Tag: arc review

ARC Review: Goyhood by Reuven Fenton

Categories Adult Fiction, Contemporary FictionLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Goyhood by Reuven Fenton

Book Details:

Author: Reuven Fenton
Release Date: May 28, 2024
Series:
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Adult Fiction
Format: E-book 
Pages: 288 pages
Publisher: Central Avenue
Blurb:
Reuven Fenton’s novel Goyhood is a brilliant debut about a devoutly Orthodox Jewish man who discovers in middle age that he’s not, in fact, Jewish, and embarks on a remarkable road trip to come to grips with his fate; it’s Chaim Potok’s The Chosen meets Planes,Trains and Automobiles.
When Mayer (née Marty) Belkin fled small-town Georgia for Brooklyn nearly thirty years ago, he thought he’d left his wasted youth behind. Now he’s a Talmud scholar married into one of the greatest rabbinical families in the world – a dirt-poor country boy reinvented in the image of God.
But his mother’s untimely death brings a shocking revelation: Mayer and his ne’er-do-well twin brother David aren’t, in fact, Jewish. Traumatized and spiritually bereft, Mayer’s only recourse is to convert to Judaism. But the earliest date he can get is a week from now. What are two estranged brothers to do in the interim?
So begins the Belkins’ Rumspringa through America’s Deep South with Mom’s ashes in tow, plus two tagalongs: an insightful Instagram influencer named Charlayne Valentine and Popeye, a one-eyed dog. As the crew gets tangled up in a series of increasingly surreal adventures, Mayer grapples with a God who betrayed him and an emotionally withdrawn wife in Brooklyn who has yet to learn her husband is a counterfeit Jew. 

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Goyhood by Reuven Fenton is a tale that defies convention and embraces the unexpected. Fenton’s debut novel offers a fresh take on the journey of self-discovery, weaving together elements of humour, poignancy, and profound insight.

What struck me most about “Goyhood” was its fearless exploration of identity and belonging. Through the eyes of Mayer Belkin, a devoutly Orthodox Jewish man grappling with the revelation of his true heritage, Fenton invites readers on a journey of introspection and revelation. As Mayer embarks on a road trip through America’s Deep South with his estranged brother and an eclectic cast of companions, the novel delves into the complexities of family dynamics, faith, and the search for meaning in an uncertain world.

Yet, amidst the weighty themes, Fenton infuses the narrative with a delightful blend of humour and heart. The interactions between Mayer, his brother David, and their companions are imbued with wit and warmth, offering moments of levity amidst the existential questions that permeate the story. It’s this unique balance of laughter and introspection that makes Goyhood such a compelling read.

In conclusion, Goyhood is a remarkable debut that deftly navigates the intersections of identity, faith, and the human experience. Fenton’s storytelling is as poignant as it is entertaining, leaving readers with a renewed appreciation for the complexities of life and the power of self-discovery. Whether you’re drawn to stories of personal transformation or simply enjoy a well-crafted narrative, Goyhood is sure to leave a lasting impression.

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ARC Review: Waste Of Height by Michael Kornbluth

Categories Humor, Michael Kornbluth, Short-Stories1 Comment on ARC Review: Waste Of Height by Michael Kornbluth

Book Details:

Author: Michael Kornbluth
Release Date: –
Series:
Genre: Short Stories | Humour
Format: E-book 
Pages: 299
Publisher: –
Blurb:
Very very short stories

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Waste of Height by Michael Kornbluth is a feel-good collection of short stories that will leave the readers craving for more (and more.) The stories are really short making them really quick to read and the best part is there are lots and lots of them, so no need to finish them in one go (unless you want to) one can read them as and when they please—something that I did.

The stories are all colourful, relatable, hilarious at places and very relatable but without getting too heavy which is always something I admire in author Kornbluth’s writing. I would recommend this book to all readers of short stories and to anyone looking for exploring fiction by new and previously undiscovered authors.

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ARC Review: An Enemy Like Me by Teri M Brown

Categories Historical, historical-fiction, Literary Fiction, Teri M. Brown3 Comments on ARC Review: An Enemy Like Me by Teri M Brown

Book Details:

Author: Teri M Brown
Release Date: 24th January 2023
Series:
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Generational Fiction
Format: E-book
Pages: 328
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Blurb:
How does a man show his love – for country, for heritage, for family – during a war that sets the three at odds? What sets in motion the necessity to choose one over the other? How will this choice change everything and everyone he loves?
Jacob Miller, a first-generation American, grew up in New Berlin, a small German immigrant town in Ohio where he endured the Great Depression, met his wife, and started a family. Though his early years were not easy, Jacob believes he is headed toward his ‘happily ever after’ until a friend is sent to an internment camp for enemy combatants, and the war lands resolutely on his doorstep.

In An Enemy Like Me, Teri M. Brown uses the backdrop of World War II to show the angst experienced by Jacob, his wife, and his four-year-old son as he leaves for and fights in a war he did not create. She explores the concepts of xenophobia, intrafamily dynamics, and the recognition that war is not won and lost by nations, but by ordinary men and women and the families who support them.

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

An Enemy Like Me by Teri M Brown is a beautiful historical fiction novel that tells the story of Jacob Miller and how being a true patriot brings him face-to-face with a truth that can shatter anyone’s world: that he is more similar to the enemy that he’d been fighting with than the people he was fighting for. An Enemy Like Me is a beautiful exploration of 2nd, 3rd and even 4th generation immigrants who face discrimination based on their looks, family origins, accent, etc. albeit in different intensity at different times in history.

This story is about a soldier who is trying his best to fight for the country he currently lives in, yet battling emotions, imagining that his previous generations were part of the country that he was fighting with and how this has a profound impact on him. This book also explores the perspective on war from different generational views, providing readers insights into how different people, at other points in time, think about the same historic events and issues that had a great impact on their lives.

An Enemy Like Me explores a lot of themes which will resonate with most readers of historical, literary fiction and war fiction genres. So I’d like to recommend it to all the readers as this book has a lot to offer to all of its readers.

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ARC Review: The Cyclone Release by Bruce Overby

Categories Bruce Overby, Contemporary FictionLeave a Comment on ARC Review: The Cyclone Release by Bruce Overby

Book Details:

Author: Bruce Overby
Release Date: 15th November 2022
Series:
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Corporate Fiction, Literary Fiction
Format: E-book 
Pages: 254 pages
Publisher: Madville Publishing
Blurb:
It’s the late 90s Internet boom, and Brendon Meagher has just lost his wife Sadie in a freakish car accident at the edge of Silicon Valley. The Cyclone Release follows Brendon as he emerges from tragedy and lands in a pre-IPO start-up that promises astonishing riches. Mo Gramercy, a bright and commanding colleague with her own deep secret, joins Brendon, disrupts his malaise, and takes him as her lover. The characters’ careen toward IPO millions, their secrets suddenly converging, and both are shaken without mercy from bucolic notions of work, life, and impending fortune.

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Cyclone Release by Bruce Overby is a definitive page-turning corporate fiction that will blow your mind and leave you wanting to read more works by the author!

This book is a heady mix of engaging prose, a captivating concept and a well-executed story developed around extremely realistic and relatable characterisation. This story pulls you in and takes you to the time when Silicon Valley was not how we see it today and tells the story of Brendon, a man stuck in the crazy turmoil of life whose career is in the field that is tethering over a precarious edge.

Well-written, absorbing and thoroughly interesting as well as intriguing, The Cyclone Release has a lot to offer to its readers and therefore I’d strongly recommend it to all fiction readers, especially those who like exploring corporate fiction and are interested in learning the details about the behind-the-scenes reality of the Silicon Valley.

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ARC Review: What Lurks In The Woods – Struggle and Hope in the Midst of Chronic Illness by Nicole Bell

Categories memoir, Nicole Bell, Non-FictionLeave a Comment on ARC Review: What Lurks In The Woods – Struggle and Hope in the Midst of Chronic Illness by Nicole Bell

Book Details:

Author: Nicole Bell 
Release Date: 23rd October 2021
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 250 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
Russ and Nicole Bell were an upwardly mobile happy couple: two kids, big house, fun hobbies, marvelous life. But something wasn’t quite right—with Russ. He started forgetting things, he got lost, he became enraged, he was harsh with the kids. And he could no longer be trusted with minor responsibilities.
They visited doctor after doctor after doctor to try to determine what was wrong, to no avail. “Alzheimer’s,” they were told, but that didn’t make sense. Russ was too young for that. As the formerly brilliant engineer literally lost his mind and his self, the answer finally became clear—but was it in time?
In this beautifully written but tragic memoir, Nicole Bell documents their journey through the medical minefield as they searched for answers and treatments. This book will inspire people who are suffering from chronic, symptom-based illnesses to dig deeper, so they can find and treat the root causes of their disease before it’s too late.

Review

Rating: 5 out of 5.

What Lurks In The Woods by Nicole Bell is a heart-wrenching and emotional memoir that is hard to read but even harder to put down.

This book is a very realistic and harsh reminder for the reader about how tragic chronic illness is and how it affects everyone including the patient and the caregiver. The author has bravely shared a deeply personal as well as emotionally taxing and psychologically jarring experience of her husband’s descent into dementia and how they struggled with finding answers that were crucial to their lives, especially to her husband’s health.

This book is very well-written and I would definitely recommend it to everyone because it is a treasure trove of lessons for each and every single reader, no matter what you do, where you are from or who you are.

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ARC Review: Beneath the Veil (The Valor of Valhalla Book 1) by Martin Kearns

Categories Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Martin Kearns, Urban FantasyLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Beneath the Veil (The Valor of Valhalla Book 1) by Martin Kearns

Book Details:

Author: Martin Kearns
Release Date: 11th October 2021
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Valor of Valhalla (Book #1)
Format: E-book 
Pages: 322 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
In a battle between two ancient evils, can one naïve young man become the last hope against powerful creatures of legend?
David Dolan thinks he’s already got the world figured out. But when a collapsed bridge plunges him into the icy Hudson, he’s pulled deep into the deadly realm that exists between life and death. And with his earthly form trapped in a coma, he’s vulnerable to the horde of demons hell-bent on his utter destruction.
Traversing the road to the afterlife, David seeks the wisdom and skills he needs to fight the demonic forces reigning havoc on his allies above ground. But as one hellish threat closes in on his defenseless body, David must defeat another terrifying fiend waiting in the shadows to use him…
Can David escape the world beneath the veil in time to stop the bloodshed?
Beneath the Veil is the gripping first book in The Valor of Valhalla dark urban fantasy series. If you like reluctant heroes, infernal myths, and bloody epic clashes, then you’ll love Martin Kearns’s formidable foray into the unknown. 

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Beneath The Veil by Martin Kearns is a a unique urban fantasy book that has bucket loads of demons, epic battles and some old as well as new myths that makes it a very entertaining read.

I loved the world-building in this book and the writing was great and complimented the plot very well. The characters were solid and well-developed making it a very engaging and intriguing read, keeping me at the edge of my seat throughout the story. The ending was great and I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

I’d definitely recommend this book to all urban fantasy readers as well readers who are looking to explore a new dark fantasy series by a new author.

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ARC Review: Ravens In The Rain: A Noir Love Story by by Christie Santo and Jeff Santo

Categories Christie Santo, Jeff Santo, RomanceLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Ravens In The Rain: A Noir Love Story by by Christie Santo and Jeff Santo

Book Details:

Author: Christie Santo &  Jeff Santo
Release Date: 22nd September 2021
Genre: Romance
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 248 pages
Publisher: BookBaby
Blurb:
Ravens In The Rain centers around Pru and Carney, she’s a woman with a past, and he’s a man with no future. Down on luck and down on love, they meet over a game of chance at an off-strip Vegas casino, and Carney wonders if Pru’s sparkle is what he needs to lift him from his darkness. He doesn’t even mind that she swiped a hundred-dollar bill from an old cowboy. It excites him. 
While Pru, disillusioned by her sparkle, is now accustomed to the cynical disposition of vagabond life. She’s not looking for a one-night stand; she’s looking for survival and sizing Carney up as a comfortable solution, for the moment. When she finds out who he really is, she’ll ante up for the game of her life. 
This romantic noir is a turbulent flight; like dating in the 21st century, it’s dangerous and daring.

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Ravens In The Rain by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo is an intriguing and entertaining noir love story.

Being a mystery and crime fiction fan, I’ve read some noir crime mysteries but a noir romance novel was a first for me and I’m glad that I read It because I enjoyed it more than the normal romance novels. Ravens In The Rain is a well-written novel with a great concept that is executed really well. I enjoyed the imagery invoked by the author’s writing style that bordered on magic realism while staying true to the noir story elements.

It was an experience in itself. I enjoyed the characterisation as they are richly developed and had really good background stories. Overall it is a great story and I’d definitely recommend it to all readers, romance readers and others alike.

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ARC Review: Finding Happiness In The Dark by Kenneth Liddane

Categories Kenneth Liddane, Non-Fiction, Self-HelpLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Finding Happiness In The Dark by Kenneth Liddane

Book Details:

Author: Kenneth Liddane
Release Date: 19th September 2021
Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Development, Self-Help
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 190 pages
Publisher: A Helping Mind
Blurb:
Have you ever said “I WILL BE HAPPY IF…”?
Did you ever achieve that? And if so, what happened next? Are you living happily ever after, or did you set new goals and update your “I will be happy if…” statement? Why does your happiness have to be conditional?
By searching for happiness, we are basically telling ourselves “I am not happy now”, and happiness itself becomes a temporary solution to distract ourselves from how we are actually feeling.
By re-introducing ourselves to our core instincts and drives, we can start to see how we developed unhelpful thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours. With this insight, these negative aspects of ourselves are no longer “bad”, instead they are logical and justified.
By considering the knowledge, skills and possible supports highlighted in this book, you will see that you no longer need to avoid, suppress or endure any part of your true self. 
By using your full potential, you are better able to face any challenge and life experience, and in doing so, experience, welcome and acknowledge all of the associated feelings and emotions naturally. 
What are you waiting for?

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Finding Happiness In The Dark by Kenneth Liddane is a very well-written and well-executed book on helping oneself in times of need when the mind goes into the dark seat and we start to feel alone and unhappy.

This is a book by a very experienced person who is not only equipped with dealing with his own patients for consultations but also has the education and the drive for it. This book had some really great concepts, understandable and relatable answers to some common questions and some brilliant techniques and tricks that can help a person come out of the recesses of depression, anxiety and the com orbit conditions. At least on the surface level. In order to get treated or to know more, you can always consult with the author.

I would recommend this book to everyone who is either going through a dark phase or knows someone who is suffering because of it.

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ARC Review: Destiny of Dreams: Time Is Dear by Cathy Burnham Martin

Categories Cathy Burnham Martin, Dark Fiction, HistoricalLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Destiny of Dreams: Time Is Dear by Cathy Burnham Martin

Book Details:

Author: Cathy Burnham Martin
Release Date: 31st August 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 242 pages
Publisher: Quiet Thunder Publishing
Blurb:
What happens when an American girl of Eurasian descent finds herself suddenly immersed in all facets of her Armenian ancestry? Told with an often soulfully introspective voice, “Destiny of Dreams” follows the true story of a teenager and her grandfather, retracing loving, learning, and terrifying footprints of the past. While survival remains center stage, love and courage must emerge, or all will be both lost and forgotten. More fact than fiction, the author reveals her Armenian roots in this historical novel, chronicling her family members’ love, strength, and resolve to both survive and thrive in treacherous times. Reflecting the traumas suffered by all people displaced from their original homelands, this Armenian story focuses on one family’s challenge to find light in the dark days of the waning Ottoman Empire. Anyone with the diaspora in their family heritage will relate. Whether thinking of Jewish people from Israel, Africans scattered through slavery, Armenians fleeing annihilation in Turkey, so-called boat people escaping Asia, or Syrians fleeing life-threatening violence in their own nation, humans continue to rise up in the face of the toughest times. Who would emerge from extraordinarily desperate places, and how could they choose to set positive examples of humanity during highly inhumane times? Set in the early 1900s and flashing forward to the 1960s, the story’s themes ring with tolerance and intolerance, dreams and destroyers, family and friends, amidst challenges that eerily parallel life in current judgmental scenarios.

Written for Young Adult and Adult audiences, the book contains some explicit descriptions and a couple of disturbing, though not graphic, violent scenes. While not gratuitous, the depictions may be unsuitable for young readers

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Destiny Of Dreams: Time Is Dear by Cathy Burnham Martin is a beautifully written historical fiction book about survival and the darkness that plagues our society.

This book was a rollercoaster ride of emotions, along with quiet graphic descriptions of violence, which lent this book an air of seriousness that otherwise would have been missing. I liked reading this book from cover to cover because the plot was very engaging, the writing was good, the characterisation was well done and the execution of the story was really good.

I would recommend this book to all historical fiction buffs. Although do keep in mind that this book has some graphic violent scenes (for those who might find them triggering.)

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Releasing in Sept

ARC Review: Winning Streak – Tales and Trivia of the 40 Most Popular Board Games by John-Michael Gariepy

Categories Humor, John-Michael Gariepy, Non-FictionLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Winning Streak – Tales and Trivia of the 40 Most Popular Board Games by John-Michael Gariepy

Author: John-Michael Gariepy
Release Date: 13th January 2021
Genre: Humour, Non-Fiction, Games
Series:
Format: E-book 
Pages: 196 pages
Publisher: Popcorn Roulette
Blurb:
Did you ever wonder:
♞ What makes Clue the best movie based on a game franchise?
♝ What does the doubling cube in backgammon do?
♜ How trains are even supposed to operate in Ticket to Ride: Antarctica?
♛ How the designer of the board game Pandemic feels now that he’s lived through an actual global pandemic?
♚ Whatever happened to the Monopoly game show from the 90s?

Based on Ranker’s poll of almost 400,000 votes, these games define us. From multiple-award winning masterpieces of the past decade, to indestructible classics still going strong after 5,000 years of play, these are the games you must play before you die. Well, except for Sorry!. That game is a blight upon this list and mankind as a whole. 

Excuse me. What I’m trying to say is that I wrote this book about games, and I thought you might like it.

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Winning Streak: Tales and Trivia of the 40 Most Popular Board Games by John-Michael Gariepy is a fun, informative and entertaining read about the most iconic and loved games int he history of games!

This book was deliciously entertaining and I enjoyed reading ever scrap of information this book had to offer. I loved the writing style of the author because it made the book a quick and easy affair and the straightforwardness only made it all the more engaging.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone because this book contains trivia and fun bits about games we all have played or heard of at some point or another. So do go for it as it an a delightful and quick read!

You can also read this review on Goodreads.

ARC Review: Peerless Minds: An Arc of Achievement by Pritish Nandy And Tapan Chaki

Categories Non-Fiction, Pritish NandyLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Peerless Minds: An Arc of Achievement by Pritish Nandy And Tapan Chaki

Author: Pritish Nandy & Tapan Chaki
Release Date: 21 January 2021
Genre: Non-Fiction, Motivational, Self-Help
Series: 
Edition: Hardback
Pages: 500
Publisher: Harper India
Blurb:
‘Peerless Minds brings together the finest minds that sustain India as a riveting and relentless idea. The exceptional life stories featured in this book reaffirm the truth that the luckiest of nations are the ones that continue to be rebuilt and reimagined by peerless minds.’ S. PRASANNARAJAN, Editor, Open magazine Three Nobel Prize winners. Two Bharat Ratnas. Three Knights of the British Empire. A Pulitzer Prize winner. A two-time Best of the Bookers winner. An Abel Prize winner. A Pritzker Prize winner. A Fields Medallist. Two Fukuoka Prize winners. A Turner Prize winner. Two Praemium Imperiale recipients. A double Academy Award winner. Many Padma Vibhushans and Padma Bhushans. But that is not why these people are really here. They are here because they, as Indians and people of Indian origin, have had extraordinary achievements and have inspired, each in their own way, a generation of Indians. Here you will find, among others, economist Amartya Sen; authors V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie; mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik; philanthropist Azim Premji; mathematician Manjul Bhargava; from the world of music, Annapurna Devi, Lata Mangeshkar and Zubin Mehta; industrialist Ratan Tata; sculptor Anish Kapoor; architect Balkrishna Doshi; spymaster A.S. Dulat; historian Irfan Habib; Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna; poet Javed Akhtar; and stand-up comic Hasan Minhaj. In conversation with them are authors and journalists such as James Astill, Prannoy Roy, Vir Sanghvi, Aatish Taseer, Shereen Bhan, Karan Mahajan, Rajdeep Sardesai, Khalid Mohamed, Priya Khanchandani, Indu Bhan and Anil Dharker. A fascinating collection of long-form interviews with some of the greatest minds and biggest achievers of our time, Peerless Minds is a book to be cherished and preserved.

REVIEW

★★★★

Peerless Minds by Pritish Nandy is a motivational non-fiction book that is a brilliant and inspiring book especially when one needs a little ‘pick-me-up.’ This book is full of interviews with various brightest minds of India and is full of their individual journeys, struggles, dilemmas, etc throughout their lives and careers.

A must-read for everyone.

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ARC Review: Simon Grey And The March Of A Hundred Ghosts by Charles Kowalski

Categories Adventure, Charles Kowalski, Fantasy, Middle-Grade, Travel, Young Adult1 Comment on ARC Review: Simon Grey And The March Of A Hundred Ghosts by Charles Kowalski

Author: Charles Kowalski
Release Date: 1st August 2019
Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Historical, Travel
Series: Simon Grey (Book #1)
Edition: E-book
Pages: 192
Publisher: Excalibur Books
Blurb:
Alone and lost in haunted Japan…

Japan, 1620: A mysterious shipwreck has left cabin boy Simon Grey stranded in an unfamiliar, dangerous land.

He hoped that a long sea voyage would provide some relief from his “gift” of seeing ghosts everywhere on land. Instead, he finds that his ability draws him into the shadowy world of yokai, the spirits and monsters that roam Japan by night. Together with the mysterious Oyuki, daughter of an English sailor-turned-samurai, Simon must earn the yokai’s trust and help, while staying one step ahead of the Shogun’s guards and an evil sorcerer determined to discover the “secret” of Simon’s powers.

As they struggle to stay alive and find a way home, Simon and Oyuki deal with friends and foes from both sides of the grave.

Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts is a gripping fantasy adventure that will appeal to fans of Percy Jackson and Young Samurai.

REVIEW

★★★★

Simon Grey And The March Of A Hundred Ghosts by Charles Kowalski is a beautiful historical story set in the backdrop of Japan, laced with unlimited adventure, which proved to be an absolute entertainer.  I enjoyed reading this book because it had the perfect characterization a solid and unique concept and good writing style. It had all the elements to make it a complete and fun read.

The writing style was simple yet effective and the story flowed pretty well from the beginning to end. The pacing was even and the tension created had a great graph. The book was culturally rich and provided keen insights into Japan’s history all the time carefully managing not to get too overly informative.

Overall it was a really enjoyable book and I’d recommend it to all readers who enjoy reading adventure stories in historical settings, especially the readers who like exploring new cultrues.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

ARC Review: Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

Categories Minka Kent, Mystery, ThrillerLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

Author: Minka Kent
Release Date: 9th April 2019
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Series:
Edition: E-book
Pages: 256
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Blurb:
Two sisters raised in fear are about to find out why in a chilling novel of psychological suspense from the author of The Thinnest Air.
Ignorant of civilization and cautioned against its evils, nineteen-year-old Wren and her two sisters, Sage and Evie, were raised in off-the-grid isolation in a primitive cabin in upstate New York. When the youngest grows gravely ill, their mother leaves with the child to get help from a nearby town. And they never return.
As months pass, hope vanishes. Supplies are low. Livestock are dying. A brutal winter is bearing down. Then comes the stranger. He claims to be looking for the girls’ mother, and he’s not leaving without them.
To escape, Wren and her sister must break the rule they’ve grown up with: never go beyond the forest.
Past the thicket of dread, they come upon a house on the other side of the pines. This is where Wren and Sage must confront something more chilling than the unknowable. They’ll discover what’s been hidden from them, what they’re running from, and the secrets that have left them in the dark their entire lives.

REVIEW

★★★★

The Stillwater Girlsby Minka Kent is one of those few books that managed to grab my attention on NetGalley with a beautiful blurb and cover image when I was trying hard not to request any new titles at all. I was very excited to read this book and finally when I dove in expecting a mind-blowing thriller, I ended up marking it as another disappointing DNF read.

For some reason, I was not able to get past the first 8% of the book. Even though I really wanted to read this book, a couple of intolerable things led me to abandon this book even though when I almost made up my mind to simply skim over the pages in order to at least find out the mystery:

  1. Chapters full of fragmented sentences for exposition which led to overtreatment of a technique I otherwise love and use in my own works.
  2. Excessive foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is good, necessary even in thrillers for building suspense, but here it was too much.
  3. I felt forced by the author to feel sympathetic to the girls living alone. It felt like the girls themselves (or at least the POV one) were screaming at the readers to feel sorry for them and their conditions. As a result, I simply felt irritation and nothing more.
  4. focus on the unnecessary details and overall, the writing felt immature; it felt like the author wanted to go for Gillian Flynn’s writing style but ended up totally botching it up.

All in all, I think this book has a lot of potential in terms of the plot, or so the blurb has led me to believe but failed miserably.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and NetGalley

ARC Review: Treading The Uneven Road by L.M. Brown

Categories L.M. Brown, Short-Stories, World FictionLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Treading The Uneven Road by L.M. Brown

Author: L.M. Brown
Release Date: 15th March 2019
Genre: Short Story Collection, World Fiction
Series: 
Edition: E-book
Pages: 206
Publisher: Fomite
Blurb:
The stories in this linked collection are set in a small village in the Northwest of Ireland in the early 1980’s and 90’s. A by-pass around the village has rid them of their once busy traffic. The residents feel forgotten by the world. The need to reach out and be heard is explored in every story, from the young woman who starts to have phone conversations with her husband’s gay lover, to the dyslexic man who confronts his cruel teacher years later.

The collection is not only about the characters need for salvation but it is about a society that is unraveling. In Amends, we hear about the Bishop who has fathered a child. A priest is beckoned by a dying man to be mocked. The world inside and outside the village is changing. In every story the characters need to make a choice on how they might carry on.

REVIEW

★★★★+1/2

Treading The Uneven Road by L.M. Brown is a beautiful collection of short stories about a small town in Ireland in the early ’80s and ’90s. I had a very good time reading this book and the thing I found most impressive about this story collection is that each and every story bore a plethora of emotions that were very real and relatable. Being from a small town myself, I enjoy books that display the lives of people in small towns, the highs and the lows of living in a close-knit and ever-watching society. So I really enjoyed this book.

All the stories were related in some way or the other and so they felt more like chapters than individual stories which was another thing that I liked as this made the overall theme more interesting. The characterization was good, the writing was good and the pacing was very good. I’d say this book would make for an excellent coffee table book.

I’d recommend this book to everyone who loves exploring new cultures and distinct works fo literature.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

ARC Review: Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Categories Horror, Melanie Golding, Mystery, Supernatural, Suspense, ThrillerLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Author: Melanie Golding
Release Date: 30th April 2019
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult Fiction, Horro, Supernatural, Suspense
Series: 
Edition: Ebook
Pages: 304
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Blurb:
“Mother knows best” takes on a sinister new meaning in this unsettling thriller perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Grimms’ Fairy Tales, and Aimee Molloy’s The Perfect Mother.
Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things.
A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley—to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies.
Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.
Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking—and rechecking—your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe.

REVIEW

★

Let me begin by saying that when I first saw this book’s listing on NetGalley, I was totally in awe! It had the most amazing cover, an incredible blurb and (upon further research) some really good reviews in the book’s favour. So basically it had it all and I was positive that this will be one heck of a read.
To be honest, I couldn’t start reading this book fast enough and I felt like this right till the moment I started reading this book:

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But when I started reading this book, say about 20-25 pages in, I was really not sure if I was reading the right book because the writing felt very forceful and unnecessarily dramatic. For one, the author kept going on and on about how the main character (don’t even remember the name) did not feel “the rush of love” for her newborn twins. I am all for complex and grey characters, but after a while, it did start to feel like the author was unnecessarily pressing the point on the readers in order to make them hate the MC (or maybe they just wanted to make the readers feel that the character was very complex) either way, it felt too forced and outright fake. Still, I kept on reading in the hopes that maybe once this part gets over the good part would begin.

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Then came the part where the MC was being checked by the doctor in order to see if her womb (?) was okay (not even sure if I even understood that part) and then everything went to hell because the descriptions got so crazily gross that it’s going to take me a long time to get over it. I mean, if you haven’t been pregnant ever, then I recommend not to read this part as it sure as hell scared the shit out of me!!

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AND THAT WAS IT FOR ME!
I COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!

If you’ve read this book and liked it, then hats off to you! But you haven’t yet read this book and are planning to read it, then I’d suggest to check out some other book on twins and/or pregnant-female-horror fiction like Cleaving Souls by Chauncey Rogers or stick to the plain ol’ decent thrillers like Sister Sister by Sue Fortin or The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena.

You can also read this review on Goodreads

ARC Review: Extinction 6 by Hosein Kouros-Mehr

Categories Dystopian, Hosein Kouros-MehrLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Extinction 6 by Hosein Kouros-Mehr
Author: Hosein Kouros-Mehr
Release Date: 12th December 2018
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Series:
Edition: e-book
Pages: 305
Publisher: –
Blurb:
By mid-century, Arctic oil drilling accelerates global warming and triggers famine and world war. A team of scientists launches Project Titan to reverse climate change and end fossil fuel addiction. Without a radical solution, humanity faces catastrophe.Earth’s sixth mass extinction is underway. One hope remains.

Review

★★★★

Extinction 6 by Hosein Kouros-Mehr is a very well-written dystopian read that highlights one of the most serious issues that threatens the entire planet.

First off, the book was a fantastic read – it was equal parts enjoyable, interesting and thought-provoking. Once I started the book, I was easily able to flow through the pages at a very fast speed which says a lot about the smooth flow of the writing and the simple yet effective use of the language. The plot progression was good and the pacing decent.

I liked the characterization, though I wasn’t able to overly connect or relate to the protagonist. Still, I enjoyed the story enough to not have a big problem with it and overall it was a very good read.

I enjoyed the book right until the very end and want to keep exploring more titles by the author. I’d recommend this book to all dystopian and sci-fi reads and to those who take a special interest in the main subject – climate change.

this review is also posted on Goodreads and Amazon (not yet available on the ‘Zon)

ARC Review: How To Walk Away By Katherine Centre

Categories Contemporary Fiction, Katherine Centre, women's fictionLeave a Comment on ARC Review: How To Walk Away By Katherine Centre
Author: Katherine Center
Release Date: 15th May 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Series:  
Edition: E-book
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Blurb:
From the author of Happiness for Beginners comes an unforgettable love story about finding joy even in the darkest of circumstances.
Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she’s worked for so hard and so long: a new dream job, a fiancé she adores, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in a brief, tumultuous moment.
In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must confront the unthinkable. First there is her fiancé, Chip, who wallows in self-pity while simultaneously expecting to be forgiven. Then, there’s her sister Kit, who shows up after pulling a three-year vanishing act. Finally, there’s Ian, her physical therapist, the one the nurses said was too tough for her. Ian, who won’t let her give in to her pity, and who sees her like no one has seen her before. Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need. Sometimes we all need someone to catch us when we fall. And sometimes love can find us in the least likely place we would ever expect.
How to Walk Away is Katherine Center at her very best—a masterpiece of a novel that is both hopeful and hilarious; truthful and wise; tender and brave.

Praise for How to Walk Away:

“A heartbreak of a novel that celebrates resilience and strength.” —Jill Santopolo, bestselling author of The Light We Lost

“If you just read one book this year, read How to Walk Away.” —Nina George, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop

“Warm, witty, and wonderfully observed.” —Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of First Comes Love“Sympathetic and refreshing!” —Elinor Lipman, bestselling author of The Family Man

“I can’t think of a blurb good enough for this novel…poignant, funny, heartbreaking.” —Jenny Lawson, bestselling author ofFuriously Happy

Review

★★★★+1/2

How To Walk Away by Katherine Center is a beautiful book about loss, love, courage and hope that has a lot to offer to its readers apart from an exceptional story.

I am so glad that I read this book! It is a really, really good book and has taught me a lot of things about forgiveness – which definitely doesn’t come easy, loss – which does hurt a lot, and hope – which, even though difficult to hold onto, can turn around one’s life.

This book had a delightful mixture of a well thought-out storyline, a string of not only believable and realistic but also very relatable characters, very engaging yet simple writing with an exceptional sense of humour and an excellent ending.

What I really loved about this book was that the author didn’t sugarcoat things, she put things forward the way they are in real life, but she did it so without being overdramatic. I generally shy away from reading books with illness/medical situations because most of the authors present the pain in such horrific (sometimes honest, sometimes not) details and the overall experiences, more often than not, leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. That said, if done right, these books are nothing short of magic because they have a lot of lessons and takeaways along with a good story (which, as a reader, is always the main thing for me.) For example, I loved John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars, but I didn’t really like Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything.

I’d recommend this book not only to all the contemporary fiction readers but to anyone and everyone who wants to read a really, really good book.

this review is also posted on Goodreads, Netgalley and Amazon