Reviews 2017 – Page 8 – Rosepoint Publishing

Silver Cascade Secrets – a Book Review

Title: Silver Cascade Secrets by Rachelle J Christensen

Genre: Currently #1810 in Kindle Store, Kindle Short Reads, Two hours or more, Romance

Publisher: Peachwood Press

Publication Date: September 2015

Silver Cascade Secrets – Colorful cover

Yah gotta give it for short, given the (romantic suspense) novella itself was only about 60 pages of an 85-page offering.

There wasn’t a lot of suspense here, only a young woman on the rebound chasing a possible next up romance; kind of a girl gets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets him back again story.

Jillian Warren is the landscape technician of the Silver Cascade Park set in Boise, Idaho (and you have to admit that’s different for a protagonist). I did enjoy the description of the gardens, themes, and seasonal colors.

It doesn’t take long for Jillian to develop the hots for Travis when she meets him in her park and notices how nice he fills out a pair of jeans. He is looking for his keys after his sister picks up his niece and she’s glad to help.

Travis soon shares that his brother-in-law was murdered months ago and Jillian is off and running on the mystery that doesn’t take as long to solve as getting Travis to shoot doe eyes back at her.

The novella is really too short for plot development, and the protagonist, swift as she is, doesn’t garner a whole lot of interest, as she seems a bit vacuous. (I mean, come on, she is just getting over her last love and supposed to be heartbroken.) The ex does make a short appearance creating turmoil for Jillian (remember I said girl loses [current] boy?).

We are barely introduced to the antagonist or the peripheral characters, and you don’t have to worry about adult language or situations as these characters and dialogue are too juvenile for either.

Following the short story portion of the book are recipes(!), introductory chapter of a succeeding book and prologue of an additional full novel, which I found to be a bit over-the-top promotion. This story is apparently included in an older anthology, but falls a bit short to be a stand-alone novella and perhaps was the reason for the marketing offers.

I was offered a free download for an honest review, and while I thought the premise was unique, the plot and characters fall just a little short of cozy. Recommended for those looking for a light-hearted, fast, and easy read.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four of Five Stars

The Author: Rachelle is an award-winning author of twelve books, including a Kindle Scout Selection and a mystery series. She is the mother of five who writes a variety of fiction as well as nonfiction. She and her family reside on a little farm in rural Idaho. Rachelle is a graduate of Utah State University. ©2017 Virginia Williams

The Fifteenth of June – a Book Review

Title: The Fifteenth of June by Brent Jones

Genre: Currently #721 in Best Seller’s Rank for Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction, Literary Fiction, Sagas

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, LLC

Publication Date: February 2017

The Fifteenth of June – Eye-catching cover (The bench holds significance.)

What is it that makes us step outside our comfort zone to sample a graphic scene filled plot we wouldn’t usually consider? Perhaps it is the chance to be an anonymous, albeit disapproving voyeur in a train wreck.

Such is the case when I read emotionally charged The Fifteenth of June by Brent Jones. His protagonist, Drew Thomson, is a deeply flawed 28-year-old alcoholic who realizes after five years living with Heather that he really doesn’t love her. Drew moves from her apartment with no job, no digs of his own, and no prospects. His contacts are from previous employment where he was fairly successful but crushingly unhappy, and his antisocial behavior seems exacerbated by the lack of any sense of direction. There is no future. There is only the past and it was dark. Continue reading “The Fifteenth of June – a Book Review”

Traveller – Inceptio – a Book Review

Title: Traveller – Inceptio by Rob Shackleford

Publisher: BookBaby

Publication Date: February 2017

Traveller – Inceptio – The cover depicts a “pattern welded sword,” called a Saex, created by Owen Bush, Swordsmith of Kent, England

How long has it been since you were able to get into a really good book and find a long-term companion?

Traveller-Inceptio pulls you in from the first page as you realize this man, Michael, does not belong here–not really. But he is not your ordinary traveler, nor an ordinary man finding himself in extraordinary circumstances. After momentary disorientation, he becomes alert to his surroundings. He is intelligent and well trained–but where is he exactly?

The forest is pristine, almost magical, and ethereal even to the point where he might imagine fairy folk, playing quietly in the warming sun, until the wolf makes itself known. Continue reading “Traveller – Inceptio – a Book Review”

How Existentialism Almost Killed Me: Kierkegaard Was Right – a Book Review

Title: How Existentialism Almost Killed Me: Kierkegaard Was Right (The Max Brown Tetralogy) (Volume 4)

Publisher: Hough Publishing LLC

Publication Date: August 2016

How Existentialism Almost Killed Me: Kierkegaard Was Right–Trust Me–The Elephant Makes Sense

How well do we really know our “soul mates?” Apparently, not all that well as we find Max Brown continually surprised by his wife Sally in the deadly assignment that sends them into a succession of lethal confrontations. Continue reading “How Existentialism Almost Killed Me: Kierkegaard Was Right – a Book Review”

So Much Owed: An Irish World War 2 Story – Book Review

So Much Owed: An Irish World War 2 Story by Jean Grainger

Genre: Best Seller’s Rank #2 in Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, LLC

Publication Date: December 1, 2013

So Much Owed – Great Cover

Early protagonist Dr. Richard Buckley survives The Great War, but as with present day PTSD, not without scars–visible or not. He has seen far more than he ever wanted and it still tears him up.

His wife, Edith, bears twins James and Juliet, the latter of whom is spirited enough for both she and her much more reticent twin, James. Dr. Buckley is sickened at heart, but tries to take his place in his beloved Dunderrig, (West Cork) Ireland to serve as physician. He has brought with him the French bride, Solange Allingham, widow of his best friend, with whom they’d shared a pack to care for the other’s family in the event of the death of the other. Continue reading “So Much Owed: An Irish World War 2 Story – Book Review”

Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated-a Review

Title: Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated by Tom Starita

Genre: Currently rated Best Sellers Rank #5022 in Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction, Humor & Satire, General Humor

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, LLC

Publication Date: December 2016

Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated – I did not like the cover; cannot read the author’s name

Protagonist Lucas James is a middle child and an over-the-top narcissist. His whole world revolves around his becoming a major musical god. Truth be told, he’ll tell you up front, his music, his songs, his next gig will always be #1 on his mind, in his thoughts, and his only real drive in life. Continue reading “Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated-a Review”

Stone Song-A Novel of the Life of Crazy Horse – Review

Title: Stone Song by Win Blevins

Genre: Currently Best Seller’s Rank #34 in Kindle Store, Literature & Fiction, Native American

Publisher: WordWorx

Publication Date: December, 2016

Stone Song

Amazon introduction: “Nominee for the Pulitzer and winner of the Spur Award, ‘Stone Song’ is the classic, and extraordinarily told, story of the Lakota Sioux mystic warrior, Crazy Horse. Of all the iconic figures of Native American history, Crazy Horse remains the most enigmatic. To this day he strides across American history as a man who lived—and died—on his own terms.” This is the 20th Century anniversary edition of a book originally published in 1995.

You don’t have to own a horse to get on this one for a wild ride in history. While “Stone Song” by Win Blevins combined a lot of fact with the fiction, it is to Blevins credit that you’d swear he was personally there to share the story (some 553 pages long), intimately involved in an individual so deeply spiritual that it governed his entire life to a tragic end.

Continue reading “Stone Song-A Novel of the Life of Crazy Horse – Review”

Dear Willy, The Story of a Life Well Lived – Review

Dear Willy, The Story of a Life Well Lived

Genre: Currently #54032 in Best Sellers Rank for Books, Biographies & Memoirs, Historical

Publisher: Geheb

Publication Date: December, 2015

Submitted by author for review

Dear Willy-The Story of a Life Well Lived-Attractive cover conveys content

An example of a real labor of love is the book “Dear Willy, The True Story of a Life Well Lived” by Claire Ohlsson Geheb, the primary editor compiling the letters written by Willy Oswald Geheb to family back home and painstakingly translated from old German script to English. Continue reading “Dear Willy, The Story of a Life Well Lived – Review”