Review: Lost Souls by Steve Stiles

 

Genre: Fantasy

Description:

“Soul Collecting is an easy way to make a living, except for the being dead part. Unfortunately for Madelyn, she's not interested in either being dead or, heaven forbid, having to work at it. Trust me when I say her adjustment issues are only beginning.

Just as Madelyn catches on and finds her soul collecting groove, she screws up on the job. It’s a mistake that could end her existence, as well as the futures of innocent people who are very much NOT dead…yet.

While a motley assortment of collector friends pitch in to help, other collectors are deadset (see what I did there?) to make sure she fails. The clock is ticking for Madelyn as she battles to right her wrong before her soul collector status wears off.

Rules are rules, whether you listen to them or not.”

Author:

A mystery man who doesn’t appear to have any other books out at the moment.

Appraisal:

This was a unique book that drew me in quickly and kept me engrossed to the very end. The concept is that there are a group of … we’ll call them souls I guess, who get assigned to be what are called collectors. These collectors are spirits who can potentially transport themselves anywhere on Earth under the right conditions. They have a duty to help “collect” the souls of humans who die and to transport these souls to drop off points where they then move on to where ever they go. Those souls who are assigned to be collectors get a small amount of training and then go through a whole lot of trial and error as they get a handle on it.

I’m afraid to say much more for fear of spoiling the story. As the main character, Madelyn, figures things out the reader goes along for the ride and tries to figure them out too. Madelyn has something happen that is extremely rare and no one is sure how to deal with it, which makes things more intense for a while. Then throw in things that feel just like this life, lots of other souls, some who help you, some who are trying to get in your way, and some that you’re not sure where they fall, keeps things interesting. I found the author’s sense of humor as well as a protagonist that I was pulling for along with the unique story world made for a great story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advance reader copy), so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Reprise Review: Soul Walk by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Paranormal Mystery/Suspense

Description:

“Paranormal investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and medium Sam Firecloud are making quite a name for themselves. When a TV network offers to feature them on a popular ghost series, they realize they could dispel misconceptions and bring credibility to their work. However, filming their process is more troublesome and complicated than they knew. Their goal to research and release the ghostly tenants of a haunted bed and breakfast in Malibu is at odds with the studio’s penchant for sensationalism. On top of that, Sam finds his connection to one of the ghosts to be painfully personal, and he and Lacey struggle to keep their work, their relationship and their newfound stardom from unraveling.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. She lives in a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier. She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”

Learn more about Ms. Bowersock on her website or follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

When a TV network offers to feature Sam and Lacey on a popular ghost series, they realize they could dispel misconceptions and bring credibility to their work. The network executives have chosen a haunted bed and breakfast for Sam and Lacey to investigate. At first Lacey is worried about how much she will be able to contribute if the network has their own team to do the background research of the B&B and the ghostly inhabitants. Therefore, she takes on the research as she always has when it was just her and Sam. This gives her an in-depth and personal feeling for the ghosts.

Lacey and Sam find the filming for the show tedious and tiring. However, they are willing to see it through, and release the ghosts from their earthly suffering. You can tell Ms. Bowersock does a lot of research for her stories. The non-paranormal stuff like going through the filming process is realistic and fascinating. The history behind the hauntings is believable and draws the reader in to set aside any disbelief that this could never happen. Ms. Bowersock is able to find a nice balance between realism and the supernatural.

To top it all off Sam and Lacey are seriously talking about taking their relationship to the next level. I love the way we, the readers, get to take part in their personal lives. It is another touch of realism added to the story. If you like cozy mysteries with a touch of the paranormal I highly recommend this series.??

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

*Trigger warning* One of the ghosts was a five-year old girl who endured horrific abuse, both emotional and physical, before she died. This is not overly graphic.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues were found.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Review: Body in a Barrel by Aaron Mead

 

Genre: Novella/Crime Fiction

Description:

“A body in a barrel just appeared on the shore of Lake Mead, and Lenny Battaglia is worried.

Forty years ago, when Lenny was a henchman in the Las Vegas mafia, his partner, Frank, whacked the victim, and Lenny helped dump the body. But there’s another victim in another barrel somewhere in the lake, and it’s got Lenny’s name on it. For now, that barrel’s underwater, but the drought-ravaged lake keeps dropping, and Frank is talking to the cops.

Lenny tows his fishing boat to the lake to haul his barrel farther from shore, but his boat’s too small, the barrel’s too heavy, and he’s too old. Lenny needs a new plan. Can he cover the horror of his crooked past before it catches up to him in the present?”

Author:

“Aaron Mead is the author of Body in a Barrel, a Las Vegas mafia crime novella. His other work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and has been covered by NPR. In his Substack publication, sub·plot, he posts serial fiction and short essays on faith, philosophy, books, and the writing life.”

Appraisal:

This was a quick, fun, and intense read. How things are going to work out for the main character Lenny weren’t obvious at any point right up to the very end. (How I wanted it to end was up in the air too.) The story, while well out of my life experience, felt real. At the end we find out that while not a true story, it is based on a few real life people and events which I think helped keep it feeling real.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Has some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Review: A Life Full of Quarks by C W Johnson

 

Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

The novel follows John Chant from about age 5 until around age 30, when he meets the (other) love of his life. Occasionally the book claims to be a memoir, but I came to believe this was part of the fiction. The things that happen to John, and that he makes happen, would curl the hair of any normal parent. John does not have normal parents. His parents are scientists: they do not appear to have a safety cut-off. There is a lab in the garage. John, boy and man, has a vivid imagination.

Author:

C W Johnson trained in theoretical physics, mathematics, computers, science fiction, poetry and ‘many other impractical topics’. He is currently a professor of physics in the US. He has published short fiction in “science fiction magazines such as Analog, Asimov’s, and others” as well as poetry. His early SF influences were Joanna Russ, Peter S Beagle, Tim Powers, Algis Budrys and (the most important to him) Kim Stanley Robinson. Poets who influenced him include Becky Larkin, Shannon Marquez Maguire and Sue Owens. There are other C W Johnsons writing fiction, but this is our C W Johnson’s first novel.

Appraisal:

The first thing to say is that this is the best self-published novel I have read this year. I honestly don’t understand how it hasn’t been picked up by a major publisher and taken off like Andy Weir’s The Martian did.

There is obviously something of the author’s own life in it (although, for those inclined to try and repeat his experiments, he claims that he has skewed the science so you can’t build a probability drive out of sticky-backed plastic and cardboard).

The book is clever, sad and funny by turns – and, occasionally, all at once. The prose is entirely reliable: it tells you what you need to know then moves briskly on. Only later do you realise that as well as moving on, it is circling back around. The necessary coincidences feel unforced. Several metaphorical firearms are hung over the fictional fireplace and all are fired in due course, to laugh-out-loud or sharp-intake-of-breath effect.

If you were to mash together pretty much any bit of Kurt Vonnegut, a couple of scenes out of Back to the Future, Planet of the Apes, and Curse of the Thirty Foot Woman with an episode of The Big Bang Theory and one of Father Knows Best you might produce something like this book.

You do not need to know anything about science to enjoy this book. You do not need ever to have read anything else labelled ‘Science Fiction’. This is a completely stand-alone, one-of-a-kind novel. I recommend it to you unreservedly.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Format/Typo Issues:

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 135-140,000 words

Review: Horny: Sex Without Scruples by Brad Deep

 

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Description:

“Brad Deep didn’t just peek into the male sexual psyche—he lived in it, banked it, and sold the tickets.

One day, a young Brad heard Francis Ford Coppola say in a documentary, “If an aspiring filmmaker wants to make a movie, he must do whatever it takes.”

Brad took that literally. He hired a few girls, opened an erotic massage parlor, and planned to use the profits to fund his movie.

What he didn’t plan for was front-row seats to the raw, unfiltered reality of male sexuality—the desires, the lies, the awkward kinks, and the desperate confessions men never make sober… or to their wives.

Horny: Sex Without Scruples is a savage, brutally honest, and laugh-out-loud demolition of dating myths, gender games, and the absurd mating dance we call relationships.

Written by a man who saw it all—the office bosses, the preachers, the boyfriends, the husbands—this isn’t therapy; it’s a strip search of the male libido… with sarcasm as the lube.

With stories you’d never tell your priest, real data that proves just how far the depravity runs, and chapter titles that slap harder than your ex’s mood swings, Horny is the book men pray women never read… and the one women can’t resist picking up.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what men are really like when nobody’s watching—this is your backstage pass.

Just don’t read it at church.”

Author:

“Brad Deep doesn’t write to make friends. He writes like he’s swinging a sledgehammer in a library—loud, unapologetic, and bound to piss someone off. His pages drip with the kind of truth most people choke on, served with enough filthy laughs to make a nun sweat.

He lives clean—no booze, no smokes, no drugs—running instead on cycling, weight training, and five-finger solos that would make a drummer jealous.

When it comes to women, he’s old school: natural beauty or nothing. No dye jobs, no Botox, no filler, no bolt-on boobs. Ask if he’d live with a woman again, and he’ll tell you yes—but only if she’s easy on the eyes, smart, and he’s lost his damn mind.”

Appraisal:

Along with the copyright, dedication, and other content before the book actually begins is a notice that says the author will be donating a dollar from each copy of this book that is sold to an organization supporting survivors of sexual assault and adds that “if some men had an ounce of self-control, I wouldn’t have had to write this book.”

The author talks about some things you’re probably aware of and in some cases most of you have probably participated in them to some degree. If you’re enough of an adult to be reading this I doubt many won’t recognize themselves in the things discussed here at some point, regardless of your gender. Hopefully lots more your reaction will be “I didn’t realize that happened” or “I knew that kind of stuff went on, but I sure haven’t been involved in it.” Ultimately this book will get you thinking about a lot of things, maybe inspire those who need to do better to do so. But even if it doesn’t, it’s a fun read in spite of the deep subject. The author injects humor in lots of different ways. In fact, at one point the author says that if it “made you laugh, gasp, or squirm uncomfortably in public” that this was a good thing and the point of the book. It sure did for me. All three of those things at different times.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Adult language and adult content. Lots of adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advanced reader copy) and thus I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: Invisible Threads by Sharon Heath

 Genre: Literary Fiction

Description:

“Evvie Kerr has always been a caretaker—of her self-absorbed younger sister Miriam; Miriam’s tender-hearted son Ben; and the sisters’ Russian-born father Michael, a successful screenwriter who bears the scars of a traumatic childhood. Evvie’s sudden diagnosis with the disease that killed her mother forces each of the Kerrs to re-examine their roles in their lively, tightly knit Jewish family, and beckons Evvie herself to stretch into a larger and riskier life than she’d ever imagined. A family love story, Invisible Threads explores the interwovenness of our individual fates with the strivings and sufferings of our ancestors, celebrating the sweet and sometimes disorienting grace of rebirth.”

Author:

“Sharon Heath writes fiction and non-fiction exploring the interplay of science and spirit, politics and pop culture. A certified Jungian Analyst in private practice and faculty member of the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, she served as Associate Editor of Psychological Perspectives and Guest Editor of the special issue The Child Within/The Child Without. She has published in Psychological Perspectives and Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche, and she has blogged for HuffPost.”

Appraisal:

Just like real life, I wasn’t sure where this story was going to go. In the process of finding out it caused a lot of thinking about family, both good and bad, as I compared the Kerr family in the book to my own family. I contrasted the things they were experiencing, both positive and not so great things, to my life and that of others I have known. A good book exercises the mind and gets the reader thinking and this story definitely did that.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some mildly adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Reprise Review: Finding Fiona by Donna Fasano

 Genre: Romantic Comedy/Chick-lit/Mystery

Description:

“If her husband turns up alive—she'll kill him!

Explaining to the seriously sexy cop why she hasn't noticed her husband has been missing for three days is both embarrassing and sobering. But the day Fiona Rowland lifts her head above the churning chaos of kids, carpools, and a million things to do, annoyance turns to fury...then to worry. Where is Stanley?

Having one of those wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee moments changes the way a woman looks at things: marriage, money, family, and friends. And when her best pal from high school arrives (packing her own secrets) to lend support, it turns out even the past isn't quite what it seems. Scrambling to make sense of the drama unfolding, Fiona discovers there's an upside to having your whole world turned upside down. It's easier to grab the good stuff.”

Author:

“USA Today Bestselling Author Donna Fasano has written over 40 women's fiction and romance titles that have sold over 4 million copies worldwide.”

Appraisal:

Finding Fiona is many different, sometimes contradictory things. It starts with a mystery. Where’s Stanley? Fiona’s husband disappeared and there aren’t many clues as to where he might be. There’s romantic comedy in a few different ways as romance threatens to take hold, but there are times when the romantic side of things is way too serious to be funny. Fiona’s best friend from her high school days stumbles into the middle of this crisis and alternates between helping and exacerbating the situation.

This was a fun story that kept me guessing, both about the mystery part, but also the romance and relationship part. I wasn’t sure who was going to end up with who, or how the different conflicts would resolve. It kept me guessing and, even more importantly, I liked the characters enough to care how it turned out.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: The Cover Story by Deb Richardson-Moore

 

Genre: Mystery

Description:

“On most days for homeless man Malachi, invisibility comes his way unwanted, unsought. Today, he’s counting on it.

College student Charlie regains consciousness with her friend Janie Rose’s dying screams ringing in her ears. Charlie insists she was forced off the road by an old-fashioned hearse. But the police think their wreck was simply an accident.

Reporter Branigan Powers suspects that her niece Charlie may still be in danger. So when an abandoned hearse is found in Grambling’s Tent City, she teams up once more with her homeless friend Malachi to investigate. They track the vehicle to a local university.

As Branigan and Malachi explore the sometimes-bewildering Old South world of sororities and fraternities, more violence erupts. The trail of destruction grows, and the murderer always seems to be one step ahead. But like most people, the killer doesn’t see Malachi coming.”

Author:

“Deb Richardson-Moore is the author of six mystery/suspense titles and a memoir, The Weight of Mercy, about her early years as a pastor at the Triune Mercy Center in Greenville, S.C. A national award-winning former reporter for The Greenville News, Deb is a popular speaker at book clubs, universities and churches. She has also won numerous awards for her work in homeless services and community involvement.

A graduate of Wake Forest University and Erskine Theological Seminary, Deb lives with her husband in Greenville. They are the parents of three grown children.”

For more, visit her website.

Appraisal:

A reporter like Branigan Powers, the protagonist of this series, trying to figure out what happened in a car crash that resulted in one college student dying isn’t unusual. You’d expect a reporter might look into strange happenings. But teaming up with Malachi, a homeless man, to figure out what is going on is an interesting and unique twist.

As for the mystery, I was guessing the entire way, but never quite sure as Branigan and Malachi would uncover each clue making my previous guesses appear incorrect. As more came out I couldn’t help coming back to see how things turned out. A fun read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI

Although part of a series this book stands alone. I had no problem following what was happening in spite of not having read the first book in the series.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: Gone Country by Hunter Snow

 

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Description:

“Two worlds. One accidental hit song. The stage is set for the ultimate showdown.

Jamie Keaton is a rock star with a reputation as fiery as her songs. Clayton Langley is a country singer who epitomizes Southern charm.

Their paths were never supposed to cross—let alone collide—but when a chance encounter forces them to collaborate on a song, she’s suddenly thrust into his universe of cowboy boots and steel-string guitars.

As old resentments and undeniable chemistry simmer beneath the surface, Jamie must decide whether to embrace the unfamiliar world she’s been dragged into—or to stoke the fire of their rivalry and watch everything burn.”

Author:

“Hunter Snow survived (just barely) a wild ride through the music industry and now channels those experiences into writing rock and roll romances from her home in the Pacific Northwest.”

Appraisal:

While there are some serious things going on in this story including the romance, it is also funny in so many ways. For a fan of music (yes, even that twangy country stuff) as well being a person who likes to laugh and be a bit of a smart … well, you know … this book was one of the most fun and enjoyable reads I’ve devoured in a while. I’m glad I decided to give it a try.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adultish language and content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: The Lightning in the Collied Night by David Backman

 

Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

This novel is set mainly some 30 years into the future, moving further into the future towards the end. The nearness of the book’s future is germane. It enables the author to think critically about the state we’re in now, by extrapolating the state we will have got ourselves into in another 30 years. Said state is so dire that, when a possibility of taking a peek 100 years into the future presents itself, there are those who leap at the chance. That’s the first half of the book: hard SF.

The second half of the book takes a massive swerve from that path. Much of it is to do with a rather wonderful Hawai’ian philosophy: Ho o’ponopono, but there is more which I cannot talk about without dropping significant spoilers.

Author:

This is David Backman’s first novel, although he has hitherto written many fact-based publications. This shows in his confident prose. His first degree was in Mathematics and his career was in IT. When he retired he decided to turn his attention to this work, which had been nagging at his synapses for years. He has done much research to bring this book to publication, and it shows to good effect.

Appraisal:

The first half of this book is 5* quality. The hard SF is first class, the astrophysics plausible; the US politics which (of course) go hand in hand with top secret, high quality research such as is described, well explained; the state of the planet all-too plausible; the world very familiar to a present day readership. (Many of his sources are given at the end of the book: there are A Lot.) The story is fascinating, characterisation is good, plotting moves at a goodly clip.

Then the story takes, not one swerve, nor two, but three. The author describes these as ‘a couple of big twists’. This reviewer found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the twisters. Pace does not flag. It’s just that you may wonder, at times, if you’re still reading the same book.

I did get slightly frustrated by the author’s need to describe every character at first meeting, what they are wearing on that and all subsequent occasions, and what quotidian thing they may be doing while explaining how they’re going to save the world. The descriptions are pithy, but add them all up and it does become a bit ‘here we go again’. I know some readers like this kind of detail, and mundane action has its place, and once you’ve started you have to carry through.

I read and watch a lot of SF. And I didn’t find the timeline in this book (which is crucial) as easy to follow as I had expected. Signposts to when we currently are have to be sought (they are there, but using them gives rise to … you’ve guessed it … spoilers). I enjoyed the ‘Easter Eggs’ hidden (references to classic SF, written and filmic) in the book that I could ‘get’, but some of them remained opaque to me.

I picked this book for review from the title The Lightning in the Collied Night, which the author explains at the beginning is a quote from William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Collied? Not a word in everyday use. When I’d thought about it, I was sure it was basically the same word as colliery, and so it is. Although the dictionary defines it as ‘dirty’ rather than my own preference, which would be ‘black’. But I will put a small wager on you not coming across it again except in a coal-mining context ever again.

This novel is worth your time. It is a bit of a curate’s egg – but then, it is a first novel. It is certainly a 4* read overall. It is consistently interesting and its plot drives forward. It has much to say about the way we are, planetarily speaking, living waaay beyond our means. Because of those swerves I mention above, it doesn’t offer any solutions – but that would be a Big Ask which is still beyond our current governments and science communities. It does, however, offer Ho o’ponopono. And that’s just wonderful.

STOP PRESS: a second edition of this novel now supercedes this, first, edition.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

None in this ARC review copy

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words