Gracie’s Time by Christine Potter

February 20, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Gracie’s Time by Christine Potter
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Science Fiction, YA, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Short story (59 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

October, 1962
It’s almost Halloween, but something a lot scarier than ghosts is on everyone’s mind: nuclear war. After President Kennedy’s speech to the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Grace Ingraham overhears her parents’ plans to keep her safe. She’ll be sent off to live with a wealthy uncle—in the nineteenth century.

Gracie’s from a family of Travelers, people who can escape into time. Too bad her mom and dad haven’t Traveled since their honeymoon trip to the Lincoln Inauguration. So Grace will have to go alone—even though taking a wrong turn can have serious consequences: like heading for 1890, and ending up …in 2018.

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Luckily, a fellow traveler finds her in the city and helps her. It’s great seeing her reactions to the future technology—quite realistic. She pops into other times and finds out some surprising things. Sometimes she’s pulled there, and dangerous stuff happens. Are there forces that have their own designs on her? Gracie will have to be very careful. Gracie’s strength comes into play many times.

Sometimes there is a lot of information given at once or some confusion. There is plenty of political commentary mixed in with the story.

When Gracie discovers she has a brother, and he’s a bit…unusual, the mystery is amped up. Supernatural elements add a twist to the story.

Gracie’s interaction with the secondary characters is charming. They help us to see and understand our protagonist better.

Period details are well-written, so readers can easily picture the era.

This is a good tale of young love and adventure. Gracie’s Time is fourth in a series, but the author fills in the necessary blanks with helpful information. The ending leaves some questions unanswered, leaving room for a continuation of the story.

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Stand-In by J.S. Frankel

February 18, 2020 By 1 Comment


Stand-In by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (230 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Bill Grissom, seventeen, doesn’t have long to live, and when he’s given a second chance as a substitute for his counterpart in a parallel universe, he jumps at the chance to become the Golden Guardsman.

Things go well at first. Along with Veil—Charlene Thompson, Matter-Man—Anders Nixon, and Monolith—Martin Bollock, the other members of the group, they dispense justice wherever it’s needed.
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However, Matter-Man’s insistence on getting paid for a job well done doesn’t sit well with Bill, and he becomes jaded and cynical about working for the Collective. To Matter-Man, and to the other members of the group, it’s all about the coin.

As well, more and more super-criminals start to appear, and when Bill discovers who’s coming and more importantly, why, he learns that being a hero involves more than simply dispensing justice. It’s all about living up to the ideals of being one—something that could cost him his life.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

The world building made me smile. There was a great deal of effort put into showing how superheroes in this universe were different from the ones that some readers might be expecting. For example, they weren’t universally liked for reasons I’ll leave up to other readers to discover for themselves. Explaining and exploring details like these brought this world to life for me. No sooner would one of my questions about how everything worked would be answered than a couple more would spring into place. It was a great deal of fun to figure all of this out.

I found the pacing of the beginning of this book to be slow. The main character had plenty of explaining to do about the world he lived in and the alternate universe he was about to discover. As intrigued as I am by superheroes, I found it hard to get into Bill’s story because of how slowly everything happened in the first several chapters.

The fight scenes were nicely written. I’ve been reading Mr. Frankel’s stories for years now, and his approach to writing about this sort of conflict has evolved in all sorts of interesting ways since I was first introduced to his stuff. It’s been a great deal of fun to see the different techniques he uses to describe what is happening in them and how he approaches a conflict that has multiple folks jumping into the fray all at once. I look forward to hopefully reading more of these scenes in his future work!

Stand-In should be read by anyone who likes superheroes.

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

The Rumrunner’s Boy by E.R. Yatscoff

February 4, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Rumrunner’s Boy by E.R. Yatscoff
Publisher: BWL Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Action/Adventure, Historical
Length: Full Length (190 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Canadians are only too happy to supply liquor to thirsty Americans during U.S. Prohibition. Jarrod Hooker, 17, steps in for his injured father on a rum running crew smuggling liquor across Lake Erie. It’s a lucrative job they cannot afford to lose.

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Whatever happens on the next run will change everything for everyone. Amid sabotage and bullets flying, Jarrod must put his trust in a very dangerous man. Although Canada is only a few miles offshore, it may as well be a world away.

Smuggling is a dangerous job even at the best of times.

The character development was well done. This was true not only for Jarrod but also for many of the other people he spent time with at home and while smuggling alcohol across the border. I had a crystal clear picture in my mind of what everyone looked and sounded like. That’s always something I appreciate in a story, especially when it involves as many different folks as this one did. It made me want to keep reading until I learned what everyone’s fate was!

I would have liked to see a little more attention paid to wrapping up the ending, especially when it came to the health of Jarrod’s dad. Earlier scenes spent so much time exploring this topic and showing how Jarrod’s duties to his family were preventing him from reaching other goals. Many of the other subplots were resolved nicely. I would have given this book a five-star rating if this portion of the storyline was given as much attention.

There were times I felt like I’d actually travelled back in time to the 1920s due to how strong the world building was. The author clearly put a lot of effort into researching how farming families lived in this era. Everything from what people ate to how they kept themselves clean in a world where every warm bath required some prep work were described in exactly the right amount of detail.

Anyone who likes history or adventure should check out The Rumrunner’s Boy.

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

The Killing Spell by Shane Ulrrein

December 5, 2019 By Leave a Comment


The Killing Spell by Shane Ulrrein
Publisher: Deep Desires Press
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (234 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Edward Peach is a fourteen-year-old wizard who receives a letter that he has been accepted into the prestigious Prymoutekhny Wizards Academy for Boys, in the faraway land of Aradia. His parents are overjoyed, but he feels reluctant to leave his family, friends, and his comfy cottage in the English coastal village of Manley.

As term begins, Edward adjusts to life in his new school, dealing with bullies, strict teachers, and challenging wizardry classes. He is almost ready to give up when he falls in love with a charismatic, privileged boy—and talented wizard—named Mr. Andreas. Prymoutekhny is a school that has still not opened up to same-sex attraction, so he must keep his feelings secret.
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Soon, Edward and the impressive boy realize their deep attraction for each other. This causes immediate controversy in the school, as they are the first two boys from feuding houses to come together—especially in a school where house rivalry can end in murder.

He is then put to the ultimate test as he must risk being with the boy he loves even at the cost of his own life!

Every boarding school has its own set of rules. This school might have some of the most unique rules of them all!

Not all of Edward’s experiences at his new school were positive ones. Some of the best passages were the ones that talked about the bullying he went through and the different techniques he tried to deal with that. I appreciated the fact that this wasn’t something that he solved in the first chapter. It was an ongoing problem that the author took seriously and obviously worked hard to explore in a very realistic fashion.

This book spent a great deal of time telling the audience what was happening instead of showing it to us. Everything from the personalities of the characters to the descriptions of life at the Prymoutekhny Wizards Academy for Boys was affected by this issue. I adored the premise, but I had a lot of trouble getting into the storyline because of how hard it was to imagine what it would be like to experience that world for myself.

The romantic subplot was nicely written. I liked both of the characters who were involved in it, and thought they’d make great boyfriends for each other. It was also nice to see them get to know each other for a while before any hint of flirtation happened. Based on what the narrator told me about their personalities, this seemed like it would be the most logical thing for them to do.

I’d recommend The Killing Spell to anyone who likes the idea of attending a magical boarding school.

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

Randor’s Moon by J.S. Frankel

November 4, 2019 By 1 Comment


Randor’s Moon by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (239 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Randor Delphin, shy teen prodigy, bio-scientist, and total nerd, lives a lonely, orphaned life on the planet of Malloran, a colony of the now-dead Earth. Malloran has been at war with the neighboring world of Falanar, a warrior planet, but their differences will be set aside if aid is given, as a plague of unknown origin has broken out, and only the scientists of Malloran can help.

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Once there, they learn that they need each other in order to survive against the predators of that world, those that are animal, and those more than animal.

Not every hero is brash and bold.

The action-packed opening scene drew me into the plot immediately. Randor was unlucky enough to live in a time and place where war had reached his town. With that being said, he was also lucky enough to be part of a community that banded together in tough times and did everything they could to protect each other. I enjoyed reading about how they responded to the bombing, and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next. This was a fantastic introduction to this tale.

There were a few plot twists that I found hard to believe. For example, I struggled to imagine how an eighteen-year-old who had virtually no experience flying a spaceship was given one when his culture was so short on supplies due to the war. Surely they could have spared someone to fly him to his destination since there was a ceasefire happening when he left? There was also a twist related to the plague and Randor’s search for a cure for it. As smart and educated as he was, I had trouble believing that one person could do all of the work on this problem that he did. I’m mentioning these criticisms as someone who loved the premise of this book and really wanted to give it a higher rating. If the sheer desperation of his elders had been explained in a way that made a better case for why they took these risks, I would have happily knocked my rating up by at least another star.

I couldn’t have asked for a more interesting main character than Randor. His shy personality and struggles with making small talk endeared me to him immediately. It’s not every day I read a science fiction novel about quiet, gentle protagonists who act like this, so it’s refreshing when it does happen. Any personality type can be heroic. Seeing what that looks like for those of us who aren’t the life of the party makes me hope that other authors will step outside of the mold and imagine even more ways of being a hero.

Randor’s Moon should be read by anyone who has ever dreamed what life on other planets might be like.

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

Moonwalk: The Story of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing by David Jenkins

October 30, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Moonwalk: The Story of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing by David Jenkins
Publisher: Circa Press
Genre: Non-Fiction, Middle Grade
Length: Short Story (48 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 8+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Written for children, but with parents very much in mind, this book tells the Apollo 11 story through the medium of artist Adrian Buckley’s atmospheric imagery. From President Kennedy’s call to put a man on the moon to the celebratory ticker tape parade in Manhattan, this is a story of three extraordinary men and their incredible achievement: Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Buzz Aldrin and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins. On 21 July 1969, when Neil Armstrong opened the hatch in the Lunar Module and descended the ladder to set foot on the surface of the Moon, he became in an instant the greatest traveler in human history. Full of period detail and fascinating insights, this is a book to be explored and enjoyed.

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I’m not usually one for reading books for children, but that didn’t stop me from picking up this picture book. There are tidbits on each page that flow well and nicely explain the images. I learned more than a few things while reading this book. It’s explained and put in language a kid can understand, but doesn’t talk down to the younger reader.

One thing that is a tiny bit distracting–it was to me, but might not be for other readers–is the photos. Some are more like drawings and others actual photos. I didn’t mind the hybrid, but the thing that was odd was how the photos were edited, like editing Neil Armstrong out of the reflection on Buzz Aldrin’s helmet. Or the hyper realism on the Saturn V rocket, but the surrounding area is drawn. It’s a quibble that bothered me, but might be perfectly fine for other readers and isn’t something that should make you pass this book by.

I really enjoyed the snippets on the last couple of pages. The author included interesting facts about the mission, about the astronauts and NASA. The little tidbits are great points for discussion, even with smaller children.

If you’re looking for a book to introduce your younger reader to the space mission, Apollo 11, then this might be the book you’re looking for. Give it a try.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

I Was a Gay Teenage Zombie by Alison Cybe

October 10, 2019 By Leave a Comment


I Was a Gay Teenage Zombie by Alison Cybe
Publisher: Deep Hearts YA
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (164 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Y’know, if I was a sexy type of undead, like a vampire or something, I’m sure I’d have some kind of supernatural power to bring any guy I liked under my charismatic control. Best I can hope for is to not decompose over someone’s shoes. How romantic.”

And you thought it was hard coming out as gay… Jay was a perfectly normal teenager, like any other awkward, antisocial, gay teenager. Until he was bitten by a mysterious zombie boy.
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Now, Jay has far more on his mind than he can handle. Not only is he struggling to keep his troubled family together and deal with his unfulfilled love for the hottest guy in school, he also needs to keep in check his urge to devour human flesh. All the while making sure his decomposition doesn’t show. As if he wasn’t already enough of an outsider…

This unique story offers a fresh and exciting new twist on the young adult LGBT coming-of-age comedy horror tale. Shockingly aware and witty, this thrilling tale by acclaimed horror and dark fantasy author Alison Cybe dishes up side-splitting laughter, stomach-churning horror, heart-rending drama and everything you’ll need to know about growing up when you just don’t fit in.

Some zombies are full of surprises.

Jay’s character development was marvelous. Like many teenagers, he dealt with moods that sometimes changed rapidly and often felt like no one in the world understood him. Ms. Cybe captured what it’s like to be a teenager perfectly. If that wasn’t enough, Jay also changed in all sorts of delightful ways as his body continued to look less like the person he’d been before he was bitten. He felt real to me, and that’s always something to praise.

There were some parts of the storyline that weren’t well developed. This was especially true when it came to some of the things the protagonist did to hide his injury, illness, death, resurrection, and undead afterlife from the people closest to him. I was surprised by how oblivious his parents were to all of these developments, and it would have been nice to have more reasons for them missing such blatant signs that something had dramatically changed in their son’s life. If they’d been included, I would have given this book a much higher rating. Everything else about it was great.

The descriptions of what it felt like to be zombie were well done. Every universe has their own rules about how this process works and how long it takes. This was definitely one of the longest transformations I’ve ever read about, so I was fascinated by how slowly Jay changed after he was bitten. It was also interesting to see all of the ways he didn’t conform to the typical stereotypes of this monster. Sharing specific details about them would give away too many spoilers, but the author did a great job of putting her own twist on traditional zombie lore.

I Was a Gay Teenage Zombie should be read by fans of the young adult and horror genres alike.

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

(Not Quite) the Same Old Song by Lindsey Ouimet

September 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment


(Not Quite) the Same Old Song by Lindsey Ouimet
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (195 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When her brother relapses—again—and disappears with the rent money, Darcy Andrews is forced to pawn the one thing that means the most to her. Her guitar, Darlene. Suddenly the plus-size teen’s plans for a stress-free summer before senior year are washed down the drain. Now she must earn enough money to get her brother the help he needs and to buy Darlene back.

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It’s all sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Except, not quite. She’s down one guitar, the drugs are her brother’s problem, and once school starts back, Darcy is afraid Grey is embarrassed to be seen with her. But when an opportunity to win money for her brother’s rehab arises, she won’t let all that stand in her way.

You never really know what someone might be dealing with behind closed doors.

The arc of the romantic plot line was perfect. I adored the chemistry between Darcy and Grey. They had so much in common that I immediately knew I wanted them to remain in each other’s lives either as friends or a couple. As they got to know each other better, I became even more convinced that they’d make the perfect match. Not only did they share the same hobbies, they had the same values as well. That is, they were both far more interested in quietly doing the right thing no matter who noticed than in getting credit for it. Their strong senses of integrity were well matched and also made me love both of these characters even more than I did when I first met them.

Darcy was such a relatable and interesting protagonist. Most high school students don’t need to worry about helping their moms pay rent or keep food on the table. As tough as these added responsibilities made her life, they also shaped her into a hard-working and trustworthy young woman. She took life seriously in a good way. When she did have opportunities to relax, she dove into those experiences with joy. I wanted her to finally get a happy ending after everything she’d been through.

I was also impressed with how sensitively and honestly Ms. Ouimet handled Quinn’s substance abuse. He was Darcy’s only sibling, their family was low income, and they honestly didn’t have much of a social safety net at all. All of these things made an already difficult situation even harder to cope with. There was simply not enough time, emotional support, or money to deal with all of the negative consequences of his addiction. I’ll admit to blinking back tears a few times while I read this story because of how much empathy I had for this family. They were facing awful circumstances, and the author did an amazing job of showing how Quinn’s choices affected not only his own life but the lives of his mother and sister.

(Not Quite) the Same Old Song is a must-read for anyone who has ever had personal experience with substance abuse or who wonders what it feels like to love someone who is in such a self-destructive cycle.

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

No More Dead Kids by Thomas Marshall

September 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment


No More Dead Kids by Thomas Marshall
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (291 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

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Some choices are easier to make than other ones are.

This tale had good character development, and I’m not only talking about the protagonist here. Alex and several of his friends changed in all sorts of thought-provoking and realistic ways from the first scene to the last one. Even the school shooter’s development was well done, and that’s not something that’s necessarily easy to do!

The pacing started off quite slowly. To be honest, I had trouble getting into the plot in the beginning because of this. As interesting as it was to meet the various characters, I would have liked to see them deal with more conflict early on so that I could see how they responded to the ordinary challenges of life before the mass shooting began. I’m saying this as someone who was invested in the subject matter of this book and who really wanted to give it a higher rating.

While this story was about a student who was plotting to shoot his classmates, it was about so much more than that as well. I can’t go into much detail about the other storylines without giving away spoilers, but I was pleased with how many other conflicts the author explored once the pacing picked up. The characters were similar to real-life people when it came to the many different things they had to juggle in their lives.

No More Dead Kids should be read by anyone who is interested in the warning signs of a possible school shooter.

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What the Gods Allow by J.S. Frankel

September 2, 2019 By 2 Comments


What the Gods Allow by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (230 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

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It’s never too late to try to fix old mistakes.

Some of my favorite parts of this book involved Meddy’s reaction to modern life. So much had changed in the world over the last few thousand years since her glory days. She was surprised by everything from the food to the fashion of the modern day, and I was fascinated by her adjustment to our era. There were certain things she noticed that I never would have assumed would be an issue, and other changes I assumed she would struggle with turned out to be no big deal at all. This was all thought out very nicely, and I appreciated how much effort Mr. Frankel put into it.

The pacing was perfect. I’d originally assumed it would be a little slow in the beginning as Meddy explained what she’d done to anger the gods, but the plot quickly jumped into showing what happened when she was given a temporary pardon from her sentence instead. While these details were given all of the attention they needed later on, I loved the fact that the audience got to move on to main storyline so quickly in this tale. That really kept my interest levels high beginning with the first page and going on through to the final one.

Meddy’s character development was handled wonderfully. She was always someone I sympathized with, but I only grew to like her even more as I got to know the parts of her personality that weren’t immediately noticeable. Yes, she had her fair share of flaws, but she also had a genuinely kind heart and a willingness to learn from her past. Those are always lovely things to discover about a character, especially when they’re followed by genuine personal growth.

What the Gods Allow was a stellar addition to J.S. Frankel’s long list of works. Whether you’re a new or longterm fan of his stories, I highly recommend checking this one out!

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