Tagged: masq1
Short Story: That Lonely, Sinking Feeling by Gabriella West
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
San Francisco, mid-1990s. In this poignant and honest short personal memoir, Gabriella West goes back to her twenties to explore a confusing friendship with a married couple that started promisingly, but became a painful and obsessive love. Readers who have found themselves in destructive and addictive relationships will find this compelling reading.
[Full disclosure: Gabriella West sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
I’ve read some memoirs, but never any short memoirs. After reading That Lonely, Sinking Feeling, I think I may be warming up to short memoirs. This was not something I’d normally read, but I’m glad I did in all honesty.
Gabriella West writes in a completely open, honest and introspective fashion. She chronicles how her feelings for a married man became an obsessive and addictive love, partly because he was one of the first people that treated her well in her adult life. Now, that’s greatly oversimplifying things, so if you want the full story you should read her memoir. Throughout the 12 pages you really get the feeling that she’s thought about her downward spiral a lot. That helps make this short memoir not only interesting, but adds some perspective to it.
If you’ve ever longed for an unobtainable someone, you’ll be able to identify with That Lonely, Sinking Feeling. Gabriella West’s way of explaining the feelings in those kinds of ‘relationships’ is perfect; I couldn’t have said it better myself. This should be required reading for pretty much everyone, especially those pining about unrequited love. The only people I would not recommend this memoir to are those uncomfortable with frank discussions about LGBT relationships. It’s not the main focus of the memoir, but I’m aware there are strong feelings about a topic like that, so you’ve been warned.
I give this memoir 5/5 stars.
*Only available as a Kindle ebook.
The Road to Justice by David Carner
(Cover picture courtesy of GoodKindles.)
At some point in everyone’s life you experience hardships. John Fowler went from the highest of highs; great career in the FBI, beautiful wife, and a wonderful marriage, to the lowest of lows; alcoholism, his apartment exploding in front of him while his wife was inside, and leaving the FBI.
The Road to Justice – A John Fowler Novel, is the tale of a man’s redemption. This is the story of a man trying to rebuild his life after the loss of his wife, the attempt to rebuild his career, and the attempt to rebuild relationships with those he hasn’t spoken to since his wife’s funeral. I hope you’ll join me in his journey.
John Fowler was one of the top FBI agents until a year undercover in the mob turned him into an alcoholic and may have led to the brutal death of his wife. His old team needs his help and has brought him in for what they think is a two week old case. The case is actually over 25 years old and involves some of the most powerful people in the world.
John Fowler has returned to the FBI after a three year layoff at the request of his team to try and solve a murder that they are having little to no success with. John has been given the promise if he agrees to help; he will be given the case file to his wife’s murder and be allowed to work on it. The Road to Justice – A John Fowler Novel is the story of a man trying to rebuild his life after the loss of his wife, the attempt to rebuild his career, and the attempt to rebuild relationships with those he hasn’t spoken to since his wife’s funeral.
[Full disclosure: David Carner sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
I’m not the sort of person that reads a lot of detective/thriller fiction, but I know many of the tropes and clichés from movies of the same genre. And let me tell you, David Carner uses very few of them in The Road to Justice, which really surprised me.
Okay, so you have an ex-FBI agent who quit after his wife died because of one of his investigations. At the beginning of the novel he’s forced by circumstance back into his old job and ends up deciding that maybe he should move on with his life. That sounds like a pretty standard formula in detective fiction. However, David Carner’s twist on this old trope is great. John Fowler actually has some depth and there’s believable explanations for his decisions, so they feel natural and not contrived at all. It feels like the characters, not the magical hand of the author, are pushing the story forward.
John Fowler’s a pretty good character, but the main appeal for me in The Road to Justice was the plot. It was everything an action/thriller novel should be: unpredictable and fast. Yes, you seem to have the old conspiracy reaching the highest levels of government trope, but again David Carner puts an unique spin on things. I couldn’t predict a lot of the plot twists and the fast pace of the novel kept me glued to my computer screen for hours.
Despite my love of the characters and plot I definitely have a bone to pick with the dialogue. THERE ARE TOO MANY CAPITALS AND EXAMPLES OF MULTIPLE PUNCTUATION!!!!!! I’m all for using capitals/italics/multiple punctuation for effect, but such tools become dull with overuse. And in an otherwise great book, David Carner has relied on these tools far too much. It gets pretty frustrating after a couple chapters or so, actually. The overall quality of writing was excellent, but the dialogue felt pretty stiff as well and there were some examples of you’re vs. your. Such things could easily be fixed by having an editor look over it.
Although the dialogue needs work, I’m actually looking forward to reading more books in the John Fowler series because David Carner is one of those writers that will only improve with time and practice.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Other Side of Forever by Shannon Eckrich
(Cover picture courtesy of Avery Olive.)
Seventeen-year-old Allie Anderson’s telekinetic powers are anything but useful–she can’t bring her father back, can’t stop her mother’s downward spiral into alcohol, and can’t keep her from falling in love with Ethan Bradley. Loving Ethan is easy, but it comes with a hefty price: Ethan is prohibited by his people from interacting with mortals–because he isn’t mortal himself. When Allie and Ethan’s love is discovered, there’s someone who will do anything to keep them apart. If Allie can’t learn to control her powers and fight to save Ethan, this dark entity will make every attempt to stop her beating heart. And if that happens, not even the energy of an immortal can bring her back.
[Full disclosure: Shannon Eckrich sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
Well, that wasn’t at all what I expected. And considering I was expecting a typical YA book with a love triangle and a helpless heroine, that’s a good thing!
There was no love triangle. I’m still trying to process this amazing fact. I haven’t encountered a YA book without a love triangle in years, ever since the Twilight craze began. Other Side of Forever also doesn’t end in the way you expect it to either. Shannon Eckrich didn’t go for the stereotypical ending I would expect from a book with immortals. Heck, even her characters didn’t fit into the archetypes they appeared to.
If I’m not being very articulate right now it’s because I’m still trying to process this new development. Avoidance of clichés and stock characters? I’m having a tough time with this.
The plot was fast-paced and took some pretty unpredictable twists, both Allie and Ethan were believable characters, there was no Insta-Love and the immortals in this book are unique. If it had been my choice, I would not have stopped reading Other Side of Forever for anything: food, drink, etc. It quite literally kept me on the edge of my computer chair, reading frantically to find out how thing would turn out. Shannon Eckrich’s premise was also unique and Allie’s discovery of the secret world of immortals helped move the plot along as external forces tried to wrench her and Ethan apart.
The characters, oh the characters! Allie was not a poor, helpless damsel in distress. She was resourceful and strong, but not your stereotypical kick-butt heroine either. She’s just an average girl who has some emotional scars from a pretty awful childhood. Ethan was not your stereotypical bad-boy immortal jerk. No, he was sweet and kind and never pressured Allie into anything or treated her badly at any point in the story. Both characters were obviously well developed and their relationship didn’t go in the typical Insta-Love arc you find in YA. There were roadblocks along the way and the characters overcame them instead of acting like immature idiots. As you guys know, I’m not a big fan of romances. But I absolutely loved this one.
I don’t care what type of books you normally read. You need to read Other Side of Forever right now. You’ll love it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Vows of Revenge by J. F. Ridgley
(Cover picture courtesy of J. F. Ridgley.)
In 295B, Aelia and Lucianus struggle to survive in a world filled with pirates, godfathers and forbidden love. Where patricians rule and plebeians grovel. But, will Lucianus grovel? Don’t count on it.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from J. F. Ridgley in exchange for an honest review.]
To be perfectly honest, I’m not a big fan of romance in general. Especially when a book focuses on the romance. However, I am a big fan of historical fiction that’s accurate and well-researched, which is why I agreed to read Vows of Revenge. After all, I’m generally open-minded when it comes to what I read. Once again, I’m glad my open mind led me to another great read.
As I said, I’m not a big fan of romance; my regular readers know this all too well. However, I really liked the romance between Aelia and Lucianus in this book. Yes, it’s a stereotypical forbidden love on the surface (pleb loves patrician), but there’s so much more to it than that. There’s Aelia’s abuse-ridden past, societal expectations and the novel’s villains trying to get in the way of their relationship. It’s definitely a struggle and it doesn’t feel contrived at all.
I wouldn’t call Vows of Revenge a fast-paced book because it’s more character-focused, but it’s far from boring. Aelia’s character arc is fantastic and seeing things from Lucianus’ point of view keeps things moving constantly. There’s something in here for both romance-lovers and history buffs because Ridgley has done an incredible amount of research. For once, I can say with complete confidence that this book is historically accurate. Yes, the characters are made up. But the details of Roman life, from the background war in Samnia and the severe patrician-pleb divide are accurate. There’s even an historical note at the end of the book for the curious.
Vows of Revenge is written extremely well and is generally free of the typos that you typically find in self-published books. There are a few minor ones such as a missing letter or a quotation mark that faces the wrong way, but nothing blatantly obvious. Certainly not that many to have an effect on the quality of the writing or story and not enough to annoy this picky grammarian.
Even if you don’t generally read romance or historical fiction, I’d highly recommend Vows of Revenge. It’s definitely a worthwhile read.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Short Story: The Curse of Troy by Luciana Cavallaro
(Cover picture courtesy of Kobo Books.)
Enter a world where legend and reality blur. Queen Helen of Sparta, the most beautiful and desirable woman in the world is both renowned and condemned for prompting a war. Two great powers—the Achaeans and Trojans—fighting a bloody battle where thousands of men died. The grounds of Ilium steeped in their blood. Gone is the age where heroes tread the earth with their magnificence and god given gifts.
But did this all happen as we have been led to believe?
(Blurb excerpt courtesy of Luciana Cavallaro’s website.)
[Full disclosure: Luciana Cavallaro provided me with a free ebook copy of her short story in exchange for an honest review.]
This is my first ever short story review, so please bear with me.
However, this is definitely not the first short story I’ve ever read. If I’m going to be honest, it’s probably one of the best I’ve read. I enjoyed The Curse of Troy so much that I wish it had been longer, say novel-lenth. Luciana Cavallaro’s approach to the famous legend of Troy was most definitely unique and it’s one that I’d like to see more of.
Told from the point of view of a young historian talking to the much older Helen after the events of the Trojan War, The Curse of Troy offers a much more sympathetic version of events. I don’t want to give too much away, but have you ever considered that Helen was completely innocent of pretty much everything she was accused of? This sounds quite incredulous, but I assure you that Luciana Cavallaro has packed enough information in this 30 page short story to make you see just such a possibility.
Even in such a limited format, the character of Helen came across very well. Having Helen tell her version of events to our first-person narrator was an interesting approach and we were able to see her reflect upon her youth with an older, more mature perspective. Her interaction with the unnamed young historian (our narrator) also revealed quite a bit of her character. Make no mistake: this story is about Helen, not our mysterious narrator. That doesn’t mean our narrator is necessarily one dimensional—he’s not—but it provides us with a fresh look at the (in)famous woman of legend.
I give this story 5/5 stars.
*Only available as an ebook.