Check out the Five Star review of Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling from Colleen Chesebro of SilverThreading.com
Book Reviews
10 #Books for #Christmas #Gifts from my #Reviews this year.
Looking for a last minute present for Christmas?
Want a great book?
Need a gift to put you into that FREE Shipping range?
Here are my suggestions from my reviews this year. Click the links for the reviews. Or click the book image to go to Amazon.
Literary Fiction, Ireland, Contemporary
#Book Review of Dancing to an Irish Reel by @cfullerton3
“You might at times want to hit Liam over the head with something, like his accordion, but then, he is a man, it’s love, and he’s young, so what else would you expect? And that is one thing that makes this book real and allows the reader to connect with it. No one is perfect in the book. “
Historical Fiction, Adventure, Archaeology, WWII
The Judas Apocalypse by @DanMcNeil888 “At times his encounters are humorous, deadly, and explosive.”
“He’s been referred to as the new Dan on the block of historical fiction conspiracy theories. I don’t agree. Dan McNeil handles his subject with a better hand than Brown ever has. Yeah, sure, you want to knock him across the room at times but who doesn’t want to read something that gets them on an emotional level at times? If you want a fluff read, skip this review. McNeil isn’t about fluff.”
Marriage, Relationships, Humor, Self Discovery
#Book Review by @RonovanWrites of Sex & Samosas by Author @JasmineAziz
“Nothing is perfect. Sex isn’t perfect like a scripted movie. Things happen, and man, I am still dying over the what I call ‘on fire’ part of the book.”
Christian, Inspiration, and Parenting.
Jesus vs. Santa: Christmas Misunderstood by @JERoyle #Book Review by @RonovanWrites
“You’ll learn where the answer to how we handle the issue of Santa with our kids begins. A great deal of what you find in Jesus vs. Santa you can use in everyday life with not only your children, but yourself as well.”
Judas: Hero Misunderstood by @JERoyle
“The style he chose to use is contemporary in the use of language and symbolism in order for anyone today to relate and connect to the story. Unlike many other takes that are similar to what Royle has done you don’t get a preachy style. At the very end, after the story is all done and over with, you receive a look at passages from the Bible to show you what may or may not bring credence to what Royle has written.”
Fantasy, Vampires, WWII, Magic, Wizards, Adult
“Isabella George is not your typical spy. For one she’s a female spy in WWII sneaking in to German occupied France. Yes, there were female spies but not the norm in literature of this type. And for another thing, she’s a wizard. Her mission in this first book of the Gray Tower Trilogy is to find and bring home the wizard creating a chemical weapon for the Nazis. But would it be a book worth a Trilogy if it were that simple?”
Action, Adventure, Terroists
Levant Mirage by @OliverFChase “It’s so possible, it’s scary.” #Book Review
“Levant Mirage takes snapshots from the headlines of the past few years to build a character and combines it with frighteningly realistic possibilities to give a story you pray never happens.”
Mystery, Suspense
Close Up on Murder by Linda Townsdin @ltownsdin. A #BookReview.
“Levant Mirage takes snapshots from the headlines of the past few years to build a character and combines it with frighteningly realistic possibilities to give a story you pray never happens.”
Irish Mythology, Folklore, Short Story Collection
“The stories are of love and tragedy and more. I felt while reading the stories I was reading not about people in a book, or about love between two people and what befalls them but the love of a people for their homeland and their culture and the tragedies they faced throughout the ages. Yes, it hit me where it hurt, or it felt. Got me in the heart. “
Poetry, Haiku
New Book! A Haiku Perspective by Annette Rochelle Aben @YouAreTheExpert
“Welcome to my haiku perspective on life. It is easy to enjoy this book because haiku flows, which means it can be experienced effortlessly. Perhaps reading this book will open up some creative energy within you and if so, you will share your haiku as well. Those who live to express themselves with words, craft a world using the alphabet, are giving life to imagination and thought.”
© Copyright-All rights reserved by litworldinterviews.com 2015
Book Review of Dancing to an Irish Reel by @cfullerton3
Author: Claire Fullerton
Title: Dancing to an Irish Reel
File Size: 373 KB
Print Length: 237 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0990304256
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Vinspire Publishing (March 6, 2015)
Publication Date: March 6, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00UCOZJXM
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Enabled
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
Kindle: $1.99
Paperback: $13.99
Audible: $17.95
I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review. And of course with me, you know that’s what you get. Good or bad. Here we go!
What happens when an L.A. music exec goes on sabbatical to Ireland? Well this is a romance, so I’ll say romance, along with love, music, and most of all confusion—caused by love, language, and longing. You might think a Southern girl who moved to L.A. might be accustomed to culture shock and speaking a different language, but Ireland is an island unto itself.
Dancing to an Irish Reel is about American Hailey meeting real Ireland and new-to-love Liam Hennessey. What you get is a story of Hailey learning about the place she comes to call home and as she learns about it and begins to understand it, she also begins to understand the man she falls for.
I like the character of Hailey. She is not your stereotype romantic leading lady that people like to think of. She is strong, knows what she wants, has common sense, and above all—she doesn’t do the typical damsel in distress routines.
Men, you will like this book. I say that because men need to realize that a great deal of books with Romance in the genre are not exactly what you may think. Movies men seem to like have romance in them and could be labeled as such in genre. So get a clue.
In other words this will hit with all people.
I found this book a bit of a surprise in some ways. Things don’t happen the way you expect, which to me is good. You want to be surprised these days. I do want to say that the character of Liam, well—Fullerton does a great job of explaining the Irish male in several places from different viewpoints. Very interesting, I thought.
You might at times want to hit Liam over the head with something, like his accordion, but then, he is a man, it’s love, and he’s young, so what else would you expect? And that is one thing that makes this book real and allows the reader to connect with it. No one is perfect in the book. Even those thought to be perfect are flawed deeply, and not entirely due to their own doing. And as for the accordion, it’s a loved instrument in Ireland and makes Liam somewhat of a local celebrity.
I loved the description of Ireland, the people, how the language works and the culture itself works in so many different ways. Those parts alone make you think you have read a much larger book because you learn so much. I view the romance part of the story as a side by side symbolic representation of Hailey’s coming to terms and coming to understanding Ireland itself.
How does the book end? Is it a happy ending? That’s something you have to find out for yourself. Does Fullerton leave things open for a sequel? Could there be a trilogy or even a series of Hailey books? Personally, I would like to see more of Hailey in Ireland. How Fullerton uses Hailey to teach us about the real Ireland is something that needs to be revisited.
Recommendations:
I recommend this book to lovers of Ireland, real people, common sense romance, and reality.
Character Believability: 4.5
0Flow and Pace: 4
Reader Engagement: 4.5
Reader Enrichment: 4.5
Reader Enjoyment: 3.5
Overall Rate: 4.1
You may be looking at that Reader Enjoyment number and wondering why. There were certain characteristics of Liam that somewhat annoyed me at times. I think maybe it was because I’m American and he’s Irish and as Claire Fullerton explains in the book, those two types of men are different. But Liam is real to the Irish male character. Perhaps being of Scottish background, maybe it’s just me.
http://www.clairefullerton.com/about-claire
https://www.facebook.com/clairefullertonauthor
http://www.vinspirepublishing.com/#!about/cjg9
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7388895.Claire_Fullerton
https://twitter.com/cfullerton3
Claire Fullerton grew up in Memphis, TN and now lives in Malibu, CA. She is the author of literary fiction, “Dancing to an Irish Reel,” which is set in Connemara, Ireland, where she once lived. She is also the author of “A Portal in Time”: A paranormal mystery that unfolds in two time periods set on California’s hauntingly beautiful Monterey Peninsula, in a little village called Carmel-by-the-Sea. Both of Claire’s novels are published by Vinspire Publishing. Claire is a three- time award winning essayist, a former newspaper columnist, a contributor to magazines including Celtic Life International and Southern Writers Magazine. She is a five-time contributor to the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series and can be found on Goodreads as well as the website under her name. Currently, Claire is writing her third novel, which is a Southern family saga based on her award winning essay in the 2013 San Francisco Writer’s Conference.
Ronovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by LitWorldInterviews.wordpress.com 2015
Lit World Interview Week In Review Jan 26-30.
Here’s what happened over on Lit World Interviews. Pick an article and read.
Here are the articles for the week, if you missed one, go and check it out today.
Author Interview with Ronovan Writes
The Judas Apocalypse & Can’t Buy Me Love Q&A @DanMcNeil888
FEATURES
Text to Speech: Editing Through Listening PS Bartlett
Authenticity and Honesty as an Indie AuthorJo Robinson
Most Mortals Need a Proofreader by Guest Author Wendy Janes @wendyproof
BOOK REVIEWS
The Serpent Papers by Jessica Cornwell Olga Núñez Miret
RONOVAN’S WHATEVER
Patience and Integrity-The Secret to Success
LWI Who we are and what we do.
What can you expect next from the LWI Team?
I have an Author Interview with well at least one interview this week one will be out on Monday. Olga has a Feature coming out on Monday, another Feature from Guest Author Wendy Janes coming up Wednesday, and you know we will have something great from Jo Robinson on Thursday. And we have…
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Get a Free Review of your Kindle Book?
You have written your book. You have formatted your book and have it on Amazon. Now it’s time to get to work.
You thought it was over with? Not by a long shot. Now you have to get the book sold. Part of that I discussed in Advertising Your Book, For Free.
But just advertising doesn’t cut it. Some people want to know if other people like your book. Is your book worth the time? This means reviews. So how do you get reviews?
- Get friends to read and review, but you’ll have to give them the book. And more than likely, sure
they’ll give you a good review but you want an honest review. But you’re thinking, “No, I want good reviews.” If you have your list full of great reviews and then some big paper comes along and reviews it there might be fallout. Most likely not but I would rather have an honest review. I want the truth.
- Get Beta Readers to read your book, of course and then ask them to give a review, but some of them require payment and the book. And as a Beta Reader they might know all the parts you had to rewrite and you really want fresh eyes unless you just know you will get an objective opinion. I have started Beta Reading and I’m objective. I Beta Read for two good friends of mine and I don’t pull punches but I also see the big picture. I can do both sides of the role.
There is another way.
Kindle Reviews from Amazon.
They have three versions:
#1
Free Review-One Review for FREE! Yes I said FREE.
You submit your book and usually within 7-14 days you have a review. You aren’t guaranteed a review but normally it does get reviewed. A lot of times the reviewer is another author who is looking for people to review their work. That doesn’t mean you need to review that person’s work or anyone else.
I thought about just stopping here originally but I decided to go ahead and let you know about Amazon’s two paid review services.
#2
FastTrack-5 Reviews
You pay for a team of reviewers. Reviews are published within 7-14 days. They mention that if you really want the online browser to be influenced you might want 10 reviews. I believe I read somewhere it was $40 for a review team of 5.
#3
FastTrack Pro
You pay for 5 reviews but the team of reviewers will buy your book and not only have your reviews out in 7-14 days but will also help your Amazon Sales Rank a little. It’s $90 for this service but of course you get some back through the purchase of your book which boosts your sales rank a little and you rise a little in the browser influence.
Why do this?
You get honest reviews from people you don’t know. As a writer that’s what you want. It gives you more than just help getting your book noticed it also helps you learn how your book is being received.
One Final Way
You can also let me know at ronovanwrites (at) gmail (dot) com and I can connect you to one of the book reviewers at LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com or even myself. As long as it’s a book we are interested in and you have an ebook format provided to us (protected PDF, protected Word Document, Kindle whatever), we will provide an honest review of it. I repeat an HONEST review of it. At least five us do reviews as time permits. You let me know and I then email your information to one of the LWI reviewers and they contact you so you can get them the e copy. Or really if you check out our Book Reviews at LWI you can actually request a certain Reviewer if you like through me or contact them. Just check out our staff list, myself included (although my heading doesn’t say Book Review Team, I do a bit of everything).
Much Respect
Ronovan
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2014
20,000 Views and Announcements!
Thank everyone who has visited my site over the past just under 5 months and bringing it to . . .
20,000 VIEWS
I wasn’t going to do this when it happened a couple of days ago but I decided why not. I know a lot of you have more than I do but I truly never thought I would have my work seen this much.
I thought I would take this as an opportunity to go ahead and announce a few things. I wasn’t planning to until just now.
I want to tell everyone about my new site,
For now I post Author Interviews here on RonovanWrites and on LitWorldInterviews starting last week, but eventually they will be housed on LitWorldInterviews.
I am just waiting for the following to increase to make that fair to those who are agreeing to interviews. What I am hoping this grows into is a place for interviews with . . .
- Authors
- Agents
- Editors
- Publishers
- And anyone associated with the literary world
Also there will be Book Reviews, although that is not my specialty, there is a book review there now but we’ll see. I may actually bring on help for that part, especially for some of the umm more interesting books if asked to review them. You know I am the shy and innocent type. If I don’t find the time for it , well . . .
It is a challenge I’ve placed in front of me to grow another site. I still haven’t really grown this one. But I really thought RonovanWrites needed to be where my writing is a home to, like it was intended. I enjoy the interviews and and the lit world so I decided to unclutter RonovanWrites by starting another site.
So Follow
LitWorldInterviews
I also want to invite everyone to follow me in a few other different places.
(I wasn’t going to do this either until just now.)
I really would like to see my facebook page grow. I post some articles there plus humorous video clips and an occasional poem that doesn’t show up on RonovanWrites. The more it grows in support the more I can do with it. I have a pretty header photo. No, it’s not of me. Sorry. Yeah, you know who I’m looking at.
Google+
Tumblr
Bloglovin’ for RonovanWrites
Bloglovin’ for LitWorldInterviews
Much Appreciation to Y’all, New Friends and Longer Friends.
Ronovan
2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com
She was easy . . . they all knew it: A 3 Minute Book Review of The Convenience of Lies
Book Review on my new LitWorldInterviews site. Come check it out and Follow the site.
Much Respect Ronovan
Title: The Convenience of Lies
Author: Kimberly Castillo
ISBN-13: 978-1492314943
ISBN-10: 1492314943
Website: http://kimberlycastillobooks.blogspot.com/
Pages: 171 pages with a Discussion following
Genre: Young Adult (YA) Romance/Suspense/Drama
What’s it about?
New girl in town, Mackenzie and local girl, Kira are best friends forever, and then there is Ramon, a crush and ex-boyfriend in a small California town. The three send us on a trip of real teen life and feelings mixed with some unexpected surprises along the way with a group of vandals and thieves thrown in who make their attacks personal. Who has it in for these three friends? This story is told in an authentic teenage voice as Mackenzie Fairbanks recalls that particular summer before her senior year in high school.
Highlights of the Book
The book flows well taking the reader from one chapter to the next. It is an absorbing read, well written…
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Female Focus Friday Book Review: DECEPTION by Eloise De Sousa
I am not a professional book reviewer, if there really is such a thing. I have read books for more decades than I wish to reveal, and I have been writing for more than two of them. My mind knows the difference between a good story and a bad one.
I am not using a particular format from anyone, nor did I look for one. As always I decided just to jump in and do this my way and see how it turns out.
Title: Deception
Author: Eloise De Sousa
Pages: 236
Genre: Filed as an Adult Crime Romance
Formats: Paperback and ebook
Publisher: Lulu.com
Date of Publication: May 2014
Purchase: Amazon, Amazon U.K., Lulu.com
Author Website: EloiseDeSousa.wordpress.com
Author Twitter:@mello_elo
Eloise De Sousa
Story: Deception is about Amanda Glenson who has a nice life in a law firm in London where she is raising her 5 year old son Zachary. Unfortunately for her a past that sent her fleeing from her home, her country on another continent has finally caught up with her and there is no way around facing it, she must return home to Zimbabwe. But she doesn’t have to face it alone.
Enter Alex Edwards the handsome man that enters Amanda’s life with electricity in a moment only to discover he will be along for the ride into her past, a coincidence that fate brings about. Two people with tainted pasts joined together in quest to find truth. What will each do when they find out what that truth is? Will Alex be able to forgive Amanda quick enough to help her before she loses everything?
Alex helps, but Amanda doesn’t rely on him completely as she tries to do it all on her own. This is her problem and she wants to take care of it.
Deception has a great storyline that flows well and keeps you reading. 236 pages of every kind of emotion keeps you reading and thus can be read in one sitting because it does make you want to know what happens next. Who did what? How are Amanda and Alex connected? What is the true Deception? And how does little Zachary play a role in the story?
De Sousa brings a realistic feel to the story and her imagery is perfect. She writes what she knows–London and Africa, two places she knows. You don’t get a feeling of someone trying to make up something to describe, she carries you along on a tour of her memories. This in part is what makes it a good read, an easy flowing read.
The deception title is all through the book in so many ways you have to keep guessing what is the deception, what is the one that causes all of the anguish in so many lives. You won’t guess but you will try.
This is an enjoyable read, and the emotional responses between the two main characters are excellently handled in a realistic but still electric way. Romance, desire, heat, and all done well and taste and with great imagery that gives you just enough to let you become part of the story, but not so much to drive you away from it. Very well done, classy.
And read to the last word or you will miss an ending I wasn’t expecting.
Reader Recommendation Rating-3.5-4 Stars
Why not 5? Being a man, I would have liked to see more of the internal feelings and trials of the male character Alex. It’s Amanda’s book and story, so I get it, but I thought more of Alex might have brought the book to the next level. (So sayeth a hopeless romantic.)
Much Respect to Eloise De Sousa
Ronovan
2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com
Alysha Kaye Author of The Waiting Room Interview.
Book Description
“Jude and Nina are the epitome of that whole raw, unflinching love thing that most people are jealous of. That is, until Jude dies and wakes up in The Waiting Room, surrounded by other souls who are all waiting to pass over into their next life. But unlike those souls, Jude’s name is never called by the mysterious “receptionist”. He waits, watching Nina out of giant windows. He’s waiting for her. What is this place? How long will he wait? And what will happen when and if Nina does join him? The Waiting Room is a story of not just love, but of faith, predestination, and philosophy, friendship and self-actualization, of waiting.”
Alysha Kaye Author of The Waiting Room Interview
Today I’m spotlighting newly published author Alysha Kaye. Her debut novel The Waiting Room was just released at the end of June and we are fortunate to be a part of her tour.
I immediately wanted to be involved with this tour when I saw not only the premise of Alysha’s novel but also the fact that she’s a teacher. This old man holds a fondness for the noble profession.
Alysha received her BA in Creative Writing from Texas State University and was accepted into Teach America ending up in of all places, Oahu, HI. I am still recovering from that piece of information.
But even Hawaii, where she received her Masters in Education from the University of Hawaii couldn’t keep her from the her home state where she now teaches 7th Grade in Austin.
Now for the interview!
Having read the summary of The Waiting Room, I just had to start off by asking;
RW: Where did the idea for the book come from? Was it some event or what that sparked the idea?
ALYSHA: I had a dream about waiting for my boyfriend after death. I was in a strange room that looked a lot like an airport terminal. I wound up writing him a (very cheesy) poem about it and somehow, that became an entire 
novel! I just couldn’t get it out of my head.
RW: Alysha, I know from having been in the classroom that free time is rare, even at home. Many people don’t realize the time you have to put into teaching, unless you have a very good system in place. How do you balance teaching and writing, managing the other aspects of your life?
ALYSHA: It’s extremely hard! Teaching is exhausting, especially my lovely middle schoolers haha but I adore them. I try to get all of my lesson planning and grading done at school so that when I come home, my night is free for writing/blogging, and everything else in between.
RW: I know from reading what I’ve written things surprise me in what I learn. What did you learn about yourself while writing this book?
ronovanwrites 