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Extractions by Melissa M. Firman

November 21, 2014 by

Source: Purchased
E-short story
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Extractions by Melissa M. Firman is an e-short story in which something is not quite right with Kari and her family.  While they have that suburban home, there are some financial issues lurking in the background, but that could just be the tip of the iceberg.  This family is racking up the debt with no end in sight and her impending dental work is only going to exacerbate that situation.  Firman has packed a lot of detail into the first couple of pages of this short story, which according to the Kindle estimate is just seven pages in total.

Whether Kari’s drinking has to do with their financial problems or the fact that she’s cyber-stalking an ex-boyfriend on Facebook, it doesn’t matter.  Something has got to change for this family.  They are in a very precarious situation and something is going to push them over the brink.  Kari is dissatisfied, and she’s searching for something outside herself to make herself content.  An unexpected act of vandalism, however, will have her questioning her own actions.   Extractions by Melissa M. Firman is well done, but will likely leaving readers wanting more.

About the Author:

Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pa., Melissa Firman was convinced she would be a world-famous author before she was 18. When that didn’t quite happen, she earned a B.A. in English/Communications from Cabrini College and worked with various nonprofits. Melissa currently lives in Pittsburgh with her husband of 20 years and their two children.

“Extractions” is Melissa’s first short story published on Amazon. She recently edited young adult author Melissa Luznicky Garrett’s much-anticipated novels “The Prophecy” and “Blood Draw.”

Melissa Firman is currently in the process of writing her first novel and is a freelance book reviewer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Connect with Melissa on her website and blog at MelissaFirman.com or on Facebook at Melissa Firman, writer – www.facebook.com/TheFirmanGroup.

80th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2014, reviews, short stories Tagged With: , , ,

Blackout by Mira Grant

November 14, 2014 by

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 659 pgs
On Amazon and on Kobo

Blackout by Mira Grant (beware there could be spoilers for Feed or Deadline in this review) is the final installment in the Newsflesh series, and it is a stunning ride that will leave readers breathless to the final page.  It has been a long time since a zombie series has been this well developed and thought out.  Grant has created a masterful new world after the Rising of zombies in which bloggers have taken over as the trusted form of communication and information, and while the American populace continues to trust the CDC, the government is still considered sketchy at best.  Shaun Mason and his group of bloggers at After the End Times continue to dig into the death of one of their own, looking for someone to blame.  At the same time, Shaun is hardly coping, speaking with voices in his head, and his team is enabling his craziness.

“‘Shaun … ‘ There was a wary note in Alaric’s voice.  I could practically see him sitting at his console, knotting his hands in his hair and trying not to let his irritation come through the microphone.  I was his boss, after all, which meant he had to at least pretend to be respectful.  Once in a while.  ‘That’s your fourth catch of the night.  I think that’s enough, don’t you?’

‘I’m going for the record.’

There was a click as Becks plugged her own channel into the connection and snapped peevishly, ‘You’ve already got the record.  Four catches in a night is twice what anyone else has managed, ever.  Now please, please, come back to the lab.'”  (page 20)

As a tropical storm wreaks havoc on Florida and other southern states ad the dead begin to rise at a faster rate, Shaun and his team not only have to uncover what has happened, but have to find a way to get the word out when the government has effectively caused a media blackout.  While the team is still gathering information and poking zombies, the focus on higher ratings has fallen off the radar for the team.  Conspiracy theorists and zombie fiction lovers will love the ride Grant takes them on, and the series touches upon a number of issues, particularly medical ethics.

Blackout by Mira Grant wrapped up the series nicely, though there is an e-novella that follows this, and Grant has created characters who struggle with the truth — finding it and keeping it real for everyone else.  From experimenting on live subjects to creating clones, the Newsflesh series runs the gamut of medical ethics issues, but it also highlights the idea of journalistic ethics and objectivity.

About the Author:

Born and raised in Northern California, Mira Grant has made a lifelong study of horror movies, horrible viruses, and the inevitable threat of the living dead. In college, she was voted Most Likely to Summon Something Horrible in the Cornfield, and was a founding member of the Horror Movie Sleep-Away Survival Camp, where her record for time survived in the Swamp Cannibals scenario remains unchallenged.

Mira lives in a crumbling farmhouse with an assortment of cats, horror movies, comics, and books about horrible diseases. When not writing, she splits her time between travel, auditing college virology courses, and watching more horror movies than is strictly good for you. Favorite vacation spots include Seattle, London, and a large haunted corn maze just outside of Huntsville, Alabama.

Mira sleeps with a machete under her bed, and highly suggests that you do the same.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, fiction, Hachette Books, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews, science fiction Tagged With: , ,

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

November 13, 2014 by

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 192 pgs
On Amazon and on Kobo

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is a journey in olfactory memory and the memories generated by tastes.  Memory is tricky, but recalling even our oldest memories can be difficult without a trigger, and many of those triggers are often related to food.  Whether its a first experience with food, a food we associated with a specific relative or friend, or just food that we loved, our taste, sight, and olfactory senses can bring those memories flooding back with just a hint of smell or taste, even color.  Knisley says in the opening pages, “Sometimes it’s frustrating, this selective memory.  I can remember exactly the look and taste of a precious honey stick, balanced between my berry-stained fingers, but my times tables are long gone, forgotten, in favor of better, tastier memories.”

What’s fresh about this book is that it includes recipes along with the memories and some of them should be just as delicious as the author remembers if prepared using her precise instructions, which do include the use of patience!  In graphic novel style, the images are fun and the memories are dispersed in a way that makes reading a memoir about food even more fun.  It even seems as though it is geared in a way that will entice younger readers to get interested in food and cooking.

Knisley not only explores the creativity of cooking, but also its precise science and measurement, which leads to the perfect recipe.  For an example, you’ll have to check out her memories of baking, particularly chocolate chip cookies and how she still strives and falls short of making the perfect cookie.  Her mother maintains a cool head with her baking, while Knisley bakes through emotion.  It’s an interesting contrast and demonstrates not only the power of baking as a way to soothe emotions, but also as a way to connect with family.  Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is colorful and flavorful all at once — a travelogue of food memories — that readers will not soon forget.  And as the author would say, “Devour it with relish.”

About the Author:

Beginning with an love for Archie comics and Calvin and Hobbes, Lucy Knisley (pronounced “nigh-zlee”) has always thought of cartooning as the only profession she is suited for. A New York City kid raised by a family of foodies, Lucy is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago currently pursuing an MFA at the Center for Cartoon Studies. While completing her BFA at the School of the Art Institute, she was comics editor for the award-winning student publication F News Magazine.

Lucy currently resides in New York City where she makes comics. She likes books, sewing, bicycles, food you can eat with a spoon, manatees, nice pens, costumes, baking and Oscar Wilde. She occasionally has been known to wear amazing hats.

78th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, challenges, children's fiction, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , ,

The Last Mile by Blair Richmond

November 7, 2014 by

Source: Ashland Creek Press
Paperback, 244 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

The Last Mile by Blair Richmond is the third book in the Lithia trilogy — see my reviews of Out of Breath and The Ghost Runner and be aware that this review could contain spoilers for the previous two books — that combines environmentalism and supernatural elements.  Kat’s world has been upended once again, but she now is more determined than ever to get her life back on track, even if that means revisiting some previous relationships and exploring some untapped feelings.  If there’s one drawback, there is a little too much back story included here and some of it is repeated later in the short novel.  But other than that, Kat has come into her own and gained the strength that she needs to fight Lithia’s demons and ensure that the town has a future.

“He shakes his head.  ‘You know, it was strange back then.  I had moments when I looked up at these trees, these monuments to time, and I felt so guilty.  So cruel.  I knew even then that what I was doing was wrong.  The trees couldn’t fight back.  They were just standing there, like they had for centuries, living their lives, not bothering a soul, cleaning our air, giving nests to birds, making the world a better place just by being alive.  And then we arrived with out axes and saws and train cars, and we left behind miles and miles of stumps.”  (page 43)

Richmond has created a lasting environmental and supernatural hybrid that opens readers eyes to the wonders of nature and the ease with which we can live symbiotically with it, rather than cut it down in the name of progress.  Alex, the vegan vampire, is still at Kat’s side in friendship, though he wants more, but she’s made her choice and she’s moving forward as best she can as the death and destruction of Victor continues to hover in the shadows.  She’s a 20 year old young woman with great responsibility to the land she inherited and to the town where she’s found herself more at home than ever before, but she’s also aware that a delicate balance must be kept between panic and protection.

The marathon race into the Lithia Mountains, Cloudline, is approaching, and despite the anxiety she has regarding Victor’s intentions, Kat continues to train and strategize.  The Last Mile by Blair Richmond is about the push runners must consciously decide to take to make it to the finish line no matter the cost to them physically and emotionally.  Kat faces this last mile as a runner, on her own, and while she perseveres, she’s aware that her finish line may not only save Lithia, but also those she loves.

About the Author:

Blair Richmond is the pen name of a writer from the Pacific Northwest. Out of Breath and The Ghost Runner are books one and two of the Lithia Trilogy. Visit Blair’s blog for the latest on The Lithia Trilogy.

Other Reviews:

Filed Under: fiction, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

October 31, 2014 by

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 293 pgs
On Amazon and on Kobo

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, which I read as part of a read-a-long and for the RIP Challenge, is an odd little book about a strange carnival that enters a Midwestern town and silently creeps through the streets and feeds off of the people in that town.  Will and Jim are your typical boys, about 15-yrs-old, who look for fun and sometimes find it in the wrong places.  They stumble upon a lightning rod salesman who warns them of an upcoming, devastating storm — a storm that is likely to hit someone’s house and destroy it.  Is this foreshadowing of what is to come when the carnival arrives? Perhaps, but Bradbury’s prose is dense in places and cryptic, leaving many readers lost as to what is going on and which boy is which.  Perhaps the similarities are done on purpose to signify that it could have been any set of boys in the town targeted, but readers may want more to go on, a greater connection and an ability to differentiate between the two boys as the story moves forward.  Readers will get some of that when Will’s father enters the picture.

“Dad winked at Will.  Will winked back.  They stood now, a boy with corn-colored hair and a man with moon-white hair, a boy with summer-apple, a man with winter-apple face.”  (page 15)

“‘The library,’ said Will. ‘I’m even afraid of it, now.’  All the books, he thought, perched there, hundreds of years old, peeling skin, leaning on each other like ten million vultures.  Walk along the dark stacks and all the gold titles shine their eyes at you.  Between the old carnival, old library and his own father, everything old…well…” (pg. 188-9)

A lot of the fear permeating the pages is atmospheric from the dark carnival and its sinister cast of characters lurking in the dark, around corners, and popping up when least expected, but there also is a sense of psychological fear, particularly when it comes to the boys and those targeted by the carnival.  Despite the issues with the oddities in the prose and the dialogue, as well as the indistinguishable characteristics of the boys, this story is haunting in its use of spiritual lore and mythology, creating a deadly combination of foes who can be reborn and reconfigured.  There is a lack of detail about the boys’ relationships with their fathers and mothers, but it is the relationship between youth and old age that is the broader picture.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury is about a loss of innocence, the things we do as we age, the things we forget as we grow older and begin families of our own, and about the longing in us to recapture those carefree days and relationships.  What is the something wicked coming for you?  Only you can know the answer, and only you know how to fight it.

About the Author:

American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a “student of life,” selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He became a full-time writer in 1943, and contributed numerous short stories to periodicals before publishing a collection of them, Dark Carnival, in 1947.

His reputation as a writer of courage and vision was established with the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, which describes the first attempts of Earth people to conquer and colonize Mars, and the unintended consequences.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, fiction, Harper Collins, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Deadline by Mira Grant

October 30, 2014 by

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 581 pgs
On Amazon and on Kobo

Deadline by Mira Grant is the second in the NewsFlesh series; see my review of Feed and be aware that could be spoilers in this review.  Following the presidential campaign of Peter Ryman, the news blog After the End Times has grown exponentially, and Shaun Mason hardly keeps track of the day to day administration of the site or who actually works for the business.  He’s still in mourning, but he knows that he has a team to lead, and he does it as best he can, while being mentally haunted by the dead.  No longer an Irwin who pokes zombies for ratings, Shaun has jumped to lead the Newsies and has no desire to return to the field.  Unfortunately, stumbling upon a larger-than-life conspiracy significantly changes his plans to hide in the background, pushing him and his team out into the field and on the run.

“‘Mahir, my main man! You sound a little harried.  Did I wake you?’
‘No, but I really do wish you’d stop calling so late at night.  You know Nandini gets upset when you do.’
‘There you go again, assuming that I’m not actually trying to piss of your wife.  I’m really a much nicer person inside your head, aren’t I? Do I give money to charity and help old-lady zombies across streets so that they can bite babies?’
Mahir sighed.  ‘My, you are in a mood today, aren’t you?'” (page 25)

Combining zombie infestations, anxiety, and conspiracy theories with humor, Mira Grant has built a world in which bloggers have replaced traditional news mediums and surviving zombie infestations is an everyday battle.  Kellis-Amberlee is the result of two bio-engineered viruses combining into something unexpected, and it it causes amplification in any mammal of 40 lbs or more to transform them into zombies.  Shaun and his team report on infestations, outbreaks, and other newsworthy items, as well as post fiction poems, stories, etc. on zombies and other things in their lives.  Generating ratings is a tough business following a successful president election.  Grant includes enough background in her second novel that it could be picked up without reading the first, but there could have been additional editing, as there was too much backstory included from the previous novel.

Deadline by Mira Grant is a fun romp in zombie infested waters, and will be a delight for those who love novels with government conspiracies.  While there is little that is resolved in this book, as there is a third book in the series, there is enough here to whet readers’ appetites for more.  Grant’s world is a unique post-apocalyptic rendering in which not only is surviving essential, but the world has irrecoverably changed from politics and media to how families cope and communities interact.

About the Author:

Born and raised in Northern California, Mira Grant has made a lifelong study of horror movies, horrible viruses, and the inevitable threat of the living dead. In college, she was voted Most Likely to Summon Something Horrible in the Cornfield, and was a founding member of the Horror Movie Sleep-Away Survival Camp, where her record for time survived in the Swamp Cannibals scenario remains unchallenged.

Mira lives in a crumbling farmhouse with an assortment of cats, horror movies, comics, and books about horrible diseases. When not writing, she splits her time between travel, auditing college virology courses, and watching more horror movies than is strictly good for you. Favorite vacation spots include Seattle, London, and a large haunted corn maze just outside of Huntsville, Alabama.

Mira sleeps with a machete under her bed, and highly suggests that you do the same.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, fiction, Hachette Books, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

October 28, 2014 by

Source: Public Library
Audiobook, 11+ hours
On Amazon and on Kobo

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, chronicles the disjointed life of a woman who has lost her memory in an accident.  Each night, while she is sleeping, she loses all her memories of her present and past.  She remembers her life up until about her 20s, but only the journal she keeps helps her remain grounded in the life and the husband she no longer recognizes.  This is a fast-paced debut novel that examines the role that memory plays in how we identify ourselves and our own happiness.  Christine Lucas is a writer who is struggling each day to remember her life before an accident wiped out her memories, an accident she doesn’t even remember.  As she begins keeping a secret journal and meeting with Dr. Nash to try some treatments to regain her memory, dark secrets about her life, her past, and her current situation bubble to the surface.

Watson has carefully crafted a character adrift in her own life, and while some of the details are needlessly repeated as she wakes from sleep each morning and struggles to remember her life, readers are swept up in this mystery.  As the book is told from Christine’s point of view, the reader has only her knowledge to draw conclusions from, and this can be frustrating.  While the cues are there to unravel the mystery beforehand, readers will likely enjoy this crazy journey as well as become frustrated with the main character’s stupid decisions from time to time.  There are times when reading the journal should have taken much more time than it seems to, which would have left her little time to do much else in a day, especially for someone who wakes up with a blank slate every morning.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson, which was out October book club selection, was an interesting debut, and it did mirror the feel of the movie Memento, but the ending was disappointing and some parts in the middle dragged a bit.  While this is fast-paced toward the end when everything starts to fall in place, there could have been further editing in the middle that would have tightened this up more and made it even more thrilling.

A note about the narrator, her voice really grated on my for some reason and she seemed to lose the tone when speaking as a male character, slipping back into Christine’s voice, which made it hard for me to follow along at certain points.

About the Author:

S J Watson was born in the UK, lives in London and worked in the NHS for a number of years.  In 2011 Watson’s debut novel, Before I Go to Sleep, was released to critical acclaim. It has now been published in over 40 languages, and has become an international bestseller, winning numerous awards.   The movie of Before I Go To Sleep, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong, is due for worldwide release in Autumn 2014. Watson’s second book is out in Spring 2015.

What Book Club Thought (Beware of spoilers):

Most of the book club felt that this was a quick and entertaining read, even though many of us didn’t think the mystery was much of one.  The writing was well done for the most part, and with it being made into a movie a few people expressed interest in seeing it, either on video or on Netflix, etc. I personally thought a better twist would have been to have Dr. Nash be her son. While one person couldn’t even get into the book at all.  There was quite a bit of repetition, which may have grated on people early on, but when a main character has no ability to make new memories, they tend to repeat things.

73rd book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, challenges, fiction, Harper Collins, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Blue Moon Rising by Simon R. Green

September 25, 2014 by

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 480 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

Blue Moon Rising by Simon R. Green is an adventure story of kings, castles, dragons, and unicorns whose hero, Rupert, is a second son in line for the throne and dedicated to his duty to the Land even at the expense of his own safety.  On his first quest he is sent to slay a dragon, but what he encounters runs contrary to everything he’s ever heard about quests from the minstrels.  Knowing that he can never rule as king, Rupert is aware that he isn’t meant to return from his quest or if he does, he’s to return with something of value that his bankrupt kingdom can use to fight off the Barons who wish to take control.  Unfortunately, he and his unicorn return with a live dragon, not jewels, and a difficult Princess Julia.

In typical adventure fashion, but with humor, Green creates a world in which the darkness threatens to overtake the Forest Kingdom.  Rupert is a reluctant hero and Princess Julia is the antithesis of feminine royals who care more about dresses and balls.  Harald, the prince next in line for the throne, is charismatic and wily, and he has a reputation with the ladies.  He and his brother are often at odds, though readers will wonder if they would get along better if their father didn’t show preference for Harald over Rupert at every turn or if the kingdom was not in such turmoil politically that factions are vying for their own favorite son to ascend to the throne.  Green populates his novel with a few too many quests when one would have sufficed before the kingdom was threatened by the Darkwood and the Demon Prince.

“For a long while the Court stood silent, shaken by the Astrologer’s dark vision.
‘There must be something we can do,’ said Rupert haltingly.
‘There is,’ said the Astrologer.  ‘Prince Rupert; you must journey to the Dark Tower, and there summon the High Warlock.’
Rupert stared at the Astrologer.
‘I should have volunteered to lead an army against the Demon Prince,’ he said finally.  ‘It would have been safer.'” (page 87)

The dragon doesn’t play much of a role here, but the unicorn seems to be the comic relief for the most part.  The debate between the privilege in royalty and being a peasant is consistent throughout the book, as is the tension between duty and desire.  Despite its wordiness, Blue Moon Rising by Simon R. Green is a keen adventure with humor and plot twists, though some may be predictable and less satisfying than expected.

Unfortunately, the book club discussion for this one was postponed do to some illnesses and other conflicts.

About the Author:

Simon was born in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England (where he still resides), in 1955. He has obtained an M.A. in Modern English and American Literature from Leicester University and he also studied history and has a combined Humanities degree. His writing career started in 1973, when he was a student in London. His first actual sale was a story titled Manslayer, back in 1976, but it didn’t appear till much later; Awake, Awake…. was his first sale to a professional editor, in 1979. Furthermore he sold some six or seven stories to semi-pro magazines before that market disappeared practically overnight.

After years of publishers’ rejection letters, he sold an incredible seven novels in 1988, just two days after he started working at Bilbo’s bookshop in Bath (this after three and a half years of being unemployed!). This was followed in 1989 by two more, and a commission to write the bestselling novelization of the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which has sold more than 370.000 copies.

62nd book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Feed by Mira Grant

September 23, 2014 by

Source: Book Expo America
Audiobook, 15+
On Amazon and on Kobo

Feed (Newsflesh #1) by Mira Grant (a pseudonym for Seanan McGuire), read by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein, is a post-apocalyptic world in which the traditional news is no longer trusted and zombies have taken over the world, just after humanity created a cure for cancer and the common cold in 2014.  Bloggers Georgia Mason, Shaun Mason, Georgette “Buffy” Meissonier, and Richard Cousins run a semi-popular blog that reports the news about zombies and politics, with Georgia considered a newsy, Shaun an Irwin or zombie poker, and Georgette handling the fictional stories/poems and tech behind the blog, After the End Times.  When they are selected to follow the campaign of Republican senator Peter Ryman, who is running for the presidential nomination in 2040, the blog skyrockets to the top of the feed as the campaign trail is wrought with danger from zombie herds and more.  Once Ryman gains the nomination and selects Texas Gov. Tate as a running mate to balance the ticket, Richard Cousins joins the team as another newsy.

“I never asked to be a hero. No one ever gave me the option to say I didn’t want to, that I was sorry, but that they had the wrong girl.“

Grant’s zombie book is horrifying, but funny, as Shaun and Georgia banter back and forth as only siblings can.  Virology and the source of the virus that causes the zombies is well explained, as is how it is transmitted, but at no point is any of this information presented in a dry or uninteresting way.  The addition of blog posts from the bloggers is a nice touch as well.  However, there were points while listening that some information about the transmission of the virus is repeated throughout the book and probably could have been cut out, particularly the bit about mammals under 40 pounds not turning into zombies like animals of larger sizes.  The audio is well done, and the characters are easily discerned from one another.  The narrators did a great job making the emotions of the characters tangible.

Feed (Newsflesh #1) by Mira Grant, read by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein is a journey into a world dominated by corrupt government, news, and zombies.  This is a tension-filled, thrilling novel that presents a believable world in which zombies exist and are mostly contained.  The political machinations mirror those of today’s society, as is the government protocols that constrain movement of humans through infected areas.  Grant meshes the horror of zombie apocalypses, blogging, news, and politics very well, and there are nods to previous zombie fiction and movies, which are viewed as helpful to the society’s reaction to the infection.  Blood, death, and tragedy are expected, but the ending could surprise some readers, though as it is a trilogy, it should be anticipated.

About the Author:

Born and raised in Northern California, Mira Grant has made a lifelong study of horror movies, horrible viruses, and the inevitable threat of the living dead. In college, she was voted Most Likely to Summon Something Horrible in the Cornfield, and was a founding member of the Horror Movie Sleep-Away Survival Camp, where her record for time survived in the Swamp Cannibals scenario remains unchallenged.

Mira lives in a crumbling farmhouse with an assortment of cats, horror movies, comics, and books about horrible diseases. When not writing, she splits her time between travel, auditing college virology courses, and watching more horror movies than is strictly good for you. Favorite vacation spots include Seattle, London, and a large haunted corn maze just outside of Huntsville, Alabama.

Mira sleeps with a machete under her bed, and highly suggests that you do the same.

60th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

 

 

 

 

This is my 2nd book for:

Peril the Second:

Read two books of any length that you believe fit within the R.I.P. categories:

  • Mystery.
  • Suspense.
  • Thriller.
  • Dark Fantasy.
  • Gothic.
  • Horror.
  • Supernatural.
Filed Under: audiobooks, challenges, fiction, Hachette Books, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Blackfin Sky by Kat Ellis

September 19, 2014 by

Source: Running Press
Paperback, 304 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

Blackfin Sky by Kat Ellis is a roller coaster ride at the circus, complete with big top, illusions, and creepy mute-like clown/mime.  In a town named for the whales off the coast of an eccentric town where everyone is just a little bit odd.  Skylar Rousseau tells her story in the first person and as she unravels the mystery of her three-month disappearance, readers will be pulled into the underworld of a circus that thrived 16 years earlier.  Ellis’ novel is atmospheric, creepy, and foreboding, as Sky reconnects with the friends who thought she had died while she thought she went on with her normal daily routines of going to school, studying for tests, and hanging out with her friends in a town where a weathervane is haunted.

“Sky shook her head.  Madame Curio was well known in Blackfin, even though she was avoided by most.

‘How did you even get in there?’ The woods had been secured against intruders for as long as Sky could remember, the talk of roaming wolves and lightning trees that electrocuted passing children not being enough to keep out idle teenagers.”  (page 70 ARC)

Skylar sets on a path to uncover what actually happened to her and where she went for three months with the help of Sean, her friend that she wants to be more.  Along the way she uncovers secrets in Blood House, the family home, as it opens attic doors and pushes her in the right direction, learns things about her family and her mother that upend her world, and gets even closer to the truth through a series of unimaginable journeys.  Ellis’ ability to create a believable world in which the circus becomes a prison and gifted people are anxious to leave but unable to do so is fantastic for a debut novelist.  Beyond the darkness, however, Ellis sprinkles in the humor, making it easy for the reader to relate to these characters because they are not overly serious and the novel is not too dark.

“Sky joined him as he leaned against the back of the Jeep, looking out over the twisted townscape of Blackfin.  The houses looked like precariously stacked playing cards, balancing against the hillside while they waited for a gust of wind to carry them off into the sea.  From this height, Sky saw the thirteen black dots of the cemetery cats lazing on top of the tombstones lower down the mountain slope.  Further still, the school teetered at the seafront, with Silas’s iron form spinning crazily on the roof.”  (page 150 ARC)

Ellis balances characterization, atmosphere, and mystery well and Blackfin comes to life with all of its quirky characters.  She bends the light to reveal new dimensions and hues of the town, its residents, and its history, while maintaining readers’ interest and passion to find out how it all ends.  From the mundane routines of going to school and hanging out with friends to the traveling to the circus for answers, Sky must find the strength within herself to accept her new reality and find a way to save herself and everyone she loves.  Blackfin Sky by Kat Ellis is light refracted, speeding up and slowing down, as Sky uncovers her own truth.

About the Author:

Kat Ellis is a young adult writer from North Wales. Her debut novel, BLACKFIN SKY, is out now in the UK (Firefly Press) and the US (Running Press Teen).

Check out her Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and her Website.

 

59th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

 

 

 

 

My 1st book for Peril the Second!

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A Hero for the People by Arthur Powers

September 8, 2014 by

Source: Author and Book Junkie Promotions
Paperback, 190 pages
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A Hero for the People by Arthur Powers is a quiet collection of short stories about the Brazilian backlands that examine faith and perseverance among people who were downtrodden and beaten down by their richer brethren off and on between 1964 and the early 1990s.  In this crucible, men and women are either made stronger or they are broken by the land, the people, and the government.  Powers uses sparse language and thrusts the reader in the middle of situations, but there is enough background given so that the reader understand each character’s position in the towns they visit — from the Brother sent to help an older priest live out his final years before the parish is closed and finds himself becoming a people’s hero to the young wife and mother who dreams of escaping her life as a wife for a passionate love affair.

“She turned and walked inside.  She would miss this house.  The house where she had grown up had been made of wattle — mud and sticks — plastered over in parts where the plaster hadn’t worn through.  Its floor had been dirt, pressed hard enough so that you could sweep it almost clean, but turning muddy when rain leaked through the old tile roof.  In this house, when water leaked through the tiles in the hard rains, it could be swept off the floor.  And here there was a pump in the kitchen; she didn’t have to walk to the river for water.”  (from “The Moving”, page 96)

While Powers begins his collection with a note about the political and social environment during the time in which these stories are set; it is hardly necessary because it is clear that those factors influenced the lives of his characters.  At the heart of these stories are families trying to make their way in the world and keep what little they have, but there are the missionaries who come from the outside world to help them and there are the wealthy landowners and their gangs who try to take it all.  Powers’ style is reminiscent of the stories told by the fire before televisions were prevalent in homes, and these stories will transport readers outside of their own lives into the lives of these Brazilian farmers and ranchers.  As they struggle, readers will feel the tension grown, and when they fall, they will cheer them onward.

A Hero for the People by Arthur Powers is a powerful look at a less affluent society that is no less worthy of prosperity and happiness than the next.  Hearts will break, families will falter, but in the end faith and love hold them together through the toughest parts of their lives.  Powers has crafted harrowing stories that dig at the root of all human societies when they are beginning anew.

About the Author:

Arthur Powers went to Brazil in 1969 and lived most his adult life there. From 1985 to 1997, he and his wife served with the Franciscan Friars in the Amazon, doing pastoral work and organizing subsistence farmers and rural workers’ unions in a region of violent land conflicts. The Powers currently live in Raleigh North Carolina.

Arthur received a Fellowship in Fiction from the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, three annual awards for short fiction from the Catholic Press Association, and 2nd place in the 2008 Tom Howard Fiction Contest. His poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in many magazines & anthologies. He is the author of A Hero For The People: Stories From The Brazilian Backlands (Press 53, 2013) and The Book of Jotham (Tuscany Press, 2013).

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heroforpeople

 

 

 

55th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

28th book for 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews, short stories Tagged With: , , ,

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

September 2, 2014 by

Source: Harper
Hardcover, 336 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar is told from two points of view; in Lakshmi Patil’s broken English we see all sides of her marriage to a man she doesn’t love in a country that is unfamiliar and in her Africa-American therapist Maggie Bose’s voice readers are exposed to the cultural dissonance that occurs between multicultural couples and friends.  Stories take on a life of their own in Umrigar’s latest novel, and it is the weaving and unweaving of these stories that brings to the forefront the struggles Americans continue to have with those from other countries.  There is a lack of understanding for cultural norms and often judgments that come with that lack of understanding.  In Lakshmi’s hour-long therapy sessions, Maggie see the differences and similarities between them come alive, but cultural dissonance is not just one-sided here.  Lakshmi also struggles to understand her therapist’s choices when it comes to her marriage to Sudhir and own happiness.

“He turns around and his face look surprise as I rush toward him like the Rajdhani Express.  He take a steps back, as if he thinking I will run into him, like train derailment.  But I stops just in front of him and now my mouth feels dry and no wordings are coming to my mind.”  (page 7 ARC)

Maggie’s life was far from perfect before she met her husband, and while at college, surrounded by similarly minded people, she felt at home and respected.  But when she ventured outside of the campus, it was clear that others perceived her based on appearance or their own cultural experiences.  While these are the experiences that shaped her, she continued her schooling to become a therapist, one so well liked by her colleagues that they often referred to her the most difficult of cases.  But her school and work experiences are not all of her, and there are secrets that she hasn’t even told her husband about, at least not completely.  She has created a narrative that she is comfortable with, even though she knows that it is not the truth of her.  Lakshmi also lives a life clouded by lies, but her lies are to those outside her marriage and to herself.  She must also learn to move beyond the story she has created for herself and others to get at the truth of her being.

Through these ladies’ points of view, questions of identity, culture, and isolation are explored, and ultimately, these characters need to learn to break down the barriers between themselves and others if they wish to find happiness and freedom.  The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar is seductive in its multilayered approach, leading readers to be sucked into the isolated life of Lakshmi and the idyllic American life of Maggie, only to discover that assumptions and first impressions are not the truth.  We create our own stories for ourselves and for others, but it is only when we tell the truth of who we are that we can be set free from perception and judgment.

About the Author:

Thrity Umrigar is the author of three other novels—The Space Between Us, If Today Be Sweet, and Bombay Time—and the memoir First Darling of the Morning. A journalist for 17 years, she is the winner of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard University and a 2006 finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award. An associate professor of English at Case Western Reserve University, Umrigar lives in Cleveland.  Please visit her Website.

Other reviews of this author’s books:

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