Jan 2020

I am reviewing a copy of In the Shadow of Vesuvius through St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and Netgalley:

Some bodies remained undisturbed a lot longer than others.  When Lady Emily uncovers a body in plain sight among the ruins of Pompeii.  In doing so Lady Emily sets a deadly chain of events in motion a deadly chain of events that ties her to a woman who told her story two thousand years ago.


Emily as well as her husband Colin Hargreaves have accompanied Emily’s friend Ivy Brandon on a trip to Pompeii when they discover a corpse and the police dismiss the murder as the work of local gangsters, Emily launches an investigation of her own. She seems to be aided by the archaeologists excavating the ruins, including a moody painter, the enigmatic site director, and a free-thinking American capable of sparring with even the Duke of Bainbridge. But each of them has secrets hiding among the ruins.


The sudden appearance of a beautiful young woman who claims a shocking relationship to the Hargreaves throws the investigation off track, having her have to face the truth about her husband’s past.  It begins to come clear though that someone other than Collin wants her off the case permanently and will stop at nothing to make sure she cannot investigate. Emily resolves to solve the mystery though, but at what cost?


I give In the Shadows of Vesuvius five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: Mother’s Day Mayhem

Mother's Day Mayhem

by Lynn Cahoon

Kensington Books

Lyrical Press

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 02 Apr 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Mother’s Day Mayhem through Kensington Books and Netgalley:

Jill Gardner, is the owner of Coffee, Books and More.  And they are almost out of Mother’s Day Cards. She only has a few in stall, but she has put them aside so Jeff can help her pick out a card for his Mother. She will be meeting Jeff’s Mother for the first time, and she is rightfully nervous.

Jill isn’t the only one concerned about Mothers. Kyle who works at the antique shop next to Jill’s Book and Coffee shop. He needs to find the perfect card for his Mother he has not seen since he was five when she went to jail. Her arrival isn’t exactly celebratory, and the way she acts towards her son is strained.

I give Mother’s Day Mayhem five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: She Laughs

She Laughs

Choosing Faith over Fear

by Carolanne Miljavac

Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Shiloh Run Press

Christian , Religion & Spirituality

Pub Date 01 Jan 2020

I am reviewing a copy of She Laughs Choosing Faith Over Fear through Barbour Publishing and Netgalley:

She laughs in the face of poverty, brokenness, grief, despair Disaster. Hopeless Situations. Life’s Struggles.  And this book reminds us that we can laugh in the face of these things too! 


In this book Carolanne Milijavac is on a journey of joy.  


Carolanne believes with all her heart laughter is a gift, that it can provide a little bit of distraction from whatever it is you might be facing.  It offers relief from the pain you might be suffering.


Despite having a life dotted with disaster, she found strength and the courage to go on in laughter.  She found the courage to persevere and joy for the journey.  In this book Carolanne will help you see how laughter can help you through your own painful circumstances.


I give She Laughs Choosing Faith Over Fear five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!