Review: The Thing About My Uncle by Peter J. Stavros

 Genre: Coming of Age

Description:

“The thing about my uncle was that I hardly knew him. Uncle Theo kept to himself, some would say he was a recluse, and by all accounts, that was how he preferred it. I couldn’t precisely recall when I had seen him last in the flesh. I just had a foggy recollection from when I was little, like a grainy home movie with cracks and skips and frames missing…

Although ten years have passed, Rhett Littlefield has always blamed himself for his father abandoning him and his family. When the troubled fourteen-year-old gets kicked out of school for his latest run-in with the vice principal, his frazzled single mother sends him to the hollers of Eastern Kentucky to stay with his Uncle Theo, a man of few words who leads an isolated existence with his loyal dog, Chekhov.

Resigned to make the best of his situation while still longing for the day when Mama will allow him to return home, Rhett settles into his new life. Rhett barely remembers his uncle, but he’s determined to get to know him. As he does, Rhett discovers that he and Uncle Theo share a connection to the past, one that has altered both their lives, a past that will soon come calling.

The Thing About My Uncle is an engaging and heartwarming coming-of-age story that explores the cost of family secrets, the strength of family bonds, and the importance of reconciling the two in order to move forward.”

Author:

A licensed attorney, playwright, and former reporter for the Associated Press, Peter J. Stravros is an award-winning writer with a novella and some short story collections to his credit. This is his first full length novel. Mr Stavros lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Appraisal:

This was a fun read. While my life as a teen boy more decades ago than I care to admit was nothing like Rhett Littlefield’s, the protagonist of this story, I found that I could still relate on some level. Okay, I confess, his propensity to push limits, what ultimately led to his mother sending him to live with his uncle, might be something I had in common with him. But not the rest of it. I’m afraid that if I’d gone through all that he had that I might not have done as well as he did. This was a fun read with some little mysteries buried in it. Some of them, like what Rhett’s Uncle Theo does to make a living, was pretty obvious to me from the start. (It took Rhett a bit longer to figure it out.) Other things, like why Rhett’s dad had disappeared from his life when he was only a few years old, is one that takes a while to come to light. As Rhett, with help from his Uncle Theo, slowly figures things out and gets his life back on track, I found myself both entertained and pulling for him as I read his story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

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

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: Section Roads by Mike Murphey

 

Genre: Coming-of-Age/Mystery/Romance

Description:

“When attorney Cullen Molloy attends his fortieth high school reunion, he doesn’t expect to be defending childhood friends against charges of murder…

In a small town on the high plains of Eastern New Mexico, life and culture are shaped by the farm roads defining the 640-acre sections of land homesteaders claimed at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Cullen and Shelby Blaine explore first love along these section roads during the 1960’s, forging a life-long emotional bond.

As junior high school band nerds, Cullen and Shelby fall under the protection of football player and loner, Buddy Boyd. During their sophomore year of high school, Buddy is charged with killing a classmate and is confined to a youth correctional facility. When he returns to town facing the prospect of imprisonment as an adult, Cullen becomes Buddy’s protector.

The unsolved case haunts the three friends into adulthood, and it isn’t until their fortieth reunion, that they’re forced to revisit that horrible night. When a new killing takes place, Cullen, Shelby and Buddy find themselves reliving the nightmare.

Murder is an easy thing to hide along old country section roads.”

Author:

An eastern New Mexico native, Mike Murphey spent thirty years as an award-winning newspaper journalist.

Appraisal:

This is a great story. It happens at three different points in time with things that happened during all three periods coming together to solve the mystery at the root of the story. You’ll be jumping back and forth between the three different periods, but each chapter makes it clear when the events in that chapter are happening, so keeping track of where you are in time isn’t as difficult as in some books like this. Along with the mystery you’ve got a coming-of-age story for all the characters with how they went from being small town kids struggling to figure life out to reasonably responsible adults. If you’ve ever visited eastern New Mexico and have some sense of the geography and culture there, or really any small town, you’ll find the story draws you in even more. I was especially amused when one of the characters went to a restaurant in Las Cruces, New Mexico in the south-central part of the state and it was a place I’d actually been to myself many years ago. A great story that kept me engaged every step of the way.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: The War on Sarah Morris by Kathleen Jones

 

Genre: Coming of Age

Description:

“ONE DAY, YOU’RE A VALUED EMPLOYEE OF THE COMPANY … THE NEXT DAY, YOU’RE BEING PUSHED OUT THE DOOR.

What happens when your secure corporate job suddenly becomes precarious? Book editor Sarah Morris finds herself in this predicament when the company she has served for twenty-one years is reorganized. Sarah’s boss gives all the company’s book editing projects to freelancers and a pet employee, unofficially demoting Sarah, who must spend her days tagging documents. And when Sarah’s boss starts bullying her, she realizes that she’s been pigeonholed into a dead-end job.”

Author:

“Kathleen Jones was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in English literature. For thirty years, she toughed it out in the corporate world, chiefly as an editor for various Canadian book publishers. Sometimes, Kathleen had the opportunity to do work that she enjoyed, but too often, she didn’t. Towards the end of her career, the type of work that interested and challenged Kathleen began to slip away, and she became less and less happy.

Then one day, Kathleen realized something: creative, out-of-the box thinkers like her don’t belong in the corporate world, and if she wanted “meaningful” work, she would have to create it for herself.

That was when Kathleen decided to pursue the only work that she’d ever really wanted to do since she was a child: the work of a novelist!

Today, Kathleen is a full-time author who writes for a number of popular book blogs. She also contributes monthly book reviews to Goodreads. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.”

For more, visit her website her website.

Appraisal:

I struggled to even decide what genre to indicate this book fit in. The small publisher that published this book describes themselves as specializing in non-fiction genres “such as memoir, autobiographical fiction, poetry, or a combination.” While I’ve never heard the term autobiographical fiction before and it seems like two words that contradict each other, what they mean by that is easy enough to figure out and based on the author’s biography this novel almost surely has some degree of that. But what I could be sure of is that while far from what we think of or the typical definition of a coming-of-age story, that description still seems to fit this one as the protagonist struggles with life’s changes and how to deal with them in the same way as a teen trying to move into adulthood might.

However, unlike a coming-of-age story, the ideal reader for this is probably a touch older. To really get into the story of Sarah Morris, I think a reader needs to be old enough to be somewhat established in their career, possibly seen and struggled with unanticipated changes, or at least observed others deal with that struggle. Those in this position will understand where Sarah is coming from and get sucked into the story, wondering how it is going to end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: On the Brink by Michael A. Sisti

 Genre: Coming of Age/Action-Adventure

Description:

“At age eleven, Dave Powers concludes a profitable but error-ridden venture selling illegal fireworks that leaves him brimming with confidence and captivated by the promise of entrepreneurship.

Over the next few years, a series of tragic events shatters his world. Dave must learn to navigate life's challenges, including basic survival, business, and love. Upon entering the advertising world during the Mad Men era, he struggles to find his way amid the excesses of nepotism, alcohol consumption, and the exploitation of women. Can Dave find the maturity to achieve his dreams? Or are his scars too deep to overcome?

Based on true events, On the Brink is a novel for young readers beginning their own journey, nurturing adults trying to soften their failures, as well as seasoned entrepreneurs and business executives.”

Author:

“Michael A. Sisti is an author, branding and marketing consultant, and serial entrepreneur, having founded over twenty-five companies since age eleven. An International Book Award winner for his debut novel, Executive Crumple Zone, he has published five other novels, three humor books, and a popular self-help book. He recently co-authored a pilot for a TV drama series, and he provides design, editing, and production advice for several other authors. He also writes and lectures on branding, marketing, creative thinking, and entrepreneurship and has earned hundreds of regional and national awards, including National Brand Excellence awards for Blue Cross Blue Shield. He created an Emmy-nominated series on Rhode Island NBC affiliate Healthcare Directions and published a companion magazine. Mike also created and wrote an online column called Local Color. Now semi-retired, Mike continues to advocate for entrepreneurs, volunteering as a lecturer at schools and universities and providing pro bono services to small businesses.”

Appraisal:

It would be fair to say that I’m conflicted about my thoughts on this book. This is far from this author’s first book. He has a small publisher involved that presumably provided people with editorial expertise to polish things up. There is a page of “praise” from various dignitaries prior to the story praising what you’re going to be reading which is even labeled “Praise Page” in the Table of Contents. Yes, I’ve read thousands of books in my life and reviewed hundreds, but I found myself questioning my thoughts on this book, wondering if I got it wrong, all those “experts” got it wrong, or maybe our opinions just didn’t line up. I’ll probably ramble a bit below, but the short version of the review is I liked the main character in spite of his flaws, and in many ways it was a good story, but I found myself hitting patches where the author’s writing style grated on me or the story was too over the top for me to suspend disbelief. If you want more detail, read on.

One issue I had was a tendency to give too much information about something in a way that while accurate, bogged things down. For example, early in the book Dave Power, the main character, was taken by his father on a week long camping trip. An entire chapter of the book (to be fair, it was a short chapter, roughly 700 words), did nothing but passively describe the area where they were camping and the preparations that Brad, Dave’s father, went through prior to the trip. This description mentions that the area has abundant wildlife (enough to give the reader a decent feel), but then lists several specific animals, birds, and fish that are among those that populated this area. The way this was approached felt like a brain dump that violated the author’s maxim to “show, don’t tell.” The reader definitely got told instead of shown here and there were several other places where this sort of thing happened.

My other issue was that I found I had way too much trouble “suspending disbelief.” This is something a reader needs to do to get into a story. Some genres, science fiction or fantasy for example, as a reader you recognize that the story world is vastly different from the real world and learn to deal with it. However, when the story takes place in the real world it can’t get too far out there or the reader is more likely to struggle. Maybe the old cliché about truth being stranger than fiction applies here since the story is said to be “based on truth.” The dedication to what I’m guessing is the author’s wife says that she “shared most of the experiences described in this book.” However, I suspect the true story got stretched a bit in some places (if not, the author is lucky to have not suffered any legal repercussions).

I did find myself getting drawn into Dave’s story. It’s intense with constant ups and downs. Dave had a lot of smarts and skills in the areas he worked in, but it seemed as though every time those combined with hard work got him to a good place that something happened to cause things to come crashing down. After a few cycles of this I was wondering if it was ever going to stop and it also stretched my ability to buy into it.

There is definitely a good story in here hidden among the not-so-good parts. Those of us who are older (Dave was born in the early 50s, so much of the story happened many decades ago) will have some flashbacks to the olden days, which might be a good thing. You kids who are into stories from the olden days might enjoy a story that mostly takes place in a time when cell phones weren’t a thing. Go ahead and give it a shot and see what you think.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on a pre-release “advance reviewer copy” so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Review: Chasing Sevens by Liberty Lane

 Genre: Literary Fiction/Contemporary Fiction/Coming of Age

Description:

“Good-natured yet naïve Tobi Stone has always been dealt an unfair hand.

Tobi dreams of becoming a successful musician but finds creative spirits are silenced in forgotten ‘fly-over’ towns. When his closest friend goes missing, a streak of luck leads him on a journey to find her.”

Author:

It appears that Liberty Lane grew up in a town in rural Ohio and her bio indicates that “Liberty’s main goal is to evoke emotion in her readers. She aims to craft characters and worlds that are realistic, tangible, thought-provoking, and sometimes controversial. Taking readers on a journey of love and loss, she explores gray areas of the modern world that typically fly under the radar.”

Appraisal:

This story drew me in with characters that I cared about and wanted to see how things turned out for them. Some readers might see the obvious flaws that Tobi, the protagonist, has and think poorly of him. However, as you get to know him better you come to realize that all things considered he is doing pretty good and that in those areas where he falls short (school work being the obvious one) it might be due to factors that cause that to be a lower priority. Tobi also has some dreams. This story of Tobi reaching for his dreams, learning and adapting his goals as he learns from life, is a good coming-of-age story with lessons to be learned for all of us buried in there.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

The author includes a trigger warning that this book at times touches on some topics that some readers may find troubling “including but not limited to drug and alcohol usage/abuse, childhood trauma, previous loss of a family member, sexual assault, various mental health topics, bullying, and domestic violence.” She recommends those who might find any of these topics to be an issue to “proceed with caution.”

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on an advance reviewer copy of the book, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 105-110,000 words

Review: Until September by Harker Jones

Genre: LGBTQ/Coming of Age/Literary Fiction

Description:

“In the lull between the conservative ’50s and the turbulent ’60s, Kyle Ryan Quinn, an introspective, sentimental boy, leads a golden life. He’s rich, beautiful and smart, and he vacations each year on the same island with the same circle of friends: entitled Adonis Trent; acerbic Claudia; practical Dana; and frivolous Carly. Haunted by the ghosts of a tragedy that took place in his youth, Kyle is more sensitive than his privileged friends. He understands loss, and secrets.

When he meets Jack Averill, a quiet, bookish boy, his fateful 18th summer on the island, Kyle falls hopelessly, heedlessly in love. As he befriends and attempts to woo Jack — and tries to integrate him into his tight-knit yet troubled circle — he’s pursued himself by another summer boy, Trey, who will stop at nothing to win Kyle’s love, all while Trent toys with the affections of an island girl. Amid mounting familial, sexual and peer pressures, all four young men make heartbreaking decisions that will steal their innocence, destroy lives and consume them forever.”

Author:

Harker Jones grew up in Michigan where he writes movie scripts and is the book reviews editor for a literary journal. For more check out his Facebook page.

Appraisal:

I find that reading books that allow me to vicariously experience what it would be like to live in someone else’s shoes, specifically someone that is not like me, helps me to understand others better which should help make me a better person. I’ve never gone through the main struggle that Kyle, the protagonist of this book did. I imagine someone who has experienced that struggle would benefit from reading this, both understanding that others have the same struggle and also contrasting how much worse I imagine it would have been during the time this book takes place.

Curiously I did struggle to believe or accept one part of Kyle’s story. As the book’s description makes clear, Kyle comes from an extremely well-to-do family. That they have a “summer home” on a relatively remote island where they summer every year and that Kyle is able to afford some of the things he does in the last part of the book really drove that home and was one aspect that I sometimes struggled to suspend my disbelief. Looking back, I realize that it just shows that money helps, but doesn’t cure every issue. On balance this was an enjoyable and enlightening read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and some adult situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Reprise Review: Chasing Fireflies by Imogen Rose

 Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Young Adult/Coming of Age

Description:

“It’s that nothing age—too young to actually do anything but old enough to want to do everything. So, we wait, always chasing tomorrow. But sometimes, there is no tomorrow. That realization hit me hard, a real epiphany. I knew I had to do something to make it all worthwhile, and not just for myself. But also for her.”

Author:

Dr. Imogen Rose is an immunologist turned full-time author. Her two series (Portal Chronicles and Bonfire Chronicles) feature paranormal characters aimed at young adults. Chasing Fireflies is a departure, with nary a demon, troll, or any other creature you won’t find in the real world.

Appraisal:

On the surface this is a fun story about teenage hijinks, but lurking in the background is a consideration of some of life’s big questions. The story focuses on three teens. Atticus who prefers to go by the nickname Fitz is the protagonist, but two girls, Maddie and Tamsin, figure prominently in the story as well. When a schoolmate dies these three decide to honor her in their own unique way. In the planning and execution of this tribute (details would be a bit of a spoiler) Fitz and his sidekicks gain a fuller, more mature perspective on life. Yeah, they grow up just a bit. While an obvious fit for the young adult reader, it's a story that will appeal to an older crowd, too. Even grandfathers like me.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Original review published April 26, 2017

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on a pre-release copy and I’m unable to judge the final production version in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: Deacon Blues by Karl G. Trautman

 Genre: Political fiction/Coming of Age

Description:

“Jolted by an arrested adolescence, Manfred Schmidt is a lonely teenager who craves for belonging and respect. His unconscious rage and forming identity are fused together at a time when a new leader is offering hope to a troubled, post-Watergate nation. He takes on Jimmy Carter as his hero, offering hope to his evolving self.”

Author:

“Trautman was born in Madison, Wisconsin and has lived in Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Kansas and Michigan. He has also lived in Afghanistan and Ireland. He currently resides in Maine.”

Appraisal:

Things protagonist Manfred Schmidt did:

   1.   Experienced angst when his parents divorced.

   2.   Went to some baseball games and museums.

   3.   Dropped out of college without ever having kissed a girl.

   4.   Did volunteer work for Jimmy Carter’s reelection.

   5.   Watched Carter’s defeat on TV.

The end.

I realize that as a sarcasm one of the world’s great novels could be reduced to “Old man catches huge fish. Shark eats fish.” However, that two-line synopsis implies great struggle, victory, and defeat. Does it imply that struggle is useless or that struggle itself conquers defeat, irrespective of the inevitable?

There are no such implications or questions in Deacon Blues. The struggles run to trying to gin up courage to ask the Carter campaign for a paying job and to invite a girl to a movie. The narrative focuses on Schmidt as a socially inhibited young man; one who is devoid of charm. He is no Holden Caufield snarkily thumbing his nose at imperfections of society.

It would be unduly generous to attribute Schmidt’s devotion to Carter as a metaphor for selfless devotion to good against overpowering evil. Even though Schmidt seems to see things that way, it’s ultimately just politics.

Readers who, for whatever reason, finish the novel will have waded through a morass of excruciatingly banal details.

“The laundry room was pretty basic, with industrial size washers, huge dryers, a few long tables for folding and some metal chairs for sitting.”

Ah, so that’s what chairs are for.

As a positive, Trautman’s writing style is clean, readable and error free.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Nothing to note

Format/Typo Issues:

None

Rating: Three stars

Reviewed by: Sam Waite

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: Weatherman by Price Doom

 Genre: Science Fiction/Coming of Age/Novelette

Description:

This was published around March of 2021. It is a coming of age story about Heart and her father Sonny. They live off grid in a USA which has suffered a lot of environmental damage. They move on every time Sonny fears that God has discovered where they are. So, Sonny is nuts, you may say, early doors. And we learn early on that Heart is covered in scars of old cuts and burns which Sonny admits, with great sorrow, he inflicted on her. What on earth (an anagram of Heart) is going on? Read on …

Author:

This is Price Doom’s first published fiction. He lives in California with his children. When not writing, he teaches math and science to special education students.

Appraisal:

Sonny provides every possible care for his child – even trying to find her friends to play with. But every time they take a step into ‘the real world’, it ends in flight. As a result there is quite a bit of repetition in this short work. However, this reader found the repeated phrases and actions (eg the regular instruction to Heart to pack her three most important things) was a kind of threnody to their lives.

As Heart grows, she becomes disgruntled with Sonny’s explanations for why they live the way they do. It is a hard world for a teenager to live in. Her questions become more searching: his answers satisfy her less. The point of view is largely Heart’s from age 4 to age 15. It is through her eyes we see the rifle taped to the inside of whichever mobile home they’re currently living in, as well as Sonny’s ability to rub an alligator’s belly until it falls asleep and allows him to pick it up and return it to its park. We also catch glimpses of Sonny when Heart is absent, and these tend to provide more puzzles than they solve.

When Heart becomes a teenager she begins to need more than Sonny. And, odd as Sonny may appear, there are echoes of his oddness in the others that Heart corresponds with.

The end appears disastrous. The only saving grace being Sonny’s love for Heart. He puts his life in her hands. And that is where the story ends. You will have to decide for yourself who Sonny really is, and what (if anything) happens next.

Is this worth your time? “You know it, buddy.”

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 18-19,000 words

Review: Tryouts by Peter J. Stavros

Genre: Sports/Coming-of-age

Description:

“A first-person account of one young man’s quest to make his high school basketball team, navigating the challenges of punch drills, and a belligerent coach, and countless ‘suicides’ to earn his spot among the finalists – but will his training, his perseverance, and his faith be enough to help him prevail?”

The author explains it this way, “I wrote this piece some forty years after my own encounter with high school basketball tryouts, during an equally difficult period for me in which, even as an adult, I found myself relying on those same lessons learned way back then – and, in so doing, everything about that earlier time came back to me as vividly as if I were living through it all again.”

Author:

“Peter J. Stavros is a writer and playwright in Louisville, Kentucky, and the author of Three in the Morning and You Don’t Smoke Anymore, winner of the Etchings Press 2020 Book Prize for a Chapbook of Prose. Other works by him include the short story collection, (Mostly) True Tales From Birchmont Village.

A former reporter for the Associated Press, Peter has published his writing in literary journals, magazines, newspapers and anthologies …”

Appraisal:

The hero of our story, is trying to make the varsity basketball team in high school. He’s motivated for all the normal reasons, plus one that most don’t have. Years ago his dad was on a team that won the state championships which was a big deal for their small town. Now the son (if we ever learned his name I forgot and couldn’t find it skimming through the book, but sometimes called “Varsity Guy” by his smart-mouthed friends) wants to follow in dad’s footsteps.

Does he make his goal? Maybe, maybe not. But as his friends get cut and “Varsity Guy” perseveres, he learns plenty of life lessons and teaches us (or maybe reminds some of us) those same lessons. A quick, fun, intense, and even a bit inspiring read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 14-15,000 words

Review: Boychik by Laurie Boris

 

Genre: Historical Fiction/Coming of Age

Description:

“He's a deli-man's son. She's a mobster's daughter. One chance encounter changes both their lives.

Brooklyn, 1932

Eli Abramowitz works in his parents’ deli in Williamsburg. Not a bad job during the Depression. His family is his whole world—almost. He spends every Sunday at the movies and hopes to hit it big as a Hollywood screenwriter. But how can he tell his parents that one day he’ll be leaving?

Across town, Evelyn Rosenstein’s father works for the mob—undoubtedly the reason they’re doing so well. Definitely the reason she’s not allowed any farther than their mailbox unescorted. Even though her parents have chosen a husband for her, a family tradition, she fantasizes about a life in service to the unfortunate. But for the moment, she dreams of escape, if only for a few hours.

Opportunity strikes, and she ends up at the deli. Evelyn and Eli meet only briefly, but their instant connection tempts an unlikely, forbidden romance. When a charity dinner has them again crossing paths, danger follows. But will it shadow them into their futures?”

Author:

“Laurie Boris has been writing fiction for thirty years and is the award-winning author of nine novels. When not playing with the universe of imaginary people in her head, she enjoys baseball, reading, and avoiding housework. She lives in New York's lovely Hudson Valley.”

For more visit Ms Boris’ website.

Appraisal:

I loved this book. Although I don’t read historical fiction very often, I found the time this story took place, in the middle of The Great Depression, made the story more intense because of the difficulties that came at that point in history. Imagining what it was like to grow up in Brooklyn at this time was interesting and added a lot to the story, but we’ve also got some romance, a bit of a thriller plot, and an excellent coming-of-age storyline all in one compelling story. The last few books I’ve read didn’t grab me. I was ready for a change and Boychik filled the bill, with a story that kept pulling me back, wondering what was going to happen next and how the various conflicts would resolve in the end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Although the preliminary edition of the book I received for review didn’t have it, my understanding is that a glossary of Yiddish words has been added to the book. The characters slip a lot of Yiddish words into their dialogue. I found that most of the time I had either picked up the meaning of the word (or thought I had) over the years or, since I was reading on my Kindle, was able to find any word I wasn’t sure of in the built-in dictionary or Wikipedia, which Kindle searches if it can’t find the word in the dictionary. But I can see how a glossary could be useful to many.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Reprise Review: Dragon Choir by Ben Descovich

 

Genre: Epic Fantasy/ Adventure/ Coming of Age

Description:

“Prepare yourself for a fantasy romp of epic proportions. When the days stretch and the land bakes, dragons will again scour the sky.

A city of bones and a city of gold plot against each other while the rebellion gathers strength. A young man is caught in a tempest of intrigue that will forge a new era of freedom, or forever scar the land. He must discover the secret of the Dragon Choir to save his father and end the stranglehold of an unforgiven nation.”

Author:

“Benjamin Descovich is the founder of ethicalwriter.com and works every day writing the seeds to grow a better future. He is a passionate environmentalist, social justice advocate, and holds a degree in Political Science. Born in Australia and well-travelled through Europe and Asia, he has been spoilt with inspiration for his fiction. While the dramatic landscapes, political intrigue and epic battles will captivate your imagination; the dragons and magic take your breath away.”

Learn more about Mr. Descovich at his website.

Appraisal:

Elrin is a young man, not yet twenty, trying to find his way in the world without his father. He’s currently serving as a messenger between a priest he trusts – Herder Kleith – and the Guild Master. Nosing around the Guild Master’s study, waiting to deliver a missive, Elrin picks up a mysterious dagger to study. When he overhears secrets between the Guild Master and an unknown source his life is suddenly in jeopardy. Narrowly escaping the Guild Guards, Elrin flees to Kleith who dresses Elrin in priests robes and sends him across land and then to the Hoard Islands to seek the Dragon Choir for help. Kleith is unable to see the dagger in Elrin’s possession, but knows it well. It belonged to Elrin’s father, Arbajkha, who has been missing for over half of Elrin’s life.

Thus begins this rip-roaring adventure full of intrigue and espionage between political and religious leaders who wish to hold power over all the surrounding nations and the sea. Elrin inadvertently ends up with an eclectic band of diverse rebels who wish to free the Jandan slaves and restore justice to all. As with every epic fantasy there are many characters, but I found each one fully rounded and

unique. I had no trouble liking or identifying with all of the heroes. The bad guys were the most vile ever to live. There are epic battles with swords, magic, and arrows on land and cannons with black powder at sea as pirates join in for their share of the spoils while still aiding the rebellion.

There are prophecies to decipher, ogres, evil redeemers, mage priests, drakkin type warriors, a beautiful assassin, a confused naval captain with a decent heart, hobbit type humans, dwarfs, a young elemental acolyte they name Amber, and dragons to boot! This intelligently told story is bound to sweep you up as the plot twists and turns with each new revelation. If you love intricate high fantasy epic adventures, Dragon Choir is worth checking out. A small warning though, this book does end in a cliff-hanger that will have you waiting on the edge of your seat for the next book.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Dragon Choir is the first book in An Epic Fantasy Series of High Adventure. Benjamin Descovich uses UK spelling.

Original review posted May 27, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant errors, except for the one time Elrin was called Erin. You wouldn’t think that would throw me out of the story, but it did catch me off guard.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Review: Camper Girl by Glenn Erick Miller

 Genre: YA/Coming of Age

Description:

“A person's path through life is never clearly marked...Eighteen-year old Shannon Burke is stuck. Her friends are heading off to college, her job is a complete dead-end, and her mother's just made her part owner of the failing family business. The only bright spot is her upcoming birthday and a visit from her eccentric Aunt Rebecca. But before Shannon can blow out her candles, she receives devastating news: Rebecca is dead. When she learns that her aunt has gifted her a beat-up camper, Shannon decides to sell it for cold, hard cash. Then she loses her job and finds a mysterious map in the glove box, and in a moment of desperation, she jumps behind the wheel and hits the road. One map leads to another, and Shannon journeys deep into New York's Adirondack Mountains where she faces her greatest fears and navigates a new reality that is as unpredictable as the wilderness itself. During her scavenger hunt of self-discovery, Shannon uncovers a stunning family secret, experiences the healing power of nature, and learns that a person's path through life is never clearly marked.”

Author:

A long-time educator, award-winning author Glenn Erick Miller divides his time between the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York and Southwest, Florida. In addition to Camper Girl, Miller is the author of a children’s picture book, Red’s First Snow.

Appraisal:

Those who study such things will tell you that getting out there and seeing the world or even just different parts of your country, city, state or whatever will expand your horizons in many different ways. Many non-fiction books focusing on travel make the same case, but I don’t think I’ve read a book of fiction, at least not until this one, where that message seemed to be such a big part of the book. Yes, this book is fiction and the trip (a bit of a scavenger hunt arranged by protagonist Shannon’s now deceased Aunt Rebecca) isn’t real, but she definitely learns from it. Some of the things she’s learns are just what I’d expect a real person to learn from actual travel. Things like expanding your view of the world and those in it, while also driving home that we’re not as different as we sometimes let ourselves think. Or experiencing the beauty that is out there to be found, often just by getting off the beaten track a bit. But Shannon also finds out a lot about herself, her Aunt Rebecca, and her parents which has her reevaluating a lot of things about her life and her future. Having just graduated from high school Shannon is at a point that many young adults are evaluating their life, their future, and where they want to go from here. Camper Girl is a great story of someone at one of life’s crossroads, figuring things out, and taking the reader along on the adventure.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on an ARC (advance 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: Odriel’s Heirs by Hayley Reese Chow

 

Genre: Young Adult/Coming of Age/Sword & Sorcery/Fantasy/Adventure

Description:

“The brave, burning with fire, harnessed the Dragon's Rage...

As the Dragon Heir, seventeen-year-old Kaia inherited the power of flame to protect her homeland from a godlike necromancer's undead army. But after centuries of peace, the necromancer has faded to myth, and the Dragon Heir is feared by the people. Persecuted and cast out, Kaia struggles to embrace and control her seemingly useless gift while confined to her family's farm.

But when the necromancer's undead terrorize the land once again, Kaia runs away to join the battle.

With the help of her childhood rival, the handsome Shadow Heir, and a snarky, cursed cat, Kaia must figure out how to control both her fire and her confidence in time to save Okarria. If she fails, she will sacrifice her family, her new friends, and the enchanting world she has only just begun to see.

And time is running out.”

Author:

“Hayley Reese Chow is the author of Odriel's Heirs, the 2020 winner of the Florida Author Project. She also has short and flash fiction featured in Lite Lit One, The Drabble, Bewildering Stories, Teleport Magazine, and Rogue Blades Entertainment's omnibus, AS YOU WISH!

Until recently though, she's mostly done a lot of things that have nothing at all to do with writing. Her hat collection includes mother, wife, engineer, USAF veteran, reservist, four-time All American fencer, 100 mile ultramarathoner, triathlete, world traveler, voracious reader, and super nerd. Hayley currently lives in Florida with two small wild boys, her long-suffering husband, and her miniature ragehound.

But at night, when the house is still, she writes.”

To find more about Ms. Chow’s other stories and see what she's working on next, check out her website.

Appraisal:

Kaia Dashul is the Dragon Heir, she alone has the power of fire. When an undead army attacks her homeland, she sets out to locate the sloppy necromancer who is creating the Lost Armies. She is joined by her beloved pet ragehound Gus, Klaus Thane the Shadow Heir who has the power of invisibility, and a snarky cursed cat.

And so the adventure begins. Kaia and Klaus search for clues and allies for the coming war. As discoveries are made plans have to adapt. Kaia and Klaus are also learning to work together as they are both on their own journey to self-discovery as well. Emotions and tension run high during skirmishes and losses take their toll on our young heroes. The descriptions of landscapes and native life is beautifully written. The battles are captivating as we are right in the middle of the action watching it play out through Kaia’s eyes.

I was left with one burning question after the ultimate battle though. Then the final scene I was taken back because I had completely forgotten about that slime ball. I also can’t believe that one dark sorcerer is so flippin’ hard to kill. The slippery rat bass-tid.

If you enjoy epic fantasy with sword and sorcery, battles between good and evil with snappy dialogue, you will enjoy this novel.  

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Odriel's Heirs is listed free on Amazon at the time I wrote this review. Idriel's Children is book 2 in the Odriel’s Heirs series.

Format/Typo Issues:

I noted several small proofing misses.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words