Survival by Shirley Bigelow DeKelver

November 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Survival by Shirley Bigelow DeKelver
Climate of Fire Book 1
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The year is 2045, global warming escalates, and wildfires are rampant. Vancouver has been devastated by an earthquake and tsunami. Those who have survived have moved north or taken up residence at Little Mountain, the highest point in the city. Food and water are scarce, there are more violent storms and rising temperatures. The ashfall from the volcanoes increases daily, making it difficult to breathe. Four young adults, Taylor West, Carlie Fleming, Mai-Li Wong, and Willie Arbuckle, and three children, twin brothers Rusty and Eddie Coleman, and Debbie, who has Downs Syndrome, have gravitated together, forming a motley crew of survivors, living in constant fear of the violent gangs.

Making a life-saving decision, they decide to walk to the Interior, hoping to find a better life. Inexperienced, they face unknown obstacles, daily hardships, and hunger. Traveling across the devastated Wastelands is fraught with danger with unexpected complications making the journey more treacherous than they ever imagined. Reaching a sanctuary and indeed their very survival hangs in the balance. Relationships are tested time and again. What will remain strong and what will shatter?

Nothing is guaranteed in this dangerous, new world.

Compassion can be expressed in many different ways. I enjoyed seeing how the characters wrestled with the thought of what total strangers should do for each other in a crisis and how much someone should be expected to risk their own safety to help others who may be injured, young, or helpless. These aren’t questions that have black and white answers in most cases, but they are good jumping-off points for all sorts of discussions about many of the scenes in this book. Sometimes I found myself wishing I’d read this as a part of a book club so I could discuss my thoughts on what certain characters should or shouldn’t have done in specific situations with other readers!

The main characters made odd and illogical decisions that I struggled to understand. For example, Carlie was given the chance to be rescued by the military in one of the earliest scenes, but she decided to hide instead for reasons that were never clear to me. This was the first of many examples of characters refusing to do simple things that would make their already-difficult lives easier without explaining why they thought those choices were the right ones. I don’t expect teenagers to always think things through the way an adult would, but this pattern of picking the hardest option for no reason happened so often that it did reduce my enjoyment of the plot in general.

I enjoyed the strong, steady pacing. Carlie and her companions regularly had new problems to solve on their journey whether they were minor ones like disagreements between certain characters or major ones like not having enough food or water. There was never a good time for me to stop reading and do something else. That’s the sort of conundrum I always like to have when I’m reading as it means that the author planned everything out evenly and made sure that their audience would have plenty of things to think about when we did eventually need to take a break and do something else.

Survival was adventurous.

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

See Them Run by Marion Todd

November 2, 2023 By Leave a Comment


See Them Run by Marion Todd
Publisher: Canelo Crime
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In a famous Scottish town, someone is bent on murder – but why?
On the night of a wedding celebration, one guest meets a grisly end when he’s killed in a hit-and-run. A card bearing the number ‘5’ has been placed on the victim’s chest. DI Clare Mackay, who recently moved from Glasgow to join the St Andrews force, leads the investigation. The following night another victim is struck down and a number ‘4’ card is at the scene. Clare and her team realise they’re against the clock to find a killer stalking the streets of the picturesque Scottish town and bent on carrying out three more murders.

To prevent further deaths, the police have to uncover the link between the victims. But those involved have a lot more at stake than first meets the eye. If Clare wants to solve the case she must face her own past and discover the deepest secrets of the victims – and the killer.

After leaving the armed response police unit under a cloud, DI Clare Mackay is slowly settling into her new position in the St Andrews Force. With a far smaller team and a much smaller township to protect, Clare is beginning to find her feet when a guest at a local wedding meets a grisly end in a suspected hit and run. When days later yet another man is hit in a clear hit and run Clare and her team rush to uncover what could possibly link these two men – because Clare knows there will soon be more victims if they can’t stop this killer.

This is a brand new (to me) author that I found and picked up on a whim. While I admit the story started a little slowly to me after the first 20-30 pages I found myself really getting into the story and before I’d reached the half way mark I’d already ordered the second book in the series. I found this to be a well plotted and decently paced small town Scottish police procedural style of story. Readers looking for something more action-orientated or a more busy city style of action/mystery might not find this really hits the spot for them.

I was of two minds that Clare’s past/history took a while to unfurl throughout this story. For quite a bit of the book (maybe as much as half of the story) aspects of the reason behind why she left behind Glasgow was left mysterious. I felt that a little odd how long it drew out, particularly since this was the incident that caused her to so drastically alter her entire life. While I could believe this plotline might follow DI Clare Mackay into the next book or two there was certainly a good amount of resolution and conclusion to this event and I am intrigued how Clare will rebuild her life and move on.

Readers who enjoy police procedural mysteries and are looking for something a little different should definitely give this a try. I thoroughly enjoyed the Scottish dialogue, accents and setting and really enjoyed the slightly different lens this gave the book as a whole. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next in the series.

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

Veronica by Asif Hossain

October 30, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Veronica by Asif Hossain
Publisher: Turquoise Book House
Genre: LGBTQ, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Veronica is a young (18-year-old) girl who recently graduated from high school and plans to attend college. Loneliness is her best companion. She has a quiet personality and spends the majority of her time reading. She decides to embark on an adventure with no set destination in order to see the world from another point of view. As she continues, different perspectives, including her romantic awakening, start to fill the void in her mind.

As she drives through the streets and wanders around, she finds herself in places she has never been before. A quiet, empty motel, a cafe with old-fashioned people in a deserted area—entering all these becomes a discovery for her. The calm atmosphere and sudden downpour of rain bring a sense of nostalgia to her life. However, meeting a captivating college student named Olivia in the Ozarks brings a different flow of emotions into her life.

The book is divided into twelve chapters with an epilogue, each titled after an art form that Veronica’s feelings resonate with, which is mostly songs and sometimes poetry.

Love makes everything better.

Veronica was a thoughtful and kind protagonist. I appreciated the way she took note of how her actions might affect others and did everything she could to make the right decisions that would have the highest probability of being good for everyone involved. There is definitely something to be said for characters who care about social harmony as much as she did!

I struggled with the slow pacing of this book. The plot development that was there took a lot of time to show up and included a lot of filler scenes that could have been cut out or trimmed down. As much as I enjoyed the thoughtful atmosphere of certain scenes, having everything move so slowly meant that I didn’t have as many incentives to keep reading as I would have liked to discover. Some of the scenes did make me eager to see what would happen next, especially in the last fifteen percent of the storyline or so, but sadly there weren’t enough of them to warrant giving this a higher rating.

The friends to lovers trope is one of my favorite romance tropes, and it was handled nicely here. It was refreshing for Veronica and her love interest to have so much time to get to know each other before anything romantic happened to them because it gave them the opportunity to get to know each other on a deep level. There’s a lot of overlap between what makes two people compatible as friends versus what makes them a good match romantically speaking, so confirming just how much they had in common ahead of time did them both a service.

Veronica was a quiet read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Skeleton Room by Kate Ellis

October 26, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Skeleton Room by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When builders converting Chadleigh Hall, a former school, into a luxury hotel discover a skeleton in a sealed room, DI Wesley Peterson is called in to investigate.

Soon Wesley has a second suspicious death on their hands: a team of marine archaeologists working on a nearby shipwreck off the Devon coast have dragged a woman’s body from the sea.

As Wesley investigates Chadleigh Hall’s past and the woman’s violent death, both trails lead in surprising directions. Matters are further complicated when a man wanted for murder in London appears on the scene – a man who may know more about the case than he admits . . .

DI Wesley Peterson is called in to investigate when the building refurbishment of an old girls’ school in preparation to become a ritzy hotel finds the skeleton of a young girl walled up in a small room. Unsure exactly how old the skeleton is, DI Peterson soon finds himself quite busy when the body of a woman washes up off the coastline, and the skeleton is found to likely be from the 1960s and still requiring investigation. With an old shipwreck being dived and excavated by his archaeologist friends the small country town is soon bustling and very busy just before the summer tourist season begins once again.

I’ve been enjoying this series and found this British small town mystery book to be yet another excellent addition. While I did find in this installment the archaeology took a bit more of a back seat than I’m used to, I was pleased that the two main mysteries – that of the schoolgirl skeleton and the suspicious death/drowning of the young woman were both logical, interestingly written and very much front and center for most of the book. The shipwreck – and slight sub-plot involving the genealogy investigation surrounding this – all added a good bit of extra mystery and overall, I found the book quite the page turning. It certainly held my attention as these various plots all revolved around each other and appeared in places to cross over.

The main cast of the police team, Wesley’s wife and child, and Wesley’s old school chum Neil all worked very well together, and I was doubly intrigued when one of the previous detectives who had left for the bright lights of London and the Met also turned up. I feel readers should greatly enjoy the many moving parts to this story and feel it can certainly be picked up as a stand along from a plot perspective. There is a bit of history and connection between the network of characters though I feel that is all clearly and well explained and so readers who haven’t read any of the previous books should feel comfortable picking this book up by itself.

With a solid series of plots and a good small town/British police procedural feel to it this is a great book and one I enjoyed.

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

I Am Changing Careers: Questions to Guide a Job Seeker by Anita Job

October 24, 2023 By Leave a Comment


I Am Changing Careers: Questions to Guide a Job Seeker by Anita Job
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In “I Am Changing Careers” you will learn:

How to find fulfilling work
Receive a daily job search roadmap to focus on the right activities
Leverage non-traditional job search techniques and strategies that worked for Anita and will work for you
How to maintain your physical, mental and emotional health while job hunting: a holistic approach
Make a great first impression at your dream job!
Perfect for high school guidance counselors, those entering the workplace (school-to-work transition), college graduates, or those changing industries mid-career.

So what are you waiting for? Buy now and join the many readers who have gone from job seekers to employed in their perfect career!

A good attitude is essential while looking for work, but that’s just the beginning of what one needs to succeed.

It was nice to have so many open-ended questions to mull over as I read this. The job hunt can vary quite a bit for people in different industries or stages of life, so it made sense to ask the audience to think about what they bring to the table and what sort of company they’re interested in instead of making any assumptions about that. I also liked the fact that readers were asked to consider their own preferences for working conditions and any personal or medical considerations they might want to think about when deciding whether to pursue options like shift work, long commutes, long workweeks, or similar issues.

Online applications, virtual job interviews, and asynchronous interviews are incredibly common in many fields these days. Ms. Job spent almost no time discussing how technology has changed the process of looking for work or how to reword resumes with keywords from the job ads in order to get them past the automated applicant tracking system (ATS) and into the hands of a manager or some other employee at a company who screens applications. I was surprised by these choices and wished the author had included a chapter or two of advice on how to get your resume or application seen by an actual person. It would have also been helpful to have advice on how to ace interviews that either happen online or involve the applicant recording their answers in front of a camera without ever having a chance to talk to a live person from the company they’ve applied to until or unless they happen to be selected for the next round of interviews.

One of the things that surprised me about this work was how much time it spent talking about the importance of maintaining one’s physical and mental health while job hunting. Everything from exercise to eating a healthy diet to keeping one’s spirits up if things aren’t progressing the way you might have hoped they would, were covered in detail here. There is definitely something to be said for looking out for all of these things and doing plenty of self-care activities during what can be a stressful and lonely time for some folks.

With that being said, I did find myself wishing for more chapters that included practical advice for changing careers or otherwise landing work. This could have easily been expanded from 90 pages into a full-length book on the topic, and there was so much more the author could have said about best practices for trying to find a new position in the current climate. For example, cover letters seem to be less common in some industries, and many places have relaxed their dress codes as well.

The bibliography was filled with links to all sorts of organizations that can make life easier for people who are currently going through hard times. While many of them were specifically about careers, others could be used by folks in a wide variety of other circumstances. I appreciated the work that was put into compiling this list. It highlighted some of the best parts of the earlier chapters about networking, self-care, and so many other relevant topics.

I Am Changing Careers – Questions to Guide a Job Seeker was a thought-provoking read.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Strapped by Lucia Jordan

October 20, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Strapped by Lucia Jordan
Publisher: Wild Hearts Romance
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Life imitates art unlike anything Madeline has experienced before. Madeline Longo is well known in the world of romantic literature as editor of SwanSong Books – the publishers of best selling romance, whose steamy works are popular with readers. Unfortunately what she is not so talented in is transferring that success to her love life, which is practically nonexistent due to the demands of her career. But when she meets Will Bennet—a sensuous romance writer who is not afraid to act on his powerfully seductive imagination—she finds herself for the first time living out her deepest fantasies. He intrigues and excites her, and not before long she finds herself swept up in his world of dark fantasy that’s addictively mind-blowing. But can Will and Madeline’s careers withstand the force of their attraction? With Will on her mind, Madeline is loosing track of work and her competitive streak is fading. And when she gives Will an ultimatum, will she end up losing him to SwanSong’s biggest rival?

Hot times in and out of the pages.

An editor who wants to be bold and a writer who wants to take here there. This was an intriguing book. Who wouldn’t want to have a sexy man sweep them off their feet and romance them? I love reading that trope. This book does deliver. There’s romance and tension.

There were some quibbles with the story. It’s fast and feels fast. The pacing could slow down just a bit. Also, there were moments I didn’t feel like I was in the story. I was just observing. I like immersive stories and this one wavered a bit. I wasn’t always sure who’s point of view I was in and had some troubles following the story. The characters are fun, though. These quibbles aren’t to say this book isn’t enjoyable. It’s quite enjoyable and the right reader will love it.

I did like the characters. Madeline’s smart, cunning and not afraid to get what she wants. Will is the same way. The combination of them together is fantastic.

If you’re looking for a story that’s tempting, sexy and different, then pick this one up. You’ll be glad you did.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

A Billionaire Ex by Alexia Austen

October 19, 2023 By Leave a Comment


A Billionaire Ex by Alexia Austen
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Maria Lawson is 32 years old, and divorced. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, she learns her ex-husband, Jack Styles, is now a billionaire. He enters her life again in the most unexpected of ways, but is he a friend, or an enemy?

One night that led to more, but will it always?

I knew this story would be a cliffhanger and I wasn’t disappointed. The author certainly left me wanting more. The writing was good and the characters interesting. I had to keep reading to see what would happen next.

Maria and Jack are exes who have chemistry, but a lot of problems, too. They need each other, but don’t. I liked the push-pull between them, but there were moments I wasn’t a fan of Maria. I wanted her to stand up more, but the ending was satisfying. I’m glad I read it.

If you’re looking for a story that’s short, leaves you wanting more and will satisfy for a lunch read, then this is the one for you.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

Office Toy by Cleo Peitsche

October 18, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Office Toy by Cleo Peitsche
Publisher: Pouch Productions
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Elle’s job interview starts with Cunningham throwing away her cheap clothes and sending his assistant to buy new outfits.

He’s got her naked, so of course he’ll lay her out on the conference table and claim her mouth. Soon Elle is trussed up, all of her holes stretched full while three hot men have their wicked way.

She loves her first tastes of liberated, naughty sex. But she’d better not start falling for her boss—no matter how safe he makes her feel—because while office sex is encouraged, romance is strictly forbidden.

A chance at the job of a lifetime, but will she take it?

I knew when I picked up this book that it’d be hot. It was and I got so much more than I bargained for. This is a short story, but there’s a lot in it. If you’re looking for menage, three men and one lucky gal, submission and taboo, then this is the book for you.

The writing is a bit simple, but it still drives along well. I couldn’t put it down. The characters are dominant and sexy, but also fun. I liked them all.

If you’re looking for a HAWT lunchtime read, then this is the one for you. You’ll be glad you did.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Rat Race Reboot by Laura Noel

October 17, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Rat Race Reboot by Laura Noel
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Escape the rat race and create your ideal future today!

Are you tired of the endless daily grind? Of feeling that constant need to do more, achieve more, be more? Are you reaching the end of the day and feeling exhausted after going nowhere so fast?

You can design—and have—your dream life, if you learn how to reboot your mind. Your brain is more powerful than you realize and knowing how to use your thoughts to empower you is the key to setting and achieving “impossible” goals every single day.

Rat Race Reboot contains the answers you need to maximize your potential, find a meaningful purpose, and create a fulfilling life. With the strategies you’ll learn in Rat Race Reboot, you can become your best, most successful self, and discover the joy you’ve always wanted.

Hope and hard work never go out of fashion.

I liked the author’s emphasis on having a good attitude and persevering even if your second or your tenth attempt to do something doesn’t succeed. There is a lot of wisdom in that advice. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts to reach a goal, and others are more likely to help people who remain positive and focused on what they want to accomplish in life than those who look at everything through a negative perspective.

With that being said, I wish the author had spent more time explaining what realistic goals look like and which signs might let someone know that what they’re trying to accomplish isn’t going to happen right now for whatever reason. Imagining a better future is critically important, but thinking positive thoughts cannot make every single dream a person can think of come true. Some fantasies require many years of hard work and a lot of luck to turn into reality, while others could be seriously hampered by, say, the quiet prejudice of the person who decides whether to hire someone for their dream job or offer them the loan they need to start a small business. This is a complex topic, and I wish the author had spent more time leaning into the many different outcomes that are possible other than relatively quick success.

This was a well-organized book that was easy to read. I appreciated the many lists included in it of ways to change everything from one’s office to the way one thinks in order to maximize the possibility of success. While not everything in life is within our control by any means, there is still something to be said for making the best of life and looking on the bright side even if it feels like there will never be a breakthrough. Having something to quickly reference during times like these is important, especially when it’s as accessible as this was.

Rat Race Reboot was a thought-provoking read.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Blue Star Boy by Gavin Atlas

October 16, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Blue Star Boy by Gavin Atlas
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LBGTQ
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Jerry’s goal is to fulfill as many sexual fantasies as he can before he starts graduate school in the fall. The next fantasy on his list is topping a surfer, and with the help of the internet, he’s discovered a submissive young man on the Texas coast who is famous for giving up his incredible rump on the beach at sunset.

But when he meets Adriano, Jerry is stunned, and not just by the surfer’s beautiful body. The combination of Adriano’s sweet essence and natural sex appeal have Jerry wanting much more than a one-night stand.

Two hot men, one chance meeting and a hot time to ensue?

I didn’t know what I’d get when I picked up this book. Sweet romance? There is some in there. These two men are trying to find something in this crazy world, so yes, that part is sweet. Something saucy? There’s that, too. There is certainly spice. This is a short story, but there’s a lot in it and it’s fun.

Adriano has been embarrassed by his ex and his name placed online as a Blue Star Boy–there for someone’s good time. He’s not interested, until Jerry comes along. Jerry just wants a one-nighter. Then he meets Adriano. I liked the pairing and the pacing of this story. It’s good. I’ll read more by this author.

If you’re looking for a quick romance that will satisfy for a lunchtime read, then this is the one for you.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,
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