Rosepoint Publishing

A Silent Understanding: The Kilteegan Bridge Story Book 5 by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – Historical Irish Fiction

in Historical Irish Fiction

Book Blurb:

Kilteegan Bridge, Co Cork, Ireland. 1975

Lena Kogan is thrilled when her son Emmet invites her to the opening of his first building in San Francisco. It’s awkward that she will be staying with Emmet’s father Malachy Berger, but he’s in a serious relationship now, and anyway, he knows how Lena feels about Eli, so surely they can just be friends.

Her sister Emily, is less adventurous. She’s happy to stay at home with her family and a thriving business, that is until her daughter Nellie drops another bombshell on her about what she plans to do next. A move nobody could have anticipated and few support.

Her brother Jack is living contentedly on his farm with Skipper, until a couple of late-night visitors cause them to risk everything they’ve guarded so carefully. Intervening to help could mean exposure in a state where men like them are on the wrong side of the law, but some things are just too important to ignore.

In this final book of The Kilteegan Bridge Story, the O’Sullivans come to a silent understanding of each other and of themselves.

My Review:

I’ve read each of the episodes in this series and must admit that Book 4 (When Irish Eyes are Lying) hit hard and unexpectedly. So it was with some trepidation that I began Book 5.

This installment in the Kilteegan Bridge series brings back the tragedy with Lena and Eli, the story of Nellie and her ill-fated visit to San Francisco and continued the sweet and tentative interest between Emmet and Wei. It also sees additional development with Rosa Abramson and her pursuit of WWII reparations for Jews. Following Malachy’s new knowledge of his father’s and grandparents’ involvement in the theft of property during that time, he volunteers a project that would benefit the people as well as involve his biological son, Emmet.

In the meantime, new characters Katie and Maggie O’Neill are runaways from the local Catholic orphanage where their treatment is less than loving. But they cannot continue to hide with Jack and Skipper, two bachelors, and given their relationship must find other safe quarters for the young girls.

While the author’s books can get complex with multiple sub-plots, each is interwoven within the tight family and small rural, primarily Catholic-based community. Nellie has decided on a vocation unexpected that shocks her mother. Nellie’s new BFF, Sister Martina becomes a solid sympathetic character as well as one who provides a consistent story with that sense of humor we’ve come to expect of a Jean Grainger novel. (Wish I’d known about St Columbanus, the patron saint of motorcycles, back when I was riding my motorcycle, but have to admit St Michael kept his hand on me more than once.)

The atmospheric visions of rural Irish life that include an enormous family line that extends in all directions provide a gripping and emotional plot. It is a well-paced and complicated storyline that manages to confront a number of topical domestic issues.

At this point, having fully engaged in previous installments, there are issues most readers will want to see settled as they hope. The conclusion neatly gathers all remaining strings left hanging or unresolved and carefully addresses each issue and in the Epilogue quietly closes all disturbing threads. As with all families, particularly large extended ones, there are multiple and private issues, and within the family perhaps while quietly acknowledged—still remain private.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the author and publisher that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. Currently on pre-order.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Family Life Fiction
Publisher: Gold Harp Media
ASIN: B0BRNYGRM5
Publication Date: March 1, 2023
Source: Author ARC

Title Link: A Silent Understanding (Amazon)

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[truncated—please see her full bio on her Amazon author page]

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

Enjoy your day

The Bark of Zorro (Gone to the Dogs Book 4) by Kathleen Y’Barbo – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Valentine’s Day, aka National Singles Awareness Day

Book Blurb:

Who Is Spray Painting the Dogs in Brenham, Texas?

Cozy up with your favorite pooch and unwind with a small-town mystery in book 4 of the Gone to the Dogs series.

Strange happenings are afoot in Brenham, Texas, as dogs start showing up at the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic with a Z spray painted on them. The cops blame pranksters, while pet owners are blaming each other. Receptionist Cassidy Carter uses her social media expertise to try to get the culprit caught on camera, but Texas game warden, Justin Cameron, thinks online media attention is the last thing this case needs. It’s bad enough he’s currently being followed around by reality TV cameras. When Cassidy’s post goes viral, more dogs are found painted and her new home gets marked with a big Z too. How could her good intentions have backfired so badly?

Gone to the Dogs series:
Off the Chain by Janice Thompson
Dog Days of Summer by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson
The Bark of Zorro by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Every Dog Has His Day by Janice Thompson
New Leash on Life by Kathleen Y’Barbo

My Review:

Once again I blundered into a series that is written by more than one author. I’ve read neither author before but thinking this is a good start, as I certainly enjoyed it.

It’s a sweet read, entertaining, and of course my big draw—dogs.

In this case, however, one is discovered having had a “Z” painted on the side of him. The main character, Cassidy Carter, is the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic’s office manager involved in the Second Chance Ranch Dog Rescue, all round gofer. So it is when the regular person in charge of taking an abandoned dog call is otherwise occupied, Cassidy goes to find the dog. She does and in hazardous conditions.

Later also involved is game warden Justin Cameron. Justin apparently has an unwelcome entourage—a television reality show in which he’s involved. I won’t call this inst-love, but it supplies the romance part of the cozy theme mystery.

I liked the dogs in the storyline as well as the inclusion of humorous highlights, not so much Justin. He bothered me as being too hovering, controlling, and for me the red flags popped up. Not so for Cassidy apparently as, of course, he is gorgeous, sexy, and studly.

In the meantime, there appears more than one dog sporting painted “Z”s on their furry sides and it’s time to zero in on the perp. I did have a little problem with the reveal—another of those who do not appear in the plot throughout the book. No way to have guessed who.

The pacing is fine and it’s wholesome. I liked Cassidy except for the CYA she issued more than once regarding her position being “just an office manager.” Maybe so, however, the setting is interesting, the characters (for the most part) engaging, and I’ll likely seek a second in the series.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance, Cozy Mysteries
Publisher: Barbour Publishing Inc

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1636095178
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1636095172

ASIN: B0BFCFNG8S
Print Length: 256 pages
Publication Date: April 1, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: KATHLEEN Y’BARBO is a Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of more than one hundred books with two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan and certified paralegal, she is a member of the Texas Bar Association Paralegal Division, Texas A&M Association of Former Student and the Texas A&M Women Former Students (Aggie Women), Texas Historical Society, Novelists Inc., and American Christian Fiction Writers. She would also be a member of the Daughters of the American Republic, Daughters of the Republic of Texas and a few others if she would just remember to fill out the paperwork that Great Aunt Mary Beth has sent her more than once.

Kathleen and her hero in combat boots husband have their own surprise love story that unfolded on social media a few years back. They make their home just north of Houston, Texas and are the parents and in-laws of a blended family of Texans, Okies, and three very adorable Londoners.

To find out more about Kathleen or connect with her through social media, check out her website at http://www.kathleenybarbo.com.

Who Killed Jerusalem? by George Albert Brown – #BookReview – #satire – Galbraith Literary Publishers Inc

A Rollicking Literary Murder Mystery Based On William Blake’s Characters & Ideas Updated To 1970s San Francisco

Book Blurb:

A seamless melding of (i) the intricate plotting of Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose,

(ii) the side-splitting humor of John Kennedy Toole in A Confederacy of Dunces,

and (iii) the fabulous world of William Blake.

In 1977, Ickey Jerusalem, San Francisco’s golden-boy poet laureate (based on Blake), is found dead in a locked, first-class toilet on an arriving red-eye flight.

Ded Smith, a desperately unhappy, intelligent philistine with a highly developed philosophy to match, is called in to investigate the poet’s death. Thus begins a series of hilarious encounters with the members of Jerusalem’s coterie (updated amalgams of characters from Blake’s work).

Ded soon realizes that to find out what happened, he must not only collect his usual detective’s clues but also, despite his own poetically challenged outlook, get into the dead poet’s mind.

Fighting his way through blasphemous funerals, drug-induced dreams, poetry-charged love-making, offbeat philosophical discussions, and much, much more, he begins to piece together Jerusalem’s (Blake’s) seductive, all-encompassing metaphysics.

But by then, the attempts to kill Ded and the others have begun.

Before Ded’s death-dodging luck runs out, will he be able to solve the case, and perhaps, in the process, develop a new way of looking at the world that might allow him to replace his unhappiness with joy?

His Review:

Icky Jerusalem is found suffocated in the restroom of a 747! Could this have been a suicide? He seemed to be a little distraught with his decision to cease his life’s work of crafting metaphysical poetry, but would that have caused him to commit suicide? And how could his hands become tied behind his back? Nobody on the transcontinental flight noticed anything unusual in first class!

Being a poet laureate is a daunting responsibility. How does one continue to write prose when the karmic juices are not flowing? Ah, but there are certainly distractions in life that can fill the creative voids. One is the lovely Beulah who had been a professional female wrestler prior to developing hysterical blindness. Icky was her doorway to life’s experience through his magnificent verses. She was more than willing to repay his protection and kindnesses with gifts of her own.

Ded Smith is an Insurance Adjuster whose primary goal is to ferret out insurance claims that are suspect or fraudulent. The $20 million dollar policy taken out just prior to the death of Icky was his next assignment. Icky had a reputed fortune of nearly $350 million, so why take out a $20 million dollar life insurance policy on himself payable to the lovely Beulah? The home office wants to deny the claim!

Twists and turns abound in this frolic of the San Francisco lifestyle. So much to deduce within this novel that waxes metaphysical contemplation or argument amid the prose. I am glad the author brings it to a satisfactory conclusion but it could be considered overly long to do so. 3.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Satire, Satire Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Galbraith Literary Publishers Inc
ASIN: B0BJ7GDM7V
Print Length: 605 pages
Publication Date: February 6, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): Who Killed Jerusalem?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: George Albert Brown, a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law, started as a hippie in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury and retired at age 40 after having co-founded a successful international finance company. Following stints thereafter as a humorous author (The Airline Passenger’s Guerrilla Handbook) and an angel investor in over a score of high-tech university spinouts, he built a catamaran in Chile and for more than a decade, cruised it across the globe with his significant other. Today, as a father of three grown children, a grandfather of four not-yet-grown children, and an involuntary lover of stray cats, he continues his peripatetic lifestyle by other means.

Who Killed Jerusalem? is the book that George, a life-long devotee of William Blake, had always wanted to write.

Enjoy Your Sunday!

Women Write More Blog Posts – Are We Still Blogging to Connect or Make a Difference?

Discovered that the audiobook I was going to post yesterday was a repeat (so good I listened to it again years later!), I decided to go on a quest to find an old (really old) post back in 2016 when the blog was still more author/writer oriented than review.

What I found to my horror were some decent posts that lacked extra illustration to support the basic article outline. Then what started as a search for a Throwback Thursday post turned into an odyssey for “fixing” old posts. I’m still working on that having done so already on ten of the more topical articles.

The last two days were spent making corrections, adding pictures and links for posts including Twelve Points for Review Submission and Do You Buy a Book From the Cover? Covers Get You Noticed (or not).

It was the post I titled Women Write More Blog Posts that caught my eye, however, and I wondered if it might be updated. There were a number of good arguments for women taking that honor including polls that agreed:

Women Write to Connect

So the question is? Is that still holding true? Who is writing most blogs today?

Posing that question of the internet gets you this from last year’s stats:

Blogger Statistics By Gender–67.1% of bloggers are women and 32.9% of bloggers are men.

If most of my fellow (female) book bloggers are readers and reviewers how does that stack up if males tend to read male authors? Are women authors getting 67% of the attention?

In 2017 Sarah Burke of Spokal notes that “publishers are quick to encourage new female writers to take a pseudonym if their particular genre of writing is considered ‘masculine’.”

Is it still coming down to the male posting technology while women post to connect? It would appear that it’s changing.

It’s difficult to find definitive information for stats of women bloggers. I love some of the stats that Branka wrote on January 9, 2023, in her article Blogging Statistics of 2023 and wonder how many of these you are aware?

There are over 600 million blogs on the internet (31 million in the US).
Of 1030 surveyed bloggers by First Site Guide, 524 are male and 488 are female or just over 51% male. (That’s a big difference over last year’s findings and those numbers don’t add to 1030.) And by the way, more than 50% of bloggers are 21 to 35 years old. Most blog readers are 31 to 40 years old, while more than 37% are 40 to 60 years (yay!)
Ninety percent of bloggers rely on social media to promote their posts. (SEO at 68%)
Blog titles should be between six and thirteen words.

The shift of female bloggers diversifying somewhat from female-focused media to content creation for business gained significant ground years ago with the advent of an easily produced video presence. More and more women are specializing in promoting brand management, content creation, SEO, and digital marketing.

Conclusion

There continues to be a debate on whether men or women host more blogs, particularly as to their content. But as women bloggers and reviewers increase their impact on business and technological avenues, these percentages will continue to evolve. Any inroad is a positive step. Yes?

Do you post to connect?

Or post to inform, promote, educate? Do you consciously use SEO? Have you found a way to monetize your blog? Or is that your goal?

Banner graphic and laptop background attribute: Canva.com

Typos, Edit Errors, and Omissions–Do You Really Want to Fix Them?

Typos, Edit Errors, and Omissions-Do You Really Want to Fix Them?

This is a simple little post I wrote back in August of 2016 after experiencing some negative reactions of my “honest” reviews of Indie author’s publications. I had begun contacting directly (and privately) the author to disclose problems I found with a newly published novel. I knew how they felt, having confronted numerous additional editing problems with my grandfather’s novels .

If you’ve been writing very long, you know how easy it is to overlook your own errors, whether they are typing errors or otherwise. I had other pairs of eyes looking over “Cocos Island Treasure,” and I’ve been through it so many times, I almost have it memorized, so I know how dismaying it can be for someone to glance at your pages and find mistakes. It’s a subject I wrestle with all the time:

When I’m reading Indie author’s hard-won newly published works, do they want to know if I find problems?

I finally settled on the compromise of contacting the author directly through a private message. Lacking English degrees, I don’t claim to check for grammar or punctuation. Lacking an editing contract, I only mark some obvious errors after numerous errors are noted. If we are to raise Indie standards of publication and elevate the reputation, I’m hoping the author will take a word to the wise in the spirit in which it is intended. If I see it; others must.

GDFGDFG Perhaps I’m noticing more edit errors lately because of heightened awareness through the publication of my grandfather’s books. Maybe there is just a slip in the level of English education in the younger generation? (Or they don’t use a spell check?) As with the failure to activate a turn signal on a vehicle, is it possible using Spell Check is conceived as unnecessary?

Botched Headline However, even the professionals seem to be missing more mistakes lately. Or are the errors an attempt at humor? Some headlines (whether newspaper or internet feeds) would definitely seem so. While I’d prefer that everything we produced was “perfect,” it appears that mistakes do happen to everyone. ©2016 Virginia Williams (Credit Pics 1 and 2- SlipTalk. Credit #3 – PubGuys) Resource Box

Welcome Aboard by Jessie Newton, Tammy L. Grace, and six more – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

(Sail Away Series Book 1)

Book Blurb:

Set sail to new adventures and escapes with eight best-selling authors in the exciting new Sail Away series!

Pack your bags and get ready to set sail on a variety of cruise ships…all without leaving home! Experience the waves, the wind, and the call of the birds in the Sail Away series with a sneak peek of the Sail Away Series in this prologue novella. Each bestselling author will take you on a sea adventure filled with friendship, healing, some romance, and all the heartfelt storytelling you crave.

★ Don’t miss a Sail Away book! ★
Book 1: Welcome Aboard – prologue book
Book 2: The Sound of the Sea by Jessie Newton
Book 3: Uncharted Waters by Tammy L. Grace
Book 4: A Not So Distant Shore by Ev Bishop
Book 5: Caroline, Adrift by Kay Bratt
Book 6: Moonlight On the Lido Deck by Violet Howe
Book 7: The Winning Tickets by Judith Keim
Book 8: Lost At Sea by Patricia Sands
Book 9: The Last Port of Call by Elizabeth Bromke

My Review:

Yes, I thought I was finally getting in on the first book of a new series. Well, sorta, but not.

The Sail Away Series is actually made up of nine books by eight different authors and Book 1 provides the prologues to each of the books. While they are part of a series, a consistent theme, each is a stand-alone book that includes different characters, locations, and plots. The common thread, of course, is that each will result in a cruise.

Getting into the first prologue and realizing what the book consisted of, I was initially disappointed. Having read the first one, however, I was hooked, regained enthusiasm, and dove into the second prologue.

Having read the prologue though you want to continue with each and every book. They are all written by seasoned authors offering their own contemporary fiction stories with empathetic characters that quickly gains engagement.

Each story is different; the ladies are made up of different ages and circumstances. Some would prefer taking an enema rather than joining a cruise—absolutely NOT in their wheelhouse. Yet someone, or multiple love ones, see that they will go—whether or not kicking and screaming.

Some expect to find solace or peace, while others look forward to a new challenge or adventure. Something to reset their lives. The prologue provides the excitement and anticipation.

If you are feeling hesitant about signing up for nine different books, I’d urge you to take a good look at this one and then be prepared to set sail. Each of the backstories grip, set the stage, and provide the impetus for participating in the series. It’s going to be a delightful series to share on your lunch hour, on a vacation, or on your back porch enjoying the sun. It’s a fun, fast, and surprisingly entertaining Book 1. Then pack your bags.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from one of the authors that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Family Life Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Women’s Romance Fiction
ASIN: B09VJVBCCJ
Print Length: 126 pages
Publication Date: January 1, 2023
Source: Author contact

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Authors: Jessie Newton, Tammy L. Grace, Ev Bishop, Kay Bratt, Violet Howe, Judith Keim, Patricia Sands, Elizabeth Bromke

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay – #BookReview – #legalthrillers – #Bantam

Book Blurb:

One afternoon in November 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin comes home from school to find her house eerily quiet. Her mother is missing. Nothing else is out of place. There is no sign of struggle. Her mom’s pocketbook remains in the front hall, in its usual spot.

So begins a mystery that will span a lifetime. What happened to Jane Larkin?

Investigators suspect Jane’s husband. A criminal defense attorney, Dan Larkin would surely be an expert in outfoxing the police.

But no evidence is found linking him to a crime, and the case fades from the public’s memory, a simmering, unresolved riddle. Jane’s three children—Alex, Jeff, and Miranda—are left to be raised by the man who may have murdered their mother.

Two decades later, the remains of Jane Larkin are found. The investigation is awakened. The children, now grown, are forced to choose sides. With their father or against him? Guilty or innocent? And what happens if they are wrong?

A tale about family—family secrets and vengeance, but also family love—All That Is Mine I Carry With Me masterfully grapples with a primal question: When does loyalty reach its limit?

His Review:

Jane Larkin had been in love with Dan since high school. They had three lovely children with their youngest being Miranda in the seventh grade. The family did everything together with Dan being a very successful attorney. When Jane goes missing in November 1975, the family is frantic.

The police start an investigation into the disappearance and are unable to find anything regarding Jane’s whereabouts. The case lingers and the first suspect is Dan. There is no evidence to connect him with the crime but a dogged investigator, Mr. Glover, continues to investigate the whereabouts. Surely a loving mother like Jane Larkin would not simply leave and abandon her children.

This novel is very well structured and developed with a number of twists and turns. I developed a real empathy for the characters and their sudden loss of a very beloved mother. Would a devoted mother and wife suddenly decide that she can no longer stay with her husband and care for her family?

William Landay has written a very interesting novel about a family torn apart by the disappearance of the wife and mother and subsequent turmoil of ongoing suspicion. I found the novel disturbing and sad. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

[Note from V: When I listened to the audiobook Defending Jacob, I was blown away by the heart-pounding and gripping novel with that unbelievable twist at the end. Of course, the audiobook was narrated by one of my favorite authors, Grover Gardner. No question the author writes a chillingly hard domestic thriller.]

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, Psychological Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
ASIN: B0B3HZQD1Z
Print Length: 336 pages
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: William Landay‘s latest novel is the New York Times bestseller “Defending Jacob.” His previous novels are “Mission Flats,” which won the Dagger Award as best debut crime novel of 2003, and “The Strangler,” which was an L.A. Times favorite crime novel and was nominated for the Strand Magazine Critics Award as best crime novel of 2007.

Visit the author at http://www.williamlanday.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/williamlanday

First Line Friday

I’ve seen this numerous times and often thought I’d like to participate but honestly can’t find the origin though it was apparently hosted at one time by Wandering Words and then The Anatomy of a Bookworm. I noticed it most recently on Carrie’s Reading is My Super Power.

It was intended to be a weekly feature for book lovers governed by this intro:

What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page.
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first.
Finally… reveal the book!

Great! Because today I have a sweet read that will appeal to most YA readers, as well as Cozy Mystery, Christian Mystery and Suspense Romance, Mystery Romance, and Animal Fiction lovers. Notice that last one? Definitely hits one of my favorite genres!