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Donovan's Bookshelf

March 2021 Review Issue


Table Of Contents

Prime Picks
Fantasy & Sci Fi
Biography & Autobiography
Mystery & Thrillers
Novels
Reviewer's Choice
Young Adult/Childrens
Spirituality
Health
Literature


Fantasy & Sci Fi

Above Sea Level
Douglas E. Congdon
Independently Published
9781672354028             $6.99 Paper/$1.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Above-Sea-Level-Douglas-Congdon-ebook/dp/B081SQXJC5/ 

Above Sea Level weaves a post-apocalyptic story and an investigative piece. Set in a future in which an environmentally wrecked America consists of small communities linked by the internet, the mayor of a small Midwestern town, Plato McFaul, is murdered by a robot. 

When an investigation fails to turn up a concrete lead, his son, Daniel McFaul, is tasked with probing his father's death, setting a trap to catch the killer that relies on a beautiful, dangerous woman's participation in a plan that could backfire. 

Daniel has inherited his father's talents, in many ways. He's also inherited trouble, which deepens as his journey leads him into unpredictable, questionable territory: "How much of it was even real? Difficult to tell these days, but Daniel always assumed the worst, at first. Sally called it paranoia, but he liked to think he was just being careful. He learned that from his father, who would sometimes say “evil often smiles” when lecturing Daniel on how much he could trust others." 

Is there a better way of catching a killer than making himself the bait in a trap? If so, Daniel can't think of one. 

As his murder probe winds through a world where truth is measured by internet protection devices and yet still remains elusive, Daniel discovers many truths about his father, a man "ahead of his time and out of place in Dodge City." As he pieces together perceptions and information from disparate sources, Daniel edges ever closer to a realization not just about his father's position and demise, but secrets that will shake society's foundations. 

Above Sea Level isn't just about survival in a much-changed America. It's about romance and ethics (as Samantha seems steeped in a conspiracy that surrounds her); it's about choices and consequences (as Daniel goes beyond the process of law enforcement to dig out the truth about his father's life as well as his death); and it's about friendship, justice, and political and social transformations alike. 

Readers who like their post-apocalyptic worlds to contain more than just survival goals will find the mystery and intrigue components in Above Sea Level to be top-notch and thoroughly engrossing. 

Above Sea Level

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Finding George Washington: A Time Travel Tale
Bill Zarchy
Roving Camera Press
978-0984919123         $14.95 Paper; $4.95 ebook
Website: findinggeorgewashington.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984919120/  

Readers of time travel, alternate history, and military sci-fi stories alike will find Finding George Washington: A Time Travel Tale a vigorous investigation of the past. Here, George Washington vanishes from his era in 1778 and journeys forward in time to the summer of 2014, where he encounters a puzzling future. 

When the General wakens from having been literally swept off his feet during a moonlight walk, he discovers a world of "very fast riding machines" and incomprehensible wonders. It's also a world in which he doesn't belong. 

Unlike many time travel stories, time continues to pass in his era, and his absence causes ripples of change that threaten to destabilize time itself unless George Washington can be returned to his own era. 

Two young men from Berkeley become involved in this dilemma and the impossible challenges of manipulating time as they face a baseball season in San Francisco like no other. Their encounters with him, narrated in the first person, provide a satisfying alternative perspective on time travel and history. 

It should be noted that there is a great deal of baseball lore wound into the story as it unfolds. This will especially delight fans of the sport, who will find the game history and experiences make for involving reading. 

The adventure is fast-paced, with action  predictable at times and surprising at others, and the characters all come alive as Washington faces perhaps the biggest challenge of his life...returning to it. 

Dialogue and reflections are quite realistic, as one of George’s new friends who doesn't believe in time travel is forced to accept Washington's appearance as genuine and recalls American history—which means that if Washington isn't around to help win the War of Independence, his life will become very different. 

As the story evolves against the backdrop of the Giants playoff games and San Francisco fog, readers receive a fine blend of thriller intrigue and California atmosphere in a time travel tale that creates many gripping moments. 

Readers of alternate history or time travel stories, especially those who hold a prior affection for either Washington or baseball, will find the story delightful as Washington explores the wonders of a very different world and contemplates what he will bring home with him—if ever he can return. 

Action and adventure readers, too, are in for a treat! 

Finding George Washington: A Time Travel Tale

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Forgive Us
E.T. Gunnarsson
Bragi Press
9781736377338             $9.99 Paper, $2.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R2X9C52 

Forgive Us covers three distinct time frames: 2099, when a loner is determined to rebuild civilization (perhaps single-handedly); 2154, when emerging nations face dangerous feuds that could destroy them; and 2185, when a space station survivor faces a revolution. Each scenario presents struggles for the survival of humanity and selects a few lone individuals who follow their own courses of assuring that mankind and its society lives on, however altered by past events. 

Each protagonist is a refugee in his own world. E.T. Gunnarsson crafts each story as a separate yet connected scenario in which their complex dystopian environments are threatened by forces that are linked to past events.

Under another hand, having such free-flowing time streams and four major characters who move through each world might prove confusing. However, Gunnarsson includes time frames on each chapter heading and solidifies events by linking these disparate times at pivot points where the characters have successfully changed both their personal and their world's self-destructive trajectory. 

Oliver, for example, is focused not just on rebuilding, but making sense of relics from the past; while next-generation London strives to make the world better place for his adopted daughter Rose, against seeming insurmountable obstacles. 

Between Peacekeepers to prisoners and struggles for freedom which keep changing both its nature and the characters' efforts, Forgive Us excels in crafting complex futures that rest firmly on solid characterization and scenarios that test the mettle of individuals and societies alike. 

The progressive buildup of tension and history is excellent, leading to an unpredictable conclusion that comes full circle in a surprising way. 

Readers seeking a solid work of social evolution, technological advancement, and dystopian power struggles will find Forgive Us a compelling piece that draws the reader with realistic characters and a satisfyingly complex series of subplots. 

Forgive Us

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Guardian
Susi Wright
Independently Published
9798581999240                     $4.99
Website: www.firechronicles.weebly.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Book-4-Fire-Chronicles-ebook-dp/B08M9KQR4P  

Book 4 of the Fire Chronicles fantasy series, Guardian, continues the epic prophecy that unfolded in prior books and is especially recommended for readers who found these stories compelling. It documents the ongoing struggles faced by Lady Elite Espira, whose personal mission is to eradicate the forces of evil in her kingdom. 

Given her soul mate at her side and her powerful position, one would think this would be a relatively easy goal to meet, but in a war-torn land filled with threats and the dangerous Fire she and her dragon Ra must wield, nothing is set in stone. 

Readers who anticipate a neat or pat ending to her adventures will find Guardian vividly portrayed and filled with satisfying twists. 

As the dragonrider leads her army against forces of darkness and considers her own darkness within her, readers will enjoy an epic chronicle of confrontation and struggle that excels in compelling examinations of dubious allies and magical clashes. As noted by an ancient mage, "...nothing comes free in war, not even death." 

This and other truths shake Espira's own courage and determination as she finds her decisions clouded by pain and bitterness and pays the price for channeling extreme magic even with good intentions. 

Susi Wright unfolds another compelling story about choices, consequences, and the heavy price to be paid for being a powerful leader. 

The moral, ethical, and psychological trials and challenges which haunt Espira's decisions make for thought-provoking reading that nicely enhance the story's action-packed magical clashes and the sometimes-mercurial sides of good and evil. 

Guardian is about more than physical and mental battle. Ultimately, it's about the healing process and how much Espira is willing to sacrifice for her people. 

Suitable for ages 14 years and up, many an adult fantasy reader will find this story compelling and hard to put down. 

Guardian

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Leatherfoot
Bob Jenkins
Independently Published
978-1733865340            $17.99 Paper/$7.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Leatherfoot-Daughters-Kali-Yuga-Jenkins/dp/1733865349 

This third book in the Daughters of Kali Yuga fantasy series is set fifty years after the cataclysm that has decimated the planet and tells of Leatherfoot, a nomad girl whose life revolves around eluding her demon father Kali as she explores what's left of Western America. 

Kali's attempt at total destruction has not been successful, as people remain who could resurrect civilization once again, and Leatherfoot is an active part of this world's efforts. 

Set in 52 A.K. (After Kali) in Oregon, in the Shiva Puri village featured in previous series titles, the story opens with a powerful scene of a woman creeping, camouflaged, and an internal dialogue that reflects an altered language which has changed over the years ("Could it be done? Perhaps, by someone with astonishing speed and baffling sneakery. Don't matter if I get ketched, do it? My village, ain't it? But being ketched would spoil the prank."). 

She's regarded as a roughneck and more, but as she falls from the sky into the village where her mother Janabai Shepherd lives, readers realize that any preconceptions about Leatherfoot's place in the world is not as simple as they might have expected from her introductory observations. 

At this point, given the changing perspectives and scenarios, it's evident that Leatherfoot is not your usual staid dystopian scenario. From the village of Shiva Puri and its powerful women and survivors to the long-term effects of a demon who has changed the world (but not quite succeeded in his ambitions to destroy it), there are many subplots and personalities wound into this survival saga that set it apart from other dystopian tales. 

Changing points of view are an intrinsic device Bob Jenkins employs to fully explore the motivations, personalities, and attitudes of all the characters. These range from mother Janabai's relationship to her strange daughter Leatherfoot to Kali's ongoing presence in and influence on the world. Much as Janabai wants to assure her daughter that her father is dead, she knows this is not true, and that dangerous challenges remain. 

As Kali builds a new Corps with Marine gunnery sergeant Lucia Guererro ("Gunny"), a host of powerful new characters are introduced that ultimately challenge Leatherfoot's relationships and future.

Leatherfoot's personal recitations, as well as the reflections and descriptions of those around her, are identified in chapter headings which make it easy to move between characters and events. 

It's especially refreshing to have these different perspectives because they not only lend alternating viewpoints about unfolding events, but serve to neatly frame Leatherfoot's colloquial language, which would have been harder to digest had the entire story been presented in her words alone.

Profiled as they are, these observations become an intrinsic, interesting part of a story that presents its changing scenarios through a diverse set of voices. 

Leatherfoot's courage, abilities, and journey will entrance a wide audience—especially prior readers of the Shiva Puri village's struggles to survive. 

As the story of love, courage, survival, and transformation evolves, fantasy readers will relish the unique post-apocalyptic scenarios and lives that move through the seasons and ultimately celebrate humanity ("In this hard world, you take comfort when it's offered.") as Leatherfoot faces a journey that takes her away from her life purpose and into unexpected territory. 

Fantasy readers are in for another treat as Bob Jenkins expands his original, compelling world with an unforgettable, powerful character who finds and confronts her place in it. 

Leatherfoot

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Let There be Dragons
Janet Post
Tell-Tale Publishing Group
978-1952020063            $25.00 Paper/$4.95 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Let-There-Dragons-Janet-Post/dp/1952020069 

In the post-apocalyptic world of Let There Be Dragons, dragons, elves, vampires and demons are in a war over control of the Earth. 

In this world, dragon rider Annabelle (Belle) is on a mission to rescue her sister from the demon Slygon. Saving the world is actually the second task on her list. 

The first-person protagonist who opens this story is Jackal, the half-breed elf progeny of an orc rape who has been sent away for safety (elves are racists, and don't believe in mixing blood) to a small mountain village in what was once Arkansas, to be raised in relatively safety (if any safe havens exist). 

As Janet Post walks readers through this world, many familiar names of former human abodes are presented, such as New Orleans—but with different landscapes and new reputations for danger. This lends to a story that feels both familiar and unfamiliar, in many ways, creating a backdrop that keeps readers on their toes as this revised society comes to life. 

A host of characters evolve; from Belle, who holds the threatening ability to draw evil to her and thus is treated differently by nuns and hated by her peers until she's ready to enter the world as a warrior, to fairies and mythical creatures who join in her rescue mission. 

The changing viewpoints and first-person inspections of this universe bring it to life and create a fast-paced adventure story. In it, Belle comes to learn new truths about Jackal and her newfound friends, as well as her widening mission beyond her sister's well-being. 

Replete with battles, identity crises and self-examination, and stories of courage and adaptation, Let There Be Dragons captures the imagination. Scenarios develop that embraces prejudices, cultural differences, city Magic and Gifts, and Belle's fierce anger, which drives her mission and leads her to confront elf games and prejudice alike. 

As this disparate group of heroes interacts with and changes the world around them, readers will enjoy bracing clashes and adventures that drive each character to grow beyond their original vision of their purpose in life. 

Can loving a half-orc place the entire elf kingdom in disarray? How can prejudices be set aside if values are intrinsically tied to their existence and, thus, to the attitudes and lives of entire races? 

Janet Post creates a compelling story that holds not just nonstop action and clashes, but interpersonal transformations that hold powerful implications for the continued existence of the world. 

Fantasy fans will find the many underlying themes of confrontation and adaptation in Let There Be Dragons makes for a compelling, thought-provoking story that takes action and adventure into realms of psychological, philosophical, and ethical examination. 

Let There be Dragons

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Scorched Earth
Kathleen McFall & Clark Hays
Pumpjack Press
978-1-7345197-2-3                $15.95 Paper/$4.99 Kindle
www.pumpjackpress.com 

Book 2 in the space mystery Halo trilogy, Scorched Earth, is set in 2188. It presents an Earth abandoned by the wealthy Five Families, who are building a very different world on Mars thanks to the advanced AI Halo. 

It only takes one man to change this status quo, and that man is labor cop Crucial Larsen, whose discovery on the red planet empowers him in a way he rejects—until ex-lover Melinda draws him back to the planet with a plea to clear her fiancée of a murder charge. 

The dual lures of a career choice and the possibility of patching up a relationship gone awry lead him to confront this closely-held secret's possibilities for changing scenarios both on Mars and Earth. In the process, Crucial's journey leads him to impossible decisions and dangerous new worlds. 

Other sci-fi books have attempted to blend the genres of an investigative detective piece with sci-fi, but few achieve such a seamless integration as do Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays. Sci-fi readers will appreciate the attention to hard science and futuristic backgrounds, while those who enjoy detective stories will find the back-and-forth political and investigative games to be engaging and absorbing. 

These different aspects of the story receive solid inspection and presentation: "Coverly is the crazy genius coder who developed the nanites. He’s dead. That seems to happen to a lot of people I meet. The difference with him is that he took his own life so Halo wouldn’t get suspicious that he forced the nanites into me." 

Between Crucial's observation of the negatives in the systems he operates in to his worry that nanites are 'messing with his brain' and causing his emotions to go awry, the personal, political, and social issues create a Mars story that is thoroughly absorbing. 

The philosophical and emotional components presented as Crucial struggles with romance and bigger-picture thinking are very nicely explored: “Crucial, life is short, mostly painful and often ends in disaster. The most anyone can hope for is to be loved, here and now, in the present moment, before something else goes wrong.” She touches my cheek and I feel like I’m the one in the crib and she’s looking down at me. “It’s okay to live again, even if that means abandoning the best part of the past.” 

Crucial's struggle to not only stay alive and solve a mystery but come to grips with his own decisions and their consequences blend nicely with this AI sci-fi story of the future: "Turns out doing good feels a lot like winning." These newfound realizations create a compelling saga recommended not just for the sci-fi audience it will likely attract, but detective readers looking for something edgy and different. 

Scorched Earth

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The Treason of Robyn Hood
D. Lieber
Ink & Magick
978-1-951239-12-1        
$4.99 ebook; $14.95 paperback; $24.95 hardcover
Website: www.dlieber.com
Ordering: https://amzn.to/2V7Jn8K

Cover art usually isn't mentioned in a review, but The Treason of Robyn Hood holds a particularly notable cover that attracts attention and interest—a young hooded woman holding a bow, with the walls of a city and a motorcycle behind her. 

Robyn Loxley finally has a meeting with Warden James Weldon of the Midshire War Relocation Center, after months of writing to him. It's a meeting that goes awry as Robyn is turned down with no explanation. 

This story isn't set in England's distant past, but in the quasi sci-fi modern times of 1942, where Robyn is a ward of a family that lives a comfortable life. Her greatest challenge lies in not being able to see her best friend, who is in a Japanese-American concentration camp, and her frustration dovetails with her discovery of Jon Little and a band of Sherwood residents who live in one of the few untouched shanty towns left. They reveal to her the truth about her foster family and her privileged life. 

Her decision to err on the side of justice sends her on an unexpected journey that moves from a singular obsession with Will's fate to broader social and political concerns in a sharply divided society. 

Urban fantasy readers usually don't receive stories that include the trappings of an alternate history and updated steampunk themes, but The Treason of Robyn Hood's ability to incorporate both into its story of social justice and confrontation creates an atmosphere both familiar and alien at the same time. Thus, the original Robin Hood becomes an exploration of a feisty female's determination and abilities, whether it is in battle or political cat-and-mouse games. 

Robyn may be charged with being impulsive and not always thinking things through, but these qualities serve her well as she foregoes her large, comfortable room in the Lacklands' mansion for more modest accommodations accompanied by the serious addition of a newfound purpose to life. 

With her new friends Tuck and Jon at her side, Robyn undertakes the impossible, carrying readers into a story replete with social inspection, battles, the possibility of a romance with Guy Gisbourne (despite their different alliances), and a more deadly relationship with the Lacklands. 

After a satisfying romp through this world, The Treason of Robyn Hood leaves the door open for more adventures. Unlike other sci-fi books, it doesn't portend to be 'Book 1 of a series', and this adds to its delight as a story complete unto itself without the artificial-feeling anticipation that more books are coming without the first having proved itself viable. 

The Treason of Robyn Hood follows a determined young woman's probe of the world underlying the privilege she'd once taken for granted, and makes for a compelling urban fantasy adventure that readers will find thoroughly engrossing. 

The Treason of Robyn Hood

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Biography & Autobiography


The Lifer and the Lawyer
George Critchlow with Michael Anderson
Cascade Books, an imprint of Wypf and Stock
978-1-7252-7837-0
$46.00 Hardcover; $26.00 Paper; $9.99 Kindle
Website: https://georgecritchlow.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Lifer-Lawyer-Punishment-Penitence-Privilege/dp/1725278375 

The Lifer and the Lawyer: A Story of Punishment, Penitence, and Privilege is a true crime biography that probes the criminal justice system and the impact of justice and injustice on all sides. It provides a close inspection of Chicago African American Michael Anderson, whose life of neglect and abuse led to his becoming a violent criminal. 

Incarcerated for his crimes for over forty years in the aftermath of a violent crime rampage in the 1970s, Anderson has aged in the system, but develops a friendship in the most unlikely of places—with the affluent white young lawyer assigned to defend him from over twenty felony charges connected to his violence. 

George Critchlow was focused on legal issues when he accepted a complex case that delved into matters of race, culture, and inequities within the justice system itself. He never expected to evolve a relationship with a convicted felon that would last for decades, much less come to question how the justice system worked. 

Their shared story comes to life in a survey that also adds Christian elements of reflection. The collaborative nature of this survey, which includes inspections of moral, ethical, philosophical, and psychological attitudes, makes for an intriguing read recommended not just for those already well aware of cultural influence and social inequities, but readers who may choose this book with a preconceived mindset about guilt, innocence, punishment, and redemption. 

Critchlow brings with him a decidedly educated inspection that raises many thought-provoking points from the start: "We imagine our paths are freely chosen. But there is a need to account for biology and history, the random intercession of other people, culture, race, and the mystery of the  transcendent. The variables make it difficult to predict the course of any individual life even though there are those who claim expertise in such matters." 

The feel of the story assumes the guise of fiction, with its dramatic overlays and narrative style, but is grounded in fact. This makes the tale lively, readable, and engrossing as readers move through the crime spree that led to Michael's downfall and the system that deemed him too dangerous ever to go free for the rest of his life. 

The addition of other cases which graphically pointed to discriminatory practices within the judicial process, presented in the first person, round out Michael's experiences and make an even greater case about judicial inequities. One such case dealt with racial discrimination in real estate sales. Following an unfavorable verdict for his African American clients, Critchlow tells us: "Two jurors shared with me how their deliberations led to a verdict of discrimination, but no damage. The explanation went something like this: “Well, yes, the developer did discriminate, you proved that. But you should remember, this is Pasco, and we just felt that your clients were better off and happier living with their own kind rather than forcing themselves into a community that did not want them. So, since your clients were better off, not worse off, we just didn’t see any damage.” ...This statement of the jurors’ sense of justice may be the most succinct and forthright declaration of white privilege and racial paternalism I have ever heard...My dad instructed me to send the legal fees to our clients. The incongruity of the outcome was just too much for him." 

All these elements create a hard-hitting, thought-provoking examination which uses personal experience to reinforce details about legal process and true justice. 

It's a powerful read that will leave law students, African American civil rights followers, and general interest readers scratching their heads. Michael Anderson's story concludes with a bow to the power of God and the challenges that will face him whether he dies in prison or is released to begin a new life. 

The Lifer and the Lawyer is very highly recommended reading and should be in the libraries of any collection strong in racial or criminal justice issues. 

The Lifer and the Lawyer

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The Places Left Unfilled
M.C. Cauley
Independently Published
979-8679312494   Paperback: $12.99/Kindle: $3.99
https://www.amazon.com/Places-Left-Unfilled-Memoir/dp/B08KTFL9FB 

The Places Left Unfilled: A Memoir presents child Morgan's struggles to come to terms with her family situation, and her search for her birth father. More so than most such stories, The Places Left Unfilled documents the impact of a struggle to find a place to call home and a kind of love Morgan never fully received in her childhood, and reaches out to readers interested in the foundations of child abuse and healing. 

As Morgan's search for an older father figure in her childhood leads to failures, including her birth father's lack of involvement when she does locate him, she begins to seek her ideals and goals in other places—eventually, in the form of relationships with much older men. 

Kidnapped not once but twice by her mother's fiancée Greg, who offers her a temporary refuge from her mother's erratic behaviors, Morgan falls into in a life-changing situation at age fourteen. Thus, she finds even her seemingly positive life influences and choices fraught with repeated challenge and predictable patterns of response to it. 

"How are my feelings nothing?" Constantly finding herself in situations where she is forced to mirror unhealthy influences in her life by engaging in sexually abusive relationships with older men, Morgan leads a secret life hidden from her peers, always afraid and craving the kind of affection she doesn't know how to find. 

Few books capture the domestic and child abuse cycle and patterns as The Places Left Unfilled, a powerful documentary of what happens when a child struggles to fill emotional gaps she barely understands. 

The onus of any relationship with a child lies on the adult participant. More than most books, Cauley's experiences illustrate the dangers of what can happen when adults with their own agenda and emotionally broken systems become inappropriately involved with the young. 

Throughout the story, Morgan is tasked with either finding a way out, or mirroring her mother's footsteps and passing the legacy of abuse to another generation. 

Gripping, sad, edgy, and raw, The Places Left Unfilled is a memoir that will leave its readers with newfound recognition of the effects parental choices and psyches have on a child's life. It is recommended reading for health, psychology, and general-interest collections alike. 

The Places Left Unfilled

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Pop Smoke
Bill Lindsay
Palmetto Publishing
978-1-64111-973-3
$24.99 Hardcover; $19.00 Paper; $4.99 Kindle        
Website: www.PalmettoPublishing.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Smoke-Platoon-Vietnam-Learned-ebook/dp/B08QQ8D2C4 

Collections strong in memoirs by Vietnam vets will find Pop Smoke: The Story of One Marine Rifle Platoon in Vietnam; Who They Were, What They Did, What They Learned follows the experiences of a Marine rifle platoon commander during the Vietnam War, providing an emphasis on Marine operations and platoon commander tasks that bring readers into Vietnam with a 'you are there' feel.   

This is not the typical presentation about war and combat.  The focus here is on the men, who they were and what they experienced each day.  These insights are important to understand as one considers all the components of the Vietnam war.  As the author points out “The combat Marine did not serve in Vietnam, he became Vietnam”.  And, “for all of us in the infantry our packs were our homes.” 

Descriptions of the terrain and accompanying vegetation, parts of actual radio transmissions, and a wealth of specific detail about operations and daily challenges are presented in a manner that not only describes encounters, but the nuts and bolts of Marine activities: "When I told the fireteam to dig a second hole, it was not met with expressions of joy and excitement. To make the point that I was not crazy and a slave driver seeking vengeance on them for something, I had them leave their flak jackets in the first hole, sticking out of the top of the hole, with their helmets on top. Our flak jackets were made of a series of fiberglass plates that were great for stopping incoming rounds or shrapnel. It also meant that they would literally sit up tall, without support, when positioned as such. Sure enough, as darkness approached two hand grenades were thrown from the closest bamboo grove and landed in the first hole. The flack jackets and one helmet were ruined.” 

Technical details such as this give non-military, non-Marine readers enough background to absorb the logic behind maneuvers and strategies, and enough insight into the equipment, routines, and decisions of platoon leaders to understand the logic behind their actions. This is not the side of Vietnam often depicted in movie or other books. 

This, in turn, provides a foundation of knowledge that supports reactions, perceptions, and the Vietnam experience as a whole. More so than most Vietnam memoirs, even those coming from Marine participants, this story reviews both the process of Marine troop organization and deployment and the challenges leaders face, from new equipment to how men react under fire. 

The insights about the men, the conditions they faced and their strategies and battle tactics fill in many blanks that other memoirs often pass over, presenting them in vivid recollections that bring the Vietnam experience to life: “None of the men sat while we waited (for the helicopters).  Their gear made it too hard to get back up if they reclined.  So there we stood, hunched over from the weight of our equipment, waiting.  Although it was night, it was already 85 degrees and humid.”  

From squad leader interactions to battles and bouts with malaria, Vietnam comes to life. Readers who choose this memoir will find it filled with accounts of what it was like for an eighteen year old to fight in impossible terrain under challenging conditions.  

Pop Smoke is especially recommended for future generations seeking to understand the Vietnam War from a military leader's perspective. 

Pop Smoke

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Roller Rink Starlight: A Memoir
William Hart
Epigraph Books
Paperback: 978-1-951937-78-2    $16.95
Ebook:  978-1-951937-79-9          $  7.99
www.amazon.com 

Roller Rink Starlight: A Memoir is reconstructed from William Hart's memories of events that took place between ages fourteen and eighteen. It blends the lives of those around him with the story of a speed skater's birth and evolution on and off the rink. 

From what skating taught Hart about life in general to the evolution of his prowess as part of a very successful coed racing team representing his local rink, Roller Rink Starlight captures not just skating events, but the process of coming of age and involvement in a sport that incorporates and imparts life lessons. 

Hart writes with a sense of humor, providing insights into the maturity process: "A young ape’s progress toward manhood is sometimes interrupted by dismaying regressions."  From high school studies and peer relationships to skating's special challenges, Hart uses roller rink scenarios to trace one young man's coming of age. 

The writing and adventures that form these lessons and growth are vividly recollected and presented using a "you are there" first-person style. This invites readers into Hart's special world, reflecting the thoughts and reactions of young men who are finding their places in the world on many different levels. 

His observations of the history and evolution of these new relationships are particularly revealing: "Today I think Lauren and her mom were using the same technique to snare a husband that Mrs. McCabe had deployed a generation earlier to inveigle one of the most eligible young bachelors in Clayton, Nebraska into an unhappy union. Her strategy may have been handed down by her mother, who may have received it from her mother. For the scheme to produce, one or more guys had to compete with the target for the same girl, triggering basic male instincts. Lauren’s equal opportunity dating behavior seen in this light looks less like promiscuity than a way to keep me chasing her with blinders on. She and her mom were playing the game by the rules of the day, and skillfully. I was the inept one, several moves behind and oblivious." 

Readers with an affinity for skating or coming of age memoirs will find Roller Rink Starlight an involving, fun, thought-provoking read that delves deep into this young man's head. 

Roller Rink Starlight: A Memoir

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The Story of Ervin James
Bernette Sherman
Mount Hope Media
978-1-954-636-00-2           $18.99 Paper/$9.99 ebook
Website: www.TheStoryofErvinJames.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1954636008 

The Story of Ervin James tells of Bernette Sherman's great-great-great grandfather, whose extraordinary resilience created a legacy that not only was passed down through his family, but is revitalized here, in Sherman's account of her family history, inspired by her research. 

Born a slave, James left a legacy of freedom and determination for generations that followed him. His story embraces the lingo, customs, and voices of the times, changing timber and tense to capture these special moments of the past. 

Those who strictly adhere to the English language's usage rules may chafe at such poetic license, but it serves to capture the times and people much more than a contemporary correctness would have allowed for, bringing the story to life in a special way: "I wished there was more men who thinked like that but in South Carolina there wasn’t. Even though it was the twenties nothing changed. Things seemed to be getting worse in fact. They wasn’t bringing in slaves from across the ocean but it was busy at the ports. I seed more at church and not just babies and the ones born here. They was coming in from other places like I’d been." 

As he and Lilly face being parents after losing one baby, only to have tragedy strike again, the challenges of their times come to life as James embarks on further journeys with questions about freedom, love, and what is worth fighting for: "He was my friend but even he ain’t knowed my heart. He ain’t never been nothing but free. He ain’t never had somebody he love taken away by man and by God. He had faith in a God that done let everything be taken from me, one after the other." 

As the story evolves, Ervin James builds family and connections in many different ways and places. Slavery looms over these decisions and objectives, but despite it all, the times are a-changing. 

Sherman is especially skilled at building bigger-picture thinking between characters that come to life in their conversations as they age and adapt to new times: "Nora wrap her fingers round mine after dinner and look me straight in the eye. She told me, We deserve this and we done worked hard for it all our lives. Well we ain’t getting no younger. Our time done passed, I sighed heavy like cuz seem like wasn’t nobody thinking bout letting no negro buy land in them parts. No, Ervin. Our sons and daughters deserve it and they sons and daughters. It ain’t about us no more Ervin. You right. We getting old. We gotta do this for them. If we don’t do it who else gonna do it? Who else can do it?" 

The result is a vivid story of slavery's impact, social changes, and one family's legacy that succeeds in changing the hearts, minds, and experiences of those who follow generations later. 

Sherman has created a vivid story of her ancestor's growth and world. It's a story that needs to be shared in Black communities and families around the country, teaching not just about the past, but approaches to adversity, survival, and growth that offer their own legacy to future generations. 

Very highly recommended, it's the lingo and sentiments of the times that make The Story of Ervin James remarkable, and a standout. 

The Story of Ervin James

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Mystery & Thrillers

Curve of the Dragon
Matt Stokes
Time Egg Studios
978-1-7359509-0-7         $2.99 Kindle
Website: www.seemattwrite.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PBBQVR9?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_0&storeType=ebooks 

Curve of the Dragon: Episode 1 - Chasing Shadows is an espionage adventure that will appeal to thriller readers interested in complex cat-and-mouse scenarios. While the cover art's comic book-style drawing might initially lead some to think that this book is intended for young adults, its audience is decidedly adult in nature. 

Randall awakens in a strange room with no memory of how he got there or who the strange voice is, who informs him she is his doctor...a physician he doesn't remember. Directed to a meeting that includes a gun and threat, Randall finds he is only one pawn in a larger spy game that quickly assumes the feel of a James Bond adventure. Events move to a missing sister who turns out to be a spy, a brother determined to locate her against all odds, and operatives Jackal, Scorpion, and Mastiff, who are involved in violent confrontations and nefarious deeds. 

As determined brother Will follows his missing sister's trail and uncovers the truth about the underground criminal group Fractal and its deployment of brainwashed foot soldiers (like Randall) who attack targets around the world, readers become deeply immersed in a world of international intrigue, dubious political alliances, terrorism, and danger. 

Matt Stokes excels in crafting a deliciously tense thriller packed with nonstop action and satisfying twists and turns that even seasoned genre readers won't see coming. 

Embassy attacks, explosions, and multiple encounters keep readers on the edge of their seats with back-to-back action and danger: "Looking at the case, Will weighed his options. He could go in and try to sneak the case out, but Carter or the Fractal agent would probably hear him. He could also try to wait until they left, but every second he was out here increased his chances of getting caught and locked back in his chair." 

As the characters take uncertain steps to uncovering a strange truth, readers enter a world of intrigue that holds all the appeal and draw of a good James Bond-style spy episode. 

If Curve of the Dragon: Episode 1 - Chasing Shadows is any indicator, the other books in this series will be just as vivid. Certainly, this first book is cause for applause with its powerful characterization and mercurial, satisfyingly complex plot. 

Curve of the Dragon 

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The Dead Daughter
Thomas Fincham
Independently Published
979-8588071208            $12.99 Paper/$3.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Daughter-Private-Investigator-Suspense/dp/B08RGZHB2S 

The Dead Daughter is the first volume in the Lee Callaway series, which revolves around a character first introduced casually in The Rose Water. No prior familiarity with this book is needed because, here, Lee receives his own top billing in an adventure set to propel future books into the limelight of a P.I. mystery reader's world. 

The story opens not with Lee but with Sharon Gardener's discovery of the bloody body of her daughter. The next chapter introduces Detective Gregory Holt, who is tasked with investigating the death, and who loves his job. When a husband falls under his inspecting eye, the case seems fairly straightforward, in some ways. 

Lee Callaway doesn't appear until the fourth chapter, but he's not the savvy, successful P.I. one might expect. He's an investigator who is down on his luck until he lands a case that may be his ticket to better fortune. 

It turns out that Lee was at the residence the night of the murder, tailing Sharon, who was having an affair. His inadvertent involvement in this murder case brings him into conflict with evidence that seems cut and dried as he probes the case despite its apparently clear conclusions. 

As Lee becomes involved in a puzzle with many pieces, some of them begin to come together. Others remain elusive, even though they are right under his nose. His probe of Kayla's life and secrets become a matter of life and death as he fights to reveal the truth despite the fact that he is not a cop, and his connection to the case keeps changing. 

Lee's long had a reputation for being unlucky, in many ways. His luck is about to change—but only if his persistence can remain unshaken by perps and fellow investigators alike. 

The Dead Daughter provides an excellent story that draws its strength from both an unusual case and an unusual hero determined to prove the innocence of a father who seems irrefutably guilty. As his investigations lead into political circles, readers receive many surprises about the characters, their motivations, and the ultimate outcome of Lee's efforts. 

Mystery readers who enjoy good P.I. procedurals with satisfying twists and turns will find Lee Callaway a likeable character, the case intriguing, and the results unexpected in a story that stands out from the P.I. novel crowd. 

The Dead Daughter 

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Deadly Little Angel
Dana Kilpatrick
DK Success Publishing
978-0-9888392-6-7         $2.99 ebook, $7.99 paperback
Website: https://danakilpatrick.com
Ordering link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S36RD3J 

Kris is thrilled with her new job as a journalist...until her efforts cause a murder. And it's one thing to write about it, but quite another to actually touch a dead body. 

Deadly Little Angel opens with an intriguing draw: "I didn't have much experience dealing with bodies, but I thought I should empty his pockets. Isn't that what they do when dumping a victim?" After this, the story becomes an intense series of confrontations and challenges that proves difficult to put down. Kris emerges as a determined investigator who connects a modern-day killer to a decades-old secret that unleashes a killer into the community of Silver City. 

The provocative prologue introduces Kris's life and connections in a cozy mystery that admits that Kris is not often one to be part of a community: "My aunt is a wise person. Whenever something ends in trouble or disappointment, my usual plan is to pack up and move to a new town. With Milly, of course. My life sometimes seems to be one disaster after another, though I prefer to reframe them as adventures. This time, the move brought me to Silver City, and I was excited to spend a season here." 

Her job and choices and their consequences lead her into this newfound role at a pivotal point in her life. Kris discovers not only clues about a small wooden angel and its role in a killer's modus operandi, but insights about her own changing nature. 

Cozy mystery settings are meant to be comforting, not frightening. Deadly Little Angel's title and prologue may sound as though the mystery portion will feel threatening, but it is not. Kris is a savvy young woman just beginning to settle into her skills and abilities without running away from them. Her latest job feeds this desire, evolving a sense of community, family ties, and camaraderie that support the murder mystery with a firm sense of place and new possibilities for living a different life. 

When she faces the dichotomy of a lovely man who might also be a murderous fiend, Kris discovers that perceptions and preconceptions are part of the problem in not just identifying this killer, but dealing with her own approach to life. 

Dana Kilpatrick's cozy mystery is thoroughly engrossing. It provides insights that are delightful and intriguing as Kris wonders if she's living in a terrible dream, an alternate universe, or a mixed-up series of events that portend more difficulties in her own life. 

Kris can't predict the outcome of her actions...and neither will her readers, who will enjoy delightful twists and many compelling moments in this highly recommended cozy tale. 

Deadly Little Angel 

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Evolution
John Casey
Adelaide Books
978-1-953510-67-9                $22.30
www.adelaidebooks.org 

Evolution is the second book in The Devolution Trilogy and will especially be appreciated by prior fans who will find that this sequel (which takes place two years after original events) offers a satisfying continuation of Michael Dolan's exploits. 

A prologue, 'What Came Before', recaps the characters, premise, and past experiences to bring newcomers up to date. Dolan has been recovering from his trials during Operation EXCISE. It's time for him to return to the job of thwarting terrorists. 

They've already launched a deadly bioweapon in the Middle East with a virus attack that is running rampant, but Dolan is determined that his sacrifices in Berlin won’t have been in vain. In that mission, the CIA’s plan required him to exploit past associations that were rooted in personal tragedy—resulting in a mind-bending tangle of treacherous but ultimately successful efforts to take out a terrorist cell bent on murdering thousands of Americans with a horrifying weapon of mass destruction. 

This time, he's ready for action in a different way. As thriller readers enjoy his exploits in the international arena, Dolan and the SCALPEL team return to take on a significantly more lethal and complex threat. Same players, different game. 

The first thing to note about Evolution is that it lives up to its title. Not only has Dolan healed and evolved, but so has his team...and his enemies. 

As he and his black ops unit are briefed about the Marburg virus (which is 90 percent lethal), Dolan finds out that one of the terrorists may be targeting him specifically. In this, John Casey creates a dilemma which is absorbingly immediate even as it links past trauma to the latest unfolding threat: "Dolan felt a chill as well, and not from the breeze off the water. Just as he’d found balance in life and some sem­blance of peace, disquieting vestiges of his past he thought he’d reconciled long ago came roaring back.” 

The terrorist peril juxtaposes nicely with Dolan's efforts to carve a different kind of life for himself, avoiding past mistakes even as his skill set leads him deeper into ongoing danger. 

The blend of psychological insights combines with a spy story that keeps readers tense and wondering, delighting thriller fans who want more than nonstop action or political drama in their reads. 

Dolan's growth processes, his determination to craft a different outcome that doesn't come with such a heavy price, and the requirement that he set aside his blossoming academic career for something far more challenging (and dangerous) creates a compelling story. 

Newcomers receive easy access to the tale via a recap prologue that won’t spoil Devolution for those who read Evolution first, while those who have finished Devolution will find Evolution just as, or even more gripping than its prequel. 

Evolution is a riveting story that pits a powerful and ruthless international enemy against a small team of CIA field operatives, and in the end it is Dolan’s talents and determination that prove to be the difference between success and failure. 

Evolution deserves top billing in any thriller or espionage fiction collection. 

Evolution

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Kings and Killers        
EJ Liston
Independently Published
ASIN:
B08TJ5FW2C             $2.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TJ5FW2C 

Kings and Killers is a novel about Leatherneck Marines, a troop of friends, colleagues, and fighters, and is a tale of vengeance and confrontation that hooks readers with a military opener before moving into civilian life. 

The timeline of events moves back and forth and is clearly defined by chapter headings, so readers receive a fine interplay between past events and present-day concerns. As characters become involved with the Mayan Kings gang headed by Nero (son of the Bravo Cartel leader known as El Rey), connections evolve between closely-held secrets, murderers, and a military brotherhood of comrades who embark on dangerous confrontations that hold life-changing ramifications for each group member. 

As bodies pile up and the Kings wreck their own special brand of havoc, romance and kidnapping challenge each character's perspective and struggles. And as the Devils embark on raids in LA's slums, the battle becomes personal in a way that military service as Raider platoon members has well prepared them for. 

Thriller readers who enjoy the changing milieu of a military brotherhood recast in urban American streets will relish the confrontations, adversity, and challenges of Devils and Killers alike. Their streetwise exploits come to life in action-packed, gritty chapters. 

From the narrator's sibling codependence to his evolving powerful group and their confrontations with a deadly gang of seasoned killers, Kings and Killers excels in presenting a fast-paced story and especially in its descriptions of the challenges of a brotherhood fostered abroad, brought home to continue evolving on the streets of LA. 

Its powerful series of escapades are especially recommended reading for those with a prior affinity for the Marine oath of fealty to lasting brotherhood and loyalty. 

Kings and Killers 

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Magicide
C. V. Hamilton
Swift House Press
978-0990966418            $17.95 Paper/$3.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Magicide-Carolyn-V-Hamilton-ebook/dp/B00HP40DA6/ 

Magicide enters the world of magic tricks and entertainment with a bang when famous magician Maxwell Beacham-Jones is killed in a Las Vegas roller coaster escape stunt. At first this seems a predicable outcome for a new and dangerous trick, but Las Vegas Metro Police detective and single mom Cheri Raymer and her quirky vegetarian partner, Tony Pizzarelli, happen to realize that many a fellow magician has had it out for Maxwell. 

Suspecting that the death was a murder, the two embark on an investigation that leads them into the underworld of the Vegas entertainment industry in a riveting thriller that takes magic to a new level. 

From a DVD of Maxwell performing a magic ritual on Sunrise Mountain which may hold a clue the perp doesn't wish revealed to white magic, black magic, and hidden motivations, the investigation is intriguing and savvy. So are the forays into the world of magical performance: “Maxwell was a very knowledgeable magician. He studied the history of the magic arts in depth—white magic, black magic, but magic is a theatrical profession. We don’t turn stones into gold.” 

C.V. Hamilton appears to well know the milieu of the Vegas entertainment industry, magic shows, and how to craft the special overlay of a murder mystery set in this environment. Her attention to weaving humor into the story of two savvy investigators who interact with a host of other characters with their own special interests creates a vivid murder mystery with many satisfying twists and turns. 

The secrets revealed aren't always apparent, to even the seasoned mystery reader, which makes Magicide stand out from more predictable stories. Tight writing keeps readers both thoroughly engaged and happily off-balance about evolving relationships, motivations, and underlying angst. 

Anyone who has been to Vegas or seen a magic show will be especially captivated by the realistic backdrops of both environments, and will find Magicide an engrossing mystery of discovery and deadly truths. 

Magicide 

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Memories Live Here
Marc Sheinbaum
Independently Published
9798552235629             $10.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
Author website: www.marcsheinbaumbooks.com 

Josh Brodsky's work in AI is cutting-edge and on the verge of making it possible to bring back the dead in an unusual way in Memories Live Here...that is, until hackers get into the system and thwart the greatest AI science to date. 

Now Josh must deal not only with the dead and the promise of high technology, but his troubled brother Donny and a mystery that surrounds their relationship: his father's mysterious death decades ago. 

When their mother's friend Maggie reveals to Donny the presence of diaries that hold a key to both this mystery and the future of AI, mystery blends with sci-fi elements to attract both audiences to a different kind of adventure. 

Maggie knows more than she's revealing, but the diaries hold all the clues...if they can uncover them and use them well. In the course of their investigation, both brothers discover newfound connections and answers to mysteries which have long plagued both their lives and shadowed their achievements. 

Memories Live Here is much more than an AI story, and more than a thriller. Its ability to navigate the fine line between psychological and social inspection offers insights and tension that will appeal to both audiences as it stands out from the usual storyline. 

Maggie's own memory challenges result in changing connections between them all that come with a special brand of wisdom: “Just leave the past alone,” she said. “You won’t find what you’re looking for. Those are not memories you want to dig up.” 

Donny's search for diaries that hold answers involves solutions he may ultimately not wish to confront, couched in different realities about the living and the dead: "Josh and Louie wanted him to believe in whatever this was, and that it, or someone, was watching them. Someone who had obviously not only read their mother’s diaries, but who had also memorized them, internalized them. Become one with them. This could not be his mother, he kept reminding himself. He had seen her body at the funeral home, watched as her casket was lowered into the ground....What had Josh done? She was different in one stark way. His real mother had been a keeper of secrets, the biggest being the truth behind his father’s death. But now the depth, and brutal honesty, that this version was willing to share was jarring..." 

The most likely audience for this story will be sci-fi readers with a special interest in AI or supernatural themes. However, to describe Memories Live Here as appealing to these genre categories alone would be to do it an injustice. 

Embracing thriller and investigative realms as well as being a psychological inspection of family secrets and relationships, Memories Live Here is a savant of several different genres. It will appeal to a wider audience interested in fresh, original writing, strong characterization, and an overriding mystery that delves into the heart of AI, addiction and the memories that cement family relationships and interactions. 

Memories Live Here

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Qisas
A.A. Freda
Iuniverse Inc
978-1663212207            $31.99 Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Qisas-Another-Thriller-Award-winning-James/dp/1663212201 

Qisas adds to the adventures of Sam and James, and will appeal to thriller audiences—especially those who have appreciated the approaches and interactions of the duo in prior books in the series. 

Armed terrorists have staked out a Texas church, but James Coppi has arrived ahead of them. The Middle Eastern terrorists' efforts is only the beginning of the struggle in Qisas as James and Sam continue to face encounters with princes, terrorists, and a personal vendetta from an adversary who, defeated twice, has become even more determined to place the duo in his murderous crosshairs. 

Where is the justice for the victims of the church shooting? Can James overcome his neophyte status in this strange milieu of domestic and international terrorism in time to thwart another planned bloodbath? 

While newcomers to Sam and James will find Qisas accessible, it's the prior reader familiar with their initial encounters in the Middle East with princes and this particular adversary who will find Qisas an excellent, logical follow-up to events that offers the ongoing saga's next chapter. 

As in the past, the action is tense and nicely depicted. The evolving relationships, confrontations, and tension is as strong as the psychological pulls and plays between the characters. This creates a compelling story filled with twists, turns, and unexpected surprises that even seasoned thriller enthusiasts won't see coming. 

As a Russian plot in Afghanistan plays out, James finds himself at a pivot point not only in his own life, but in the broader world arena. And he has no plans to back off, even if it means that a president is disgruntled by his choices. 

The blend of political and social intrigue is satisfying and absorbing, making this story not just a riveting expansion of the Sam and James milieu, but a compelling addition to adventures that continue to challenge James' most valuable asset of all...Sam. 

Prior fans are in for another treat! 

Qisas 

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Rites & Wrongs
Holly Harrison
Golden Word Books
978-1-948749-73-2         $14.95 Paper/$9.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Rites-Wrongs-Holly-Harrison/dp/1948749734 

What is a top-notch investigator to do with his career when he's already solved a high-profile mystery? In Rites & Wrongs, Santa Fe police detective Pascal Ruiz is tired of his return to routine investigations. When his captain asks him to undertake a private investigation involving the disappearance of his niece's boyfriend, this feels far more exciting than the daily rituals of police work. Complicating matters, he's not only tired of his job, but his New Mexico home. 

Holly Harrison's ability to capture a sense of place and atmosphere during the story brings many subtle nuances to life, making Pascal's investigation as much one of personal direction as a story of intrigue: "Pascal hated the winds. He had suffered them most of his life, but each spring, he swore it would be his last. The winds clogged his head and dried his nose until it bled. His lips cracked painfully no matter how much balm he used. His eyes stung as if packed with tiny particles of glass." 

Employing his astute abilities, Pascal quickly finds the missing young man...alone and unconscious in a pueblo, dressed like Jesus and tied to a cross. As Bobby's girlfriend was attempting to write an expose on the religious cult, the Penitentes, before his abduction, the cult is a prime suspect. But, as the crime has taken place on Indian reservation land, tribal police take over the case. 

As Harrison's investigation evolves into a political cat-and-mouse game between vying jurisdictions, he arrives closer to a strange truth. This pits him against San Felipe tribal investigator Ortiz, who is just beginning to prefer the challenges of a job that takes him away from his usual desk work and into the field of new possibilities and problem-solving techniques...that is, before he runs afoul of the perps and is shot and left for dead. 

As his friend Gillian becomes involved in an increasingly explosive situation, events heat up in a series of encounters not only between law enforcement agencies, but a group that has nefarious intentions beyond a simple kidnapping. 

Holly Harrison's ability to bring New Mexico's culture and landscapes to life lends the added value of a realistic background to her story. 

Fans of mysteries that look beyond swift action for three-dimensional characters with lives and concerns beyond police routines alone will find Rites & Wrongs a compelling story of jurisdictions that clash in the name of justice and criminal investigations. 

Rites & Wrongs 

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Standing on a Whale
B.J. Tiernan
Independently Published
9781499296600      $14.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1499296606 

Standing on a Whale is a psychological mystery that opens with an intriguing epiphany: "My life had been in danger before, so I was used to it. I stood perfectly still and waited." 

Dr. Lance Stavros is not yet fifty, but is contemplating suicide when he received a mysterious invitation to become the personal physician to a strange spiritual teacher who resides in Greece. 

He never expected to fall not only under the spell of this mystical leader, but into the bad graces of authorities who dislike the message and the group's evolution, and who seek to neutralize it. 

Long used to cultivating a superficial perspective about life and others that keeps him at a safe distance, Lance finds himself unusually immersed in a situation that calls upon his skills both as a physician and as a survivor. 

Even newfound friends remark on the influence Hadden has had upon his attitude towards life: “The man has absolutely had an influence on you,” she admitted reluctantly. A gentle breeze swept several strands of her hair across her face. She recovered them and tucked them behind her ear. “You’re different somehow. More tranquil.” I was certain the wine was helping that, but I smiled anyway. “I do feel something has changed in me.” 

Lance used to believe in a personal god. Now he views spirituality as more of an energy force in life—one that has brought him into a novel world and demanded of him new approaches to handling adversity and adventure. 

With this comes a different kind of fear not for himself, but for his mentor: "I couldn’t tell her about the pain I carried inside every day from knowing that at any moment Hadden could vanish." 

To call B.J. Tiernan's work a mystery alone would be to do this story's depth an injustice. It's a spiritual and psychological thriller that moves into realms of transformation and discovery, juxtaposing its intrigue with evolving relationships and new ways of approaching life. 

The result is a multi-faceted thriller that blends New Age philosophy and spiritual concepts into the story of a physician who not only finds himself, but heals himself and those around him in an intriguing, often dangerously different manner. 

Thriller readers as well as those who enjoy New Age intrigue will find Standing on a Whale an engrossing story of standing on the precipice of change and danger alike. 

Standing on a Whale 

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A Time for Monsters
Gareth Worthington
Vesuvian Books
978-1-64548-069-3         $17.95 Paper; $9.99 ebook
www.vesuvianbooks.com 

A Time for Monsters provides a tense serial killer thriller that centers on two powerful components: an emotionless female murderer who only experiences feelings when she hears music; and a detective who is at a low point in his career, who is tasked with finding her before she kills again. 

The interplay between these characters and the depth of psychological inspection Gareth Worthington employs in the course of their cat-and-mouse game creates a story that excels in a gripping 'you are there' atmosphere as killer Reyna Blackburn carries out her deadly revenge: "Heart’s “You Ain’t So Tough” played on repeat at nearly full volume through the wireless earbuds wedged into her conchae. The familiar lyrics were sung so powerfully by Ann Wilson, and that strong drumbeat ignited Rey’s neurons and made her chest swell. That song combined with the acrid scent of cigarettes clinging to his skin. Rey’s overloaded senses ignited her memory, transporting her right back there again. The thought pressed home her purpose." 

Powerful connections between music and murder are drawn through an internal play list of songs Rey reviews as she is driven to her deadly purposes: "Familiar piano notes echoed in her ears followed by Don Henley's voice. That first word, the title of the song, made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. “Desperado” by The Eagles. A song covered by so many others, but it had to be this version—the original, the one her mother had given her." 

Readers who find their lives similarly spiced with song will relate to Rey's music-driven world on many levels, and will find compelling the link between her past, her present-day choices, and the music that drives her actions. 

Arne Huakaas seems the least likely investigator to get at the heart of this perp savant. Arne has lost everything, from his family to his career. This last mission is about the only goal he has left—to redeem himself. And Rey knows too much about it: "She’d seen the detective’s life. Unlike her other victims who either plodded happily along beating their wives or had moved on to a new life and suffered no consequences for their actions, Arne Huakaas’s life was quite pitiful—alone and detached from people who once loved him, living in a shit-filled rabbit hole. Rey escaping, getting away with her plan, would be a death blow for Arne that would last much longer." 

Set on a particular form of vengeance and a special brand of redemption, Rey and Arne's purposes clash in a last dangerous game that tests both of their life perceptions and resolves. 

Thriller readers will find the interplay between two disparate, deadly, pitiful forces to be psychologically astute and thoroughly engrossing. Who is the monster and who is the hero? Both characters are driven by the horrors they have perpetuated in their lives, and by the consequences of choices that continue to resonate in the lives of others. 

As Worthington builds his story towards an unpredictable conclusion, the emotional strings of heartbreak, heartache, loneliness, and the driving forces behind serial killers and those who would stop them contributes to a powerful account. 

Can either character find peace or redemption through their actions and interactions with one another? This international crime story is simply riveting as it edges towards its unexpected conclusion and an unlikely semi-heroic final action from the ultimate anti-hero.

A Time for Monsters 

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The Tree of Knowledge
Daniel G. Miller
Houndstooth Books
978-0-578-75320-1                $3.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Knowledge-Daniel-G-Miller-ebook/dp/B08SQ6KKZF 

Albert Puddles isn't a criminal investigator. He's a mathematics professor—and the last person who would likely be involved in solving a murder mystery. The Tree of Knowledge places not only this tenured Princeton University professor but his colleagues in the hot seat of problem-solving beyond the classroom when his knowledge of order and method becomes key to solving a campus murder. 

Readers who like their investigators to come from other than law enforcement circles will appreciate the links between the math professor's psyche, methodology, and knowledge. The involvement of colleagues and campus personalities who also lie far outside the usual detective's milieu add an extra dimension of intrigue to the plot. 

The Tree of Knowledge relies on all kinds of knowledge bases coming together in a conflict of ideas and discoveries. These include the Book Club, which has worked with esteemed cryptologist Professor Turner, a Princeton savant, to develop the Tree of Knowledge that is key to solving this impossible situation in a premise that has turned deadly: "...life is nothing but a series of goals and actions, and so if you can understand those goals and anticipate the actions of individuals, then you can manipulate them." 

As math and ulterior motives combine and bona-fide detectives find their best efforts thwarted, Daniel G. Miller builds a riveting story. Professor Puddles moves out of the classroom and world of theories and into bars and the consequences of applying these theories to real-world scenarios involving women, booze, and murder. 

As it becomes apparent that anyone who has even glimpsed the Tree is in danger from Turner and his disciples, Christina, Eva, and a wide circle of characters find themselves not in supportive roles, but in deadly danger. 

The Tree of Knowledge is a thoroughly engrossing story of power gone awry. It is compelling and unpredictable right up to the end. This special brand of suspense lends to its recommendation for men who look for clean action, suspense, and thought-provoking Christian themes surrounding knowledge, politics, and evolving new causes. 

The Tree of Knowledge 

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Unethical
Marla L. Anderson
Wolfheart Press
9780996324977      $12.89 Paper/$3.99 Kindle  
www.mlandersonauthor.com 

Thriller readers who choose Unethical for their daily dose of tension will find a fine blend of personal and professional conundrums in this story. Here, a San Diego lawyer struggles to care for an ailing father with Alzheimers while simultaneously fielding her work. 

Enrolling him in a clinical study at an institute at first appears just the solution for simultaneously caring for him while she does her job, but when questionable medical processes arise during his treatment, Josephine finds herself embroiled in a case that strikes too close to home. 

Medical ethics demand that Dr. Adrian Kessler sacrifice the most important part of his examination to let nature take its course with sufferers at the end of their lives. Experimental protocol demands that this process be artificially manipulated for the sake of the greater good in developing an effective treatment. And so he errs on the side of science, entering into a gray area that places his career and Josephine's life on the line. 

Think the style of a Robin Cook medical investigation, but with more of a focus on ethical conundrums faced by science and the law as the story evolves. Add suspense and intrigue as Josephine draws too close to a truth that ultimately challenges her own ethical foundations. Add a dash of hope as she faces her father's miraculous recovery and suspects that much more is involved than a successful research project. 

Unethical excels in its ability to introduce ethical challenges throughout the course of the story as different discoveries affect and reinforce the positions of all involved. This focus lends a psychological and philosophical depth to the inspection that questions the ultimate motivations of researchers who operate both for the greater good and their own scientific acclaim. 

What is worth the price of seeing a loved one return from the living dead? Jo is about to find out as she questions whether justice applies to seeming miracles that come at a high price. In a world where investigations assume the guise of subterfuge and the fine line between good and bad guys is mercurial, what side should Jo choose? 

As her own father becomes entangled in the web of truths and lies, he, Jo, and others struggle to do the right thing as the situation spirals out of control. 

A wonderfully tense thriller evolves, offering legal and ethical twists and turns that should appeal to fans of Robin Cook's medical investigative pieces and John Grisham's lawyer dramas alike. 

Unethical 

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Novels

The Accidental Suffragist
Galia Gichon
Wyatt-MacKenzie 
978-1-948018-96-8 $15.94 softcover/$4.99 ebook
www.wyattmackenzie.com 

The Accidental Suffragist is set in 1911 and follows New York factory worker Helen Fox, whose life trajectory is consumed by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. This event brings with it a newfound political awareness and participation in the blossoming Suffragist movement. This, in turn, results in estrangement from her husband, prejudice from former friends and existing neighbors, and tough decisions surrounding putting politics ahead of family. 

Throughout World War One, as the story progresses, Helen finds her activism and revised purpose in life receives steady opposition, bringing with it many dangers beyond that of confronting the authorities and status quo. 

Galia Gichon does more than recap well-known historical events. Her novel delves into Helen's quandaries and mind as she steadily moves into the Suffragist world that brings with it an acknowledgement of her role in past suffering and events to come: “Did we let her go to work too easily? Remember when she came to us and told us about the job?” Helen asked. “Helen, we barely had enough for food,” Albert reminded her. “Besides, other girls in the building were going to the factories, too.” “We didn’t even put up a fight. Not every family sent their twelve-year-old daughter to the factories.” 

Helen's personal calling is to gain women the freedom to vote, for reasons of her own. When she faces a pregnancy in the midst of her efforts, life threatens to change and come crashing down around her once again. 

For many, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire opened the door to not just new ideas about labor and women's rights, but personal conundrums over how their roles and lives were changing not just for themselves, but for their daughters and generations to follow. 

As her activism moves from personal environment to trips to Washington and associations with high-level Suffragists, Helen discovers new ways of decision-making and thinking that hold opportunities for revised freedoms not only for her and fellow women, but for the men around them. 

Readers interested in a story that does more than recap the sad events surrounding this era's labor and women's movement relationships will find The Accidental Suffragist brings to life the impact and changes on families and marriages that were sparked by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. 

More so than most fictionalized accounts, The Accidental Suffragist holds a compelling and intriguing approach that readers will find enlightening and involving. It's highly recommended even for those well aware of the changing politics of the times, early women's rights movements, and the factory fire's lasting impact. 

The Accidental Suffragist 

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And the Wars Went on Without Him
Jeffrey Pacitto
Outer Edge
978-1777532703            $14.99 Paper/$4.99 Kindle
Website: www.outeredge.co
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1777532701 

And the Wars Went on Without Him features historical fiction vignettes that open in 1918 and are based on family stories about World War I through World War II and beyond. It provides stories of Angelo's journey from childhood to his marriage to Carmella and the backdrop of a world he never takes the time to appreciate for its beauty. 

The collection may begin and evolve through his years, but it continues past his experience into 1944, when another war looms and another life is changed. 

Against the backdrops of a shifting Italy, two major conflicts, and the interactions between invaders, prisoners of war, ordinary citizens, and lasting nightmares about war even in its aftermath, readers slowly absorb the forces that batter and change relationships, lives, and the psyche of a nation. 

Couples find their relationship challenged to the point that they feel like strangers while battlefield experiences and war encounters follow combatants home to change their lives and everything around them. And the Wars Went on Without Him presents a variety of characters who are all affected by conflict and nation-changing in different ways. 

As Angelo moves from Italy to Toronto, the ghosts of the past are never far behind. Those who do leave Italy and Europe discover that not only does conflict go on without them, but it also lies within them and their families. 

As readers move between countries, individuals, and the wars, they receive a powerful commentary that blends individual life experiences with the overlay of social and political change. Freedom, appreciations of life, and basic beliefs about how that life is valued and lived change under wartime conditions. Few other books present these dilemmas as powerfully as in this juxtaposition of individual life forces and events that challenge them. 

And the Wars Went on Without Him is about Italian culture and heritage, but it's also about survival, individual empowerment, the consequences of war and peace decisions, and the lasting impact of those who live through and under the shadow of war and transformation. 

Readers interested in historical fiction that comes to life in the personal experiences of various characters will find And the Wars Went on Without Him a compelling read. 

And the Wars Went on Without Him 

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Chokecherry Girl
Barbara Meyer Link
Acorn Publishing
978-1-952112-19-5        
$12.99 Paper; $17.99 Hardcover; $7.99 Kindle
www.amazon.com 

Life in a late 1950s small Montana community is anything but staid, as three females find through very different relationships with males and each other. 

Bobbi is a teen who has a crush on an Indian basketball player. Patsy is attracted to Bobbi's father, even though he's married. And Mary Agnes is an alcoholic Indian woman who cleans houses and is estranged from her son. 

These three disparate individuals find their lives joined not only by fate and their gender, but by the community's own growing pains in Chokecherry Girl. The story centers on Bobbi, but includes the lives of these two other adult women as influencers on her perceptions and choices. 

Barbara Meyer Link's injection of local 1950s Indian women's lives and issues into the overall story of a white Montana community's evolution is nicely done. It's surprising because few novels about this era include Native American issues and community references in small-town explorations.

In a world where hidden desires become too possible, the events that transpire around a stolen car and illicit love juxtapose these very different women in unusual ways, making for a story that is satisfyingly involving and unexpected in its growth. 

This is an environment where growing young women face challenges from adults, as in this scene, where young Patsy is accosted by a man she thinks could be the family's 'pretend dad': “Come on, young lady; no more bar for you.” Audrey pushed Patsy out the door. “You’re going home. And you’re staying home.” Patsy comes of age in a milieu where beer is "That great stuff that kept her parents away from home every night." 

Patsy turns fourteen in the spring of 1944, a time when everything is changing, both personally and politically. Patsy feels stuck, with limited choices she doesn't want to consider. Mary Agnes, in contrast, is far more repressed. 

Her situation evolves in quite a different (almost alien, in feel) milieu, reinforcing the idea that she is also stuck (but in a very different way) between the white man's world and her Indian ways. 

Bobbi, the next generation, turns to Patsy. Her world, too, feels limiting and puzzling: "Her mom hadn’t asked all the annoying questions. Where are you going? What time will you be home? And who is going with you? It was as if she was someone else’s child. Everything felt weird today. Her stomach felt heavy, about to fall between her knees. She wanted so much to go to Williston and drive that bitchin’ car, except she’d just die if she got found out." 

From Mary Agnes's struggle to reclaim a lost son who considers another woman his mother to Patsy's reunion with Ord, who promises her something different than they'd struggled with in their past relationship, Link provides an evolving story of three very different lives that become caught up in a scandal that changes each. 

Bobbi is challenged with revealing a difficult truth, and so readers of women's fiction will find this multi-leveled tale filled with insights about big dreams, coming of age, and evolving new realizations about tribal relationships and interactions with the white man. 

Readers looking for an intriguing story of growth and self-realization will find in these three different lives much food for thought, focusing on growth in an era of both new possibilities and closing doors of familiar opportunity. 

Chokecherry Girl 

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Clouds Above
Michael Hicks Thompson
Shepherd King Publishing LLC
978-0-9976556-0-5         $30.00
www.michaelthompsonauthor.com

 As the world faces a water shortage like no other in history, will Dr. Grayson Fields’ science skills and determination make it possible for her to bring rain to a parched world? 

Readers quickly become involved in a realistic scenario that traverses the planet from D.C. to India and the Himalayas with hidden experiments, security secrets, and dangers that affect the world’s water supply. 

Thompson brings to life this plausible world in such a way that readers will not only be engrossed in the outcome of an elaborate situation but will find the science of climate manipulation thoroughly intriguing—even vital to our survival. 

Clouds Above 

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Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon
Andy V. Ambrose
Nine Star Press 
978-1-951057-34-3         $15.99 paperback/$5.99 ebook
www.ninestarpress.com 

Fifty-year-old Viktor is trying to get back on his feet after the breakup of a 12-year relationship. A lot has happened in the gay dating world during those years, and Viktor feels ill-equipped to navigate not only these new opportunities but the new physical barriers of aging and the psychological obstacles to entering into another relationship. 

Told by his shrink to write down his feelings about this process, the journal in Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon is the result—a lively self-inspection of candid honesty that explores fading sexuality and thwarted dreams alike. 

Readers should be prepared for sexually explicit language.

Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon pulls no punches and doesn't beat around the bush as the grouchy Viktor admits his personal failures and limitations and inspects the revised world of gay dating during his advancing years. 

As group sessions for "getting in touch with anal feelings" and insights from others begin to change his perspective, this gay curmudgeon adapts to a revised form of openness that involves inspecting and letting in feelings he'd never quite considered before. These involve not only his sexuality and relationships, but his immigrant family roots and influence and the lack of appealing partners in his age group.

Readers interested in a graphic discussion of middle-age sexuality and obstacles to re-forming lasting relationships during this period of life will find Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon is as hard-hitting as its narrator is grouchy. 

Those looking for candid, realistic-feeling inspections of mid-life crisis and changing sexuality will find this story absorbing, thought-provoking, nicely steeped in contrasts between the elderly, the middle-aged, and the young. 

Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon should be in every LGBTQ collection interested an absorbing story of late-life change. 

Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon 

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The Cougar Candidate
Will Worsley
Hedgeland Press
978-1-7356652-0-7                $16.95 paperback, $3.99 Ebook
www.willworsley.com 

The Cougar Candidate may sound like a nature exploration, but this is a work of political satire and tells of ex-governor Patty Pitypander, who is still sulking about her defeat five years later, when she is tapped to run for President. 

Her bid isn't the usual approach to politics. It embraces a wry sense of humor and observation that leads to some unusual arguments: "It’s not 1776 anymore. Most of us live in cities, not on farms. To serve our needs today, government’s role must be expanded, not rolled back. We must ensure not only that our citizens can pursue happiness, but that they actually catch it. To that end, the Pitypander administration will propose the creation of a special department—a Department of Happiness. Its mission will be to bring happiness to everyone, not just the super-rich. It will be empowered to intervene in any situation causing you unhappiness you might call or email about." 

How Patty moves from licking her wounds to assuming a newly powerful role in a floundering country by promoting a fresh new vision that holds both irony and impossibility is one of the themes Will Worsley excels in crafting in The Cougar Candidate. 

Between Patty's navigation of a dangerous political world, her attraction to men younger than her husband, and a young reporter's inadvertent press on the button of romance when he pursues the truth about a sordid secret in her past, The Cougar Candidate takes many unexpected turns as it juxtaposes Patty's conflicting drive for both love and political power. 

The satirical commentary on American politicians and political relationships is wonderfully written, as is a woman's reach for a better position of power both in different facets of her life and American society. 

Readers who look for novels replete with political commentary and satirical observation will find The Cougar Candidate achieves its goals, from its title to its romp through political process and a savvy woman's spunky encounters with the highest echelons of power: “I’ll be damned. It’s the Diva of the Downtrodden,” said the president. “You’re the last person on earth I expected to hear from. What do you think you’re doing, Governor? First your ads turn me into a pervert, then you slime me with that tired old crap about Newton and Copeland. Next I guess you’ll be painting me as a pervert in a raincoat. You think I’m gonna just sit back and let you smear me, lady?” “Those aren’t smears, Mr. President. The videos speak for themselves. They’re perfectly fair.” 

Funny and thought-provoking, powered by a woman who skirts the edge of legal relationships in a widening playing field, The Cougar Candidate is a top recommendation for those who enjoy stories about power plays, romance, and forbidden fruit. Readers will find Patty's social and political interplays and introspections delightful, whimsical, and revealing. 

The Cougar Candidate 

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Darling, All My Love
Lori Oestreich
Cattail Marsh Publishing
978-1736140017
Website: https://www.lorioestreich.com/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736140019?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 

Historical romance readers are in for a treat with Darling, All My Love, a 1930s romance that takes place in the Midwest. 

Lily Vanderhoof is part of a struggling Catholic family. Her destiny in Hub City seemed to be set as she was betrothed to farmer Ira, a staid man she knew for years, before she found out about his cohort Bessie, a woman he 'knew' before they were engaged just two months prior. It's a situation that never seemed ideal even before her newfound knowledge and its impact on their future. So when she unexpectedly falls for the affluent and handsome Benjamin Claussen at her best friend's wedding, dangerous new possibilities emerge. 

Benjamin's life also has been decided by his parents—he's on a trajectory to inherit the family business and follow in successful footsteps. The last thing he expected was to fall for a strange girl well below his class. The last thing he needed was to incur his parents' wrath. 

Between Lily's situation with Ira and the lack of work in their small town as her family struggles with poverty, Lily needs something different and positive to change her life. Benjamin might be just the ticket, if their choices don't upend their families and everything around them. 

Lori Oestreich crafts this first book in a series with a strong description of the Depression years, different economic forces and strata, and the evolution of romance between a Catholic girl and a Presbyterian boy. 

Benjamin's mother has always "been one to look out after my son's best interests." Will she challenge a bright, albeit different, possibility for them both? 

From evolving and changing relationships to the issues that arise between them due to socioeconomic differences, Darling, All My Love thoroughly embraces not just the couple's dilemmas and interactions, but the milieu of their Midwestern roots and the times. 

Oestreich creates an absorbing read that moves between family perceptions and duties to community interactions, cementing romance with a historical backdrop that is realistic and nicely described. 

Darling, All My Love will attract both romance readers and those who like closer inspections of both historical influences and social change. Will Benjamin's support of Lily result in marriage? The story is compelling on different levels, and especially recommended for those who like their romances firmly rooted in a bygone era of Midwestern atmosphere. 

Darling, All My Love 

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Ernestine
Kate Reynolds
Independently Published
979-8657426823     $16.99 paperback; $2.99  Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Ernestine-Kate-Reynolds/dp/B08QWBXXYK 

Ernestine's historical backdrop lies in 16th century Spain, where Ernestine finds herself in a dangerous political position after having become a nun, following her life as an conartist. 

What does an olive orchard, a king who needs money to fund his wars, and an abbey's involvement over a document that could change the power structure in Europe have to do with Sister Ernestine's new calling? 

Plenty, because her story revolves around prayers, struggling nations and religious orders, and the inadvertent involvement in a single woman who finds herself at a pivot point in time, holding the ability to affect not just her life but those around her. 

Kate Reynolds does an outstanding job of capturing not just social and political dilemmas, but the sights, sounds, and environment Ernestine moves within. Her descriptions embrace and entwine these elements for maximum impact: "Ernestine rolled up her sleeves, eager to clean and stock the cellary. Mother had been right. Fruit had spoiled, cheeses turned moldy, barrels needed a good scrubbing. Ernestine would use her time alone wisely. Down in the cool cellary, she didn’t need to think about Montague or Edicts of Grace, or the parchment secreted in her room, or the mad woman Fé, or children burning in fires. Or about any of the other matters that preyed on her mind. There, alone, Ernestine could avoid thinking." 

One of the most powerful moments in the story is Ernestine's first-person narration of her past and the influences that brought her to this period in her life. It's particularly strong because of its added reflections on the values and morals fostered by family circumstance and life experiences: "I was born in Great Snoring, a town in Norfolk. Papa was unfortunate in business, so he, Mama, and I had barely enough money to live on. And some of his businesses were less than principled. I don’t mean Papa was dishonest; he intended to be a good man. Mama always said he leaned strongly toward integrity and compromised his convictions only when more seemly alternatives miscarried. With a bit of luck, Papa could have been a man of great character, and if he’d been born wealthy, he would have had scruples to spare." 

As Ernestine also comes to question and adjust her perceptions of ethical behavior and personal ambitions, readers become part of a colorful world where her actions translate to either preservation of the abbey refuge or its destruction (depending on her decisions about honor and ethical choices). Facing fears takes courage—courage Ernestine doesn't think she has. 

From powerful priests and Mothers who confront them to the little Abbey of Saint Francis's role in political power plays and the value of strategy that compromises much for the sake of survival, Ernestine is a compelling story. It will attract historical fiction readers with its powerful blend of purpose and politics, cemented by a young woman's changing intentions and approaches to life both within and outside the abbey refuge. 

Ernestine is highly recommended reading; especially for those with a particular interest in 16th century European backdrops, which come alive here in all their social and political complexity. 

Ernestine 

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Five Times Lucky
P. David Temple
Chelsea Press
978-1735981604            $15.95 Paper/$6.95 Kindle
www.chelseapress.com 

When ex-Hollywood actress BunnyLee Welles returns to town for her friend's wedding in Five Times Lucky, it is to a notoriety she'd never expected. Fame is no longer at the top of her list of desires now that she is older and away from Hollywood's influence. But fame is what she faces, albeit in an unexpected way. 

As the psychology of transference takes place and BunnyLee, Buck, Jadé, and others find their lives and fortunes unexpectedly entwined, P. David Temple adds a wry brand of humorous inspection that injects irony and satire into the tale. It's a combination of modern American road trip ala Kerouac (albeit with a Miniature Labradoodle puppy in tow) and romance that revolve around Buck LeGrande, whose exploits lead to puppy mills and attention-getting stunts. 

When opposites attract, they can do so in an explosive manner. Such is the case with BunnyLee and Buck as they (and Puddles) navigate a strange new world and face adventures and ironies they never wanted to confront, both independently and with one another. 

From Hollywood to a 4H exhibition with a gun-totin' Puddles, both BunnyLee and Buck meet their match and come out on top in this rollicking romp through Hollywood, disparate supporting characters, and America. Ironically, each finds their roles challenged by Puddles, who also did not have acting fame in mind, but who is cast into that role in an unexpected (some might say bizarre) manner. 

P. David Temple's story provides numerous laugh-out-loud moments. Its special blend of humor, philosophy, romance and adventure will keep readers involved and guessing about the outcome to the end, which concludes in both an anticipated and yet also an unexpected manner. The story ultimately questions the price and goal of fame and fortune, using a tongue-in-cheek observational style that is simply unforgettable. 

Five Times Lucky 

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Gotcha!
Ed. Weinberger
South Street Books 
978-1-64704-233-2      
$17.99 Paper/$32.45 Hardcover/$9.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/GOTCHA-Inside-Trumps-Campaign-Novel/dp/164704233X 

Readers of satirical fiction will find that the political, social, and literary commentary of GOTCHA!: Inside Trump’s 2020 Campaign—A Novel crafts a compelling and fun read that is politically and socially astute. Even those who have tired of absorbing Trump discussions will find this novel's format and employment of parodies, exaggeration, and ironic observation to be fresh and intriguing. 

Unlike some satires, this work is intended for amusement value; not for the loftier goal of ethical commentary alone. Given how many Trump-themed writings do focus on moral reflection, it's evident that GOTCHA! is a horse of another color, providing the comedic angle missing from most other examinations of the man and his era. 

Not only Trump but Barr and all his associates are included in the countdown of events that took place during his term in office. Tongue-in-cheek dialogue captures the ironic twists in which more sensible and reasoned men assess their connections to Trump: “Such language. For a President.” “He’s upset because Bolton wrote that Trump said Finland was part of Russia.” “What a nitwit.” “I know. But he’s our nitwit,” said Barr in that understated way of his." 

As events from his administration, including a firebombing at Trump Towers, are reviewed and recapped, the humor continues to play out: “Lobby’s scorched black. But the elevators still work. Nobody’s allowed in since it’s been
designated a crime scene.” “Don’t let anyone clean it up. I want it left just the way it is.” “Sure, Pop, but why?” “I’m thinking it’d be good to show up with the White House Press Corps and address the violence in our cities.” “Great idea, Pop. It’d be like Churchill visiting bomb sites in World War II.” “The only difference is Churchill never made a really great speech.” “And you know what else would be neat?” said Don Jr. “If you carried that gun the NRA gave you. You could talk about how you can carry it legally in Florida but not in New York. The guys at the NRA would love you for it. And I think we could get another couple million out of them.” 

These moments, captured in a macabre review of how facts are manipulated to present different public images, are both thought-provoking and satirically compelling as the reality of Trump's four years in office is captured for future posterity. 

Even future audiences in this distant era who have no personal familiarity with these Trump years will find GOTCHA! a hallmark production. It explores political manipulation and chaos, capturing an atmosphere that feels impossible, but is lifted from daily news and events. 

Perhaps future generations will discover more value in this fictionalization than those close to these experiences today, who may be too familiar with the processes and parodies of the Trump administration to find it entertaining even when recapped with a satirical overlay. After all, these last four years have been presented with this same sense of outrageous irony. 

And, of course, it should be noted that any true believer in the Trump administration will likely find GOTCHA! intrinsically offensive, as it attacks an icon revered in such circles. 

Yes, it's those who want a recap of present experience (and, more likely, future generations who wonder how some of this could have come to pass) who will best appreciate the lasting value of Ed. Weinberger's solid satirical examination of how power is manipulated, tailored, and presented to the public on a gold plate bordered with a pig's lipstick. 

These audiences will find refreshing and delightful the subtle and not-so-subtle jabs and follies of the last four extraordinary years of American history that are deftly captured in GOTCHA! 

Gotcha! 

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A House Full of Windsor
Kristin Contino
Wyatt-MacKenzie 
978-1-948018-99-9         $15.95 Softcover/$4.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/House-Full-Windsor-Kristin-Contino/dp/1948018993 

A House Full of Windsor has its roots in a modern TV reality show (unseen by this reviewer) and revolves around the family life and scandals of the Windsor family, who relocated to America from England in search of new opportunities. 

Daughter Sarah Percy has seen much success in television, but her show is losing popularity. Her mother Debbie is fixated on royalty and is a hoarder...a family secret Sarah has taken great pains to hide from the public eye she's so much a part of. Dirty secrets are swept under the family rug, and it's her role to do this, and keep them there. 

But it's not her brother's job to carry on this family tradition, so when he fosters a TV series about hoarding, there would seem to be no better subject than what is happening right at home, even though exposing their secrets will change the public's perceptions about their lives. 

As family living becomes more and more complicated, romances and family connections become entangled and challenging. 

Readers receive a delightful exploration of an unconventional family's secrets and 1980s drama in a story filled with passionate explorations of both sides of the pond. The first-person narration brings readers into the dilemmas faced on all sides, and the mistakes in communication that lead to them: "A fun, girly afternoon just wasn’t in the cards, exactly like my day of relaxation wasn’t, either. And now I had a flight to pack for, too. Who thought I’d be making two trips across the pond in the matter of a few weeks, let alone with my family? It didn’t even occur to me to ask Will if he was okay with the trip." 

Readers who like family dramas in general and the media focus swirling around royal events and preoccupations with the British monarchy in particular will find A House Full of Windsor an outstanding romp through both different social strata and cultures and romance. 

As family secrets come to light, the story becomes fully absorbing; its dilemmas nicely woven into the backdrop of evolving love. 

Women, in particular, will find this story replete with humor and ironic inspections of life in the UK and US. The family is torn asunder by its adult children's decisions, exposés, and avid desire for new beginnings not just for the prodigies, but the parents who find their world changing anew. 

Women who like interpersonal dramas, soap operas, and intercultural mixes will especially appreciate A House Full of Windsor's attention to changing family relationships and influences. 

A House Full of Windsor 

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A Matter of Course
Jody Wenner
Independently Published
979-8701211535            $4.99 ebook; $11.99 Print
https://www.amazon.com/Matter-Course-Jody-Wenner/dp/B08VBS3XRG

Marigold Winter is headed to a destination that she prefers not to think about. She's moved back home with her mother after her breakup with Pete because her once-strong mother Zi needs her. This destination may be their final journey together, but Mari soon discovers that when one door closes, another opens, as she encounters new possibilities for her life in the unlikeliest of places. 

Mari's encounters on the train with Lark and old woman Norma leads her into Lark's artistic world, which in turn leads him to rethink the course of his own life. 

There, she discovers new talents that her mother had tried to teach her, taking up the camera she'd once eschewed and literally walking in her mother's shoes into unexpected new adventures and perspectives. Her efforts involve not only a crash course in photography, but encounters with very different people as Mari's trajectory introduces Jeannie and husband Dean (who, like Mari, also likes to focus on the little details of life around him), who are both struggling with despised jobs and a rocky marriage. 

Jody Wenner creates a gentle journey through disparate lives connected by chance and circumstance in A Matter of Course. 

As the novel evolves, so do characters who refuse to give up. They confront the changes sparked by one man's discovery, which connects their disparate lives on the Orange Line they all rode at the same pivotal moment in their lives. 

As the story moves between characters and from personal opportunities and transformations to slides and setbacks, Wenner creates a fascinating interplay between chance meetings and life-changing events for all the characters involved. 

A number of characters' lives are explored and juxtaposed, as well, which could feel confusing to some were it not for the clear chapter titles which make it easy to move between the lives and perspectives of Mari, Lark, Jason, Ed Fleek, Robert Andrew Davis, and a host of others involved in making new discoveries about themselves and the world they want to live in. 

Contemporary fiction readers looking for an intriguing story of disparate individuals will find A Matter of Course an excellent study in differences. It also blends a touch of romance and mystery into its strong story of life's ironic intersections. 

As a piece especially suitable and recommended for fiction book club reader debate and discussion, A Matter of Course provides much food for thought. 

A Matter of Course 

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Punk
Amy Q. Barker
Independently Published
978-1-7353581-1-6         $11.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
www.amyqbarker.com 

Punk blends women's literature with a coming-of-age story about Delia Elliott, a junior in high school who explains how she came to travel back in time to 1932 with the aid of a family member's diary. These circumstances connect her fumbling, short life with her great-grandmother Didi's failed romance and her own mother's struggle with being a single mother in a relationship. 

Barred from all connections with friends, Delia's discovery of the diary unlocks not only the past, but keys to making better decisions in the present as she absorbs her family's hidden heritage and comes to understand its impact on her own choices. 

Narrated in the first person for young adult readers, Punk assumes an air of rebellion and confession as it adopts a tone that will prove immediately accessible to young readers. It blends a sarcastic, witty view of Delia's mother's approaches to life and child-rearing with insights on her life and its trajectory: "I’m thinking how great you’ve been lately—sort of on a roll. I mean, you’ve managed to finish your junior year with halfway decent grades, you’re finally done with that boy, not to mention the fallout from the incident with that boy. You haven’t snuck out of the house in at least, let’s see, three weeks. You haven’t stolen cash out of my wallet (as far as I know). You haven’t been wearing my clothes—although that is my T-shirt if I’m not mistaken—please put that back! And you haven’t broken curfew. I was beginning to think things were looking up.” She paused for effect and con­cluded with, “But I should have known better, shouldn’t I have?” As she was getting more animated, I noticed the most fascinating thing—this vein in her neck grew large and throbbed, almost as if some type of alien lived there. I began to imagine it would pop its head out and start talking to me. “Hello, Delia. I’m the alien living in your mom’s jugular. I come in peace. Please feed me." 

It's this spunky, sassy tone which offers both a unique voice and a major draw into the events that unfold as Delia puts together the pieces of three generation of women who face similar dilemmas in very different eras. 

Young adults may read other books that attempt to appeal to their age group, but few stories pull off the spunky tone and feel of Delia, whose frustrations over her life will mirror many a teen's relationship with their family. 

Under Amy Q. Barker's hand, both parents and kids hold their own very different perspectives, which appear in diary form and in the way Delia begins to understand her own situation (and her mother's) in a different way. The diary entries that hold a different tone are just as compelling as Delia's own first-person insights: "He was trying to be kind (and firm) with me and said, “Didi, I want you to make your own life, and if it can’t happen with this boy, we’d rather you be on your own, living with us, until the right boy comes along.” I cried a little and told him I didn’t want another boy. Sometimes life is so hard. I tried to explain Paul’s circumstances — not having a father and relying on his mother’s initiative to keep the family afloat. He said, “Yes, this is noble and worthy of praise. She must be a strong woman to manage that counter and raise those two boys on her own, but acknowledging that, we must also look at the big picture.” 

The changing perspectives and narrators could prove a bit confusing, at first, even though Barker does clarify these changes in the first paragraphs of each chapter. Chapter headings defining these might have clarified the mercurial narrators. 

Another strength to the story is that the different insights of each generation are covered in detail, cemented by life experience and descriptions that don't 'talk down' to young adults: "Sometimes I wondered if many of Delia’s troubles stemmed from the di­vorce. It had been seven years since Johnston and I had split up, but I still had a lot of guilt, and I also realized that no matter how good or bad any divorce is, these type of childhood traumas tend to linger. She was seventeen now, and I foolishly thought with maturity would come a sort of grace and understanding, but that was naive of me. I think those feelings of confusion, abandonment, and displacement never truly go away. I should know." 

Though Punk will gain its major audience from teens, it will also reach adult readers interested in an absorbing contrast between three generations of women, and shouldn't be limited to young adults alone. 

Its insights on divorce, the impact of decisions, and the long-term ramifications of family patterns is absorbing and involving, and will please women's fiction readers and young adults alike. 

Punk 

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Rogue River Heaven
Roger E. Carrier
Independently Published
978-1-6641-4586-3         $13.99
www.xlibris.com 

Rogue River Heaven cultivates a wry sense of humor and impropriety as it opens with a confession that sets the tone for the story to follow: "I fell in love with a woman whose hair was as scarlet as her profession. So if you are a line-drawer, or a person who needs to have everything in neat little boxes, or if you are sanctimonious, don’t read another word. Close my book and find one more respectable." 

Beginning with a compelling prologue, the reader is drawn into a love story and coming-of-age mystery on the banks of Oregon's Rogue River. Seventeen-year-olds on a wilderness picnic, Troy and Monica, who have loved each other from age twelve, consummate their love, only to have it vanish when Monica disappears. Despondent, Troy meets Maggie, the prostitute he has been spying on for years. Between the two, they seek revenge after slowly unraveling the mystery. 

For one thing, Troy is seeking to understand how he moved from an all-American boyhood to an adult life fraught with the unexpected, beyond the social norms one might expect of a college professor. 

His path to this point is well detailed, including rural encounters with cows, close friends, and adventures in the outdoors and growing up. Eventually, Troy becomes a voyeur. As he spies on Maggie and learns about life, he absorbs new ideas and obsessions that begin to deviate from the norm as he observes Maggie's s&m world of sex and cultivates the life and fantasies of a peeping tom. 

As a teenager, Troy is devastated by the disappearance of his girlfriend, Monica, which is linked to the disappearances of other young women in Washington and northern California. Little does he realize how close he is to solving these tragic events. 

As they defy the law and the impact of abuse and he becomes entwined in her nightmare world, readers receive a series of shocking developments as Troy's habit ventures into the murky realm of death and revenge. 

Roger E. Carrier moves from a picture book childhood in many ways to a young man's coming of age and adulthood, which becomes burdened by an unexpected foray into depravity and the mind of a killer. Many twists and turns carry him into a life-changing experience with two different women before the story takes a final, satisfyingly unpredictable twist to a firm resolution. 

In many ways, Rogue River Heaven mirrors the evolution of an American society that grew from simpler times to absorb numerous threats from the minds of ordinary men, provoking caution and constant perceptions of danger in Americans throughout the nation. 

Readers seeking a riveting blend of suspense, social inspection, and murder and romance will find Rogue River Heaven just the ticket for an absorbing, revealing probe into the mind and experiences of a man who chooses many unexpected paths during his life. 

Rogue River Heaven 

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Rue
Amy Q. Barker
Independently Published
978-1735358109            $11.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
www.amyqbarker.com 

Readers of contemporary women's fiction will find Rue a compelling piece, indeed. It features an unusual protagonist in Rue Cavendish, a lounge singer who has been blind since birth, and who is singing in a San Francisco bar when she meets Josh. 

Rue has always cultivated her independence against all odds. And she holds some decided feelings about the idea of romance and relationships: "She wondered absently what that must feel like – to be on the verge of something new, the precipice before you fall, the edge of a cliff – trying with all your might to put your best foot forward. And then she thought of the duplicity of people. Was it natural, an innate instinct, to put on that mask when you meet someone new? The facade: say the right things, listen politely, be interesting and interested. Then what happens later when you reveal your true self – the one with all its selfishness, inner demons, foibles, flaws?" 

Rue has long prided herself on successfully navigating the sighted world, but in the process of cultivating her own life, she's fallen behind in exploring matters of the heart. 

This changes as she not only becomes involved with Josh, but experiences further insights about couples and love through Kevin Warren and his wife Alyssa, who are experiencing many challenges in their marriage and perceptions of what they want both in life and from each other. 

As Rue experiences passion, explores her sexuality and a new relationship, and lets down some of her barriers, she expresses many emotions women will readily relate to, as in this aftermath of intimacy: "She should have savored that moment. She should have sat there letting it sink in. She should have basked in the glory of what had just happened. But instead, the moment he stepped out of the bathroom, the full force of reality hit her like a ton of bricks. She began to cry uncontrollably. What had she done? What had they done? It was a marvel! But was it wrong? She hardly knew him! What must he think of her? What did she think of herself? Was she just like all of the other girls who came to him? How many others were there? Were they easy, vapid, unscrupulous? Was she? She felt cracked open like an egg, with no power to stop her insides from pouring out." 

She wonders if Josh is nervous about including her in his world, and if he's really ready to date someone like Rue. She also wonders if she is ready for more than she's already carved out from life. 

From taking risks to understanding differences between love and friendship and surviving emotional devastation when life goes awry, Rue grows emotionally throughout this story, carrying readers into both her life and the possibilities of women in and out of love. 

Rue is a compelling novel of a blind woman who begins to see her life in a different way. Its tour of accountability, relationship-building, and changing perceptions not only invites readers into Rue's life, but adds the perspectives and objectives of others on their own paths to better seeing the opportunities and desires in their lives. 

Women who like contemporary novels about already-strong women taking the next step in their evolution will find Rue realistic, absorbing, and packed with relationship insights. 

Rue 

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The Sky Worshipers
F.M. Deemyad
History Through Fiction, LLC
9781732950863            
$29.95 Hardcover; $17.95 Paper; $6.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Worshipers-F-M-Deemyad/dp/1732950881 

Historical novel readers looking for a story steeped in the politics, culture, and epoch of Genghis Khan will find The Sky Worshipers a powerful, sweeping saga that focuses on the role and influence of women who change the trajectory and strength of Khan and his Mongol warriors. 

This unique focus will especially appeal to women who want their histories to include not just the mention of women as auxiliary characters, but that place women's lives, perspectives, and influences at the forefront of the story rather than in the background. 

Fantasy and speculations blend with known facts about the Mongol invasions of Asia, Middle East, and Eastern Europe during the thirteenth century and beyond. F.M. Deemyad reconstructs these events, bringing readers a taste of the power and approach of sky-worshiping conquerors who demanded of their new people that they change their lives and perspectives to be more in sync with Mongol culture. 

A nonfiction introduction sets the stage for this story and segues nicely into the tale, presenting not only a historical foundation for the events, but the rationale behind why Deemyad's studies revealed the likelihood of a "secret history": "...the children of Genghis and his sons were probably reared or were influenced by the well-educated women from other civilizations who were kidnapped or taken as prisoners of war and brought to the Mongol court." 

With these studies and this premise in mind, readers are treated to a passionate story of women not just kidnapped and imprisoned, but who are determined to change the structure and psyches of their captors through their relationships with them. 

To depict the entire sweeping era of Mongol invasions under one cover is, in and of itself, no light achievement. Deemyad's attention to the fictional drama, tension, character interactions over the efforts of a princess who both comes of age and is captured contributes to a powerful series of dramatic confrontations. 

Deemyad captures the sights, smells, and sounds of the times to bring them, as well as her characters, to full life: "Petals of rose, a flower grown and revered for centuries in Persia, filled the surface of the pool, and the scent of rose oil added to the water, infused the bathhouse with an intoxicating aroma. After all, few were the times when the old royal family visited the place. Princess Reyhan’s chambermaids washed her hair with an aromatic potion of green lotus powder called sedr, which made it the color of ripe dates. Thus, she got prepared for the next day’s ceremony of applying henna paste to her hands and feet in elaborate designs as required by tradition." 

The focus on three princesses who marry three generations of invaders contributes nicely to the timeline. It follows not only the progress and interactions of the Mongols over decades, but presents the changing perspectives of those they conquered as each woman faces different ways of changing her peoples' lives and conquest. 

The effects of history and consequences of choices that affect generations is outlined in passages that reflect on the ongoing impact of not just conquerors, but those who acquiesced to them: "The manuscript has triggered something within her. It is that she feels guilty for all that was done; not only of the massacre of so many people by the Mongols but what her own father-in-law, Tamerlane, as the last Mongol conqueror committed, cutting down large populations in order to expand his  territories.” “Well, Tamerlane took pride in the fact that he was a Mongol ruler although many dispute that claim.” The Hakeem said, and added as if thinking out loud, “He was one of the most brutal conquerors ever to rule this land.” 

Any reader with an interest in Mongol history in general and the changing roles and perspectives of women caught up in their conquests will find the complexity and attention to detail in The Sky Worshipers makes for engaging reading. 

It's not a light coverage (those who want shallow drama need look elsewhere), but a powerful, fact-based novel that highlights undercurrents of the lasting legacy of Genghis Khan and his people on an entire region. 

The Sky Worshipers 

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Surviving Carmelita
Susan Miura
CrossRiver Media
978-1-936501-57-1        
Author website: http://susanmiura.com/ 

Surviving Carmelita will attract women who enjoy Christian fiction. It provides the compelling story of mother Josie, who finds many ways to appreciate the daily joys of life: "As for me, no swing is necessary. The autumn sun warms my face, Carmie’s laughter fills the air, and my kids are excited about the fun night ahead. Challenging days will ebb and flow, so I am savoring this little slice of paradise." 

Josie soon faces a life-changing situation which holds no precedent for comprehension: a killer of little girls, a grief which strikes her heart, and a world that moves beyond life's pleasures to probe challenges and paradigm-changing belief systems. 

If only she can undo the past and the grief her own actions have caused others! If only Josie can reconcile herself over a past that keeps haunting her present! There are many choices to mull over as events unfold; not the least of which has been her distant relationship with God and the new possibility of forging a different spiritual connection: "The pastor’s name eludes me. Not sure I’d even recognize him if we bumped carts at Target. Twice a year I hear him talk about a God who wants to have a “personal relationship” with the people He created. He talks of salvation and unconditional love, but none of that resonates with me. Not that I’m anti-God, I just didn’t grow up with Him in the mix." 

Josie's changing relationship with and perception of God's influences and actions drive a story in which she reconsiders many of the interactions she'd had with Him in the past: "I was praying for her—a sweet, loving, pregnant Christian girl. This time would be different. I would be seeking healing from the same God who let it happen, who could have pushed her out of the way with a blink." 

As she becomes more involved with Preacher, who is helping her heal at last, she slowly comes into a different series of realizations about her life, choices, and God...until her discovery about Preacher's secret changes everything yet again. 

Susan Miura crafts a compelling story of a loving mother who has many skeletons in her closet and many spiritual hurdles to overcome in the course of coming to grips with past and present realities. Her journey vibrantly demonstrates how the presence of God and the devil and lies and secrets intersect to provoke transformation and change.  

Surviving Carmelita is a compelling story not just about survival, but about coming to terms with life and death. Its quietly convincing protagonist involves readers in her life, choices, and awareness right up to a revelation that brings with it a new nightmare, new truths, and possible redemption. 

Surviving Carmelita 

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Welcome to Brookville
Kelly Ennis
DartFrog Books
978-1-951490-78-2         $11.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Brookville-Kelly-Ennis/dp/1951490789 

Welcome to Brookville's unique brand of Gothic stories provides a series of horror encounters which are linked, yet stand alone as intriguing reads for those who especially enjoy unsettling scenarios. 

From a man taken prisoner in a secret lab that forces him to confront his darkest fears to an actress who discovers that her role mirrors life in a frightening manner, Welcome to Brookville is about capturing and releasing the underlying ironies and horror in everyday life. It creates a feeling of fascinating horror in readers who will find themselves as attracted to the macabre events as spectators to a car wreck. 

While this might sound less than desirable for leisure reading, the horror genre holds a special brand of fascination with dangerous life circumstances and eerie possibilities that readers find especially appealing. This production is no exception and, indeed, mirrors this focus on life's uncanny twists and turns. 

Take Sarah's singular life in 'Glass', for one example of this flavor. Sarah accepts her limited one-room life, living in the moment and memories of a very different world: "She might have been in a small room where the sun never shone, where the weak, cold breeze had a mysterious origin, and where the only light came from a fluorescent tube above her head. But once upon a time, the sun had warmed her clothes and the wind had blown them around. She could still bring those happy times to mind." 

Fascinated by a bathtub full of turtles, her only pastime, Sarah has made a refuge for them (and herself) in the bathroom. How can she escape a world where someone else (an unseen observer) knows what is best for her...a place she has come to view as a safe haven? After all, "Punishment was all that mattered in life, and this was hers." 

Kelly Ennis excels in weaving psychological inspections into the background of horror. Observations of disparate personalities who exist in the town of Brookville's quiet version of horror spark each story with a tension and series of revelations that bring both the protagonist and the town to life. 

Often, the act of observing changes everything, as when Maria scans the whole town through the different lens of a powerful telescope and discovers more beneath Brookville's surface than it appears: "Everything looked calm and peaceful, though there was plenty of human activity. The silence made it all seem like a movie rather than real life. But as she looked at everyone going on with their days, driving here and there and walking in and out of stores, it all seemed strangely beautiful." 

Still waters run deep. So do the undercurrents of horror that permeate many of the residents of Brookville...a special brand of reflection that translates to a disturbingly good read where the extraordinary that flows beneath the surface of everyday life is closer than readers might think.

Welcome to Brookville is the perfect choice for horror readers who like their stories steeped in strong psychological profiles of town and residents alike. It's especially recommended to those who can't resist looking over their shoulder for the sense that something may lay in wait just behind them (in this case, a frighteningly good read). 

Welcome to Brookville 

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Reviewer's Choice

Artistes of Colour
Steve Ward, PhD
Modern Vaudeville Press
978-1-7339712-7-0         $25.00
www.modernvaudevillepress.com 

Artistes Of Colour; Ethnic Diversity And Representation In The Victorian Circus is highly recommended for performing arts and ethnic history libraries alike, offering a solid study of Victorian-era circus makeup that probes the achievements of notable Victorian-era circus performers of color. 

From African rope dancers and jugglers to Chinese and Japanese troupes, chapters cover family origins and history, offer extensive quotes from research and source materials, and provide many inspections of circus performing art history: "When you think of a juggler today you probably think of an individual, who by repeated practice and skill, can keep several objects in motion simultaneously; balls, clubs, and rings to the more extreme fire torches, knives, and even chain saws! But juggling as we recognise it is only a relatively modern discipline." 

This history nicely juxtaposes with racial reflections and insights that takes source material writings and analyzes them with an astute eye to outlining the intrinsic racial perceptions in white Victorian society. One example of this approach lies in this analysis of an 1809 journal passage describing the exploits and culture of Indian jugglers: "High praise for the Indian Jugglers, but tinged with British xenophobic patronisation. Of course the ‘natives’ were ignorant and superstitious. How could they be anything other – they were not British. There was an ever present tension between the dominant British social structure and the Indian underclass. The fascination with the exotic was juxtaposed with racial bigotry, underpinned as it was with a sense of imperial superiority. Yet there was the desire to bring these entertainers to Britain to present them to the public, to be exploited for profitable gain." 

These close inspections of source materials provide a foundation for understanding Victorian prejudices, performing arts history, and the intersections of prejudice and achievement that often layered observations with an intrinsic attitude about other races and cultures.

Fans of circus history as well as those interested in the presence, exploitation, and perception of performers of color in Victorian-era society will find much to appreciate in this well-detailed narration. 

Black and white reproductions of advertising and illustrations from the times add visual embellishment key to understanding representations of these people, while the autobiographical sketches of selected key performers gathers much material about their individual histories and achievements. 

Anyone interested in performing arts history, Victorian-era cultural interactions and relationships, and ethnic history examinations will find Artistes Of Colour a unique and powerful reference highly recommended for readers who want a scholarly yet spirited approach to circus history and ethnic issues. 

Artistes of Colour 

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Black & White: Healing Racial Divide
C. L. Holley
Independently Published
979-8677373954            $8.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q26U7V8   
Draft2Digital: https://books2read.com/u/4XLxxg 

Black & White: Healing Racial Divide delivers an assessment of racial strife in America which moves from a history of changing racial issues (from Jim Crow experiences to modern times) to a survey of insights and solutions focused on reuniting a deeply divided country. In the process, it explores facets of the divide that rarely receive attention in similar-sounding approaches, such as Biblical references, discussions of assimilation approaches and underlying attitudes, bias, and more. 

The story opens with a family picture of the author with his two high school teachers and leads to what looks to be a memoir reflecting on the birth of his daughter. This becomes a reflection on George Floyd's murder and why African Americans remain disenfranchised and at high risk in American society: "Truthfully, the breathlessness of African Americans is not a new phenomenon. Their four-hundred-year struggle to breathe began during the middle passage, increased during slavery, extended beyond post-civil war reconstruction, and remains even until the writing of this book in 2020. Obstructions to African American airways now take the form of white supremacy, systemic racism, bias, injustice, unequal treatment, and lack of access to products, services, and resources." 

While he admits that every problem in the community isn't due to racism, C. L. Holley's discussion traces many facets of seemingly diverse issues to not just racist attitudes, but issues of guilt and lasting resentments, which stymie any possibility of a healing conversation. 

As chapters consider the inherent racism and repression in everything from housing and communities to economic opportunities, they draw together statistics, studies, and researched information to support observations about the many faces of repression in American society: "Where a person lives and the condition in which he or she lives can determine the health and wellbeing of not only that individual but other members of the family. And those effects can linger from generation to generation."

Unlike other discussions, both black and white barriers to change receive the laser beam of Holley's attention and contentions. The new foundations of racial healing opportunities receive close inspection as he draws together possibilities for both sides to meet—but only after considering their own inherited attitudes towards race, communication, and attitudes, which erect walls on both sides. 

Anyone interested in how all races can participate in the broader win-win effort of defeating racism will find Black & White: Healing Racial Divide an excellent starting point for discussion and change. It's highly recommended reading not just for collections already profiling racial issues, but high school to adult classrooms who might consider debating and absorbing its lessons, which offer opportunities for re-envisioning America and the values about equality which this nation purports to hold. 

Black & White: Healing Racial Divide 

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Confessions of a CIA Spy - The Art of Human Hacking
Peter Warmka
Independently Published
979-8-554614-5-45                $9.99 ebook; $14.99 Paper
https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-CIA-Spy-Human-Hacking-ebook/dp/B08QYZJ13K 

Confessions of a CIA Spy - The Art of Human Hacking comes from a CIA career spy whose lifetime of experiences led him to form the Counterintelligence Institute, which addresses security and intelligence issues in individual and company lives. 

As such, readers might expect a series of spy stories from this book, but it offers so much more. Herein lies the opportunity to understand the presence, effects, and processes of disinformation, hacking, and other intelligence hacks in daily citizens' lives. Confessions of a CIA Spy excels in identifying these problems and how to overcome them. 

Information is a powerful tool. It can be successfully managed or artfully mismanaged, and the latter can be compromised more easily in this era than at any other point in human history. 

Confessions of a CIA Spy reviews this process, and is especially powerful in its assessments of organizational security and implementing protections to address situations which at first might not seem to pose opportunities for disaster: "While an entity may aggressively use social media to help promote their products and services, an unintended consequence can be the leakage of information, which can be invaluable to social engineers. This exposure results in the creation of vulnerabilities for the organization. Company employees will often upload photos or videos of themselves in the workplace to social media sites, providing social engineers with insight into their physical workspaces." 

The insights on how social engineers and information gatherers often don't even have to produce a bona fide hack to gain access to company data and details is positively frightening—as well as enlightening. 

By understanding the extent and processes of hackers and how ‘social engineers’ manipulate both loopholes and emotions, companies and individuals who look to improve their security measures will find the many layers of hacking approaches intriguing. This will allow them to uncover gaps in company safety processes which they may not have considered previously, going beyond the usual emphasis on cybersecurity firewalls: "The social engineer may place pressure upon the target by implying that refusing to assist will be seen by others as socially unacceptable...These influence techniques can be used in a variety of situations, including brief one-time interactions with a target." 

The wide-ranging, authority-backed discussions of various forms of hacking make Confessions of a CIA Spy - The Art of Human Hacking a key acquisition. While those who wanted true-life spy stories may be disappointed, ultimately, the focus on the extent of human hacking operations is both invaluable and intriguing, exposing scenarios of vulnerability that many will not have thought of before. 

No cybersecurity or social issues collection should be without Confessions of a CIA Spy. 

Confessions of a CIA Spy - The Art of Human Hacking

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Cruising from Boston to Montreal 
Sunny & Al Lockwood
Front Porch Publishing
Paperback: 978-1-942016-57-1            $14.95
Ebook: 978-1-942016-60-1                   $  3.99
www.pisgahpress.com 

Cruisers seeking guide books that address the practicalities of cruising through different locales around the world may already be well aware of Sunny & Al Lockwood's books on the Mediterranean and other areas. This audience will well know their style of combining the chatty feel of a travelogue with the practical destination-oriented advice essential to anyone who would duplicate their efforts. 

Cruising from Boston to Montreal: Discovering Coastal and Riverside Wonders in Maine, the Canadian Maritimes and Along the St. Lawrence River ventures through the region from Bar Harbor, Maine to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and beyond. It explores the coastal areas of the U.S. and Canada with an eye to helping fellow would-be visitors learn about their attractions and the process of navigating the region. 

The first thing to note about this guide is its focus on low-cost cruising opportunities. This makes it the perfect book of choice for seniors seeking trips that don't break the budget. 

The Lockwoods undertook the cruise to expand their knowledge of our neighbors to the north, absorbing not just scenic attractions, but the culture and nature of Canadians as a whole. Their book invites armchair readers to experience the cruise through their eyes while providing would-be visitors the nuts and bolts of how it felt to visit the areas and interact with the locals. 

From detailed descriptions of meals and financial planning to assessing energy levels and budgeting for ability as much as income, readers receive in-depth reviews that enables them to understand the pros, cons, and attractions of cruising in general and through this region, in particular. 

The first-person descriptions read with the drama of fiction and the excitement of journal writing as everything from food flavors to discussions of cruising's attractions is provided: "If this sounds like a feast, believe me it is. The food keeps coming and coming. The flavors are amazing, things I’ve never tasted before, but which I will definitely want to enjoy again. Wine is provided for those who want it. Al has a coke. I have water, one of my favorite beverages. The couple sharing our table say they travel all the time. They’ve been to Israel, South Africa, throughout Europe and the west coast of the U.S. I ask what their motivation is and the wife says, “We just want to see new places.” Al mentions that we have taken a couple of cruises across the Atlantic and the husband sticks his finger in his mouth as if he’s going to throw up. I say, “I take it you don’t like sea days?” “Can’t stand them. I’ve got to be on the go,” he says. “In fact, I got up this morning and got in six miles.”

This approach serves to impart not just the authors' perceptions and experiences, but those of those they encounter on board and on land. 

This travelogue is highly recommended reading for two audiences: those who would undertake a cruise to Canada's eastern seaboard themselves, and others who look for lively moment-by-moment "you are there" descriptions of the adventure. 

Concluding with a note about COVID-19's effects on travel in general and the cruising industry as a whole, perhaps there's no better time to enjoy Cruising from Boston to Montreal than now. It may well be the only cruise experience to be had, for a while. 

Cruising from Boston to Montreal 

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The Man Who Beat Death Valley
Deborah A. Fox
Independently Published
9780578720227             $19.99
debfoxdesign.com  

The Man Who Beat Death Valley's full-color graphic novel format will appeal to teen and adult audiences interested in historical fiction. The tale is based on the true story of William Lewis Manly, who helped rescue two families from the Death Valley desert, journeying through the treacherous valley three times on his missions of mercy. 

In 1849-50, it took Manly and his friend over a month to lead four adults and four children out of the notorious desert. 

Deborah A. Fox's colorful illustrations bring this story to life in a way printed words alone could not have achieved. 

The combination of astute history, drama, and vivid images highlights the real strength of the graphic novel in this genre, especially, bringing history to life in a dramatic, compelling manner. 

The dialogue is replete with action-packed words ("Roarrr! "Look OUT! Get to shore QUICKLY!"), assuring that action isn't just visual alone, but is reinforced by language that captures the adventure and drama of constant challenges to surviving the Death Valley desert. 

Recommended for young adult to adult history readers, especially those who like true adventure and California settings, The Man Who Beat Death Valley is a top recommendation not just for graphic novel collections, but libraries and educators interested in visually enhanced historical fiction for all ages. 

The Man Who Beat Death Valley 

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Mom, Dad…Can We Talk?
Dick Edwards, with Mike Ransom, Ruth Weispfenning, Mia Corrigan and Jane Danner
Cresting Wave Publications, LLC
978-1735413501            $19.95
https://amzn.to/2NHZjxO

Mom, Dad…Can We Talk?: Helping our Aging Parents with the Insight and Wisdom of Others is recommended for any adult facing the prospect of difficult talks with parents about their aging, independence, abilities, and daily living requirements. It should be part of any general-interest, health, or psychology collection covering elder care issues. 

This revised edition of an earlier book makes for an important addition or replacement of the first book because it considerably expands the topics of its predecessor. This edition includes topics of grandchildren involvement, pandemic complications in elder care choices, families simultaneously coping with special needs kids and aging parents, and more. 

Perhaps the central cornerstone of this discussion verses other books about elder care and aging parents lies in its inclusion of numerous case examples that illustrate exactly how conversations between family members should take place, for maximum benefit to all. 

Numerous books tell readers to have such discussions without exploring exactly how this can happen. By addressing this step, Mom, Dad…Can We Talk? fills a gap in the literature with many real-life examples that illustrate such discussions and their possible potholes. 

From how to make sure a conversation is caring to how adults and older children can share proximity and benefit from each other, how to properly assess a situation before leaping into something that holds different problems, and cultivating a "benevolent conspiracy" of observers that offer and support input on a parent's needs, Mom, Dad…Can We Talk? is packed with much-needed specifics that most eldercare books lack. 

A discussion guide at book's end recaps this book's core concerns and contentions and helps reinforce all of its case history examples and focuses. 

Anyone facing changes in an elderly family member's needs who wants clear advice on how to approach and best tailor resources to suit these fluid changes will find Mom, Dad…Can We Talk? an essential manual for communication and positive change. It assesses the pros, cons, and possibilities for all ages, from grandkids to grandparents and everyone in-between. 

Mom, Dad…Can We Talk? 

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Self Belonging
Luann Robinson Hull, MSW, LCSW, D.MIN
Top Reads Publishing, LLC
978-1-970107-04-3         $18.99 Paper/$7.99 ebook
www.topreadspublishing.com 

Self Belonging: Embrace The Wisdom Of Soul And Science And Live Your Best Life considers the foundations of happiness and how it gets hijacked by relationship expectations and life challenges, and is highly recommended reading for self-help audiences. 

It's based not just on admonitions and life wisdom, but Luann Robinson Hull's own experiences, from an emotional rollercoaster reunion in a rekindled romance to questions of how individuals twist each other into knots and why they allow this to take place: "Why did Richard affect me in similar ways? How could I let him twist and torque me around like a pretzel? How had two intelligent women allowed themselves to be reduced to a cat fight over a man, when we could have been focusing our energy in far more productive ways?" 

Becoming a conscious game changer by examining old patterns of interaction and attraction is not an easy move, but Hull demonstrates how this can happen. Her approach combines examples with poetry, philosophy, and spiritual reflections from others, from Rumi to Meister Eckhart and the Hindu Bhagavad Gita. 

"I admit to many times when I most certainly felt like a victim.  In doing a rewind of the “Richard reel,” I can see in living color how patterns and bloodlines played an important role in how things unfolded between us. Also, if karma is factored into the mix, who knows what I was attempting to resolve from other lifetimes with this man and others." 

Hull closely examines the history and methods of women's subjugation and juxtaposes reflections on courage and resilience with examinations of adaptation and self-actualization programming routines. Readers receive a well-balanced blend of autobiography, psychology, philosophy, and spiritual insight into women's issues and power. 

Her years of research led to breakthrough insights on brain functions and how to reprogram them by applying a mix of science and spiritual insight. 

Women committed to personal growth who look for the foundations of neuropsychology tempered by new age and spiritual examination will find much to like in Self Belonging, which empowers readers to process their own patterns, paths, and options to embark on a better course in life. 

Self Belonging 

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Spirituality

My Dog Can Preach
Roxanne Worsham
Roxanne Worsham LLC, Publisher
978-1-7364370-0-1       $21.04 Hardcover/$8.99 Kindle    
www.MyDogCanPreach.com 

My Dog Can Preach: 40 Lessons of God's Love Unleashed maintains that God's voice can be found not only through church interpretations, but in events and circumstances in the wider world. A case in point is offered in this book, in the messages Roxanne Worsham received from actions of her dogs, Scout and Arrow. 

These teachings assume the form of some 40 vignettes that use these dogs as examples of the presence of God in daily life. 

Take, for example, the chapter 'Give Us This Day'. 

Worsham's treat to her dog evokes a thoughtful consideration of the power of daily communion and her ability to link her pet's enthusiasm with her own passion to more regularly receive God's blessings: "What if I was as eager to receive the Lord’s cup as my pup is to receive from me? What if I was as excited about that special treat from the Lord as Arrow was about his special treat? The act of communion is a great gift that we get to participate in as we remember the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. The Bible says that we are to do it often, and as we do, we are to remember Him." 

Another example of these strong connections between pets, people, and spirituality lies in 'Dance in His Presence', about spontaneity and celebration: "What if we could dance like David, or turn in circles of joy like my dog? Dancing in the Bible was often used as a way to worship and express praise to God. Inside, I want to worship like that. My heart is so full of gratitude and thanksgiving that I want to express it somehow, but how could I let my guard down and act as happy as I feel? “I am a grown woman,” or so I tell myself and make an excuse to act dignified. One morning, I let my guard down and danced with my dog. He began to dance even more! The jubilation was overwhelming, and I began to feel so alive and so free. Sometimes we need to just let loose and release the inner child in us. We just need to dance like no one is watching!" 

This collection of Christian reflections and celebrations uses animal relationships as a starting point for absorbing lessons about listening to and celebrating God's presence in daily life. 

Dog lovers who enjoy devotionals and spiritual reflections will find My Dog Can Preach a treasure trove of inspiration on how better to connect with not just one's dog, but God. 

My Dog Can Preach 

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A New Now
Michael Goddart
Clear Path Press
c/o Epigraph Books
978-1-951937-73-7         $18.95 Paper/$26.95 Hardcover
www.epigraphps.com 

A New Now: Your Guide to Mastering Wisdom Daily, Achieving Equilibrium, and Empowering Your Nobler Self gives self-help spirituality readers an empowering approach to awakening their higher consciousness, and is recommended reading for those who look for applied strategies rather than ethereal promises for reaching this goal. 

Many a new age book admonishes readers to tap their inner awareness and develop a better spiritual connection, but fewer provide the nuts and bolts of exactly how to do so. Here, nuggets of insights along with clear, practical, and inspiring guidance direct readers on how to achieve both wisdom and equilibrium. 

The first section focuses on the idea of equilibrium and its importance, with subsequent chapters providing the meat of the 'how to' of ‘The Ten Keys to Achieving Equilibrium.’ Three chapters cover the ‘Treasure of 33 Wisdoms’—including the 11 Loving Wisdoms, the 11 Guiding Wisdoms, and the 11 Evolutionary Wisdoms, and these are revealed in digestible sections ('The Wisdom of Thanking', 'The Wisdom of Attention', 'The Wisdom of Discipline', among others). 

From achieving clearheadedness and considering how belief systems play into expectations and patterns of behavior and anticipation, to understanding the role and influence of karmic debts that move from life to life as communication with God enters into play, these sections pair admonitions and insights with strategies for reaching specific wisdom levels and goals. 

Even more important is the overall application of how to live life as an awakened, aware individual. The benefits of wisdom, awareness, and a renewed sense of purpose are discussed in the course of weaving these strategies into new approaches to daily living. 

A New Now is not a treatise for those who would remain unenlightened. It is a blueprint for readers already on the path to self-improvement, better spiritual connections, and further enlightenment. It provides this audience the tools necessary to achieve all these states of mind, linking them to familiar and ordinary life events everyone can readily understand. 

Anyone seeking to take better control of their life and destiny, who wants to integrate a renewed spiritual focus with enlightenment steps, will find A New Now the perfect item of choice for taking that first step into a new life. 

A New Now 

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Orthodox Theology and Technology
CJS Hayward
CJS Hayward Publications
979-8584713522            $7.99 Paper/$.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Theology-Technology-Profoundly-Autobiography/dp/B08R4FTXH5 

Orthodox Theology and Technology: A Profoundly Gifted Autobiography will attract two different kinds of readers: those interested in orthodox theology and its intersection with technology and personal life, and autobiography readers (especially those with some prior familiarity with CJS Hayward's weighty, expansive writings and reflections). It includes the kind of work that has drawn from prior readers responses of, "When I read it, I was stunned." 

At a little over a hundred pages, this presentation will prove especially inviting for busy readers with only a cursory interest in Orthodoxy or Hayward. 

Orthodox Theology and Technology opens with Hayward's musings about his life and work. His retrospective on life is explored in a 'Dear Reader' letter that moves from his teachings about math's simple beauty to how he has struggled "to become more human" in his approaches to (and perception of) life, theology, and everything in-between. 

It will immediately become evident to readers that although Hayward's musings are quite accessible, they are also filled with observations that embrace philosophical, psychological, and theological reflection. Thus, they are weighty reading even when they strive for language and descriptions to attract a casual reader. Furthermore, they offer a unique encounter with the kind of mind that most readers encounter only in books written long ago and far away. 

Orthodox Theology and Technology is no light collection of life encounters, but a deeply personal inspection of self and the spiritual works that drive relationships with God. Hayward is candid about his admittance of successes and failures in both arenas, as well as the impact of such writings on those who seek wisdom and faith: "I believe there is some merit in these pieces, but not that much: if they say something that needs to be said, they are limited to winning an argument. Theology can win an argument and some of the best theology is meant to win an argument, but the purpose of real theological writing is to draw people into the presence of God. These pieces may say something valuable, but they do not really do the job of theology: beckon the reader to worship before the throne of God." The effect is, at times, mesmerizing. 

It's important to note that this survey of Hayward's life focuses on his scholarly and spiritual revelations at different points of his studies. This is no light romp through childhood and adult years, but a thought-provoking examination of the major influences on and developments of his intellectual pursuits. There is something here for everyone to take away, and the reading is meant to be rewarding to many different kinds of readers. 

As such, it's a critical discussion of his involvement in mathematics and Orthodoxy that juxtaposes "a mathematician’s approach to relating" with broader inspections of college studies, interactions with professors and peers, and the overall contributions of his evolving psyche and scholarly studies on the foundations of life perceptions which translated to his writing a series of books inspecting Orthodoxy's place in his world. This may seem very esoteric, but the book offers a real, live glimpse into such a world of mysticism and brilliance. 

Some might deem these discussions wide-ranging ramblings; but for those truly interested in the foundations of Orthodox thinking and the influence of education on the pursuit of God and character, Orthodox Theology and Technology offers a window into how this passion and pursuit evolved against different kinds of obstacles. Readers looking for wonder will find many wonders are to be found in these works. 

Additionally, as the end of the cyber-quarantine increasingly draws near, this book offers exceptional food for thought about “Do we really want to live this way?” 

Anyone with an interest in Orthodoxy in general and Hayward's influences in particular should begin with Orthodox Theology and Technology before pursuing his other works. It is fascinating, providing a foundation for understanding, and a sense of his voice that will prove keys to a better appreciation of his writings. 

Orthodox Theology and Technology 

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The Silver Thread of Life
Phillip Bruce Chute, EA
Independently Published
978-1-7328855-2-3
www.phillipbchute.com 

The Silver Thread of Life: True Accounts of Spiritual Interventions collects true stories contributed by those who experienced spiritual events that changed their lives. It covers a wide range of topics, from spiritual intervention and communication with spirits to evidences of spiritual forces in daily life. 

These experiences traverse various belief systems, from karma and reincarnation to spirit connections between family members, soulmates, and friends. 

Such a wide range of spiritual topics are touched upon here that some might think the collection too wide-ranging. It opens, for example, with an introductory example about the miracle of the transmission of pain from one person to another and moves into broader topics, with individual experiences fueling discussions of their spiritual components. Evidence is reviewed about how each encounter represents spiritual forces at work and what this means for better understanding the spiritual foundations underlying daily life. 

While the variety and scope of these case histories create a diverse inspection, Philip Chute weaves together these seemingly disparate experiences into a unified observation of diverse spiritual directions and their evidence in life. This approach reinforces the notion that there is more than one way that God injects his presence into peoples' worlds. 

As readers absorb both Chute's experiences and the process of collecting these connected spiritual encounters, they receive a powerful testimony to how spiritual forces appear in life, in many different ways. 

The lives affected by these revelations and interventions are compellingly presented, enhanced by Chute's attention to their interpretation: "It seems I have always been on the path of danger and my spirits were there constantly to save me. Some would call it luck, but I believe the term for this event is “miraculous intervention”." 

The result will cross new age and traditional spiritual boundaries alike, revealing the processes by which God and spirit influence everyday life circumstances to effect change, contemplation, and support. 

Religious collections will find The Silver Thread of Life a powerful testimony to this process. 

The Silver Thread of Life 

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Young Adult/Childrens

American Stonehenge
Mike Goldstein
J&A Ventures, LLC
978-1734110609            $24.95 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Jimmy-Andrew-Book-Stonehenge/dp/1734110600 

American Stonehenge is the first book in 'The Adventures of Jimmy & Andrew' series for young readers. It pairs full-page, engaging color drawings by Anil Baydir with an intriguing story that begins from a newborn puppy's perspective. But, is this sentient animal really a puppy? 

The second chapter offers the normal specter of a boy excitedly leaping from bed, anticipating his ninth birthday and the pleasures it will bring to the day...including a new pet, which his parents have finally agreed to. The last thing he expected to find at the humane society is an immortal telepathic companion and a newfound mission. 

Jimmy's rescue of Andrew is only the opening in an adventure that embraces his archaeologist parents' discoveries, travels, a strange site in Washington which is a fully intact duplicate of Stonehenge in England, and a history that draws Jimmy and Andrew into strange mysteries. 

As the two have adventures and experience exciting, tense moments, advanced elementary to middle grade readers receive a gripping story in which the two new friends encounter a woods filled with non-human entities and other forest people. 

Baydir's black and white line drawings and gorgeous color illustrations compliment the story line and bring it to life. 

Filled with historical facts, mystery, and sci-fi elements, this story of a boy and his extraordinary animal companion is refreshingly original, vivid, and hard to predict. There is love, there are life-and-death moments, and there are puzzles to solve that introduce Jimmy and Andrew to worlds far beyond what either of them believed possible. 

American Stonehenge's ability to wave mystery with strong characterization and sci-fi elements lends it a genre-busting strength that sets it apart from most adventure stories for this age group. It's a compelling weave of circumstances and characters that will prove hard to put down. 

American Stonehenge 

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Black Girl Magic
Zahra Bryan
Arhaz Nyleak Books
978-1-7361445-1-0        
$17.99 Hardcover/$9.99 Paper/$5.99 Kindle
www.arhaznyleakbooks.com 

Black Girl Magic: A Book About Loving Yourself Just the Way You Are will appeal to picture book readers ages 5 and up. This audience receives a lesson on self-acceptance and empowerment through the experiences of young Kaelyn, a little black girl who faces second grade, with its promises of opportunity. 

Kaelyn is excited about entering elementary school!  

Big, bright, colorful drawings of a diverse environment created by illustrator Jose Nieto accent this story of a challenge to Kaelyn's vision of new possibilities. Paulo is a boy who teases her before class even gets going, and involves the other boys in mocking her looks. 

Suddenly, Kaelyn's first day of school is a nightmare as the boy leads her to question her worthiness. 

Her mother thinks she is 'divine and magical', but her mother's reassurance does nothing to change Kaelyn's view. After this experience, her self-confidence is shaken. How can she regain her positive vision of the world in the face of such an unprovoked attack? 

Zahra Bryan provides a realistic story of positivity, developing grit and resilience, facing cruelty, and overcoming feelings of being inadequate as Kaelyn questions the good things people have said about her in the past. When a key question comes up during her journal-writing, Kaelyn finds the courage to devise an answer that moves beyond pat parental reassurance and comes from her own heart. 

The message of self-discovery and self-awareness in this uplifting story of courage couldn't be clearer, and is one that all young people need to absorb at an early age. 

Black Girl Magic should be an early read-aloud choice reinforced by regular consultation throughout childhood, and is highly recommended for parents who would instill independent thinking and self-confidence in their child. 

Black Girl Magic 

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Caroline & Mordecai the Gand
Jeff Gunhus
Seven Guns Press
Ebook: ASIN: B08GKYJ426        $3.99
Paperback: 979-8593036094        $9.95
www.JeffGunhus.com 

Caroline & Mordecai the Gand provides ages 8 and older with a fantasy novella about grief, recovery, and amazing journeys as it focuses on young Caroline, who has recently lost her father in a car accident. 

A year after her father's death, she's still struggling, until she discovers a mysterious window in a lake, which leads her into another world inhabited by Mordecai the Gand, a traveler who promises to help her get home. 

Caroline has never been good about decisions. They always seem to lead her into trouble. This time, however, she embarks on a journey that adds new possibilities to her life as she considers her impact on those around her and how this different focus can pull her out of the despair and trouble she's fallen into. 

Does she really want to return home to a life of sadness, or should she stay in a world where she now has a purpose in life? 

Caroline has never been good about making the right decision—and this one will change everything. 

In the guise of a light fantasy for young readers, Jeff Gunhus crafts a lovely story of moving forward and discovering one's purpose in life. 

Caroline has many adventures that involve dragons, new threats, and evolving the courage to make better decisions. These experiences change her perspective and broaden her realizations about the world and her place in it: "For the first time in her life, she considered, truly considered, that she might not live. That all the tomorrow’s she’d imagined for herself would be gone. That places she wanted to go would go unseen. The things she wanted to do would go undone. The people she wanted to see again would be out of reach. Forever." 

Readers of all ages who look for ethereal, haunting stories of recovery and courage will find Caroline & Mordecai the Gand may hold the trappings of a fantasy adventure; but inside there is so much more. Make the right decision, to read this! 

Caroline & Mordecai the Gand 

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Daisy Moves to America
Elyssa Nicole Trust
Independently Published
9781736354513            
$12.99 Paper; $17.99 Hardcover; $6.99 ebook
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W21DTJ3
Website:https://www.elyssanicoletrust.com/writer#childrens-book 

Daisy Mae was born in the UK, and loves her life there with her family. But when her mom gets a good job in the US, the family moves. Daisy faces not just a new home, but a new culture in Daisy Moves to America. 

Part of what makes this move seem both easier and more challenging, in comparison with other immigrant experiences, is that the UK and America share the same language (mostly), and many things...but, often with a difference. 

Daisy's new class in Buffalo finds much to tease her about, from her British accent to how she pronounces words and how some of her words differ from American meanings (such as 'TV' versus 'telly'). 

As the land of opportunity becomes one of cruelty and teasing, Daisy is advised by her wise parents on how to adjust her approach and attitude to not blend in, but encourage others to help celebrate her differences. 

Daisy Moves to America offers fine lessons on family support, assimilation, and confronting bullying. By making Daisy a character from a very similar yet singular country, Elyssa Nicole Trust explores a different facet of the immigrant experience than most picture books. 

From mustering courage to cultivating a revised approach to life, Daisy Moves to America provides picture book readers with a different perspective on adaptation and meeting adversity and cruelty with a specific strategy for change. 

Large, size, colorful drawings by Alvin Adhi complete the appeal of the story of how a little girl gains a spunky attitude about her differences. The story is highly recommended for any picture book collection about immigrant experience, assimilation, or better approaches to adversity. 

Daisy Moves to America 

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The Day I Lost My Wings
Litzi Y. Umana
BookBaby
978-1-7362256-0-8         $28.00 Hardcover/$9.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Day-Lost-My-Wings/dp/173622560X 

Picture book readers ages 2-10, as well as read-aloud parents seeking a gentle story about perseverance, will find The Day I Lost My Wings an enchanting read that tells of Mochi, who comes from the stars to observe Earth; there to fall in love with its environment and people. 

When Mochi lived in the stars, she was naughty and playful, even though she is a little angel. The more she learns about humans, the more she longs to be among them. 

The Day I Lost My Wings holds appealing drawings and a perspective that is invitingly different, and is recommended for young picture book readers and read-aloud parents interested in stories of spunky, determined personalities. 

The Day I Lost My Wings 

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The Delicious Shadow
Srividhya Lakshmanan
Independently Published
9798576272815      Ebook-$2.99; Paperback-$9.99
https://www.andbooks.in/the-delicious-shadow

Stickle the squirrel lives in a mango tree with her family. She has a good, simple life playing, collecting berries, and sleeping—but she longs to be famous, even though she's inherently lazy. 

Her mother is a doctor, her father a singer, and her uncle a mechanic. The family list of talents goes on and on, but Stickle doesn't want to explore any of them. 

What is a lazy, fame-seeking squirrel to do? She needs to discover something magical. And easy. 

Akansha Krishnan provides warm, whimsical, colorful illustrations to profile Stickle's dreams and dilemma. 

Parents with kids who dream too big while wishing for those dreams to come to them easily will find many lessons provided in The Delicious Shadow as it explores new ways of gaining achievement and self-recognition. 

Adults looking for a fanciful journey that overlays a life lesson with an adventure will find The Delicious Shadow a fine choice for either read-aloud or young reader pursuit. 

The Delicious Shadow 

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Does Grandma Remember Me?
Evita Sherman
Mascot Books
978-1-64543-529-7         $15.95
www.evitasherman.com 

Does Grandma Remember Me? comes from the observations and perspective of a little girl who reviews her grandmother's many skills (such as cooking a dish from memory, without a recipe). Perhaps the greatest of all is her devotion to her granddaughter and her ability to make the young narrator feel special: "When she smiles back at me, Grandma makes me feel like I’m the only little girl on Earth. Grandma is proud of me for everything, even when I do something small." 

But, something has changed. Her grandmother is confused, sad, and sometimes angry and desperate. Worst of all...the narrator suspects that sometimes her grandmother doesn't even remember who she is. 

Grandma has dementia. Even though she was informed about this medical condition, the young narrator can't quite comprehend why her beloved grandmother has changed so much, and why their connection now seems so tenuous. 

What can a granddaughter do? Evita Sherman shows kids how to step out of their own disappointments and fears to craft a giving response even while facing adversity. 

Where other picture books might focus on defining dementia, Does Grandma Remember Me? provides an emphasis on the opportunity to be strong, giving, and redefine the grandmother/granddaughter relationship. 

With so many families and children facing similar diagnosis and dilemmas, Does Grandma Remember Me? assumes an even greater importance in showing youngsters not just how to accept or understand, but how to change their responses to regain connections and love that appear to be lost. This teaches kids about empowerment, choice, and opportunities to be found even under adversarial circumstances. 

The approach not only sets Does Grandma Remember Me? apart from the usual children's book on the subject, but makes it a positive, unique, highly recommended choice over others. 

Does Grandma Remember Me?

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Dream Catchers
POPS the Club
978-1-952197-06-2                $17.95 Paper/$7.95 Kindle
Out of the Woods Press
www.outofthewoodspress.com 

Dream Catchers represents the seventh volume created by the high school members of POPS the Club, and is an anthology of poems, prose, and art that captures the milieu and experience of the prison system—an environment that readers might not expect teens to be intimately familiar with. 

The collection opens, surprisingly, with a letter reflecting the perspective of not a teen writer, but a POPS Club advisor, who provides a passionate pro/con perspective of the members of this group and why their writings are important: "We absolutely hate that you are here. We loathe it, actually. We detest that anyone as awesome as you ever has to walk through our doors carrying the burden of “tough stuff.” It’s not fair. You know it and we know it. We both wish things could be different. We want to come into your lives armed with a magic eraser and get rid of all the mess you have to deal with. We don’t want to have to run a club for students affected by incarceration. We like art and flower arranging clubs—heck, even clubs about motorcycles and sports are better than clubs about prison, right? But in the same breath, we love that you are here. Your smiles, your participation, and your resilience astound us." 

With this introduction, plus a poem and a piece of art, readers may sense they are in for a treat, because the blend of poems, reflections, and painted images cementing them offer raw, emotionally candid portraits of incarceration and life challenges. 

Take 'Mind, Body and Paint' by John Rodriguez, for example, which appears early in the collection. In this nonfiction treatise, Rodriguez reflects on a walk through Inglewood, California with spray cans in his backpack, intent on reaching a wall he can use as a billboard for his message. 

The exact steps of his efforts are detailed in explicit moment-by-moment descriptions that lend a 'you are here' feel to his story: "I’m spraying away, letting my hand guide itself, letting it go free. The paint comes out, getting a right grip on the wall, leaving a trace of fine lines. I’m rotating the can as I write, getting the perfect flare and thickness of the line. While I’m writing, my body purifies itself—relieving itself of my stress and helping me forget my worries. No more getting screamed at by my mother. No one is telling me what to do. There is no better feeling than this. I’m in another world. Nothing bothers me. It’s just me, the wall, and the can, doing what I do best." 

As the poems and writings evolve, readers will find their anticipation about what incarcerated teens think about the world and their place in it may be quite different than they anticipate. 

The literary strength of these reflections, their intimate glimpses into not just experiences beyond the law but the rationale behind how these young people choose to interact with the world, and the diverse artistic formats translate into evocative works urban teens will find unusually compelling. 

Another example of such unique writing is Maricela Romero's rap/poem piece 'Living in Los Angeles'. One almost walks the gritty streets with her: "Living in LA wasn’t always the best. You see, life through/my eyes would scare a square to death./Poverty, violence, murder, never a moment to rest./Fun and games are few but treasured like gold." 

What does it mean to be a teen grappling with adult concerns in a milieu of challenge and inconsistency? 

Dream Catchers here provides a powerful survey of life inspections, questions, and answers. It is particularly strongly recommended as a teaching tool for reaching young adults who don't normally relish anthologies of literary writings. This audience, especially, will find much to like and wonder over in this powerful gathering of works by peers who found themselves on the opposite side of the law. 

Dream Catchers 

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E is for Elephant: An Animal Alphabet from A to Z
Kjersten Faseler
Little Beaver Publishing
9781734825626             $14.99 Hardcover/$9.99 Paper
Website: https://www.kjerstenfaseler.com
Ordering Link: Amazon 

Young picture book readers who love animals are in for an early learning treat with E is for Elephant: An Animal Alphabet from A to Z, by Kjersten Faseler. The primer uses a child's inherent love of colorful drawings and animals to reinforce alphabet basics. 

Nifty Illustration provides a whimsical animal line-up to accompany each letter. 'A' features a smiling alligator, 'Q' shows Quincy the quail, and 'U' is for Uri the urchin, who lives in the sea. 

Each one-line description describes a very basic setting or ability for each animal, while the range of birds, beasts, and sea life is satisfyingly diverse. 

Read-aloud parents looking for large-size, bright drawings and a fun animal theme for basic alphabet learning will find E is for Elephant an inviting, easy approach. 

E is for Elephant: An Animal Alphabet from A to Z 

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The Fragrance of a Girl’s World
Donna Kristine Manley
Christiana Press, LLC
978-0-9777835-8-8         $19.99
http://www.resumesforchildren.com 

The Fragrance of a Girl’s World is filled with inspirational admonitions for girls, and promotes concepts and approaches to life that is geared to young female readers on the cusp of coming of age. 

Chapters organize these inspirational observations by subject (modesty, integrity, family, natural beauty, and downtime, to name just a few), making it easy for girls to easily browse the book for enlightening insights. 

Parents expecting a conservative viewpoint will be delighted by the contemporary observations that many of these seemingly traditional chapters embrace, such as the section about natural beauty, which offers pointed discussions on makeup: "Makeup can assist a girl by helping her bring out her natural beauty. Emerging makeup is natural makeup with fewer or no chemicals that help to nourish the skin and help to enhance rather than hide, cover up, or transform. If makeup transforms the way you look naturally, then that makeup helps to deceive and does not show the real you." 

Likewise, the section on 'If You Leave Life, Life Will Leave You' provides wisdom on how to deal with overall life challenges: "Everything you do and say should have a purpose. Pick flowers and not fights./Do not ignore kindness.
If you do not run from trouble, trouble will run after you./Look for goodness in everything and you will find it. Handle your Scandal."

Punctuated by colorful flower drawings throughout and promoting good physical and mental health and a greater understanding of what it is to be uniquely female, The Fragrance of a Girl’s World offers insights on values, life goals and focus, and choices that emphasize kindness, graciousness, and a deeper understanding of how one's perspective changes outcomes for self and others. 

The Fragrance of a Girl’s World is the perfect item of choice to gift a young woman coming of age, but its inspirational message will reach for all ages as it surveys the foundations of building a positive life and maintaining a purposeful focus on different choices and their consequences for building that world. 

Girls can grow up to be 'flowers' in a world filled with 'weeds'. This book shows them how. 

The Fragrance of a Girl’s World 

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Guardian of the Groceries
Michael Albanese
The Weight of Ink
978-1732898714            $10.99 Paper/$17.99 Hardcover
www.guardianofthegroceries.com/ 

Guardian of the Groceries, a picture book written by Michael Albanese and illustrated by Laura Kirkland, follows young Henry to the grocery store. He's bored and wants an adventure which seems to preclude his more mundane itinerary, until his clever mother informs him that "Anything can be an adventure if you just use your imagination." 

After that, Henry discovers a world of possibilities in this simple chore, attaching his dreams to reality when he's charged with 'guarding the groceries' as his mother shops another aisle. This duty produces marvels when a colander helmet sends him into the world of the Marketsphere, where he faces the dreaded Cereal Monster. 

Whimsy is unbridled during the course of the adventure in which Henry battles a "grainy giant" capable of hurling boxes of cereal "like cardboard rockets." 

Parents who choose Guardian of the Groceries for its read-aloud action value will find events compelling and fun as Henry faces not just one but a series of intruding grocery monsters and challenging missions, such as confrontation with the dreaded Broccolisaurus. 

Food and nutrition insights are carefully woven into this story in a manner designed to both entertain and educate. Laura Kirkland's very simple drawings could have been produced by a young person, and will appeal to youngsters who love drawing and who dream of becoming an illustrator. 

This action-packed, imaginative food exploration holds appeal on many different levels. 

Guardian of the Groceries 

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How to Cure a Whiny Werewolf
Brittany Plumeri
Once Upon A Page Press
9781734657364
$12.95 Paper/$17.95 Hardcover/$3.99 Kindle
Website: www.authorbplumeri.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P13P877/ 

How to Cure a Whiny Werewolf gives young picture book readers an age-appropriate version of Miss Manners advice as it covers behavior norms for the very young, from babies to six years of age. 

Geneviève Viel-Taschereau provides large-size, fun drawings to accompany the story of scientist Evie, who is tasked with finding out why kids are turning into whiny werewolves. She needs the reader's help to solve the problem and affect a cure. 

Parents who choose How to Cure a Whiny Werewolf for read-aloud will find its approach engaging and inclusive. Kids are invited to help troubleshoot the problem by first identifying what constitutes whining, then identifying how to stop the habit. 

The difference between requesting and whining, and understanding how whining "ruins a day", are important keys to teaching the very young about responses and the impact of these choices on others. 

Parents who look for an early, easy way to make these connections will find How to Cure a Whiny Werewolf the perfect starting point for understanding how word choices hold different effects on the recipient, leading to either desirable or less desirable responses. 

The engaging drawings and approach lends to better understanding and attitude adjustment potentials for a wide age range, making this story more than just entertaining. 

How to Cure a Whiny Werewolf 

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Marvellous Macey: The Delightful Days
Caitlin Bangsund
Independently Published
9781775160908             $11.99
www.caitlinbangsund.com 

What makes life fun in Marvellous Macey: The Delightful Days? It's singing, dancing, and a rollicking rhyme that follows an active child through the delights of daily living, presenting a clear message about how Macey is personally committed to making sure every day is the best day ever. 

From exploring textures, colors, and fun animal companions to a zesty attitude about new experiences that makes every day special, Macey runs through her life with an enthusiasm that is appealing. 

Parents who choose this lively story for its example of how individual attitudes can affect life perceptions and experiences will find that Macey offers the perfect example of empowerment and positive choices. 

Csongor Veres provides large-size, lively drawings of young Macey's hop, skip, and jump through life in pages which reveal her action-packed days. They support the point of the story: that all ages can emulate behavior that not only cultivates a personal celebration of life, but then expands that positive attitude to reach out to others in various ways. 

This early lesson in positivity cultivates a good approach to life at an early age, and is especially recommended for parents who want to transmit the message that living a fulfilled life goes beyond self and into the community at large. 

Marvellous Macey is very highly recommended for its compelling, uplifting message of how personal approaches lead to a better world. 

Marvellous Macey: The Delightful Days 

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The Place Beyond Her Dreams
Oby Aligwekwe
Éclat Books Ca.
978-1-7751064-4-9                $14.99 Paper/$5.99 Kindle
www.obyaligwekwe.com  

When Ona's grandfather suddenly dies, Ona finds herself journeying to the land of Luenah; there to discover her powers as an Eri, tasked with a mission beyond personal desire in The Place Beyond Her Dreams. 

Young adults who choose Ona's adventure for its foray into magical realms will find its theme of personal empowerment an added bonus to an adventure story that follows Ona's exploration of her abilities and place in the world. 

Ona finds herself in the middle of a war, where palaces and kings enter into her worldview of her place in a greater scheme of things. As The Place Beyond Her Dreams evolves, young readers will find that Ona's true destiny lies beyond political conflict and blossoming abilities, affecting her perceptions of her future course. 

Set to marry Albert, Ona finds that her real task lies elsewhere. Even though her safety and that of her family lies in making these ties, there is a greater purpose at large which changes her destiny. Ona's actions may have created a mess, but she's determined not to involve her family more than they already are, and thinks she can fix things herself. But, can she? 

The Place Beyond Her Dreams blends magic with real-world issues of cultural interactions, abuse, and tragedy. It will attract both fantasy and contemporary readers by blending these two scenarios, adding Ona's first-person perceptions about her changed circumstances and her role in transforming them: "I now considered my life as being separated into two sections; life before Okem and life after Okem. Before Okem, was carefree, fun, and glorious. After Okem, was constrained, dreary, and violent." 

The story's unique combination of forays into self and the wider world create compelling scenarios in which the determined young woman must achieve the impossible to set things right and regain her life. 

Young adults ages 13 and up will find The Place Beyond Her Dreams an inviting, thought-provoking adventure that surveys family, communities, and the power and consequences of personal decisions. 

The Place Beyond Her Dreams 

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ResQ Takes On The Takhi
Eva J. Pell
Tumblehome Learning
978-1-943431-56-4         $13.95
https://www.amazon.com/ResQ-Takes-Takhi-Saving-Animal/dp/1943431566 

ResQ Takes On The Takhi is a new Wheaton adventure for ages 9-12 and takes place on the Mongolian frontier, where he and cousin Stowe undertake another rescue mission—this time, to rescue wild horses in Mongolia. 

Alexa Lindauer provides lovely black and white animal drawings that bring to life not just the wild horses but the eagles and other creatures that live in Mongolia. 

As the rescue mission evolves, tensions rise. Eva J. Pell captures these efforts in fine detail: "The tent flies off like a parachute in reverse and Stowe screams. “I thought you said the weather was going to be good for the next 36 hours.” “It was,” I yell back. “Not like I can control some random cloud. And who staked down the tent, Missy?” This isn’t all my fault." 

From dangerous snow-driven storms that threaten not just their efforts but their lives to the plight of the wild horses if they can't succeed in their mission, the action and dilemma are vivid. Pell takes the time to capture the natural environment of Mongolia in exquisite detail, down to the chervil plant that might calm a skittish foal. 

The nature history embedded into the action brings this tale to life and nicely supplements its adventure component, teaching all ages about the backdrop of Mongolia as well as the struggles facing wild horses who are protected in national parks. 

ResQ Takes On The Takhi is a natural history adventure that achieves the dual goal of entertainment and education with a rollicking good story about interactions between animals and people in a far-distant country. It encourages young conservationists and animal lovers to better understand relationships between man, nature, and animals. 

ResQ Takes On The Takhi 

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Saygar the Superhero
Elizabeth Jurado
Wind Rock Press, LLC
978-1-7356348-0-7               
$8.99 Paper/$18.99 Hardcover/$2.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Saygar-Superhero-Books-Book-ebook/dp/B08NLK5CQK 

Saygar the Superhero presents the story of Joseph Mateo, an ordinary El Paso boy who never expected to befriend an ant, much less acknowledge that the ant is Saygar the Superhero, who moves from tiny to human sized. 

As if his show-and-tell project isn't under enough fire, Joseph faces more trouble, which causes him to break a sacred promise from four-year-old cousin Julia, who enters his life with a whirlwind of trouble. 

The day after Joseph leaves his friend at his anthill, the irrepressibly cute Julia moves into his neighborhood and changes everything, thwarting both his promise and his plan to save Saygar. 

As the story evolves, humor ramps up as Julia keeps interfering with Joseph's plans to save Saygar, his relationships, and his carefully structured, amazing life. 

The more Joseph tries to do what is right, the more trouble he gets into. The story is told from Joseph's first-person perspective, giving it a warm feel of desperation as good intentions go awry. 

Another satisfying aspect to this story is that there is no 'good guy/bad guy', here. Julia is trouble, but she doesn't mean to be so. Her age precludes the wisdom that nine-year-old Joseph cultivates and the concern he has over broken promises and challenging situations. 

Kids who choose Saygar the Superhero for its action will find the added bonuses of humor and unexpected personality clashes makes for a superhero story like few others. It's engaging, original, and embraces sub-themes of self-acceptance, courage, loyalty, and friendship which elevate it beyond an adventure tale alone. 

Saygar the Superhero 

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Skills for Big Feelings
Casey O’Brien Martin, LMHC, REAT, RN
Whole Child Counseling
978-1-7355177-2-8                $24.99
https://www.amazon.com/Skills-Big-Feelings-Relaxation-Regulation/dp/1735517720 

Finally: a workbook specifically directed to kids that teaches mindful techniques and relaxation skills at an earlier age than most receive! Skills for Big Feelings: A Guide for Teaching Kids Relaxation, Regulation, and Coping Techniques offers a wide range of strategies for identifying emotions, introducing concepts and routines of mindfulness to the young and showing them how to cultivate a positive mindset. 

This workbook is for adults working with children who want to teach coping and relaxation skills to kids in an engaging manner. Its routines cover both individual instruction and group participation, addressing the root causes of anxiety and providing exercises that have been proven to mitigate stress. 

The routines are intended to address both mental and physical requirements of the "whole" child, providing a cognitive theoretical framework supporting 'Feeling-Breath-Thought-Skill' (F-B-T-S). 

From initial treatment plan objectives and clear passages that help adults formulate both goals and guidelines for measuring their achievement to activities such as Mindful Moments, Casey O'Brien Martin provides not just outlines of exercises, but discussions of the kind of language adults may employ to reach out to kids: "Mindfulness means paying attention, on purpose, to what is happening in the present moment—right here, right now—without judging it as being good or bad. It means just observing or noticing, and paying attention to what is happening, both inside and outside of you. That’s why, when we do a Feelings Check, I ask you to think about how you are doing right now in this very moment. When we check-in on how we are right now, that is being mindful." 

The step-by-step communiqués and processes of imparting this information and evaluating the results of various exercises lends to a practical workbook that all adults can use successfully—even those with little training in psychology or mindfulness. The black and white illustrations throughout can be used to reinforce lessons. 

From how to identify and turn unhelpful thoughts into helpful ones to connecting mindful reflection with gratitude, this workbook is a 'must' for any adult who wants to transform a child's anxiety impulses by redirecting that energy into forward-thinking paths of renewal and rejuvenation. 

There's no other workbook quite like it on the market, making Skills for Big Feelings a winning holistic approach backed by solid pediatric references and studies that prove these strategies actually work. 

Skills for Big Feelings 

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Third Earth
Cami Murdock Jensen
Value Publishing LLC 
ASIN: B08R334R97                      $3.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Third-Earth-Fantasy-Adventure-Dragon-ebook/dp/B08R334R97 

Third Earth is the third book in the Arch Mage series for young adults and continues the story of Agnes, whose magic has been twisted by a curse, and whose new role as Arch Mage portends either salvation or disaster for her planet. 

Agnes appeared to have saved the world in the prior book, but here it turns out that the threats are ongoing. Secret radicals have emerged to cause strife, unless her unreliable magic can expose their plot and quash it. 

Dragon Menneth has gained her support, but neither expect the depth of the evil forces they face. These pick away her allies one by one, leaving Agnes in the scary position of facing threats alone instead of with the confidence of friends and magical abilities, as she had in the past. 

The heart of this story lies in how she moves from working within a support system to finding her powers independent of outside forces or even an ability which has always been unreliable. 

Cami Murdock Jensen excels in crafting the kinds of first-person observations that cement her protagonist's evolving sense of her place in the world: "I’d better tell Odric. He’d want to know about all of this. I shook off my internal panic attack to go speak to him, but for some reason, everything around me was dark. I glanced upward and saw the golden circle of the Jent Path close above me. When did I fall into the Jent Path? Dang it! I was so busy freaking out reality moved on without me." 

Agnes Ann Cavanaugh may be the Wielder of Truth, but she's also a heroine facing a greater wickedness that holds immense powers that seem far above her own. 

As she faces personal conundrums, from a dead father to her role as a world-saving wizard rather than an ordinary girl, Agnes confronts "a different kind of hard" in worlds that change and challenge her perspectives. Ultimately, these give her ammunition from powerful new wellsprings of strength. 

Agnes learns much new information about her abilities, her heritage, and the lives of those around her: "Mom lived in grief and regret? I never knew. She always seemed happy and in control." These lessons eventually give her the power to form her place in the world and consider what constitutes a greater accomplishment than heroism: “Your greatest accomplishment happens every day. When you wake up in the morning and keep trying. It’s not about winning or perfection. It’s about trying, every day, to be better.” 

The underlying psychological and philosophical revelations Agnes experiences in the course of this fantastic journey sets Third Earth apart from other magical adventures for teens. Its compelling story is driven as much by the young character's personal discoveries and evolution as her ability to confront the evil forces in her world. 

While Third Earth can be read as a stand-alone, its real value lies in its addition to the series. Here, a progressive approach follows Agnes as she not only grows into her abilities, but into adult perceptions of the world and her place in it. 

Third Earth is very highly recommended for teens looking for magical adventure paired with personal revelations. 

Third Earth 

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Vegetable Chatter
Mommy Moo Moo
Damara Publishing
978-0-9831584-3-1         $9.99
www.mommymoomoo.com 

Vegetable Chatter creates whimsical vegetable drawings by Tom Edwards that pair perfectly with a rollicking series of encounters between them by Mommy Moo Moo. It's a board book perfect for read-aloud and early discussions about vegetables. 

Parents will find the contrasts in language and description ("Tomato/Tomahto"; "Lettuce pray for onions and for leeks") to be fun ways of describing vegetables and involving the very young in the attractions and attributes of different vegetables. 

As the vegetables growing in the garden are contrasted and their lives explored, board book readers will appreciate the humor in these bright, personable vegetable interactions. 

Parents looking for a vegetable introduction that is whimsical and attractive will find few better than Vegetable Chatter, which holds added value for linguistic wordplays that parents can use to explore humor and language with the very young. 

Vegetable Chatter 

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War at the Ice Cream Store
Cheryl DaVeiga and Dave Gibson
Waterhole Productions LLC
978-1736395110           
$11.99 Paper/$17.99 Hardcover/$3.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/War-Ice-Cream-Store-Mustachio/dp/1736395114 

War at the Ice Cream Store: Mustachio Pistachio vs Bully Vanilli provides picture book leisure readers ages 4 and up with a Frank TL Frog and Friends adventure whimsically and colorfully illustrated by Sarah Krogman, Dave Gibson, and Jay Petsko. 

Ice cream character Vanilli is a bully, even though his vanilla countenance might seem to indicate blandness. Mustachio Pistachio and his friends are intent on teaching Vanilli a lick or two about kindness, but it's ice cream scooper and taste tester Frank TL Frog who bears the brunt of King Bully Vanilli's rule over the frozen flavors he offers. 

Mustachio Pistachio is the least liked by the children who enjoy the ice cream shop. How can he have any influence over the much more popular Vanilli's perspectives on life and treatment of other ice creams...especially since he bears the brunt of Vanilli's bullying? 

He might win the day with a little help from his fellow flavors, but everyone feels bullied by Vanilli. Will Mustachio be left to melt in his own bucket? 

It takes a savvy milkshake to see the light and change everything. 

Adults who read this story aloud will find plenty of value within the tale, from its puns and wordplays to its insights on how to handle bullying. 

Mixed into the delicious ice cream story is a psychological inspection that will appeal to the very young on many levels, providing read-aloud adults with tools for imparting some basic lessons about kindness, group support, and methods for thwarting abuse and bullying. 

War at the Ice Cream Store is highly recommended reading for a wide audience of picture book leisure readers.

War at the Ice Cream Store 

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We Are Akan
Dorothy Brown Soper
Luminare Press
978-1-64388-068-6         $19.99 Paper/$8.50 Kindle
www.luminarepress.com 

We Are Akan: Our People and Our Kingdom in the Rainforest — Ghana, 1807 will appeal from middle grades to high school with a special brand of historical fiction centered in Africa, in the Asante Kingdom. 

Three special boys, Kwame, Kwaku, and Baako, face the challenge of becoming leaders in their kingdom, learning the physical rites of passage of coming of age and the political workings of the broader kingdom beyond their home, which includes selling prisoners as slaves. 

When this practice hits them personally, change is in the air as the Akan people and this younger generation struggle with kidnapping, rebellion, and a long established slave trade. 

Black and white maps and illustrations by James Cloutier enhance an appealing saga about new ideas, new changes, and three boys challenged by a kingdom on the edge of a new era of social and political strife. 

The African world of early Ghana and the people who reside in its rainforest come to life as the story unfolds; bringing with it many inspections into customs, cultural processes, sophisticated interactions, and a frightening confrontation that emerges when a chief is arrested. 

The juxtaposition of boyhood concerns and play with the very adult world of events that threaten them and change everything is very nicely done, with many passages illustrating the daily trappings of Akan culture, perceptions, and life. 

As the children grow and change, so do readers who may have held preconceived notions about Africa's early kingdoms. 

We Are Akan is at once a coming-of-age story, a cultural exploration, and a survey of not just changing individual lives and perceptions, but the transformation of a nation. 

Young readers interested in absorbing the milieu of early 1800s Africa through the eyes of children who will grow up to inherit a kingdom will find We Are Akan nicely detailed, replete with historical and cultural inspections that provide a full-faceted flavor of Ghana at a pivot point in its history. 

We Are Akan 

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Why Can't Relationships Be Like Pizza?
Andy V. Roamer
Nine Star Press/SunFire
978-1-64890-171-3           $14.99 paperback/$4.99 ebook
http://thepizzachronicles.com/ 

Book 3 of 'The Pizza Chronicles' for teen and young adult readers continues the story of RV, who is now in his sophomore year of high school. RV finds high school holds good and bad facets. He feels sad about his growing distance from his good friend Bobby, who is busy enough that their friendship seems to be taking second place; and his friend Carole, who seems smitten with a summer romance that occurred in Paris. 

Although his parents have gotten their citizenship, they too seem distant and involved in other matters. 

At least he can always count on the steady Joe's Pizza, a major force in his life. But in this third book, all of RV's reliable support systems appear to be under fire. 

As in the other books, RV's coming of age is explored from different angles, from his emerging sexuality and mercurial relationships to his immigrant parents and their desires for his future: "The pressure to succeed is so important to Mom and Dad. It’s always there. I can see it in their eyes. And I know what they’re thinking. “We moved here for a better life. Not just for us. But for you kids. Especially for you kids.” If Ray and I screw up, just a little bit, they get upset. That’s the bargain, isn’t it? We get a better life, but we better not screw up. We better be winners. Not mediocre." 

When a crisis surrounding Bobby takes precedence over most other concerns in his life, RV faces revised decisions and perspectives on what is important as he tries to support his friends in new ways while making his way through sophomore year's other challenges. 

Fans of the prior Pizza Chronicles series titles will be the best audience for this story because it adds to the ongoing coming of age process that continues to move RV from his singular world to greater concerns. 

These readers will find much to like in RV's latest story, which takes some unexpected turns as he faces some of the biggest challenges of his young life, continuing to expand his relationships and their quality.

Why Can't Relationships Be Like Pizza?
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Health

 
Calm Brain Powerful Mind
Aziz Velji
Paper Lantern Publishing House Inc.
978-1-9990144-0-7                $17.99
Website www.azizvelji.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/author/azizvelji 

Calm Brain Powerful Mind: Abolish Stress to Unleash Your True Potential is a self-help program for abolishing stress using brain power. It is recommended for readers who would adopt strategies presented as a series of 'journeys' that range from sitting in silence and conscious breathing exercises to understanding the science and art of applied meditation techniques. 

Aziz Velji focuses on the nuts and bolts of both creative survival processes and applied brain science research, pairing everyday examples with bigger-picture thinking about life: "We want life to fit into our framework of beliefs, our parameters. We want it to flow according to our plan, based on our experience. We try to use logic and rational thinking to understand life, but we don’t succeed, because life is not logical; it is not rational. It does not flow in a sequence of events. Life is uncertain, unpredictable, multidimensional, and chaotic—everything is happening at the same time, so logic and rational thought can never understand the complexities of life." 

Many books about stress reduction or meditation border on being idealistic and impossible. Velji presents proven, tested techniques, moderating these presentations with an acknowledgement of their difficulties: "We have worked out flight paths, gravitational pulls, trajectories for space crafts and landed man on the moon with precision, but we haven’t been able to solve the problem of stress—our mental suffering. Yes, our materialistic thinking can come up with all sorts of phenomenal drugs to counter the effects of stress, but this way of thinking cannot help us eliminate it. Stress is a problem that the thinking, rational mind will never be able to solve because the intellect on its own cannot help us calm our fears and anxieties which create stress—we can medicate ourselves, but we can’t think our way through fears and anxieties." 

This practical approach will appeal to those who find the usual meditation advice too simplistic or idealistic. It not only acknowledges the difficulties posed by the brain's interactions with daily life, but the challenges involved in applying mitigating techniques that work. 

Its explanations of why these approaches succeed where others fail are clear and informative: "Conscious breathing stops the mind—one cannot simultaneously breathe consciously and think. When your mind calms down, the right course of action is revealed. Otherwise, you are just reacting to the crisis, that will continue to smolder and occupy your mind." 

Pragmatists not usually drawn to self-help books about empowerment will find much supporting evidence and a concrete focus on not advice, but why the techniques work to mitigate life stress. The only prerequisite for successfully using this guide is an openness to considering its exercises and their effectiveness. 

Readers will find Calm Brain Powerful Mind offers a solid bridge between pragmatic and holistic approaches. Its observations and tips will appeal to disparate audiences with useful approaches that blend scientific understanding with applied techniques. 

Calm Brain Powerful Mind 

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COVID 19...How to Overcome the Anxiety and Stress
Bruce Sherman
Publisher: Independently Published
9781935821564             $9.99
Ordering: www.Amazon.com

Ever since Covid arrived to change the world, writers have been commenting on various aspects of these changes. The emotional/psychological impact from Covid is fast becoming more widespread than the pandemic itself. Even more importantly, the duration of the mental issues is predicted to survive even after the virus is brought under control. Although we are deluged day after day with statistics on deaths, new cases, hospital resources, vaccine progress...on and on...there has been little advice and counsel on how to cope with the fear, stress, anxiety and depression we’re experiencing.

Articles and reports offering ways to combat the negative emotions that are starting to appear. The problem is that one would need a long reading list to find them. To solve that concern, Bruce Sherman
has done an exhaustive search to find material relevant to mental issues. From that list, he has selected over 70 pieces he considers the most valuable for inclusion as foundation references. In order to avoid violating the copyright law, the articles are listed using their titles...which aren’t covered by copyright law.

Bruce Sherman's booklet offers resource listings that range from CNN reports such as a lead, key article about kids in the pandemic world, 'Helping Your Child Manage The Emotional Impact Of Corona Virus' to the Stanford

Center for Aging's article 'Taking Care of Your Emotional Wellbeing during a Pandemic.'

No website links are given, but this list of the article or report title and its originating source will allow readers to easily locate and absorb each piece. Some might think that it might have been easier to locate these pieces with one click had Sherman included website links, but too often, web links charge. By providing just the title and source, it's just as easy to cut-and-paste the reference into a browser to access the articles, videos, and presentations.

This is a diverse list of resources, from how humor can help alleviate pandemic fear to the different experiences and concerns of youth and the aged, and how to volunteer to help. Each resource offers a unique opportunity to grapple with larger issues in a personal manner that helps not only individual life, but holds potential to impact people outside one's bubble group or home.

A concluding collection of articles about 'Understanding the Dying' offers especially important, relevant tools for coping, understanding, and mental health during a period of time when there is so much loss taking place.

It's not impossible to locate articles about Covid—anyone with a computer can do so. What is special about this booklet is that Sherman has already done the legwork in selecting the most relevant, action-oriented, revealing works surrounding Covid, placing his bibliography in one document for easy access.

All the reader need do is select the title of interest and download it into tablet or computer to have access to the complete piece.  This book belongs in everyone’s library...and in public libraries. The price is a lot more manageable than sessions with a psychiatrist!

COVID 19...How to Overcome the Anxiety and Stress 

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Fast and Low
Nasir Khan
FourFold, LLC
ASIN: B08SBTL4T1                     $3.99 Kindle
Website: https://www.fastandlow.app
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Fast-Low-Engineers-Approach-Wellness-ebook/dp/B08SBTL4T1 

Fast and Low: An Engineer’s Approach to Health by Systematic Adoption of Low Carb Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Exercise, Meditation and more with Metrics and Self-Experimentation is recommended for dieters who have tried diet after diet, only to continually fail to achieve or maintain their weight loss goals. 

Its approach differs from competitors in that it blends scientifically proven strategies with metrics that offer a focus on not just weight loss alone, but overall healthier living. 

This blend into a strategy recommended not for weight loss seekers who would choose a formula for what to eat and when, but for those serious about making lasting lifestyle changes and priorities that support overall better health—which includes weight management. 

A step-by-step, scientific perspective is adopted in Fast and Low which builds a foundation of action and insight. The study first skims these building blocks, making them easy to absorb and follow. It's neither a dauntingly in-depth survey of each, nor a routine that selects one step and makes the emphasis all about it. 

Because Nasir Khan is an engineer, he defines his goals in numbers. This translates to a treatise that emphasizes not ethereal ideals, but measurable goals, and will be pleasing to those who look to supportive numbers to indicate progress and success. 

Tools of measurement and monitoring are key to this operation, this book, and the process of adopting a 'fast and low' strategy that affords regular opportunity to analyze and understand weight loss and better health achievements. 

Every person is different. That's why there is no singular path that guarantees success, and why there are so many diet and lifestyle books on the market that some swear by, that others say didn't work for them. Khan acknowledges this disparity as he provides his insights: "All through this book I’ve mentioned how each person is unique and that what works for me may or may not work for you. While we will rely on some scientifically established starting points for lifestyle changes, I will not prescribe rigid rules. I’ll instead lay out a framework for incorporating the lifestyle changes that work for you based on a very scientific and experiment-driven approach. Next, we dive into another key aspect of a healthy lifestyle: intermittent fasting, with an emphasis on what works for you personally and how you can approach it." 

Something is better than nothing in making an effort, whether it is a focus on healthful diet habits, inertia-busting exercise, or understanding how overall health is influenced by improving bodily functions. 

Fast and Low is packed with achievable goals, lifestyle insights, and discussions of various types of choices readers can consider in the pursuit of overall better health and supportive lifestyles to achieve this goal. 

Its focus on measurable results and how to understand them will especially appeal to those looking for more than a simple routine or diet regimen. 

Fast and Low is highly recommended as a better-considered alternative for health success based on finding, measuring, and monitoring goal and action metrics and then conducting scientific self-experimentation. 

Fast and Low 

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The Golden Ratio Within the Human Face and Breast
Andrew J. Hayduke, M.D.
Ivory Crown Press
9781735918006             $18.95 Paper/$26.95 Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Ratio-Within-Human-Breast/dp/1735918008
 

The Golden Ratio Within the Human Face and Breast: A Plastic Surgeon's Method of Analyzing Beauty analyzes connections between human physical beauty and objective measurements, and comes from the eye of a plastic surgeon who has dealt with not only altering bodies to fit ideals of beauty, but who has created innovative facial and breast grids to identify, test, and solidify these ideals in a quantitative way. 

While most might consi​der the concept of beauty to lie in the beholder, Dr. Hayduke shows that it actually resides in objective measurable standards of symmetry and body arrangements as guided by the golden ratio, the subject of his discussion. 

His many facial and breast anatomic test grids support this concept, using his patented beauty analysis methodologies as both clear definitions of these points and road maps for achieving visually pleasing plastic surgery results. 

The Golden Ratio Within the Human Face and Breast is not a casual probe of beauty ideals, but a technical medical focus that blends science, anatomy, art and ideology. This study goes beyond merely defining human physical beauty, considering the golden ratio's presence and effectiveness in other disciplines and systems, from art, architecture, graphic arts and even nature. 

From what facial and breast features translate to a beautiful youthful appearance to labeling images with markers as a guide for subsequent surgical transformation, The Golden Ratio Within the Human Face and Breast will prove weighty reading for those who anticipated a lighter review of plastic surgery processes or just a brief overview of facial and breast beauty testing. It's especially highly recommended for medical students, plastic surgeons and medical professionals interested in state-of-the-art, objective, in-depth analyses that apply the golden ratio to human anatomical beauty assessment. 

The Golden Ratio Within the Human Face and Breast 

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Natural Healing for Animals Energy Medicine Workbook
Anna Abraham
Regenerate Inc.
978-1-7355043-0-8         $19.99
Website: www.naturalhealingforanimals.com 

Natural Healing for Animals Energy Medicine Workbook: The TAOSHEBA Technique comes from an energy healer who embraces the idea that animals can receive healing through natural energy just as humans do. Here, she presents her personal encounters with a variety of animals that validate her perception of their powers. 

Over thirty years of spiritual and natural healing contribute to a workbook of information about animals that's supported by a wealth of new age thinking and energetic applications, but Anna Abraham is not a medical provider per se. Her personal experiences and opinions drive these stories about animals—that, and a fondness for all creatures and their wellbeing. She maintains: "Energy Medicine has it own unique healing powers and compliments traditional care, as well as, other natural healing modalities but it does not replace veterinary medicine for serious medical issues." 

As chapters unfold the foundations of her animal connections and their growing importance in her life, readers receive an uplifting assessment: "Tao came by magic and brought the magic with him. He taught me more about Energy Medicine than any other source. Tao was in command of his intelligence, his energy and way of being in the world with the exception of fireworks." 

Each animal that enters her life touches and changes her, and each story builds stepping stones into understanding how concepts of Energy Medicine apply in the animal world: "When we share Energy Medicine with our animal friends, they intuitively know when they have received enough energy. You don’t have to be concerned about too much or too little. They will move or walk away when they have as much as they need. Respect their intelligence. Energy Medicine continues to work even after you finish. The body uses the energy to continue the healing process. The innate intelligence of all life-forms and the power of Energy Medicine are truly amazing." 

Stories by others who have experienced amazing changes in animals through Energy Medicine applications are incorporated into discussions of some of the basics of Energy Medicine and how it can lend to assuring the daily health of animals. 

Black and white photos throughout accompany clear directions on how to tap into and transmit this special form of energy healing to various creatures, from large and small dogs to horses. 

Readers already versed in the concept of energetic healing who want an animal-based workbook filled with case history examples of applications and success will find Natural Healing for Animals Energy Medicine Workbook appealing and specific. 

It takes natural healing concepts to a new level by applying them to not just to the generalities of daily living, but the specifics of maintaining good health in one's animal companions. 

Natural Healing for Animals Energy Medicine Workbook should be on any new age (and many a general-interest) library reference shelf as an invitation to absorbing alternative medicine possibilities in general and Energy Medicine in particular. 

Natural Healing for Animals Energy Medicine Workbook 

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Transcending Depression
Larry Godwin, PhD
Independently Published
9780578694917             $12.95
www.larry-godwin.com 

Transcending Depression: Quest Without a Compass chronicles almost fifty years of the author's mental illness, using journal entries to trace its progression and evolution through the years. 

This approach differs from others by its longer viewpoint of the experience of struggling with mental illness long-term. It moves beyond the usual clinical or self-help approach to document what helped alleviate pain, what didn't work, and how Larry Godwin lived through it all. 

Another difference between his story and books that might sound similar is that Godwin presents his experiences as not one long chronicle, but a series of succinct vignettes that will prove more accessible to those with short attention spans who may be challenged by the large tracts of information provided in the usual book about depression. 

Strong personal insights evolve over a period of years, as in this 1994 entry: "Jenny's just a normal baby but I can't abide her interruptions, crying fits, and independent contrariness. I hate myself when I yell at her. I'd wager Mother couldn't put up with my disruptions, either. I must have learned my reactions from her." 

In addition to observing issues of inherited reactions and perspectives on life, Godwin includes the daily challenges of staying alive: "Tonight my life has little meaning. I feel suicidal like in Durango in 1979 before we met and in May 1980 before Cathy came to live with me. Actually, I don't want to live and I don't want to die. If only there were a way to suspend life awhile." 

Anyone who has struggled with depression will recognize these feelings, and will appreciate Godwin's focus not on miracle cures and pat answers, but documenting the flow of life into, within, and through depressive cycles. This charts the path within and through depression to not only provide thought-provoking reading to those on a similar journey, but much understanding for loved ones accompanying them and trying to offer support. 

And yet, Godwin also points out the power of working through depression: "I believe I have transcended my illness in the sense of coming to terms with it and rising above it.  Although coming upon a cure seems unlikely, I have reached a comfort level that allows me to tolerate depression, live with it, and function acceptably much of the time, interspersed with periods of contentment, happiness, and even joy." Readers who seek concrete tools for achieving this will find them in Appendix II, 'Depression Survival Guide', which provides a collection of insights that can readily be applied to daily life. 

Readers who want to get a sense of how life is lived long-term with depression that ebbs and flows will find Transcending Depression powerful, highly recommended reading for health, self-help and psychology readers seeking enlightenment. 

Transcending Depression 

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Literature

Continuum: A Short Story Collection
Chad Lester
Independently Published
979-8695009163            $4.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Continuum-Short-Collection-Chad-Lester/dp/B08KQ1LRML 

Readers who enjoy tension-building excellence in their short stories, especially those who appreciated the special brand of edge-of-your-seat reading that comprised the early Alfred Hitchcock short story collections, will find Continuum: A Short Story Collection of similar ilk, but with more expansive settings and literary allusions. 

Take the opening short story, 'End of the Earth'. It's a survival piece set in the time of mammoths that will appeal to readers of Clan of the Cave Bear with its story of Leda, who finds herself the sole survivor of her clan's massacre, alone in the wilderness with her infant. 

She finds herself questioning the "small head" peoples who killed them, and their needs, which are vastly different from her tribe's simplicity: "As she walked along the desolate steppe, she wondered why such a big place didn’t have enough land for everyone. Why did the small-faces need so much?" 

Her journey in a wilderness just as unforgiving as this tribe changes her life as she discovers that being the last of her tribe, rooted in and carrying their stories, may be the one thing that ultimately gives her a different kind of life. 

In contrast, the tale 'All Aboard' is set in a future where a pregnant journalist on Mars stumbles into a story that she cannot ignore—one which threatens to both illuminate and change everything in that world. 

"Data is everything in our modern techno-state. People base their diets and careers, even choose their spouses and embryos, on what algorithms tell them." But, has data replaced humanity? The future seems bright until the narrator's firm worldview is changed by new discoveries that hold dangerous implications and consequences due to choices made both in the present and long ago. 

Each story provides a succinct vignette of life-changing experiences. Like Hitchcock's works, they excel in slow buildups of tension and revelations that lead into unexpected conclusions. Unlike Hitchcock's writings, though, the settings and characters often reflect interests and social inspections beyond the world of individual experience alone as societies evolve and introduce questions of maintaining moral and ethical values. 

Often ethereal and otherworldly, Continuum is a short story collection designed to challenge perceptions of life and its trajectory. Its literary collection of suspense pieces probe the dark psyche of the soul and the evolutionary process that brings humanity and individuals to their knees, only to arise with new possibilities. It's highly recommended reading for literature readers who enjoy diverse settings and characters facing a wide range of challenging circumstances. 

Continuum: A Short Story Collection 

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No Birds Sing Here
Daniel V. Meier, Jr.
BQB Publishing
978-1945448959            $16.95 Paper/$8.49 Kindle
https://amzn.to/3qU0sSh 

No Birds Sing Here gives literary readers of satirical fiction the story of Beckman and Malany, who embark on a quest for finding new meaning in life, art, and the trappings of daily living. 

Not only satire but irony permeates the story, creating many moments of raw insight and reflection about the rituals of work and leisure alike: "At moments, when feelings of revulsion swept over him, he deliberately, with eyes open, reached into the nearest full garbage can and squeezed between his fingers the raw materials of his livelihood." 

The novel journeys through disparate experiences, from Beckman's dishwasher job to his reflections about possible other incarnations, which are evocatively portrayed: "Beckman believed that, if it had not been for the paved highway, strictly divided and regulated by white and yellow lines, and for the trash deposited along the grassy  shoulders, he could have been in some medieval forest, populated with knights, magicians and beautiful ladies in long gowns and veils suffering some quiet distress of the heart." 

These reflections inject his vision with something more than mundane observations, adding a level of possibility and fantasy that juxtaposes nicely with real-world events. 

The dialogue between Beckman and Malany is intriguing, documenting how changing circumstances constantly challenge their choices and provide new consequences for their actions: “You see how quickly things can change, how ironic life really is. A few minutes ago, we were running for our lives. Now we’ve saved the very person who was pursuing us.” 

From changing prejudices and responsibilities to life encounters that add satirical overlays of inspection into what evolves to be a loveless life, Daniel V. Meier, Jr. uses these two characters to play off the inherent ironies of appearances and life circumstances. 

The observations of others and their situations are also nicely presented: "The struggling poetess trying to make it on her own, rejecting the good and warm things of life so that she could write. Beckman had respected her for that above all else. The sincerity, the self-denial, the radicalism and the determination had all been an illusion that she had called, with conviction, “reality.” 

No Birds Sing Here's special blend of literary observation, satirical commentary, and philosophical examination flows through the lives of a group of disparate characters. This makes for thought-provoking reading which is especially recommended as a powerful example of the power of satire and irony in literary fictional approaches. 

College-level students, especially those who enjoy representations of these devices paired with a flavor of discovery reminiscent of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, will find No Birds Sing Here a commendable creation, indeed. 

No Birds Sing Here 

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SIS
Kelisha Lopez-Shealey
Independently Published
978-0578590516            $5.99 Paper/$3.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/SIS-Mrs-Kelisha-Lopez-Shealey/dp/0578590514 

SIS is a poetry collection directed to women connected by female perspectives on survival and life's meaning. It provides free verse inspections designed to appeal to those seeking inspirational admonitions. 

SIS promotes self-love, the love of God, and provides a positive, achievement-oriented approach to life that acknowledges challenges and successes alike: "As soon as she was ready/to embrace change,/the fireworks of her soul/blazed throughout her/life and her dreams exploded/into her reality." 

Readers who anticipate the usual poetic structure and flow will find that these pieces fall more into the inspirational side of the literary world than poetic forms per se. 

Each provide succinct reflections designed to be both informational and uplifting, and each offers reflections on hope, courage, resilience, and some of the other cornerstones of not just survival, but building and reinforcing a positive mindset and approach to life. 

At times, the works are not just prophetic or inspirational, but analytical and thought-provoking as they reveal why women, in particular, tend to become stuck: "You’re suffering where you are sis/because you think making/a change will be painful./Taking a leap of faith won’t hurt as/much as wallowing in that pit." 

Women interested in fighting for themselves and their dreams will find these poetic admonitions to be inspiring, especially suitable for daily inspirational reading and reflection. 

SIS 

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