Genre – Page 7 – The Spine View

The Flip Side by James Bailey

The Flip Side by James Bailey is a laugh out loud, with just a touch of melodrama, romantic comedy set in the UK. It was highly entertaining and very funny. A great debut that should be on everyone’s to read list for the holidays.

The story begins with Josh, the main character, proposing to his longtime girlfriend, Jade, on New Year’s Eve while taking a romantic ride on the London Eye. However, all does not go according to plan. She not only says, “No”, but she then proceeds to tell him she has been cheating on him. To make matters worse, Josh has been living in her flat. Therefore, he has lost his home and his girl all in one night. But wait! It gets even better! His ex-girlfriend’s father is his boss and that means he lost his job too. Nothing like kicking a guy when he is down.

With limited financial resources and out of options, Josh is forced to move back in with his parents while he looks for another job. The welcoming committee when he arrives home is anything but appreciated. His parents had planned a congratulatory engagement party that feels like a funeral to him. When he takes a minute to escape and talks with his Pap an idea forms. To date, all his well laid plans have not worked out. So why not let chance rule his decisions for the next year? This is how the flip a coin for all decisions starts out.

Josh’s family and friends thinks he has lost his marbles with this idea. Yet, as the year wears on and Josh is sticking by his decision to flip a coin over choices, they start to warm to it or at least accept it. Leaving things to chance leads to some unexpected results. As you can imagine, some are good and some are not so good. But it does make for a great story. Especially when you consider that it forces Josh out of his comfort zone and in the process he learns a lot about himself.

Like Josh’s friends who warmed to the idea of a coin toss, I warmed to the idea of chance as a good mechanism to move the story forward. Each toss of the coin resulted in some of the most unexpected outcomes that were totally unpredictable. Events that might be seen as hooky or contrived suddenly became believable with a simple toss of a coin.

As much as I came to like the coin toss, the character of Josh is the real star of the story. He has all the best things of the average boy next door kind of guy. I can sum him up in one word, “adorable”. I loved that he was not perfect, made lots of mistakes, and in spite of being 28 still did not know what he wanted. This allowed to author to grow the character throughout the story.

Excellent debut. Loved it from beginning to end. Highly recommend to fans of Nora Roberts and similar authors. I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Angel Warrior by John W. Wells III

After I finished reading this book I was thinking about what I liked about books when I was younger (a lot younger). The main thing was adventure. I loved stories that had magic and characters that I pulled for and got swept into their story. This is totally what happened to me when reading The Last Angel Warrior. Definitely a great adventure tale for young (and older) readers!

The story follows Kalib Andrews as he approaches his sixteenth birthday and discovers that there are, among other things, demons and magic in the world. A stranger tries to kill him one evening walking home from his job at the local diner. That same evening he sees a stranger with yellow eyes outside of his bedroom window. Then things get even creepier when a new teacher at school has the same symbol on a charm that they both wear and was a patron that asked too many questions when Kalib served him at the diner. This teacher seems just a little too interested in him. Then did I mention his parents tried to kill him just a couple of days later.

The world is not what Kalib thought it was. Then he finds out he is actually the last Angel Warrior. Whatever that is! Kalib will need to figure everything out soon because there is a prophecy that says he will be killed and his blood used to release a goddess from a prison of magic on his sixteenth birthday.

There was a lot of action in the book. Loved that! You know something big is going to happen from page one. Therefore, I was invested in the outcome from the very beginning. The action and mystery elements are the main star of the story. They are what made the book for me. The author was able to surprise me a couple of times with events I was not expecting. The unpredictability of the story was another plus.

There was not a great deal of character development which I missed a little. Yet I can’t fault the author because the type of development I like would bore a younger reader to dead. So taking into account the intended audience, I think there was enough to hold the story together. I also liked the various characters and how they interacted. The theme of true friendship was subtle but well done.

This story was described as young adult, but it read and felt more like a middle grade tale. Which was OK, since I read both. However, if you don’t care for stories geared toward the younger side of young adult this may not be the book for you. If that does not matter, then I recommend this to you. Lastly, there is no foul language or inappropriate scenes in this book making it suitable for readers as young as 8 provided they are not bothered by a story that is a little scary.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for me honest review.

Bluff by Jane Stanton Hitchcock

Bluff, by Jane Stanton Hitchcock, gives new meaning to the idea that revenge is a dish best served cold. Maud, the main character, not only serves it up cold but in a big heaping portion! Full of intrigue, wonderful characters and a nasty plot of revenge to pay back the bad guys, this book is absorbing from page one all the way through to the end.

Maud is a 50ish divorcee who is primed and ready for a fight. She has always suspected that Burt Skylar, an accountant to the rich and famous in NYC, swindled her mother out of over 100 million dollars. She has spoken against him for years and has earned the nickname “Mad Maud”. However, she has never been able to prove anything.

Finally all the right cards are in her hand and she sees her chance for revenge. She enters The Four Seasons, one of the swankiest restaurants in the city, and pulls the trigger and shoots Sun Sutherland, a wealthy and prominent businessman, who is dining with Skylar. Did she miss or is there more to this story than meets the eye?

Love, love, loved the character of Maud. She has a brilliant mind and is downright devious. I also loved how she played people like she played poker. Most everyone is totally taken in by the frumpy middle-aged woman act that she carried off better than a Broadway actress. I would hate to get on her bad side and can only pity those she plays poker against. The supporting characters also hit the mark with me. They helped round out the revenge plot nicely.

The plot has more twists than the Mississippi River and it was fast paced. I really appreciate the balance the author was able to achieve between pace and character development. I find that in this type of book one or the other is lacking. Brilliantly done!

I highly recommend this book to readers of mystery and thrillers. In addition, if you love strong female characters you will enjoy Maud and her story.

I received a free copy from the published in exchange for my honest review.

A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire

When a book is compared to great classics you are setting a very high bar from the start. The reader is expecting to be blown away and rightly should be. However, when you failure miserable at meeting that high standard, the reader is terribly disappointed. This is exactly what happened to me.

There are two main reasons I didn’t enjoy this story. First is Laura. She was very whiny. I get that her parents are no longer in the picture and she is very resentful of having to live with her grandparents whom she finds very dull. She is also not happy in school and does not have any friends. All a recipe for feeling sorry for yourself. I get that. What I have issue with is that the whininess bled over into all the aspects of the book and it became boring after the first forty pages.

Secondly, there was not much going on with the plot. It was so slow. You have to read to about the halfway point before anything happens of interest. Then the author packs everything into the latter part of the book. As it stands, I think this would have been better as a novella.

I received a free copy, from the publisher, via LibraryThing’s early reviewer program.

The Friend Contract by Dria Andersen

Paranormal romance books are a guilty pleasure of mine and I just love finding new (to me) authors and books in this genre. This is exactly what I have been needing lately. This book was a wonderful escape from reality and it was highly entertaining.

Gabriel Hamilton is a bear shifter and he has been in love with Naomi a member of the Ayala Panther Prowl for the longest time. Gabriel also knows that Naomi is his mate. Naomi is resistant to the notion because she is latent, meaning she does not have the ability to shift, and because of this she believes she can never be mated to a shifter. She also has some issues from a past relationship with a fox shifter that I feel clouded her judgement a little.

Therefore, Gabriel cooks up a fake marriage plan. He tells Naomi that he is betrothed and wants to get out of the arranged marriage, but the only way to do so is to tell his family he has found his mate… her. Now he just has to find a way to convince her she is his mate.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected despite the very familiar plot of a convenience marriage. On top of that you also have the best friends to lovers story. Both are well used in romance books. However, the author introduced elements of humor and family along with a few other things to make the story interesting and updated. It is also a feel good story and that is just want I wanted and needed.

The plot moved nicely and I enjoyed the characters a lot. The interaction with other characters was genuine and overall the story had a “real” quality despite being a paranormal book. I also thought the setting in the book worked well for the story. Lastly, I appreciate that the author ended the story and didn’t leave us hanging in order to sell her next book. That to me is always a big turn off.

While this book is one I would but into the beach read category, it is still a great story with characters that are well done. So don’t overlook it because of how people tend to stereo type romance stories, you will miss out on this little gem. Needless to say, I recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading more about some of the minor characters in the book.

I used my Kindle Unlimited account to read this book, though the author did request a review.

When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor

Will I ever get enough of historical fiction books? Not if they are told as eloquently as this story. I am especially drawn to fictional stories that are based on real events and this one is beautiful, and at times heart wrenching. A story of courage and resilience that will touch you.

When Great Britain enters WWII, a group of teachers and students, from a British missionary school in occupied China, are forced into a Japanese internment camp. Their story is told from two points of view. Partly told through the eyes of a young British girl, Nancy Plummer, whose parents are missionaries in the interior of China. The rest of the story is told from Elspeth Kent’s view as a teacher at the school.

Elspeth has been in China trying to escape a past she would rather not remember. She is finally ready to put that behind her and return home. She is packed and has her letter of resignation ready to hand in when the war in Europe comes to her.

Nancy Plummer is looking forward to finally seeing her parents for Christmas. Though she loves her friends at school, Dorothy and Joan (aka Sprout and Mouse), and her older brother, she longs for her family, especially her mother. When Japan declares war on Great Britain she starts to wonder if she will ever see her family again.

As the teachers try to acclimate to the Japanese occupation, Elspeth and her fellow teaches are determined to see that the children continue their lives in as normal a way as possible given the circumstances. There is also the promise Elspeth made to Nancy’s mother to watch over her daughter. Yet, how can you achieve this when the enemy is unmerciful and is always watching? She and the other teachers have to become more, so much more, and assume the roles of surrogate mothers and fathers.

Not only is this story beautifully told, it is sure to strike a chord with readers because you will feel like you are living the events with the characters. The author presents them in a believable way and gives them with multiple challenges to overcome. They must endure hardship, longing, lost and yet remain courageous despite their circumstances.

The prose is richly detailed and the plot is perfectly paced. This book does not contain a lot of plot twists or unexpected events, instead it works it magic in a slow and deliberate way in which the characters are built. I especially liked the eloquent way in which the author weaves the two points of view together to make one seamless story, just divine.

The last item I would like to mention is how well researched this book is. The attention to detail shines through in the period details.

I recommend this book to all lovers of fiction. For historical fiction readers in particular, you need to add this book to your to be read list. You won’t regret it. I received a free copy from the publisher via Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Octavia Butler is one of the masters of Science Fiction and this book is a great representation of her work. It is a dystopian story, set in the near future, about a girl that is just nineteen when her world is turned on end by the destruction of her home and family.

Lauren has grown up in a world in which climate change, poverty, drugs, and racial divides are magnified and the result is a society that is crumbling. Crime is rampant and a new drug called Pyro is the drug of choice. The drug is called pyro because addicts set fires just to watch them burn and the high they get from the drug is reported to be better than sex.

Despite Lauren’s community being walled and patrolled, it is broken into by these addicts and they set fire to the entire neighborhood. Lauren is forced to flee and becomes separated from her family. She manages to meet up with two neighbors who inform her that her family was killed in the attack. The three of them strike off to the north to what they hope will be a better life.

Really great story! The world building and characters are well done. The plot is very well thought out and moves along nicely. This is Science Fiction as its best.

The only negative thing I have to say is that the character was a little too prophetic for her years. I think Butler was trying to show that in this type of society children grow up fast. That might be true to some degree but it just didn’t work that great for me.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

This book took me by surprise. It had been on my TBR list for over a year. I just kept putting it off for other books. Now that I am finished with it, I truly wish I had read it earlier. It is a look at mental health and the lasting effects it has on those surrounded by it. There is much heart ache, drama, loss and love in this book and the author handled it with elegance and grace. It is a story that will touch you and keep you contemplating for a long time after the last page is read.

The book follows two NYC officers, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, whom settle next door to each other in the same small commuter community outside of the city and they both raise their families there. Kate, who is one of Francis’s daughter, and Peter, who is the only child of Brian, grow up together and are fast friends. They do everything together. Then tragedy strikes and the two are separated for many years.

Some years later neither of them has totally forgotten the other. It seems that they are both castaways adrift in the world and without realizing, they both are waiting for the other. They reconnect when, on what appears to be a whim, Peter writes a letter to Kate. What was once a fast friendship quickly develops into much more. While they think they have put the past behind them, it is only festering under the surface and they both will have to come to terms with their shared past.

The book started out slow, but the story did build to the epicenter of the tragic event (no spoilers here) that would change the lives of both families forever. While I struggled to reach this point, once there, I could not read fast enough.

There is not much in the way of a plot. Instead, it is all about the characters and understanding how events shape and guide our lives. It is a contemplative book. It draws you in and has you agonizing over things that seem obvious to the reader yet the character(s) refuse to recognize to the detriment of all.

They say to be able to move on you have to accept the past and forgive. While words are easy to say, it is never easy to do and both families struggled with this. Some members more successfully than others. This made for a roller-coaster of emotions. The author presented the major and minor characters in all their faulted human glory. While the tragedy permeates most of the story, subtly most times, you do get a feeling that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. I liked that the author gives you hope so that the reader is not drowning in despair. It would have been too difficult for me to read if that had been the case.

This was a wonderful story and I highly recommend it to readers who love a story with drama while still remaining hopeful. In addition, it would make a good choice for a book club because there are many layers to this story and it would make for a lively discussion.

I received a free copy a t BookExpo 2019 in exchange for my honest review.

Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis

I adore a good Sci-Fi book and I was not disappointed with Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis. It is a look at what first contact with an alien race might be like. It was an entertaining, fascinating read and it made me stop and think about how first contact might really go. A total pleasure to read and I am already looking forward to the next book in the series.

Caro Sabino is a young college dropout. She is just trying to find her footing in the real world. Her estranged father is the CEO of the equivalent of WikiLeaks and he has just released the leak of a lifetime. The evidence he presents purports that the US government has made first contact with an alien race. However, the facts suggests they have not been able to communicate with them. That is until Caro unwittingly steps into the picture.

The story was outstanding. It is creative, well thought through and has a great cast of characters with just enough suspense and twists to keep you engaged. The plot moved quickly and I was engaged throughout the entire book. However, the relationship between Ampersand and Caro is what really made me enjoy this so much. The connection and eventually trust that developed between the two was well done and I loved the path it took in the book.

I also liked how the author handles the government cover ups. It explored some interesting ideas and made me think about the lengths government will go to keep people in the dark. Also the reoccurring theme of truth being a human right brings up whole host of ideas on that topic. In short, besides being a good story (which it is) it raises some interesting questions about morality, compassion and what it means to be human.

This is a great book for those true lovers of the Science Fiction genre. I would like to be able to recommend it to others but I doubt, for example, a person who is a Historical Fiction fan would like it. Yet, for you Sci-Fi people like me, you have to read this one!

I received an ARC, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

Renia’s Diary by Renia Spiegel

Pub. Date: 24-Sep-2019
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Renia’s Diary is just that, a diary of a young Jewish girl from Poland. She was just 14 when she started her diary because she wanted a friend. Actually, she had friends, I feel more likely that she wanted a confidant and some way to express all her hopes, dreams and sorrows without fear of ridicule from pears.

As you can imagine, the diary entries are about Renia’s daily life. When she starts the diary, she is living with her grandparents. Her parents are in Warsaw and have been traveling with her sister who is a child actress. As expected, most of the writing is centered around school, her friends and her longing for her family, mainly her Mother. At the beginning, she does speak occasionally of the troubling times and a few of the historical events.

As Renia gets older, she talks about going to parties with friends, dating and dreams about the future. She goes to movies and takes long walks with Zygument (Zygu), her boyfriend. In December of 1941 she decides to start writing about the war. She says, “Blood is flowing, cities are ruined, people are dying.” Despite her declaration, most of her writing remains the same.

It is obvious Renia is deeply religious. All throughout the diary she periodic asked God to take care of her and her family. Later in the diary, most entries end with a plea, “You will help me, Bulus and God”. Even though she did not mention the trying times often, they must have weighed heavily on her mind. Sadly, her life ends shortly after her 18^th birthday. The final few diary entries are made by Renia’s boyfriend, Zygu, because she along with his parents are shot in July 1942.

The prose I struggled with because it was written by someone so young and was of course immature. She talked about life with her friends and petty things that happened to her and others. As she gets older, the discuss turns to going to parties and boys and finally falling in love.

It is difficult to compare this book to other works of nonfiction because it is a diary and not a book. It was never written for or intended to be read by an end consumer. Therefore, I struggled with how to assign any kind of rating to a nonliterary work? Ultimately, I choose my rating mostly based on the poetry contained in the diary.

There was a lot of poetry in the diary. Enough for an entire collection to be published of just the poetry. There were all types of poems, long (some ran several pages) to short, some sad, some lively and some longing. Regardless of the theme, they were lovely. The poems are the real star of the book. I found it to be not only good, but contemplative. For the prose to be so immature, the poetry was the exact opposite. I am left wondering what her poetry would have been like if she had lived. Would she have been a great poet in the 20^th century?

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.