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Author Marsha Barth introduces us to The Shattering II: Breaking the Silence: The Shattering II is a compelling true story (but written in novel form) of healing from childhood sexual abuse. It is a story of the power of love, the promise of hope, and the inspiration of knowing that we are not defined by our circumstances. Readers are held in suspense and will find their hearts forever touched by this inspiring story. Healing is a journey. If we can be brave enough to enter into the dark shadows of the unspeakable and pull back the shades, we not only reveal the light, but captives are set free. It is God's desire to take us from lost to found, from death to life, from victim to victor. As Barth's first book, THE SHATTERING I, this book is beautifully written. As Toni Stewart wrote on Amazon, she deftly explores the generational aspects of abuse in families and the inclination of adults in our society to turn a blind eye or -let it go. The true artistry of this story is how openly Marsha is able to explore the hearts and minds of each character making the reader truly care about each person involved, even Julie's tortured father, Ron.  This is the first book I have read that is written by Marsha Barth. I am very impressed. She has tackled a difficult subject she knows all too well from personal experience and novelized it. She has done a good job. This book is very well written. The pacing, descriptions, and characterizations are decisive without being completely overwhelming. The traumatic effects of the abuse Julie experienced are realistic and palpable. The spiritual implications of betrayal and parental abandonment are faced forthrightly and handled very sensitively. Julie’s decision to not be defined by her past and the effort she expended to achieve her goals are a testament to her strong faith and honesty. This is a really good book on many levels. I give this book 4.6 stars of 5.  You can buy this book:
https://rdrpublishers.com/the-shattering-ii-breaking-the-silence https://www.amazon.com/Shattering-II-Breaking-Silence-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34186306-the-shattering-ii https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shattering-II-Breaking-Silence-ebook You can follow Marsha: https://twitter.com/mbarthmbarth http://marshabarth.com/ https://www.facebook.com/The-Shattering-215752548593960/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marsha-marty-barth-9865a840/ https://www.pinterest.com/martybarth3/ https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=marsha+barth Childhood abuse, healing, spirituality, family relationships, dysfunctional relationships, religion, Christianity, DID, multiple personalities, inspirational Copyright © 2017 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction
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Author Larry Landgraf introduces us to the second volume in his Four Seasons set: Into Spring: The Next Generation. Twenty years after Into Autumn, Sean and Robbie leave Peaceful Valley for Corpus Christi, hoping to find women who will join their fiercely protective group back home. What they find is a fight to survive the violent dictatorship of ruthless Sandra Hawkins. Meanwhile, a new family joins the group in the Valley, except that what seems like a safe addition might bring the worst kinds of change. Into Spring continues the Four Seasons saga about building a new life in Texas after the collapse of civilization.  This is a great continuation of the story started in volume one Into Autumn. This review is spoiler free as they all are. Into Spring is a more polished book, it feels smoother than the first book. This is not to detract from the first book in the least. Larry continues keeping POV really clean, something I greatly appreciate. His character development is first rate, the people mature in a normal fashion while striving against very difficult odds. Settings and action are well balanced with dialog and narration is good. Larry’s pacing is relaxed and enjoyable. Certain parts of the book impacted me mightily, my eyes were even sweating a little bit towards the end. This book does quite well as a stand-alone novel. The reading experience will be much more rewarding if you read Into Autumn first. More good news! Larry is working on the next installment already. Into Spring gets 5 STARS!  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Into-Spring-the-Next-Generation https://www.amazon.co.uk/Into-Spring-the-Next-Generation https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34083904-into-spring You can follow Larry: https://twitter.com/riverrmann http://www.intoautumn.com https://www.facebook.com/intoautumn https://www.facebook.com/intoautumn/videos/955588274545795/ Into Spring trailer. Dystopian, prepping, survivalists, preppers, family, action Copyright © 2017 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction Author Daithi Kavanagh introduces us to The Gun: Garda Detective Tadhg Sullivan leads a special unit that investigates politically motivated crime. A man known only as The Deerstalker is a cancer who has infected the Irish political system. Sullivan teams up with journalist Helen Carty, and together they try tracking down the mysterious killer. Carty adds to Sullivan’s problems, when he finds himself falling in love with her. And further complicating things, he starts losing trust in his partner, Detective Pat Carter, who appears to be on the side of the Garda Commissioner, who Sullivan is rapidly falling out with. Sullivan’s case is further thrown into confusion when a copycat killer, Tommy Walsh, is shot dead by the CIA. When the CIA discovers that they've killed the wrong person, the two agents involved--Simon, who has become disillusioned by his time stationed in the Middle East, and Joey, a psychopath who confuses zealotry with patriotism--are also in pursuit of The Deerstalker. Sullivan finds himself in a race against time, if he is to arrest The Deerstalker before the CIA take him out, and use his death as a pawn in a political game of chess. Who will win out in the end?  This is a very entertaining and thrilling book! Daithi has a nice touch for description without overwhelming the reader with details. He has done an admirable job of keeping the POV clean, one of my pet peeves. Pacing fluctuates a little bit without doing any harm to the story; and the balance among action, dialog, and narration is commendable. The story is set in Ireland with all the touches of a local you might expect. I actually got tripped up by a couple of colloquialisms because I am the Hyper-Speller, but that won’t bother most people. An exciting story, well written. The Gun gets a score of 4.6 of 5 Stars.  You can purchase this book:
https://www.amazon.com/The-Gun-Tadhg-Sullivan-book-1-ebook https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gun-Tadhg-Sullivan-book-1-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24933168-the-gun-book-1 You can follow Daithi Kavanagh: https://twitter.com/Daithik3 https://www.facebook.com/DAITHIKAVANAGHWRITER http://bit.ly/2pwiGsH this is Pinterest http://www.tirpub.com/dkavanagh http://daithikavanagh.blogspot.com/ conspiracy, political thriller, mystery, murder, action, suspense, IRA, CIA, espionage, police, Ireland Copyright © 2017 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction Author Tegon Maus introduces us to Service Before Self: A recent transplant to Southern California, Toby Grant has landed his dream job. He’s a service tech for Handy Dandy Services—the premier handyman service in the southland. Things don’t go well for Toby on the first day when he is teamed up with Ryan Burnell, a twenty year veteran of Handy Dandy. Toby quickly learns the hardships of being Ryan’s partner, and finds himself in one uncomfortable situation after another. In an effort to understand his new partner, Toby accidentally uncovers Ryan’s past involvement with drugs, burglary, and murder. He also learns about Ryan’s last partner of five years—Delsin Honaw—who had been murdered…stabbed twenty-seven times. Haunted by one misunderstanding after another, Toby learns the true meaning of the company’s motto—“Service before Self.”  I really enjoyed this book! I love reading anything Tegon has written! He puts his characters into situations that keep going from bad to worse! His writing makes me laugh so much! The pacing and character development is so perfect! Tegon is not a word miser, but he doesn’t waste any also. Some of his descriptions of the events made my skin crawl! Much of this book is based on real events. You might be flabbergasted at several points in the story. I am very pleased to give Service Before Self the top score of 5 stars!  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Service-Before-Self-Tegon-Maus-ebook https://www.amazon.co.uk/Service-Before-Self-Tegon-Maus-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24764519-service-before-self You can follow Tegon: https://twitter.com/TegonMaus http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Maus_Tegon/index.htm https://www.facebook.com/Tegon-Maus-150255051766767/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tegon-maus-93160662 mystery, humor, suspense, thriller, DIY, memoir, gangs, action Copyright © 2017 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
May 2025
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