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book reviews |
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Debut author, Wanda Fischer, introduces us to her novel about baseball in the 70s: They were all stars in their hometowns. Then they were drafted to play minor league ball, thinking it would be an easy ride to playing in the big time. Little did they know that they'd be vying for a spot with every other talented kid who aspired to play professional baseball. Young, inexperienced, immature, and without the support of their families and friends, they're often faced with split-second decisions. Not always on the baseball diamond.  I played Little League when I was in middle school. My position was right field, where I could do the least amount of damage. Truthfully, I had no real skills in baseball, but I loved the game, nonetheless. I collected baseball cards, now I wish I had not used them to make noise when I rode my bike. I did love that sound at the time. I enjoyed this book more than I expected. Just to have an inside look at what happens between being the top player in school (only in my dreams) and going into the minor leagues was a thrill for me. This book is so well written, it moves along at a nice pace with lots of dialogue and detail to keep it interesting and every page worth reading. Wanda captures the thought processes of young men quite well, whether they have dreams they aspire to or a desire for another beer. The 1970s were a tumultuous time in America also and the small-town point of view is not ignored in this book. The characters really come alive in this story, with excellent scene setting the action keeps the story moving along so well. I award “Empty Seats” a score of 4.9 stars!  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Empty-Seats-Wanda-Adams-Fischer https://www.goodreads.com/-empty-seats https://www.barnesandnoble.com/empty-seats-wanda-adams-fischer You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/EmptySeatsNovel http://wandafischer.com https://www.facebook.com/EmptySeatsNovel Tags: sports, fiction, family, Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction
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Debut author, J. D. Simmons introduces us to her memoir, “Lately Lesbian”: Good Southern girls follow the rules and walk down predictable paths. Jenna predictably married Paul and believed in happily ever after. Although Jenna played by all the rules, she had no idea the tragic turns that her life would take--the tragic death of her first baby, and the unexpected loss of a second baby. There would be more heartbreak. Would Jenna ever be blessed with a child that she wanted with all her heart? Would Paul step up and become the husband and partner she only dared to dream of? Jenna needed the support of her husband, his sympathetic shoulder to cry on, and strong arms to hold her, but he cast an absentee ballot most of the time. Then out of the blue, Jenna crossed paths with a young woman and her life changed in ways that she never could have imagined. For too many years, Jenna drifted through life searching for answers to understand her undeniable attraction to this woman and uncover her true authentic self. Denial reigned supreme until one phone call changed everything.  This memoir is quite a story. It is well written and populated with real people. Penned in first person point of view, as befitting a memoir, it chronicles the struggle the author endured to find a person who would love and cherish her for who she is. This is one of the deepest needs of the human spirit, it is something we all want and we suffer damage when we don’t get it. The author does a marvelous job of setting the scene for the events in the story. The dialogue rings with authenticity. She includes enough action to keep the story moving forward. It never really bogged down for me, like memoirs can at times. The inner narration wasn’t harsh, but it was gritty at times and very honest. I award 4.8 stars to “Lately Lesbian”.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Lately-Lesbian-J-D-Simmons-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-lately-lesbian https://bookbaby.com/Lately-Lesbian https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/lately-lesbian You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/JDSimmons8 https://www.facebook.com/jdsimmonsofficial https://instagram.com/jdsimmons61 Tags: LGBTQ, gay, biography Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction Multi-volume, children’s author, Cameron Kincaid, introduces us to book 1 of the Animalobs series, "Windowpottamus": A series of charming and illustrated tales following the adventures of a variety of characters.  I love this book! With its colorful illustrations and simple, rhyming text, it’s a real pleasure to read to a child. I read this to my two, younger granddaughters, 4 ½ and 6 ½ and they both loved the story and the illustrations. I give this book 5 stars! It is delightful. The author has several other books in the series and they appear to be just as wonderful.  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Windowpottamus-Animalobs-Book-1-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-the-windowpottamus You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/Animalobs https://www.cameronkincaid.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/Animalobs https://www.instagram.com/the_animalobs Tags: children’s book and literature Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction Multi-volume author, April E. Faulkner introduces us to her first novel in the Nature’s Fury series, “Darkness Falls”: As Nature tires of human destruction, two sisters must face a changing environment that stands between them and survival. When Quinn and Riley set out on a family vacation with their parents, the trip ends before it begins. Mother Nature interferes with their plans, setting off a sequence of events that thrusts the teens into a hostile landscape. Stranded, with limited supplies, struggling to figure out who they can trust along the way, they must determine how to survive Nature’s evolving fury.  This is a really good story. The author really knows how to spin a tale. Writing in First Person point of view is something I really like. As long as the author avoids head-hopping, I hate head-hopping, everything gets so confused. This author does a very good job of maintaining the POV, nice and clean. Faulkner also balances the story so well with action and dialogue. The dialogue is so funny at times, I found myself laughing quite a bit. The characters are very believable, all of the major players are developed very well, they are real individuals, not cardboard cutouts. The scene-setting and action help the story to move along at a good pace, the flow is smooth and varies from scene to scene. Just like it should. “Darkness Falls” is quite well written and gets a score of 4.9 stars.  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Darkness-Falls-Natures-Fury-Book-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-darkness-falls https://www.barnesandnoble.com/darkness-falls-a-e-faulkner You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/AuthAEFaulkner http://authoraefaulkner.com https://www.facebook.com/authaefaulkner https://www.instagram.com/authoraefaulkner I have also reviewed the third book in the series: www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/devastation-erupts-natures-fury-book-3 Tags: Dystopian, fiction, coming of age, science fiction, YA, climate, catastrophe, family, relationship 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
August 2024
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