Book review: Grimsley Hollow - The Chosen One by Nicole Storey

An enjoyable Halloween ride with a cool hero

I really enjoyed this book. I love Halloween and so it was cool for me that the book is set during that time, especially as we don’t celebrate it much in the UK. We are transported into Gage’s (main character) world and see everything through his eyes. Gage is also autistic, so the reader learns what this means for our hero. I found this an interesting addition and it opened my eyes to some things, such as how Gage’s senses are more acute than the average person – taste, smell and hearing, in particular. He also tries to control how he reacts or overreacts to things. It’s a really fascinating addition to the book and we get a youth who is not your typical hero, which is the point - everyone is a hero.

At the beginning of the book, we learn that Gage doesn’t really have any friends. His family seems a happy one and he loves his sister, Sydney, dearly. She gives him confidence. As the writer tells us, ‘in her eyes, he was a hero. Sydney made him feel important; she looked up at him when so many others simply looked through him.' Things like this made me remember how weird and baffling things often were when growing up, and the author gets it spot on. But Gage is not a sad character - instead I found him fun.

Gage has a big imagination and his own hideout – the fort, guarded by Tonka, the dog – where the boy likes to start a ‘mission... his monster-bashing adventures’, the writer tells us. Gage is also a budding writer, it seems, as he imagines his missions and writes them down. But things take a strange turn when the boy makes the discovery of an unusual object that shouldn’t really be there. Then he meets the odd, but enigmatic Eve and the adventure really takes off.

The author has created a believable setting for her characters to inhabit. There are rich descriptions of the human world and that of Grimsley Hollow, well-rounded players, a gripping plot and suspense. Gage is a great central character, and I enjoyed how he learns about himself and others, and slowly builds some confidence. 

I recommend this book simply because I know you’re going to enjoy it.

Book links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Goodreads

Blog (Nicole's)

Smashwords

Book Review: Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble

By D Robert Pease

Amazon rating: 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It had many themes: time travel, how we define disability, the environment, extinction, family, friendship, our relationship with nature and animals, and choice.

I thought it was interesting that the hero was a paraplegic. We are told: “I was born without the use of both of my legs. The only time I feel free is when I’m piloting a ship.” Our hero finds himself frustrated by his own body, which limits him, but he appears to be a born pilot. Through this he finds confidence and freedom. Cue an adventure. 

For a world without animals, Noah and his family, and their own four-legged friend are the only hope. Earth has been saved for the animals, and humans are now living on Mars and Venus. It is the job of Noah’s parents, himself and his siblings, to travel through time on the Animal Rescue Cruiser to find those creatures now extinct in their own time. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks this is a good idea. And there begins the plot of the story.

I particularly liked the characters of Noah and his father. Adina, Hamilton, Sam and Haon are also well developed.

The author investigates how Noah sees himself and his disability, and how he grows. In this book he learns a lot about himself and his strengths, along with some things about his family and secrets long hidden. I found this book fun and easy to read. The style is easy. The plot is exciting. There’s suspense, fun and some heroics thrown in. I look forward to the author’s next books.

Author page:

US: http://www.amazon.com/D.-Robert-Pease/e/B005HF5G8E/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/D.-Robert-Pease/e/B005HF5G8E/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Book review: Second Chances by Dannye Williamsen

I enjoyed this supernatural thriller, with suspense, romance and murder thrown into the mix. It’s gripping stuff, well written and tightly plotted. 

I won’t tell you what happens as that info is in the book blurb and I don’t want to ruin any surprises, but I can say that this story is a definite page turner and will steal your attention. Towards the end, I was so rushing to get to the finale and find out what was going to happen that I missed my train stop! 

I really liked the character of Avatar, the wolf. He’s a rounded, thoughtful character who introduces the book and the sets the eerie, ‘what’s really going on here?’ atmosphere from the beginning. The personalities of Jeff, Garrison, Freddie, Darian and Jodi are all well-rounded individuals, especially the two central characters of Freddie and Darian. We watch as they lead their separate lives while the threads connecting them are secretly weaving more tightly.

What does a woman do when she finds that she can no longer keep chaos at bay with the forceful control she spreads over everything? The author tells us that Freddie had “spent most of her time trying to orchestrate her life in an attempt to not feel empty, to not feel like a failure despite her success, to not feel lonely.” In the book, she begins to learn new things about herself, her strengths and weaknesses, and the dark secrets that she has never been told. Who is the mystery shadow that comes to haunt her, which she nicknames Mr Personality?

Then there’s Darian. What does a man do when he is broken and becomes a fragment of those parts he once was? Ms Williamsen tells us: “Feelings were all Darian had that he could call his own. So he guarded them carefully, treasured them. Whenever an experience evoked a new feeling, he studied the experience and savoured the feeling in his mind until he could determine where it belonged. Each feeling had a place and a purpose in his mind. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. One day he would have all the pieces.”

There is a lot of philosophy and deep thinking in this novel, lying in the background, which I found interesting. I was underlining many things for the ‘notes’ section. The story investigates the yin and yang, the two sides of the coin; the dark and light of the human character. What makes us do what we do? 

It also steps into the nature versus nurture debate. Who are we really? What creates a person? Are people’s characters innate or do our experiences shape us? If someone’s experiences are only dark, how will they turn out? Can we sympathise if they also turn out dark? 

Then there is the idea of fate. What is fate, are we fated to take a certain path no matter how many choices are offered to us? 

And what is choice? Do we all deserve a second chance? Would everyone actually want a second chance? Everyone has choices. As Ms Williamsen writes, “Our lack of understanding of our relationship to the Universe is why we make choices that aren’t healthy.”

There is a lot to tickle your thinking buds in here besides the actual story.

So, all in all, a good storyline, some fascinating ideas, a good plot, interesting and rounded characters, good pace and a definite page turner, along with some creepy scenes, a drop of romance and some genuinely spooky goings on.

The only downside is that this book is a little too dark for me. This genre of book is not one that I normally read. But, that's just me. Anyone who does read horrors and supernatural dark stories will absolutely love it.

Fans of this book will be happy to know there is a follow-up, called The Threads That Bind.

Book links:

Second Chances is available in ebook and paperback format.

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Dannye-Williamsen/e/B004KEAFE8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1342438803&sr=1-2-ent

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Second-Chances-ebook/dp/B004AM5B7G/ref=la_B004KEAFE8_1_3_title_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1342438807&sr=1-3

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/48468

Indie book reviews: Wild Life by Susan Wells Bennett

Last year I read another book of Susan’s called Circle City Blues, which I enjoyed immensely, so I decided to try this one too - the first book in The Brass Monkey Series - and I wasn’t disappointed. The same good writing, tight plot creation and sense of humour is still there. I enjoyed the setting of the zoo, and the way in which the chapter names are linked to animals and the way they act.

The central character is Milo Crosby, a likeable character and a bit eccentric. When I began reading, I didn’t think I’d like him as he seemed a bit dodgy at the start, but then as you read on you learn his background story and his personality begins to fill out. I ended up liking him a lot. He’s funny and interesting, but has some flaws, like most of the characters. I found it funny when he began to realise that women still found him attractive – at his age, he didn’t seem to think this was remotely possible and I thought it was like someone had turned the light on for him! The not-so-central characters are detailed and nicely drawn, from Milo’s rather intelligent though young granddaughter to the trashy but fun Sondra Lane.

Family plays an important part with some of the characters coming to terms with things that have happened in the past and attempting to reconcile events or their own feelings. There are Milo’s relationships with his son, granddaughter Alice Marie, Claire and an ageing movie star, Sondra Lane, and ghosts from his past. And then there is Claire with her sister Beryl  and her parents.

I liked Claire and was rooting for her.  When I began reading I started realising there was more to her than meets the eye and an interesting background story emerged. You want to find out more about her. You know there's something there.

This book is a rich mix of fun, tragedy, love and loss. The relation of the past and the present is important – the way the past sneaks in to stop you living fully in the present and some characters have some ghosts to put to rest. At the end you wonder what the future holds for these myriad characters. So I’ve just bought the second book, Charmed Life, which, the blurb says, focuses on Sondra Lane – now that should be interesting!

 

 

 

Indie book reviews: Double-take Tales by Donna Brown

I really enjoyed reading this trio of dark stories with wry humour and some unexpected twists.

First up is Round Trip, in which an unassuming little £5 note passes through the hands of an interesting mix of characters with different ways of thinking. Like some crazy relay race, this begins with Suzy Taylor. Will it bring good luck or bad? As you're reading, you wonder where the note will go next and if any of the characters will be linked by more than you're seeing at the time. This was my favourite story.

Next is Poison, about an abused and lonely wife who is tempted by the idea of bumping off her husband, who is allergic to nuts. Will she, won't she? I like the style of writing and how the viewpoint of the narrator sucks you in - "There is something about the slow, insidious nature of disappointment that is so damaging." The woman has begun to feel invisible in her husband's life and in her own. How will she go on?

Ending the trio is Ç'est La Vie, in which the police investigate a murder, watched by someone unknown. "They didn't find the body for three days. I know because I watched and waited." The character pulls you in straight away and you find yourself questioning who they are, what they want and what part they may have played. Fascinating study of emotion in relationships. I was totally surprised by the ending.

I read this collection on the train to work and recommend it. 

Where can you buy it? Here...

http://www.amazon.com/Double-take-Tales-ebook/dp/B006HTHAW4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330181115&sr=8-1 

 

 

 

 

 

Indie book reviews: Not Magic Enough

 Not Magic Enough by Valerie Douglas

I read this story on the train to work and it brightened my commute. I found myself thinking 'damn' every time I got to my stop because I wanted to know what happened next. I enjoyed the storyline - who wouldn't mind meeting a handsome elf? The plot flows along well, with some dramatic situations, character development, twists and a lot of passion thrown in. The erotic scenes read hot and genuine, and are written with aplomb. Valerie seems to write effortlessly; her style is flowing, descriptive and graphic. She paints pictures. The characterisation is sensitive and the story is atmospheric. She captures everything well with a lightness of touch. It's all in the details. I thought the ending slightly abrupt, but I think that was because I wanted more. Just like the heroine of the story while she waits for her man.

Where to get it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004RJ44MA/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img 

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Enough-Coming-Storm-ebook/dp/B004RJ44MA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325185003&sr=8-1