Review: '50sville: The Town You Will Absolutely Love, or Else...

'50sville: The Town You Will Absolutely Love, or Else... by Paul A. Ibbetson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Available at Amazon

I really wanted this to be a great book. And it was until it ended. I have a thing about ending books that are part of a series. If you are going to end it, leave a light cliffhanger, not a major plot point. For that one star gets taken away.

The story was OK, but it just seemed like the characters were playing out the roles the author had assigned them. They did not seem to have a life of their own.

If the book was a complete set of the series I might consider buying it. At this point I was disappointed in it by itself and would expect the cliffhanger problem to continue so it is not one I plan to pick up. Recommended only if you want to buy the whole set. Nothing objectionable so it is OK for all ages.

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Review: The 30-Day Praise Challenge

The 30-Day Praise Challenge by Becky Harling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Available through Amazon

I do not suffer the cancer that the author does, but I have suffered from depression so I thought this might be a good read for me. I was not disappointed. While I still deal with depression, I now have a new tool in my arsenal to fight it.

The book as three parts to it. Part 1 is the challenge and why you should do it. Part three is moving on after the challenge is done, but the meat is in the middle section, the 30 days of praise. Each day starts with an invitation, scriptures adapted as if they were God speaking. Then the listen section where you are given 2 to 3 praise and worship songs to listen to. Next is a prayer written for you to pray based on what the invitation was about, also scriptural based. Lastly is the journal, writing your thoughts about this day's material by prompting you with questions.

Each days music is not hard to find. I was able to put a spotify list of all the songs. For me this part took the most time, but I am a rush type of guy and this forced me to take my time and listen.

Recommended for Christians who are having trouble with praise or want to take it to the next level. Also for people going through trauma or depression.

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Review: Undertow of Loyalty

Undertow of Loyalty by M.D. Davies
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
I received an advance copy of this book. What follows, as always, is an honest review.

While I had read the advertising blurb for this book, when I started reading it I forgot all about it. I am glad that I did. There were so many twist and turns in the first half of the book that I was a little bit shocked by each reveal.

Neil Henberlin comes to work after a weekend with his wife in another city to find his office empty and everyone looking at him strange. As a salesman for computer systems used in the oil field, it appears that the person he was working with on a big sale is dead, and he is also declared dead next to her, in an apartment he has kept on the side. Obviously he is not dead, and the mystery starts. Who was it next to her and what is his involvement?

Since the blurb for the book tells you that he is a spy, then it is not a spoiler, but again, that is revealed a few chapters later and it took me by surprise. This is one of the many twists and turns of the first half of the book. At this point, Neil is living three lives and trying to keep each one straight.

The second half of the book, after the killer is revealed, is more of a suspense story. Will the killer be caught and brought to justice? What was the frame of mind of the killer? I will confess, the reveal of the killer wound up being a surprise to me.

Good suspenseful story. Due to the graphic nature of the murders in the book, I would recommend for older teens through adults. It would be recommended to those who like a good mystery/thriller book.

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Review: Reviled

Reviled by Dean C. Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
Received an ARC copy and am providing an honest review.

Reviled picks up where the 1st book in the series left off. Soren, a hero who has used nano tech to enhance himself in a city that has rebranded itself into districts with themes, is dead. His makeshift family, want to help him so the wizard/tech person puts into him some nanites that he thinks will help, and then into a reviving fluid, only to have these nanites take over all of Soren except the mind chip he has placed into his brain to help his memory. The beast that comes out wants to take control, making Soren both Frankenstein and Frankenstein at the same time.

Much of the things that we found in the first book is repeated here. Large expansive fight scenes, plot turns and twists, and yes, even a stream of conscious scene. While the stream of conscious scenes in the book do not work for me, I understand the need and the way they fit in the story. This one happens during a romantic period between Soren and his love interest/mother figure to the family they take in. For that reason I could not recommend this to younger teens as it gets a little to weird.

You may need to make a scorecard to keep track of all the people in this story. Along with the cast of the first story there are a host of others that are introduced. At times I got one character confused with another and had to go back and reread something to make sure I got the character correct. That may have been my problem as I sometimes squeeze reading in when I am a little tired.

I recommend this book to all with the caveats that I have mentioned before. Because of the violence and the weird romance scene it would not be suitable for children. If you like a little science and fantasy mixed together, this would be worth your time.

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Review: Claus (Rise of the Miser): A Science Fiction Adventure

Claus (Rise of the Miser): A Science Fiction Adventure by Tony Bertauski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
I received an advanced copy of this book. What follows is an honest review.

This book is a stand alone book but it is part of a series. Many times series books like this have to bring you up to speed about the characters. Since I do not have the others in the series I was a little concerned about information not being there I needed. I need not have worried. If the up to speed stuff was there it was not noticeable. Everything was quite clear.

In this book we focus on a young girl and her father who have been called away to a special project. Away from their home in Alaska to a warm caribbean climate in the days before Christmas. In this special resort, they appear to be the only guest. The girl finds a young boy in a room that he cannot leave. Why he cannot and what it means is a mystery she needs to solve.

Meanwhile, while Santa is out on a dry run, he is kidnapped by a mysterious woman in a cloak that seems to glow with heat. Santa needs to get back to the North Pole in time for Christmas or Christmas will not happen.

The author does a good job of bringing all the elements together. The story has a good flow to it and things happen for a reason, not just to fill pages.

I recommend this book for all ages, though I am sure that younger children would not get much out of it. It is an entertaining story about how the elves, and Santa came about, why a woman would want to end Christmas (or does she) and what a family truly can be. Pick it up for some holiday science fiction.

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Review: Reborn

Reborn by Dean C. Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
I have received an ARC copy of this book. What follows is an honest review.

In Reborn, we have a story of wizards and science combined, along with spiritualism. Our main character, Soren, is a man who has used technology to enhance himself so that he can fight the evils that are being released on the city of Syracuse, NY by Victor, the protagonist. Victor seems to see the math patterns in everything, and uses this to unleash beings from an alternate universe. When Victor gets in over his head, the statement the enemy of my enemy is my friend comes into play.

Along with these two 'wizards', we have various other superheros that take control of the things that Victor is letting loose. Four of these come under the wing of Soren as he tries to mentor them. All have their moment when the end of the world seems to be here.

The book starts off with action at the very start and there is very little 'quiet time' but we do have a continuous series of character development taking place. I felt there was a lot of 'new age' philosophy in the story. If this was on purpose or just the nature of how the story takes place, I do not know. I mention this because some people would react to this in reading and not like it. I do not mind it, it is part of the story and I can read around it even though I do not have new age beliefs.

There is one brief sexual encounter done in a tasteful way. There are a few amount of cuss words but they take place in the flow of the story and do not appear to be done in a way to shock a person.

This is a story that does have a distinct ending, but it is a set up for book 2 of the series with a small cliff hanger.

I can recommend this book to people from older teens and up. There was one chapter which appeared to be a stream of consciousness part of the story. Some of the images in that section could be a little to much for younger children. I did enjoy the book and look forward to reading book two.



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Review: The Sacred Symbol: A Historical Conspiracy Mystery Thriller

The Sacred Symbol: A Historical Conspiracy Mystery Thriller by Paula Wynne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
I had the pleasure of reading this book for Ms Wayne as she sought out help for making sure the technical things are accurate. It was a pleasure to read it and I look forward to reading it again.

The author has blended the past and the current day in two stories that intermingle with each other. What has happened is directly reflected to what is happening now.

A grotto from the past holds secrets of healing properties. There are men who would kill to get to the secret of that grotto. One of them wants not only access to the grotto, but access to the private papers that he believe are hidden their, ones that Christopher Columbus wrote.
In the past, a young girl knows of a threat to Columbus and wants to try to warn him but how can she seek an audience with him.

The book kept me turning the pages to want to know what was coming next. I would recommend it for all ages though I am sure that most younger children would not have any interest in it. If you like stories that have a lot of suspense to them, then this would be for you.

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