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book reviews |
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Multi-genre, multi-volume author Veronica R. Tabares introduces us to her latest time traveling adventure in “True Story of the Perfect 36”: When the Rossi household wakes to a world radically changed, Vanessa is the only member of her family who realizes something is wrong. The timeline has shifted—and it quickly becomes obvious that it’s up to her young daughters, Maddie and Becca, to fix it. Philip is from the future, but he’s also to blame for setting the timeline askew. Which makes Maddie and Becca view him with distrust and loathing. They will never forgive him for causing the death of their beloved father. Never! But they will work with him. It’s the only way things can be set right again. Together, the time travelers hop a freight train to 1920s Nashville to ensure the Nineteenth Amendment is passed, giving women the right to vote—and correcting history. But their hilarious journey hits some bumps along the way, and by the end of this adventure, it’s more than Philip’s ego that’s bruised.  There is far more at stake than the life of their father, but I can’t tell you because that would be a spoiler. Sorry. I can tell you that this story is a lot of fun! I love stories about time travel. My favorite subset of science fiction. The plotting is exceptional! The events and the things that happen because of choices are very well done. The author is quite good at dialogue also, the characters really stand out. The humor flows well, I laughed out loud quite a few times. Laughter is good medicine. The author’s skill at scene-setting leaves nothing to be desired in this action-packed adventure. The action is easy to follow. I award a score of 4.9 stars to “True Story of the Perfect 36”.  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/True-Story-Perfect-36-Veronica-Tabares https://www.goodreads.com/-true-story-of-the-perfect-36 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/true-story-of-the-perfect-36-veronica-rubine-tabares You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/veronicatabares http://veronicatabares.com https://www.facebook.com/VeronicaRTabares https://www.pinterest.com/tabares0420 https://plus.google.com/+VeronicaRTabares/posts Here is a link to the author’s previous book: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/time-without-by-veronica-r-tabares Tags: time travel, science fiction, adventure, humor Copyright © 2020 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction
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Multi-volume author, Elizabeth Jade introduces us to her two books, “Akea: The Power of Destiny” and “Akea: His Mother’s son”: This husky, wolf story is a new addition to the great animal fiction tradition of Jack London and Erin Hunter, where the story is told through the eyes of the animals. Elizabeth Jade has created a captivating coming of age story which also teaches children about friendship and loyalty, and that being different doesn’t mean you can’t belong. It is a captivating chapter book for 8-12-year-olds. Akea is born into a family of sled dogs and a life that follows a predictable path, but from the day she first sees the lone wolf, Kazakh, Akea knows her future lies beyond the safety of her home. Kazakh is well aware of Akea's destiny and the pack laws he will break to help her reach it. Regardless of the challenges ahead, he must make sure this young husky will be ready, even if it means his life. The heart-wrenching sequel to Akea - The Power of Destiny. Akea is no ordinary husky and taking her place as Wolf Queen was just the first step in the journey set out for her by the Great Wolf. Akea's world turns upside down when humans raid their home, scattering the pack and capturing her hybrid son. Salvador struggles to adjust to a life in captivity quickly realising not everyone approves of his mother's rise to Wolf Queen. When the Great Wolf sends him warning dreams, Salvador discovers his true purpose for being there.
These are lovely books; they each have an exciting story well suited to the preteen and young teen age group. The author has created a believable world around the idea of families or packs of wolves. We know that wolves are very intelligent and coordinate their hunting activities. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these stories. They read well and show great creativity. The personalities and pack structure are well developed, including having a mythos and something akin to a religion. I found all of it very interesting. The line drawings are quite nice and help younger readers stay involved in the story. These are wonderful chapter books for intermediate readers and above. The scene setting was quite good and the use of the environment was exceptional. I enjoyed the dialogue and the activities of daily living for the wolves. The action sequences were well planned and executed. The violence was not very explicit to preserve the sensibilities of younger readers. I award these two books, “Akea: The Power of Destiny” and “Akea: His Mother’s Son” a score of 4.9 stars each.  You can buy these books:
https://smile.amazon.com/Akea-Power-of-Destiny-Elizabeth-Jade-ebook https://smile.amazon.com/Akea-His-Mothers Son-Elizabeth-Jade-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-akea---the-power-of-destiny https://www.goodreads.com/-akea---his-mother-s-son https://www.amazon.co.uk/-akea-power-of-destiny https://www.amazon.co.uk/Akea-his-mothers-son-Elizabeth-Jade You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/AkeaWolfStories http://www.elizabethjade.org http://www.facebook.com/AkeaWolfStories http://www.instagram.com/akeawolfstories.author http://www.pinterest.com/AkeaWolfStories Tags: Children’s books, middle grade, MG, nature stories, nature fiction, wolf fiction, animal fiction, Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introductions Amazon debut author, Jan Anderegg, introduces us to her fantasy novel, “JULU”: There is a magical land just beyond our imaginations called Jirvania; where stories grow. Muse faeries gather ripened “story-pearls” and carry them to writers, musicians, and poets here in our world. In the heart of Jirvania stands The Great Library, where every story is collected by the library’s guardian, Karel. This library is a portal to other times and places where one can step into stories and experience them firsthand. Homework has never been such fun. When eleven-year-old Jack Lemoine finds an opal dragon egg in Mystic, Connecticut, he discovers the real world is not what he thought. Dragons, unicorns, faeries, centaurs, and countless others do exist. Unfortunately, so do witches, ogres, goblins, and monsters, and they want Jack dead, yesterday. It has been prophesied he will one day save Jirvania, with the help of a magical opal dragon, Julu, but evil disrupts time itself, leading to the annihilation of Jirvania, seven years before Jack comes of age. Imagination ceases to exist. Libraries, art galleries, concert halls, and theme parks vanish. Our lives become meaningless and empty. Jirvania's lone survivor, Karel receives a visitor from the stars, urging him to change the story. Meanwhile, back in Mystic, Jack and his friend, Mia are thrown into a fantastical adventure when Julu hatches and takes them back in time to protect them. Through her stories, they learn that family, friendship, and love are the threads that bind us together, no matter who or what we are and hope is often found in the most unexpected places. Can Karel change the story and save our imaginations?  I love fantasy almost as much as science fiction and this delightful story incorporates both. The author has created a fully living world that sits in an adjacent dimension to ours, and we need it so bad. Jirvania is the source of all artistic inspiration in our world and it is under the direst of threats. I was so enthralled by Jan’s writing, I was reminded of one of my favorite stories, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”. Jan’s writing is exceptional; her scene-setting is exquisite, every bit is so easy to imagine. The dialogue flows smoothly and the action leaves little to be desired. While this book is aimed at children, kids of all ages will love it, from nine to ninety. I award a score of 4.9 stars to “JULU”.  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Julu-Jan-Anderegg https://www.goodreads.com/julu https://www.barnesandnoble.com/julu-jan-anderegg You can follow the author: https://x.com/JanAnderegg https://www.julu.blog https://www.facebook.com/Janilou2018 https://www.facebook.com/JanLucy2017 I reviewed the second book in the series also, “Jirvania”: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/jirvania-book-2-in-the-julu-series Tags: sword and sorcery, magic, time travel, dragon, music, poetry, art Copyright © 2020, 2025 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction By John W. NoyesDebut author, John Noyes, introduces us to his first-in-the-series, action thriller, “Those Deep Below”: Fast moving, page-turner sci-fi thriller! Twists and turns of the story will keep you wondering what will happen next! A terrifying adventure in a world based on the Inca Empire. Rezi was a relatively unimportant member of the King's household until her unique talent for singing was discovered and she was made a personal attendant to the King. As her friendship with the King grows, rumors begin to circulate comparing her to legendary Nightingale for her ability to soothe the King's troubled heart through song. Not everyone is pleased by the comparison, especially the King's wife, Queen Qhush'qunca. The Queen is a ruthless and sadistic person who jealously guards her status as the first wife to the King. Threatened by Rezi's friendship to her husband, Qhush'qunca decides to take revenge on the girl. However, when the King unexpectedly dies, both Rezi and the Queen are buried alive with the rest of the household in the dead King's massive tomb. Trapped together underground, Qhush'qunca takes her revenge by repeatedly torturing Rezi and binding them together through an arcane ritual. Desperate to escape both the Queen's wrath and the Tomb, Rezi must turn to the other denizens trapped with her, including the misshapen priests of the Cults of the Condor and the Winged Serpent. But, can there be any trust between those below? Well-placed twists and turns to this adventure will have you practically jumping out of your seat cheering Rezi on! Spring/Summer 2019 this book will also be available as a large-print edition and also on Barnes and Noble website. If any business would like to be involved in branding this book as a movie, music or other means, please go to the Publisher's website at: https://www.storiesforpublication.com/. This is Book 1 in the series of three. Please check out https://www.storiesforpublication.com/ to see a variety of books that the Publisher recommends from fiction to nonfiction.  This is the first novel I have read about ancient Mesoamericans. The Inca’s are a fascinating people. This story rings with authenticity and the details are luscious. The burial cave for the king and his retinue is a wonderful setting and full of mystery. The author handles the lighting and lack of light quite well, he engages multiple senses. The characters all play their roles to the hilt, with a wonderful sense of desperation. I enjoyed a lot of the banter and sarcasm, the dialogue made me laugh many times. The action was quite brutal at times, the use of naturally occurring poisons was very interesting. All in all, this was a great story and a lot of fun to read. I award “Those Deep Below” a score of 4.5 stars.  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Those-Deep-Below-thriller https://www.goodreads.com/those-deep-below-the-inti-series-book-1-thriller You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/JNoyes16 johnwnoyes.com Tags: Inca, fiction, adventure, murder, historical fiction, royalty, king, queen Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction |
Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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