Review: Murder Walk by Melissa Bowersock

Genre: Paranormal/Relationships/Mystery

Description:

“The best friend of Sam Firecloud’s son, Daniel, has been murdered. The boy is having a hard enough time dealing with the loss but then discovers that he’s inherited his father’s mediumistic ‘gift’ for communicating with the dead, a gift he doesn’t want. Lacey Fitzpatrick, Sam’s wife and partner, wants to start their own investigation into the murder, Sam is more worried about his son than the unsolved case, and Daniel just wants all ghosts to leave him alone. The family is being torn in three separate directions, but the murderer is still on the loose and may come after Daniel next, because the ghost is talking.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: paranormal, biography, western, action, romance, fantasy, spiritual, and satire. She has been both traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. She has a tattoo on the inside of her left wrist that says IMAGINE. In her next life, she plans to be an astronaut. She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”

Learn more about Ms. Bowersock and her other books on her website or stalk her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Lacey, Sam, and the kids are settling into a nice routine in their new apartment and are now looking for an affordable art studio for Sam’s new venture. Daniel is fourteen and entering that moody stage most teens go through. However, when his best friend, Jason, is murdered, Daniel is forced to grow up quickly. Especially when Jason’s spirit starts speaking to him. Murder Walk stems around the effects this murder has on the Fireclouds, the LaRosas, Daniel’s new girlfriend, and Jason’s family as well. It deals with relationships from all angles.

There is tension between Lacey and Sam about how to handle Daniel and his new situation. Tension between Sam and Daniel, Sam knows Daniel knows more than he’s saying. And there is the guilt Lacey feels when she reaches out to Jason’s mother without telling Sam or Daniel. She also reaches out to the LAPD homicide detective, but keeps that info on the down-low.

What’s it going to take to get the whole story out of Daniel about what he is seeing and hearing? What can Sam do to help his son feel more comfortable around spirits when he knows Daniel has to accept this new talent he has? And will Kenzie have the spirit calling as well? What’s it going to take to keep Daniel safe if the murderer finds out Daniel can talk to ghosts?

Murder Walk has a nice pace and flows smoothly from one scene to the next. It’s thoughtfully written and the dialog is realistic in all aspects. It shows what it is like for a family trying to carry on with mundane life necessities after a trauma hits so close to home. With all the sadness there are lighter enjoyable moments. As Sam finds a place for his studio. Lacey and Kenzie approve, but Daniel is not so sure until his girlfriend Tori finds out about it. Don’t miss out on this one!    

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Murder Walk is book ten in Melissa Bowersock’s A LACEY FITZPATRICK and SAM FIRECLOUD MYSTERY SERIES.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues in proofing or formatting to speak of.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Better in the Morning by @FernRonay

Genre: Romantic Comedy/ Women’s Lit/ Relationships/ Ghosts

Description:

“Veronica Buccino has a plan: marry John DelMonico and quit her soul-sucking job as a lawyer. And when he tells her he has big news, she’s certain he’ll pop the question. But instead of proposing, John informs her that he’s moving to London.

Heartbroken, Veronica feels lost. Salvatore and Antoinette, her dead grandparents, begin to visit her dreams in an attempt to steer her in the right direction. At their suggestion, Veronica takes a news reporting class, which leads to a challenging freelance assignment covering a conspiracy trial. She also begins dating an unlikely suitor: creative Syd Blackman.

Just when her love life and career are looking up, Veronica is tossed back to square one by an event that makes her question all her new choices.”

Author:

“Fern Ronay was born and raised in Belleville, New Jersey. She is a lawyer and CPA as well as a writer, reporter, and blogger. After six years in Manhattan and six years in Chicago, she now lives in sunny Los Angeles with her husband.

In addition to writing novels, Fern authors the blog Stop and Blog the Roses and is a co-host on AfterBuzzTV. When she is not writing, reporting, or blogging, Fern can be found eating something, reading something, or running”

Learn more about Ms. Ronay at her website, her BLOGHER site, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Appraisal:

I have to admit it took me a long time to get into this story. I had a difficult time liking Veronica. She hated her job, disliked her employer and her co-worker, Kate. Veronica carried a disdain for her work and put forth very little effort in researching or filing cases she was given. She viewed it all as soul-sucking work, which it really was for her. Except for one case that involved Tristen Hines. The firm actually represented Pat Stephens who was suing Tristen for damages she was responsible for. Tristen was able to connect on a human level with Veronica, an element Veronica had been sorely missing in her work. As this part of the storyline played out, Veronica becomes more likeable as she is fraught with obstacles trying to do what is best for both parties of the lawsuit.

After John leaves Veronica to pursue his career in London we start to get a look at the real Veronica outside of work. At the encouraging help of her two friends and her dead grandparents, Veronica signs up for an online dating service. Rounding out her evenings, she also signs up to take a news reporting class. I liked the way all these elements are woven together into a realistic human interest story – communing with her dead grandparents aside. Antoinette and Salvatore, Veronica’s grandparents, were fun to have around. They guided and encouraged Veronica to stretch her wings and seek different things that would make her happy with her life. They helped by pushing her out of her comfort-zone.

In the end, I enjoyed reading about Veronica’s journey through all the conflicted emotions she was forced to deal with. I think this will make a great beach read or book to take on a summer vacation.

Buy now from:    Kindle US    Kindle UK     Paperback

FYI:

This book contains adult language, meaning there are several F-bombs dropped.

Format/Typo Issues:

I was given an advanced readers copy to review, however, I found the editing was excellent.

Rating: **** Four stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Love’s Last Call / Beth Matthews

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: New Adult Romance/Comedy/Relationships

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Availability

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Beth Matthews is a Southern California girl, born and raised. She's a total geek, a movie buff, and a mediocre swing dancer. She lives in sunny SoCal with two of the neediest housecats on the planet. She also does freelance editing on the side if you're an indie author looking for someone to read your books."

For more information, visit her website or like her Facebook page.

Description:

“Lucy York is an aspiring mechanical engineer working as a shot girl serving watered-down drinks to drunken frat boys at Jezebel’s Bar & Lounge. The job isn’t so bad—it pays her bills, and she’s managed to make a surrogate family for herself at the bar. But now she’s ready to spread her wings and fly north to attend a university and, maybe, distance herself a little from the all-consuming social scene at Jezebel’s.

Then her boss hires a new bouncer, Norm, a literature dork who seems like everything a bouncer shouldn’t be: tall, gangly, sweet (and, you know, named Norman). But as she gets to know him, ol’ Norm turns out to be everything Lucy never knew she wanted and the best friend she’s ever had. He’s not a bad bouncer either.

One obstacle to their happily ever after: the owner has a strict no-dating rule for employees. If anyone at Jezebel’s finds out she’s dating a bouncer, Lucy will lose her job, her surrogate family, and the money she needs to go to college.

But, if she loses Norm, is she losing her best chance at happiness?”

Appraisal:

Lucy York is intelligent, beautiful, and commitment phobic. Her mother left when she was very young, so she was raised by her doting father. The problem was that he passed away, from cancer, just after she graduated from high school. She has been putting herself through a two-year college course in hopes that she can transfer to Berkeley to finish her college requirements. She has the math down solid, however, it’s the English course she has put off till the last because she doesn’t feel she is as strong in that class.

The owner of Jezebel’s, Hank, has become like a surrogate father to Lucy. He helps look after her when she needs help and never likes any of her boyfriends. He is also a large muscle bound bouncer at the club and has a strict “no dating policy” between any of the employees.

Norm has graduated from college and has taken a couple of years off to decide what exactly he wants to do with his life now. His father wants him to pursue a career in Literature academia, Norm wants to become an author of science fiction. In the meantime he needed a job to get his car out of the repair shop and his roommate, Zack, needs help with the rent. If he hadn’t gotten this job at Jezebel’s he would have had to flip burgers. His first night on the job he was immediately attracted to Lucy.

Ms. Matthews does a nice job introducing all of her characters, even the supporting players. The dialogue is realistic and believable. The relationship between Lucy and Norm develops quickly, they have great chemistry together and complement each other well. However, Lucy is fraught with anxiety about getting caught dating Norm, so she basically ignores him at work. This is a huge problem for Norm because he keeps getting mixed signals from her. He tries to be understanding of her mood swings. Norm wants to level with Hank and tell him the truth about their relationship, but neither one of them can afford to lose their job. On top of all of this Norm is under a lot of stress with his writing and his dysfunctional family.

I did find this an enjoyable read, however, I encountered proofing errors that got on my nerves a little more than usual. There were several missing words as well as wrong words used: such as door mouse, instead of dormouse; …a hunted look, instead of a haunted look; …thread of desire would all through her, instead of wound all through her; …would have sent her heart with fear, instead of wrenched her heart with fear. Needless to say I encountered several awkward sentences. I think this story would profit from another round of editing. It is worth it.

FYI:

Love’s Last Call is book 1 in the Ladies of Jezebel's series. There is graphic sex described as well as adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

On top of what I mentioned above, I believe Lucy was called Nicola once. Nicola, I learned is a character in another book.

Rating: *** Three stars

Ashes of Life/Erica Lucke Dean and Laura M. Kolar

In case you missed it, this is the second part of a doubleshot review. BigAl weighed in with his thoughts this morning. That post also includes a giveaway you'll want to enter for some prizes from Red Adept Publishing.

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Young Adult/Relationships

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Availability

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Erica Lucke Dean:

“After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains where she lives in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180lb lap dog, and at least one ghost.”

To learn more about Ms. Dean, visit her website or stalk her on herFacebook page.

Laura M. Kolar:

“Laura M. Kolar lives with her husband and daughter in a one-stop-light town in northern-lower Michigan. Though she didn't discover her love of books until she turned thirty, as a self-declared hopeless romantic, she has spent the past few years reading and writing stories with mostly happy endings. If not at her day-job or with her family, you will find her sipping a cup of chai latte while sitting in her favorite rocking chair, hunched over her laptop writing or spending entirely too much time on Twitter.”

Ms. Kolar is the author of Canvas Bound (Book 1 of the Captive Art Series). Find out more about Ms. Kolar, by visiting her website or follow heron Facebook.

Description:

“Married for just three months, Alex Barrett is stunned when her husband, David, dies in a tragic accident. And the absolute last thing the pregnant young widow wants is to take on responsibility for his teenage daughter, Maddie. Reeling from loss, Alex struggles to deal with her grief and her troubled stepdaughter, but one question haunts her: why was David with his ex-wife when he died?

All Maddie Barrett wanted was for her parents to get back together, but an icy road took that dream away. Afterward, Maddie is riddled with guilt that she can’t share with anyone. Feeling angry and alone, she lays all the blame on Alex.

Alex and Maddie must find a way to move past their pain—shared, yet separate. Thrown together in an untenable arrangement, they fight through a frozen landscape of sorrow and redemption while redefining love, forgiveness, and family.”

Appraisal:

I have read all of Ms. Lucke Dean’s books and Ms. Kolar’s Canvas Bound. And enjoyed them all. But the emotional impact this book had is something else completely. Ms. Lucke Dean’s stories are generally light-hearted and full of humor. You won’t find that here. Although a bit of humor is brought in with Alex’s best friend, Natalie, owner of the local coffee and bakery shop in town. She is everything you need in a friend, supportive, honest, and a strong shoulder you can cry on when the need arises.

Alex is beside herself, buried in grief, and the question of why David had Sarah, his ex-wife, riding in the car with him is hounding at her insecurities. This story is told through alternating perspectives of Alex and Maddie so we are allowed to see all of their inner turmoil and insecurities up-close. It’s messy, ugly, and realistic. There were times when I wanted to shake Alex or bop her on the head and yell, “Snap out of it!” right in her face. Luckily, Natalie filled that role for me. I couldn’t help but love her. Ms. Lucke Dean’s secondary characters are always likable, outspoken, and have an inner strength that comes through.

Maddie isn’t your typical teenager, she is a troubled teen acting out, even before her parents wreck that fateful night. Maddie is in self-destruct mode. She describes herself as a cutter who doesn’t cut. She is trying to destroy herself from the inside-out from guilt. She’s taking drugs, drinking, and skipping classes. She also starts things with a “bad boy” because she knows he will hurt her in the long run. Maddie lashes out at Alex every opportunity she gets and Alex unwittingly gives her plenty of ammo. Maddie is a hard character to like, but when she is alone it’s easy to see how broken she is and you want to help her.

Then Grey gets Maddie’s attention, he is a quiet introspective nerd in one of her classes. Grey reaches out to her, he knows her pain. So, now Maddie has someone new to direct her anger at for a while. However, Grey is unrelenting in his pursuit to get through to the real Maddie. Slowly but surely he starts to chip away at the walls she has built around herself. Their relationship and the pace it grew was realistic and their dialogue was believable. Ms. Kolar excels at writing young adult themes and I think she captured Maddie and all of her classmates perfectly.

Alex’s walls are a completely different story, she was constantly filling in any cracks that started to let a little light in. She feels she is too broken to enjoy any happiness. It was heartbreaking to watch. Even after Natalie read her the riot act (This is where I cheered Natalie on) Alex too quickly repaired her walls again to shield herself from life. Misunderstandings can suck the life right out of person as they did in this story. The moral is open your heart and seek the truth. Life is messy. If you don’t take risks, there is no reward. I would recommend this story to everyone, even if you don’t normally read contemporary fiction or young adult.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant issues in editing or formatting.

Rating: ***** Five stars

The Wrong Magic / Ken La Salle

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Relationships

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Author and Playwright, Ken La Salle grew up in Santa Ana, California and has remained in the surrounding area his entire life. He was raised with strong, blue collar roots, which have given him a progressive and environmentalist view. As a result, you'll find many of his stories touching those areas both geographically and philosophically. His passion is intense humor, meaningful drama, and finding answers to the questions that define our lives. You can find out more about Ken on his website.”

Description:

“Good relationships take a certain kind of magic to succeed, and what Alex Petroya seems to have is the wrong magic.

After his wife Stephanie leaves, Alex has one place left to go: the pink house his parents left to him in Cambria, California. After moving in, he discovers a box filled with unfinished stories Stephanie had written during their marriage.

Could finishing them win her back? Alex decides to try but finds writing is harder than it looks. With help from his brother-in-law, Conner, he learns a simple incantation to increase focus. As Alex writes the stories, they come true, creating strange, unnatural events. Then he gets another idea: he will manipulate the stories further to make Stephanie return to him.

With the incantation and the stories, Alex seems to have tapped into a magical combination. But in the end, he finds there is no magic stronger than that of the human heart.”

Appraisal:

Author Ken La Salle manages to write the most pathetic, self-absorbed, uninteresting, dull character and manages to keep him there throughout most of the story. Alex Petrova maintains his lack of growth by repeating the same mistakes over and over in an endless circle. His lack of foresight is untenable and disastrous.

The only saving grace he has available is his brother-in-law, Conner, and his childhood neighbors, Karl and Betty Ferguson. However he refuses to take any of their advice and proceeds with his own plan of action. Conner was a bit two-dimensional and Karl and Betty were stereotypical neighbors.

The way Alex’s stories affected his surroundings was outlandish, but entertaining. I kept feeling like surely Alex will see the light and change but he would fall back into the same role again repeatedly. Why he continued with the stories is beyond me. Except the last one when he decides to write his and Stephanie living happily ever after and that one was not touched upon nearly enough to satisfy me. Was all the magic of the prior stories undone? Did the neighborhood survive intact? I needed more and was left wanting.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found a small number of missing or wrong words.

Rating: *** Three stars

When You Make it Home / Claire Ashby

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary Romance/ Relationships

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Claire Ashby was born and raised in the heart of Atlanta … She resides in Austin with her family and a pack of wild dogs.” 

When You Make It Home is Ms Ashby’s debut novel. Learn more about her at her website or check out her Facebook page.

Description:

“Meg Michaels, a bookstore owner, has already walked away from two cheating exes. She’s learned her lesson and has her mind set on success—until she gets knocked up. Embarrassed and unwilling to discuss her situation with friends and family, she wears layers to hide the pregnancy.

When Meg gets sick at a party, she’s mortified. Even worse, Theo Taylor, the guest of honor, discovers her secret. Theo, an Army medic wounded in the war, agrees not to reveal her condition, and the two forge a bond of friendship that blossoms into love.

Theo is soon filling all of Meg’s late-night cravings—and not just the pregnancy-induced ones. But can their love overcome all the obstacles that stand between them and creating a happy family?”

Appraisal:

Meg has dealt with so many disappointing relationship issues in her life she has built a wall around her heart. She is plagued with abandonment issues that started when her mom left her and her twin brother at a very young age and continues with all the men she has ever had relationships with. When she ends up pregnant with an ex-boyfriend’s baby, who was separated from his wife at the time, her life spins out of control.

When Meg meets her best friend Ellie’s brother-in-law Theo, who has just returned from Afghanistan minus one leg, an unconventional bond starts to form between them. Theo is angry and bitter but trying to cope with his “new life.” He refuses to be a burden to anyone and has a lot of admirable qualities even though his rehab is not going smoothly. The dialogue between Meg and Theo is realistic and genuine as their relationship develops into more than either one of them bargained for.

The story is mostly told through Meg’s eyes as she deals with telling everyone about her pregnancy and has to explain that the baby daddy is not her ex-fiancé who she broke up with two or three months before. She is also dealing with the real baby daddy, her own father who has left her stepmother (who Meg never really bonded with), and running the family bookstore with her twin brother. She also feels the maternal need to find her own mother to learn why she abandoned her and her brother before they were two years old. There were a lot of relationship dynamics explored is this novel. It was a huge undertaking for a first time author to take on. I felt like the timeline didn’t quite work out for me in a couple of places, mainly concerning the pregnancy, and this threw me out of the story for a while.

Meg’s emotions were all over the place, which is normal, because of the hormonal changes women’s bodies go through during a pregnancy. I loved this quote from Meg during one of her inner dialogues giving herself a pep talk while trying to control her emotional turmoil. “I wanted to know the pleasure of someone holding me up. But maybe some of us were meant to hit the ground. Otherwise we’d never learn to bounce.  I could bounce.”

Theo’s dialogue and actions had a way of melting my heart throughout the story. He had to chisel his way into Meg’s heart. At one point when Meg released all her fury at his actions, I feared for their relationship. However, I was proud of Meg for finally owning and expressing her feelings. In my opinion this should have led directly to the climax of the story. As it is… I was left wanting with a certain unresolved story arc, which made the ending feel rushed. I felt cheated that Ellie and Jake were not included at the end. Ellie was an important friend that was there through the whole story. We shared the drama with her pregnancy problems and celebrated her baby along with Meg’s when they had a dual baby shower. I felt like this oversight was unforgivable and took away a star.  

When You Make It Home, is an emotional rollercoaster. I have no doubt that it will make you laugh, cry, and warm the coldest heart.

FYI:

I would consider this an Erotic Romance with adult sexual situations that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Format/Typo Issues:

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy. Other than the timeline issue I found no significant editing or formatting issues.

Rating: **** Four stars

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A Warm Place to Call Home (a demon's story) / Michael Siemsen

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary/ Supernatural/ Adult Satire/ Relationships

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Michael Siemsen lives in Northern California with his wife, three kids, dog Brody, cat Atom, four fish, one demon, and two chupacabrii.

Seriously though he is “the second son of a Vietnam veteran turned policeman. Initially focusing on performing arts, Michael attended the prestigious Alexander Hamilton Academy in Los Angeles. After serving in the U.S. Army as a tracked vehicle operator, he returned to civilian life and began writing short stories and screenplays, and directing short films and music videos.”

Mr. Siemsen's other published work include the Matt Turner Series and a sequel to A Warm Place to Call Home titled The Many Lives of Samuel Beauchamp (a demon's story). To learn more about him check out his website or you can stalk him on Facebook. :D

Description:

“Frederick is a demon. Born in Maryland in the early 1980's, he hasn't a clue where he came from or why, but feels an irresistible desire to occupy a human body. Once inside, he finds the previous occupants' consciousness and memories forever erased, an inevitable side effect that gives Frederick pause when switching bodies, but not so much as to truly halt his ongoing enjoyment of human lives. In various bodies, he travels the world for decades--aimless--sampling cultures and experiencing life from the points of view of males, females, young, old, rich, poor.

Now, Frederick has an urge to return to his roots in America, explore the mystery of his origin, find someone to love, and settle down for a while. In his hometown, his mission bears fruit much faster than he expected, as person after person presents themselves, and following his impulses, he is lead directly to love, tragedy, answers, and the humanity he never knew he wanted.”

Appraisal:

Fredrick is a body hopping demon and he has decided it is time for him to find a nice body to call home where he can develop a relationship and start a family. What better place to start looking than the memories of where he began? 

I was immediately drawn to Fredrick's voice from the very beginning of this story. He was cavalier and had a sarcastic wit about him, but was likeable for a demon. He had some decent qualities, but saw no sense in cultivating them because he was a demon after all. Or at least Fredrick assumed he was a demon, but was actually unsure about what he was exactly.

Obviously we were being told this story through Fredrick's eyes. The characters were cleverly developed and realistic. The plot is well paced as we learned Fredrick was not truly evil, he's impulsive and egocentric but rather benign. He chose Joseph Cling because he was a handsome man and Melanie liked him and Fredrick decided he wanted Melanie. However, he was too anxious to be with Melanie to properly watch and get to know Joseph first.  Escapades ensue as Fred/Joe stumbles through trying to be Joseph in his day job. Feeling at home in Joseph's body he made a conscientious effort to be everything Melanie wanted him to be.

To complicate matters, Joseph's identical twin brother, James, thinks he knows what has happened with Joseph and tries to convince Fredrick to leave Joseph's body. Fredrick is convinced that James doesn't have a clue and is making wild claims. Nonetheless trouble really hits the fan when jealousy rears its ugly head and Fred/Joe loses all sense of reality in a jealous rage over one of Melanie's past relationships. Mr. Siemsen weaves a complicated tale of the concept between good, evil, and purity as they become shades of gray and far too human and frustrating when self-doubt creeps in. When is altruism self-serving and when is it a selfless act? Philosophical questions are explored in a unique and thoughtful way.

FYI:

This book contains explicit language and adult sexual content.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant editing errors.

Rating: ***** Five stars

How to Be a Good Bad Boy / Jeff d’Avanzo

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help/Relationships

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Jeff d'Avanzo brings insight to relating with women, having developed a 30-city women’s author and musician event with a national bookstore chain, as well as writing and directing the documentary of a group of women and their spiritual expedition among ancient ruins in Mexico.

He resides with his beautiful wife Kris in Santa Monica, California.”

Description:

“In the United States, there are over 25 million single adults over the age of 25 in search of their ideal partner. Additionally, a recent Newsweek story estimates that 15 to 20 percent of the 113 million married Americans have sex no more than 10 times a year, which is how experts define a sexless marriage. For men, solving the mystery of what women really desire in their partner has been a complex challenge yielding little success. How To Be A Good Bad Boy will transform you into the man that women really want by revealing when it is time to be a gentleman and when it is time to be anything but.”

Appraisal:

My first impression was this was going to be one of those “how to pickup chicks” or “how to seduce any woman” books that purport to teach a guy how to be a player. It almost got tossed into the (virtual) pile of books that I’m not likely to ever read. Then I took a closer look and decided to give it a try.

I guess some readers could still think it is one of those books. There are suggestions as to how you might go about meeting a strange woman and eventually more, but to view the book that way is to force it into a category it doesn’t deserve. The better way would be to view it as help for nice guys who are tired of the bad boys getting the girl, but don’t want to compromise themselves. In theory, you’ll learn how to be the “bad boy” when it is appropriate.

Will it really work? Not always (no book would or should). Maybe not at all. However, the overriding message, that many of those “nice guy” things are correct most of the time, seems right. Where those other books paint women as targets, to be chased and then tossed aside, How to Be a Good Bad Boy preaches communication and mutual respect. Really, what you’re most likely to come away with is as much an adjustment in attitude as technique. That seems like a good outcome, too.

Format/Typo Issues:

Small number of typos and proofing errors.

Rating: **** Four stars