I’ve read the first book, but have yet to get around to the second. I did enjoy book 1 though, so I expect I’ll enjoy book 2.
Category Archives: novel
Review of The Wind Weeps by Anneli Purchase
I didn’t post last week as I was on holiday. I’ll tell you about it in my next blog.
Overview
An exciting story that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.
Story
Andrea has left her safe home and finds herself in British Columbia. Here she gets a job on the wharf where she meets Jim, an attractive fisherman. They go on a few dates and she finds herself falling for him. But Jim goes to visit his family and makes no contact.
Along comes Robert. Handsome, strong, charming Robert. Thinking she’s been dumped by Jim, Andrea gets engaged to Robert. Many people warn her that he’s not what he seems, but without being specific, so she marries him.
She soon discovers her mistake.
Characters
The characters are true to life.
We meet Andrea as she starts her job on the wharf and experience her mistakes as a rookie. She is a likeable character, but like us all, makes wrong decisions with regard to her life. She is vulnerable and strong at the same time.
Jim is a kind and likeable man. The reader can’t help but like him and it’s ‘Oh no!’ when Andrea decides he’s dumped her.
Robert is charming and handsome at the start, but he has a dreadful flaw. We come to root for anyone who opposes him.
Then there’s Michelle, a French Canadian. Andrea shares an apartment with her. She is very supportive of Andrea. A likeable person.
Writing
The writing is good. I don’t think I found any typos or grammatical errors. It is told in the first person.
There are a couple of chapters where the Point of View character changes from Andrea. This confused me in a chapter near the end, but it soon became clear.
Ms Purchase brings us right into the action. We are on the edge of our seats, rooting for Andrea. She keeps the tension going throughout.
There’s a sequel. Yay! I’m off to read it now.
I gave it 5*
My ranking of books.
In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.
5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.
4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.
3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.
2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.
1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.
Review of Ghost of a Chance by Jaye Marie
OVERVIEW.
A gripping story. I read it in one day of continuous reading.
STORY
This is the 4th book in the DI Snow series. I haven’t read the others yet, but it is perfectly readable as a standalone novel.
DI David Snow was seriously injured in a previous encounter and has been officially retired from the police. He is wrestling with the breakdown of his marriage at the same time.
He goes to the police station to try to convince them that he is still able to do his job. While there, he sees a young woman bringing in an elderly woman in great distress. He goes to help. No one knows who the elderly woman is, and she has amnesia. The girl had found her in a state of stress and wants to help.
DI Snow decides to help find out who the woman is, and why she is upset. This leads him into an investigation involving murder and ghostly happenings.
BLURB
A damaged detective, out of a job
A relationship on the rocks
What does the future hold for David Snow?
Just when he thought life couldn’t get any worse
A ghost with a grudge adds to his pain
A ghost hell bent on stopping him from rebuilding his life…
CHARACTERS
All the characters in this novel are believable. They all have problems and faults as well as their good points..
David Snow is wrestling with depression after losing his wife and his job. He finds some relief in investigating the mystery woman.
David’s wife, Jane, has had a string of affairs after the breakup. Not all were satisfactory, especially one. She regrets this, but cannot find the strength to stop.
Laurie, the girl who brought the old woman to the police station, has her own problems. After a difficult childhood and adolescence, she finds it difficult to settle to anything. She has enrolled at University, and is determined to graduate, but finds the commitment difficult, as well as commitment to another human being.
Alan Turner is a person who was jealous of David Snow’s success. He is a thoroughly nasty person who plots Snow’s downfall, wanting his job. He has few positive traits. I disliked him all the way through. (Which I suspect I was intended to.)
WRITING.
Jaye Marie has created an exciting and enthralling story. The writing is good and there are very few typos.
She manages to build up the tension well, creating an unputdownable book.
The story is told mainly in third person past tense, but David Snow’s chapters are in first person. This, I think, brings us closer to him and his problems. I like the idea.
I give it 5*
My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.
5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.
4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.
3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.
2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.
1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.
A Fun Romp.
The Wolf Pack Characters
I’ve been having fun with Microsoft’s free image creator. Diana Wallace Peach posted some she made using it on her site, Myths of the Mirror. I thought I’d try to create something of the characters from Book 1. The Wolf Pack.
Here they are:
This is the half elf mage, Carthinal. He is an apprentice at the beginning of the book, just about to take the tests that will let him enter the ranks of mages. He is someone whom the ladies all go for. He has some feelings that he is inadequate, although he becomes the leader of Wolf, the name the group give to themselves.
The elf, Aspholessaria, known as Asphodel. She is a priestess of the goddess Sylissa, whose remit is life and healing. At the beginning she is a novice. She is strong-minded and will always follow her conscience, no matter what the consequences are to herself. That is the reason for her being sent from Bluehaven to Hambara where there is a stricter leader.
The dwarf, Basalt. Met on the road to Hambara. He has a somewhat grumpy exterior, but inside he is caring. He left his homeland when he was cheated out of his part of the family mine’s inheritance by his brother and wife. An excellent metalsmith, he can also carve wood.
Fero. He is a ranger from south of the Great Desert. He was turned out of his home when he refused to follow his father in his sandal-making business. A man of the outdoors and wild places, he cannot live for long in a city. His skin I would have liked to be a little darker, but not black. A bit like someone from India, or the middle east.
Davrael is the son of the chief of the Swooping Hawks tribe. He is a Horselord, and has lived all his life on the plains beyond the Western Mountains. He and his wife, Kimi, eloped when their parents refused to allow them to marry.
This is the nearest I could get to Davrael. His facial tattoo is actually a hawk with wings over his brows, head down his nose and talons on his cheeks, giving him a rather scary appearance.
Kimi is Davrael’s wife. They were married after they eloped. She is a settler, belonging to a group of erstwhile wandering Horselords who decided they could breed better horses if they didn’t wander.
She is a rather plain girl, tiny in stature with brown hair and eyes. Davrael calls her ‘Little Mouse’. She can’t get over how she has won the love of Davrael.
Randa is the only child of Rollo, Duke of Hambara, and heir to the duchy. She considers all beneath her except others of the nobility, and especially foreigners and other races. Hence there is tension in the group, especially since she thinks she is the natural leader and not Carthinal. She is an excellent horsewoman and is the only one who can ride and control her beautiful black stallion, Storm.
She decides to follow Carthinal and his friends when they leave Hambara to search for Sauvern’s Sword, which is prophesied to be needed soon to save the country.
Thad is a very young thief, around 15 years old, from the Warren, the poor quarter in Hambara. He met Carthinal when he stole a figurine from the mage. Carthinal managed to persuade him to get it back.
Thad followed the group because he felt he was in danger in the city.
This is the main cast of The Wolf Pack. I was reasonably pleased with the results, although they are all rather handsome. If I was disappointed in any, it would be Kimi as the picture is a little too pretty.
If you want to have a go, here’s a link. It’s great fun.
https://www.bing.com/images/create
If you would like to find out about the adventures of these people, click on the book cover, The Wolf Pack, in the side bar.
Review of Someone Close to Home by Alex Craigie
Blurb
Talented pianist Megan Youngblood has it all – fame, fortune and Gideon.
But Gideon isn’t good enough for Megan’s ambitious, manipulative mother, whose meddling has devastating repercussions for Megan and for those close to her.
Now, trapped inside her own body, she is unable to communicate her needs or fears as she faces institutional neglect in an inadequate care home.
And she faces Annie. Sadistic Annie who has reason to hate her. Damaged Annie who shouldn’t work with vulnerable people.
Just how far will Annie go?
‘Someone Close To Home’ is a story of love, malice and deadly menace.
Overview
This is a gripping book. I couldn’t put it down, and when I had to, I was anxious to return to it.
Story
Megan Youngblood is an only child in a disfunctional family. Her parents don’t get on and she spends much time looking forward to visits to her loving grandparents from both sides.
When one of her grandparents gives her a piano, she finds she has a talent, and devotes much time to music. Then her beloved grandparents die and she feels bereft. Crying at the end of her garden, she meets a sympathetic boy of her own age. They strike up a friendship.
Her mother is a snobbish and manipulative person who takes over Megan’s life, organising her appearances as a child prodigy, playing the piano at concert venues, around the country at first, then worldwide.
Her friendship with Gideon develops into love, but when a famous actor shows an interest in her, her mother begins her machinations once more.
The story is told in a series of flashbacks from Megan, who is in a care home after a severe stroke that leaves her unable to move or speak.
Characters.
Megan is a young girl at the beginning of the book. She is eager to do what her mother wishes. Her friendship with Gideon helps her to overcome her timidity.
In spite of this, as soon as she sits in front of a piano, all her fears disappear. She becomes a famous concert pianist.
Throughout the book, she develops into a more confident person.
Gideon is a kind, likeable young man. I was rooting for him to win Megan’s love.
Megan’s mother is a snobbish, manipulating woman. Selfish on the extreme, she looks on Megan as a means to boost her own influence.
The staff at the care home vary from caring, efficient to downright cruel. One member of staff in particular, Annie, Megan particularly fears, but we don’t find out the reasons until near the end of the book.
There are other characters whom I don’t want to incude here as commenting on their character would be something of a spoiler.
Writing.
I cannot fault Ms Craigie’s writing. It is very readable and she immerses us in the scenes extremely well. I can visualise the places quite easily, like the yew tree outside the window in the care home that Megan spends much time watching. And all the screws, drawers, tiles etc. that she spends endless hours counting.
The novel is told in first person present throughout, with flashbacks as an immobile Megan remembers her past life.
I think it might have been an idea to put the flashbacks in the past tense to distinguish them from the current time. It didn’t confuse me, but it would help to distinguish the two timeframes.
I give this novel 5*
My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.
5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.
4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.
3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.
2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.
1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.
Chance to Get a Book by One of My Recommended Authors for Nothing!
If you like dystopian novels, then the Echo books are for you.
Warning, though. They do contain violence and swearing.
But hurry. Today is the last day of the sale.
Sorry npt to let you know earlier but I forgot to hit ‘publish’.
Review of A Mersey Killing by Brian Porter.
Overview
A gripping tale of murder and mystery.
Story.
A skeleton turns up in a disused wharf in Liverpool as it is being renovated. Closer examination reveals it to be that of a young man of around twenty years of age. He had been brutally murdered.
These findings bring to light a missing young woman. Both young people had been reported missing in 1966, thirty years prior to the setting of the story.It is up to Inspector Andy Ross and his assistant, Sergeant Izzy Drake to discover what had happened and to find the murderer.
Parts of the story are told in flashback to 1966, and tell how a moderately successful young band is trying to make it in the growing pop industry of the time. Brendan, Mickey, Ronnie and Phil have a following in Liverpool, but struggle to make their success national.
Characters.
The individual traits of the characters are not so important in a story like this as it’s not primarily about them. However, I did find Inspector Ross a sympathetic character, similarly Izzy Drake.
Mickey and Ronnie’s father is a thoroughly unpleasant man. He is well drawn, and I dislike him intensely.
Their mother is a quiet woman, pleasant, but unwilling to stand up to her overbearing husband. Mickey and Ronnie I didn’t find quite so clearly portrayed.
Writing
Mr Porter has shown us the pop scene in Liverpool in the 60s very clearly. The young people are obsessed with music. All are working class youngsters who hope to improve their lot.
He has done much research about police procedures and we can easily follow the way the police go about their job with a seemingly impossible task.
While not being bad writing, there are a few things that I found a little annoying. The overuse of the word ‘just’, for example, and repetition of words in close proximity.
I give the book 4* because of the gripping story line.
My ranking of books.
In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.
5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.
4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.
3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.
2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.
1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.
Please May I have Your Help
Vengeance of a Slave has now made it through to the last 50 in All Author Cover of the Month. It’s currently at Number 29.
In order to get higher, it needs lots more votes, so please will you pop over to All Author and vote?
In order to vote, you will need to sign up for the site, but you can unsubscribe afterwards, or maybe you would like to stay there and find loads of new books and authors.
It needs a huge push by my friends and followers in order to get to the top. The book currently at the top is one that I dislike the cover of, but I suspect the author has a load more people to call on than I have.
Still, your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Here’s the link to the site.
Acceptance in cover of the month competition.
Happy New Year to everyone.
I’m afraid this is something of a begging post.
The cover of Vengeance of a Slave has been accepted in All Authors’ cover of the month contest. The first round runs until 7th January when the top 100 will go on to the next round. It’s by votes, so please would you pop over and vote for it.You can get to the voting page by clicking
https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/17022/
Thanks in advance, and wish me luck.
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 