Tag: Independent Book

Book Reviews

Manipulator’s War: Ruarnon Trilogy, Book 1

All roads lead to war.
Nonbinary Ruarnon is determined to prove their worth as heir to Tarlah’s perfect King. But when their parents are abducted, Ruarnon must rule Tarlah in the face of unreliable allies, a brutal expansionist neighbour, and binary male warriors who doubt the lead of a bookish enby youth.
Neighbouring King Kyura faces opposition, as peace-loving ruler of warmongering subjects who dream of expanding their empire. Ruarnon is vulnerable in the absence of their allies, but when Kyura rejects calls to conquer Tarlah once and for all, assassins threaten his family and mutiny threatens his reign.
Trapped in Ruarnon’s world, Linh is desperate to return to her family in Australia, and isn’t above using her host’s belief that she’s a figure from local myth to achieve it. But her gateway home lies on the far side of a brewing war, and her only transport is Ruarnon’s absent allies, sailing to Tarlah’s aid.
A new breed of creature threatens them all: a plague of monsters sailing towards Kyura and Ruarnon’s lands. Linh’s monster observations could save Kyura and Ruarnon’s people, ending the war between them, and clearing Linh’s homeward path. But the price is dear; Linh must risk her life aiding Ruarnon.
And to secure peace with Kyura’s unruly subjects, Ruarnon’s ultimate test as heir risks betrayal and Tarlah’s bloody defeat.

Book Reviews

Cuckoo Cuckoo

The darkest secrets never stay buried forever.
Charles Abernathy Vanderough has been dead for nineteen years. But when his clone shows up on the doorstep of the old Vanderough estate, a family is forced to confront their troubled past and face their darkest secrets.
Cuckoo Cuckoo is the story of Charlie B, a penniless clone and conman, who goes in search of the family fortune, only to find deception and tragedy at every turn. Set against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential primary, the proliferation of gun violence in America, and the apotheosis of selfie culture, Cuckoo Cuckoo reminds us that nobody can outrun their demons in an increasingly technological world.

Book Reviews

Sweet Baby Mine

Why can’t the bad things we’ve done in the past, stay in the past?
Ana will do anything to hold on to her husband. Tony is the love of her life–the Heathcliff to her Catherine, the Rivera to her Kahlo, the Sid to her Nancy. Without him, she’s nothing.
Tony is smart, driven, and accomplished. He takes pleasure in being Ana’s champion. He knows he is the one man who can save her from herself.
But their marriage is put to the test when their estranged daughter, Chloe, texts Ana to say she wants to come home–mother and daughter share a secret so dark that if Chloe ever revealed it, it would destroy Ana’s marriage.
Readers who enjoy Gillian Flynn’s antiheroines and Colleen Hoover’s heart-wrenching romantic thrillers will love Sweet Baby Mine. Rife with intergenerational patterns of mental illness, addiction, and trauma, Sweet Baby Mine is the powerful tale of the impact secrets, lies, and betrayals can have on a marriage. While the plot is devoted to both Ana and Tony, American expats living in Paris, the inner journey belongs to Ana as her daughter’s return sets off a painful chain of events that forces her to confront her demons, find her voice, and realize sometimes love can be found in the unlikeliest of places.

Book Reviews

Spectacular Silver Earthling

Hubcap used to be a rescue bot, getting humans out of every boneheaded scrape imaginable. His new career as a TV star suits him better: he can poke fun at the humans instead, while harvesting jetpods and tackling alien predators faster than any of them. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also immune to the mysterious “space frenzy” that keeps sending his coworkers into a froth. The robot worries for his human friends, though he would never admit it. Not when it’s much more fun to deploy weapons-grade sass.
The pressure ratchets up when a rival show aims to steal their sponsor. Hubcap has to film his most spectacular footage yet, while avoiding dangerous wildlife, plantlife, and emotions. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s the robot with skills second to none, and an ego to match.

Book Reviews

My Gypsy War Diary

“Where is Milo’s bible,” the intruders demanded. They came under the cover of darkness, their guns pointed at my elderly neighbor and only friend. And with the break in, an old story came out—young love, betrayal, blackmail, a treasure stolen and stolen again, a tale of vengeance and a life lived in secret.
I was just a kid in the 70’s, unable to sit still in school, living in my imaginary world of TV and movies. And now this betrayal from half a century ago threatened my life, as I found myself caught between hidden treasure and a band of gypsies who would stop at nothing to get it.