Code of Courage by Janice Cantore – #BookReview – Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance @tyndalepublish

Code of Courage by Janice Cantore

Book Blurb:

Detective Danni Grace has never met a police officer who wants to face a scenario where pulling the trigger on another person is the only option. When the worst does occur and there’s a police-involved shooting, it leads to riots and calls to disband the entire police force in La Rosa, Danni’s hometown.

After fifteen years on the force, Danni has had enough. Injured in the line of duty when a protester throws a chunk of concrete at her and shaken by the vitriol being shown to the police, Danni realizes for the first time that she’s lost her passion for the job.

While she’s on a leave of absence, though, a community activist in La Rosa is shot and a fellow officer is blamed for his murder. Taking on this case means stepping back into a job Danni’s not sure she can do anymore . . . and working closely with her ex-husband, Gabriel Fox, an investigator for the city prosecutor’s office. Danni will need to tap into her code of courage to uncover the truth, prevent another injustice, and uphold her oath to serve and protect.

His Review:

Danni is on leave after being wounded in the line of duty. She had followed her father into a career in law enforcement but working in law enforcement now was entirely different from the police department he had known.

Jareb Moore is the wayward son of the police commissioner. His mom, the chief of police, was his get-out-of-jail-free card. He knew that his crimes would be swept under the rug. His grandfather, the former chief of police, would not let any charges stick on him either. His mother seemed determined to dismantle the police department and have the county sheriff’s department handle all cases in the area.

Any officer who showed independence of spirit was summarily dismissed or put on desk duty handling old cases. Meanwhile, well-organized gangs control areas called “autonomous areas” which the police were not allowed to enter. Basically, the area and its’ citizens were paying fees to the gangs to protect their homes and businesses.

Gabe, Danni’s ex, is an investigator in a totally different division of the police department. The town is subject to frontier justice with the gangs and guns instigating disturbances. The police are threatened at gunpoint for trying to investigate crimes including murder.

The controlling element rules with an iron hand. Threats are made, houses burned and people killed to maintain the status quo. Danni and her former husband Gabe are working together to solve various crimes. They receive edicts from the powers that be to back off the investigation and not to enter the areas where the crimes have been committed.

Janice Cantore has been a police officer and understands the politics of crime and the people who are charged with finding the perpetrators. City hall says, “back off” and they are assigned to desk duty or simply put on suspension. I developed a real sympathy for law enforcement and the hurdles they must overcome to do their job, investigate crimes, and prosecute criminals. Enjoy the adventure. 4 stars – CE Williams

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
ISBN-10: ‎ 1496457560
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1496457561
ASIN: B09JT6LFP5
Print Length: 432 pages
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Code of Courage [Amazon]

The Author: A former Long Beach, California, police officer of twenty-two years, Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, including patrol, administration, juvenile investigations, and training. She’s always enjoyed writing and published two short articles on faith at work for Cop and Christ and Today’s Christian Woman before tackling novels. She now lives in a small town in southern Oregon, where she enjoys exploring the forests, rivers, and lakes with her Labrador retrievers, Abbie and Tilly.

Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep readers engrossed and leave them inspired. Crisis Shot is the first title in her latest series. Janice also authored the Cold Case Justice series—Drawing Fire, Burning Proof, and Catching Heat—the Pacific Coast Justice series—Accused, Abducted, and Avenged—and the Brinna Caruso novels, Critical Pursuit and Visible Threat.

Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecantore.com and connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JaniceCantore.

Have a nice weekend!

Netflix Series The Lincoln Lawyer vs #Audiobook #TheLincolnLawyer by Michael Connelly – #legalthriller

TV Netflix Series The Lincoln Lawyer vs Audiobook by Michael Connelly

Intro

So, have you been thoroughly saturated with The Lincoln Lawyer yet? First, we had the book written by Michael Connelly (2005), then the movie starring Michael McConaughey (March 2011), and now the Netflix series starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. No? There’s a reason for that (besides the male stars of either screen version)—it’s good. Escapist entertainment, satisfying, realistic well-drawn characters. (But I have to be honest with you—I didn’t see the movie version.)

Netflix Series

“Idealistic lawyer Mickey Haller runs his practise out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car, taking on cases big and small across Los Angeles.”

Season 1 is actually based on Connelly’s second novel, Brass Verdict, as conceived by David E Kelly and developed by Ted Humphrey. Haller is a defense attorney whose practice and marriage to prosecutor Maggie McPherson (McPherce) were curtailed by his painkiller addiction. Now clean and ready to resume his legal profession, he inherits a colleague’s caseload. The caseload includes one new and a couple of ongoing cases that are pulled to the fore with a team necessarily involved in extensive investigation.

Neve Campbell - actress — Neve Campbell – Courtesy http://www.imdb.com

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo - actor — Manuel Garcia-Rulfo – courtesy http://www.imdb.com

The part of Mickey Haller is handled well by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (although I’m not sure if I missed an explanation for his accent or not),

Neve Campbell as Maggie McPherson,

Becki Newton - actress — Becki Newton – courtesy http://www.imdb.com

Becki Newton as ex-wife number 2 Lorna Crain, Jazz Raycole as Haller’s driver Izzy Letts, and Christopher Gorham as Trevor Elliott as well as a number of other prominent parts, including Angus Sampson as Cisco.

Christopher Gorman - actor — Christopher Gorman – courtesy http://www.imdb.com

Christopher Gorham as Trevor Elliott plays his despicable part to Emmy level and for the most part, the cast works well. LA always sparks an iconic atmospheric setting and who doesn’t love those ginormous old Lincolns? The series sets an early hook and keeps the viewer gripped with a tantalizing and complex plot, full of suspense, ending each episode with a cliff-hanger into the next. It’s well done.

My Thoughts

I could see Netflix following the book, making expected changes for a series often predicting the scene and plot line of the book but not necessarily the timeline. There were subtle differences but not so radical as encountered with a few of the previous books to small screen conversions lately. I suspect Connelly had a strong hand in keeping the series version authentically Connelly. In any case, the series is engaging and entertaining using wildly divergent characters to glue together a gripping thriller.

4 stars

Audiobook (Blurb)

INSPIRATION FOR THE ORIGINAL SERIES THE LINCOLN LAWYER – THE #1 TV SHOW ON NETFLIX

The bestselling legal thriller has charismatic defense attorney Mickey Haller taking on a slam-dunk court case involving a Beverly Hills playboy — but as it spirals into a nightmare, he finds himself in a fight for his life. Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers — they’re all on Mickey Haller’s client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it’s about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it’s even about justice. A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney’s dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal — this time to save his own life.

My Thoughts

Mickey Haller is handed a “franchise” case in the form of an entitled, rich playboy who is very used to calling the shots. Haller, however, working out of the back of his Lincoln isn’t exactly flush himself and could use the revenue. On the surface, it didn’t look like it would be a tough negotiation.

Haller isn’t new to the game. He’s defended and accumulated a client list of a variety of defendants from bikers and con artists to drug dealers. Louis Ross Roulet is the spoiled child of a wealthy mother who will do anything to keep her son out of jail. He is accused of beating up a woman he met in a bar when they went back to her room. He vehemently denies hitting her and further asserts she set him up. What could go wrong?

Well, I have to say I liked the character of Haller, even with having two failed marriages and his ex-wives still in the picture, no less, along with a small daughter. He is charismatic, there’s a heart of gold beating in there somewhere, and it shows in the clients he’s successfully defended and willing to perform some pay-back work.

Haller is complex; obviously, he has his failings, his flaws. He brings intelligence, wit, and energy to the story. He’s been around long enough to know the score and quickly begins to smell a rat. Something about Roulet isn’t ringing true. And if nothing else, he won’t allow himself to be manipulated beyond his moral compass. I love the way he deals with his antagonist.

4.5 stars

The Author

Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of over thirty novels and one work of nonfiction. With over eighty million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty-five foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent New York Times bestsellers include The Law Of Innocence, Fair Warning, The Night Fire, Dark Sacred Night, Two Kinds Of Truth, and The Late Show. Michael is the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver and streaming on Amazon Prime. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, “Sound Of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story’ and ‘Tales Of the American.’ He spends his time in California and Florida.

Overall Impression

The Netflix Series

WOW! I have to hand it to the Netflix version. While it doesn’t follow Book 1 to conclusion (after all, it’s a series), it does include all the important plot points, charismatic characters, and atmospheric LA locations and scenes. The character of Haller’s first ex doesn’t fit for me—feeling she appears older, not just in terms of maturity, but age as well, looking a good ten years older to his youthful good looks. Doesn’t work for me as well as ex number 2, although I can understand why that marriage didn’t work either. It appears that Haller could be a player, but he’s a great deal more dedicated to his profession than to his women. And he’s very, very good at his profession.

The Audiobook

I’ve become a solid fan of the Connelly style of writing a legal thriller; the mystery, the suspense, the characters all well-drawn and engaging. The fast-paced plot never sags and he brings a satisfying conclusion to the narrative, if just a tad beyond plausibility.

Book Details

Genre: Legal Thrillers, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Hachette Audio
ASIN: B000BND03U
Listening Length: 11 hrs 36 mins
Narrator: Adam Grupper
Audible Release: September 27, 2005
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Lincoln Lawyer [Amazon]

Conclusion

Netflix has done an admiral job of bringing to the small screen an authentic feel of the original work by the author. With just a couple casting wobbles, it engages and entertains solidly throughout the episodes with an equal level of suspense leading the viewer to continue the series and looking forward to Season 2 (and surely there will be a second).

The book, in my case audiobook, narrated capably by Adam Grupper hooks from the beginning and becomes suspenseful, gripping, and thrilling. I enjoy legal thrillers anyway, and this checks all the boxes for me that include a seriously complex plot that doesn’t sag.

Happy either way—one or both—entertaining and looking for more. Have you read the book? Listened to the audiobook? Saw the movie? Viewed the series? What did you think? Haller or Connelly fan? I’d love your comments!

#throwbackthursday

The Wylder Ghost and Blossom Cherry (The Wylder West) by Sharon Shipley – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

The Wylder Ghost and Blossom Cherry by Sharon Shipley

Book Blurb:

Ghostly gunslinger Zachariah is condemned to spend eternity in the room now inhabited by Blossom Cherry, an easygoing yet hot-blooded doxie. Their scrappy relationship endures though he taunts and aggravates her. He also exacts fitting vengeance on those clients who dare, to their eternal regret, mistreat his feisty roommate.
The attraction between the young prostitute and the outlaw intensifies to undeniable, unquenchable, unearthly desire until Zak becomes a passionate spectral lover. But Blossom’s uneasy past catches up with her by way of a Wanted poster and a bulldog Pinkerton agent.
Zach urges her to dig up his ill-gotten hoard and flee an unjust hanging, yet she won’t leave him to wander the room—or eternity—alone.

My Review:

And now for a completely off-the-wall diversion from my normal reads, and I’ll tell you upfront; this is different.

Yes, it’s a ghost story, but it does go a bit beyond that. This is one that you’ll need to just let your imagination soar, enjoy, go with it. Oh come on…have some fun.

Blossom Cherry has discovered her room isn’t completely uninhabited even when she isn’t entertaining one of her “evening clients.” Zachariah seems to have her room 24/7 whether she is alone or not. Blossom had arrived in Wylder, Wyoming in 1884 a scrappy girl, hungry and dirty, but already promising with attractive red-gold hair and green eyes, a mere scrap of a girl and looking into town saw the sign—Longhorn Saloon. Six years later she is a staple above the saloon and a favorite of the clientele of Madame Solange.

“Blushing all the way up from their big feet they’ve yet to grow into, up past sweet-pink-fanny cheeks, reddening their upright soldiers, and all the way up to scrubbed freckled noses.”

Zachariah may be a ghost, however, he is becoming a downright nuisance. He baits her, aggravates her, but there is no denying the attraction as it continues to grow with each manifestation. Zachariah was an outlaw just out having some fun when it was cut short. And this is where he’ll be—forever. Or maybe not…

I enjoyed the author’s style of writing, harking back to olde tyme words, slang, western flair.

“…didn’t have to spend a spit in the wind’s worth of jail time…”

The support characters are well-drawn and easy to see in their 1880s style dress (or undress as the case may be). But Zach isn’t the only one with a past and it’s about to catch up with Blossom.

So maybe the well-plotted and fun-paced storyline gets a little fanciful, slightly raunchy. It’s a ghost story. A treasure story. It’s already pushed reality. The epilogue sews it all up nice and neat. A break from the horror headlines we seem to confront almost daily now. A nice break, actually.

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: Ghost Fiction, Western Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press Inc
ASIN: B09QSXDZ77
Print Length: 232 pages
Publication Date: April 18, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: I hale from a small town in Southern Indiana. As a former fashion illustrator, I use the same creative passion for writing both frightening and thrilling, with few tools beyond a blood-spattered laptop, feverish brain and a doorstop thesaurus.

The bonus? Fascinating research venturing far from my office chair: Big Bear California gold country, Africa’s hostile Great Karroo Desert, torrid Northern India, Bengali, the setting for Sary and the Maharajah’s Emeralds, Michigan’s harsh, unforgiving Upper Peninsula for ICY GRAVES, a small southern town for my Coming of Age/Thriller… ‘THE MONSTER FACTORY’…

New Books:

ICY GRAVES: A Serial Killer. An ice-bound lake house. Amazon eBook and print.

My children’s book:’DANFORTH THE DRAGON’ Amazon ebook and print.

‘THE MONSTER FACTORY’: Adult Coming Of Age Horror. https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Factory-Sharon-Shipley

BEAST IN THE MOON. An erotic Apocalyptic Sci-Fi. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Moon-Sharon-Shipley

‘SARY AND THE MAHARAJAH’S EMERALDS’, joins ‘SARY’S GOLD’ and ‘SARY’S DIAMONDS ‘as a third adventure in my ‘Love, Lust and Peril Series. All on Amazon and http://www.thewildrosepress.com.

I’m also super excited Sary’s Gold is SHORTLISTED in the Western/Civil War/Prairie division of the Chanticleer International Book Review Contest, also capturing Grand Prize as feature script… where a young widow survives a brutal Deadwood-esque outpost, during the California Gold Rush. Published by http://www.thewildrosepress.com and Amazon.

SARY’S DIAMONDS, a lusty African adventure joins SARY’S F Diamonds. http://www.thewildrosepress.com and Amazon.

SARY and THE MAHARAJAH’S EMERALDS. 1910 torrid India, maharajah’s harems, passion and jewels beyond measure. Love my awesome cover by the very talented artist, Diana Carlisle.

[truncated—please check her author’s page for a complete listing of her works]

#TuesdayBookBlog

The Last Saxon King: A Jump in Time Novel (Book 1) by Andrew Varga – #BookReview – #historicalfiction

The Last Saxon King by Andrew Varga

Book Blurb:

Life is progressing normally for sixteen-year-old Dan Renfrew when he accidentally transports himself to England in the year 1066. He soon realizes that he’s trapped there, and that’s not his only astonishing discovery. Dan learns that he’s descended from a long line of time jumpers—secret heroes who travel to the past and resolve glitches in the time stream that threaten to alter subsequent history. The only way Dan can return home is to set history back on its proper course in the Anglo-Saxon age. This is no easy task. A Viking horde is ravaging England in the north while a Norman army threatens to invade from the south. In between and desperately struggling to hold on to his throne is Harold Godwinson, the newly-crowned English king. Dan is fighting to ensure that events play out correctly when he finds himself plunged into an even more lethal conflict. To save history, Dan must battle a band of malevolent time jumpers whose lust for wealth and power threatens the entire future of the world.

His Review:

Daniel’s father is being attacked by an assassin in their living room. A six-inch rod with a forgotten set of symbols is thrown to him by his father. He is given a phrase to say and is thrust back into the time of the Battle of Hastings. His adventure begins with Sunngifu who first meets him, telling him how inept and uneducated he is. His day goes down from there!

The rod seems to be a translation device and having it placed next to his skin allows him to talk to the people in the village. At 16 years of age, Dan is expected to join the local authority and fight for the kingdom. He has fallen into a time of great conflict. There is no choice; when the king or lord commands you, you must join and fight.

The class system is well described in this narrative as are the problems Daniel faces. The leaders in this part of the world are either royalty or the most-wealthy individuals. Peasants are required to fight for the royal and will be killed gruesomely if they do not comply but Daniel manages to become a companion to Edward and the future king of England.

The description of society as well as the interactions with the various characters describe a very colorful existence. Conscripted into the service of the overlord being mandatory, the conscripts must supply their own weapons. A farmer is not given a weapon but rather brings a pitchfork or hoe or some other farm implement.

Additional weapons are prizes of battle such as swords, lances, and poleaxes. A running count of the casualties inflicted on the other side is bragged about by the victors.

This author has developed a very fine example of life in the middle-ages and the dangers faced. Modern man is not equipped for these dangers. Can Daniel save himself long enough to return to his own time? Or, does he want to? 4 stars – CE Williams

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Fiction, #timetravel, YA Fiction
Publisher: Imbrifex Books
ISBN-10: ‎ 1945501820
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1945501821
ASIN: B0B1CBGDRV
Print Length: 316 pages
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Last Saxon King [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble

Andrew Varga - author — Andrew Varga – author

The Author: I am a YA historical fiction author who takes great pains to ensure historical accuracy in my books, while still ensuring that I tell a great story. Although I enjoy reading and writing about all history, I have a particular fondness for European history from Greco-Roman times until the crusades.

I hope you enjoy my stories.

Have a great Sunday!

Tom Clancy Zero Hour (A Jack Ryan Jr Novel Book 9 by Don Bentley – #BookReview – #warfiction

Tom Clancy Zero Hour by Don Bentley

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

in Military Thrillers

Book Blurb:

Jack Ryan, Jr. is the one man who can prevent a second Korean War in the latest thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

When the leader of North Korea is catastrophically injured, his incapacitation inadvertently triggers a “dead-man’s switch,” activating an army of sleeper agents in South Korea and precipitating a struggle for succession.

Jack Ryan, Jr. is in Seoul to interview a potential addition to the Campus. But his benign trip takes a deadly turn when a wave of violence perpetrated by North Korean operatives grips South Korea’s capital. A mysterious voice from North Korea offers Jack a way to stop the peninsula’s rush to war, but her price may be more than he can afford to pay.

His Review:

North Korea has a cadre of renegade operatives working to overthrow the South Korean regime. Explosions are felt in Seoul as large crowds begin to crowd the capital. Escape is very difficult with the people frantically searching for places of safety. Meanwhile, the North Korean insurgents continue to plant many more bombs.

The ”Supreme Leader” has been missing for a number of days and the suspicion of a successful coup is rampant. The renegades are intent on initiating a war between the South and American advisors. They gather a detachment of soldiers intent on exacerbating the chaos.

A leading medical advisor to the “Supreme Leader” has him placed in a safe bunker near the border between the North and the South. The bunker is also a top-secret research facility for developing a new and very deadly chemical weapon to destroy the South Korean army and thousands of its’ people.

Jack Ryan Jr. joins up with a group of U.S. Navy Seals to attempt to thwart the potential of WW III. The Seals and Jack have a healthy disdainful respect for each other. Jack believes the Seals are effective but not very eloquent in the execution of plans. The give and take between the two is humorous. Can the plans of the radicals in the North Korean military succeed in starting WWIII?

Don Bentley writes a very convincing saga of cold war tensions and events. The Supreme Leader is only incapacitated for a week which appears long enough to start WWIII. The insurgents hope to eliminate the leader of North Korea and put themselves in power.

There is not a dull moment in this novel, it’s fast-paced and filled with action. The protagonist is self-confident, independent, and efficient. The narrative is gripping and the conclusion satisfying. 5 stars – CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced the CE’s review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Military Thrillers, War Fiction, Historical Thrillers
Publisher: G P Putnam’s Sons
ASIN: B09FNW2FV4
Print Length: 492 pages
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Tom Clancy Zero Hour [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Don Bentley is the NYT bestselling author of the HOSTILE INTENT and Tom Clancy ZERO HOUR. Don is a former FBI Special Agent, SWAT Team member, and Army Apache helicopter pilot. Learn more at http://www.donbentleybooks.com

Have a great weekend!

Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir by Jennifer McGaha – #Audiobook Review – #TBT

Book Blurb:

When life gets your goat, bring in the herd

Jennifer McGaha never expected to own a goat named Merle. Or to be setting Merle up on dates and naming his doeling Merlene. She didn’t expect to be buying organic yogurt for her chickens. She never thought she would be pulling camouflage carpet off her ceiling or rescuing opossums from her barn and calling it “date night.” Most importantly, Jennifer never thought she would only have $4.57 in her bank account.

When Jennifer discovered that she and her husband owed back taxes—a lot of back taxes—her world changed. Now desperate to save money, they foreclosed on their beloved suburban home and moved their family to a one-hundred-year-old cabin in a North Carolina holler. Soon enough, Jennifer’s life began to more closely resemble her Appalachian ancestors than her upper-middle-class upbringing. But what started as a last-ditch effort to settle debts became a journey that revealed both the joys and challenges of living close to the land.

Told with bold wit, unflinching honesty, and a firm foot in the traditions of Appalachia, Flat Broke with Two Goats blends stories of homesteading with the journey of two people rediscovering the true meaning of home.

My Review:

OMG, so many reviewers disliked this memoir! And I must admit I had to agree with most of the arguments presented. I can’t even imagine not knowing you haven’t filed with the IRS in years. Robbing Peter to pay Paul until Peter drops a foreclosure on you.

From living well above your means and having your children in private schools to eating gourmet and drinking expensive craft beers. You can’t tell me there wasn’t a hint.

Well educated, this couple made every stupid financial decision you could make. And he was an accountant? Thinking he was handling the finances, she works part-time and plays homemaker, rearing the children, and caring for multiple animals.

Sounds nice—few women get to do that (or even want to) anymore. She tends to blame him for all their financial woes—but how did she miss all the dun letters or calls? Creditors can drive you crazy.

When they make the decision to let foreclosure happen as well as default on the second with their close friends, they flee to the Appalachians to live in an abandoned cabin in a North Carolina holler.

I’ve lived in tar paper shacks—they can be populated (depending on where you live) by spiders (especially black widows), snakes, and every manner of bug or mammal that can find a hole from the size of a pin to a dime. And their old cabin is no better. It takes a while, doing what little they can with what they saved by not paying their last several mortgage payments. UGH! I see a lot of beans in their future.

Gradually, however, she begins to think about chickens. She could raise them, gather and/or sell eggs. Then goats. GOATS! Not an animal I would have considered—remembering how well they perform head butts. And BTW, chickens do have personalities.

Here is what I don’t understand, however; where did they get the money to be buying chickens and build their coop, much less the appropriate provisions and feed for goats? For that matter, chicken feed isn’t cheap and chickens can waste almost as much as they eat. Descriptions of breeding the goats were penned in detail and don’t get me started on the vet bills.

You have to say that listening to this audiobook is like listening to an impending train wreck. They learn the hard way, not having had experience with animals other than canines, and make some big mistakes along the way. There are regrets, embarrassment, shame, loss, recriminations, and a lot of soul-searching. Plus, you gotta love the title.

Sometimes the decisions become outrageous. It’s easy to castigate others’ actions, particularly when so many people have experienced extreme financial conditions and similar hardships and found a way to work through them honorably. Still, the narration is excellent and the author’s wit and sense of humor shine through. As maddening as it can be, it’s also engaging, entertaining, at times enlightening. For one thing, I’ll never try to breed a goat.

The conclusion comes rather abruptly; guess there was nowhere else to go, but pretty much sums up the journey to living happily off the land.

I received a complimentary review copy of this audiobook from my local lovely library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Agricultural & Food Sciences, Biographies of Women, Agricultural Science
Publisher: Tantor Audio
ASIN: B078WZVJSF
Listening Length: 9 hrs 19 mins
Narrator: Pam Ward
Publication Date: January 23, 2018
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Flat Broke with Two Goats [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four stars

The Author: A native of Appalachia, Jennifer McGaha lives with her husband, five dogs, twenty-three chickens, and one high-maintenance cat in a tin-roofed cabin bordering the Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina. Her creative nonfiction work has appeared in Brooklyner, Toad Suck Review, Switchback, Still, Portland Review, Little Patuxent Review, Lumina, Literary Mama, Mason’s Road, Now and Then, and others. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, running, mountain biking, sampling local beers, and playing with dogs.

#throwbackthursday

The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey by Patricia Black-Gould – #BookReview

The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey by Patricia Black-Gould

Book Blurb:

A Star of David or a rosary? Lalka, a young girl, must reject one and accept the other without understanding why. Her mother makes a heartbreaking sacrifice to keep her daughter safe.

Poland, 1939. It’s no longer safe for the Jews. Lalka’s mother makes the excruciating choice to teach her the ways of Catholicism and send her to a convent for safekeeping. Little Lalka doesn’t understand why her mother would give her Crystal beads (a rosary) in exchange for her prize possession, her Star of David, a special gift from her father, or why she’s learning new songs and prayers. Lalka and her mother journey to a Convent, where the brave nuns take her under their wing and continue her Catholic education. When the Nazis come looking, will the training be enough? When forced with a difficult decision, will Lalka follow her heart or follow her mother’s directions? And will it be enough to save her life?

A beautiful story of sacrifice and bravery, The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey, highlights a piece of the Holocaust – the hidden children – told from the innocent perspective of a child. Readers also come to understand how people can come together, despite differences, when it really matters.

My Review:

Such a compassionate and realistic view of one of the ways in which a mother discovers how to keep her daughter safe in a treacherous and deadly time in 1939 Poland.

Lalka’s mother makes the choice to teach her seven-year-old daughter about Catholicism. It is not an easy choice to make. Before Lalka’s father died and left the two of them, he gave his daughter a Star of David—something she wore all the time—her treasure, his last gift to her.

Her mother, however, begins gently by playing a “game” with her daughter in which she exchanges the Star of David with a new necklace—that of crystal beads, a rosary. She then builds on that with prayers and songs, preparing her for the journey to a convent where the nuns will care for her and continue her education.

Lalka is left at the convent in a heartbreaking goodbye. Her mother promised to visit; and does for a while. When Sister Teresa calls Lalka to the office, Lalka is sure her mother is back but is greeted by two men who believe Lalka is a Jew. Lalka follows the instructions her mother gave her and is saved from being taken away.

The story is written for children between the ages of 5-12 years. It is beautifully illustrated with soft pastel colors and drawings that help a child to see and understand the circumstances and the wisdom given Lalka to survive. It’s a short and touching story of the Holocaust—a teachable moment—and unfortunately one that must continue.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Beautifully written and illustrated. Currently on pre-order. Recommended.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Children’s Holocaust Fiction Books, Children’s Jewish Fiction, Children’s Judaism Books
Publisher: Purple Butterfly Press
ISBN-10: ‎ 1955119201
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1955119207
ASIN: B09Z6SY3T9
Illustrator: Katya Royz
Print Length: 40 pages
Publication Date: June 14, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Pat Black-Gould, PhD , is a clinical psychologist, author, and playwright. Her short stories have appeared in several literary journals and anthologies.

Many years ago, Pat heard a powerful story that haunted her until she committed it to paper. The Crystal Beads was first published in Jewish Fiction. net in 2020. The short story then won first-place honors in two writing competitions conducted by the National League of American Pen Women, Inc., Washington, D.C. The first was an award by the Pen Women Florida State Association. Pat then received the Flannery O’Connor Short Story Award as part of the National Biennial Letters Competition.

Pat felt it was important to bring the story to a younger audience. At that point, she rewrote it as a children’s book. She hopes that The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey will do justice to the story she once heard and carry its message to younger generations.

Pat’s writing explores topics such as compassion, tolerance, and diversity. She continues to examine these themes in her upcoming novel, Limbo of the Moon, written with her co-writer, Steve Hardiman.

In addition, Pat (under the name of Patricia Black) has published a book chapter and journal articles on Deafness and Mental Heath with co-author, Neal Glickman, PhD.

Rosepoint Publishing

The Doctor’s Daughter by Shari J Ryan – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

The Doctor’s Daughter by Shari J Ryan

Book Blurb:

Auschwitz, 1941: It was her father’s job to save the lives of the SS. But she chose to risk everything and save the lives of prisoners.

In Nazi-occupied Poland, Sofia cannot look her father in the eye. Sofia’s mother, her papa’s cherished wife, is Jewish—how dare he work as a doctor for the SS? She cannot forgive him, even if the bargain was made to spare their lives.

In the middle of the night, Isaac emerges from a packed train with hundreds of others. Beneath Auschwitz’s barbed wire, soldiers surround them, and gunshots pierce the dark sky. The SS decide prisoners’ fates on the spot—and Isaac is chosen to work, rather than to die.

Every day, Isaac and his fellow inmates are sent to a nearby farm. From sunup to sundown, they toil the land with barely a scrap to eat. Every breath feels like it could be Isaac’s last, so when he sees a beautiful auburn-haired girl peering out of the farmhouse window, it feels like a dream…

Sofia refuses to accept what she is seeing. Disobeying her father and evading the guards, she risks her life to sneak a letter to the green-eyed boy outside. She explains that she has hidden them food, and that she’ll do everything in her power to save them.

This secret exchange sparks an escape that should have been impossible—and a love story that is unforgettable. But is love enough in the face of evil? And when Sofia and Isaac are concealed underground, holding their breath as the Nazis hunt them, will they survive?

My Review:

Does a doctor in Poland living under the Nazi occupation really have an option if he’s expected to save the lives of the SS? During the darkest part of the war, life for the Jewish is extremely tenuous. The doctor is not Jewish, but his wife and daughter are and he makes a pact with the devil in exchange for the lives of his family.

Sofia, a teen is devastated and feels betrayal for her neighbors in her father’s efforts for the Germans. She has witnessed the prisoners from Auschwitz as they are brought in to work the land for the Germans.

“…watching us is their favorite form of entertainment—the SS officers…”

Sofia and her mother have been insulated by the favor of her father, living on their family’s farm established generations before. But rules and laws begin to turn ugly.

There is the POV of Sophia, Isaac, and Olivia, each as they strive to survive the horror they face daily, the ravishes of hunger, disease, faith.

For Isaac, he believes “every single day feels like ten, but without a future to look forward to.”

Isaac and his sister Olivia have lost both parents and live like sewer rats until they dare to venture out. When they are taken prisoner, Olivia is sent in one direction, Isaac another as a slave laborer on the farm owned by Sophia’s family and it is there they meet and conspire to find a way to better conditions.

The characters are well-formed under the author’s pen and tear at your heart, the atmosphere so dark and foreboding, so frightening. You can see the barbed wire, the soldiers with their guns, smell the decay, the death. It’s an extremely emotional read, the tears are there, the reality of much that happened. It’s almost impossible to fathom, impossible to forget. For these teens, a life borne of cruelty. Sophia noted,

“The war has been ongoing for more than a third of my life, and I can’t remember being free. I can’t recall if I was old enough to understand the perception of peace before it went away.”

The conclusion is a quiet reflection of those who fought, steadfastly refused to quit, sought hope when it seemed forever out of reach. A difficult read but recommended.

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 point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: War Fiction, Literary Sagas, Historical Literary Fiction
Publisher: Bookouture
ASIN: B09RK9ZWKR
Print Length: 345 pages
Publication Date: April 28, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Shari J. Ryan is a USA Today Bestselling Author of Women’s Fiction, WWII Fiction, and 20th Century Historical Fiction with a focus on the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor.

Shortly after graduation from Johnson & Wales with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Shari began her career as a graphic artist and freelance writer. She then found her passion for writing books in 2012 after her second son was born. Shari has been slaying words ever since.

With two Rone Awards and over 125k books sold, Shari has hit the USA Today Bestseller List, the Amazon’s Top 100, Barnes & Noble’s Top Ten, and iBooks at number one. Some of Shari’s bestselling books include Last Words, The Other Blue Sky, Unspoken Words and A Heart of Time.

Shari, a lifelong Boston girl, is happily married to her personal hero and US Marine and have two wonderful little boys. For more details about her books, visit: http://www.sharijryan.com