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Point Blank by Alan King

April 17, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 104 pgs.
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Point Blank by Alan King, who read at the second DiVerse Gaithersburg Poetry Reading and Open Mic, opens with the poem “Hulk,” and there are a number of references to the comic book universe. In “Hulk,” the narrator believes he’s like everyone else able to walk where he wants and do what he likes as any other teenager, but given the hour and his skin color, reality begins to seep in, shattering the illusion like the hulk stomping through the city on a rampage.

King’s poems are like this — musical, dreamlike, and nostalgic — only to be abruptly shattered or altered by forces beyond the narrator’s control. Isn’t this the essence of life? It sometimes upends us without our consent.

With “point blank” precision, King tackles issues of race, poverty, stereotyping, and uncontrolled anger. His poems often begin with stereotypes of race and as the poem unfolds, he teaches his readers to see how ridiculous those generalizations can be. In “Swarm,” he asks, “That’s when I wonder/if Insecurity’s the biggest instigator./The one constantly egging you on/to prove yourself./”

King’s poems speak with frankness about living in America, a nation that pretends to be equal in so many ways, a nation that is still younger than it thinks it is, and a nation rebelling against the world even now. The beauty of these poems is that frankness and how he mixes it like a song with rhythm and firecracker lines like “to scorch my boss/with her fire-bottle words/” and “my veins and arteries are the blood’s highways/and interstates, that too much of what I love/will slow traffic like an accident.”

“Booth Seat” is one of the most moving poems in this collection in which Death is racing around the city seeking out and getting his prey. Understanding the murder rates here in the D.C. area, this poems strikes very close to home. It reminds us that life is fleeting, and that even the most anonymous of us is at risk. Point Blank by Alan King is a stunner, and you’ll never forget it.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Poet:

Alan King is an author, poet, journalist and videographer, who lives with his wife and daughter in Bowie, MD. He writes about art and domestic issues on this blog.

He’s a communications specialist for a national nonprofit and a senior editor at Words Beats & Life‘s global hip hop journal.

As a staff writer for the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, King often out-scooped the Baltimore Sun when covering housing and the Baltimore City Council. His three-part series on East Baltimore’s redevelopment and the displaced residents brought together stakeholders (community leaders, elected officials and developers) to work out a plan that gave vulnerable residents a role in helping to build up the city’s blighted neighborhoods.

He’s a graduate of the Stonecoast MFA Low-Residency Program at the University of Southern Maine. His poems and short stories appear in various literary journals, magazines and are featured on public radio. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Filed Under: challenges, Events, national poetry month, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Crumb-Sized: Poems by Marlena Chertock

April 13, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 80 pgs.
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Crumb-Sized: Poems by Marlena Chertock, who read at the Fourth DiVerse Gaithersburg Poetry Reading, is a short and powerful collection about body image, space, and pain, but it is also a collection of exploration. She explores the strength within herself to do more and cope with more, to “push” through the pain in physical therapy, and to stand tall among those in the forest who are “healthier.”

One of my favorite poems is “I am rotting log of wood,” in which the tree is rotting and seemingly weaker compared to the others in the forest, but the tree realizes she can breathe her own oxygen and feel the sunlight on her leaves — finding strength inside.

Through her descriptions, readers are plunged knee deep in the narrator’s pain. In “Rikkud,” the narrator’s health condition renders her on the sidelines of a dance while those her age continue to party. She says, “my hips and knees are kindling/and I can’t give them more air/or my bones become crisps –” Many of her poems explore debilitating pain and the absurdity of telling a narrator to push through chronic pain, Chertock forces the reader to not only empathize but to be in those moments and live them.

The poems are not all dark and many of them churn on a word or phrase in a poem. In “Application to NASA,” she explores how strong the narrator is despite being below the standards the space agency seeks in potential candidates. Chertock turns the negative into positive, takes a leap of faith into the unknown and creates her own nebulous reality where anything is possible.

Crumb-Sized: Poems by Marlena Chertock is the perfect combination of science and poetry. These poems are Earth-bound until they are launched into outer space to explore life beyond the pain.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Poet:

Marlena Chertock has two books of poetry, Crumb-sized (Unnamed Press, 2017) and On that one-way trip to Mars (Bottlecap Press, 2016). She uses her skeletal dysplasia and chronic pain as a bridge to scientific poetry. She regularly moderates or speaks on panels at literary conferences and festivals, serves as a judge or reviewer of creative work for contests, and reads her own work at open mics and reading series. Find her on Twitter and on Instagram.

Filed Under: challenges, Events, national poetry month, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Louisiana Catch by Sweta Srivastava Vikram

April 10, 2018 by

Today’s review is not for poetry as expected this month, but rest assured, the author is a poet.

Sweta Vikram’s poetry has appeared on this blog previously, and I’m humbled to call her a friend. She is particularly talented as you can tell from her previous books and this debut novel.

Happy launch day, my friend.

***Mark your calendar DMV residents! Sweta Vikram will be at the Curious Iguana bookstore in Frederick, Md., on May 27 4-5pm***

I’ll be there, but will you!

Source: publisher
Paperback, 268 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Louisiana Catch by Sweta Srivastava Vikram is more than just a novel that captures our current time where the Internet is pervasive and many of us have allowed our walls of privacy to fall. It is a novel in which Ahana Chopra is forced to live her own life and discover on what terms she wants to live that life — a woman no longer under the wing of her mother and no longer under the thumb of her husband in New Delhi, India.

A quote from Socrates — “To find yourself, think for yourself.” — is a perfect summation of a novel in which the protagonist goes on a spiritual, emotional, and physical journey to self discovery, like that of Vikram’s Ahana. Vikram’s main character has a strong voice, even if her convictions waver from time to time as the shroud of mourning gathers about her unexpectedly. But once outside her cloistered world, she has no choice but to examine her world and her place in it. She must make choices that can either lead to her own happiness or force her down the same dark path she walked before.

“At social gatherings, I want to disappear and become invisible.” (pg. 1 ARC)

The dark threads of the novel outline the loneliness of marital abuse and the sinkholes the Internet can disguise when catfishers seek new prey, but the light threads are the inner strength Ahana cultivates as she strives to make a safe place for women who’ve been victims of abuse. She also has solid friendships — with Rohan and others — and family relationships to lean on. As her mother’s wise words come to Ahana, she gains strength and learns to move forward, if cautiously.

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” (pg. 182 ARC)

Vikram’s novel is a tapestry of hope sprung from pain and shines as a beacon for those who need a gentle push away from the darkness in their lives. Fiction can be an escape and showcase an amazing story, but Vikram uses her words and characters to help change lives and give strength to those who need it. Louisiana Catch by Sweta Srivastava Vikram takes readers on a multi-continental and multi-cultural journey that mirrors our own world today, but it begs us to make changes.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Author:

Sweta Srivastava Vikram is a best-selling author of 11 books, a wellness columnist, and a mindfulness writing coach.  Featured by Asian Fusion as “one of the most influential Asians of our time,” Sweta writes about women, multiculturalism, and identity. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and other publications across nice countries and three continents. Louisiana Catch (Modern History Press 2018) is her debut U.S. novel. Born in India, Sweta grew up between the Indian Himalayas, Northern Africa, and the United States collecting and sharing stories. Exposure to this vast societal spectrum inspired her to become an advocate for social issues and also to get certified as a Holistic Health Counselor. In this avatar, Sweta is the CEO-Founder of NimmiLife through which she helps people elevate their productivity and creativity using Ayurveda and yoga. A certified yoga teacher, Sweta also teaches yoga and mindfulness to female survivors of rape and domestic violence. She lives with her husband in New York City.

Enter to win 1 copy of Louisiana Catch by Sweta Vikram (Kindle ebook for international entrants or print copy for U.S. residents)

Other Reviews:

Filed Under: ARC, fiction, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

April 4, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 248 pgs.
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The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur is an equally strong collection of poems in the same confessional style. Dealing with similar issues of love, loss, abuse, and more, Kaur is still graphic in her poems. I would consider this also for a more mature audience, but here Kaur is more like a mother offering advice to the flowers springing in the garden. She’s looking to help others bloom in their own sun. To have the best life they can.

this is the recipe for life
said my mother
as she held me in her arms as i wept
think of those flowers you plant
in the garden each year
they will teach you
that people too
must wilt
fall
root
rise
in order to bloom
      --back cover

In “home,” which is one of my favorites from this collection, speaks of home in a metaphorical sense but also in a physical sense. The narrator looks back on a rape incident in which a sense of unspoken trust is broken. Blind trust can be foolhardy, but should we shut ourselves off completely from connections with others? Kaur says, “No.” Her narrator says it is time to reclaim our homes. Reclaim our bodies and ourselves. Is a home a physical place like the body or a house? Or is it more than that? Sometimes, we just need to freshen it up or redecorate.

The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur is path toward rebuilding. Rising up from the ashes to create a home that is no longer crumbling and making sure that the garden grows brighter each spring. There are walls that need to be broken down and rooms that need to be rebuilt.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Poet:

rupi kaur is a #1 new york times bestselling author and illustrator of two collections of poetry. she started drawing at the age of five when her mother handed her a paintbrush and said—draw your heart out. rupi views her life as an exploration of that artistic journey. after completing her degree in rhetoric studies she published her first collection of poems milk and honey in 2014. the internationally acclaimed collection sold well over a million copies gracing the new york times bestsellers list every week for over a year. it has since been translated into over thirty languages. her long-awaited second collection ‘the sun and her flowers’ was published in 2017. through this collection she continues to explore a variety of themes ranging from love. loss. trauma. healing. femininity. migration. ‘revolution.

rupi has performed her poetry across the world. her photography and art direction are warmly embraced and she hopes to continue this expression for years to come. Follow her on Instagram.

Filed Under: challenges, Events, national poetry month, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

April 3, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 204 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

I heard a great deal about Rupi Kaur and her InstaPoet fame before I picked up a book, and much of the criticism runs the gamut about how her poems lack substance without her illustrations or that her poems are really just motivational comments, etc. I’ve also heard that her poems are overlooked merely because they were written and shared on social media.

Much of this talk had me put off my reading of her books and even buying her books because I didn’t want my experience colored by the words and perspectives of others. National Poetry Month has begun and it is time to share poetry, and poetry has no boundaries.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur reminds me of a modern confessional poetry in which Kaur reveals her darkest secrets and her pain. This collection is raw and wears its emotions on its sleeves, though I would say it is for more mature audiences. She discusses rape, abuse, and the emotional harm that rocks her to the core. Like many abused women, the poet’s narrator internalizes the shame and the hatred, creating a cycle of self-hatred. In many ways, these poems are like diary entries enabling the narrator to work out the tumult of her feelings.

the next time he
points out the
hair on your legs is
growing back remind
that boy your body
is not his home
he is a guest
warn him to
never overstep
his welcome
again
   - pg. 165

Other poems read more like motherly advice that either the narrator was given or learned and is ready to pass onto others to help them avoid the abuse or to get through the darkest moments. Kaur also has poems that speak to the abuses and harm that others may have endured. These poems vacillate from self-hate to regret at the loss of the abuser to taunting anger at the abusers actions.

There were moments when the smaller poems felt unfinished and just part of a larger whole, but Kaur has created a living poem with each new small poem. It is a greater story of humanity, loving oneself, and moving past the hurt of the past. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur is not for everyone, but it is a brave collection of poems calling for self-love, equality, and a better life for all of us.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Poet:

rupi kaur is a #1 new york times bestselling author and illustrator of two collections of poetry. she started drawing at the age of five when her mother handed her a paintbrush and said—draw your heart out. rupi views her life as an exploration of that artistic journey. after completing her degree in rhetoric studies she published her first collection of poems milk and honey in 2014. the internationally acclaimed collection sold well over a million copies gracing the new york times bestsellers list every week for over a year. it has since been translated into over thirty languages. her long-awaited second collection ‘the sun and her flowers’ was published in 2017. through this collection she continues to explore a variety of themes ranging from love. loss. trauma. healing. femininity. migration. ‘revolution.

rupi has performed her poetry across the world. her photography and art direction are warmly embraced and she hopes to continue this expression for years to come. Follow her on Instagram.

Filed Under: challenges, Events, national poetry month, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Blossom the Flower Girl Fairy by Daisy Meadows

March 28, 2018 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 176 pgs.
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Blossom the Flower Girl Fairy by Daisy Meadows is a chapter book for readers who are in grades two through five. My daughter is a pretty advanced reader but she still loves pictures, so this is a little tough for her to stay focused through, which is why we chose it as our nightly bedtime read-together book. Blossom has a very important job in fairy land. She has to keep the royal wedding on track and when things go awry in fairyland, they go wrong in the real world too. Kirsty and Rachel find this out first hand when Rachel’s Aunt Angela asks them for help with the flower girls and the wedding flowers.

We had a fun time reading this book together, and she was so caught up in tricking Jack Frost’s goblins into returning stolen wedding items. We ended up reading more than one chapter per night of this one.  She couldn’t wait to see what happened and if the fairytale endings for both weddings happened.

Blossom the Flower Girl Fairy by Daisy Meadows enables kids to see how to solve problems in real life, though the girls do ask for some fairy dust to help on occasion. These girls are crafty and get the job done, even when it looks like all is lost.

About the Book:

Here comes the bride!

Rachel’s Aunt Angela is a talented wedding planner. She’s organizing the biggest wedding Tippington has ever seen — and she needs Rachel and Kirsty’s help!

Rachel and Kirsty are put in charge of the bride’s flower girls. But when Jack Frost’s goblins show up uninvited, the wedding is in trouble. Luckily for everyone, Blossom the Flower Girl Fairy has a very special kind of magic — and she’s determined to make sure this wedding goes off without a hitch!

Find the magic objects in all three stories inside this Rainbow Magic Special Edition and help save the wedding magic!

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Daisy Meadows is the pseudonym used for the four writers of the Rainbow Magic children’s series: Narinder Dhami, Sue Bentley, Linda Chapman, and Sue Mongredien. Rainbow Magic features differing groups of fairies as main characters, including the Jewel fairies, Weather fairies, Pet fairies, Petal fairies, and Sporty fairies.

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews, Scholastic Tagged With: ,

Walk With Me by Debra Schoenberger

March 21, 2018 by

Source: the author
ebook, 108 pgs.
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Walk with Me by Debra Schoenberger is just that a journey along with the photographer as she explores not only her own city of Victoria, British Columbia, but places to which she’s traveled. Her pictures range from the mundane moments of empty chairs in a restaurant to the pilled moisture on fruit. Her macro shots are detailed and well contrasted, and her close-ups of people illustrate the unbridled joy found in daily jaunts.

Schoenberger chooses to frame not only every day moments, but also colors that we often forget we see.  Highlighting the rainbows present in our busy lives demonstrates to readers of her book that there is more to our life than those scheduled appointments and deadlines. We need to remember those colors, those giggles of children’s laughter, and soft touch of petals on our skin. We can breathe in the scent of life to calm us and look at our neighborhoods to find the humor lost in large window displays.

Walk with Me by Debra Schoenberger is a journey, a meditation, and a pause for readers. I would like to have known where some of the photos were shot because there are some really interesting places captured here. They could be anywhere in the world, or right down the street.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Debra Schoenberger aka #girlwithcamera

“My dad always carried a camera under the seat of his car and was constantly taking pictures. I think that his example, together with pouring over National Geographic magazines as a child fueled my curiosity for the world around me.

I am a documentary photographer and street photography is my passion. Some of my images have been chosen by National Geographic as editor’s favorites and are on display in the National Geographic museum in Washington, DC.  I also have an off-kilter sense of humor so I’m always looking for the unusual.  Website ~  Facebook ​~ Instagram ~  Pinterest

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Filed Under: ARC, challenges, giveaway, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Love the Empty Air by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz

March 20, 2018 by

Source: Wunderkind PR
Paperback, 100 pgs.
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How to Love the Empty Air by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is emotionally arresting and a love letter to the past and the passing of a mother. How many times have we said, “I’ll get back to that in a few days” or “It’s only for a year.” Many of us have said these things and others when speaking with friends, parents, and others. In this busy world, we often forget to go back to those events or people. This leaves an emptiness. How do you deal with that emptiness or learn to love that emptiness?

In “My Mother Wants to Know If I’m Dead,” Aptowicz’s narrator finds an email from her mother asking if she’s died because she has not let her know that she’s arrived safely. These are real life situations that come to life in poems throughout the collection. She points out the inanity of these emails if the receiver is in fact deceased, but she also acknowledges the sentiment and the anxiety and the worry behind the contact. These are moments we all can relate to, understand, and lament.

“Rabbit Hole” is the poem in this collection that brings the whole together. It hammers home the connections between the poems and the struggle with emptiness.

Holding your mother's hand
while she is dying is like trying to love
the very thing that will kill you.

Similarly, “Text From My Sister, June 2015” expresses how this loss that seems so singular is broader and encloses everyone who was connected with her mother.

Definitely have had lots of
sadness lately. The passenger
seatbelt in Dads car smells like
her. But the house is starting to
forget.

There are days when there is a hole in our lives that doesn’t seem like it will ever be full again. How to Love the Empty Air by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is not as tough to read as you’d expect. It’s funny, it’s witty, it’s sad, but it’s also content in the empty moments of life.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Poet:

Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is a New York Times bestselling nonfiction writer and poet. She is the author of six books of poetry (including Dear Future Boyfriend, Hot Teen Slut, Working Class Represent, Oh, Terrible Youth andEverything is Everything) as well as the nonfiction books, the >Dr. Mutter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine, which made 7 National “Best Books of 2014″ lists (including Amazon, The Onion’s AV Club, NPR’s Science Fridays and the UK newspaper The Guardian, among others) and Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, which Billy Collins wrote “leaves no doubt that the slam poetry scene has achieved legitimacy and taken its rightful place on the map of contemporary literature.” On the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) podcast Art Works, host Josephine Reed introduced Cristin as being “something of a legend in NYC’s slam poetry scene. She is lively, thoughtful, and approachable looking to engage the audience with her work and deeply committed to the community that art (in general) and slam poetry (in particular) can create.” Cristin’s most recent awards include the ArtsEdge Writer-In-Residency at the University of Pennsylvania (2010-2011), a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry (2011) and the Amy Clampitt Residency (2013). Her sixth book of poetry, The Year of No Mistakes, was released by Write Bloody Publishing in Fall 2013, and would go on to win the Writers’ League of Texas Book of the Year Award for Poetry (2013-2014). Her second book of nonfiction, Dr. Mutter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine, was released by Gotham Books (Penguin) in Fall 2014, debuted at #7 on the New York Times Bestseller List for Books about Health.

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Daphne and Her Discontents by Jane Rosenberg LaForge

March 15, 2018 by

Source: the poet
ebook, 86 pgs.
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Daphne and Her Discontents by Jane Rosenberg LaForge begins with the dancing tree on the cover. It sets the tone for her latest collection, as Daphne was a nymph turned into a tree as she sought to escape Apollo. She uses the tree and the myth to explain the flexibility of being a woman with responsibilities, but how that flexibility can have its limits in “My Mother the Tree.”

LaForge explores motherhood, being a daughter to a harsh father, and a sister in her poems. Readers are taken on a journey in a myth as it is made and as the narrator is transformed and relationships are modified. In “Goddess of Water,” she says, “We are bodies of water so of course/What controls the tides/Conquers us.”

There are juxtapositions between Christianity and her Jewish heritage as she speaks about the Christmas tree business her father owned. She speaks to the past, the present and the rest, and how it is internalized to generate new growth if we allow it and do not hinder it with our own doubts and criticisms and dwelling upons.

Daphne and Her Discontents by Jane Rosenberg LaForge is a woven history and myth rolled out over several poems. She re-engages readers with old myths to create new ones. Not to be missed.

RATING: Quatrain

Other Reviews:

About the Poet:

Jane Rosenberg LaForge’s poetry, fiction, critical and personal essays have appeared in numerous publications, including Poetry Quarterly, Wilderness House Literary Review, Ottawa Arts Review, Boston Literary Magazine, THRUSH, Ne’er-Do-Well Literary Magazine, and The Western Journal of Black Studies. Her memoir-fantasy, An Unsuitable Princess, is available from Jaded Ibis Press. Her full-length collection of poetry, With Apologies to Mick Jagger, Other Gods, and All Women  was published in fall 2012 by The Aldrich Press. She is also the author of the chapbooks After Voices, published by Burning River of Cleveland in 2009, and Half-Life, from Big Table Publishing of Boston in 2010. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Filed Under: challenges, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2018, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy

March 6, 2018 by

Source: School library
Hardcover, 40 pgs.
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I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley, is currently the oldest U.S. Supreme Court justice, but she’s also a woman who understands what it is like to be told she cannot do something because she is female or because she is Jewish. Even as these moments must have been disheartening and made her sad, she persisted and resisted. These are phrases that are common in today’s world as many women are finding their voice and standing up for greater equality for all — men and women alike.

Imagine a time in history when women were told to find a husband instead of go to college or even law school. Imagine being one of 10 female students in law school where there were 500 men in one class. Imagine doing your best and there were still impediments to getting the job you wanted. These are the obstacles Ginsburg dealt with as a young woman and mother, but these are also the same obstacles that many minorities still face even in the 21st Century.

When reading this book with my daughter, she thought it was weird that Ginsburg was told she couldn’t be a lawyer because she was a mother and that she wouldn’t pay attention at work. She also thought it was mean that Jews were not allowed in certain places.  My daughter’s world is different in many ways, but in many ways still the same. I loved how Levy portrays Ginsburg’s tenacity without preaching and how she makes her relateable to elementary school kids, but does not talk down to them.

Ginsburg’s career and its law speak may be hard for some kids to understand, even the word “dissent” may need explanation. But this book will open a dialogue with children. I love that Levy has created a downloadable curriculum guide for classrooms, as well as the Glorious RBG Blog.

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley, is a wonderful addition to my daughter’s library at school, and funny enough, I purchased her a copy for her upcoming birthday this week.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Author:

Debbie Levy writes books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for people of all ages, particularly young people. Before becoming an author, she was a newspaper editor with American Lawyer Media and Legal Times; and before that, Levy was a lawyer with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now called WilmerHale). She lives in Maryland with her husband, Rick Hoffman.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, children's fiction, nonfiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2018, reviews, Simon & Schuster Tagged With: , ,

Pancakes & Pandemonium by Janel Gradowski

February 28, 2018 by

Source: purchased
eBook, 199 pgs.
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Pancakes & Pandemonium (book 6) by Janel Gradowski not only has Amy right in the middle of another mystery, but also a personal puzzle she needs to uncover when her alcoholic mother comes to town for a visit. Her husband Alex’s heart is in the right place when he extends the invitation to her mother to visit, hoping that his wife can repair her relationship with her mother, but Amy is none too pleased, though she forgive him easily.

“‘That’s a good way to put it … on hold. Please stay on the line and be patient as Kellerton puts itself back together again.'”

Gradowski’s series of cozy culinary mysteries are always filled with delightful characters, relationship tension, and murder. Amy is plucky, inventive, and creative in the kitchen and with theories about who the murderer may be. But she can even recognize her own wild theories for what they are. As a close member of the tight-knit Kellerton community, she’s able to get to the bottom of people’s motives and help those who need it along the way.

Not only is this mystery ripe with familial tension, it also demonstrates how one small town can come together despite the devastation of a freak storm that leaves them without gas and electricity for nearly a week. Amy and her friends put their culinary skills to the test to feed the town and wiggle information out of them to solve a murder.

Pancakes & Pandemonium (book 6) by Janel Gradowski is another delightful installment, with some rockin’ recipes that you’ve just got to sample.  Pick up this read with a favorite cappuccino or herbal tea.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Janel Gradowski lives in a land that looks like a cold weather fashion accessory, the mitten-shaped state of Michigan. She is a wife and mom to two kids and one Golden Retriever. Her journey to becoming an author is littered with odd jobs like renting apartments to college students and programming commercials for an AM radio station. Somewhere along the way she also became a beadwork designer and teacher. She enjoys cooking recipes found in her formidable cookbook and culinary fiction collection. Searching for unique treasures at art fairs, flea markets and thrift stores is also a favorite pastime. Coffee is an essential part of her life.

Other Reviews:

Filed Under: fiction, purchased, Read in 2018, reviews Tagged With: ,

The Sweetest Ruin by Amy George

February 8, 2018 by

Source: publisher
Kindle, 150 pgs.
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The Sweetest Ruin by Amy George is a modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen set in Sin City — Las Vegas, Nevada.  Yes, that sin city! William Darcy is a workaholic and his family is deeply concerned about his health. After his doctor orders him on bed rest, Darcy finds himself smothered by love and concern, and too much attention to his work habits. The walls are closing in on him, and he takes off for America.

There’s an old saying about Vegas: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

Unfortunately, how Darcy meets Elizabeth is not at all what readers will expect and what happens in Vegas will likely not stay in Vegas if he has anything to say about it. He’s fallen head over heels and he has to break it to his over-protective sister, Georgiana.

“There was no sound coming from England. No breathing, no thudding telephone. It was the quietest his sister had ever been.”

Darcy and Lizzy not only have to come to terms with their quick romance, but also how different their lives are from one another. Will secrets he’s keeping wear their thin connection away or will their love conquer all? Even his condescending and rude sister?

George’s novella shows a delightfully carefree Lizzy living in Nevada, and even though she’s lost much, she’s created her own family from the friends she encounters. Her support system is strong and fiercely protective, like Darcy’s sister. Despite a few editorial misses in the copy I had, the story was fast-paced and full of romance and humor. I particularly loved Thad and Damien and, of course, Lizzy and Darcy. There were a few things that were wrapped up rather quickly, probably because it is a novella, but I wish there had been a few hints dropped earlier about how Georgiana would come around to liking Lizzy.

The Sweetest Ruin by Amy George is delightful in its demonstration of how a workaholic can find the balance he needs with the woman he loves by his side.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Amy George is a middle-aged woman who got rid of her old lady/grown up and has since purchased an unreasonably small car. She refuses to listen to its radio at a reasonable volume, especially when the Beastie Boys or the Violent Femmes are playing. She lives in a small town in the Midwest where the bookstore and yarn shop are neighbors and most food is fried. Her household consists of a dog, a man, a hermit, and stubborn soap scum. She has been writing since she was a child and ran the Hyacinth Gardens, a popular but defunct JAFF site.

Fun fact: My birthday is January 30th so this is like a big birthday party.

Find her on Facebook, GoodReads, Meryton Press, and Twitter.

Giveaway:

8 eBooks of The Sweetest Ruin are being given away by Meryton Press and the giveaway is open to international readers.

Terms and conditions:

Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once each day and by commenting daily on a blog post or review that has a giveaway attached to this tour. Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented.

Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is international. Each entrant is eligible to win one eBook.

ENTER HERE

GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE!

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, fiction, giveaway, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2018, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,