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book reviews |
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Debut children’s author, Ashley Davidson-Fisher introduces us to her children’s book, La Petite Josette En Provence: La Petite Josette loves adventures and history and she is super excited for her trip to one of the most beautiful villages in Provence, France. What will she find? A castle, knights, perhaps a "treasure" to take home? There's so much to do before the trip, but with the help of her big sister, they'll be on their way in no time. Come join La Petite Josette, her sister Anne-Laure, and their parents while they have a picnic lunch of delicious, French food, go inside a medieval toy store, and explore the village. Are you ready? Vous êtes prêts? · Parents and grandparents of young children will find the sweetness and gentleness of the illustrations (beautifully hand-drawn and water colored by the author's daughter), and the simple story line, will help to introduce their little ones to the French language. · The short words and phrases in French will engage young readers, ages 6-11, and help to pique their interest in learning a new language or reinforce a language they already have some knowledge in. · Children will also be introduced to one of the most beautiful and historical places in France. · One does not have to know French in order to read it as the book is written mostly in English with French phrases throughout. · French speakers looking to improve their English skills would also enjoy the book.  This is a very cute book. I love the story and everything about it. The author’s daughter did the illustrations and I love them. Mixing in a little bit of French with the English writing comes off quite well. Teaching children a second language when they are young is a very good idea. Their brains are very malleable and it’s relatively easy for children at a young age to learn extra languages. If that interests you as a parent, this is a good place to start. The story flows well, the scene-setting is nice. The family dynamic is pleasant. Dialogue is lovely. You will find this this story fun and lighthearted. I award a score of 4.9 stars!  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Petite-Josette-Provence-Childrens-Bilingual-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/book/-la-petite-josette-en-provence https://www.barnesandnoble.com/la-petite-josette-en-provence-ashley-davidson-fisher You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/backyardprovenc https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleydavidsonfisher https://lapetitejosette.com http://readingwithyourkids.com/rwyk-presents-a-bilingual-childrens-book-la-petite-josette-en-provence https://www.instagram.com/backyardprovence Here is a podcast: https://creativewritingmagic.com/podcast-ep-008 Tags: Family vacation, France, historical sites, picnic, toys Copyright © 2019 by Mark Schultz except for the author’s introduction
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Multi-volume author, Paullette Golden introduces us to her first volume in the historical romance fiction series, The Enchantresses, The Earl And The Enchantress: Not all scars can be healed with a kiss. Sebastian Lancaster, Earl of Roddam, harbors a family secret so dark he has forsaken marriage to hide the past. When fate introduces him to Lizbeth, he believes he has met his perfect match—a woman with whom he can share passion without commitment. Lizbeth Trethow risks everything to follow her heart until Sebastian’s past returns to haunt them. Desperate to hide the blood on his hands, he sabotages their happiness. Everything depends on Lizbeth unraveling the truth and turning this villain into a hero. This is the love story of Lizbeth and Sebastian as they battle metaphoric ghosts born of murder and enlightenment to be together  What a wonderful story! I have read a number of historical fiction romance stories and this is the best one so far! Paulette does such a masterful job of weaving so many historical details into her story, it makes me think she has a time machine in her basement. She must have lived in the milieu for some time, because her knowledge of the age is encyclopedic. With so much attention to detail, without being burdensome, her scene setting is impeccable! I feel like I was at the table with all the nobility. Her dialogue is witty and authentic. It all rings so true and natural. I laughed out loud quite a few times. The action is quite good also, even the steamy parts. I award The Earl And The Enchantress a score of 4.9 stars!  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Earl-Enchantress-Novel-Book-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-the-earl-and-the-enchantress https://www.barnesandnoble.com/the-earl-and-the-enchantress-paullett-golden You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/PaullettGolden https://www.paullettgolden.com https://www.facebook.com/Paullettgolden https://www.instagram.com/paullettgolden Tags: Regency romance, England, nobility, landed gentry, royalty Copyright © 2019 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction Independent author, Carlos Tkacz, introduces us to his debut sci-fi novel, The Void Within: The 25th century. Humanity has discovered a new form of energy, the Source, derived from the very basis of life itself. Using this power to travel instantaneously through space, humans have spread through their corner of the galaxy and coalesced into two groups: the Coalition and the Inner Cluster. They are held in an uneasy economic and cultural relationship by their reliance on each other, the Coalition with the technology of the Source and the Inner Cluster with the materials to make it a usable form of energy. When rumors of conquest, political undergrounds, and alien contact threaten this balance of powers, it falls to three individuals to find the truth of the conspiracies swirling through their governments and to stave off a disastrous war. What they find in the process will change the course of humanity forever.  What an elegant meal, Carlos serves up in this story. This galaxy-spanning saga delivers a very satisfying six-course meal. There is military action, multiple planets of diverse kind, a touch of romance between enemies, and a hard look at the nature of mankind. I have always promised no spoilers, and this will be no exception; but it will be quite difficult to keep that promise. I don’t think I have ever picked inner dialogue as my favorite aspect of a book. This time, yes. I loved the action and the scene-setting was marvelous, not too much, just the right amount. I enjoyed the dialogue also, the characters stayed true to form. The ending was fabulous! It caught me by surprise. It has been several decades since reading Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, I was reminded of that epic story while reading this tale. I award The Void Within 4.9 stars!  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/-the-void-within https://www.goodreads.com/book/-the-void-within https://www.amazon.co.uk/Void-Within-Cluster-Saga-Book-ebook You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/IWriteSciFi https://www.facebook.com/carlosrtkacz https://www.instagram.com/boulderbushido https://carloswritesscifi.blogspot.com Tags: space opera, military science fiction, metaphysical science fiction, FTL, faster than light, transhumanism Copyright © 2019 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction Debut author, Sahreth Bowden introduces us to his first novel, Visitor’s Blood: When an alien craft lands on planet Earth, Maj. John and Dr. Connie Shinn are eager to learn about its all-too-human passengers. However, when the peaceful aliens are forced into further compliance, the Earthlings are thrown into an unimaginable battle against one of the passengers...a vampire. Unwittingly, the couple find themselves aboard the spaceship with its captain, Malook, and his vampiric companion, Sulru, as they head for Galdelier where they find the beautiful foreign world on the brink of civil war between the ruling humans and the malcontent vampires, strained under decades of subjugation. But amidst struggle, the lines between friend and foe can be easily turned askew. When you begin to question everything you once thought was noble or evil, where will you find your loyalties lie?  I really enjoyed this book! Sci-fi is my favorite genre and this hits my favorites in many ways! You have UFOs landing on earth, human-like occupants, a family, and – a vampire?! What are vampires doing in space? This book answers that question and many more you may not have thought of. This book is written in first person POV, alternating with each chapter. I happen to enjoy the intimacy of that format a great deal. There is no head hopping, something I quite detest. Sahreth’s world building is quite good, he delivers just enough for everything to make sense. I like how he incorporates so many different aspects right down to architecture and food. One thing that comes to mind for more interest, personally, is religion. What kind of religion would the vampires have, as well as the ruling class of humans? I enjoyed the dialogue, inner and outer, throughout. The action was good also. I give “Visitor’s Blood” a score of 4.3.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/-visitors-blood https://www.amazon.co.uk/Visitors-Blood-Book-One https://www.goodreads.com/book/-visitor-s-blood You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/Baphy1428 http://baphy1428.com https://www.facebook.com/VisitorsBloodOfficial https://www.facebook.com/Baphy1428 https://www.instagram.com/baphy1428 Tags: dystopian fiction, abduction, aliens, first contact, invasion, slavery, rebellion Copyright © 2019 Mark 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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