Tag Archives: review

Whale Song – a review

by

2

Time for another review and although some might class this novel as YA, it was much more.

WhateSomg51bkFBYzfiL

Whale Song

by Cheryl Kaye Tardif 

A haunting story of love, tragedy, sacrifice and transformation that will change the way you view life…and death.

Thirteen years ago, Sarah Richardson’s life was shattered after the tragic assisted suicide of her mother. The shocking tragedy left a grief-stricken teen-aged Sarah with partial amnesia. Some things are easier to forget.

But now a familiar voice from her past sends Sarah, a talented mid-twenties ad exec, back to her past. A past that she had thought was long buried. Some things are meant to be buried.

Torn by nightmares and visions of a yellow-eyed wolf, yet aided by the creatures of the Earth and by the killer whales that call to her in the night, Sarah must face her fears and uncover the truth―even if it destroys her. Some things are meant to be remembered―at all cost.

This haunting tale of change and choice sensitively explores issues of the right to die, integrating the optimistic spiritualism of native myth and the hard realities of modern-day life.

This beautiful story, told in flashback, straddles the genres of mystery and family drama, and is set in the wilds of Canada — Vancouver Island, Victoria, Bamfield and Vancouver.

REVIEW *****

Although “Whale Song” is told in flashback, it never feels like that. Early on in my reading, I wrote that this was “a beautifully written coming-of-age novel and more”. The voice of Sarah Richardson grows with all the experiences that she faces and she reacts to events as anyone her age would, from bullying at school – a well-crafted case of reverse racism – to her first kiss, then the tragedy that rocks her life, the assisted suicide of her mother, and how that impacts on the years after her mother’s passing

Although my time spent on Vancouver Island was merely days, the author portrays a vivid picture of the place that is central to the novel. The descriptions are as evocative as her mother’s paintings, and the depiction of the Nootka indigenous people – or is that First People – was sensitive and colourful. I loved the characters of Goldie and her grandmother, as well as the role of the wolf, so integral to the plot, as integral as the captivating killer whales. The meaning of the book title makes total sense at the end.

This was a novel that I found hard to put down – but life intervenes, unfortunately. The theme of forgiveness resonates throughout the novel weaving into the different plots, from the bullying to the suicide. I might have been a victim of bullying but I empathised and understood this bully totally. Throughout the last few pages especially, I was weeping with joy and sadness. I was sad to reach the end, but I loved this so much I will read it again and recommend it totally.

The best book that I have read for ages.

Wind Catcher – a review

by

0

 

I seem to be reading more YA books than normal, and enjoying them. Wind Catcher has to be one of my favourites to date, and it was the native American elements that first attracted me to these authors. Jeff Altabef was generous and offered me a free copy of the first book in the Chosen series.

windcatcher23497656

Wind Catcher (Chosen #1)

by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef

2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner

Lies.
Betrayal.
Destiny.
A choice that changes everything.

My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone, and I am special. I see visions and hear voices, and I have no idea what they mean.

When someone murders medicine men in my sleepy Arizona town, I can’t help but worry my crazy grandfather is involved. He’s a medicine man and more than a just a little eccentric. He likes to tell me stories about the Great Wind Spirit and Coyote, but none of it makes any sense. I thought I knew the truth, but in order to clear his name I dive into his alien world and uncover an ancient secret society formed over two hundred years ago to keep me safe—me! And I can’t help but to start to wonder whether there’s some truth to those old stories my grandfather has been telling me.

I just want to be an average sixteen-year-old girl, but apparently I’ve never been average. Could never be average. I didn’t know it before, but I’m a Chosen, and those voices I’ve been hearing… well, they’re not just “voices.” I’ve started to develop abilities, but they might not be enough. A powerful entity called a Seeker is hunting me and he’s close—really close.

I thought I knew the answers but truth is, I don’t. Betrayed by those I love, I must choose to run or risk everything in order to fulfill my destiny. I hope I make the right choice. Don’t you?

REVIEW – ****

I follow Jeff Altabef, on various media, and he kindly sent me “Wind Catcher” for free. Having read the blurb and the first few pages, I would have willingly paid – writing costs as does any job. I am glad that I ignored those reviewers that criticised the narrator/protagonist’s “wavering” about her ‘chosen’ role and wanting to be normal. I may be retired, and a man, but I remember all the teenage anxieties I went through of wanting to be normal. Okay, I ended up rebelling but that was my ultimate response to being bullied, after constant failings to conform, so I felt for Juliet.

For me, Juliet was a well-rounded character and I had a sense early on that there was a deep respect for the weird, traditional native ways of Sicheii, her grandfather. Like so many of us, there was a point to reject those ways and gravitate to conformity. She needed, like the best protagonists, to go through several life-changing events before she was ready to face her antagonists. Clearly, Jeff’s daughter Erynn added her own experiences to ensuring this character worked. This was a coming-of-age story, although the growth was something most of us never experience.

Only when a heroine is ready can she face her antagonist. So, we get a great ending when all the pieces come together, bringing closure to the key plotlines. However, Book 2 is set-up cleverly and with the right questions left unanswered. Like, will she find romance with the right guy?

Overall, I enjoyed Wind Catcher and was unable to put it down. The Native American elements felt right to me – although I am not an expert. As a mystery writer, the tension and the intrigue kept me guessing even with the subtle hints. I can’t wait for Brink of Dawn and Scorched Souls reaching the top of my to-read pile. Recommended read.

My Rogue, My Ruin – a review

by

6

I realise that I haven’t written a review since September 1st. Although, despite my poor health, I have been reading so there are seven overdue reviews. I’m going to leave those for now and review the book that I just finished.

my-rogue-my-ruin

My Rogue, My Ruin (Lords of Essex #1)

by Amalie Howard & Angie Morgan 

The beau monde has always had it all–money, pride, titles–while the needy die on their doorsteps. So I don a mask, steal from the rich, and give to the poor. I am no longer Lord Archer Croft, the Marquess of Hawksfield and the son of a duke.

I am the Masked Marauder.

My only rule: never let anyone close enough to know my secret. So I’m cold and hard and scare everyone away. That’s just what it takes if I hope to make a difference in this world.

Until one woman, Lady Briannon Findlay, pitied by the ton, sees through my defenses, and I can’t help the heat between us. Everyone sees her as quiet and frail, but I see the spark behind her eyes and I’m like a moth to her flame. For a moment, I think I might be able to keep her and my secret.

But I was never meant to have it all…

REVIEW – ****

I received this book as a prize in a random genre competition and found it hard to put this down. In fact, I stopped reading another book to make time for this one. I’m a very slow reader, otherwise, I’d have read this in one sitting. I rarely read Historical Romances but this had all the right elements to draw me in: well-drawn characters, mystery and intrigue, a strong female lead, visual settings, and there are horses – not surprising as the setting is England in 1817.

The romance between Archer and Briannon/Brynn is tempestuous given their vibrant characters, with incidents and society leading to some challenging encounters. True love never runs smoothly as Archer and Brynn discover, often struggling against their own personalities and realistically wavering emotions. Their motivation throughout is logical in the situations they find themselves.

The characters are all believable and well-imagined, and the society they inhabit rings true – my upbringing brought me into contact with the modern ‘remnants’ of the ton and I could visualise some of the ‘types’.

Attempting to avoid spoilers, I found the mystery plotline worked extremely well and kept me thinking until the end. This was the kind of mystery plot that has you looking for the clever foreshadowing and hidden clues. As a mystery reader primarily, I felt that the authors pulled that off brilliantly.

Attempting to work with another author must be a challenge – I’ve only once attempted it, and failed – but Amalie Howard and Angie Morgan have blended their writing seamlessly. There are no signs of anything like alternate authors for alternate chapters or scenes. They write with one voice and I now await the next Lords of Essex novel.

Immurement – a review

by

1

I must apologise for the lack of any reviews since the beginning of August, in fact a distinct lack of any posts. However, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been reading. I have and reviews of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Stephen Puleston’s Devil’s Kitchen are in the pipeline. But first I’m going to review the sci-fi dystopian first book in Norma Hinkens’s’ The Undergrounders Series.

Immurement_28181699 

Immurement (The Undergrounders #1)

by Norma Hinkens

The Sweepers are coming. They hunt the young. Earth’s end is her beginning.

Sixteen-year-old Derry and her brother live in perpetual fear of capture. They survive underground on a scorched earth overrun by gangs, clones, and mysterious hoverships. When her brother goes missing, Derry’s only hope of finding him is to strike a deal with a group of cutthroat subversives. Desperate to save her brother, she leads a daring raid to uncover the secrets behind the Sweepers’ hoverships, but she soon finds out the world she knows is a lie.

Keeping her brother alive may require trusting her enemy and opening her heart to something she never thought possible. 

Immurement is the first book in The Undergrounders Series, a sci-fi dystopian thriller trilogy with a gritty complex heroine and twists you won’t see coming!

REVIEW:

The first requirement of a good book is the ability to keep me turning the pages, and in that Immurement succeeded. It also painted a scary Dystopian world that added to my desire to read Book Two and discover what happen to Derry and the other Undergrounders.

I liked Derry with her insecurities and frustrations, and her courage and spontaneity. She is not a ‘perfect’ heroine who makes reasoned and clever decisions. She makes mistakes like any sixteen-year-old, especially one struggling to save those she loves and herself in the face of terrible danger and untruths.

Who does one trust in that situation? Derry understandably is dependent on what she knows or has been told, so her journey is one of multiple discoveries. She doesn’t become the ‘perfect’ heroine by the end, but she has learnt to demonstrate the qualities that will be needed in the struggles ahead.

She finds support from a cast of secondary characters, all with their own distinctive characteristics and abilities. In some cases, she is forced to trust dubious personalities despite her gut feelings. There are stereotypes, like the subversives, but then the novel is told in 1st person POV. These are the stereotypes ingrained by others’ prejudices and beliefs. So they evolve as her knowledge broadens, and secrets are revealed.

I enjoyed the outdoor setting, not least as I am about to discover more about the great outdoors in Idaho and the Sawtooth Mountains. The contrast works with the survivalist lifestyle underground and the high-tech nightmare world of the Sweepers – the latter a world that feels too possible.

Don’t expect a tidying up of loose ends. This is Book 1 and it very much sets up Book Two. However, I admit that I like books in a series to leave more settled by the end.

 

 

The Book Thief – a review

by

7

Last month, I found my reading had a theme – Books – and that began with  Rachel Caine’s Ink and Bone, which I reviewed on July 23rd.

Now I have finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which I review below, but I lied when I said, “I don’t intend to move on from there to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451…” That’s my current read, but I promise a change of direction next time.

However, it was weird to stumble on a short by Kristine Kathryn Rusch that echoed that book theme, burning books, and the Library of Alexandra. If you can find it, The Midbury Lake Incident is part of the Uncollected Anthology Magical Libraries.

Anyway, all this synchronicity is giving me goose-bumps. But then Death was a quirky character in Jackie Moore Kessler’s Hunger, and now in The Book Thief, the narrator is Death with opinions and frailties.

So before I give my latest review, and as we are on the subject of reviews, I came across this topical post: http://terrytyler59.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/augustreviews-because-every-little-helps.html

 

BookThief22824478

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak was the best-selling debut literary novel of the year 2007, selling over 400,000 copies. The author is a prize-winning writer of children’s books, and this, his first novel for adults, proved to be a triumphant success. The book is extraordinary on many levels: moving, yet restrained, angry yet balanced — and written with the kind of elegance found all too rarely in fiction these days. The book’s narrator is nothing less than Death itself, regaling us with a remarkable tale of book burnings, treachery and theft. The book never forgets the primary purpose of compelling the reader’s attention, yet which nevertheless is able to impart a cogent message about the importance of words, particularly in those societies which regard the word as dangerous (the book is set during the Nazi regime, but this message is all too relevant in many places in the world today).
Nine-year-old Liesel lives with her foster family on Himmel Street during the dark days of the Third Reich. Her Communist parents have been transported to a concentration camp, and during the funeral for her brother, she manages to steal a macabre book: it is, in fact, a gravediggers’ instruction manual. This is the first of many books which will pass through her hands as the carnage of the Second World War begins to hungrily claim lives. Both Liesel and her fellow inhabitants of Himmel Street will find themselves changed by both words on the printed page and the horrendous events happening around them.

I have no hesitation in standing alongside those readers that loved this book. Words are important to me as a writer and a reader, so I could feel for the title character, Liesel, and for all those swept in different directions by the power of the word.

On the one hand, the novel shows how easily the sweet insidious words of Hitler could sway so many ordinary people. Most of the characters are German citizens reacting like so many of us do…with knee-jerk responses. Life goes on. It’s too easy to sit back and then realise too late what is really going on. Sadly, just glancing at current politics, we haven’t learnt from those dark days.

On the other hand, words are the beacon of hope for Liesel and others. Books create possibilities, whether classics or stories written on the paint covered pages of Mein Kampf. They inspire.

“When she came to write her story, she would wonder when the books and the words started to mean not just something, but everything.”

Although the Holocaust is building in the background, and the plight of one particular Jew, Max, touches Liesel and our lives, this is a novel about the way that German people reacted to the events at that time. Markus Zusak might be Australian but his mother Lisa is originally from Germany and his father Helmut is from Austria. So they would have known about those times, and having had German friends, I know that the perspective of the citizens was similar to what Liesel experienced. And this novel is from the viewpoint of a child – well except for when Death paints the darker aspects of events, as he/it is always there, especially when the atrocities happen or a child dies senselessly.

Death is a tragic narrator, struggling to understand humanity and trying to take a caring approach to a distasteful job, because “even death has a heart”.

“Please believe me when I tell you that I picked up each soul that day as if it were newly born. I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks. I listened to their last, gasping cries. Their vanishing words. I watched their love visions and freed them from their fear.”

Death’s observations enhance the unfolding story, and in places Death gets the best lines:

“The question is, what color will everything be at that moment when I come for you? What will the sky be saying?”

And then says, “I am haunted by Humans.” And Death is drawn to Liesel’s story in which there are so many rich characters, from Papa to Rudy Steiner to the Mayor’s Wife, and so many others.

In fact, there was so much to love, from poetic passages and images, to emotion wringing incidents, that I must re-read “The Book Thief”.

The final words must be Liesel’s, and to discover more pick up the novel.

“Sometimes I think my papa is an accordion. When he looks at me and smiles and breathes, I hear the notes.”

 

 

 

 In The Midst Of Life -a review

by

2

When I devised my point system, I wasn’t expecting a book to slip to the third star position. But I hope my review justifies this score.

Midst_24896422

In The Midst Of Life (D.I. Angel Mystery #1)

by Roger Silverwood

Twenty years ago, a nurse in a hospital for the criminally insane was brutally and savagely murdered by a patient.

It later turned out that the patient had had his medication withheld by another nurse, who had been stealing and selling drugs for her own gain – and her subsequent disappearance triggers the beginning of a gruesome trail of enquiries.

Then the disgraced nurse’s sister arrives in Inspector Michael Angel’s office with news of a murder, and fears for her own safety.

With some mysterious clues – a dead woman wearing one stocking inside out, an American class ring, and two dead cats – and a lot of clever humour, Inspector Angel scrambles to find the killer in south Yorkshire.

Despite obstruction from the Chief Constable, the doggedly determined and charismatic Inspector Angel stubbornly ferrets out the suspects.

By relying on his eternally willing right hand man, and resorting to an unusual strategy, he manages to narrow the long list of suspects down.

But are his suspicions right?

And can he stop the killer before anyone else is cut down In the Midst of Life…?

‘In the Midst of Life’ is the first novel in the DI Michael Angel series.

*

The blurb for “In The Midst of Life” intrigued me, and the opening chapter hooked me. But as I read more this novel proved a disappointment. Maybe it was because I had just read three excellent crime novels.

Or maybe it was Inspector Angel. I found him irritating, although some readers have called him a strong character. I disliked his attitude towards his colleagues, which was more than racist in places. Maybe he is based on real cops, but I hope he’s in the minority.

I felt uneasy about his approach to solving crimes, not least the way that he reacted to some video evidence. He also seemed to be more concerned about petrol station robbers than the murder. Or was that the writer? Was there a subtle clue here that I missed?

The plot had me guessing until the resolution, but too much was revealed at once, and it didn’t read right. This wasn’t an Agatha Christie reveal that has this captivated reader flicking back for clues. I felt cheated when Angel revealed things that were never set up earlier.

I came away wondering if that was his main reason for not worrying about the murder. Or was that because the victim was a woman? But then Angel’s not a misogynist just a stereotype. And what’s with a police force with no women?

However, Roger Silverwood still needs some credit for not only writing one book and getting it published, but also a whole series. That takes something. Shame the plot fell short.

*

So did I learn anything from reading “In The Midst Of Life”? Well, I realised that I must avoid putting off readers with my protagonist’s attitude. Researching the modern police force is essential, so I’m glad to be in touch with two North Wales police officers – one of them female. Finally, the plot resolution must tie into previous events, even if there are red herrings and hidden clues.