Glamour by Mychael Black

June 18, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Glamour by Mychael Black
Fae-ry Tales, Book 3
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ, Action/Adventure, Erotic Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Prince Erilan is expected to do many things within Light Fae society. He is Captain of the Queen’s Guard, Queen Ivena’s advisor, and heir to the Light Fae throne. He’s always performed his duties — royal and familial — with unflinching loyalty. When he meets a Dark Fae scout, however, Erilan’s sense of duty wars with an unholy desire for the enigmatic Fae.

Lyren of House Kehru much prefers covertly spying from trees and shadows to jumping into the forays of the frontlines. He loves his job as a scout. Having far more magic than most of his Dark Fae brethren is a big plus. So when he’s ordered to do recon on the invisible borders of the Light Fae realm, he employs his magick to do just that. What he doesn’t count on is the insanely gorgeous Light Fae who nearly takes his head off with a sword.

Who needs a head when dealing with this Light Fae? Especially when the Light Fae has him not wanting to think about anything or anyone else?

I love the work of Mychael Black and am glad to find more by this author. The world building is great and the story flows well. I jumped right into the action with the characters and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. This story is hot and sweet at times, but packed with action. I couldn’t put it down.

It’s part of a series, but I didn’t feel confused or lost by not having read the others in the series. In fact, I’m ready to find the others and get to catching up!

If you’re looking for a fantasy story that rocks, this might be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a solid read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Heart of the Scrapdog – Short Story Collection by Isaac Nasri

May 26, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Heart of the Scrapdog – Short Story Collection by Isaac Nasri
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Action/Adventure
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After a perfidious operation that almost costed him his life, Troy Levi, an sagacious agent for the FBI, is granted a second chance, albeit a cyborg for the agency’s Virtual Division. However, this action does not come, without a price. He strives relentlessly to find grounding in a contemporary society that judges him and many others of his kind for who they are. A short story collection that will leave many readers fluctuating from hope to trepidation.

Getting new cyborg body parts won’t fix all of your problems, but they can be a good start.

All five of these stories were about the same main character and many of the same secondary characters as well. It was fascinating to get to know different facets of their personalities over time, especially as new people were introduced and Troy spent more time talking about how he felt about becoming a cyborg. There was a lot of ground to cover here, but the characters had plenty of opportunities to get to know each other and share themselves with the audience.

This collection would have benefitted from another round or two of editing. I discovered numerous examples of missing words, punctuation errors, and run-on sentences among other issues. As interested as I was in the storyline itself, all of the mistakes were so distracting and confusing that I couldn’t justify giving this book a higher rating.

I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the characters and setting. Mr. Nasri clearly put a lot of effort into who his characters were as individuals, what they looked like, and what the various places he visited would be like to experience in person. It was easy for me to visualize all of these things which made me want to keep reading and find out what would happen next. The author struck a nice balance between describing things to his audience in detail while also keeping the plot moving forward. That’s not always easy to do in such a short medium.

Heart of the Scrapdog was a fast-paced collection that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys cyberpunk tales.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Worlds of Light & Darkness by Angela Yuriko Smith and Scot Noel (editors)

May 21, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Worlds of Light & Darkness by Angela Yuriko Smith and Scot Noel (editors)
Publisher: Uproar Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A haunted father who discovers a place where incomplete things—and people—are made whole. A mischievous satyr who hatches a plan to set loose chaos on a global scale. A workaholic witch in search of her kitty companion. Invasive technology to rewrite the human brain. Dragon slayers. Zombies. Time travelers. Ice skaters.

These twenty short stories stretch across multiple universes and beyond death—and yet, they remain intimate, personal, emotional. They demonstrate the strength of the human spirit to find hope and seek a better tomorrow in even the darkest times.

A selection of the best speculative fiction from DreamForge and Space & Time literary magazines, these are the stories we need today as we struggle through a pandemic, divisive politics, rampant misinformation, a belligerent defiance of facts and science, and new technologies that are already spiraling beyond our control.

Read, my friends… and take hope.

Buckle up and prepare for a wild ride!

Lydia went to otherworldly lengths with a hungry dragon to retrieve a missing memory in “Born from Memory.” This was such an imaginative piece. I deeply enjoyed the descriptions of what memories look like and what happened to them once they ended up in that half-forgotten place. The deeper I dug into the plot, the more I looked forward to reaching the end. Every twist was beautifully done, especially the final one. This was something that could easily be expanded into a novel but was also quite satisfying as a short story.

“A Sip of Pombé” followed two astronauts as they embarked on a controversial trip from Uganda to Mars. Their clashing personalities often made me smile as I waited to find out if their mission would be successful, although I do wish more time had been spent describing how their journey went. They were facing so many serious obstacles that I sure would have liked to have more information about how they took on those challenges even though I was pleased with the later plot twists. Similar patterns of skipping over what I thought were the most exciting scenes were repeated in several other tales in this anthology as well.

The opening scene of “The Feline, the Witch, and the Universe” started with a witch named Sorscha arguing with a boarding guard about the existence of witches in outer space. I was instantly amused by the unusual combination of these themes and was as eager to find out how she’d react to being told she didn’t exist as I was to discover what business she had on a spaceship. Somehow the plot only grew more creative from that moment forward. No sooner would I adjust to one twist in it than another delightful one would appear. It was a great deal of fun to follow her adventures to their completion.

Anyone who enjoys science fiction should give Worlds of Light & Darkness a try.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Silenced Girls by Roger Stelljes

May 17, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Silenced Girls by Roger Stelljes
Publisher: Bookouture (an imprint of Storyfire Ltd)
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The beautiful young woman is perfectly still, curled up in the trunk of the car, her long dark hair hiding her face. Her cotton blouse has ridden up a little, revealing two small dots an inch apart on her back. Just like the others.

Guilt has kept FBI Agent Tori Hunter away from her home in Manchester Bay, Minnesota for twenty years, ever since her twin sister disappeared on the Fourth of July, when the girls should have been together. But when she receives an anonymous newspaper clipping about another missing girl, Genevieve, Tori is dragged back to the past. Just like Tori’s sister, Genevieve vanished without a trace, her empty car abandoned on a lonely lakeside road as Independence Day fireworks lit up the sky overhead.

Returning to Minnesota lake country, Tori finds Genevieve’s distraught parents desperate for answers. How could their beautiful, popular daughter be snatched so near her own home? Under pressure to make an arrest, the police have no time for Tori’s theories. Besides, they already have a suspect for Genevieve’s abductor: a local man seen flirting with her the night she disappeared.
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But then the suspect is found dead in his isolated cabin, days before another girl’s body is discovered bound and strangled in the trunk of her car, two strange dots on her back. The bloodstains surrounding her body belong to the one man Tori thought she could trust. Reeling, Tori knows the closer she gets to the truth, the more her own life is at risk. But can she catch this killer before it’s too late for Genevieve?

I enjoyed this strongly written suspense/thriller full length book. While I found the plot to be fairly mainstream (twin sister of kidnap/murder victim returns home as an FBI agent after twenty years trying to get her life back on track after her world was shattered) this book is totally noteworthy and saved by both the author’s writing style – which I loved – and a large cast of very strong and exceptional characters. Indeed, I feel this book could have all too easily slipped into the category of “yet another FBI thriller”, but I enjoyed this story enough to feel compelled to write a review.

The characters – Tori in particular – really struck a chord with me as being believable and interesting but not picture-perfect. Tori comes across as intelligent and sensitive, but still warm and caring. She has a well-deserved ego and is confidant in her abilities but is still humble enough to understand she can miss things and make mistakes and doesn’t just automatically assume she’s right or her way is best. I really felt the author did an excellent job in balancing her character with realism while still making her gripping and intriguing enough to keep me as a reader turning the pages.

I found the plot well thought out with a good number of red herrings and false starts. To be honest the main draw back I felt with this book was the fact when you simplify the plot (unknown serial killer kidnapping and killing girls and burying them so they’re never found and the killer can fly under the radar) it’s pretty standard and nothing too exciting. That said, the way in which the plot unfolds and the story is written completely saves this book from being “one of many” to a book that really manages to stand out in my mind. The characters, the small town, that intricate network of everyone knowing and dealing with everyone else – that side of this book is so very well done and really takes up a huge portion of the story. This totally saves the book and makes me happy to recommend it to others and go back to order the second in this series.

There is a slow unwinding of the plot, and I enjoyed following along with Tori and Detective Will Braddock as they try to follow the few clues in the new case and slowly unravel a huge web of mysterious disappearances from all around the local area and state over the past twenty years. I love how while the case – and number of victims – grew throughout the story it was all totally logical and well-woven. Not once did I roll my eyes or feel anything was too coincidental or anything other than good writing. The mystery and thriller aspect to this story was great and the characters were phenomenal. There is a little (mostly off-screen) romance between Tori and Will, and a few (non-gory and only lightly descriptive) thriller/killer style of scenes.

Overall I feel most readers should feel this book stays within the usual acceptable boundaries and doesn’t push too far over the line into the thriller/horror category. This isn’t a cozy mystery, nor is this a romantic suspense, this is a strong mystery/suspense and light on the thriller aspects and in general I don’t feel it should upset or trigger the majority of readers. While the plot isn’t fresh or new (to my personal perspective) I feel it’s exceptionally well written and strongly plotted. I adored the characters and found the whole range of them complex, well written and really interesting. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more by this author.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A Time for Mercy by John Grisham

May 14, 2021 By Leave a Comment


A Time for Mercy by John Grisham
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Clanton, Mississippi. 1990. Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Jake’s fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career, his financial security, and the safety of his family on the line.

In what may be the most personal and accomplished legal thriller of John Grisham’s storied career, we deepen our acquaintance with the iconic Southern town of Clanton and the vivid cast of characters that so many readers know and cherish. The result is a richly rewarding novel that is both timely and timeless, full of wit, drama, and—most of all—heart.

Bursting with all the courthouse scheming, small-town intrigue, and stunning plot twists that have become the hallmarks of the master of the legal thriller, A Time for Mercy is John Grisham’s most powerful courtroom drama yet.
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There is a time to kill and a time for justice. Now comes A Time for Mercy.

Sometimes the lost causes are the ones worth fighting the hardest for.

I love the books of John Grisham. There have been some misses through the years, but the Jake Brigance series has always been a winner to me. I like the way Grisham writes and this story was no exception. It moved along fine and kept me in my seat needing to know what would happen next.

Jake Brigance is my favorite of Grisham’s legal heroes. He’s strong, but not overly alpha, he’s sweet and has his heart in the right place, even if things don’t always go his way. I root for him in every book.

This story also has Drew, Kira, their mother and the jerk cop they live with. I know it seems like I’m being harsh, calling him a jerk. The cop is doing some rotten things–beating the girlfriend and sexually assaulting Kira. I wouldn’t say he deserved what he got, but he did deserve some discipline. That said, the kids are traumatized by him and when the cop beats the living snot out of their mother, they think she’s dead. If I were Drew, I don’t know how I would’ve handled it, but I might have done the same thing he did. I wish there had been some more concern for the kids and for Drew at first, but this is a book about small town justice and family. Unfortunately, the town wants to think the boy is bad and the cop is good. It made for intriguing reading and for an emotionally charged tale.

If you’re interested in reading about Jake, Drew and how this all sorts out, then pick it up today. I won’t give away spoilers, but it’s worth the journey.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Seed Of Evil by Greig Beck

May 14, 2021 By 1 Comment


Seed Of Evil by Greig Beck
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

There’s something growing deep in the old Angel Mine – Something the Native Americans warned us about – And now it’s rising again.

Mitch Taylor, ex-Special Forces medic, is seeking a quiet life in the town of Eldon. Tragedy has dogged his life, and he sees the small friendly place as a second chance. But buried deep below the friendly smiles and quaint painted houses is an old abandoned mine that holds a legend of an ancient and terrible god.

In the mine’s labyrinthine depths, something has been growing, something from a time of myth when ancient gods strode the Earth and mankind hadn’t even stood on two legs.

But when the earth shakes and the groundwater rises, it reaches out and those it touches begin to deform and reshape into the image of their god. Their one goal—to feed their ancient master deep below the ground.
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Mitch Taylor soon finds himself fighting again, this time for the town, the ones he loves, and for his life.

The Seed of Evil is a horrifying legend of an ancient god that turned out to be real.

After a heavy mortar round literally blew Captain Mitch Taylor’s world apart he struggled to come to grips with civilian life. With almost everyone on his last mission dead – or practically so – he knew he had to keep moving forwards. Trying for a second chance in a small, sleepy country town in Missouri, Mitch comes to love the little place – until an earthquake re-awakens something deep underground and Mitch once more realizes he needs to fight for his new life if any of them are going to have a chance.

I admit I am a huge fan of Grieg Beck’s work – both his Alex Hunter series and his Matt Kearns stories as well as numerous stand-alone books and trilogies. This book lives up to the high expectations I now have of his work in general. Part spooky fable, part military/action thriller, part action adventure this is a crazy and excitingly wild ride that I thoroughly enjoyed. Something about Beck’s writing style just tends to grab me and drag me along, addicted like crack and turning the pages. I now know well enough not to start one of his stories late in the afternoon unless I want to be up until crazy hours of the morning or pull and all-night reading binge. I held off starting this book until a Public holiday when I started it shortly after breakfast and stayed at it until I finished the last page early in the evening. I was in no way disappointed and felt the d ay well used.

I was really pleased that Mitch’s character was realistic and engaging. The opening few scenes were graphic and strongly written to explain the devastation of his life being torn apart with his military action going badly pear shaped, but the scene wasn’t overly gory or written for the blood and deaths to be titillating. The scene also wasn’t dwelled upon, even though those shadows and the weight of it clearly carried through with Mitch. I felt the author struck a really good balance here of realistic writing, and consequences for Mitch’s actions and the grief and weight he carried with him without bogging up the story or being maudlin. I also thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere the book held, part action/adventure but also part spooky fable or horror story. Beck in particular is an exemplary author for this sort of balance and I am rarely left disappointed in his story telling abilities or writing style.

Without giving too much plot away readers will find this story full of small-town secrets, an abandoned and quirky mine, varied and interesting characters and a few really believable and surprising plot twists (the bottled-water angle was amazing and a stroke of genius to my mind). Added together, these are all the necessary ingredients needed for a fantastic story. Throw in some military know-how, a deeply buried history of the towns previous disasters and just a dash of adventure and one word could easily sum up exactly how I found this story. Brilliant. I found the ending to be quite satisfying – but feel readers looking for a traditional or romantic “happy ever after” might not enjoy the ending as much as I did. I found it well resolved, strongly plotted and satisfying, but not a traditional sort of ending.

Readers looking for an intense, action filled and slightly spooky story should definitely check this out – as well as other stories written by this author. I enjoyed every minute of this and am looking forward to a re-read in the very near future.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee

May 4, 2021 By Leave a Comment


A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Genre: Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

India, 1920. Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee of the Calcutta Police Force investigate the dramatic assassination of a Maharajah’s son, in the sequel to A Rising Man.

The fabulously wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore is home to tigers, elephants, diamond mines, and the beautiful Palace of the Sun. But when the heir to the throne is assassinated in the presence of Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant ‘Surrender-Not’ Banerjee, they discover a kingdom riven with suppressed conflict. Prince Adhir was a modernizer whose attitudes—and romantic relationships—may have upset the more religious elements of his country, while his brother—now in line to the throne—appears to be a feckless playboy.
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As Wyndham and Banerjee desperately try to unravel the mystery behind the assassination, they become entangled in a dangerous world where those in power live by their own rules—and those who cross their paths pay with their lives. They must find a murderer, before the murderer finds them . . .

This is the second book featuring Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant “Surrender-not” Banerjee and I was really, really pleased to find it as good – and possibly slightly better – than the first book, “A Rising Man”. Set in the British ruled India in the 1920s this is a historical book but written very strongly as if it’s simply a regular police procedural/mystery story. There’s no dense info-dumps about the time period or the setting of India in those times, no showing off about how much research the author has performed – just exactly what I (and I feel many readers) want, strong characters, excellent writing and a captivating mystery. It was refreshing and thrilling and still very strongly a historical novel as well.

I adored the balance the author found between showing the readers through the character and plots actions how very different 1920s India was from our current times without slowing down the plot or the pace. This is a very fine line and I feel the author did a really good job with it. I must admit there is even less back-story and historical explanations in this story than the first. I very much want to state that this second story can be read completely as a stand alone – but since I have read the first and have already taken in all the historical setting and explanations, the fact this book has slightly less description about the political and global situation India is in makes me wonder if someone truly picking this book up first will find it as enthralling as I have. Personally I feel it’s worth the risk – if I picked up this book and read it without having read the first I might go back and read the first (and then find it more enjoyable) but the main characters are very well explained and written, the plot is central only to this story itself and so I feel it would be an enjoyable read by itself.

I particularly enjoy the characters of Sam and Surrender-not. They’ve been rooming together and working in the police force as partners for a year now and so a lot of their professional relationship and personal friendship is quite settled, without either of them becoming complacent. Sam still has his opium issues and personal demons from the war. This is also quite well handled I feel making him relatable and vulnerable without being the main focus of the story. I also enjoyed the mystery feeling it and the setting of 1920s India made a refreshing and really interesting setting for a well written mystery story. I’m enjoying these enough I’ve bought the rest of the series and am looking forward to it.

Readers looking for a slightly different mystery book – particularly one with a different cultural or historical perspective – should find this a really good read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Fern and Otto by Stephanie Graegin

April 23, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Fern and Otto – A Picture Book Story About Two Best Friends by Stephanie Graegin
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When best friends Fern, a bear, and Otto, a cat, go searching for an exciting story in the forest, they have different ideas about what that means. Fern thinks they should stop and watch a race between a tortoise and a hare, but Otto worries a tortoise is too slow to be exciting. Fern thinks the three brothers talking about how to build a house is incredibly interesting, but Otto isn’t convinced. Along the way, the two friends meet a little girl in red who is off to visit her grandmother (and a wolf headed the same way!); a cranky girl complaining that her porridge isn’t the right temperature; and many others. But it’s not until they run into a big scary witch that they both can agree that this is not the kind of excitement they had in mind. With irresistible illustrations and tons of charming details, this is a delightful fantasy adventure that proves the best adventures are the ones you share.

You never know what you’ll find in a magical forest!
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I was delighted by the many references to classic fairy and folk tales in this picture book. Most of them would be easy for kids to figure out, but there were one or two that were slightly more challenging in a good way. It was nice that the narrator trusted readers to make those connections on our own. There were certainly enough clues to do so. While I would be prepared to share the answers with preschoolers who might need a little help with the trickier ones, this is something I think they’d take great pride in figuring out on their own as much as possible.

There was a scene involving a witch that I thought was a tad too scary for this age group. As much as I enjoyed the references in that scene, it was something I’d tone down or maybe even skip over if I were reading this to the little ones in my life. With that being said, this was a minor blip in something I otherwise enjoyed quite a bit. Every child is unique and some of them may not be phased by it at all.

Fern and Otto’s friendship made me smile. They were always so kind to each other even when they disagreed about what they should do next or whether a particular experience in the forest would be a good thing to include in the storybook they were writing together. I thought they were a great example of what it should look like when friends disagree on something they both have strong feelings about. They both did a good job of communicating how they felt and working together to find solutions for their disagreements.

Fern and Otto – A Picture Book Story About Two Best Friends was a delightful adventure that should be read by fantasy fans of all ages.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Secret Runners by Matthew Reilly

April 16, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Secret Runners by Matthew Reilly
Publisher: Pan McMillan Australia
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, YA
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Gossip Girl meets Mad Max in this breakneck thriller where the line between rich and poor is the line between life and death. You can’t buy your way out of the end of the world in this edge-of-your-seat adventure from an internationally bestselling author.

Rich vs. Poor. Life vs. Death.

When Skye Rogers and her twin brother, Red, move to Manhattan, rumors of a coming global apocalypse are building. But the ultra-wealthy young elites at their prestigious school keep partying like there’s no tomorrow–while the city around them starts to fall apart.

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Skye and her twin brother Red have moved to Manhattan with their mother and step-father and are starting their junior year at the most exclusive school – The Monmouth School. Full of the richest and most elite children even in a city known for their wealth, Skye and Red still find the usual high school dramas everywhere. Cliques. Bullying. Home work and classes. Yet when Red, and then later Skye, are invited to join the most elite and secret club of them all, neither know just how dramatically it will change their lives.

I’ve had this book on my to-be-read pile for a long time. Matthew Reilly is one of my top favorite authors and I always love his work. So when I needed a change of pace and something a little lighter and more adventurous I was delighted to re-find this on my pile. Known for his massive (and slightly crazy) adventure and action sequences as well as his rocket-fast pace I loved how this was clearly the author flexing some of his considerable skill and stepping a shade or two outside his usual routine. While the last third or so of the book is absolutely lightning paced and full of adventure and thrills (and I actually squealed with laughter when the ever-present grappling hook made an appearance), the book as a whole is a delightful and refreshing change of pace with a steady character and society type of set up and not instant crazy action from the first page. I feel the author handled this really well and while definitely a step out of the norm for him I still absolutely loved this book.

In many ways this read a little to me like a YA book – but one of the best sorts, one that an adult can thoroughly and shamelessly enjoy. Skye is a teenage girl and Reilly didn’t shy from that but also didn’t wallow in it either. The angst of teenage years and high school cliques, the drama of boys and periods and bullying and social status is all present but they are there to support and aid the story – not to BE the story. I loved this balance and personally found it really well handled. I totally get this won’t be every reader’s cup of tea – particularly some men who want a Jack West Jr (or Scarecrow) style of action/military style of story which is Reilly’s staple. But for me, personally, I really enjoyed it and found the different style and plot was a delightful breath of fresh air.

My only quibble (and it’s a small one) was that for the first half or so of the book I didn’t feel the relationship between Red and Syke as siblings/twins was really used to its full potential. While clear the two loved and supported each other, they pretty much led divergent lives – Red fitting easily in with the cool kids and dating one of the “mean girls” and Skye on the outside fringes. I found it somewhat odd that Red happily went his own path with the elite crowd and didn’t think much of dating a mean girl who clearly didn’t like Skye at all. I found myself frequently hoping that Red would share more of his experiences with Skye and open his world to her a little more and found it puzzling when for much of it (with a few notable exceptions) this didn’t come to pass. Admittedly once Skye was let into that clique about half way through the book, this did come to pass, but I couldn’t help but feel there was a lost opportunity for Skye and Red to have shared more of those secrets earlier on in the book.

For the final third or so of the book everything comes to a head and man it was a thrilling rush to the end of the story. Many of the plots and sub-plots that had been so carefully woven and created in the first two thirds of the book all come crashing together and the true Reilly style came out to play. I read the final part of the book late into the night, simply unable to put it down. It exceeded my expectations and I can’t wait to dive back in and re-read it and catch all those smaller tidbits you always miss on the first reading.

Exciting and adventurous, slightly futuristic but all too relevant and modern this is an exceptional story and an amazing read. Highly recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Other, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Man Called Teacher by David Poulsen

April 14, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Man Called Teacher by David Poulsen
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Historical, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

One man. One town. One almost forgotten crime. When the stranger who has answered the ad for the teaching position at Kecking Horse School climbs down from the stage on a sleepy Montana afternoon, things are about to change.
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With Virgil Watt, cowboy, horse-breaker and the first black man in the history of the town by his side, the stranger quickly upsets the tranquility of the town’s leading citizens, administers a vicious beating to a couple of the town’s toughs and sets out to avenge a long neglected wrong. A reader of books, a lover of laughter, a lawman/lawbreaker with a .44 strapped to his leg–he is the man called Teacher.

This is really an easy and quick read. It was quick because I just couldn’t seem to put it down. I love westerns and this was a good entry into the genre. It’s a story told by what I first pictured as a rancher on the porch. A grizzled old rancher. As I got into the story, I realized the POV of the story (my narrator) was coming from a man who lived with his mama and worked in the general store, one of the few stores that exist in Kecking Horse. I’ll call my storekeeper the man from Kecking Horse because if the author ever actually had anyone call him by name, I can’t remember it.

There are a lot of good old stories like this and it’s true I enjoy them all. But this one’s a little different. The narrator of the story seems as if he’s right on the porch with you recalling something that happened in his life. The plot of the story is somewhat different as teachers usually weren’t tough guys back in the days of the old west. Teachers were usually women and not the ones carrying the guns. There is also some humor in this story. There would have to be in a town called Kecking Horse. A town named only because someone couldn’t spell. But the ability to keep the reader so drawn to the story must be in the writing. The same writing that made Teacher and the man from Kecking Horse seem real. Made the man from Kecking Horse’s narration help you see the characters and walk back through his life.

David Poulsen has several other books published. Check them out.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
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