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book reviews |
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Debut author, Shirley Hoisington introduces us to her book, “Beyond Despair”, a novel about romance, love and loss: Twins, sisters in love with the same man! Who will find true love in this tale of twists, turns and surprises? Jealousy... Sacrifice... Betrayal... This one has it all! Can Miranda find herself? Does Miranda choose the man of her dreams or her twin sister? Will anything be made right again…beyond despair?  This is a fun, exciting and touching story. Miranda makes important choices that put the needs of others before her own and sometimes suffers a great deal from the consequences of those choices. This story is well written and very enjoyable to read. I was able to relate to all the major characters quite significantly. That is a sign of good writing. Another sign of good writing is that the book is easy to read. Easy reading is the result of hard writing. The scene setting is excellent throughout the book, as a native Oregonian it was fun to see so many places I knew in the story. A jet boat ride on a wild river is an unforgettable experience! The dialogue was a standout for me also, very natural and suitable for the different occasions. I laughed out loud many times. The development of the characters was well done also. They seemed alive and lively to me. I award 4.6 stars to “Beyond Despair”.  You can buy this book:
https://amazon.com/Beyond-Despair-by-Shirley-Hoisington https://www.goodreads.com/-beyond-despair https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Despair-Shirley-Hoisington You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/ShirleyHoising2 https://shirleyhoisington.com Romance, adventure, suspense, Oregon Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction.
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Debut author, Morgan R. R. Haze introduces us to the first in a series of science fiction novels, “Alpha Dawn”: In the far future humanity is in a paradox. The discovery of a dynamic ore has allowed humans to prevent their own extinction by saving their dying world. However, Terra Prime is ultimately consigned to oblivion in an unforeseen cataclysm. A cataclysm which has created the Void. Rather than be curious or fearful of unexplored space, most humans simply perceive the Void at the center of the known universe as the single greatest mystery of the cosmos. While the human race is preserved, living on colonized planets in outer space, mankind has lost the sense of who they really are. Thus, their understanding of true history is deluded. Facts are viewed as myths and myths as historical events. In such strange circumstances, there are those who seek to belong somewhere more meaningful, opposed to the numerous ideologically flawed organizations, governments, and planets spread across the known universe. Prepare to go on a journey with Captain Singer and many others as their fates intertwine in various, sometimes unexpected ways. Will they prevent their past from catching up to them, while searching for a better place in this dystopian universe? Or will their past and future collide in unimaginable events?  I see this first volume as a wonderful introduction to a wide and far-ranging story about the human experience. I love the use of first-person POV. Each chapter has a different POV or location and the chapters are quite short, avoiding the dreaded head hopping that occurs in so many other stories like this. That makes for a fast-moving story and flows quite well. There are a number of characters and we meet quite a few of them, but it’s pretty easy to keep track most of the time because the chapters are not very long. I appreciate that aspect. Some of the characters are fully human and some are altered genetically or otherwise, that contributes a lot to the story. There is a lot of action and dialogue that drives the story nicely. The scene setting is okay, it could be a little bit longer, but it is adequate and I am sure it’s hard to find the right balance. I award 4.5 stars to "Alpha Dawn: Book one of the Teragene Chronicles".  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Dawn-Book-Teragene-Chronicles-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-alpha-dawn https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alpha-Dawn-Book-Teragene-Chronicles You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/Morgan_R_R_Haze https://www.instagram.com/morganrrhaze https://www.facebook.com/Morgan-RR-Haze Here is the review of the next volume in the series, "Alpha Convergence": www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/alpha-convergence-book-two-of-the-teragene-chronicles-by-morgan-r-r-haze Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction Debut author, Rose S. White, introduces us to her first book, “You: The World of Thoughts Matters”: A message from one man could change her life forever… Mei finds more solace in the world of imagination than she does in the real world. Stuck in a relationship that isn’t going anywhere, she longs for something more. When she receives a message from a man online, she begins talking to him and soon discovers exactly what she has been missing. Soon her whole world is transformed as is Mei. A story of loneliness, love and hope.  This such a cute book, it’s quite remarkable also. It’s well out of my normal reading range, but I was instantly attracted to the cover. All of those colors appearing where her head was. It made me very curious. I invented several ideas to explain the cover and decided I had to read it. The blurb does a good job of hinting at the story without giving anything away. I shall not spoil it for you either. Like the cover, this story is full of color and surprises. We are privy to all of Mei’s thoughts about everything in her life. Sometimes her thoughts are connected to her activity at the moment and other times they are elsewhere. Her thought life is quite rich. As a young, professional woman, Mei is drifting through life. She has ambition, she wants to move up the ladder, but she doesn’t have a solid anchor. So many of us don’t. She is living her life to meet general expectations that others have placed on her. Then something happens to shake her world. I award 4 stars to “You: The World of Thoughts Matters”.  You can buy this book:
https://amazon.com/You-Thoughts-Rose-S-White-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-you-world-of-thoughts-matters https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-World-of-Thoughts-Rose-S-White You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/RoseSWhite8 https://amazon.com/Rose-S-White Fantasy, romance Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction. Debut author, Bryan Genesse introduces us to his first book: “VampireS (€) X”: I Am Demon. And God. The Last Of My Kind. Read My Story At Your Own Peril... a memoir of secrets revealed. Relentless, painfully honest, thrillingly intimate and a true account of anguish and immortality told by an author in hiding who after 1000 years might still walk amongst us. A stunning tale unlike any other in the genre, for the author, promises to dispel every lie, myth and fable told in all the made-up stories ever written about vampires. Spanning across continents and centuries from New York City to Italy to North Africa and deep into jungles of the Mayan Coast, the author weaves a relentless tale of infinite love, relentless wars and dancing with madness while divulging the realities of being an immortal...whose gender and sexual appetites are the biggest enigmas of all. A tsunami of revelations leads to the unimaginable: how anyone, whether mortal or immortal, can still turn a human into a vampire. If you do not believe this journal is Nonfiction as soon as you start reading you will. If you do not read this memoir in one sitting; if instead, you decide to go to sleep—Do Not Turn Off The Lights. Believe me! The author does not require an invitation to enter your home that is a myth! This is...the Truth.  This is an interesting take on the common vampire theme. Written as a supernatural memoir, it has quite a few surprising twists. I loved it. I really want to talk about some of the twists and revelations that are slowly revealed in the story. But I am committed to not revealing any spoilers. The feelings of the vampire while recording thoughts are very evident and at times elicit a great deal of sympathy, this is a big part of the author’s genius. All of the characters come through as complex and very relatable. They are real, with conflicting desires and emotions. I enjoyed the dialogue quite a bit, it was very witty at times and rather gritty sometimes. There were many locales and time periods, which was entertaining. The scene setting is done well also. The action was excellent. The author describes his novel as an adult memoir with good reason, there are a handful of fairly sexy scenes. I award “VampireS (€) X” a score of 4.5 stars.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/VampireS-E-X-Adult-Historical-Supernatural-Memoir-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/vampires-e-x https://www.amazon.co.uk/VampireS-E-X-Adult-Historical-Supernatural-Memoir-ebook You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/bryangenesse http://www.bryangenesse.com http://facebook.com/bryangenesseauthor paranormal, fantasy, romance Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction Multi-genre, multi-volume author, G. David Walker introduces us to the first volume in the Far Land Trilogy, “Jaben’s Rift”: One impulsive step, and a world hangs in the balance. When an ordinary family vacation in Scotland sends Jason Bennett to Teleria, an extraordinary world of might and magic, his arrival sets the wheels in motion on events that will change that world forever. In Teleria, Jason is thought to be Jaben, a mysterious figure from an ancient prophecy who is destined to save or doom the world. Through half-truths and misunderstandings, Jason gets caught in a dangerous tug of war between the ruling Circle of Nine and one of his own ancestors from three hundred years in his past. Adding to his dilemma, he finds himself at the center of a conflict between two of the Altered, a small group of godlike beings, one of whom is secretly aiding Jason's ancestor, violating a Covenant that has kept Teleria safe from their influence for over a millennia. Unable to return home, Jason must learn to use power he isn't convinced he has, keep from triggering a war between the Altered that could devastate the planet, and most of all…survive. Not quite the summer vacation he had in mind. JABEN’S RIFT takes the reader on a journey of honor and deception, betrayal and self-sacrifice, as Jason tries to figure out who is telling him the truth and who only wants to use him, before Teleria’s fate is sealed forever.  This is a fabulous book! I was stunned by the story. Yes, this is a YA fantasy tale, but as a lifelong reader of more than 60 years I loved this story! The struggle Jason goes through of being catapulted into an unfamiliar land and dimension and having to learn to survive is a tale that has been told in many different ways. The telling is what makes the difference. This story has a richness that is not always found in your basic, swords-and-sorcery yarn. Sure, there is magic, many different kinds of magic, some are narrow and some are broad and contravene the nature of the world at times. Sure, there is a council of elders, but the Council of Nine don’t always get along or see eye to eye on important issues. There is politics, racism, discrimination and those who want to control others. There are many different races and types of creatures that don’t always get along. There is a mysterious prophecy that seems to have an unknown origin, but it is accepted by all as the gospel truth. Then there are the gods, or at least they seem like gods to the inhabitants of the land. The scene setting is marvelous, the dialogue is quite witty at times. Jason’s growth is spurred by many different problems, some he causes by speaking too quickly. I think the richest parts are the different characters the author has created. They come alive and have struggles of their own. This is such a good story, “Jaben’s Rift” gets a score of 4.9 stars!  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Far-Land-Jabens-Rift-Book-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-jaben-s-rift This book was originally published as “From a Far Land (Jaben’s Rift, #1)” with a slightly different cover. My review of a second book by the author: www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/redemptions-edge My review of a third book by the author: www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/three-blood-prince You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/gdavidwalker https://gdavidwalker.com https://www.facebook.com/Far-Land-Trilogy-Jabens-Rift https://www.facebook.com/gdavidwalker https://www.goodreads.com/G_David_Walker 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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