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Until the Right One Comes Along by Chris Haley

August 19, 2021 by

Source: Poet
ebook, 90 pgs.
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Until the Right One Comes Along by Chris Haley is a highly emotional poetry collection about the search for the right partner. With moments of shallow assessment of other men, Haley’s narrator turns those observations on himself and finds his own appearance lacking. At more than one moment in the collection, the narrator considers himself unworthy of love and unattractive.

“When living is the dynamic you question daily”

“And for so many years I had thought I was not much to look at
Not much to glance Or stare at…

This is less a poetic collection and more of a memoir about the struggle of finding love in a world where instant gratification is prized over longevity and loyalty. He uses prose poems and rhyming verse, though the rhyming verse worked less well when I read it. The prose poems were the stand outs in this collection.

This is journey to find love is full of ups and downs, meeting someone who is the right fit but at the wrong time because you don’t love yourself enough. Meeting many wrong men to find that they only want a one-night stand.

Until the Right One Comes Along by Chris Haley explores the harsh realities of looking for companionship and love in today’s world as a LGBTQ+ person, which makes it doubly hard. It’s an emotional roller coaster, but ultimately, the message is you must first believe you are worthy of love in order to find it.

Rating: Tercet

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2021, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Later by Stephen King

August 18, 2021 by

Source: Purchased
Audible, 6+ hrs.
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Later by Stephen King, narrated by Seth Numrich, is another of those thriller and less-horror King novels.

(trigger warning for possible domestic violence and incest)

Jamie Conklin sees dead people, but you’ll learn this right from the start of this novel. His life is anything but conventional, especially because of his gift. However, his mother, who works in publishing, struggles financially as a single mother and victim of a Ponzi scheme. What I loved was Jamie’s character development, his innocence was whittled away little by little as others use him for his ability, but at the same time, he learns to think for himself and set some boundaries. His mother seems to have learned little from her romantic struggles, and I sense that she doesn’t think beyond the immediate needs and risks to the bigger picture in many cases. But she’s really more of a background character, like Jamie’s invalid uncle.

King always seems to have a firm grasp on childhood and the struggles kids face with parents, peers, and other adults. He makes their lives real and reminds us that we all had those struggles once. But his supernatural elements really bring the creep. Jamie must contend with some dark evils in this novel, and while not always successful, King’s supporting characters round out the story and provide the main protagonist with the direction he needs in a believable way.

Later by Stephen King provides the best in character development and story-telling, but there is a rushed element near the end that seems like it was tacked on a little too quickly. I wanted a little bit more here, but given that it is told from Jamie’s 20-something point of view after everything happened, it seems like he has more to process later on. Perhaps there will be more, later.

RATING: Quatrain

Filed Under: audiobooks, fiction, purchased, Read in 2021, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

The Unexpected Past of Miss Jane Austen by Cass Grafton and Ada Bright

August 11, 2021 by

Source: Purchased
Kindle, 372 pgs.
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The Unexpected Past of Miss Jane Austen by Cass Grafton and Ada Bright (the second book in this time travel series and these definitely should be read in order) is a delightful read. Rose Wallace is just getting to live her dream when Jane Austen reappears in her life at the most inopportune time. After some mild prodding, Austen engages Rose in another time travel adventure, and this time, Dr. Aiden Trevellyan joins her in the past where he’s in his glory — sketching the church, documenting Chawton House, and so much more.

***Don’t read below if you don’t want spoilers***

Rose is eager to help Jane in any way that she can, but she also wants to stay in her time and revel in the revelations she’s had with Aiden. Alas, there isn’t time because pressing matters require Rose to come back with Jane to 1813.

“No, this time, she had to live out the story, not just observe it … “

What I loved about this story is that Aiden and Rose know each other well enough to embark on this journey together, yet their new relationship status still provides that bit of insecurity and awkwardness we love to see in newly beginning relationships.

***Continue reading***

Grafton and Bright are a fantastic team in this series, providing the right amount of tension, awkwardness, and misunderstandings to keep the plot moving forward. Again, Rose finds herself in a situation that leaves her unmoored, but she finds that she can be as confident and courageous as Jane if she quells her emotions and thinks a bit more rationally. The societal confines of 1813 add to the tension and the emotional roller coaster here, which readers will love and hate at the same time.

I actually liked The Unexpected Past of Miss Jane Austen by Cass Grafton and Ada Bright more than the first book, and I really loved the first book. So I cannot wait to see where this series goes next. I hope I won’t have to wait too long.

RATING: Cinquain

Filed Under: fiction, historical fiction, purchased, Read in 2021, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Where the Wolf by Sally Rosen Kindred

August 5, 2021 by

Source: the poet
Paperback, 80 pgs.
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Where the Wolf by Sally Rosen Kindred has a Grimm’s fairy tale feel in which the wolf features prominently, looming over each poem and jumping in unexpectedly. In “First Night,” the wolf can only find the narrator and her family because of the dark, a darkness caused by deep despair, desperation, and the over consumption of alcohol. It is clear that the relationship between the narrator and her mother is broken and by the time the book ends it cannot be repaired as her mother is deep in Alzheimer’s.

Although there is darkness in this collection, it is an exploration of what connects us to our family despite those secrets and dark moments. In “Is She,” “You think this is a poem where the wolf./The forest, after all, is a sleeve of glass daggers./You: the girl. Cold throat, wet shoes./Wolf is the ghost of a hurt remembering itself. Is She. You can hear Her between the trees./” (pg. 10) Readers will fall into the forest with the wolf as she stalks the past, looking for answers that don’t materialize. It’s more about the journey and accepting the past for what it is, how it shapes you, and how you move into the future with it.

The Grief Dress (pg. 38)

....
Could I have asked

for mercy then, forgiveness, could I have
unfastened the buttons of my breath?
....

Isn’t this what happens when we finally learn to let go of grief, loss, and pain? We unbutton ourselves, give ourselves permission to breath again and release all of that pressure inside us. Kindred takes us and herself on a journey through the dark forest and some of her darkest dreams to release the pressure she’s been carrying. Where the Wolf by Sally Rosen Kindred is harrowing in its exploration of memory, grief, and the passage of time, but it is redemptive in that it allows readers to see the poet make peace with the past.

RATING: Quatrain

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2021, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

The Haunted Library: The Ghost in the Tree House by Dori Hillestad Butler

August 4, 2021 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 128 pgs.
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The Haunted Library: The Ghost in the Tree House by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Aurore Damant, is the 7th book in this series, which I think is best read in order (although they do recap previous information in each). I think young readers will have an easier time following the character development and changes in both kids’ lives if they start from the beginning of the series.

In this book, a group of girls in town have noticed strange goings on at the tree house where their club meets. Some of the girls believe it is a ghost, which is why Claire and Kaz are on the case, but some of the girls think it is the rival boys’ club trying to frighten them away from the tree house. There are a number of dynamics at play in this book, from learning to include a younger brother, to girls wanting their own time to play together without boys, to young kid ghosts who now much listen to their parents after being on their own for so long. There is a lot of play here, and it shows in the interactions between the ghosts and the “solid” Claire, as well as between the groups of kids themselves, and the dynamics those kids and ghost kids have with their own parents.

The short chapters and illustrations make this a book for early readers to read on their own without much help, but for older readers with more experience, the plot may plod along too much. This series has kept my struggling reader engaged, but over the last year as her skills have improved, the series is not as exciting as it has been for her in the past. However, now I want to know what happens in the next installment because the cliffhanger of this book is a doozy.

The Haunted Library: The Ghost in the Tree House by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Aurore Damant, is a good series for early readers with its short mysteries and ghosts. Readers will love the interactions between the ghosts and the children, and the parents will love reading along with their children, hoping to solve the mystery.

RATING: Quatrain

Filed Under: children's fiction, purchased, Read in 2021, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright and Cass Grafton

August 3, 2021 by

Source: Purchased
ebook, 366 pgs.
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The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright and Cass Grafton is part romance and part time travel, but it is also a novel about friendship and finding the gumption to go after what you want. Our heroine Rose Wallace is eager to meet her online friend Morgan after spending so much time with her online in Jane Austen forums.

“‘Is this one of those moments when I don’t understand you because you’re British?'”

But she’s also eager for the annual Jane Austen festival that takes over Bath, and added bonus, she’ll get to help archaeologist Dr. Aiden Trevellyan settle in before his talk on his most recent research and dig in Chawton. But soon, she becomes intrigued with an upstairs visitor, Jenny Ashton, who has a peculiar way about her and simply seems to live the older customs now.

“‘Pray, how is this a convenience store? One can barely turn about, ’tis so narrow, and there is no logic to the produce on display. I find naught of convenience about it.'”

Through a portal, Rose and Jenny are thrust into a time where Rose’s life is less independent from her not-so-great mother, and (GASP!) the works of Jane Austen have never been written. Rose and Jenny must either find a way back to their old lives or resign themselves to the new ones — ones in which Rose may flounder at her job at the library but one that could provide her a romantic partner. How do you choose between the life you’ve known and loved with one full of unknown possibilities?

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright and Cass Grafton shines in the building and rebuilding of friendships across time and space. No TARDIS needed here, but Rose must learn to meet the challenges before her without losing sight of who she wants to be.I just loved all of these characters and their misunderstandings and awkwardness. It’s wonderfully funny too.

I just had to get the next book in this series… stay tuned for that review.

RATING: Quatrain

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2021, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Postcard Poems by Jeanne Griggs

July 29, 2021 by

Source: the poet
Paperback, 72 pgs.
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***full disclosure: Jeanne and I have been poetry blog buddies for a long time.***

Postcard Poems by Jeanne Griggs is a travel story in verse, a journey of self-discovery, reflection, and enjoyment. It was no surprise to me that her collection begins with a quote from “Ulysses.”

I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and forever when I move."

This is the perfect quote for this collection. It is a movement to places, while at the same time a separation from those places and experiences into a moment of now, which is fleeting and yet becomes part of not only the reader but the poet herself. I loved that each page resembles a postcard back with a name and location, and the poem on the opposite side, providing the reader with a person that the poem is speaking to (not just the reader). This dialogue makes each poem unique. I would loved to have seen the actual images of each postcard, though Griggs does provide enough description in her poems to put you there, holding that card as she writes her short missives.

From "Postcard with a piece of the Berlin Wall" (pg. 7)

...I received
a broken-off piece from
the Berlin wall, the world was
Safe, we could retire
in the countryside.
Now our kids have moved
away but we're still here
where our neighbors just
voted to build a border wall.

Griggs is candid and uses her wry humor to highlight the ironies of our world. An America a little less concerned with freedom and more consumed by fears. While some of her poems speak about the wider world, they are often grounded in the locality where she is. These poems also examine what it means to grow into adulthood and to age beyond where we believe ourselves to be mentally. From “postcard of Niagara Falls,” “I missed you,/….wishing I could watch you/see this, wondering if I left/you alone too much, pursuing/your own course around/me,…/” (pg. 34)

There are so many good poems in this collection it is hard to pick a favorite, but for fellow bibliophiles, “postcard from Cape Cod” (pg. 38) will speak to you:

we could live like in the books,
without any of the fuss
of having to sustain anything
except ourselves, making meals
of little dishes on trays,
the wine we brought poured
into an endless line of glasses.

Postcard Poems by Jeanne Griggs is a delight to read. These are poems I will read again at the beach or on a vacation (should I ever take one again). There is so much light in these poems. It made my spirit lighter as I read them. We all need that these days.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Poet:

Jeanne Griggs is a reader, writer, traveler, and ailurophile. She directs the writing center at Kenyon College, plays violin in the Knox County Symphony, and reviews books at Necromancy Never Pays.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2021, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

My One Week Husband by Lauren Blakely (audio)

July 28, 2021 by

Source: Audible Purchase
Audiobook, 7+ hrs.
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My One Week Husband by Lauren Blakely, another audiobook with a full cast, is delightful in terms of romance and sexual tension, but my favorite parts are the musical interludes as we learn about the secret past of Daniel Stuart. His past is integral to how he acts, reacts, and engages in relationships with women and why his drive is so business focused. Like Daniel, Scarlett Slade is a savvy businesswoman, and as the newest business partner of Daniel and his college buddy Cole, she brings a bit of sexy into Daniel’s life, but she is far more than just a body to ogle. She is smart and she holds secrets that driver her in business.

Daniel and Scarlett are flirty, fun, and made for each other. And their relationship goes from business to red hot once they decide they need to scope out their next hotel chain acquisition by pretending to be newlyweds — hence the title. These two gamble in business day in and day out, but when their hearts are on the line, can they take the risk?

Lately, I’ve been on a Paris kick — watching movies and reading books set in Paris — I am longing to travel somewhere, and Paris is romance. Here Daniel is English, and that accent and Paris are a lovely combination. Add in classical music and violins (see videos for some of the pieces mentioned – Beethoven is one of my favorites), and I am over the moon with this romantic tale. My One Week Husband by Lauren Blakely is one of her best — there is a ton of character development here and hot, steamy scenes.

RATING: Cinquain

Filed Under: audiobooks, fiction, purchased, Read in 2021, reviews Tagged With: , ,

When I Bleed: Poems about Endometriosis by Maggie Bowyer

July 27, 2021 by

In simplified terms, symptoms of endometriosis may include: excessive menstrual cramps, abnormal, or heavy menstrual flow and pain during intercourse.

Endometriosis affects an estimated 2 to 10 percent of American women between the ages of 25 and 40. Go here for more information on Endometriosis.

Source: the poet
Paperback, 118 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

When I Bleed: Poems about Endometriosis by Maggie Bowyer is a collection that will open your eyes to what it is like to be chronically ill and to struggle to find not only a diagnosis and treatment but also acceptance among friends, family, and loved ones when you cannot even get out of bed some days. This collection also includes some information about online support groups and places to seek out information on this baffling ailment that can sometimes take more than a decade to diagnose.

From "2020" (pg. 2)

But all the laughter
Has been compressed out of me

Chronic illness can be debilitating, so much so that Bowyer says, “It’s like once I was done healing/I ceased to be.” (pg. 4) Bowyer not only tackles the exhaustion and pain of the disease in their poems, they also tackle misconceptions about endometriosis in “Dirty Girls’ Disease.” Readers can expect to take an emotional roller coaster ride with Bowyer, who speaks in verse about their experiences, emotions, and emptiness of battling the disease alone.

From an untitled poem (pg. 24)

I am a kitchen
Without plates,
Pots,
Pans.
I can burn
Pain into
My skin
On the burners;
I can gut myself
With utensils
That seem to serve
No other purpose.
What is the point
Of a kitchen
When my home
Has been destroyed?
Pain Erases People (pg. 51)

There are versions
Of myself
I will never recover,
Stolen by moments
I will forever remember.

This collection will shed light on an illness not many people know about and even fewer understand. This collection spoke to me among the many pitches because it is something a family member has dealt with and others have dealt with in the past. While I do not have it myself, it was important to me to learn more about how this illness affects others, especially those in my family. When I Bleed: Poems about Endometriosis by Maggie Bowyer can provide others with greater empathy and provide a cathartic experience for those with the disease, demonstrating that they are not alone in this battle.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Poet:

Maggie Bowyer (they/them/theirs) is a poet and the author of The Whole Story (Margaret Bowyer, 2020) and When I Bleed: Poems about Endometriosis (2021). They are a blogger and essayist with a focus on Endometriosis and chronic pain. They have been featured in Germ Magazine, Detour Ahead, Poetry 365, and others. They were the Editor-in-Chief of The Lariat Newspaper, a quarter-finalist in Brave New Voices 2016, and were a Marilyn Miller Poet Laureate. Visit their website.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2021, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

Where Do You Hang Your Hammock? by Bella Mahaya Carter

July 22, 2021 by

Source: FSB Associates
Paperback, 352 pgs.
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Where Do You Hang Your Hammock? by Bella Mahaya Carter is a book focused on not letting rejection and negative thoughts get in the way of your dreams. Carter’s book guides writers through the doubts, negative thoughts, roadblocks, and obstacles of writing and publishing, helping them review their own perspectives and how to change their mindsets.

She begins by talking about her hammock where she daydreamed and thought about her writing, but one day, her neighbor cuts the shade tree down in his yard and the hammock is now not “perfect.” Carter’s thoughts are consumed by the loss of shade and the bright sun, but her husband suggests she moves the hammock to another spot. She’s unwilling to do that, until she realizes that sometimes obstacles pop up when we need to change direction.

“I had traded the powerful peace that I am for the illusion that somebody had taken it,” she says. “You may think, as I did, that someone or something outside you is responsible for your upset. As convincing as this appears, it’s a misconception. Our peace and happiness come from within.”

Our internal demons and thoughts are those that keep us from reaching our dreams, and she urges us to stop being rats on that spinning wheel and get off. We need to release ourselves from the “cage of our own making.” In order to do this, however, you need to know wholeheartedly what you want, especially from your writing. You need to have a clear vision of the writing and its purpose. Without it, agents and external forces can push you in directions that are not a perfect fit for you. While some may provide additional opportunities that you may want to pursue, other opportunities may not be a right fit. The trick is to have a clear vision at the start to recognize those right opportunities.

“We cannot control outside circumstances or thoughts, we can choose how we relate to them.”

Carter does offer some writing advice, but her book is less about craft itself and more about the mindset you need to create freely. She does offer a great deal of insight about choosing agents and publishers and learning what route is best for your writing. Where Do You Hang Your Hammock? by Bella Mahaya Carter is part spiritual journey, part publishing advice, and part writing craft advice.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Author:

Bella Mahaya Carter is a creative writing teacher, empowerment coach, speaker, and author of an award-winning memoir, Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy, and a collection of narrative poems. She has worked with hundreds of writers since 2008 and has degrees in literature, film, and spiritual psychology. Her poetry, essays, fiction, and interviews have appeared in Mind, Body, Green; The Sun; Lilith; Fearless Soul; Writer’s Bone; Women Writers, Women’s Books; Chic Vegan; Bad Yogi Magazine; Jane Friedman’s blog; Pick The Brain; the Spiritual Medial Blog; Literary Mama, several anthologies’ and elsewhere.

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, FSB Associates, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2021, Reference, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks by Rob Sheffield (audio)

July 13, 2021 by

Source: Freebie
Audible, 2+ hrs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks by Rob Sheffield is a hommage to Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac that relies on Rolling Stone magazine’s extensive archives. It is clear from Rob Sheffield’s effusive narrative that he loves Stevie Nicks, considers her songwriting genius, and her style transcendent. He clearly loves Stevie Nicks and he takes listeners on a journey through her music with the band and as a solo artist. I loved learning that Nicks wrote songs and that none of them were earmarked ahead of time for the band or her solo albums. She just couldn’t help but write songs all the time.

I liked the light-hearted nature of this nugget, as I’m not as familiar with Nicks’ work as others might be. I’ve listened to Fleetwood Mac many times, and I enjoy their music, but I was interested in her as an artist, who seemed to be a force in the band and on her own. I would probably seek out a more in-depth look at her work and her life, but this provided a nice overview without too much “romance/breakup” gossipy stuff, which I tend to not like as much.

The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks by Rob Sheffield is one fan-boy’s love of Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks told by the man himself. It does provide a great overview for the curious who might not want to be too invested, but if you want something more than squealing about how great she is, you might want to try something different.

RATING: Tercet

Filed Under: audiobooks, challenges, memoir, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, purchased, Read in 2021, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Little Kids First Big Book of Rocks, Minerals Shells

July 8, 2021 by

Source: Media Masters Publicity
Hardcover, 128 pgs.
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Little Kids First Big Book of Rocks, Minerals Shells from National Geographic Kids is another stunning book from this publisher. The full-color pictures, the facts throughout the book, and just how the book is put together is fantastic. For kids who are curious about the world around them and pick up rocks and stick them in their pockets as they walk through the park, this is a book for them. This book will open their eyes to the wonderful world of rocks, minerals, and shells.

The introduction gives parents some basic information about how the book rolls out its information, from fact boxes to interactive questions for the kids and the parent tips at the back of the book. This book offers parents a starting point for exploring the natural world with their kids and rekindling some of the curiosity they once had as children. I remember taking earth science in school, but this rock cycle graphic is a great refresher about how all rocks can come full circle.

In addition to pictures of mountains and natural formations that are comprised of rock, the book points to man-made structures that use different types of rock. Kids will learn about rocks in their own backyards, as well as rocks they don’t see every day. I learned about rock that floats like an island in the South Pacific. The interactive map of rocks in different locations is a fun matching quiz for parents and kids alike.

Kids also will learn about shells and mollusks and turtles and so much more. Don’t forget about the minerals. We love discovering new minerals and the matching game where kids are asked to match minerals like topaz with their natural forms, rather than their refined gem looks.

My daughter has collected rocks for as long as I can remember and when we visited Myrtle Beach she started collecting shells. This book has so much information, you may get overloaded if you read it in one day, but as a resource you can come back to again and again, it is a gem of a book. We’re always amazed by how National Geographic Kids puts its informational books together and makes them interactive, and Little Kids First Big Book of Rocks, Minerals Shells is no exception.

RATING: Cinquain

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, Read in 2021, Reference, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,